Discover the transformative journey into hypnotherapy as Gavin Roberts shares his personal experience, revealing how two sessions cured a decade-long problem. Explore the profound impact of hypnotherapy on emotional, psychological, and even physical conditions, and gain insights into the spiritual dimension of Gavin’s work, where hypnotherapy becomes a gateway to profound healing and transformation. Learn more in his exclusive MysticMag interview below.
How did you get into hypnotherapy and what drew you to it?
I got into hypnotherapy after it cured my 10-year problem in only two sessions. The back story goes as follows.
After studying psychology in my 20s I became interested in altered states of consciousness. Hypnosis fell into that category and I read all I could about it. By my early 30s, I’d been suffering from a physical condition for 10 years. Numerous visits to doctors and specialists failed to find a cure. I was told, “You’ll have to live with it”. However, I suspected there might be a psychological reason for my symptoms. I first tried counselling, CBT, and even Jungian dream analysis to help figure out if my mind might be causing my unexplained symptoms. Nothing changed.
Then I stumbled upon a hypnotherapy trainee who was looking for people to practice on. Sure enough, during our second session (and whilst in the hypnotic state) I experienced a powerful insight. But more than being merely a cognitive insight (that I might have experienced with the earlier talking therapies), I could actually feel something shifting deep within me.
Within days my symptoms began to heal. Within two weeks all symptoms had disappeared. And they have never returned (and that was over 20 years ago). It was this powerful personal experience that resulted in my training in hypnotherapy. I simply knew I had to learn how to use hypnosis therapeutically to help others, much as it had helped me. It became my calling in life.
What issues and goals can hypnotherapy help with?
Hypnotherapy can help with all manner of emotional, psychological, and, as my own example shows, even physical conditions as well. With hypnotherapy, we work on a subconscious level. This means that old patterns and conditioning are much more easily changed compared to other talking therapies. Healing from illness, injury, and surgery can be speeded up with hypnosis. And there is plenty of scientific research that tells us the immune system is boosted by using hypnosis (www.cell.com/trends/immunology/fulltext/S1471-4906(01)02136-6).
In over 20 years as a hypnotherapist, I’ve helped people suffering from…
• Anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks and phobias;
• Depression and worry;
• Sleep problems;
• Addictions;
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder;
• Low confidence and self-esteem;
• Lack of motivation and purpose in life;
• Relationship problems;
• Performance issues (such as in sports).
With hypnotherapy we engage the more imaginative right hemisphere of the brain, helping you not only solve your problems but also unlock your potential and take positive steps toward achieving your goals, whatever they might be.
What can people hope to learn from your courses?
The online courses on my website are about personal development and evolution and they all involve the use of hypnosis. Because hypnosis is about using the REM state (our most powerful re-programming state) the courses work on a deep, subconscious level.
There are courses on boosting self-esteem and confidence, becoming more assertive, overcoming social anxiety, improving relationships, developing a success mindset, and more.
One of the most popular courses is a free course all about hypnosis – what it is and how it works.
Can online hypnotherapy be as effective as in-person hypnotherapy and what are the differences between the two?
Yes, online hypnotherapy can be as effective as in-person therapy (many of my clients tell me so). It makes for a good choice if, for whatever reason, you can’t travel to a therapist’s office.
However, I feel that some psychological problems (such as trauma) are best dealt with in-person. There are certain hypnotic techniques that work better (and are safer to use) face-to-face.
The therapist should use their professional experience to determine whether online therapy is suitable for a particular person. It is not for everyone. The main difference between online and in-person therapy is that it’s much harder to feel the ‘energy’ between therapist and client online. It is also more difficult to notice subtle body language signals when all you can see is the client’s face.
That being said, if a safe space is created online, free of disturbances and you have developed rapport there’s every chance that online hypnotherapy can be just as effective as in-person hypnotherapy.
Is there anything else about your work that you’d like to share that we haven’t covered?
I’d like to answer this final question by mentioning the spiritual aspect of the work I now do. Since a profound mystical experience back in 2010 the therapy I deliver has definitely become more spiritually-focused. During the experience (which I share on my page about oneness – www.human-spirit.co.uk/self-help-articles/oneness-the-ultimate-healing-experience), subject and object became one thing. I merged with the pavement I walked on, the people all around me, the trees, the cars, everything. All things became one thing. And my awareness knew this one thing to be love. The universe (and everything in it) was made of the same substance – the molecules of love.
This experience of mystical consciousness lasted some 20 minutes. I’ve since spent more than a decade trying to understand and integrate it. What really happened that day? How did my personal consciousness connect up and merge with a bigger consciousness? What triggered it?
It has been (thus far) the most profound experience of my life. I got to wondering if this expanded state could be created using hypnosis. Indeed, in my spiritual hypnotherapy sessions, several clients have reported feeling ‘connected to all things’. It is a state of bliss where, I believe, tremendous healing takes place on all levels: body, mind, and soul.
This is where hypnotherapy unleashes its full potential, a merging of mind and soul that creates real change and lasting transformation.
To learn more about Gavin and his work, you can visit www.human-spirit.co.uk
