Booking your first hypnotherapy session can bring a mixture of curiosity, excitement and, very often, a few nerves. If you’ve never experienced hypnosis before, you may be wondering what it’s going to feel like, whether you’ll still be aware of what’s happening, whether you’ll remember everything afterwards, or even whether you’ll be able to be hypnotised at all.
These are questions I hear all the time, and they’re completely understandable. Most people’s experience of hypnosis before coming to see me has been something they’ve watched on television, seen at a stage show or heard about from somebody else. Therapeutic hypnosis is actually a very different experience.
At Pemberton Therapy, your first session isn’t about walking through the door and immediately being hypnotised. We begin with a conversation. I want to understand what’s happening for you, why you’ve decided to explore hypnotherapy and, most importantly, what you would like to experience differently.
We’ll also talk about hypnosis itself, I’ll explain how I work, and you’ll have plenty of opportunity to ask questions. By the time we begin the hypnosis, I want you to feel comfortable with what’s going to happen and understand that you remain aware and in control throughout the process.
What Happens When You First Arrive?
We talk.
That may sound obvious, but it’s an important part of your first appointment. Hypnotherapy should never be about simply applying a technique to a problem. Before we do anything, I want to understand the person sitting in front of me.
We may talk about what has brought you to therapy, when you first noticed the issue, how it’s affecting your life now and what you have already done to change it. Depending on what we’re working with, I may ask about situations that trigger a particular response, thoughts or feelings you’ve noticed, or patterns that seem to keep repeating.
But I’m equally interested in where you want to go.
If the problem wasn’t there, what would be different? How would you like to feel? What would you be doing differently? What would becoming free of that old response allow you to experience?
Those questions help us move beyond simply talking about what’s wrong and begin creating a clear idea of what you actually want from therapy.
Do I Need to Tell You Everything?
No.
You decide what you’re comfortable sharing, and you don’t need to arrive prepared to tell me every detail of your life. I need enough information to understand what you’re experiencing and to work with you appropriately, but therapy isn’t an interrogation and there is no expectation that you have to disclose something simply because you’ve booked a hypnotherapy session.
Sometimes clients arrive believing they need to know exactly why they have a particular problem. They may even feel frustrated because they can’t identify where it came from.
You don’t need to work that out before you come.
That’s part of what we can explore together if it becomes relevant.
We’ll Talk About What You Want to Change
This is one of the most important parts of the conversation for me.
People understandably tend to describe what they don’t want. “I don’t want to feel anxious.” “I don’t want to smoke.” “I don’t want to be frightened of flying.” “I don’t want to keep reacting this way.”
But if we’re going to create change, I also want to understand what you do want.
Perhaps you want to feel calm and confident when you speak in front of people. Maybe you want to get onto a plane and simply enjoy the excitement of travelling somewhere. You might want to feel comfortable in your own company, respond differently when something triggers you, or finally feel that you’re the one making the choices rather than an old habit making them for you.
That positive outcome gives our therapeutic work direction.
What If I’m Nervous About Being Hypnotised?
That’s perfectly normal, particularly if it’s your first time.
One of the first things I do is explain what hypnosis actually is and, just as importantly, what it isn’t.
Hypnosis isn’t sleep. You don’t become unconscious, you don’t lose control of your mind and I can’t make you do something you don’t want to do. You generally remain aware of my voice and aware that you’re sitting or lying in the therapy room.
Some people experience hypnosis as a wonderfully deep state of relaxation. Others notice that their body feels very relaxed while their mind remains quite active. Some people become deeply absorbed in what I’m saying, while others hear noises outside the room or notice thoughts drifting in and out.
All of those experiences can be perfectly normal.
There isn’t a particular feeling you need to achieve in order to be “properly hypnotised.”
What Does Hypnosis Actually Feel Like?
Hypnosis is often much more familiar than people expect. Most of us have experienced moments of intense focus or absorption in everyday life. You may have become so engrossed in a book or movie that you temporarily lost awareness of what was happening around you. You might have driven along a familiar road and suddenly realised you’d travelled much further than you consciously remembered. Or perhaps you’ve simply become lost in thought for a few minutes.
Hypnosis uses that natural ability to focus your attention.
I’ll guide you into a relaxed and focused state, but you don’t need to force anything to happen. You don’t have to clear your mind, stop thinking or work hard at relaxing.
