My Approach
I use Modern Clinical Hypnosis coupled with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) - the Gold Standard for treating Anxiety. This strategic form of hypnotherapy is a quantum leap beyond any style of hypnosis practiced in Australia today. Most hypnosis practiced nowadays is quite outdated, antiquated and void of therapeutic outcomes. It’s more of a relaxation exercise than a transformational experience or mental health intervention.
My approach is based on science, research and evidence proving its effectiveness. It is solution-oriented and quick. No one wants to feel unwell. Why drag things out over numerous weeks or months? My goal is to get the person out of therapy and back into their life as quickly as possible. This is intended to be a brief therapy and as a strategic therapist, I will not delve into a lengthy exploration of your childhood hoping to stumble across some deep and meaningful insight. Instead, I will lead you to the answer and help you use your strengths to overcome the issue.
I focus on how you generate the problem and teach you how to look at things in a new way. Mindset is key to giving you back control of your life.
When someone who experiences severe anxiety is put into a deeply relaxed state, it can help them be more open and receptive to new ways of doing things. Clients can quickly and easily experience rapid shifts in the way they feel and think under hypnosis (“Wow! I was SO relaxed. That was amazing!)
These shifts create hope and new possibilities and can change a person’s belief in the treatment, the therapist and even themselves (“I wonder what else I could experience or achieve?”)
Therapy is about learning how to do things differently. It’s about building skills and changing perceptions. Using hypnosis, we can adjust the way your child sees risk and diminish the amount of catastrophising they do. In this way, I don’t just help them solve one concern around being judged or afraid of dogs, for example, I’m going to help them across EVERY area of their life. There’s positive flow on effects that help them become more resilient and better able to handle the uncertainties of life.
What makes me different
Strategic Psychotherapy
Strategic Psychotherapy is a highly effective, brief and rapid form of talk therapy where the therapist works to help the client to see how they may be contributing to their own problems due to how they're responding to situations and events.
A key part of Strategic Psychotherapy is helping parents, kids and teens identify when there’s a difference between their expectations and actual experience. I demonstrate how their behavioural patterns may be supporting their issues and then I develop a strategic approach that activates their strengths to help them overcome their challenges.
Anxiety is about often over-estimating risk and underestimating your strengths and what you're capable of.
Strategic Psychotherapy is grounded in empirical research and has substantial evidence supporting its effectiveness for treating psychological issues and integrates the following therapies:
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
- Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
- Behaviour Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)
- Positive Psychology
- Mindfulness
The key to Strategic Psychotherapy is that it's a holistic, mind-body approach, addressing all aspects of the individual – mental, emotional, spiritual, behavioural and inter-relational.
Clinical Hypnosis
Clinical Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis in a clinical therapeutic situation by a trained and licensed hypnotherapist. It is used to treat psychological, emotional and behavioural issues. This is quite distinct from hypnosis portrayed on television or used in stage shows. There are no swinging watches or doing embarrassingly ridiculous things here! Promise.
Clinical hypnosis IS appropriate and safe for children and young people. Because children naturally go into hypnosis many, many times during the day. In fact, everyone does, it is a normal state. You’ll see this in your children when they’re watching TV or on their device, or playing a game and you are calling for them to come to the table for dinner …. And they ignore you, until they don’t, until you hear them utter “huh?”. They have been in hypnosis.
Clinical hypnosis is incredibly effective for addressing anxiety and fears. Kids also feel how safe, quick and effective hypnotherapy is. They love it. Why? Because it is fun, interesting and it gets rid of their fears and phobias in a gentle, non-invasive and powerful way. So, they feel safer and more confident. Clinical Hypnosis is quicker than other therapies. It's not talk therapy without a therapeutic outcome, it is fast and effective.
In fact, it's a powerful vehicle to promote mastery and create self-control in kids and teens. Using hypnosis, a child can mentally rehearse, physiologically change, cognitively shift and emotionally regulate. A child who discovers the capacity to go inside and pull out what they need moves into our uncertain world saying, "I don't know exactly what will happen next, but I can handle it."
