Rebecca Bates was working in her kitchen two years ago when she realized she could no longer do her job. The 50-year-old teacher from Lancashire was already suffering from anxiety and depression, but traditional counselling and therapy had not helped, and she eventually had a mental breakdown.
“One day my mind just wouldn’t work, I didn’t want to get out of bed and I started having suicidal thoughts,” Bates said. “I had to wait at least six weeks for someone to contact me and I desperately needed help.”
Data published by the NHS earlier this month showed waiting lists for planned treatment in England rose to a record high of 7.75 million people in August. After joining the list, Bates searched online for alternative treatments and decided to turn to hypnotherapy.
“At first, it was about three sessions, and that made a big difference,” she says. “We didn’t have any gimmicks or props like you see on TV. [The therapist] He used his voice to reassure me and tell me to use my head and my imagination.”
Bates is one of a growing number of people who are turning to hypnotherapy to deal with a range of issues, from stress, anxiety and depression to pain management and addiction.
Patients are typically induced into a trance-like state by the hypnotherapist after which they are given suggestions to encourage them to change their thinking and habits. Sessions cost between £100 and £500, although some clinics offer cheap or free self-hypnosis audio recordings.
However, the evidence that hypnotherapy is effective is inconclusive, and hypnotherapy is an unregulated profession, so in theory anyone can call themselves a hypnotherapist.
Official NHS guidelines warn patients with mental illnesses and certain personality disorders against using hypnotherapy as it may make their conditions worse, and the NHS recommends only using hypnotherapists with a medical background who are registered with an organisation accredited by the Professional Standards Agency.
Ana Maria Toth (left) is planning a study to see if hypnotherapy can help relieve pain.
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Gail Mara, who runs a hypnotherapy clinic on London’s Harley Street and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, said that in her experience, the number of people enquiring about hypnotherapy treatment has more than doubled since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mara, 62, said patients were frustrated by long NHS waiting lists. “Some patients with serious eating disorders are being told they will have to wait 18 months or more to see a specialist,” she said. “Others have missed months of school, missed an entire year or had to drop out of university because of the lack of support they receive.”
Karl Smith, a hypnotherapist who founded the British Academy of Hypnosis, which trains new trainees, says he has seen a 50 percent increase in the number of enquiries, but warns: “It’s not a silver bullet. There are certainly lots of weekend warriors who do online courses and call themselves hypnotherapists. You just need to check where they got their training.”
In 2021, a Sunday Times investigation found that well-known therapist Marisa Peer had made millions of pounds from a “dangerous” treatment called “rapid transformation therapy”, which combined hypnosis, psychotherapy and neuro-linguistic programming.
Max Karsten used hypnotherapy to help Ewan McGregor quit smoking
Tom Pilston (The Times)
Max Karsten, a former hypnotherapist, Star Wars Actor Ewan McGregor has quit smoking, but he says he’s seen more patients seeking help. “I’m definitely busier than ever,” he says. “I’m seeing more anxiety-related issues and more addictions.”
Kirsten, 63, usually has one to three appointments at her clinic in Knightsbridge, central London. She believes the disruption caused by the pandemic has exacerbated a pre-existing mental health crisis. “Businesses are struggling. Teenagers are struggling to make ends meet. This is added stress on top of the stress and anxiety that was already there,” she said.
Some hypnotherapists also offer weight loss treatments such as the “virtual gastric band”, which allegedly makes people feel fuller after eating smaller meals.
Jane Boissière, president of the British Society for Clinical and Academic Hypnosis, was a general practitioner until she retired in 2012. “There are good hypnotherapists out there, but hypnotherapy is currently unregulated and is considered an alternative or complementary therapy. I would like to see every department in every hospital have people trained in these techniques,” she said.
“If hypnosis were available as a tool to all medical professionals, there would be no need for specific ‘hypnotherapists.'”
Some medical professionals are already starting to use hypnotherapy: in April the British College of Anaesthetists produced a series of self-hypnosis recordings aimed at helping patients relax before surgery and develop a positive mindset about the operation and recovery.
Rebecca Bates turned to hypnotherapy to deal with anxiety and depression
Karen Clark/5 LITTLE BOYS PHOTOGRAPHY
Meanwhile, clinicians at NHS hospitals in London, Somerset and Manchester are also investigating hypnotherapy as a tool to help patients with irritable bowel syndrome and those struggling to cope emotionally with cancer treatment.
Ana Maria Toth, a clinical nurse researcher with a degree in medical hypnosis, is running the Hypnopal trial at Musgrove Park Hospital in Somerset to see whether hypnotherapy can benefit patients having colon surgery.
Mr Toth said: “Managing pain after surgery can be different for each patient and we are always looking for ways to reduce pain. Hypnopal is a feasibility trial that will inform future research into whether hypnosis can help with pain recovery.”
The Hypnopal trial will study 40 patients later this year, with participants receiving the same level of treatment as before but potentially adding hypnotherapy. “At the very least, patients will feel more relaxed, and we’re hopeful the trial will show a number of other benefits,” she said.
Bates, who suffered from severe depression, found hypnotherapy so helpful that she learned it herself. “It’s not magic,” she says, “but I feel a lot happier, a lot calmer and more confident.”
