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Centre for Personal and Professional Development, Norwich
 
Services provided by Norwich Hypnotherapy Practice...
 
Programmes provided by Norwich Hypnotherapy Practice...

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CLINICAL HYPNOTHERAPY

What is Hypnosis?

“Hypnosis is a condition of profound relaxation which you allow yourself to enter, during which time there is an altered state of conscious awareness”  
 
To understand clinical hypnosis and hypnotherapy, it's useful to understand the concept of the subconscious or unconscious mind. This is the part of your mind that is the most powerful, containing infinite wisdom and memory and a very deep level of intelligence. It is your untapped resource for creativity and imagination.
 
Patient being hypnotisedYour unconscious mind is the seat of all your emotions and therefore directs nearly all of your behaviour. Most importantly, your unconscious is also responsible for maintaining your body in good health and for all autonomic processes (e.g. breathing, blood circulation, tissue regeneration, repair, fight or flight responses etc.) There are over 20 trillion cells in the human body and over 2,000 chemical reactions in every cell every second of every day all of which happen unconsciously.
 
Your unconscious is constantly monitoring millions of bits of information every second and it is making decisions for you about the data. Studies show that we are only consciously able to process 7 unique pieces of data at any one time [Miller 1956 “The Psychology of the magic number 7 plus or minus 2”]. This is why there are so many processes which happen unconsciously or outside of our normal conscious awareness. Consider the unconscious as the part of you which looks out for you and learns how to guide you through life. Most of the time it does a good job but sometimes it makes mistakes and it needs re-education or re-training.
 
There has been considerable research work done with hypnosis to clearly demonstrate that it is the basis of many therapeutically useful methods of facilitating mind-body communication and healing. The work of Hans Seyle [1936 1976 “General Adaptation Syndrome”], Milton H Erickson M.D [The seminars, Workshops & Lectures of Milton H Erickson Vol 1 to 4] and Ernest Rossi [ The Psychobiology Of Mind-Body Healing] all validate the view that psyche, mind and brain are all pervasively linked to modulating body processes in health and wellness. The relatively new science of Psycho-Neuro-Immunology has developed from the understanding that mind and body are inextricably linked in a psycho cybernetic loop.
 
No one really knows how exactly hypnosis works but there are some useful theories which help us to understand an amazing and very useful phenomena. One particularly useful approach to understanding hypnosis is through the ultradian rhythms. Ultradian rhythms happen naturally at 90 minute intervals, plus or minus 30 minutes; they are subtle behavioural rest phases where people spontaneously enter a quiet or inner-directed resting mood. The Ultradian Rhythm is a naturally occurring trance state. A hypnotist is able to guide someone into this natural trance state for a given purpose.
 
Once in a trance state the mind is more receptive to suggestions. Imagine you are talking to a child aged 6, at that age you can tell a child about the “Tooth Fairy” or “Santa Claus” and they will accept what is said as being real. As they grow up the brain develops the ability to be critical and to question these suggestions (this is known as the “critical factor”). Through the use of language, metaphor, rhythm, and tone the hypnotist is able to effectively switch off the “critical factor” so that with hypnosis we can once again make suggestions that the brain is likely to accept. Hypnosis is a safe way of accessing your natural intelligence and issuing new instructions to enable you to create seemingly miraculous changes in your behaviour and your body.
 
Famous users of hypnosis include Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, H G Wells and Sigmund Freud. Hypnosis is also used by top athletes, successful entrepreneurs, entertainers and high achievers to imagine and condition themselves for success.
 

What does it feel like to be hypnotised?

You already know what hypnosis feels like; because you have experienced many natural hypnotic states every day of your life, when daydreaming or driving or watching TV. These are those, dreamlike states where you "drift off". The hypnosis you will experience during your appointment is a systematic method that allows you to enter these "natural dreamlike states" and communicate directly with your unconscious mind and issue new suggestions or instructions. These suggestions are tailor-made for your individual needs. All you have to do is relax and enjoy the experience!
 

Will I be asleep in hypnosis … what if I can’t wake up?

You are safe at all times hypnosis is like daydreaming and if ever something were to happen while you were in hypnosis (i.e. a fire alarm were to go off) you would awaken alert, refreshed and calm and ready to handle any situation as effectively as you would in your normal awakened state. It is impossible for anyone not to awaken from hypnosis…..stories of this are pure myths and Hollywood fiction. Hypnosis is not like sleep and has a different brain wave signature, it resembles the sleep state in many ways you may feel sleepy it is similar to the moment when you are drowsing and about to drop off to sleep. The idea of not waking up from hypnosis is the stuff of Hollywood fiction.
 

