Generalised anxiety and constant worry
When worry spreads across work, health, family and money, it can feel impossible to switch off. Hypnotherapy helps lower your overall stress level so worries feel smaller and easier to put down.
What I help with / Anxiety & stress
Hypnotherapy for anxiety and stress in Halifax, Bradford and West Yorkshire
Feel calmer, think more clearly and respond to pressure in a way that feels in control. Solution focused hypnotherapy combines practical talking therapy with clinical hypnosis to help you lower the stress that keeps anxiety going.
Anxiety is the brain's threat response doing its job a little too well. When stress builds up, the more primitive, emotional part of the brain takes the lead, and that is when worry, tension, poor sleep and racing thoughts set in. Solution focused hypnotherapy helps you step out of that stress loop so you can think clearly and make decisions from a calmer place.
Hypnosis is a natural state of focused attention. It is not relaxation and it is not sleep: your mind is absorbed and alert, and you stay aware and in control throughout. Many people do feel pleasantly relaxed afterwards, but that is a side effect rather than the aim. In sessions we focus on what you want to feel and do instead, notice what is already working, and use hypnosis to help those new perspectives take hold. Anxiety relief is one of the areas where UK advertising regulators accept that hypnotherapy can help, and a 2019 meta-analysis of 15 studies found that people who received hypnosis reduced their anxiety more than about 79% of people in control groups, with stronger results when hypnosis was combined with other psychological approaches.
I see clients from Halifax, Shelf, Brighouse, Bradford, Calderdale and across West Yorkshire at my clinic in Shelf, and online anywhere in the UK.
Anxiety & stress
Anxiety-related difficulties I can help with
Panic attacks and panic disorder
A panic attack is the fight, flight or freeze response firing when there is no real danger. Sessions focus on settling your nervous system and rehearsing feeling steady in the places that used to trigger panic. The NHS advises seeing a GP if you've been experiencing symptoms of panic disorder.
Health anxiety
Constant checking, searching symptoms online and seeking reassurance keep health anxiety going. We work on calming the alarm response and building more helpful habits of attention, alongside any medical care you need.
Social anxiety
Feeling judged, blushing or avoiding social situations can make life smaller. Hypnosis lets you rehearse feeling comfortable in conversations, meetings and social events before you face them for real.
OCD, overthinking and intrusive thoughts
Looping thoughts, checking and reassurance-seeking are often the anxious brain trying to keep you safe. Hypnotherapy can help reduce the anxiety that drives them. If you have a diagnosis of OCD, hypnotherapy is best used alongside the care your GP or NHS team provides, not instead of it.
Work stress and burnout
Long hours, pressure and constant demands can leave you exhausted, irritable and unable to rest. Sessions help you restore balance, set boundaries and get back to thinking clearly at work.
Traumatic stress
After a frightening or distressing experience the mind can stay on high alert. The solution focused approach centres on your recovery and the future you want, without having to relive every detail. For diagnosed PTSD, please work with your GP or mental health team as well.
Anger and irritability
A short fuse is often a sign that stress has built up. Lowering that background stress gives you more space to choose how you respond, at home, at work and on the road.
Stress, anxiety and IBS
The gut and brain are in constant communication, which is why stress so often shows up in the stomach. NICE guidance says referral for psychological interventions, including hypnotherapy, should be considered for people with IBS that has not responded to medication after 12 months, and the British Society of Gastroenterology's 2021 guideline describes gut-directed hypnotherapy as a possible option. IBS must be diagnosed by your GP before starting, and hypnotherapy works alongside your medical care.
Chronic pain made worse by stress and anxiety
Stress, tension and worry can turn up the volume on pain. Hypnotherapy can help with how you perceive and manage pain, alongside your GP or pain team.
Read about the biopsychosocial model of pain →Chronic pain
Chronic pain, stress and the biopsychosocial model
Pain is not simply a signal from damaged tissue. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage”, and notes that pain is always a personal experience influenced to varying degrees by biological, psychological and social factors.
This is the biopsychosocial model of pain, first proposed for medicine by the psychiatrist George Engel in 1977. It recognises that three sets of factors interact:
Biological injury, inflammation, nerve sensitivity and the way the nervous system processes signals.
Psychological stress, anxiety, low mood, worry about what the pain means, and fear of movement.
Social work, money, relationships, support and how much the pain stops you doing the things you value.
