Welcome to the National Council For Hypnotherapy Podcast, where we dive into the fascinating world of hypnosis, lifting the lid on hypnotherapy, sharing insights and tips for change as we chat. So sit back, relax, and enjoy all the wonderful possibilities of hypnotherapy. My name is Tracey Grist, and I will be your host today. Hello. I'm here today with Doctor Rachel Gillibrand, a hypnotherapist and a specialist in neuroscience.

That's right. And all the

things of the mind. So how are you, Rachel? And how's everything?

Great, Tracey. It's so nice to be welcomed to this podcast. I'm really excited to talk today about all things Hypnosis.

Excellent. Excellent. So let's start with the basics. What drew you into hypnosis, hypnotherapy?

Sure. So my background is I'm a psychologist. So my training was in what we might call more traditional therapies. And I started that quite a while ago at the University of Cardiff and trained all the way through to become a doctor of psychology. It was in, gosh, I think 2015 that I decided I was going to focus more on the practice of psychology. I've been in academia all this time and was training other people to become psychologists and really loving that work and thinking, why aren't I doing it? And I thought, right, let's refresh. Let's just update and see what there is. And the hypnosis really appealed to me because a lot of the work that I had been doing was quite protocolized and felt quite rigid in some ways.

I felt that I wasn't necessarily able to really connect with the person. And it might sound strange to say that hypnosis allowed me to do that, but it really did. It's that connecting to the person that I really enjoy about hypnosis, that there isn't a protocol, that there isn't a format, if you like, that the session has to take that we can use indirect suggestion. We can use direct suggestion. We can use little tricks and treats to really help people engage with what it is that is bothering them so, and what it is that they need help with. And, funnily enough, actually, the thing that really put me under hypnosis was a Guy Ritchie movie. And it was an art theft and art heist movie. And there was a woman in it, and she was a hypnotist.

And she was just fabulous. And I thought, yeah, that's gonna be me. This person who is so professional, so cool, but she's got this additional thing. And I, I don't know, it sparked something in me. And next day, I was looking for courses in hypnosis.

Oh, wow. That inspired. It's either a heist or a murder, isn't it? 1 or the other.

I love a Guy Ritchie movie, and, you know, that was just the one. But I think it was something that has always interested me from the kind of magic side of things, you know, growing up. I like Paul Daniels, you know, and kind of enjoying the fun of what he was doing and kind of mesmerizing people and really drawing them in. So magical trick and the joy in me when it was suddenly revealed. So I think it was just a combination of so many different things. And then to understand that it was a real thing, that hypnosis isn't a game or a trick or a stage show, that actually it's something that really works, you know, that it's something that really makes a difference to people.

It's funny, isn't it? I think for if certainly from, I love the subconscious work. I love getting in there. And I'm not sure that with the more linear approaches like psychology, like CBT, there is that working underneath. Do do you mind that?