Will I be under the hypnotist's power? 

No you are not under the hypnotist’s power this is an image created by stage hypnotists back in the Victorian times. You cannot be made to do anything against your will or against your morals. Nor is it like a stage show where the suggestions made are for pure entertainment purposes only. During a hypnosis stage show the process of hypnosis is a selection process to not only find out who can be hypnotised quickly but who will also be entertaining. I have assisted Paul McKenna with his hypnotic stage shows on many occasions, however, the hypnosis you will experience in a clinical session is for behavioural and therapeutic change, although I am sure you will find it fun, it is not for entertainment purposes. Extensive tests show that a subject will only comply with hypnotic suggestions that fit their moral and value codes. While hypnotised you will know perfectly well what you are doing and saying. You will not do or say anything that contravenes your inner most principles although you will be aware of changes.
 

What if I can’t be hypnotised?

John Plester with Paul McKennaStudies show that everyone is able to enter the hypnotic trance state. The only thing that varies is the amount of time it will take for you to go into a trance state. When you see people staring at TV they are in a trance. A useful belief is that we are all in and out of different trance states throughout the day; with hypnosis we are able to get out of limiting trances and into more resourceful ones. Hypnosis is like any skill that can be learnt, the more you practice it the easier it becomes.
 

How long do hypnotic suggestions last?

While you are in a trance you will be given positive suggestions, options and new ideas to your unconscious mind giving it new information so that you can begin to change your mind about things. The suggestions made can be reinforced by repetition. Suggestions will be made to your unconscious mind, these will by-pass the conscious logical thinking process. The Inner Space Series™ hypnotic CD programmes will also support and reinforce the work done in the session after our work together is finished.
 

Appointments

A hypnotherapy session is only available one to one with John at Norwich Hypnotherapy Practice. John’s hypnotherapy sessions are unique in that he uses state-of-the-art stereo technology to create live sessions that reproduce the audio quality of the ‘Inner Space Series™’. This facilitates the ability to direct suggestions to both sides of the brain simultaneously and create an ‘in your head’ altered trance state that generates profound and lasting change.
 
A session will often involve a variety of therapy interventions such as NLP, TFT and Provocative Therapy prior to utilising the power of hypnosis to re-programme your mind.
 
The Fee for a one hour session is £75

 
Hypnotherapy is a key part of all of John’s programmes. All programmes are supported by the audio CD programme ‘Inner Space Series™’ which will be provided at the appropriate point in the therapy. The following programmes are available one to one with John at Norwich Hypnotherapy Practice:
 
Unleash the Non-smoker Within – This two session programme is designed to help you to stop smoking for good.
 
Unleash the Change Within – This four session programme is designed to enable you to overcome fears, phobias or any other past limitations enabling you to change and move on.
 
Unleash the Public Speaker Within – This four session programme is designed to eliminate past limitations and fears about public speaking and gain new skills and resources to speak comfortably and confidently in public in your own unique charismatic style.
 
Unleash the Confidence Within – This four session programme is designed to overcome limiting beliefs that have held you back and learn new resources to enable you to feel confident.
 
Unleash a New Future Now – This four session programme is designed to assess where you are in life and more importantly where you want to go. This is the ultimate goal setting and peak performance programme to take you to the next level in your life.
 
Unleash the Slim Within – This programme based on John’s book of the same name is the ultimate weight loss programme. This programme is available as a one to one programme or seminar in Norwich. Alternatively you can access this programme worldwide, for more information go to www.unleashtheslimwithin.co.uk.
 
To arrange an appointment call 01603 626477
 

‘Inner Space Series™’

Inner Space seriesImagine you are sitting in your very own space capsule ready to launch yourself into a deep state of mind, expanding your horizons beyond space and time as you take flight beyond your earthly limitations, connecting the different hemispheres of your mind to make new and positive changes in your life…
 
These hypnotic audio programmes are designed to support all of John’s therapy work.
These titles are also available for download at www.johnplester.com
 
The Inner Space Series™ includes the following titles:
 
Unleash the Change Within
Unleash the Confidence Within
Unleash the Public Speaker Within
Unleash the Slim Within
Unleash a New Future Now
Delta Slim™ Series
Deep Relaxation
Sleepy Dreams
Tranceformational Changing
 
 
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