Stress and anxiety can make pain worse. A body on high alert holds more muscle tension, sleeps less well and is more sensitive to threat, so the brain can turn up the volume on pain signals. Worry and frustration then add to the stress, and a cycle builds. NICE guidance on chronic primary pain (2021) recommends exercise programmes, psychological therapies and acupuncture, and advises against starting commonly used painkillers such as opioids for this type of pain.
Hypnotherapy does not treat the underlying cause of pain, and it is not a replacement for your GP or pain team. What it can do is help with the psychological side of the cycle: lowering stress, improving sleep, and changing how you perceive and respond to pain. A 2019 meta-analysis of 85 controlled studies found hypnosis produced meaningful reductions in perceived pain, particularly for people who respond well to hypnotic suggestion. Many clients with long-term back, joint and nerve pain, fibromyalgia or tension headaches tell me they feel more in control and less defined by their pain.
Questions and answers
Hypnotherapy for anxiety & stress: your questions answered
Can hypnosis help with anxiety?
Yes, for many people. UK advertising regulators accept that hypnotherapy can help relieve anxiety, and research reviews have found hypnosis reduces anxiety more than control conditions, especially when combined with other psychological approaches such as the solution focused therapy I use. Results vary from person to person and depend on your commitment to change.
How many hypnotherapy sessions do I need for anxiety?
There is no fixed number. Some people notice a difference within a few sessions, others prefer longer support. I don't sell packages: you start with an initial consultation and then decide how many sessions you have and how often.
Can hypnotherapy help with panic attacks?
Hypnotherapy can help you lower your overall stress and practise staying calm in situations that used to trigger panic. If you have new or unexplained symptoms such as chest pain or breathlessness, see your GP or call NHS 111 first.
Can hypnotherapy help with OCD?
It can help reduce the anxiety that drives obsessive thoughts and compulsions. If you have a diagnosis, hypnotherapy is best used alongside the treatment offered by your GP or NHS team, not instead of it.
Can hypnotherapy help with chronic pain?
It can help with how you perceive and manage pain, and with the stress, tension and poor sleep that often make pain worse. It does not treat the cause of pain, so keep working with your GP or pain team.
Can hypnotherapy help IBS?
NICE and the British Society of Gastroenterology both list hypnotherapy among the psychological options for IBS that hasn't improved with other treatment. Please see your GP for a diagnosis first, as gut symptoms can have other causes.
Is hypnotherapy available on the NHS?
Not usually. The NHS says hypnotherapy is not usually available on the NHS and suggests asking your GP about local options. I see private clients in Shelf, Halifax, and online.
Will I lose control under hypnosis?
No. NHS guidance says you are fully in control under hypnosis and do not have to take on suggestions you don't want to. Hypnosis also doesn't work if you don't want to be hypnotised.
Do you see clients in Bradford and Calderdale?
Yes. The clinic is in Shelf, between Halifax, Brighouse and Bradford, with easy parking. I also work online by secure video for clients across West Yorkshire and the UK.
Hypnotherapy is a complementary therapy and does not replace medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please see your GP about any health concerns. If you are in crisis, call NHS 111, 999 in an emergency, or Samaritans on 116 123.
Sources and further reading
- Valentine KE et al. (2019) The efficacy of hypnosis as a treatment for anxiety: a meta-analysis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 67(3). doi.org/10.1080/00207144.2019.1613863
- IASP terminology: definition of pain. www.iasp-pain.org/resources/terminology/
- Engel GL (1977) The need for a new medical model: a challenge for biomedicine. Science 196(4286). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/847460/
- Thompson T et al. (2019) The effectiveness of hypnosis for pain relief: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 85 controlled experimental trials. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. www.iasp-pain.org/publications/pain-research-forum/papers-of-the-week/paper/111049-effectiveness-hypnosis-pain-relief-systematic-review-and-meta-analysis-85-controlled/
- NICE NG193 (2021) Chronic pain (primary and secondary) in over 16s. www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng193
- NICE CG61 Irritable bowel syndrome in adults, recommendation 1.2.3. www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg61/chapter/Recommendations
- Vasant DH et al. (2021) British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines on the management of irritable bowel syndrome. Gut. gut.bmj.com/content/early/2021/05/24/gutjnl-2021-324598
- NHS: Panic disorder. www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/panic-disorder/
- NHS: OCD treatment. www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/treatment/
- NHS: Hypnotherapy. 111.wales.nhs.uk/encyclopaedia/h/article/hypnotherapy
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Initial consultation £80 · 50 minutes · in clinic or online