Jessica Turner Hypnotherapy is a form of psychotherapy used to create subconscious changes in a person’s behaviour in the form of new responses, thoughts, attitudes or feelings.
The healing technique is thought to date back to Greece and Egypt, but today it is used as an holistic medical treatment addressing health concerns from weight control to pain management. The modality is also widely recognised as tactic to help break bad habits such as smoking.
Hypnosis is a deeply relaxed state of heightened awareness during which an individual has an increased receptivity to suggestions. The conscious mind is bypassed allowing positive changes to be made at a subconscious level, where our beliefs and habits are embedded.
According to the medical world, it is a safe therapy and one remains conscious, alert and fully in control while being comfortable and deeply relaxed.
In Australia the profession of hypnotherapy is unregulated. However, treatments can have powerful effects on responders, so it’s important to choose a reputable therapist.
Dr Karen Phillip is a Sydney-based expert in the field. She is a trained psychotherapist and is renowned for helping her in-clinic patients achieve results by freeing them of unconscious triggers and impulses.
She’s a regular on TV, has treated celebrities as well as high profile entrepreneurial patients in person, and to say the least, the waiting list for a visit is long.
Now, anyone with a computer, tablet or smartphone can benefit from Dr Phillip and her treatments.
She has developed system of targeted virtual hypnotherapy treatments that can be accessed anywhere in the world. Whether it’s decreasing anxiety, to recovering a relationship, the virtual treatments are reportedly just as successful as a face to face session. She talks to SPA+CLINIC.
What inspired you to start virtual sessions?
I have been working as a counselling therapist and clinical hypnotherapist in private practice for about 15 years, and people were coming from miles around to attend my psychotherapy and hypnotherapy sessions.
It was my husband who suggested I consider putting my sessions online so many more people can access them. While I was doing many sessions on Skype for people around the world and within Australia, it just made sense.
So many people experience very similar issues and have similar goals.
Now everyone from every part of the world can benefit from my sessions. There are no psychotherapy/hypnotherapy sessions online anywhere else.
What are the most popular virtual hypnotherapy treatments and why?
Lose Weight is one of the most popular and successful sessions. Most people have tried a variety of other weight loss techniques and most involve attending groups, going to a gym, focusing on eating (or not eating) certain food types, and then we have the numerous pills and shakes people consume.
These types of treatments sometimes allow some weight loss but often it is regained. Virtual hypnotherapy retrains the brain in the way we think and respond to foods.
The body naturally wants to eat small, healthy portions and is happy and satisfied with good foods. I also teach people about the acid/ alkaline balance of the body which is vital to understand and lose weight.
Stop Smoking was one of the original sessions. As long as the person really wants to stop – not being told to stop from their partner, kids or doctor – then virtual hypnosis works instantly.
The beauty of the session is it is completely natural, no drugs, no chemicals, no patches or pills. The mind is so powerful, I utilise this strength and retrain the person’s mind to think differently about smoking so they never pick up a cigarette again.
The other sessions proving most popular are Reduce Anxiety and Remove Baggage from Past Issues.
So many of us have issues, stress and anxiety in our lives. These sessions alleviate and reduce these often overwhelming emotions so you can rebalance your beliefs and move on with more positive thoughts, feelings and emotions.
I have been asked to incorporate Stop Nail Biting, Fearless Flying, Remove Phobias, and Relationship Recovery, all of which have proved successful.
It is so gratifying when we receive emails from customers telling us they have struggled for years to stop smoking or lose weight, or with stress or anxiety, and now they feel more in control of their lives, stronger and more focused.
How effective is a virtual session in comparison with a in-clinic sessions?
We trialled these sessions for about 12 months and recorded all the successful results. We found no difference in success at all comparing virtual sessions and in-room sessions.
Therapy sessions with me in my rooms or via Skype had the same success rate as doing the session on-line. It really is like I am there with you, speaking to you. It works.
