Your Happiness
Awaits You
Make Stress, Frustration and Even Dependency
a thing of the Past
Anxiety Treatments
A hypnotherapist with strategic training offers more than mere relaxation techniques. They provide methods to transform catastrophising, agitation, and over-analysis tendencies.
Anger Management
A hypnotherapist trained in clinical methods can assist in reclaiming control over anger and empowering you to select more constructive responses.
Self-Esteem and Confidence
A hypnotherapist with strategic training can assist in identifying strengths, calming the inner critic, and restoring self-confidence and well-being.
Communication Skills
Discover strategies to enhance both personal and professional relationships, establish clearer boundaries, and master intentional communication techniques.
Dependencies
Our clinical hypnotherapists empathise with your situation. Whether you struggle with smoking, drinking, substance use, or other challenging behaviors, we're here to support you every step of the way.
Adults and Teenagers
With a dedicated team of therapists, we offer a wide range of specialties. Explore our team, select based on expertise or location, and reach out for a complimentary consultation today.
Gordon Young
Strategic Clinical Hypnotherapist
Gordon Young, Founder of Gold Coast Hypnotherapists and Lead Trainer at the Institute of Applied Psychology, has assembled a diverse team dedicated to serving the Gold Coast and the surrounding regions including the Northern Rivers, Byron Bay, Balina and Lennox Head. We believe in making quality therapeutic support accessible to everyone. Our team comprises experts from various backgrounds and specialties, all trained in cutting-edge therapeutic techniques proven effective in Australia.
In addition to their individual qualifications, each team member is a Certified Strategic Hypnotherapist and Gordian Practitioner. You have the freedom to select a therapist based on specialization, location, or experience. Following our program diligently, most clients experience significant positive changes within 4-6 sessions.
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“For years I struggled with a persistent pattern of binge eating. Together we unpacked how I was running my pattern and the emotional drivers behind it. With the counselling and hypnotherapy combined I have now stopped bingeing.”
“I booked to see Leona because I couldn’t stop grinding my teeth while sleeping. I then developed TMJ with severe facial pain. I saw Leona for three sessions of hypnotherapy. The sessions were extremely relaxing and after each session I gradually noticed a reduction in my grinding at night and overall better sleep. I would highly recommend Leona as a therapist and am now a firm believer in the power of hypnotherapy!!!”
“Today, I am a changed person. I no longer feel as stressed or anxious as I was; I recognize what matters to me and that my own needs are important without feeling guilty.”
“I went to see Leona as I was suffering from short-term insomnia. Leona is a true healer and provided immense and ongoing support to me. Within just two sessions I was feeling so relaxed and with the help of her recordings, I have been able to sleep again. Thank you so much Leona!”
Frequently Ask Questions
Still unsure? Here are the answers to frequently asked questions
Strategic Hypnotherapy sets itself apart from other hypnosis methods by targeting the perceptual filters that cause problems. Most hypnosis techniques focus on guided visualisations to help you relax and achieve calmness.
Many hypnosis techniques use pleasant imagery, like forest scenes or floating in serene blue oceans. While these can be relaxing, they only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. Strategic Hypnosis focuses on altering your perception of risk.
If you tend to be hyper-vigilant, we will assist you in performing reality checks. If you overanalsze situations, I will help you differentiate between useful analysis and unnecessary overthinking.
The misconception that some people may not be hypnotisable stems from traditional approaches to hypnosis. Traditional or authoritarian hypnosis often relied on scripts and direct instructions.
Contemporary hypnosis approaches do not impose instructions. Instead, I present options, allowing you to select what resonates with you during the session. This approach eliminates resistance, ensuring anyone can benefit from hypnosis without concerns about being unable to participate.
