Last time we discussed how to build trust and rapport and saw how important the trust relationship between the client and the therapist is for success. Building on this I am going to look at social influences on this relationship in more detail. This will cover the demeanour, beliefs and behaviour of the therapist and also those of the client. This involves not only their individual beliefs but the social context which has formed them. So how do social factors influence hypnotherapy? At its simplest, social influence is a process where an experienced and trained therapist uses their skills to develop a relationship in which they can persuade, or influence, the client to adopt behaviours and change beliefs in a way which will improve the...
We start a new series today looking at social psychology and the therapeutic relationship. For the first part, we are going to focus on rapport and building trust, but before that, let’s take an overview of the whole subject. The role of social psychology in the therapeutic relationship Social psychology tells us how an individual is affected by the people around them, and how their reactions, beliefs, and behaviours are shaped in response. It also looks at group dynamics and how they influence the individual. This encompasses a wide range of topics, for example power hierarchies, how groups exert social influence, interpersonal relationships, culture, and the role of prejudice of all types in society. This social context provides the background for the relationship between the...
Living with chronic / persistent pain can feel like fighting a battle on two fronts. During the day, you manage symptoms and try to live as fully as possible. But at night, pain can interfere with sleep, leaving you exhausted, frustrated, and caught in a cycle where poor sleep makes pain feel worse. We often hear the same advice about sleep hygiene – go to bed at the same time, keep your bedroom dark, avoid caffeine. While these tips are helpful, they don’t always address the unique challenges of sleeping with chronic/persistent pain. In this blog, I want to share some different sleep strategies that move beyond the basics and may help you find a little more rest. Why Sleep Matters When You Live with...
I’m really looking forward to speaking at the 2nd European Pain Supported Self-Management Conference on 18th October, organised by the inspirational Pete Moore of the Pain Toolkit. This year I’ll be talking about two things that often go hand-in-hand: pain and sleep. If you live with persistent pain, you’ll probably know that sleep can be one of the first things to suffer. Pain keeps you awake, or wakes you up in the middle of the night. And then poor sleep, in turn, makes pain feel worse the next day. It can feel like a vicious circle. Many of the people I work with tell me they’re caught in this loop and don’t know how to get out of it. That’s why I’m so pleased to...
September is recognised as Self-Care September, an ideal time to reflect on how we look after ourselves. For people living with chronic/persistent pain, self-care is far more than a luxury – it is a vital part of managing pain, protecting mental health, and improving quality of life. When you live with persistent pain, the term “self-care” can sometimes feel unhelpful. The typical advice of taking a bubble bath or lighting a candle may sound pleasant but often doesn’t touch the daily challenges of chronic pain management. Real self-care needs to be practical, meaningful, and tailored to support both body and mind. Why Self-Care Is Essential in Chronic / Persistent Pain Chronic pain impacts every aspect of life: sleep, mood, concentration, relationships, and even your sense...
In the last few blogs, we have seen that different personality traits can affect how well the hypnotherapeutic process works. This is an important insight, but it can turn into a trap which narrows our vision of what hypnotherapy can do. People are very complex, and it can be difficult to identify their particular personality traits. Many of us are, after all, a mixture of different traits. With this in mind, it is important to remember that most people can benefit from a hypnotherapeutic intervention. It is true that different people experience hypnosis in different ways. Part of the skill set of a good hypnotherapist is to identify which traits in a client are likely to work well with the process, and which may not....
Absorption and imagination play a central role in successful hypnotherapeutic work. To clients, they can sometimes feel like mysterious abilities — something they must actively “do” — which may put them off from seeking treatment. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Every one of us has the capacity to imagine scenarios unique to ourselves, and we all have moments when we become so deeply engaged — or absorbed — in an activity that the rest of the world fades away. During an initial consultation, a hypnotherapist will often reassure clients that hypnosis, which draws heavily on absorption and imagination, is both natural and common. Most of us enter this state daily without even thinking about it. We might get lost in a...
If you’ve ever sat in the GP’s waiting room, wide awake at 3am, or curled up on the sofa trying to make sense of your pain — chances are this thought has crept in: “Why is this happening to me?” It’s such a human question, isn’t it? We ask it in frustration, in sadness, in silence. We ask it when the pain won’t go away, when treatments don’t work, or when everyone else seems to be getting on with life while we’re stuck — hurting, exhausted, and unsure. I’ve heard it hundreds of times from people living with chronic pain, fatigue, trauma, and illness in my pain psychology clinics both online and in person in Milton Keynes. And I’ve never heard it asked lightly. It’s...
One of the hardest things people living with chronic/ persistent pain tell me either in person at my pain psychology clinic in Milton Keynes or online — sometimes in a whisper, sometimes through tears — is this: “I don’t think people believe me.” It’s not just strangers. Sometimes it’s doctors. Sometimes it’s colleagues. Often, it’s family or friends — the people we hope will “get it” without us having to explain. And let me say this right at the start: I believe you. I really do. Your pain is real. Your experience is real. Your struggle is real. Let’s talk about why this question — “Do people believe me?” — crops up so often, and why the answer matters more than most people realise. When...
Today we are beginning a new short series on how personality and individual differences can affect experience and success of therapeutic hypnosis. To establish something as a trait, it needs to be a characteristic which is present in some people but not in others, and may vary in intensity between individuals. It also needs to be relatively stable — that is, something which remains consistent across long periods of time, and sometimes for a whole lifetime. There are standards for measuring this trait in relation to hypnotisability. Two well-known ones are the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales and the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility. We know that the ability to enter a hypnotic trance varies and there are some complex reasons for this. We will...
