Words are powerful. Everyone knows that. The way something is phrased can drastically change how it’s received by other people, and the same is true of the language we use internally.
Our subconscious mind applies labels to every experience we have. That spider? Terrifying! That roller-coaster ride? Exciting! These labels then dictate how we react emotionally to the experience, and that emotional state in turn affects our behaviour. (Spider? Run away! Roller-coaster? Ooh, let’s go again!)
It’s essentially a cognitive shortcut, allowing us to react quickly and appropriately to any given situation without having to consciously weigh up the pros and cons of every single action we take. When it works well, the process keeps us safe and encourages us to enjoy new experiences. When it doesn’t work well, it can be incredibly limiting, and can lead to anxiety, stress, low self-esteem, and all manner of other negative emotional states.
NLP helps us to understand the unconscious process of ‘labelling’ that lies at the heart of our unwanted attitudes, emotional states and behaviour. It then employs a variety of linguistic tools and visualisation techniques to help change this process on a subconscious level.
I am certified as an NLP Practitioner by the American Board of Neuro Linguistic Programming.
These techniques use a guided process of active imagination to help you let go of negative emotions attached to past experiences, and to clear limiting beliefs at their root cause. It’s a powerful process which, like NLP, helps you to work with your unconscious mind to to make long-lasting changes in a very rapid way.
I am certified as a Time Line Therapy™ Practitioner by the Time Line Therapy™ Association.
Hypnosis is an excellent way to consolidate the learnings acquired through NLP and Time Line Therapy™ techniques, using trance to make and reinforce changes at the unconscious level.
I am certified as a hypnosis practitioner by the American Board of Hypnotherapy.
There are a lot of misconceptions about hypnosis which can make people hesitant to try it as a technique or therapy. Here are a few facts to set your mind at rest.
We go in and out of similar states throughout the day. Have you ever sat and stared out of the window, not really thinking about anything? Or let your mind wander as you’re going for a walk? Those are both types of ‘light trance.’ Hypnosis just helps you to get more relaxed than you would normally be in a waking state, so that you can effect changes on an unconscious level.
Those volunteers on stage hypnosis shows? They’re only up there clucking like a chicken because they’re people who are happy to get up on stage and entertain people. Hypnosis cannot ‘persuade’ you to do anything you don’t want to do – if you object to a hypnotic suggestion, your unconscious mind simply won’t comply with it. In fact, you’d be likely to come out of the hypnotic state completely.
All hypnosis is self-hypnosis: I provide the instructions, but you have full control over whether or not you choose to follow them. You can come out of the hypnotic state at any time; it’s simply a deeply relaxed, waking state – you are not asleep!