Have confidence in your ideas like Tom Pellereau, winner of The Apprentice

Tom Pellereau has won The Apprentice and I am sure anyone who has been following the series was closely watching the final episode trying to second guess where Lord Sugar’s finger would point next and who would come out triumphant.

I, like many people, was sure that Helen Milligan was going to continue on her amazing almost perfect record and win no problem, but Helen didn’t follow her gut instinct; she did what she thought Lord Sugar would want and not what she was passionate about and good at.

Whilst most of us have to answer to someone and have to curb our ideas to fit the role we are trying to fill, it is still important to have the confidence in your own beliefs and ideas. I’m sure Helen Milligan is an amazing employee and any company would be very lucky to have her. She is very hard-working (almost too much as she puts work before her own life), but if Helen had stuck to what she knew best and presented Lord Sugar with a baking concept I am sure she would have been stiff competition for Tom. Unfortunately, at the last hurdle she decided to go with what she thought would make Lord Sugar happy and designed an invisible concept. Even Lord Sugar himself was shocked at her choice of business plan.

Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can help you to have the confidence in your abilities and to have the strength to carry on with an idea. It is important to be able to recognise when you are going down the wrong road and be able to listen to other people’s ideas and advice but it is as important to be able to recognise when you have seen something maybe one of you colleagues hasn’t and have the confidence in yourself to explain your approach clearly.

I think it is brilliant that Tom has won The Apprentice and I believe that with the support of Lord Sugar he will continue to be an amazing inventor. It is a good reminder that you don’t need to be an intimidating bully to make it in the business world, you just need the confidence to put your ideas forward and not allow people’s negative opinions to affect you and make you change your core beliefs and values.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.  

Can Stress Affect Fertility?

We spend most our life taking steps to not get pregnant but when the day comes that we want to become parents how much do we really prepare our bodies both mentally and physically?

According to the HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority ) an estimated 1 in 7 couples are having some sort of fertility problem – approximately 1,750,000 across the UK.

There are a number of factors that can affect fertility in couple’s attempts to have a successful pregnancy. If all health factors have been successfully been ruled out, stress can be the main contributor to an inability to conceive and have a successful birth.

GP and hypnotherapist Dr Leslie Brann says: "Women are putting their careers first and delaying pregnancy, and fertility does decline as you get older. I get a lot of women who have mental blocks to getting pregnant or who have convinced themselves they cannot conceive. They often tell me under hypnosis that they don't see any eggs in their ovaries or that their tubes are too small for the egg to go through. I then try to get them to overcome this 'block'.

"Mary Coates, a hypnotherapist who treats both women undergoing IVF and childless women who have no medical reason not to conceive, believes women in their thirties are particularly prone to "mental blocks" towards pregnancy."

"They feel the clock is against them, so panic sets in, which affects their fertility. It's a vicious circle. Almost every woman who comes to me is in that bracket. If you think that stress can stop your periods, just think what else it can do.”

There is no medical proof that hypnotherapy can cure infertility, which now affects one couple in six. However, it does lower stress and anxiety, which can affect hormone levels and create a mental block to conception. Tests have shown that hypnotherapy can lower a woman's levels of a hormone called prolactin which suppresses ovulation.

For more information, read the full article at The Independent, “Hypnosis can help you get pregnant” by Sophie Goodchild: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/hypnosis-can-help-you-get-pregnant-1173568.html

Stress is caused by a situation that a person either consciously or unconsciously perceives as threatening; this creates the fight or flight response. Whilst the body is under stress it releases a number of hormones, including Cortisol, which can affect the delicate hormonal balance needed for ovulation, fertilization, implantation and even the health of the fetus. Stress can not only affect the woman’s fertility but also the man’s sperm count and mobility.

Hypnosis can help you to prepare your body for pregnancy, helping you to remove any mental blocks that you have towards becoming pregnant and stay calm throught the pregnancy, giving your body the best chance to conceive and produce a healthy baby.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information. 

