FAQs

Hypnosis is a holistic method of treatment. It addresses the mental, emotional and finally the physical level. During hypnotherapy, the emotional causes of an illness that are anchored in the subconscious are treated. The processes of change and healing take place at the emotional level. Hypnotherapy differs from other psychotherapy methods in that it does not take place in a waking state but in a hypnotic trance. When we are awake, our feelings are inhibited by our mind. This also explains why many people have already rationally understood their ‘problem’ and yet cannot achieve a change in behaviour. The disadvantage of waking therapies is that they are very lengthy and do not lead to the desired change in behaviour. In the trance, critical thinking moves into the background, which enables the processing of feelings. With the help of hypnosis, it is possible to gain access to one’s feelings within a few sessions, and these can then be changed more easily. In the process, the processed emotions are re-evaluated.

There is no particular feeling that you will feel during hypnosis. If you have any physical discomfort, it will not be felt during the trance unless we consciously trigger it.
You will not drift off or sleep during hypnosis. You will be clearer and more alert during hypnosis than when awake, as you will be much more aware of your feelings and thoughts. Some people see more images that relate to their issues during the trance. You can also consciously end a hypnosis at any time by simply opening your eyes. But I would ask you not to do this and only open them when I ask you to do so at the end of the hypnosis session. Otherwise, you may not be able to adequately process certain emotions. The hypnotic trance has a relaxing effect on the body. When the trance starts, some harmless effects may occur: Some people feel an urge to cough and some people have an itching sensation (due to improved fine blood flow to the skin), tears in the eyes, yawning, an increased urge to swallow as well as a laughing sensation (due to a release of feel-good hormones, which hypnotic trances can partially cause). Please try not to suppress these stimuli. Simply let them happen. Suppressing the stimuli can disturb the trance. Therefore, you may of course scratch yourself briefly if you have an itch. This way, you can then go into a deep, intense trance.

The only thing show hypnosis and hypnotherapy have in common is that both procedures take place in a trance. Otherwise, they have nothing in common.
Show hypnosis only serves to entertain an audience and has no added therapeutic value. Various tests are used to filter out the ‘highly hypnotisable’ people. They usually then have to perform embarrassing acts.
During a hypnotherapy session, the client has full control over the topics and the course of the session.

Normally, you do not need any other therapy methods in addition to hypnotherapy. During a trance, various elements from different therapy methods, such as Gestalt therapy, can be integrated. This way, hypnotherapy can be adapted to the client’s concerns. Clients prefer hypnosis because you don’t talk about the problems and you can resolve them within a short time. There are often situations that cannot be fully grasped emotionally. In such cases, it makes sense to take more time for the topic with the help of talk therapy based on the work of Rogers. In parallel, very anxious or headstrong people who have difficulty feeling themselves and their emotions also benefit from complementary therapies such as talk therapy and other methods. And lastly, there are people who need more intense guidance and they may do better by having behavioural therapy.

• Please arrive on time for our hypnosis appointment in order to avoid stress in advance.
• Do not make any plans before and after the hypnosis treatment on the same day.
• Avoid coming to the appointment overtired or exhausted, as this may limit your ability to absorb.
• If you are sensitive to caffeine, please do not consume any drinks containing caffeine (e.g. coffee, cola, black tea) 3 – 4 hours before the appointment. As the stimulating effect can be counterproductive for the trance. Drink plenty of water instead.
• Refrain from taking painkillers for at least 72 hours before the treatment. If the medication is prescribed by a doctor, please let me know before the hypnosis treatment.
• Do not consume alcohol or mind-altering substances for at least 48 hours before the treatment.

In general, everyone can be hypnotised. Trance is like reading an exciting book and feeling like you are in the middle of the action. Or you are driving a car and you suddenly arrive at your destination without having been consciously aware of the way there.
There are only some exceptions. About 10 – 15% of all people are difficult to hypnotise. They are very sceptical, refuse hypnosis or are not able to accept the hypnotist’s instructions. Some mental illnesses and the consumption of antidepressants can also make it difficult to trance. In particular, anxious and/or perfectionistic people find it difficult to relax at all. If we clarify all fears and unanswered questions about hypnosis in the preliminary consultation, you will be able to engage in hypnosis well.

