FAQ
It's completely normal to have questions before starting therapy, or before trying a new type of therapy. Below are some questions that I get often get asked but if you have a question that I haven't answered then please get in touch.
Hypnosis....what does it feel like?
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The type of hypnosis used by Quest Conitive hypnotherapy is a very light trance. You will remember everything and will be in complete control the whole time. It's nothing like you might see on stage or on TV shows. It's just a tool to help us access your unconscious a little more easily. You may just find that you think 5 minutes has gone past and it's more like 25, a bit like when you're driving and realsie you don't remember part of the journey completely.
What will happen in our first session?
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The first session will last about 90 minutes and will involve you telling me about the problem you're dealing with. I'll ask a few questions and, together, we'll start explore the problem a little. After that we might talk about how you would like to feel instead, what you would like your life to look like when you no longer have to deal with this problem. Quest Cognitive Hypnotherapy is a solution focussed therapy so it helps to have an idea about what we're working towards, and this idea can change and be refined as we work.
How many sessions will I need?
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Everyone is different. This is designed to be a solution focussed, brief therapy. Some people only need 4 - 6 sessions, some need more. I don't intend for you to be in therapy for years and years and see me every week for the rest of your life. We'll do our work together and, when you're ready, you'll go and live your life and perhaps forget why you ever needed to see me in the first place! That said, my door is always open and if, in the future, you feel need to see me again then I'll always try to see you as soon as I'm able to.
Is it normal to feel nervous about coming to therapy?
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Oh my goodness, yes! Everyone is different. Some people will breeze into therapy without a second thought....some people will worry about it for ages, and then cry the night before the first session (...if you choose to read that as a confession then I can neither confirm or deny!). Everything that you brain does, even the really annoying stuff, is designed to try to keep your safe. Your brain has spent a lifetime trying to protect you. Sometimes the ways it does that become problematic for us and so we look to change them. However, it's only natural that part of your brain fights back against that change and says, hey hey hey...it's worked this long, let's not rock the boat now!
Change can be scary because your brain wants to protect you.
Every therapist (hopefully) that you sit down with has been to therapy so we all know how that first time can feel. We've all been there.
What is included in the fee?
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Firstly, I provide a free 15 minutes consultation. This is free regardless of whether we decide to work together or not. My fee is then per session not per hour so the first session will be the same price as the subsequent sessions even though it's longer. Where appropriate, I will also provide a short recording for you to listen to between session that I write and record just for you and that will help to further the work we do together in session. I will usually also send you a quick text a few days after a session just to see how you're doing.
How often will I have a session?
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This is something we can discuss together. Sometimes it will be once a week and sometimes once a fortnight is better. So much of the work with this type of therapy happens between sessions that sometimes it's best to give your brain a couple of weeks to process everything that we do in a session. This can also help to spread the cost of therapy too.