You can simply follow my voice and allow the experience to develop naturally.
Will I Still Be in Control?
Yes.
This is probably the question I’m asked most often by people who haven’t experienced hypnosis before.
You remain in control throughout the session. You can speak if you need to, move if you’re uncomfortable and open your eyes if you choose to. Hypnosis doesn’t remove your judgement, your values or your ability to make decisions.
I’m guiding the process, but we’re working together.
I think that’s an important distinction because good hypnotherapy isn’t something a therapist does to you. It’s a collaborative therapeutic process in which your mind remains very much your own.
What Happens Once I’m Hypnotised?
Once you’re comfortably relaxed and focused, we begin the therapeutic part of the session. What happens from there depends entirely on why you’ve come to see me and what we’ve discussed beforehand.
Hypnotherapy isn’t simply relaxation with a few positive statements added at the end. The therapeutic work can involve beliefs, thoughts, emotional responses, learned associations, habits and subconscious patterns that may be contributing to what’s happening in your life.
Sometimes we use imagery or metaphor. Sometimes the work is more direct. Sometimes we may work with an emotional response or an old belief that has continued operating long after it stopped being useful. Different people need different approaches, which is why I don’t believe in using exactly the same therapy with everybody who walks through the door.
Two people may both come to see me about anxiety, for example, but one person’s anxiety might centre around fear of judgement while another person’s anxiety is connected with uncertainty or losing control. The outward symptom may sound similar, but the experience underneath can be very different.
Your session should reflect your experience.
Will I Have to Talk During Hypnosis?
Sometimes, but not always.
Some therapeutic approaches involve more conversation and interaction while you’re in hypnosis, while others allow you to simply listen and follow the process.
If I need you to respond, I’ll guide you through that. You won’t suddenly be expected to know what to do.
And you certainly don’t need to worry about saying the “right” thing. There isn’t a test you have to pass or a performance you need to give.
You simply experience the process.
Will I Remember What Happened?
Most people remember their hypnotherapy session.
You may become deeply relaxed or absorbed, and some parts of the session may naturally feel clearer than others afterwards, just as they can in any deeply relaxed experience. But hypnosis doesn’t normally mean becoming unconscious and waking up with no idea what happened.
In fact, clients sometimes come out of hypnosis and say, “I could hear you the whole time — was I actually hypnotised?”
Yes. Being aware of what is happening doesn’t mean hypnosis hasn’t occurred.
You don’t need to lose awareness for hypnotherapy to be effective.
Will We Have to Go Back Into My Childhood?
Not necessarily.
This is another common concern, particularly for people who have heard about regression or assume that hypnotherapy always involves returning to past experiences.
It doesn’t.
Not every anxiety, fear, habit or emotional response comes from trauma, and I don’t begin therapy by assuming that somewhere in your past there must be a hidden event we need to uncover.
Sometimes earlier experiences are relevant to what you’re experiencing today. If they are, there are therapeutic ways we can work with them carefully and respectfully.
But you won’t automatically be asked to relive painful memories simply because you’ve come for hypnotherapy.
We work with what is relevant to you.
What If I Can’t Visualise Things?
That’s okay too.
People experience their internal world differently. Some people create incredibly vivid pictures in their mind. Others don’t visualise clearly at all. Some people respond more strongly to feelings, sounds, words, ideas or simply a sense of knowing.
There isn’t one correct way to experience hypnosis.
If I ask you to imagine something, you don’t necessarily have to “see” it like a movie playing in your mind. You can think about it, sense it, feel it or simply know what it would be like.
Good hypnotherapy should work with the way your mind processes experience rather than expecting everybody’s mind to work in exactly the same way.
What Happens at the End of the Session?
At the end of the therapeutic work, I’ll guide you back to your usual alert awareness. There’s no possibility of being “stuck” in hypnosis.
People often come out of hypnosis feeling deeply relaxed, and sometimes they’re surprised by how much time has passed. Others simply feel calm, refreshed or thoughtful about what they’ve experienced.
We’ll usually have a conversation afterwards about how the session felt and anything you noticed. You don’t have to analyse every moment or work out whether something “worked” immediately.
Often the most interesting part comes afterwards, when you return to everyday life and encounter the situations that previously triggered the old response.
That’s when you may begin noticing what’s different.
How Long Does a First Hypnotherapy Session Take?