Gold Coast Clinical Hypnotherapy offers a unique approach to mental well-being, distinct from traditional meditation and relaxation techniques. While meditation aims to calm the mind and achieve peaceful focus, hypnosis differs significantly in brain activity. The brain operates on different electrical wave frequencies: beta during alertness, alpha during relaxed awareness, theta during drowsiness, and delta during deep sleep. Hypnosis induces a distinct brainwave pattern that isn’t like normal waking, sleeping, or meditation. Instead, it resembles the alpha state, marked by both physical and mental relaxation alongside heightened awareness of one’s surroundings.
Contrary to the misconception of hypnosis as a zombie-like state, it actually shares similarities with meditation, albeit with a focus beyond relaxation and inner peace. Hypnotherapy leverages the alpha state’s enhanced mental clarity and creativity to foster therapeutic changes. This perspective underscores that hypnosis is scientifically understood rather than mystical, tapping into the brain’s natural rhythms to provide distinct advantages for individuals addressing diverse mental and emotional challenges through clinical hypnotherapy in Gold Coast.
To summarize, clinical hypnotherapy in Gold Coast differs from traditional meditation by reprogramming your cognitive patterns, enabling you to regain control over your mental and emotional state. This approach dispels the myth of hypnosis as a trance-like condition and underscores its therapeutic potential in addressing various mental and emotional challenges.
One prevalent misconception about hypnosis involves the mistaken belief that the hypnotherapist controls the client’s actions and thoughts. This misunderstanding often arises from portrayals of hypnosis in television shows and performances by stage hypnotists. However, in reality, this idea is far from accurate. All hypnosis is essentially self-hypnosis, and individuals cannot be hypnotized against their will. Those under hypnosis will not act in ways or say things that contradict their usual behavior or moral values.
Research conducted at the University of NSW by Dr. Amanda Barnier has highlighted that individuals under hypnosis do not transform into mindless automatons or become susceptible to implanted post-hypnotic suggestions in their subconscious. While some people may genuinely experience a shift in their personality during hypnosis, others may convince themselves of it, and a small percentage might even feign it. To dispel these concerns among clients, hypnotherapists often pose questions like, “Could anyone persuade you to do something against your moral or ethical beliefs, such as committing a crime or behaving indecently?” This helps clarify that hypnosis does not override one’s values or control their actions. Furthermore, it’s emphasized that people can act against their morals without hypnosis, such as through drug use, theft, or cheating, illustrating the autonomy individuals have in making choices and decisions.
Clinical Hypnotherapy offers benefits to individuals experiencing emotional or physical discomfort of any kind. The range of issues treatable through hypnosis is diverse. While hypnosis is often linked with habit cessation like weight loss or smoking cessation, it can enhance treatment outcomes in nearly any area addressed by conventional methods. A skilled clinician in hypnotherapy can assist clients dealing with the following conditions:
Alcoholism, Anger, Anxieties, Asthma, Bed Wetting, Blood Pressure, Blushing, Breathing Disorders, Bulimia, Burns, Chronic and Acute Compulsions, Confidence, Dentistry, Depression, Eczema, Exam Nerves, Exam performance, Gambling, Gastro – intestinal Disorders, Goal Setting, Grief, Guilt, Habit Control, Headaches, Hostility, Insomnia, Memory Enhancement, Mood Swings, Nail Biting, Obsessive / Compulsive Behaviours, Obstetrics (hypnobirthing), Over Eating, Pain Control, Assertiveness, Communication, Pain management, Panic Attacks, Personal Growth, Phobias, Psoriasis, Public Speaking, Relationships, Relaxation, Releasing the Past, Resentments, Sexual Dysfunction, Skin Problems, Sleep Disorders, Smoking Cessation, Sports Motivation, Stress relief, Study Recall, Stuttering, Warts and Worry, even some forms of schizophrenia and multiple personality(DID) have been treated with hypnotherapy.
Hypnosis is applicable in treating a wide range of disorders, whether mental or physical, by leveraging the relaxation response to enhance the individual’s mindset. For instance, in cases of physical injury, hypnosis can mobilize mental resources to help manage discomfort, facilitate rest, and reduce emotional distress. It’s crucial to emphasize that Hypnotherapy complements rather than replaces medical treatment by a qualified physician. The key factor influencing therapy’s effectiveness is the sincere motivation to achieve wellness.
