Some children and teenagers have problems that affect how they feel, act, or learn. Therapy is a type of treatment for these problems. A way to get help for your child. In therapy, kids talk and learn how to work out their problems helping them cope better, communicate better, and do better.

Younger people are generally more receptive to hypnotherapy because they are more creative and open to positive suggestion. They have vivid imaginations which makes it much easier to access the unconscious and bring about the desired change in their behaviour,  break bad habits and negative thinking and become more confident.

What sorts of problems are typical for children?

Some common issues are:

General anxiety, separation anxiety, fears and phobias (fear of dogs being the most common) study and exam related stress, bullying, thumb sucking, nail biting, hair pulling, skin picking, tics, selective eating, eating disorders, anger issues, lack of confidence, low self-esteem, negative body image anxiety, refusing to go to school, selective mutism, depression, self-harm and a variety of OCD behaviours.

What happens in a typical session?

With teenagers the sessions are similar to that which we use with adults, helping them to relax deeply and use visualisation to resolve their problems. With younger children sessions are focused much more around story telling, creative play and imagination which can be described as highly focused daydreaming – young children have fun learning to relax at will and more often than not, with eyes wide open and plenty of wriggling around!

It is important that the child or teenager wants to change the problem, behaviour or issue themselves as Hypnotherapy can not make anyone do something they dont want to do!

During therapy sessions we will often introduce positive affirmations and suggestions, for example, being more relaxed, having more energy, feeling confident, trying different foods, being able to recall easily things they’ve learned at school, college or university etc.

I take a very holistic approach to therapy blending methods such as psychotherapy, coaching, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and hypnotherapy to ensure lasting results. I am DBS certified to work with children of all ages.