Your first appointment may involve more conversation than later sessions because we’re getting to know each other, discussing what has brought you to therapy and making sure you understand the process before we begin hypnosis.
I don’t want that part to feel rushed. The conversation gives me information I need to tailor the therapy, but it’s also your opportunity to become comfortable with me and the way I work.
Later sessions can look different because we already have that foundation and can build on the work we’ve begun.
Will One Session Fix the Problem?
It might create significant change, and some people do notice a considerable difference after their first session. But I don’t promise one-session fixes.
At Pemberton Therapy, our general average is around three to four sessions, although every person and every concern is different.
Some people may need fewer sessions and others may find further sessions useful. What matters isn’t getting you to a predetermined number. It’s whether we’re achieving what you came to therapy to achieve.
We’ll review what’s changing and decide together whether further work would be useful.
What Can You Come to Hypnotherapy For?
People come to Pemberton Therapy for many different reasons. These can include hypnotherapy for anxiety, stress, fears and phobias, confidence, public speaking and performance concerns, smoking, alcohol-related habits, unwanted behaviours, grief, emotional responses and patterns that simply seem to keep repeating despite conscious efforts to change them.
What matters to me isn’t simply the label attached to the problem. I want to understand how it’s affecting your life and what you want to be different.
Two people can present with the same concern and need very different therapeutic approaches.
That’s why every session should begin with the person, not the problem.
What Should You Expect From Your Hypnotherapist?
You should expect to be treated with respect.
You should be able to ask questions and understand what’s happening. You should feel listened to rather than judged, and you shouldn’t feel pressured to disclose or explore something simply because a therapist thinks you should.
You should also expect honesty about what hypnotherapy can and cannot promise.
I can’t guarantee that a particular outcome will occur within a particular number of sessions, and I don’t believe responsible therapy should make those promises.
What I can offer is an individual therapeutic approach based around you, your goals and what you want to change.
At Pemberton Therapy, we care and understand, and for me those words are an important part of how therapy should actually feel.
Frequently Asked Questions About Your First Hypnotherapy Session
Will I be asleep during hypnosis?
No. Hypnosis isn’t the same as sleep. You can be deeply relaxed while still remaining aware of my voice and what is happening around you.
Will I lose control?
No. You remain in control throughout hypnosis. You don’t surrender your judgement, values or ability to make choices.
What if I don’t feel hypnotised?
There is no single feeling that proves you’re hypnotised. Some people experience very deep relaxation, while others simply notice focused attention or absorption. You don’t need to feel dramatically different for hypnosis to be taking place.
Can you make me say something I don’t want to say?
No. Hypnosis doesn’t remove your personal judgement or force you to disclose information.
Will I remember the session?
Most people remember their session. Remaining aware and remembering what happened doesn’t mean you weren’t hypnotised.
Will I have to relive trauma?
No. Reliving trauma is not an automatic part of hypnotherapy, and not every problem originates in trauma. If earlier experiences are relevant, they should be approached carefully and respectfully.
What if I can’t visualise?
That’s absolutely fine. You don’t need to create vivid mental pictures to experience hypnosis. We can work with thoughts, feelings, sounds, sensations, ideas or simply a sense of knowing.
Can I ask questions before we start?
Absolutely. I encourage it. I would much rather you understand what we’re doing and feel comfortable before we begin.
Your First Hypnotherapy Session: The Simple Answer
Your first hypnotherapy session at Pemberton Therapy begins with you.
We’ll talk about what’s happening, what you’d like to change and what you’d prefer to experience instead. I’ll explain hypnosis and answer your questions so you understand exactly what we’re doing before we begin.
When you’re ready, I’ll guide you into a relaxed and focused hypnotic state. You’ll remain aware and in control while we begin therapeutic work specifically designed around what has brought you to see me.
And when the hypnosis is finished, we’ll talk again.
There isn’t a particular way you’re supposed to experience it. You don’t need to be “good at hypnosis,” you don’t need to switch your thoughts off and you certainly don’t need to surrender control.
You simply need to come as you are.
If you’ve been considering hypnotherapy but you’re still unsure about taking that first step, I offer a free 15-minute consultation. It’s an opportunity for us to have a conversation about what’s happening for you, for you to ask any questions you have and to get a feel for me and the way I work before deciding whether you’d like to book a session.
Sometimes simply having that conversation can make something unfamiliar feel a whole lot more comfortable.
