Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
This page answers a variety of common questions. If you still have any queries or questions please give me a call or send me an email by clicking here....
How many sessions will I need?
The number of sessions required can depend on how long you've had the problem and how well it is embedded.
However, as a rule of thumb, improvement in simple fears and phobias should be noticeable by week three. For clients who might need additional sessions, and for whom money might be an issue, we can space out additional appointments 2-3 weeks apart.
Whatever the need, my job is to help you feel better in as short a time as possible (see my Code of Conduct page for more details) so that you can tell your friends and family how quick and easy it was to get your problem sorted out!
What does treatment cost?
A standard session lasting up to one and a half hours costs £60. Included in this price is a relaxation/therapy CD/mp3 at the end of your first session, Help notes for your particular issue and any tailor-made CD's/mp3 I make for you, as required.
A two hour Smoking Cessation session costs £150 and includes pre-session instruction notes, a CD to reinforce your therapy, Help Notes with advice and tips to reinforce your behaviour now that you've become a total non-smoker AND a FREE follow-up session which can be taken at any time, to sort out any problems with breaking particular thoughts/behaviours etc.
Can I Reclaim the Cost of Treatment from my Health Insurance?
Insurers have differing rules about whether or not hypnotherapy can be paid for out of a policy. Currently, I am a registered PruHealth provider and am also registered with SimplyHealth (ex HSA) and am also awaiting approval from several others. Please ask for further details.
Does Hypnosis Really Work?
Here's what BBC News website had to say in November 2009:-
Hypnosis has a "very real" effect that can be picked up on brain scans, say Hull University researchers.
An imaging study of hypnotised participants showed decreased activity in the parts of the brain linked with daydreaming or letting the mind wander. The same brain patterns were absent in people who had the tests but who were not susceptible to being hypnotised. One psychologist said the study backed the theory that hypnosis "primes" the brain to be open to suggestion.
Hypnosis is increasingly being used to help people stop smoking or lose weight and advisers recently recommended its use on the NHS to treat irritable bowel syndrome.
This shows that the changes were due to hypnosis and not just simple relaxation.
Dr William McGeown, study leader said that it is not the first time researchers have tried to use imaging studies to monitor brain activity in people under hypnosis.
But the Hull team said these had been done while people had been asked to carry out tasks, so it was not clear whether the changes in the brain were due to the act of doing the task or an effect of hypnosis.
In the latest study, the team first tested how people responded to hypnosis and selected 10 individuals who were "highly suggestible" and seven people who did not really respond to the technique other than becoming more relaxed.
The participants were asked to do a task under hypnosis, such as listening to non-existent music, but unknown to them the brain activity was being monitored in the rest periods in between tasks, the team reported in the journal Consciousness and Cognition.
Default mode
In the "highly suggestible" group there was decreased activity in the part of the brain involved in daydreaming or letting the mind wander - also known as the "default mode" network.
One suggestion of how hypnosis works, supported by the results, is that shutting off this activity leaves the brain free to concentrate on other tasks.
Study leader Dr William McGeown, a lecturer in the department of psychology, said the results were unequivocal because they only occurred in the highly suggestible subjects. "This shows that the changes were due to hypnosis and not just simple relaxation. "Our study shows hypnosis is real."
Dr Michael Heap, a clinical forensic psychologist based in Sheffield, said the experiment was unique in showing brain patterns supporting the theory that hypnosis works by "priming" the subject to respond more effectively to suggestions.
A list of Phobias
If you think your phobia is unique, check out this list.
You may be pleasantly surprised to see that
you're not alone!
