Taking Sport first, Hypnotherapy can be effective by helping the client to identify and eradicate self-limiting beliefs about himself, that prevent him from achieving optimum performance. To demonstrate how, I will use golf as an example.

What frame of mind do you start off with/ Have you relaxed yourself, or are you tense after a hard morning at work? Can you enjoy all aspects of the course, or do you play with an intensity? When you are playing against an opponent with a much lower handicap, how does that affect how you play? You know that you will be lucky to win, so does your game improve, or deteriorate,as a result? How do you respond when you play a really poor shot? Do you reflect and learn and then move on, or do you let it spoil the rest of your game?. Can you play the game with the intention of playing you best, or do you have to win?

These and many more issues can be tackled using Hypnotherapy. In addition, using NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) techniques, Hypnotherapy can help you to improve many aspects of your mental approach to the game. Tiger Woods has used psychological techniques, since he was 14. He especially uses visualisation, where he does not focus on the potential distractions or pitfalls, such as the bunkers, but simply on where he plans to land the shot

Similar principles can be applied to all aspects of Sport. As Sir Clive Woodward said before setting off to Australia for the 2003 World cup ‘The competition will be won in the head it isn’t necessarily the best team, or the team with the best players that win games, but the team that can think correctly under pressure. It’s what’s between the ears that counts’.

Social problems generally involve self-limiting beliefs; usually initiated in childhood, or through poor relationships there-after. Based on the way they are treated, individuals can believe at unconscious level, that they are unworthy, unlovable, incapable, undeserving etc. etc This can lead to a range of social problems from blushing, anxiety, stress, depression, to Agoraphobia, Eating disorders and self-abuse. Hypnotherapy helps identify and eliminate these beliefs and helps the client to cope with everyday social situations

Sexual problems can have components from above, but can also be based on the individual’s perception of his own and partner’s expectations. The perception is that individuals have sex some 2.something times per week, on average. In reality, probably 90% of the sexually active population have sex a lot less than that, while 10% are bonking for Britain; making the average artificially higher. Also, you have to question the accuracy of what people say when questioned; since pride comes into play. Similarly, the average duration of foreplay is supposedly 7.something minutes. Expectations of what should be achieved, can lead to insecurities and then to confidence and performance issues. Egos can be a very fragile thing, when it comes to sex.

The common factor in each of the above areas is problems at unconscious level, which prevent optimum performance. Because Hypnotherapy works at this level, then it is best suited to deal with these problems