An Interview With My Hypnotherapist

If you'd have told me back in April of this year that I'd end up applying for University and interviewing the same lady who was sat opposite me, about to listen to my life story, I'd have laughed in your face.

In fact, I would've questioned if you were addressing the right person!

On the 18th of April 2018, I began hypnotherapy.

With the help of my hypnotherapist I've been able to fight anxiety and depression and start living my life for the first time in a good couple of years. I've achieved things I once never thought I'd be able to no thanks to the anxious voice in my head - who's now packed it's bags and is slowly but surely moving out....

I thought the least I owed it to my hypnotherapist - Enfys Jones - was to spread the word through writing my very own blog post on her and the work she and her partner do.

So here goes.

Enfys and her partner, Gareth have been running their hypnotherapy practice for 7 years after a solid 4 years of training. What is hypnotherapy, you may be asking?

"Hypnotherapy has been going for many centuries actually and the hypnotherapy side of it is where we induce that beautiful state of mind that is very natural- an innate state of mind - where we can access the sub-conscious and unlock any patterns that've gotten stuck, negative thoughts or emotions."

When I was first introduced to the idea, I won't lie I was quite cautious of it. Why? My idea of trance was that of what a magician does, I feared being put in to a freaky trance where I'd have zero control. Having now done a good 10-12 sessions, I can ASSURE you, you're fully in control of the process.

"When somebody is lying on the couch, we're inducing that hypnotic state, but we go to a different level of the mind so that that person is always in control. The primitive part of the brain - their guard hasn't shut down. Repetition is so important in order to build trust so that the primitive brain can relax. At any point they can get up and walk out - they've got total control."

"The hypnotherapist gives both direct and indirect suggestions - all very positive. We do lots of visualisation, in that state it's quite a complex thing that's going on. Part of the primitive brain can't tell the difference between reality and imagination. When the person comes off the couch, we don't want the same person, we want them to come off slightly better. The power of the mind is incredibly potent."

So, please don't worry. A hypnotherapist's job isn't to get you to walk around like a zombie believing you're a chicken!!

It was interesting to learn what Enfys does as a hypnotherapist aside from trance work with myself - it's not all about me I know.

"Part of my work is medical hypnotherapy so that means that I can work within the hospital environment - needle phobias, emetophobias, and helping people pre, during and post chemo and radiotherapy."

"What we always do is include laughter in our clinic. That's the difference between us and other therapists. David Newton has taught us this - no matter what people are presenting, whether it's bereavement, illness, anxiety or depression - to laugh with somebody you trust, completely relaxes that person.

There's a famous interview with Woody Allen where he says he's always been in therapy and always will be. We're (hypnotherapists) are the complete opposite. We believe that there is always a solution for someone and we want them to get back on track as soon as possible."

Who's David Newton and why is he important?

"Gareth, who is my life and work partner, trained alongside me. We were so lucky because we were taught by David Newton almost one to one, the class was so small.

We're drawing really on 50 years of his clinical experience. Hypnotherapy at the beginning and middle of last century was very analytical, so it would very much be looking at the past and how your mother / father treated you.

It was very problem focused. During the 80's and 90's of last century there was this huge neuroscience shift where suddenly all the medical neuroscientists of the world were making massive discoveries about the brain. Froyd and Ericson who were pioneers of these original hypnotherapy techniques of course didn't know all of these things about the brain.

Newton - our mentor and hero - went through all of these transitions, he started as an analytical, traditional hypnotherapist, he didn't like it very much because a lot of the time you'd end up making the client cry.

Hypnotherapy is now very positive, very solution focused and when we can't be positive we adapt a mindfulness approach, we accept and move around these boulders."

So how can a bit of trance work and positivity help change your life? Is it even possible if you've been a certain way for such a long time?

"Neuroplasticity - the way that the brain isn't fixed. We can always, no matter what's happened to us, no matter what our state of life is, however rich, poor, old or young or even ill we are, we can always change the structure of our brain by the way we think, how we live our lives really"

It always fascinates me how people end up in their current careers. I always ponder if it's something they've always wanted to do since they were however years old or if they happened to stumble across it. I possibly have too much time on my hands.

"I ended up doing a Performing Arts degree that focused on contemporary dance. It's a lot like what I do now - it's breaking the old ballet rules. I had an eighteen year career, that took me around Europe. I directed my own shows, I had my own company - I really lived the dream. Towards the end the work was about the emotional genre. We had a psychiatrist come in to talk to us and advise us on how to approach our characters.

So over the years I've developed this passion for well-being and I've always been fascinated by the mind."

"Gareth and I - we both fancied each other when we were younger but were both too shy to do anything about it. Later on in life we met up and were both at this crossroads within our careers.

I found out about the Clifton practise (where they both trained) and it was bizarre because he'd been there 10 years ago for an interview to go on the course but decided against it.

The whole thing just felt right. We've completed our advanced training and we really just love what we do. Being totally open, Gareth and I have both had our mental health issues, I lost my dad when I was 17."

"I've got a really avid interest in quantum. DeePak Chopra is great to look up. It's not only about being healthy but being aware that we are a part of a greater thing, the more we're on track the more we're making good decisions for ourselves and not allowing ourselves to get in to any trouble or negative energies - the more it's like we're on this beautiful journey of life."

Thought their work stopped at one to one sessions in the clinic? You're very, VERY wrong! They work in schools with both children and teachers where they have their own curriculum for primary, secondary and further education.

It doesn't even stop there. They work with sport and performance - gymnastics, rugby, skiing, actresses and they do corporate training e.g with the nurses. So, basically, they provide for all!

"In the clinic one to one, it's just about going back to that scale of 1-10. We can have people come in who are just having difficulty sleeping or they've got mild stress. We can help with weight control, smoke sensation, but on the other side of the scale we can help with chronic depression or anxiety. It's about sitting them down, listening to their story and gaging what's going on for them.

We really treat each client as an individual because they've got different issues but to see them get better is absolutely brilliant."

"It's not like running a shop, you know people are always gonna need bread or whatever. Half of our clients are healed and off they go. Most of our clients are referrals which is wonderful. It's deeply rewarding for us."

This next explanation was too good not to include and I believe it could help those of you who either are or know somebody who isn't themselves right now.

"Every single human being - if they're not functioning as well as they'd like, it's because they've shifted from that living intellectual part of the brain, down to their survival part of the brain. It all comes down to those 3 strategies, anger, depression, and anxiety.

A phobia is a fear, fear is an anxiety and anxiety has to have a focus which is anger. From children way to senior citizens, if anyone is acting in an out of balanced way, there'll be a reason. That reason is changeable by finding solutions."

So here I am, 3 months later, typing out an interview I did with my hypnotherapist. The same hypnotherapist that helped me out of a really dark and anxious place. I am still struggling to believe this!!

Thank you so much Enfys for giving your time, voluntarily might I add, and doing this interview for me.

Here's a lovely little message to take with you, off Enfys herself.

"When you're really clear about what you want, it happens. It's about having that real clear intention, and as long as your mind understands that's a healthy direction for you to go in, you're going to achieve that goal. Even if it's not in the way you originally thought."

For more information please take a look at http://thepenarthpractice.com/.

Thank you for taking the time to read this <3.

Ciao for now x