Hypnotherapy for Phobias
As a hypnotherapist specialising in anxiety, I’ve helped lots of clients overcome many different phobias. Phobias are really common and treating phobias with hypnotherapy is a well established treatment option.
So whether you're looking for hypnotherapy for fear of flying, needles, public speaking, hypnotherapy for spider phobia, or hypnotherapy for fear of dogs, driving, or fear of heights or escalators, or have emetophobia or a dental phobia then I can help.
Where do phobias come from?
Before you commit to hypnotherapy for phobias it is worth understanding what a phobia is and where they come from.
Phobias can be acquired through a one time experience, they can be a learned response from a parent or they can be a symptom of a wider anxiety problem.
At some point in time your brain has made a mistake and has incorrectly associated what you are phobic of with DANGER. This means each time your brain comes across it, it’s giving you the reaction that makes sense to it – fear. After all fear is the right response to have when something is dangerous, that way you stay away from it.
And each time you have that fear response and stay away the pattern is strengthened. That's why, left untreated, phobias tend not to go away by themselves. You have to do something to change that negative association in your mind.
Your fear of flying, or fear of driving, or fear of spiders, or fear of needles is unfortunately unlikely to go away unless you take steps to change it.
How I can Help
Using hypnotherapy for phobias we can identify and change your unconscious thoughts and feelings that are giving you that automatic, phobia response.
I can help whether or not you know when your phobia started. If your phobia is part of a wider anxiety issue then it may make sense to look at the phobia alongside your other anxieties.
At the times of the year when people start thinking about booking summer holidays I see more clients for hypnotherapy for fear of flying, so they can enjoy the build up to their holiday without worrying about if they'll be able to get on the plane! In the autumn I see a lot of clients for hypnotherapy for fear of spiders. But just as you can be phobic of anything, even buttons, I can help you with a phobia of anything.
Want to know more about my approach?
Every client is different and so the approach we use will be dependent on both your particular circumstances and also just as importantly on your preferences. Some clients are curious as to where their phobia originated from, others would rather not know and just would like to get rid of it.
All the approaches work to replace your automatic, negative reaction with a positive one.
- Aware of where it all started? If so, we can work on changing the impact of that event by replaying the event whilst you watch it from a safe distance in your mind. It’s like watching yourself in a film whilst the film is played forwards and then played backwards. This process allows the emotions from that event to be disconnected from the present and so the powerful link between your past fear response and present day situation is severed. You no longer get that automatic phobia response. This is called the Rewind Technique and I've used it successfully within hypnosis sessions for fear of public speaking as well as other phobias.
- Don’t know where it all started? We can trace back to find the long forgotten event when the phobia was formed, when your brain first associated what you are phobic about with danger. Re-reviewing that experience allows you to gain new perspectives, and this insight can give you successful resolution. I've used this approach with, for example, hypnotherapy for fear of flying
- Some Mind-training: Your mind knows just as well how to produce positive emotions as it does negative emotions. The key is to re-train your mind to produce these useful positive responses instead of the existing negative one in response to what triggers you. This approach is called Systematic De-sensitisation. One client I had responded well to this approach when we were using hypnosis for performance anxiety.
- Negotiate with the part of you holding onto the fear: It might seem strange to learn that for some of us we subconsciously need to hold onto the fear. It's serving a purpose for us. If this is the case with hypnotherapy for phobias it can simply be a case of using an approach called Parts work. Parts work is a very flexible approach and I've used it successful when helping clients with hypnotherapy for fear of flying, fear of spiders and fear of needles.
My Current Fees - I offer face-to-face and online appointments
Initial 30 minute phone or in person consultation | Free | |
Hypnotherapy sessions | £90 |
Ready to Find Out More?
I offer a free initial consultation when you're ready to find out more about how I can help you with your phobia. It gives you a chance to explain the changes you want to make and to ask any questions you have about hypnotherapy.