Acrophobia, Altophobia – fear of heights. Agoraphobia, Agoraphobia Without History of Panic Disorder – fear of places or events where escape is impossible or when help is unavailable. Agraphobia – fear of sexual abuse. Aichmophobia – fear of sharp or pointed objects (as needles, knives or a pointing finger). Algophobia – fear of pain. Agyrophobia – fear of crossing roads. Androphobia – fear of men. Anthropophobia – fear of people or being in a company, a form of social phobia. Anthophobia – fear of flowers. Aquaphobia – fear of water. Astraphobia, Astrapophobia, Brontophobia, Keraunophobia – fear of thunder, lightning and storms; especially common in young children. Aviophobia, Aviatophobia – fear of flying. Bacillophobia, Bacteriophobia, Microbiophobia – fear of microbes and bacteria. Blood-injection-injury type phobia – a DSM-IV subtype of specific phobias Catoptrophobia - fear of mirrors or of one's own reflection. Chorophobia - fear of dancing. Cibophobia, Sitophobia – aversion to food, synonymous to Anorexia nervosa. Claustrophobia – fear of confined spaces. Coulrophobia – fear of clowns (not restricted to evil clowns). Decidophobia – fear of making decisions. Dental phobia, Dentophobia, Odontophobia – fear of dentists and dental procedures Dysmorphophobia, or body dysmorphic disorder – a phobic obsession with a real or imaginary body defect. Emetophobia – fear of vomiting. Ergasiophobia, Ergophobia – fear of work or functioning, or a surgeon's fear of operating. Ergophobia – fear of work or functioning. Erotophobia – fear of sexual love or sexual questions. Erythrophobia – pathological blushing. Gelotophobia - fear of being laughed at. Gephyrophobia – fear of bridges. Genophobia, Coitophobia – fear of sexual intercourse. Gerascophobia – fear of growing old or ageing. Gerontophobia – fear of growing old, or a hatred or fear of the elderly. Glossophobia – fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak. Gymnophobia – fear of nudity. Gynophobia – fear of women. Haptephobia – fear of being touched. Heliophobia – fear of sunlight. Hemophobia, Haemophobia – fear of blood. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia – fear of the number 666. Hoplophobia – fear of weapons, specifically firearms (Generally a political term but the clinical phobia is also documented). Ligyrophobia – fear of loud noises. Lipophobia – fear/avoidance of fats in food. Medication phobia - fear of medications Megalophobia - fear of large/oversized objects. Mysophobia – fear of germs, contamination or dirt. Necrophobia – fear of death, the dead. Neophobia, Cainophobia, Cainotophobia, Cenophobia, Centophobia, Kainolophobia, Kainophobia – fear of newness, novelty. Nomophobia – fear of being out of mobile phone contact. Nosophobia – fear of contracting a disease. Nosocomephobia - fear of hospitals. Nyctophobia, Achluophobia, Lygophobia, Scotophobia – fear of darkness. Osmophobia, Olfactophobia – fear of smells. Paraskavedekatriaphobia, Paraskevidekatriaphobia, Friggatriskaidekaphobia – fear of Friday the 13th. Panphobia – fear of everything or constantly afraid without knowing what is causing it. Phasmophobia - fear of ghosts, spectres or phantasms. Phagophobia – fear of swallowing. Pharmacophobia – same as medication phobiaPhobophobia – fear of having a phobia. Phonophobia – fear of loud sounds. Pyrophobia – fear of fire. Radiophobia – fear of radioactivity or X-rays. Sociophobia – fear of people or social situations Scopophobia – fear of being looked at or stared at. Somniphobia – fear of sleep. Spectrophobia – fear of mirrors and one's own reflections. Taphophobia – fear of the grave, or fear of being placed in a grave while still alive. Technophobia – fear of technology (see also Luddite). Telephone phobia, fear or reluctance of making or taking phone calls. Tetraphobia – fear of the number 4. Tokophobia – fear of childbirth. Tomophobia – fear or anxiety of surgeries/surgical operations. Traumatophobia – a synonym for injury phobia, a fear of having an injury Triskaidekaphobia, Terdekaphobia – fear of the number 13. Trypanophobia, Belonephobia, Enetophobia – fear of needles or injections. Workplace phobia – fear of the work place. Xenophobia – fear of strangers, foreigners, or aliens.
Keith Jefford DCH, DHP, GQHP, PSTEC Advanced
T: 01708 224698
M: 07970 111657
