It’s helpful to start with a simple distinction.
Hypnosis is the natural state of focused attention and awareness. Self hypnosis is the process of guiding yourself into that state. What our recordings use, however, is hypnotherapy.
In other words, hypnosis creates the right conditions, and the techniques are what help create change.
If you’d like a broader explanation of hypnosis itself, see What Is Hypnosis and How Does It Work?
The Main Types of Techniques We Use
You don’t need to remember or recognise these while listening. They simply give you an idea of what’s happening behind the scenes.
Suggestion (The Foundation)
Suggestion is at the core of most hypnotherapy.
It involves introducing helpful ideas in a way your mind can accept more easily.
These suggestions can be:
- Direct – clear and straightforward
- Indirect – more subtle and open-ended
- Metaphorical – using imagery or storytelling
- Repeated to strengthen their effect over time
Different styles are used depending on what works best for the situation.
Visualisation and Mental Rehearsal
Many sessions involve some form of imagination. This might include:
- Visualising a positive outcome
- Mentally rehearsing a situation going well
If you feel like you “can’t visualise,” that’s completely fine. You don’t need to see clear pictures in your mind. Simply thinking about something, or having a sense of it, is enough for your mind to respond.
NLP-Based Approaches
Some techniques come from Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), which focuses on how thoughts, language, and behaviour connect. Examples include:
- Modelling – learning from people who already achieve what you want
- “Acting as if” – adopting the mindset of the outcome you want
- Anchoring – linking a feeling (like calmness or confidence) to a simple trigger
These approaches can be very effective when combined with hypnosis.
Mindfulness-Based Techniques
Some sessions include elements of mindfulness. This involves:
- Paying attention to the present moment
- Not reacting automatically to thoughts
This can help you feel calmer, gain more control over your responses, and change patterns more easily.
Cognitive Approaches (CBT-Based)
Some techniques are drawn from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. These focus on:
- Recognising unhelpful thinking patterns
- Replacing them with more balanced ones
Even small changes in thinking can have a noticeable effect on how you feel.
Desensitisation and Emotional Relearning
For things like fears or unwanted reactions, sessions may use gentle desensitisation. This helps your mind:
- Break the link between a situation and a strong emotional response
- Learn a calmer way of responding
Over time, reactions can become much less intense.
Updating Expectations
Your mind is always predicting what will happen next. Sometimes those predictions aren’t helpful (for example, expecting anxiety in certain situations).
Hypnotherapy can help introduce new experiences: often imagined at first. These allow your mind to adjust those expectations. As this repeats, your responses begin to change naturally.
When a Session Feels Indirect
Sometimes a session may not seem to focus directly on the issue you want to change.
For example, a session designed to help with something specific may not always mention it explicitly, or may approach it in a more general way.
This is often intentional.
Some hypnotherapy techniques work best indirectly, helping your mind:
- Form new associations
- Shift patterns beneath the surface
- Respond differently without needing to focus on the problem itself
Because of this, you don’t need to consciously recognise how a technique is working for it to be effective. Even if a session feels subtle or indirect, it is still structured with a clear purpose.
Real Examples from Our Sessions
To give you a clearer idea of how hypnotherapy techniques are used in practice, here are a few examples from different types of sessions:
Agoraphobia
Uses gradual exposure through imagination, allowing you to approach situations step by step in a safe and controlled way. This is combined with calming suggestions and future pacing, helping the mind begin to respond differently in real-life situations.
Breaking Bad Habits
Focuses on reframing and behavioural change. The session helps shift how the habit is perceived, while reinforcing a more natural alternative response. Repetition is used to make this new pattern feel more automatic over time.
Exercise Motivation
Uses positive association and future pacing. The session links exercise with rewarding feelings and mentally rehearses getting started and continuing, helping reduce resistance and build momentum.
Find Happiness & Contentment
Takes a broader approach, using suggestion and perspective shifts. Rather than focusing on one behaviour, it helps reinforce more balanced patterns of thinking and awareness that support a more positive overall outlook.
In most cases, several techniques are combined and layered throughout a session, working together in a natural and structured way.
Why We Use a Combination of Techniques
Not all hypnosis recordings are the same.
Some rely on a single approach, but effective hypnotherapy often uses a combination of techniques, carefully chosen to suit the goal of the session.
Our recordings are developed using:
- Established hypnotherapy methods
- Practical experience from working with real clients
- Insights from modern psychology
You can learn more about our team and approach on our About Us page.
Of course, no single technique works for everything.
By combining approaches where appropriate, sessions can:
- Work on thoughts, emotions, and behaviour together
- Adapt to different types of challenges
- Feel more natural and effective
At the same time, some sessions are intentionally simple and focus on just one or two techniques, depending on what works best.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need to analyse or try to identify which techniques are being used while you listen. It isn’t something you need to think about, and it doesn’t affect how well the session works.
Each session is carefully structured, with different approaches working together in the background to support change in a natural way. Your role is simply to follow along and allow the process to unfold.
Self hypnosis creates the right state, and hypnotherapy is what uses that state to help you change. Just follow the process, and allow it to work in its own way.