Martin Jones

I combine therapeutic hypnosis with solution-focused psychotherapy to help people to relax deeply and gain access to their innate resources in a safe and comfortable way.

  Hypnotherapy is a long-established, highly effective and natural way to help free ourselves from states of mind that are holding us back and to replace them with healthier, more positively-oriented ones.

   Nature has provided us with an unconscious learning ability. Before we are born, our brains are encoding all the instinctive responses we need in order to survive and thrive. As we learn to negotiate the world around us, we update these responses to keep us safe and to meet our basic physical and psychological needs.

   Sometimes, though, despite our best intentions, a response we acquire as we go through life maybe less than helpful, and can stop us from having our basic needs met in a healthy and sustaining way. When this happens, we can develop a problem of some kind. Perhaps we become stressed, depressed, anxious, or maybe we pick up a habit we find difficult to control.

   Since the unconscious processes behind our experiences are by far the largest part of brain activity, it can be hard to find a conscious solution to this sort of condition. So in order to help resolve a problem it makes sense to work with the unconscious part of the mind that’s driving it – using a language that part of the brain understands.

   Hypnotherapy is a wonderful tool for helping these unconscious processes directly. PET scans of hypnotized subjects have clearly shown observable changes in brain functions, and hundreds of scientific studies point to just how therapeutic hypnosis can be when assisting people who have emotional and psychological difficulties.

SOME PEOPLE ASK:

I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD. The event happened a long time ago, but I keep getting flashbacks, and talking about it only makes it worse. Can hypnotherapy help me? 
Usually, a remembered event is organized in one part of the brain and over time stored in another, where it is turned into a ‘long term memory’ – the event is put into the past, and makes it something we can talk about.

   For the majority of people traumatic memories are managed in this way. However, for some, this process can get blocked, and the event can be kept as a ‘short-term’ memory. The event can feel recent, even though it is something that happened years ago. This is what happens in PTSD. A person’s response to an event can be so emotionally intense that the memory becomes locked into the part of the brain that keeps us alert to possible danger – and it stays there, just in case the same kind of event should recur. Even a tiny detail of the event, such as a colour or smell or similar sound can reactivate the memory and trigger a flashback – it feels as if the event was more recent, even though it may have happened long before. 

   For this reason, when  someone comes to me with PTSD, they don’t have to talk about the painful event – their knowledge of it is enough for the hypnotherapy approach I use to put that memory back into its box where it belongs.

Can anyone be hypnotised?   
Yes, virtually anyone. Believe it or not, hypnosis is a normal everyday experience. Surprise, distraction, looking inwardly, rehashing old memories, being deeply absorbed in a task, film or book, waiting for the traffic lights to change – all of these are common examples of accessing the naturally occurring state of consciousness that is central to hypnosis. Our emotional problems ‘program’ us in a similar way, but these programs can be modified through hypnotherapy so that we can reclaim a healthier state of mind and body.

Will I remain in control?   

Yes. Hypnotherapy is not something that is done to you - rather, it’s a collaboration between therapist and their motivated client. We work together to find ways to achieve the changes you want to make. You still have free will, and a suggestion is just that - not an order. Hypnosis won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. You are helped to gain more control over things that have been controlling you.

Does hypnosis work if I recall - or if I don’t recall – everything that is said during a session?    You don’t actually become unconscious during hypnosis. You experience a parallel state of awareness that allows you to remain aware of your thoughts and where you are, whilst also letting you drift into other realities beyond your immediate surroundings. Sometimes you will go deeply into hypnosis, sometimes you will just feel very relaxed or day-dreamy, and sometimes it is very similar to everyday awareness in that you hear every word the therapist says.   Many people who believed they weren’t hypnotized have reported that later on they have achieved the changes they had wanted.

How many sessions will I need?       It depends on the individual, and the complexity of the problem. Some problems can be resolved in just one or two sessions, whilst others may take longer.

• My practical solution-focused approach is tailored specifically to your unique needs and personality.
• We’ll discuss what you would like to achieve from the session, and any background information that will help us to move towards how you would like your future to look - addressing the past only as much as it helps you to improve your health and well-being in the future.

If you are personally motivated to make a change, we can have an initial chat to find out if I am the right person for you to work with.

  ‘I was helped and supported with making some changes and improvements to my daily routine by Martin.  I have noticed how comfortable and motivated I feel now that I have had the hypnotherapy sessions.  Martin was relaxed, respectful and he had an easy to talk to, helpful manner about him.  I’m glad that I made the changes and it was an easy, enjoyable and totally relaxing experience. Thanks Martin'                    (G.B. East Sussex)

'Thank you Martin for being so supportive to me with your solution focused hypnotherapy. 
Having been made redundant last year it was difficult to get my confidence back and look for work again.  I was amazed at the difference your sessions made. I started to sleep better and my concentration improved. Best of all though I got my confidence in myself back and now have more work than I can manage. 
I hope to get some more insights from you soon. '
(L. McC. West Sussex)

'I was so pleased with my choice of Martin for hypnotherapy. He immediately put me at ease and stressed that he focused on achieving successful outcomes without dwelling too much on negative experiences from the past, as some practitioners tend to do. I was motivated to seek help because of high blood sugar levels and a desire to stop impulse eating, particularly of chocolate. I am thrilled to say that after only a few sessions I was actually able to walk along the confectionery aisle in supermarkets without even wanting to stop and look at chocolate! Martin’s non-threatening and professional approach was just what I needed, and I can recommend his services wholeheartedly.'  

(Y.C. West Sussex)

Subsequent sessions £50