At HypnoBusters we enjoy interaction with our users. That is why we have opened up this section of the site to allow you to ask our resident hypnotherapist, Jon Rhodes, any questions you may have for him.

It is perfectly natural when dealing with any type of medical practice to have questions and queries, and hypnotherapy is no different. There are a lot of elements to hypnosis that aren’t fully understood by the majority of people. We hope that this section will help you gain a better understanding of hypnosis and decide whether it is right for you.

Jon Rhodes has been a qualified clinical hypnotherapist for six years and received his diploma from the London College of Clinical Hypnotherapy. Jon also has a wealth of experience working towards the rehabilitation of people with mental disorders back into society.

Any questions or comments for Jon are welcome. Feel free to ask questions about HypnoBusters, the practice of hypnotherapy in general, self-help, and your own specific problems.

To protect your privacy we will not publish the name or email address of anyone who has sent in a question. Similarly by sending in a question be assured that your email address will not be added to a mailing list or sold to any third party.

Every month we will dip into the mailbag and answer the questions you send in for us. Each Q&A session will be archived, providing an ever growing database on hypnotherapy.

Please send your questions to us at - askthehypnotherapist@hypnobusters.com

You can now also befriend Jon on Facebook at the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/HypnoBusters

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Ask The Hypnotherapist #19 - March 9th 2009

I’ve seen on your blog that you’re working on a self hypnosis course. Is there any word on when you will be releasing it?

Yes it is true I am currently working on a self hypnosis course. I’m aiming to make a course that includes audio tuition to teach anyone how to hypnotize themselves. I will also include directions on how to do specific therapies, and also teach various techniques in order to allow you to treat just about anything. This will save those that regularly use hypnosis some money, and will also allow you to better understand your own mind and stand on your own two feet.

It’s difficult to say exactly when it will be finished because I am one of those annoying perfectionists who won’t release anything until he is completely happy with it. Hopefully it will be finished in the next 3 or 4 weeks, but this depends on how well it does when I go to the testing phase. I already have several people who know very little about hypnosis, willing to try it out for me and I will get their feedback. When it will be finished is largely down to the results of this test, as more work may be required should certain criticisms be flagged.

Recently I’ve been looking into training to become a hypnotherapist. How long did it take you to fully qualify? I’ve seen some courses that say they only take a month but this seems a little quick to me.

Yes, a month does seem a little quick, but I suppose if it was done full time with very experienced teachers, then it is possible. I spent 2 years studying with the London College Of Clinical Hypnotherapy before becoming a fully qualified hypnotherapist. However you never stop learning, and I’ve probably learnt a lot more since then.

You need to get ‘hands on’ learning in my humble opinion. So if this course is a distance learning course, then forget it. It is really difficult to learn hypnosis this way, especially in such a short time frame. If it is a condensed course that you must attend every day, then it is just about possible, but I would avoid this way of learning. Usually the faster you learn something, the faster you also forget it!

I have decided to use hypnotherapy to help me quit smoking. Should I tell my doctor about this since I have high blood pressure?

If ever you are ever in any doubt, then contact your doctor before using hypnotherapy. While hypnotherapy is a safe and effective means of treatment, it is only a complimentary therapy, meaning that traditional medical care must take precedence. I would never for example recommend using hypnotherapy in place of any medicines prescribed by your doctor.

You will probably find that the hypnotherapy itself will help lower your high blood pressure, regardless of what it is aiming to treat, since it is great for relaxation, plus not smoking will also help. But as I said before, if in any doubts then better contact your doctor.

Which MP3 on HypnoBusters would you recommend for someone who is just dipping their toes in the water?

By saying ‘dipping your toes in the water’ I presume you mean just wanting to try it out for the first time. Actually its funny that you say the words ‘dipping your toes in the water’. The Swimming With Dolphins session is an excellent general relaxation session that would help you ‘dip your toes in the water’, in fact dip all of you in the water! The Super Relaxation Session would also be good for this. These sessions don’t aim for any specific therapy, they just aim to give you a nice relaxing experience, which can have positive knock on effects in many areas of your life and health. Both these sessions would make an excellent introduction to hypnotherapy.

Is there a certain moment during the process where you definitely know you have been hypnotized?

I wouldn’t say that there was an exact moment when someone enters into a hypnotic trance, as it is gradual change in state, rather than sudden. There are also different depths of trance that can be achieved. A very light trance state can be induced relatively quickly, within seconds of eye closure, whereas deeper levels may take several minutes to achieve.

Clinical hypnotherapists are trained to spot certain signs that a subject is in a trance. These include a flattening and smoothing of the facial features (which is why the Hypnotic Botox session works so well), slower deeper breathing, and occasional swallowing of saliva.