Through the use of clinic hypnosis, I'm able to access the non-rational, subconscious mind, where deep-seated beliefs and emotions reside. This is the place where ideas are formed. In this relaxed state, individuals become more open to positive suggestions and replacing negative thought patterns or behaviours.
Hypnosis reduces stress, encourages self-awareness, and promotes emotional release, helping individuals explore the root causes of their issues. It empowers individuals to develop healthier coping strategies, establish new habits, and gain insights into their emotions and behaviours.
Hypnosis, when combined with psychotherapy, can lead to life-changing results. It helps address the cause of anxiety, not just the symptoms and provides tools to keep anxiety in check and under control.
Why this is Better
The NEW Gold Standard in Anxiety Treatment
CBT (COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY) + CLINICAL HYPNOSIS
* A FAST, EASY AND EFFECTIVE, DRUG-FREE THERAPY WITH NO SIDE EFFECTS
Today's science estimates that 95% of your brain's activity is subconscious, meaning that the majority of the decisions you make, the actions you take, your emotions and behaviours, depend on the 95% of brain activity that lies beyond your conscious awareness.
The control centre of the body – your Mind – influences everything from temperature regulation to pain perception and emotional control, yet it’s often overlooked by the healthcare system. Traditional psychological treatment addresses your conscious mind and ignores the subconscious part of your mind, responsible for 95% of the decisions we make.
Hypnosis is different from other psychological methods because it addresses the cause and other contributing factors directly at the subconscious level in the person’s mind, where their memories, habits, fears, associations, negative self-talk and self-esteem germinate. The problem today is that most hypnosis practiced is more like a relaxation exercise than a transformational experience. It is void of any real therapeutic intervention; it just feels good. My approach is empirically driven, evidence-based and proven effective. It’s a quantum leap beyond most hypnotherapy practiced in Australia or world-wide.
Strategic hypnosis utilises focussed awareness, absorption, relaxation, disassociation and suggestion to help someone tap into their unconscious mind. It is based on the fact that the mind possesses immense potential for healing and change. By accessing the unconscious, you can identify and modify deep-rooted patterns, beliefs and behaviours to promote personal growth, overcome challenges and enhance well-being.
Hypnosis + CBT Psychotherapy help to reprogramme the person’s behaviour. It can help them disassociate from negative emotional patterns (fear and unease) and associate them with better coping mechanisms. This can help them change their panic-stricken behavioural response to something more productive. Changing the subconscious reflex is the only way to truly get rid of the panic and anxiety that the person experiences.
This therapeutic approach is the new gold standard in anxiety treatment that helps kids face their fears in a more relaxed and calm state, yet in a gradual and planned manner.
*Research findings validate the fact that clinical hypnosis helps reframe negative thought patterns, reduces anxiety symptoms, and promotes a sense of calm and control (Hammond, 2010).
Telehealth Sessions held on Zoom
Get help from anywhere in the world, from the comfort of your home.
Benefits of online therapy:
1. It's Just as Effective
Webcam based strategic psychotherapy + clinical hypnosis works incredibly well and many research studies back up the fact that online therapy has similar and equal outcomes to face-to-face therapy.
2. It's Practical, Easy and Convenient
You don’t need to drive to another location, potentially pay to park, and even dress a certain way to attend. Online hypnosis may also be favoured by some people that are shy, highly sensitive, neurodivergent and / or autistic, who may find face-to-face-therapy more challenging.
3. It's Familiar and Comfortable
You don't need to get in the car and venture out to find the clinic. No parking issues or traffic to deal with. As long as you have a reliable device with a good internet signal and video functionality you will be fine.
4. It's Confidential and Discreet
No one needs to know you're seeking therapy, if you don't want them to. You don't have to walk into a mental health clinic or sit it a waiting room and feel uneasy. This aspect appeals to a lot of teens.
5. It's More Accessible
Digital therapy may be more immediate, with more availability, than face-to-face sessions.
6. It's Disability-Friendly
Online cognitive behavioural therapies are ideal for visually impaired individuals, and don’t present physical access issues, as many face-to-face therapy sessions in a room do.
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