To produce real change, you need help to better manage the symptoms of your issue.
You equally need to resolve the underlying issues driving those symptoms.
HOW MY APPROACH DIFFERS
The way I help you is quite different from how the average hypnotherapist or psychologist does. Why?
Firstly, hypnosis is NOT therapy. It is just a state of mind that gives us access to subconsciousness. It is that very access that makes hypnosis so useful in therapy.
What most hypnotherapists are taught is that the “re-programming” of a client’s psyche is relatively quick and straightforward. All they need to do is get the client into the hypnotic trance and provide them with positive suggestions. I don’t see this as an effective or comprehensive solution to serious problems.
On the other hand, the majority of psychotherapists use Cognitive Behaviour Therapy(CBT). It’s a psychotherapeutic approach founded in the idea that changing a client’s thoughts and behaviours will get rid of the problem.
There is an essential oversight with both approaches.
What I found to be the problem with both of these approaches is that they seem to disregard one crucial thing.
Regardless of how motivated at a conscious level you are to overcome your issue, at the unconscious level, you are heavily invested in maintaining your “problem”.
And neither simple hypnotherapy nor CBT take this fact into account.
SO, HOW DO I HELP YOU?
Receiving suggestions in a trance and doing CBT work are both great ways to help you with the symptoms of your problem. But the symptoms of your problem are not the problem. They’re just symptoms – signs that something else is going on inside.
However, I don’t disregard the immediate suffering you experience due to anxiety, depression, relationship issues or addiction. I assist you in finding ways to better manage your symptoms. Yet, I don’t stop there. I help you to discover and untangle yourself from the underlying issues driving those symptoms.
When you eliminate a symptom without tackling the underlying issue, the symptom usually returns or resurfaces in another form. So instead of providing you with a quick fix, I help you to resolve the problem that lies beneath.
ACHIEVING FOUNDATIONAL CHANGE
Hypnosis gives us access to the subconsciousness. The important thing is deciding what to do with that access. I use hypnosis in three different ways:
- I present positive suggestions to help you with the symptoms of your problem.
- I teach you self-hypnosis techniques that will help you better manage those symptoms. Through regular self-hypnosis, new neural pathways in the brain are built, as you mentally rehearse new behaviours.
- I help you to accessing memories, experiences and beliefs which are the driving forces behind your symptoms. I then help you to untangle yourself from those past experiences.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN A SESSION WITH ME
I use hypnosis and psychotherapy in an integrated way to help you.
Some sessions involve hypnosis. Some sessions do not involve the use of hypnosis.
If you were to see a counsellor or psychologist, you would talk to them about the week-to-week events, and they would give you suggestions on how to do things differently. I also speak with you about the week-to-week events – but for an entirely different reason.
I discuss those events because they point to the underlying issues that keep surfacing in the form of your symptoms. In my sessions with you, I help you understand the different ways in which you have adapted to life without realising it. Then, I help you to recognise how those adaptations shape your perceptions of the world and yourself. Then I help you to free yourself from those adaptations.
MY APPROACH IN A NUTSHELL
I help you to discover and free yourself from whatever unconscious ideas and processes are causing you problems so you can live the way you would like.
Sincerley,
How I help you
What makes me different from other therapists?
- The problems people come to me with are usually symptoms of a deeper underlying problem.
- These symptomatic behaviours are usually unconsciously driven due to an internal conflict. The conflict and the root cause of it are quite often outside of conscious awareness. It is because of this that I do not treat just the symptoms. I draw from a range of well established therapies and apply techniques in a uniquely integrated way to unravel the real issue. I use the latest findings of neuroscience to develop effective methods for you to take control.
The four main approaches I use in an integrated way are the following.
Hypnosis:
Hypnosis is a completely natural state of focussed attention which provides access to your subconscious mind. Another way of describing the subconscious mind is the feeling mind. This access can be used to offer positive suggestions, rehearse new strategies or to uncover the root cause of your problem.
Mindfulness:
Mindfulness is a very old eastern meditation techniques which enables you to gain some objectivity to your thoughts, emotions & sensations in the body. This increases your ability to be in control of those aspects of your self.
Analytical Psychotherapy:
Analytical Psychotherapy is an approach aimed at you gaining a greater and deeper understanding about the affect of experiences from your past; and the maladapted patterns of behaviour and thought processes. Open exploration using free association is one of the tools I use to achieve this.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy:
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy(CBT) is a well-established approached primarily aimed at correcting the negative thoughts that contribute to your problem. When this modality is integrated with Hypnosis and Mindfulness, you are able to make real advances in establishing new strategies and habits.
- I work with you as an individual. That means I work with you in a collaborative way to gain an understanding about you; your past, present and a clear understanding of what you want to gain from therapy.
- Through both conscious and subconscious work, we uncover which thoughts, feelings and behaviours are triggered by what. We also uncover and resolve the root cause of your problem.
- I provide you with the tools and techniques you need to move forward in a more beneficial way.
Your journey to overcoming your problem is one you can feel secure in knowing we will be working together to complete it successfully.
Sincerely,
Peter McMahon.
What our clients Say
Peter McMahon gave me a great deal of focus and clarity
Peter McMahon gave me a great deal of focus and clarity. Because of this I am finding myself doing things I could not have faced without his insight and knowledge. He’s such a gifted hypnotherapist and immediately made me feel comfortable. He gave me the push I needed to finally become the person I’ve always known I could be and it feels reat! I now keep on track and have a strong sense of empowerment which has enabled me to become a more effectual and dynamic speaker. I even find myself now volunteering for presentations at the office because I don’t have the fear or anxiety that I used to have. I know that Peter can help others as he helped me.
I have a lot more control now
This was probably one of the best choices I’ve ever made in my life. I have a lot more control now. I felt an immediate connection with Peter and didn’t feel I was in a “session” but rather like listening to a long lost friend. Through his help I am now growing in a positive direction. He has truly has helped me control my social phobia and panic attacks. I can now knock down those negative thoughts which imprisoned my mind by now being equipped with this new empowerment. Each social gathering became easier and easier. I feel dramatic results and I am well on my way to having a normal life being free of this phobia. This has changed my life!