Bristol Hypnotherapy offers a range of individual and group treatments for psychological and physical problems which use hypnosis within a psychotherapeutic framework.
Hypno-psychotherapy can be an effective and rapid treatment for a wide range of mind and body conditions - but sadly it isn't an instant magical solution to all problems! It is a brief therapy, usually taking 6 to 12 sessions, where therapist and client work together to unravel the nature of the problem and discover effective, long-lasting solutions. Hypnosis is only one part of this process, along with gaining greater understanding and awareness, experimenting with different ways of behaving, and changing unhelpful ways of thinking about yourself and others.
Hypnotherapy is a vast and largely unregulated field, with some trainings lasting as little as a weekend, and others spanning at least four years of study and experience.
As a potential client it can be difficult to understand all the letters and qualifications, and tempting to go to someone who offers a solution in a couple of sessions. Be aware that there is no evidence that very brief treatments relying entirely on hypnosis achieve lasting change. Studies which show that hypnosis is effective use a minimum of 6 sessions and combine hypnosis with psychotherapy. The typical length of treatment for a successful outcome is the same as CBT - 10 to 20 sessions.
These days many hypnotherapists also claim to offer CBT or "cognitive hypnotherapy". Again, very few of those offering it have any proper training in CBT.
If you want to get help for an issue that is causing you distress, ensure that you go to a fully trained and accredited professional who has been trained in psychological therapy or counselling as well as hypnosis. Please see the article on Choosing a Therapist for further help with this.
Frances McDougall is a fully trained and accredited UKCP registered hypno-psychotherapist - which means she has more than four years training and experience in psychotherapy and hypnosis. She also has a post-graduate diploma in psychodynamic counselling, 10 years training and experience of working in mental health, and a year of training in CBT at post-graduate diploma level. Follow this link to read about her full qualifications and experience,
structured, brief treatments which aim to give you the understanding and skills to manage problems more successfully.
The approach uses hypnosis in individually tailored therapeutic programmes, combined with cognitive and interpersonal strategies that have been demonstrated to be effective.
Hypnosis has been combined with psychodynamic or cognitive and behavioural strategies for many years, but it is only recently that medical research has begun to show that combined treatments may be more effective than single approaches. For instance, CBT with hypnosis has been shown in some research to be more effective than either hypnosis or cognitive therapy alone.
At the recent British Medical Association conference (June 2009) there were calls for hypnotherapy to be recognised by NICE as an approved form of treatment in the NHS. Although full recognition may be some years away the value of hypnosis is becoming more widely recognised, especially in treating conditions where both mind and body are involved, such as insomnia, IBS or stress-management.
Glance through the pages of this site for further information, or contact Frances McDougall to arrange a consultation to discuss whatever is troubling you. Frances draws on more than eighteen years experience in counselling and psychotherapy to help you understand and overcome your difficulties.