The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners.

By Charles Montagu

Anxiety lies at the heart of every presenting condition a client brings to therapy.

We could view the therapeutic process as a rite of passage process, as so often a client comes to us at a time of transition, and we empower them to move into the next chapter of their lives both grounded and strong.

I address healing of anxiety in its three forms: the fear of being unloved, the fear of being unsafe and the fear of losing control.

For the client who presents with insomnia, there is the fear “I can’t sleep” together with anxiety around functioning the next day.

For our phobic clients, fears they rationally know are disproportionate to the risk (for instance, they know intellectually the mouse and spider are perfectly harmless) might be blighting their lives.

The fear of being unlovable is perhaps the most common fear underlying the inhibitions and blocks that clients will look to us to help eliminate.

I cannot think of any client I have ever worked with, whose symptoms were not rooted in anxiety of some sort or other.

Those clients afraid to lose control might be afraid of the concept of hypnosis, due to the ways it has been portrayed for entertainment, in contrast to hypnotherapy. I have developed a powerful first session that works every time, that has the wow factor, and that will set your client up for success in the sessions that follow.

I work with a paradigm to measure and assess emotional health and well-being, not just for clients, but also ourselves.  In my conference presentation, I shall be demonstrating live some of the techniques that I use to help my clients break free from anxiety that has held them back from freedom and from reaching their fullest potential.

Charles Montagu is a clinical hypnotherapist, and the first hypnotherapist to be funded by the NHS in England. He has been called “hypnotherapist to the stars”.

He is co-founder of The Health Partnership, an integrated holistic and medical centre in Central London. His work has been featured in the Sunday Times, the Guardian, The New Scientist, as well as on Channel 4 television.

He sits on the Boards of Eric Clapton’s The Crossroads Foundation, The British Council for Complimentary Therapy and he chairs of the Education and Standards committee of ACHE.