Bodywise: Hello Jeni, you offer hypnotherapy sessions at Bodywise. People are sometimes daunted by or even afraid of hypnotherapy. Could you describe a typical session to our readers (which would hopefully put their mind at rest)?
Jeni Nelson: I can understand people’s perceptions of hypnosis, as what they’ve typically been exposed to is hypnosis used for entertainment purposes on stage, but what I do is hypnotherapy, using hypnosis as a tool to help people.
Hypnosis is a very natural state of relaxed, easy, focused attention that we go into and out of naturally throughout the day. For example, when you’re really absorbed in a movie on the telly, that would be a state of hypnosis. Just like that natural state, when you’re on the couch at Bodywise you’re completely in control. You can come in and go out of hypnosis whenever you want to. I can’t even make you think of something you don’t want to, much less do anything you don’t want!
I’m a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist. A typical session with me is based on the solution focused brief (talking) therapy followed by a period of hypnosis relaxing on the couch, and the hypnosis is a treat! It’s time out from a busy mind without you having to do anything really. Just relax and listen.
BW: What led you to become a hypnotherapist?
JN: I’ve used hypnobirthing techniques (which were wonderful) and a weight loss MP3. The MP3 amazed me! Just listening to a 14-minute track a few times a week really did change my attitude and habits and created space for awareness that meant those changes were long lasting. It inspired me to find out more and that lead me to the path of becoming a fully qualified, professional hypnotherapist.
BW: What do you love about your job?
JN: Where to start?! I love that often the questions I ask during a session are simple but can sometimes be hard to answer. That’s the point of them, to get you thinking, using the right parts of the brain. Once we fire those parts up, and consolidate that work with hypnosis, people tend to find themselves working instinctively, rather than very analytically, towards their goals. This is great news for those who’ve felt stuck or overwhelmed and are now exhausted by their efforts to think their way out of their current situation. That’s why things can appear to change effortlessly with hypnotherapy. It’s not no-effort, it’s just right-effort and the results never cease to delight me.
A big part of being a solution focused hypnotherapist is that I don’t analyse and I certainly don’t judge. It’s a wonderful part of my work that people’s solutions often surprise me! That’s why I’m so enamoured of the solution focused approach; I wouldn’t dream of telling you what do. It’s your life! You’re the expert! This approach just uses your unique, innate natural resources and seems to provide clarity which widens the path of future opportunities.
BW: Who benefits from hypnotherapy?
JN: Generally speaking, hypnosis helps change involuntary patterns of thought or behaviour, so if you’re doing something you don’t want to do any more or thinking in a way that makes you unhappy, hypnotherapy can help.
Most of my work is around anxiety and habits. It could be dealing with something very specific, such as performance anxiety or a phobia, or a general, pervasive sense of worry or overwhelm. As I don’t have a prescribed number of sessions, people can choose to come for as many as they find useful for them. That means, for example, if you want to stop smoking you might just come for a couple and take it from there, or if it’s something you find helps keep you happy and on an even keel, you might choose to come on a regular basis.
BW: Tell us something about yourself.
JN: I’m 157cm tall. I know this because I measured myself in middle school and I haven’t grown since then!
BW: What’s one of your Desert Island Discs?
JN: The Point Road by Shooglenifty. It a beautiful tune that reminds me of Scotland, my partner and love.
To make an appointment enquiry or read more about hypnotherapy, please click here.