FAQ's

How do I know you are qualified to do the job?

My business is a member of, and therefore regulated by: British Society of Clinical Hypnosis

I must adhere to their strict code of conduct and ethics, including having a recognised qualification, the right insurance, regular Continual Profession Development (CPD) training, and having regular supervisions with a regulated and qualified supervisor.

What is the General Data Protection Regulations, 2018 (GDPR) and how does it affect me?

The Data Protection Act 2018 controls how your personal and sensitive, confidential data is kept private and held securely, being processed in the way that you have agreed to. It is there to protect your rights as a consumer of a service or product that might involve your identifiable data, e.g. your name and address or whether you have a specific condition. It also covers any session records, text messages or emails we exchange.

How long will you hold my information for?

I must hold your data for 7 years after your final session. Unless otherwise directed to for example. you are a child, in which case I must hold your data until your 25th birthday, unless you are 17 when treatment ends and then I must keep it until your 26th birthday. Therefore, all records will be deleted in the January after the above retention scales.

What if I don’t want my records to be held for that long?

Under the GDPR you can make a request in writing to me, for all your records to be deleted. In this case all your paper records would be shredded with a cross shredding machine and any electronic data such as emails or text messages would be permanently deleted from the devices they are stored on. I would have to save the request for deletion you made but would not save any other data.

Why do you need to record this information?

I collect information about; why you are using the service, a small amount of medical information and a small amount of information about your important others, alongside brief session notes. This information enables me to provide a high quality service to you, ensuring I am equipped with the knowledge of our previous discussions prior to each session.

What lengths are made to ensure my information is held securely?

Hardcopy documents – Are all stored in a locked cabinet in a locked room.
Text messages – My phone is secured with a pin code.
Emails – My email account requires a user name and password.
Email attachments – Any attachments sent by email to you containing your personal information would be password protected and the password would be sent to you via text message.
Electronic documents – Any electronic documents e.g. A letter to your GP, or an invoice, are password protected and stored on a password protected computer if they contain personal or sensitive information.

Is what we discuss kept confidential?

Everything we talk about during our sessions are strictly confidential between you and me. To ensure I am doing my job effectively and that I have the right support, I may discuss elements of our sessions with my supervisor. My supervisor also adheres to GDPR

What if I see you outside of the session?

You are welcome to share with other people about the therapy you are receiving, but I am obliged by GDPR law to ensure your confidentiality is protected. I would request that in order to ensure the success of your treatment, that you refrain from discussing your treatment with me outside of your sessions.

What about other Health and Social Care Professionals?

As I adhere to the GDPR, any contact relating to you, with other health care professionals would only be made with your signed consent. E.g. If I were to write to your GP to notify them of your treatment with me, and then notify them of the treatment ending, I would only do this if you were to sign the specific consent

Exceptions:

In order to safeguard you and the people around you, if you were to disclose that you were going to carry out harm to yourself or someone else, then under my “Duty of Care” I am obliged by law to inform the relevant authorities.
If I was issued with a police warrant or court order for your information, by law I would also have to provide them with your information.

What if I need to rearrange my session?

I operate a busy practice, with a waiting list. Please be considerate when cancelling an appointment and where possible give at least 48 hours notice. 

If I need to rearrange a session I will let you know at my earliest opportunity and would hope you might approach our sessions with the same ethos. In extreme circumstances, I may choose to waiver the cancellation fee e.g. severe disruptive weather conditions.

What if I’m running late?

Please do your best to let me know if you are running late. I run a busy practice and schedule client appointments back to back. If you are late, your appointment will still run in the allocated slot.

How long will each session be and how often?

Unless otherwise stated, Sessions are usually 60 minutes.

Sessions will usually begin weekly at first, and then over time we will – in agreement – spread them out over longer periods.Smoking Cessation is a one-off session that lasts approximately two hours.

Payment is in advance at the time of booking. You can pay by card (via a payment link) or bank transfer. Advanced block booked sessions are non-refundable

Intellectual Property

Any resources sent to you as part of our work together remains my intellectual property. You should not disclose, communicate, reproduce or distribute any materials and resources provided during delivery of our sessions or our work together.

Additional Covid 19 information and guidance:

I operate my clinic in adherence to the latest government guidelines and have hand sanitizing. I will adhere to the social distancing guidelines in place at the time of your appointment

International clients

Please note that I am based in the UK and as such I am governed by UK laws.

Can everyone be hypnostised?

Everyone who WANTS to be hypnotised can be hypnotised.  All therapists are trained in a learned skill, so if you are determined not to be hypnotised or don’t want to be, then a therapist override free will.

Can you make me act against my will?

The biggest myth encountered is that hypnotist somehow make the recipient do things they don’t want to do.  Fortunately, this is a myth. Under hypnosis you will not be able to do anything which goes against your personal values or beliefs – you are not asleep, but will be in a state of heightened awareness in which you are aware of everything that’s happening around you.The hypnotherapist does not take control, but simply make suggestions, which the mind is more receptive to when the brain is in a hypnotic state.  It simply is not possible to take control of someone else’s mind, only to suggest things to them.  If you don’t like a suggestion that you hear – you won’t take it on board.

Will I be receptive to hypnosis?

A stage hypnotist uses suggestibility testing in order to choose their volunteers and will often choose only the most receptive people from the audience.  In a therapy session, the hypnotherapist may use these same tests to identify the best suggestions and approach to use or avoid during a therapy session.  The therapist may choose different approaches for different people, but the state they aim to achieve is the same.

How does hypnotherapy work?

Many people want to make major life changes, but are often subconsciously sabotaging their success through habits and old belief patterns. Weight loss and smoking are great examples of how hypnotherapy work.  We all know that drinking fizzy pop, eating copious amounts of junk food and smoking 20 cigarettes a day is not healthy for the human body.  There is no need to learn they are bad, it is important to treat the impulses which make this food seem like a reward, which sabotage the best efforts to quit.

Hypnosis is the perfect tool for dealing with this, because both these impulses and the therapy itself take place in the sub-conscious. It directly addresses the “Train driver rather than the conductor”.  The driver (you) can still choose to ignore any suggestions but as you are more receptive and in a heightened state of awareness while under hypnosis, you are more likely to really hear the message and respond positively!

What should I look for when choosing a hypnotherapist?

It is important for clients to check a therapist’s credentials. Practicing hypnotherapist should be professionally qualified and insured. If you aren’t sure, ask to check.  Your therapist will be delighted to show you their credentials and professional indemnity insurance certificate. You may also ask for client testimonials.

Please Read This Document Carefully

The frequently asked questions and related answers in this document establish the terms and conditions for treatment.

Please ensure that these terms and conditions are fully accepted by you prior to attending appointments. If you feel you would require a change to your terms and conditions, please speak with me prior to our session.