A Clinical Hypnotherapist employs hypnosis to help clients attain a state of mental, physical, and emotional relaxation. During hypnosis, the conscious mind—the busy, critical, analytical part—takes a break. This state enables individuals to access the reservoir of information stored in the subconscious, also known as the unconscious mind, and enact positive changes to thought patterns, habits, or the effects of traumatic experiences impacting mental or physical well-being.
The experience of hypnosis varies for each client depending on the technique used and their psychological makeup. Some may feel heightened awareness, while others experience deep relaxation. Clients may hear every word spoken by the hypnotist clearly at times, while other times the voice may fade in and out or become completely indistinct. In Ericksonian hypnosis, the client is never under the “control” of the hypnotist; they always retain the freedom to adjust their experience or awaken whenever they choose.
Hypnosis is a natural and healthy state of mind that occurs without the use of drugs. To my knowledge, there has never been a documented case of harm resulting from the use of hypnosis.
Leslie Le Crone, psychologist and authority on hypnosis, states: “As to self-induction, many thousands have learned it and I have yet to hear a report of any bad results of its use”.
In his book Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Dr William S Kroger states: “Platonof, an associate of Pavlov, who used hypnosis for over fifty years in over fifty-thousand cases, reports as follows: ‘We have never observed any harmful influences on the patient which could be ascribed to the method of hypnosuggestion therapy, or any tendency toward the development of unstable personality, weakening of the will, or pathological urge for hypnosis”.
Dr David Cheek, MD, who has vast experience in the field, writes, “We can do more harm with ignorance of hypnotism than we can ever do by intelligently using hypnosis and suggestion constructively”.
Psychologist, Rafael Rhodes, in his book “Therapy through Hypnosis”, writes: “Hypnotism is absolutely safe. There is no known case on record of harmful results from its therapeutic use”.
Clinical Hypnotherapist, Gil Boyne, who I have had the pleasure of training with, states, “In almost forty years of practice and more than 40,000 hours of hypnotherapy, I have never seen or heard of any harm resulting from hypnosis”.
However, at this point I would like to bring up poker machines. Briefly, Progression of Emotions and Coping Strategies
Understanding the way the emotions progress is important. It is important that we develop appropriate coping strategies when we are first hurt. An example can be:
HURT: A man goes to work and his boss tells him that he may be losing his job.
PAIN: He gets a headache.
FEAR: He starts to worry about his bills, can he get another job.
ANGER: He is driving home and yells at an old lady who is driving too slowly.
DEPRESSION/SAD: He gets home and just sits and feels very sad – life is not worth living, why does this always happen etc.
DISASSOCIATION: He feels numb, sleeps all day, watches TV or drinks excess alcohol, plays poker machines etc.
Examples of good coping strategies – going for a walk, calling a friend, doing breathing exercises, seeing the funny side or other person’s side etc.
Just take note of a poker machine room, it is perfect for trance. Very rarely do they have window, and only just recently did a law come in to say a clock had to be in clear view. The hypnotic sound of the machines, how now you only have to slide money in to the shoot, no breaking state to get more change etc. The hypnotic pattern of the left right eye movement. Remember the watch. Very good place to get away from pain, except when the money runs out and you have to come back to reality.
What hypnotherapy does is to help bring out the best in you. This means that you will change by leaving behind any habits or baggage you no longer need or want and thereby become a stronger and happier person. Hypnosis will not put something into you that was not there in the first place. It just helps you to uncover your strong and good qualities, which you may not even have known you have.
Being in hypnosis is often described as a state of deep physical and mental relaxation, comparable to the moments just before fully waking or drifting off to sleep. Some liken it to daydreaming. During hypnosis, individuals experience profound relaxation mentally, physically, and emotionally, which is inherently therapeutic. Dr Milton Erickson, a leading American Hypnotherapist, described the process of clinical hypnosis as “a free period in which individuality can flourish”.