Hypnotherapy for Sports Performance

Novak Djokovic has won Wimbledon. I am sure anyone who is a tennis fan was glued to the TV last weekend to watch the 24 year-old Serb become the champion of SW19 and replace Rafa Nadal as world number one. But it is not just skill that got him there; he also had to have the ability to focus on the game and blank out the crowd, where he was and what he was playing for.

One of the key attributes of any top athlete is the ability to focus and perform at a top level of skill in every situation. Milton Erickson was a pioneer in the use of hypnotherapy methods in sports to improve focus. He worked with a number of top athletes, including the US Olympic Rifle squad and the shot-putter Donald Lawrence. In one story relating to a tournament golfer (Rossi 1988) Erickson was asked to assist in improving the golfer's consistency across all holes throughout a round. The golfer seemed to always play the first hole perfectly, and then deteriorate. The question for Erickson was: If you can play the first hole perfectly, then can you do as well on the next? He put the golfer in a trance and told him "You will play only the first hole, that is all you will remember, and you will be alone on the golf course". The golfer, needless to say, played an excellent round in his next tournament.

By taking the pressure out of the game the golfer, Rossi, was able to perform to the best of his ability throughout the whole tournament.

Similarly, anyone who has watched Jonny Wilkinson prepare for a kick will have noticed that he uses the same visual and physical ritual every time.

“He places the ball carefully, the same way that he has so many times before. Shutting out the cheers and jeers of the crowd, he stands up, and walks just the right amount of paces backwards. Then takes a single sidestep. But he is not yet ready. Standing with his feet a shoulder width apart, he clasps his hands in front of himself, staring at them for what seems like an age. Finally looking towards the posts, tilting slightly upwards, he pulls his head back just a little, as if the target somehow magnifies in his vision. He focuses, and there he sees her, sitting right in the middle, in the crowd, between the posts. Then he feels it; he knows that he is ready. And the rest is history". (Vile and Biggs - in Press)

For Jonny to reach this level of control he has practiced not only the physical preparation but also the mental too. "The key to cognitive motor learning lies in elucidating the way in which learned skills are represented in memory". (Annett 1995)

Often it is the mental processes that makes the difference between two athletes; the ones that let the pressure or their own doubts creep in will struggle to be as successful as the athletes who stay “in the zone” (focused).

Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can teach you the techniques to stay focused and to achieve your goals, either within sports or in life, helping you to realize your potential and to focus on where you want to be.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.

Hypnosis 'could save NHS millions'

I have to share this very exciting article with you from the Press Association, published on the 6th June 2011.

Hypnosis treatments could be used on a range of medical conditions to save the NHS millions of pounds, according to a group of medical experts.

The Hypnosis and Psychosomatic Medicine Section of the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) believe the therapies help relieve pain and stress.

But it warned patients need to be protected from rogue practitioners, who cause harm and end up costing the NHS more.

Jacky Owens, the president of the RSM's Hypnosis Section, said: "Conditions such as depression, pain and irritable bowel syndrome affect millions of people in the UK and a great cost to the NHS. But hypnosis can often work where other treatments have been unsuccessful."

Ms Owens, a qualified nurse who uses hypnosis in her work with cancer patients added: "If doctors were able to refer patients to properly trained hypnotherapists, it would save a cash-strapped NHS a great deal of money."

She said making hypnosis a standard part of the "NHS toolbox" would lead to the public becoming better informed about the procedure and mean that vulnerable patients would be less likely to turn to "hypno-cowboys".

The group fear non-medically trained hypnotists frequently lack the understanding of the diseases their patients have, so can cause real harm. It said many of the quack operators use damaging techniques to treat people with psychological conditions, like inducing "false memories" as they believe current problems stem from past traumas so terrible that the memory of them has been suppressed.

Dr Peter Naish, the president-elect of the section, said: "There's very little evidence, either from laboratory research or real life, that we can suppress traumatic memories - people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder would love to be able to do so."

Ms Owens added: "That's a small step but we're confident that with more research, hypnosis will be recognised as an extremely useful tool to be used alongside mainstream medicine. What we need are doctors, dentists, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists, radiotherapists - the whole gamut of people who treat patients - trained in using hypnosis as another tool in their treatment programme."