There is no information in the Islamic religion that hypnosis treatments are forbidden. Islam allows any form of medical as well as mental treatment that helps a person to heal.
However, there are some considerations about treatment with hypnosis that relate to the abuse of power. Every hypnotist should use their skills professionally and responsibly and not harm anyone.

Try to adopt an ‘inner observer position’ during hypnosis. Allow yourself to enter your inner world – physical sensations, feelings, thoughts, inner images. Just notice what the hypnosis is triggering in you at the moment. You are allowed to relax and let go. If you have difficulty doing this, then consciously do nothing. By just letting it happen, you reduce critical thinking and as such, the activity of your mind. This helps you to enter hypnosis easily and quickly. You will reach deep hypnosis within a few minutes. And if you realise that you can’t get involved in hypnosis, you can simply tell it so that I can support you.

If you have made the decision that you do not want to go into hypnosis, you will be successful with your plan. You can do the opposite of what the therapist tells you to do or you can independently stop the hypnosis by opening your eyes. However, in order not to diminish the effect of the hypnosis, I would recommend that you go along with it and just let it happen.

Please do not expect to become ‘unconscious’ or ‘faint’ during hypnosis treatment. You will recognise the states of trance used in hypnosis therapy by an intense feeling of relaxation, which can be accompanied by phases of ‘wandering off’ from the state of consciousness. These trance states represent optimum therapy and allow for much more profound, long-term effects than states that are too clouded in consciousness. Therefore, you will be able to notice everything and also clearly remember everything from the hypnosis. It may happen that not every single detail can be recalled from the treatment after hypnosis. However, you will not have a blackout or anything similar.

There are many forms of hypnosis. The focus of my treatment is the resolving hypnosis based on the work of Floris Weber. With this method, negative emotions can be resolved and inner blockages can be removed. Read more about my way of working.

A suggestion is the influencing of a person’s thinking, feeling, wanting or acting. Suggestive hypnosis is used to try to directly change a feeling and the behaviour associated with it.
Unfortunately, suggestions have no effect if they cannot be accepted by the client. Example: Let’s suppose the therapist says “From today, you will go through life with confidence” to the client during hypnosis. But the client may think, “No, I am not self-confident.” Then the suggestions will not work or will only work for a short time. The causes of the lack of self-confidence must first be resolved. Then, suggestions are very effective.

You may feel very exhausted after hypnosis Addressing distressing feelings, as in any therapy, is very exhausting. For this reason, do not take on anything strenuous for the period after the hypnosis. In addition, avoid tasks that require a lot of concentration. Of course, you may also feel fitter and more energetic than before because you managed to get rid of a lot of baggage during hypnosis. Last but not least, it is also possible that you experience an initial worsening of your symptoms. This is a sign of the healing processes, and these will subside within a few days.
The resolving hypnosis and the trance can have an after-effect lasting for a few days to several weeks.
You may dream more often after the first couple of hypnosis treatments because the subconscious is stimulated during hypnosis and as such, it works more actively. This is also a sign of healing processes.

• After hypnosis, many clients feel as if they have had a nap. Therefore, schedule your appointments afterwards so that you have about a quarter of an hour to become fully awake again before you have to drive, for example.
• After the hypnosis treatment, I recommend that you get some rest.
• After the session, do not immediately analyse as to whether the hypnosis effect has taken place. It is only possible to check exact effects after about 3 to 4 days. Your brain needs time to process the therapy session. Initial results can only be seen after some nights, because your brain can only perform deep memory processes during sleep.
• In the 72 hours following a hypnosis session, refrain from drinking large amounts of alcohol or taking medication that has not been prescribed by a doctor. Alcohol, medication and other agents that can influence your consciousness can reduce the effect of the hypnosis..
• Drink plenty of fluids in the initial days after the treatment. This can support the brain and nervous system when it comes to change processes and processing mental processes.

The opposite is the case. With the help of hypnotherapy, you can remove the blockages that prevent you from being the person you actually are. Everything that makes you as a person is simply allowed to be there without you having to fear that you will be punished or hurt for it. We resolve the emotional baggage behind the causes that keep you from being free.

People who want to use hypnosis to make their problems “go away”. It is true that issues can be treated more effectively through hypnosis. But therapy also means that you have to take personal responsibility and deal with unpleasant emotions yourself.

