How Does Hypnotherapy Work ?

What Is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is the therapeutic use of hypnosis to help shift unhelpful behaviours, emotional patterns, physical symptoms, and limiting beliefs—supporting lasting change and greater wellbeing. It’s a process that helps you reconnect with your internal resources and shift stuck patterns at a deeper level.

I fell in love with this approach over fifteen years ago, and I’ve never looked back. Whether we work together in person at my hypnotherapy clinic in London or online via Zoom, FaceTime, or WhatsApp, hypnotherapy is a powerful, flexible, and deeply personal process of transformation.

What Happens in Hypnotherapy? Understanding What Hypnosis Is

Hypnosis is a natural state of focused attention—one you likely enter every day without realising. It’s that moment of being so immersed in a book, film, music, or creative activity that the outside world fades away. In professional hypnotherapy, I guide you into this same kind of focused, inward state—but with intention, safety, and therapeutic direction.

In this space, your usual mental filters soften. You’re more receptive, creative, and attuned to your inner world. We use this state to explore, release, and rewire patterns that no longer serve you.

It’s important to know: hypnosis is not just passive perception. You don’t simply listen to suggestions like a podcast and think about them. It’s also not just imagination. For your brain, what you experience in hypnosis registers as a real-time event—one that allows you to engage with, and even reshape, how you feel, think, and respond. This is what makes hypnotherapy such an effective tool for change.

How Does Hypnosis Work?

From a scientific perspective, hypnosis is a state of quieted mental chatter and sharpened internal focus. Neuroimaging studies show that during hypnosis, brain activity shifts: regions associated with attention, emotional regulation, and body awareness become more active, while those related to self-criticism, over-thinking, and fear become less active.

Your brainwave activity also changes. Theta and gamma waves—linked to memory, insight, and emotional processing—increase. At the same time, alpha and beta waves rise, enhancing clarity and mental flexibility, while delta waves (associated with deep sleep) decrease. This combination supports a unique state of focused inner engagement and heightened responsiveness. This unique neurological pattern helps explain why hypnosis is such an effective medium for insight and transformation.

How Hypnosis Affects the Mind

In a hypnotic state, your mind becomes more open and flexible. You’re still fully aware, but more able to observe your thoughts, beliefs, and emotional patterns from a calm, centred place. This allows fear-based responses to quiet down, making space for more curiosity, creativity, and choice.

The way I use hypnotherapy is not about pushing or forcing change. It’s about creating a respectful, safe space where your inner intelligence can do what it does best: process, integrate, and evolve. Through carefully chosen words, imagery, and somatic cues, I offer suggestions that support the changes you’re seeking—changes that arise from within you, not imposed from outside.

This process often opens the door to new insights, lighter emotional states, and a stronger sense of inner possibility. You’re able to recognise patterns that keep you stuck and begin to shift them—gently, and with awareness.

How Hypnosis Affects the Body

Hypnosis also works deeply through the body. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system—your natural rest-and-repair mode. As you enter a hypnotic state, your breathing deepens, your muscles release tension, and your heart rate slows.

Scientific studies show that hypnotherapy can reduce stress hormones like cortisol, lower blood pressure, and ease physical discomfort. It’s been used effectively in managing chronic pain, anxiety, sleep disorders, and recovery from surgery. By calming the body’s stress response, hypnosis creates the ideal conditions for healing.

In my own hypnotherapy practice, I’ve witnessed powerful physical shifts—relief from back pain, tension, migraines, and panic attacks—often accompanied by a noticeable softening in the chest, gut, and breath. Many clients who felt stuck or disconnected report feeling more grounded, embodied, and whole after just a few sessions.

Can I Be Hypnotised?

Yes. If you can think, reflect, or imagine, you can be hypnotised. You don’t need any special skill or personality type—just a willingness to engage in the process, that is how easily hypnotherapy works.

Over the past 15 years, I’ve worked with hundreds of people from all walks of life, and I’ve found that nearly everyone can benefit meaningfully from hypnotherapy. It’s not about giving up control—it’s about discovering a new kind of inner trust. You’ll remain aware and in charge throughout.

Hypnosis is not magic, and it’s not just imagination. It’s a natural shift in awareness—something your mind and body already know how to do. My role is to guide you into that state safely, supportively, and purposefully—and to help you use it for growth and healing.

A Collaborative Process

My approach to hypnotherapy is collaborative, respectful, and grounded in real-life understanding. As a qualified and experienced hypnotherapist, I work with you as an active partner. Every session is shaped by your needs, your pace, and your values.

Together, we create a therapeutic space where meaningful change can take root—whether you’re seeking support for emotional challenges, physical symptoms, or simply a deeper sense of meaning and clarity. Whether we meet in-person at my London clinic or online, my goal is to help you reconnect with yourself and move forward in a way that feels authentic, integrated, and empowering.