She called on the Government to review the issue.

It is so exciting to see that hypnosis is getting more and more recognised for the amazing therapy that it is. Currently hypnosis is ungoverned, as a qualified therapist who worked hard for my diploma, I am hoping that the government will make this profession a governed one like acupuncture is. For now we can only choose to belong to the best governing bodies. I belong the GHR (General Hypnotherapy Register) which is one of the bodies who would qualify under the government legislation when they come into practice.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.

What is the Difference between Stage Hypnosis and Clinic Hypnotherapy?

For many people when you speak about hypnosis their first image is of the stage. Watching people cluck like chickens etc, whilst the audience laugh away marvelling at the “control” the stage hypnotist has over the person. Stage hypnosis has helped clinical hypnosis become more recognised; it allows people to see the fun side as well as the therapeutic side.

So how does stage hypnosis differ from hypnosis that is used for therapeutic reasons? The trance you enter when under hypnosis is the same for both the stage and the therapy room. The difference is the goal, the objective. When you are on stage you are entering into this trance with a view to having fun with your subconscious, playing games and entertaining the audience. You are in that frame of mind. Just like all hypnosis, stage hypnosis is self-hypnosis, you have to want to go up on stage and prance around.

Very often when you go to a stage performance the performer will get a group of people on stage, usually made up of people who have volunteered. The performer then does suggestibility tests with this small group and gets it down to the most suggestible person, the one that they can work with best on that day.

Derren Brown is someone who I really admire; he has understood the human mind and how it works to an amazing degree. He tends to get people on stage by throwing a Frisbee into the audience; he will say something like if you don’t want to come up then pass it to the person next to you. This way he gets a willing participant up on the stage.

Similarly with clinical hypnosis, you have to be willing; you have to want to make that change. For example if you want to stop smoking, you don’t necessarily need to know how you are going to do it, but you have to want to become smoke free. If you are only coming for hypnotherapy because you have been nagged into it then even though you will still enter into the trance state, the hypnosis won’t have the amazing long lasting affect that it could have if supported by your own willpower.

No stage hypnotist would choose me, as I would be a “difficult” subject to work with. They would choose someone who was eager to “act the fool” and entertain the crowd. Great fun to watch! However, put me in a room where a hypnotherapist is working together with me to help me, and I enter into a trance state very easily.

Whilst as a hypnotherapist I do have the skills needed to perform stage hypnosis, I personally choose not to mix the two. I have chosen to get into the wonderful world of hypnosis to help people challenge their negative beliefs and become the person they want to be. I find my work extremely rewarding as I watch people beginning to make changes and take control of their world. Personally I wouldn’t feel comfortable mixing that professionalism and trust with the tricks of the stage.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Body Station on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.

Common misconceptions about Hypnotherapy

There are lots of misconceptions people have when they think about Hypnotherapy. Here are just a few that I have come across whilst working with Hypnotherapy.

You lose control under hypnosis and say things you don’t want to say

Most people know about hypnotherapy through stage hypnosis and are nervous that if they went to see a hypnotherapist they would end up clucking like a chicken every time someone said potato. It is important to remember that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis and you remain in complete control the whole time. Take stage hypnosis, the stage hypnotherapist always chooses a willing participant from the audience. The participant goes onto stage expecting to act like a fool so when the hypnotherapist puts them into a trance and tells them to cluck like a chicken every time they say potato they react accordingly. However, if the hypnotherapist tried to tell them to stop smoking for example they would probably turn around and say no, as this was not what they were expecting to have to do on stage.

In the same way when you go and see a Hypnotherapist you are expecting to deal with certain things. By booking the appointment you are subconsciously and consciously agreeing to let the therapist speak to your subconscious about the thing you have come to see them about. If for example the therapist then asked you a question you weren’t willing to give the answer to you just wouldn’t.