1. The starting point of any successful therapy is the client’s self-motivation. If someone sends you for hypnosis and you do not feel ready for therapy at the moment, hypnotherapy will be of no use.
2. A strong fear of hypnotherapy can also affect success. Many people find it difficult to open up emotionally to a stranger or to confront their problems. If you have the willingness to let go of your fear, nothing stands in the way of us working together.
3. There are people who always blame others for their difficulties. If you want to make lasting changes in your life, you need a minimum amount of self-reflection for therapy.
4. A lack of trust between the client and therapist can lead to the client not being able to go into trance in the first place.
5. Maybe hypnotherapy is not the right therapy method in your situation. . In this case, talk or behavioural therapy may lead to better therapy results.
6. Feelings of shame and guilt often prevent the success of psychotherapy. The shame of presenting yourself as you are inhibits some people from addressing shameful issues in the first place. Sometimes, it also happens that people close themselves off during hypnosis because of feelings of shame.
7. If you do not want to deal with certain emotions (e.g. anger, hatred, etc.) in the sessions, it can impair the success of the therapy and permanently worsen your mood. All emotions are natural psychological processes that make us human. Excluding unpleasant emotions can lead to us only scratching the surface of your problem.
8. Unfortunately, most people have false expectations of hypnotherapy. As with almost all therapy methods, hypnosis can lead to both positive and negative changes in your mood. It takes a complete processing of our “bad” memories to feel good again.
9. Perfectionism and hypercritical thinking can get in the way of successful hypnosis treatment. Everything that happens during hypnosis is allowed to take place. There is no right or wrong. During the hypnosis session, thinking about whether you are sufficiently in a trance can also prevent you from letting go.
10. In the case of severe OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), hypnotherapy can only be successful accompanied by psychopharmacological therapy.
11. Taking psychotropic drugs can make it more difficult to achieve a trance. If you are taking medication such as tranquillisers (benzodiazepines) or sleeping pills (hypnotics), experience has shown that the positive effect of hypnosis does not materialise. Tranquillisers dampen your feelings so that they cannot be resolved with hypnosis. The medication must first be phased out under medical supervision and completely broken down in the body. This can take several weeks to months.
    If you have only recently started taking antidepressants, I recommend that you first get used to the medication. In the initial phase, the feelings can flatten out so that hypnosis cannot work.
12. Be patient. If you have lived with discomfort all your life, sometimes it can take longer until issues are resolved. It may also happen that an issue has stuck with you on many levels. This is quite normal. Therefore, don’t be too hard on yourself if you require multiple hypnosis sessions on the same issue.

It is important to me that you achieve demonstrable therapeutic success. Unfortunately, I cannot see inside you and foresee the number of sessions you’ll need. Please always keep in mind that you have not had your problems since yesterday and that it may take several sessions to achieve success.

I cannot make you a promise that your complaints will go away with hypnotherapy. Under the point “What factors make hypnotherapy” difficult you will find several reasons why you may not respond to the treatment. It may be that the session resolves another problem or even makes several distressing issues disappear. I promise to provide treatment as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible for you.

Under the point “How will I feel after hypnosis”, I have already written about initial worsening that can sometimes occur after a hypnosis session and subsides after a few days.
With the help of hypnosis, you become more and more aware of your feelings and emotions. This can feel very threatening for some people. And actually, it is a sign that we are getting closer to the core of your problem.

• People suffering from psychosis or schizophrenia.
• Following cardiovascular events such as a heart attack, stroke or thrombosis and embolism, hypnosis should only be used again after 6 months.
• Hypnosis is not performed on people with reduced intelligence.
• For people with personality disorders, e.g. borderline personality disorder, dialectical behaviour therapy is more suitable than hypnosis therapy.

If you find yourself in an emotional emergency situation, please contact the following organisations:

Sozialpsychiatrischer Dienst Düsseldorf	LVR-Klinikum Düsseldorf
Phone 0211 – 8995391	Phone 0211 – 922-0

This question is not easy to answer because there are many reasons why you are suffering at the moment and others are living a “supposedly” perfect and healthy life. Even though you may not believe it, many people are in the same situation as you.

There are many people who think that they have to live with their complaints. They don’t mind if they have physical symptoms from time to time. Very few can imagine that a healthy psyche brings with it physical well-being.