What is Cognitive Hypnotherapy?

Cognitive Hypnotherapy is talking therapy like counseling and CBT. It’s a powerful new approach in the mental wellbeing space as it combines effective techniques from different therapy styles including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Positive Psychology, traditional hypnotherapy and Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP).

Combining these approaches, Cognitive Hypnotherapy is able to work with the mind at a conscious and an unconscious level to make lasting positive changes to problematic thoughts, feelings and behaviors. 

What are Cognitive Hypnotherapy audio sessions?

Traditionally Cognitive hypnotherapy is accessed by visiting a cognitive hypnotherapist. The therapist works with their client during face-to-face appointments and in-between appointments gives them a hypnotherapy audio recording to listen to.

Clementine makes cognitive hypnotherapy more accessible and affordable by providing on-demand self-serve hypnotherapy audio recordings without the need of a therapist appointment.

What does Cognitive Hypnotherapy do?

Hypnotherapy teaches your mind to see things differently. It does this by interrupting negative thoughts and replacing them with more positive ones. It repeats the positive suggestions until they sink in and become your default way of thinking. 

What can cognitive Hypnotherapy help with?

Cognitive hypnotherapy can be used to address most common emotional, mental or behavioural issues including anxiety, low self-esteem/lack of confidence, imposter syndrome, stress and poor sleep.

It can alleviate specific physical challenges such as sleeplessness, migraines and some hormonal changes in our bodies like having period cramps or hot flushes. 

It can also help in areas of your life that you want to improve in, for instance, becoming more confident, more productive, more patient, more grateful, more considerate.

How is cognitive hypnotherapy different from mindfulness meditation?

It’s easier.

Mindfulness meditation requires active concentration and has prolonged periods of silence that some find difficult. Hypnotherapy involves a constant stream of suggestions and visualisations to keep you engaged.

It fills your mind rather than emptying it

Rather than emptying your mind, hypnotherapy fills it with positive, useful information

It helps the root cause of the problem.

It can tackle a problem, such as insomnia, but also addresses the things that may be causing it; such as perfectionism, low self-esteem or a fixed mindset.

It can help with more things. 

It can do more than making you feel calmer and less stressed. Cognitive hypnotherapy trains the mind in more positive thought patterns. It can transform mindsets in many ways such as; increasing confidence, reducing anger, improving self-belief, boosting motivation, and raising self-worth.

It has powerful scripts

Hypnotherapy scripts are crafted to work on a specific goal. Every word and pause is deliberately designed to induce a hypnotic state and communicate with your unconscious mind. 

Our scripts are never read by actors. All scripts are written and recorded by trained cognitive hypnotherapists as the delivery (the pauses, intonation and speed etc.) are as important as the words. 

How does hypnotherapy work? 

We prepare your mind to learn

We help your mind enter a relaxed, calm and more suggestible state; perfect for learning new empowering thought patterns, ideas and perspectives. 

We deliver positive messages

Once relaxed, the therapist makes positive suggestions to help transform how you think and feel in the area that you have chosen to work on or improve.

We repeat them so the message sticks

The positive suggestions are repeated throughout the session, reinforcing the learning to help the message stick. 

What is a hypnotic state? 

Hypnotic states are completely natural. It’s a state of mind that you will have experienced before whenever you have slipped into autopilot or had a moment of complete focus. 

Clementine sessions recreate the natural state of hypnosis by using the guiding voice of the therapist, saying the right words, in the right way, at the right time. 

Is cognitive hypnotherapy safe?

Yes. It’s completely safe and you're in the hands of professionally trained and competent hypnotherapists. The Clementine app is also approved as safe by the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA).

Is hypnotherapy magic? 

No. Hypnotherapy is not a magic trick or magic spell and it isn’t something that only works for the “suggestible few”. Hypnotherapy simply helps your mind to do what it’s already excellent at: learning.

Will I cluck like a chicken? 

No.  This type of medically based, ethically used hypnotherapy is safe to use to improve overall mental health.

Will I lose control?

No. The therapist delivers positive messages for your mind to chew over so that you can accept and integrate the ideas that work best for you and your life.

What is the difference between hypnosis and meditation?

They are similar as they create the same brainwave activity. The good news is for those who have a busy brain and feel meditation is too difficult to achieve, hypnosis can be really effective because even with mind chatter, the information is still going in.

Is there any evidence that cognitive hypnotherapy works? 

Yes. In 2011, the Quest Institute of Cognitive Hypnotherapy launched a research project with the aim of demonstrating the efficacy of their approach. The study used the same outcome measures as IAPT[PI1]  (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies), which meant that they could compare their practice directly with the leading therapeutic models within the National Health Service such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

In September 2015, the pilot study was published in the Mental Health Review Journal. Using 118 cases of people suffering from depression and/or anxiety symptoms, it recorded that 71% of those included in the study considered themselves recovered after an average of four sessions. This compared to an average of 42% for other approaches like CBT that have used the same measures.

Do the audio sessions work?

Yes. We know that our audio sessions are working! 97.9% of our listeners have said that they have helped them. .

Hypnosis activates a deep relaxation response in your body that reduces nervous system activity, decreases blood pressure, slows heart rate and accelerates healing. It has been used as a great self-improvement tool for many years.

It’s a proven therapeutic aid – helping to relieve tension, lessen anxiety states and promote feelings of calmness and tranquility. 

Can hypnotherapy be used along with other health and wellbeing tools and techniques?

Yes. Everyone has individual needs and hypnotherapy is just one way that can support your overall wellbeing.

Will the sessions help me to fall asleep?

Some people do fall asleep. This is fine; it won't change the results of the hypnosis – the information is still going into your mind. Your unconscious mind is open to receive and store information 24 hours a day, whether you're alert and listening or not.