Neil Jeffery

Your Results

Imagine feeling calm, confident, and in control of your life. That's the power of Ericksonian hypnotherapy and counselling - a remarkable approach that works with both your conscious and unconscious mind to melt away anxiety, depression remove fears and phobias.
 
Hi there! I'm Neil and I'm passionate about helping people just like you overcome anxiety and reclaim their lives. As a leading Ericksonian Hypnotherapist in the UK specialising in anxiety treatment, I've seen firsthand how this innovative approach can transform lives.
 
Let's face it - anxiety has become a silent epidemic, affecting more people than ever before. But here's the good news: you don't have to face it alone. With my expertise and your commitment, we can work together to break free from anxiety's grip and help you thrive.
 
What makes my approach unique? I understand that your anxiety, phobias and trauma are as individual as you are. That's why I take the time to really get to know you, crafting a personalised treatment plan that addresses your specific needs and goals. No one-size-fits-all solutions here!
 
My deep understanding of anxiety's root causes - from genetics to life experiences - allows me to tackle the issue from all angles. And with hundreds of success stories under my belt, I'm confident we can achieve amazing results together.
 
Ready to take the first step towards a calmer, happier you? Let's chat! Reach out today to schedule your initial session. Together, we'll unlock your potential and help you create the life you've always dreamed of. Don't let anxiety hold you back any longer - your transformation starts here!
 
Why Ericksonian Hypnosis
 
Milton Erickson is widely regarded as the “father of modern hypnotherapy”. He was a psychiatrist who transformed traditional models of therapy with a more direct and solution-focused approach. He moved therapy away from the theory-driven, lengthy, and often burdensome psychotherapy practices established by pioneers such as Freud, Jung, and Adler. His discoveries, tools and techniques have hugely influential many forms of therapy, including short-term therapy, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and guided imagery.

Indirect suggestions

Hypnotic trance is an altered awareness and exists in many different forms. It and us all in everyday life without realising, like daydreaming. Traditional hypnotherapy is the use of this altered awareness for therapeutic purpose using direct suggestion to promote positive change in behaviour. Such direct suggestion may work for some, but certainly not everybody. In fact, some people are able to resist these suggestions, whether they mean to or not. Many of us don’t like being told what to do whether in hypnosis or not!

Ericksonian hypnotherapy favours indirect suggestion because they appear to be much harder to resist as the conscious mind doesn’t recognise these as suggestions at all. Such indirect suggestions can be disguised as a story or metaphor or anecdote. Erickson discovered that this type of suggestion worked effectively without conscious resistance. Throughout his work, he developed ways of bringing about positive change with what, on the surface at least - appeared to be a normal conversation. This allowed the subconscious to be helped, without the resistance of the conscious mind. 

For example, a direct suggestion would be, “You will fall asleep now”. An indirect suggestion wool be “You might like to close your eyes, if you wish to relax.”

Flexibility

Erickson was extremely skilled in tailoring his sessions for each client. He would spend time getting to know the person to help him understand their experience and use this to promote change. Such a tailored approach may seem obvious now but was quite radical at the time. Sometimes he would be indirect and calming, sometimes he would be direct and forceful. Sometimes the hypnosis he used would barely be thought of as hypnosis at all. 

Working with symptoms 

Erickson believed the symptoms of an issue or problem were a part of the process. He would often focus on changing the symptoms in order to change the entire pattern of the problem. This may be the intensity or location for example. For example, if a client with a compulsive urge needed to wash their hands 50 times a day, Erickson would instruct them to wash 100 times. This , he believed, would change the behaviour from an internal compulsion to an externally imposed chore.

Engaging the unconscious mind

Erickson believed our unconscious mind contained all the necessary tools and resources we need to bring about positive change. He focused on engaging the unconscious by any means available. The language of the unconscious is imagination and metaphor. Erickson knew this, so metaphors, therapeutic stories, and even jokes and riddles were a crucial element of his work. The unconscious mind would process these stories as coded messages. The unconscious would be able to understand the point of the story, while the conscious mind did not. This storytelling to the unconscious is, in simple terms, what hypnosis is all about. 

It is solution focussed

Before Erickson, psychotherapy was commonly accepted to be a process that could take many years. It was firmly based on the belief that you had to get to the root of all the inner conflicts and traumas in the subconscious mind that may be causing the symptoms. However, unlike Freud and many others, Erickson didn’t believe that the cause of problems needs to be removed from the past. His approach was practical and solution-based. He believed in addressing the symptom directly. This approach was so efficient that his work often appeared miraculous.

Prices

£60 Zoom/Teams Session

£75 In person

£125 Home Visits Geographic restriction apply 

I aim to offer my services at a time the works for you, whether you need something while the children are at school, outside of normal working hours or only available on particular days.

Ericksonian hypnotherapy is a unique and powerful approach to hypnotherapy that sets it apart from other forms of hypnotherapy. Developed by the American psychiatrist and psychologist Milton Erickson, Ericksonian hypnotherapy is a gentle, respectful, and client-centered approach that focuses on the power of suggestion, indirect language, and storytelling to help people overcome their problems and achieve their goals.

What makes Ericksonian hypnotherapy different from other forms of hypnotherapy is its emphasis on the unconscious mind. Unlike traditional hypnotherapy, which relies on direct suggestion to induce a trance-like state, Ericksonian hypnotherapy uses indirect suggestion to bypass the conscious mind and speak directly to the unconscious mind.

By using indirect suggestion, Ericksonian hypnotherapy can help clients overcome their problems and achieve their goals without triggering resistance or skepticism. Instead, Ericksonian hypnotherapy focuses on building rapport with clients, establishing trust, and creating a safe and supportive environment in which clients can explore their thoughts and feelings.

Another unique aspect of Ericksonian hypnotherapy is its use of storytelling and metaphor. Erickson believed that the unconscious mind is more receptive to stories and metaphors than to direct suggestion, and he used stories and metaphors to help clients access their own inner resources and find their own solutions to their problems.

Through storytelling and metaphor, Ericksonian hypnotherapy can help clients change their perception of their problems and develop new, more positive ways of thinking and behaving. This can be particularly helpful for clients with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, as it can help them break free from negative thought patterns and develop a more positive and empowered mindset.

In addition, Ericksonian hypnotherapy is a flexible and adaptable approach that can be tailored to the individual needs and goals of each client. Unlike other forms of hypnotherapy that rely on a set of standardized scripts and techniques, Ericksonian hypnotherapy is highly personalized and responsive to the unique needs and circumstances of each client.

Overall, Ericksonian hypnotherapy is a powerful and effective approach to hypnotherapy that offers many unique benefits. Whether you are struggling with anxiety, depression, addiction, or other issues, Ericksonian hypnotherapy can help you tap into your own inner resources and achieve your goals in a safe, respectful, and supportive environment.