Solution Focused Hypnotherapy FAQs
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy combines talking therapy with guided hypnosis to help you understand your thoughts and feelings, build on your strengths and work towards positive change.
When we're stressed or anxious, it can be easy to get caught up in worries, overthinking and unhelpful patterns. These patterns can start to feel automatic, making it difficult to see things differently.
Our sessions focus on understanding how stress affects the brain, recognising what's already working well and exploring how you'd like life to feel instead. Together, we'll identify small, manageable steps towards your goals.
The hypnosis element involves guided relaxation and focused attention. This can give you a peaceful space to relax, use your imagination and focus on positive suggestions that support the changes you're working towards.
Everyone's experience is different, but many people find sessions calming and enjoy having time to focus on themselves and their wellbeing.
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can support people experiencing a range of challenges, including:
• Anxiety and stress: Finding ways to feel calmer, manage worry and cope with everyday pressures.
• Low mood: Supporting motivation, recognising your strengths and gradually reconnecting with the things that matter to you.
• Sleep difficulties: Exploring patterns that may be affecting your sleep and developing a calmer bedtime routine.
• Confidence and self-esteem: Building self-belief and feeling more comfortable in yourself.
• Phobias and fears: Working towards feeling more confident and less restricted by specific fears.
• IBS: Supporting the management of stress that may contribute to or aggravate symptoms.
• Weight management and emotional eating: Developing a more positive relationship with food and working towards healthier habits.
• Unhelpful habits: Supporting you to change patterns of behaviour and work towards your goals.
• Performance anxiety: Building confidence for situations such as exams, public speaking, sport or work.
• Stop smoking and vaping: Support to help you break the habit, manage cravings and develop healthier routines as you work towards becoming smoke-free or vape-free.
• Perimenopause and menopause: Support with stress, anxiety, sleep difficulties and confidence during perimenopause and menopause, helping you feel calmer and better equipped to navigate this stage of life.
Everyone is different, so we'll discuss your individual circumstances and what you'd like to achieve before deciding whether this approach is suitable for you.
Yes. Hypnosis isn't mind control, and you won't be asleep or unconscious. You'll remain aware of your surroundings and able to respond throughout the session.
You might recognise the feeling from being absorbed in a good book, daydreaming or becoming so engrossed in a film that you briefly forget about everything else around you.
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is very different from the stage hypnosis you might have seen on television. There's no expectation to perform or do anything that makes you uncomfortable.
You can open your eyes, speak or stop the session whenever you wish. My role is to guide you through a calm, supportive experience that respects your comfort and boundaries.
Your first appointment is an opportunity for us to get to know each other and explore what has brought you to hypnotherapy.
We'll talk about how you're feeling, what you'd like to change and what a better future might look like for you. I'll explain how Solution Focused Hypnotherapy works and introduce you to the way stress and our thinking patterns can affect how we feel.
You'll have plenty of opportunity to ask questions, and we'll discuss how we might work together towards your goals.
Subsequent sessions usually combine a solution-focused conversation with guided hypnosis. We'll review your progress, recognise what's going well and explore the next small steps towards the changes you'd like to make.
There's no need to have everything figured out before you come. We'll work together at a pace that feels comfortable for you.
No. Solution Focused Hypnotherapy places an emphasis on the present and the future, rather than spending sessions analysing your past in detail.
We'll acknowledge the challenges you're experiencing, but much of our conversation will focus on what you want to be different, what's already helping and how you can move towards a future that feels better for you.
You won't be expected to share anything you're uncomfortable discussing. If something from your past is relevant to your current difficulties, we can talk about it sensitively and at a pace that feels right for you.
This is a common concern, particularly if you've never experienced hypnosis before.
There's no special skill you need to learn, and there's no right or wrong way to experience it. Some people feel deeply relaxed, while others remain more aware of their surroundings or find their minds wandering from time to time.
You don't need to empty your mind or force yourself to relax. I'll guide you through the process, and we'll find an approach that feels comfortable for you.
Everyone's circumstances and goals are different, so there's no single number of sessions that will suit everyone.
As a general guide, a course of around 8–12 sessions is sometimes used, although some people may need fewer or more depending on their needs and how they progress.
We'll review how things are going as we work together and discuss what feels appropriate for you. While some people notice changes within the first few sessions, progress varies and outcomes can't be guaranteed.
You don't need to be at crisis point to seek support. Perhaps you're feeling anxious, struggling to switch off, lacking confidence or finding that old habits are getting in the way of the life you'd like to lead.
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy may be a helpful option if you'd like a practical, supportive approach that focuses on your strengths and the changes you want to make.
It's also important that you feel comfortable with your therapist. If you're unsure whether this approach is right for you, we can talk through your circumstances and discuss whether it may be suitable.
I offer sessions in Woking and surrounding areas and online.
Online sessions allow you to take part from a comfortable, private space at home, while in-person sessions offer the opportunity to meet face to face.
Whichever option you choose, we'll aim to create a calm, welcoming space where you can focus on yourself and your goals.
Your privacy is important to me. Information you share during sessions is treated confidentially in accordance with my professional and legal obligations. There are limited circumstances in which information may need to be shared, for example where there is a serious safety concern or a legal requirement.
If you have any questions about confidentiality, you're welcome to discuss them with me before we begin.
It's completely understandable to feel nervous about taking the first step. You might not know exactly what to expect, or you may have been trying to manage things on your own for a long time.
You don't need to know all the answers before getting in touch, and you don't need to explain everything perfectly. We can start with a simple conversation about what's been going on and what you'd like to be different.
My aim is to help you feel listened to, supported and comfortable throughout the process, without judgement or pressure.
Ready to explore whether solution focused hypnotherapy could help?
You deserve the opportunity to feel better and move towards a life that feels more manageable and fulfilling.
If you'd like to find out more about Solution Focused Hypnotherapy with Holly Hitchen Therapies, you're welcome to get in touch or book an initial appointment.
Let's start with a conversation about what you'd like to change.