The South Hams hypnotherapist helping you to live a happier life

Helping you to make positive changes for mind and body through deep relaxation, hypnotherapist, Amy Johns, explains what she does and how she came to do it… 

How did you become a hypnotherapist?

I have had anxiety myself and from late teens I suffered from Trichotillomania, which resulted in me pulling my hair out until I was bald. As a result, I started going to see a hypnotherapist and it taught me how to cope and ultimately overcome my anxiety and resulting condition. .

One of the key things was that it changed my the way I thought about it Trichotillomania. Rather than seeing it a problem, I was able to see it as a sign that my stress levels were going up which meant I could then take control. It intrigued me and interested me as I was going through the process.

As an adult, I then had a very interesting career in corporate business, I had a husband who worked away four days a week. and I was raising two very young children alone while working fulltime and travelling across the country every week. In 2015 I was diagnosed with cancer and that year was horrid. I ended up having a physical and mental breakdown, so I took a sabbatical during which I retrained as a hypnotheraprist, and I’ve never looked back.

What does your work involve?

What I do is very solutions focused, combining NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to better understand our brains and how they work. The goal is to help people relax, focus on the positive aspects of life and using hypnosis we are able to change thought patterns and behaviours.

By doing that, you can make significant positive and beneficial changes within a relatively short period of time. Main reason I see clients is to help them with anxiety but I can also help with things such as depression, OCD, Mindful weight management, motivation and goal achievement, smoking, phobia and support with pregnancy and childbirth.

I have my own practice and I have a therapy room in my own house, which I think people really like because it’s private and there are no big signs outside. All my clients like that it’s a home and it’s just me. The most important thing when choosing a therapist is having a good rapport with them, so who I am is important to my clients. They have to like me, and I think coming into my house is reassuring.

What were you doing before?

I was a line manager working in corporate business for 15 years, writing and delivering training. What I enjoyed about it was helping people to develop. In hypnotherapy I do the same - I see myself as a facilitator.

Whether someone is anxious, tired, whatever it is, they come to me and I teach them how the brain works, why we feel the way we do, why we live the way we do and what we can do to help ourselves to move forward . It’s solution focused; looking at the future. You are the expert on yourself, so what I am doing is helping you to figure out how to move forward.

What do you enjoy about what you do?

I love understanding how the brain works, and that when you understand how and what’s going on in your own brain you can take a step back and take control. As I work with people on a week-to-week basis, I see them beginning to recognise their behaviours and then take control of whatever it is they want to take control of. The hypnotherapy is also deeply relaxing and that just empties their stress bucket - by doing that, I can help them to take control.

Have you always been based in the South Hams?

No, we used to live in Bristol, I had a busy hypnotherapy practice in Bristol which I loved and I am looking to return to have the same here. Since moving here just a year ago my priority has been settling my children . As I work on Skype as well as face to face. I have been dealing with clients who have come to me via recommendations or organically. Moving down here has meant that we can enjoy the outdoor lifestyle Devon offers.

I think the cancer and everything that went with it put things into perspective. in my previous career I worked long and ridiculous hours., and they were all riddled with guilt. My husband and I both grew up coming on holiday down here, as did our respective parents. So as a family we have always had strong ties and a holiday home in the area, and we have been coming down as a couple for 17 years. There was a moment when I started working for myself, and Phil was working at home at that point, and we had been on holiday and we just thought we didn’t want to go home. Then we realised we didn’t have to!

What are people always surprised about when they come to you?

I think the actual trance surprises people. Thirty minutes of trance is the equivalent of four hours REM sleep. Some people think they’ve been asleep, but they haven’t - it’s just a really deep state of relaxation. Some people find their brains being really active during a trance thinking of the shopping list, and that’s ok too. Sometimes people disappear into their own little world and they won’t really remember much about it, but other times they will remember quite a lot of what I have said. Whats so good is that you do not need to try and no matter what happens, the trance will work.

What are you looking forward to over the coming months?

I am setting up weekly group relaxation classes where people lie down and I take them through 30 minutes of switching off. I am looking forward to getting that into place over the next month. .

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT AMY JOHNS HYPNOTHERAPY