Cognitive Hypnotherapy is a modern approach developed to help people make the changes they want to make in their lives, taking what works from the world of therapy and combining them into a made-to-measure approach for each client.  

Heather Hall Cognitive Hypnotherapy draws upon other disciplines such as Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Gestalt Therapy, Positive Psychology, Eye Movement Integration (EMI), Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT/Tapping) and Transactional Analysis.

To understand more please watch this animation on how I can help you with Quest Cognitive Hypnotherapy, or you may wish to read about it below…..

There are 3 key principles that underpin it….

Trance is an every day occurrence.

Traditionally people talk about being put into hypnosis as if it’s a special state a place the hypnotist somehow gets you to go to, we don’t. We think that when you are day dreaming in a boring meeting or so absorbed in a tv show that you don’t notice your kids painting granny, or where a conversation you are having in your head makes you miss your turning, are all examples of an altered state of consciousness, that we label as trance. We also think that trance is part of the thing that you want to change. Do you behave against your will at those moments? Get scared by something that other people find harmless? Stressed by something that shouldn’t bother you? Or unable to resist something you want to resist? At those moments we’d say you are in a trance. In a sense Cognitive Hypnotherapists work to dehypnotize you from the state your unconscious puts you in, to get you to do what it thinks best. By helping you stay your normal self in those kinds of moments, the problems ceases to occur and you find yourself behaving as you choose to.

All behaviour has a positive purpose

90% of what we consciously do is unconsciously driven and that includes the things we do that we would like to change. Negative behaviours are just actions that we don’t want to do, being done by the unconscious for reasons it thinks are bringing you benefit. Our brain is tuned to learn from our experiences and guide us towards behaviours that it’s learnt are rewarding or away from things that could harm us. The trouble is it can make mistakes in its understanding, especially when we are young that tend to grow over time into significant issues. The good news is that the brain is plastic, it’s always changing. And there are many ways of helping you to change your mind, so that the purpose of your behaviour is the one that you choose. It’s like updating the software in your computer.

Everyone is unique

Most therapies attach a label to a problem and then use it to guide their choice of treatment. We don’t. We believe that everyone has arrived at their issue through as series of experiences, that have shaped their minds in a unique way, so we ask two key questions to ourselves in response to what our clients tell us.. ‘What’s that about?’ and ‘How can I use it?’ What this leads to is a way of working that is completely tailored to the clients way of thinking. Where we fit techniques and interventions and a wide range of other approaches, such as CBT, Gestalt, NLP and positive psychology, into a bespoke treatment plan for each individual client.   This is supported and enhanced by wordweaving™ . Our way of using a client’s own words, to create suggestions that are intended to accelerate the rate of your improvement and make it permanent. The affect is to help you learn how to stay in control in situations where you didn’t use to be. And once you’ve learnt you can be in control of that, you begin to realise that you can control anything about your life that you choose.

Cognitive Hypnotherapy is an Evidence-Based Approach

Quest Cognitive Hypnotherapy (QCH) launched a unique research project in 2011. Using a team of QCH therapists, clients with anxiety and depression were assessed using the same outcome measures currently used to assess the effectiveness of talking therapies within the NHS. The pilot study was published in the Mental Health Review Journal in 2015. It recorded that, using 118 cases measuring the effectiveness of Cognitive Hypnotherapy for the treatment of depression and anxiety, 71% considered themselves recovered after an average of 4 sessions. This compared to an average of 42% for other approaches using the same measures (like CBT). To our knowledge, this is the only hypnotherapy approach to have been validated in this way.

For further information concerning the research project and pilot study released in the Mental Health Review Journal please visit the evidence-based therapy research page.

If you would like to find out more about Heather Hall Cognitive Hypnotherapy Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire and how I can help you, please give me a call on 07761 586529.  I’m happy to answer any questions that you may have.