Healing and Hypnotherapy Volume 5, Special Issue, 15 June 2021 | Page 24

from families with the resources , knowledge , time , and motivation to seek out hypnotherapy . Many families are not so privileged , and just as importantly , many people are not even aware that hypnotherapy can be used to support children .
Not only that , but the number of clinical hypnotherapists that will work with children is somewhat limited , as the approach required is different to that used in adults and therefore requires additional training and knowledge .
So I wanted to not only raise awareness of the use of hypnotherapy for children , but also increase its accessibility to include those children who may not have been able to access private therapy for whatever reason .
My crusade to bring hypnotherapy to the masses Since 2011 I ’ ve been developing and establishing the Hypnotherapy in Schools Program ( HISP ). We use clinical hypnotherapy to help pupils with any aspect of their emotional health or wellbeing , thereby improving their ability to learn effectively .
The Hypnotherapy in Schools Program helps pupils with any aspect of their emotional health or wellbeing CLICK TO TWEET I ’ ve been delighted to find that most schools and parents have taken an openminded approach , but in some cases it ’ s been all too obvious that the old misconceptions and stereotypes about hypnotherapy are still out there , waiting to be confronted and overcome .
If you ’ re a hypnotherapist , you ’ ll no doubt have experienced at some point the cynical looks , avoidance of eye contact , and jokes about your ability to make people cluck like chickens or do anything you want them to ! At parties , those responses might be mildly amusing , but in schools they can be seriously damaging .
So my first task was to educate people about the common misconceptions and explain exactly what hypnotherapy is ( and isn ’ t !); what it can and can ’ t do . Only after those fears were allayed could I get on with the task I had come to do : helping children .
In my experience , children rarely have the same preconceptions as adults – and this is very useful . Children are so much easier to take into trance and are often much more suggestible and used to taking direction . Sessions with