A Mill Hill based hypnotherapist has become one of the first in the country to achieve a new national standard of excellence. Russell Lee, who has a practice at the Chase Lodge Health Centre in Page Street, NW7 has been registered by the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), the UK regulator for complementary healthcare.

The recognition places him at the forefront of a national drive to provide a benchmark for standards and safety for the public. Practitioners registered with the CNHC meet national occupational standards and abide by a rigorous code of conduct, performance and ethics.

For further information, please contact Russell Lee on russelllee@sky.com, or by phone on 07517 909572.  Appointments can be made by calling or emailing Russell directly or via the Chase Lodge Health Centre on 0208 358 7100

Please read below to find out more!

RUSSELL LEE - A LITTLE ABOUT ME –
AND A LITTLE MORE ABOUT HYPNOTHERAPY

 

A long (long) time ago, I experienced hypnotherapy and found the process and results incredible and so began my many years of interest in this particular kind of therapy.

After a long and frankly boring career in commerce, I was lucky enough to get accepted into a well respected hypnotherapy training centre in London where I dived headlong into the whole experience. It was everything I had hoped for and more. My tutors, all vastly experienced and dedicated people, helped me to understand not only hypnotherapy and its applications, but also used techniques that included Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBT). It is this combination that I now use in my therapy sessions, which I believe gives me the opportunity to apply a far more wide-ranging therapy treatment for my clients.

I have tried below to answer some basic questions about hypnotherapy, but feel free to contact me should you have any further questions.

WHAT IS HYPNOSIS?

Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness in which it is possible for the hypnotherapist to communicate with the subconscious mind. The mind is a very powerful thing. Many issues, including medical conditions, habits, phobias, pain and stress related issues originate in the mind and can be helped using hypnotherapy.

Where the problems or issues are more complex and there are deeper psychological indications, hypnotherapy can be used to give an insight into the subconscious triggers that cause many unexplained symptoms.  

Many people experience hypnosis (or trance) in their everyday lives. It can occur when you’re engrossed in reading a great book, perhaps watching TV, maybe while daydreaming. Your attention is completely captured and everyday reality fades into the background. You are still conscious, but your consciousness is temporarily altered.  When you are being hypnotised, I guide you into this same kind of trance state somewhere between being asleep and being awake, and this is called a hypnotic trance.  It is a very pleasant feeling of calmness and deep relaxation.Contrary to popular belief, when you are hypnotised you are not asleep or unconscious. You will normally have your eyes closed, but you can still hear and feel and even speak.  Indeed your concentration and awareness can actually become heightened.

When the body and the conscious mind have been sufficiently relaxed, the normal barriers to the subconscious part of the mind also become relaxed, and the subconscious becomes receptive to positive suggestion.

WHAT IS POSITIVE SUGGESTION?

A positive suggestion is a positively worded statement or command, which is given (or suggested) to the subconscious mind. In the relaxed state of hypnosis, the subconscious mind becomes receptive and can accept and store the positive suggestion, and subsequently act upon it.

WHAT IS THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND?

That is a big question – and this is a very brief answer. Your mind consists of two parts; the CONSCIOUS and the SUBCONSCIOUS.  

The CONSCIOUS mind inhabits the surface level.  This part of the mind is where you do all your everyday conscious thinking. It has been described as your EGO. At a deeper level, we have the SUBCONSCIOUS mind, and this part of the mind deals with your unconscious actions – the things you do automatically.

In the subconscious you keep your habits, and also your habitual fears - and from here all your automatic responses are triggered. The subconscious also stores your memories – and all the things that have had a hand in making you what you are today.

HOW IS A HYPNOTIC TRANCE INDUCED?

There are several ways to induce hypnosis, and I use a wide variety of methods.

Most hypnotherapists use relaxation techniques, and you are also likely to be asked to concentrate on certain things. For instance I may ask you to focus your attention on your breathing, or to imagine various things.

During the induction, I will speak to you in a particular way, and at a particular tempo, which is designed to gently slow down the brainwaves. This will help you to gradually drift into the pleasant state of hypnotic trance, in which you will experience feelings of relaxation and well-being. Hypnosis is not a state of being unconscious, but merely of having your consciousness altered – indeed your mind remains clear and focused, and you are likely to remember most of what was said to you.

COULD I BE HYPNOTIZED AGAINST MY WILL?

No, your co-operation is required

CAN ANYBODY BE HYPNOTISED

The vast majority of people can be hypnotized. The exceptions are those who do not wish to be, very young children and people either drunk or on drugs. Everybody else, who properly co-operates can be hypnotized.  

WILL I LOSE CONTROL OF MYSELF and COULD I BE MADE TO SAY OR DO ANYTHING AGAINST MY WILL OR NATURE?

No. You will know what is going on and you will retain your intelligence and your self-control.  For hypnotherapy to be successful, you need to be comfortable with what is going on in the session. If any suggestion was given to you that you did not agree with, you could reject it. 

IF YOU DON’T LOSE CONTROL, WHAT ABOUT STAGE SHOWS WHERE PEOPLE CLUCK LIKE A CHICKEN?

Well, if I had a £ for every person who mentions this. Let me be totally clear. Hypnotherapy and Stage hypnosis are totally different and incompatible. My aims are very different. 

Successful stage hypnosis requires willing volunteers. These people obviously have a desire to join in the show and perform, or they wouldn’t volunteer to go on stage in the first place.  

Hypnosis merely helps them to lift the inhibitions, which they may ordinarily have against performing.

IS HYPNOSIS DANGEROUS and ARE THERE ANY SIDE EFFECTS?

Hypnotherapy is not dangerous.  In skilled hands hypnotherapy is a proven therapeutic aid.  NO drugs should ever be used, and there are no unwanted side effects.