Hypnotherapy is a magic wand

Lots of people think that hypnotherapy is a magic wand that can change the way their mind thinks without any effort from them at all. Whilst hypnotherapy is a very powerful tool as it speaks to your subconscious mind, it still requires strength and determination from the person to want to change. Just as under hypnosis the therapist can’t make you do something you don’t want to do, if for example you don’t want to give up smoking but your partner wants you to and sends you to a hypnotist the chances are that it won’t work long term as you didn’t want to make the change in the first place. If on the other hand you want to but just don’t know how, then hypnotherapy is the simple yet powerful tool you are looking for.

Only highly suggestible people can be hypnotised

Whilst people who find it easy to trust may find it easier to go into a deep hypnotic trance it is not a fact that only they can be hypnotised. Anyone can be hypnotised, the hypnotherapist will just use a different technique for a highly suggestible person than they would for a very analytical person. It may surprise you to know that we all enter a trance like state on a daily basis, when watching TV, waking, singing, etc. Take driving, when you do a journey you do every day it is common to “zone out”. You are still safe it is just that your subconscious brain has taken over the controls; the journey is so second nature to you that you just drive, sometimes arriving at your destination with no recollection of the journey. You know you were safe as you are still happily sitting in your car. If during that journey when you were on autopilot someone had stepped out in front of you that would be the time that you shocked yourself into action. This is all hypnotherapy is in its simplest form, quieting down the conscious mind so that the subconscious mind is listening.

As you can see Hypnotherapy is not something to be scared of, you remain in complete control the whole time. It is important to trust the Hypnotherapist just as it is important that you trust your doctor or your dentist’s professional capability. Recommendations are a good way to find a trustworthy Hypnotherapist, and when you have found them ring them up and ask them questions until you are happy. Listen to your gut reaction about them and you will find a therapist that can help you overcome most things, helping you to become the person you want to be.


By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information. 

How does Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP work together

Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP are powerful therapies in themselves but used together they give you the chance to look at your challenge from lots of different angles, giving you the best chance to have the tools you need to become the person you want to be.

To understand how these therapies can work together, I think it is good to have a general understanding of them as individual therapies first. There are many descriptions for what Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP are and some of them are very technical in depth. Rather than setting out a long technical explanation I am going to explain them in nice easy terms.


What is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is a way of quieting the conscious mind so that you can talk to the subconscious mind. Sometimes even though consciously we want to do something if we don’t have the subconscious mind thinking the same thing then the outcome will always be the same even though consciously we want something different. By talking to someone’s subconscious you can help the internal thought process to be working towards what they want and not still on the old auto pilot. Allowing our subconscious to take over (on autopilot) is something that we do on a daily basis, like when you "zone out" for a while. There are lots of different ways to get a person into trance (a relaxed state of mind where you can speak to the subconscious), it depends on individual characters and expectations, but rest assured almost everyone can be put into a trance.

What is NLP?

NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), the fundamental dynamics between your mind, language (internal and external) and how the programing of them affects our body and behaviour.

Neuro – the neurological system regulates how our bodies function

Linguistic – language, the words we choose to use to communicate with others and ourselves

Programming – the models/links of the world we create (learned behaviour)

Once you understand the mental programming then you can use the power of words and imagery to help someone change their neurological path and therefore produce different behaviour.

What is CBT?

CBT (Cognitive behavioural Therapy) focuses on the ‘here and now’ to help you feel better. Through talking you challenge negative thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Instead of focussing on the causes of your distress or symptoms in the past, it looks for ways to improve your state of mind now.
With all of these therapies the client remains in control with the therapist helping the client to make the change they are looking to make. You will leave the session with the tools to continue the work started in the sessions and develop into the person you want to be.

Hopefully you now have an outline about these three therapies. As I said they work very well by themselves and often I end up using only one with a client as that is what they respond to best. The great thing about being able to use all three is that I can give my clients the best chance to achieve their goals because if one therapy doesn’t work so well for them then I can use another.

I tend to use a combination of all three therapies, using CBT to ask clients questions that challenge them to see a different way, NLP to help integrate the mind with their new thought pattern and Hypnotherapy to tie the three together and help make sure the subconscious is working in the same direction and not still on the old track.

To find out what kind of things can be treated with this powerful combination click here.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP on Mondays between 2.30pm - 7pm, please contact Erika for more information.