The most positive difference that stood out for clients is the benefit they found doing the sessions in the comfort of their own home. No longer needing to travel to or wait for appointments, doing the session at a time convenient for their lifestyle and having the session available to use again at any time if they want.
Are there any specific benefits to a virtual session as opposed to “real life” besides convenience?
- It is a fraction of the cost of attending an in-room session
- All sessions are available for you to use forever; while attending a room session, every visit costs money
- I am always only an email away; this is free
- You can re-listen as often as you want
Who is your key target audience for the virtual sessions?
Any person who is struggling with a behaviour, habit, fear or addiction they want to remove.
It is for all genders, all people, all ages. My aim is to help make the people of the world, happier, more in control of their life and future and all-naturally without the use of prescription medications that so often have detrimental side effects.
Our mind is strong and capable of making these positive changes; we only need to know how.
Can you share any memorable stories that you’ve heard from your “virtual” clients with SPA+CLINIC?
Amy, a client from Sydney, purchased the Relationship Recovery session. I heard back from her, that after a few weeks, she had moved on finally and met a great person she wanted to get to know more. She was now free from a past relationship that hurt and damaged her.
A few weeks passed, and she purchased the Remove Baggage session. She then discovered she was not only hurt from her previous relationship, she was carrying considerable baggage from her childhood in relation to father issues and trust for men.
After doing this session she told me her relationship improved within days. Their arguments about trust were alleviated after she discovered how her past was affecting her current life and relationships.
I believe unless she had taken steps to recover and remove these past issues, she may have yet again fallen into another disastrous relationship (story of her life). She expressed how surprised she was at what came up for her during the session and how much lighter and freer she now felt.
My client Carly, from California, was stressed due to her pending marriage. She wrote to me asking what session would be best. I discovered it was nothing to do with her wedding; it was in relation to her honeymoon. The couple had booked an overseas island resort holiday, yet the bride had a dreadful fear of flying, and she was tremendously stressed that she would not be able to get on the plane.
At this time, I had not had a ‘Fear of Flying’ phobia session, so, I got to work to record one as she needed it urgently. Like always, I tested it with a few people I know with the same issue. The session was adjusted slightly before getting a ‘green light’ from everyone. I sent the session to this bride-to-be two weeks before her wedding and asked for her feedback.
I didn’t hear anything for three weeks until I received an email of joy, gratitude and appreciation. She, in fact, had a wonderful wedding and a magnificent honeymoon. She listened to the session before her wedding, felt more confident and when preparing for the honeymoon, boarding the plane and flying to the Island, she remained calm, confident and comfortable. She loved her honeymoon and the flight there and back. She now plans to visit family living abroad that she was unable to visit prior due to her fear of flying. She said to me: “My whole world has opened up, I feel I can do anything, thank you so much, Dr Karen, for making this possible.”
Jason, another client of mine from Atlanta had a dreadful fear of dogs that commenced when he was a child after a group of dogs chased him down a street after school. A passerby intervened and saved him from being attacked. He then developed a fear of all dogs. His embarrassment was humiliating to him. Now a married man and father, his children wanted a dog. He continued to make excuses, until finally, he admitted his issue to his wife to his wife.
She found my Remove Phobia session online and purchased it for him. Other therapy sessions failed to resolve his issue, but within one day, he went out with his family and purchased a puppy. He wrote to me telling me his story saying “I never usually write or even talk about my old issue, I was too embarrassed to let anyone know, but after doing your virtual hypnotherapy session, it just worked. My perspective was adjusted, and while I will never approach a large barking dog, the fear has been dispelled.”
Hypnotherapy requires deep relaxation. Studies have shown that a “digital lifestyle” can be a perpetrator of stress. What are your suggestions to overcome any sense of heightened brain or eye functions (stress inducing) when viewing the sessions on digital devices?
Our digital lifestyle can cause us stress, and this is due to the increased brain activity of searching, watching and listening to social media and entertainment. Virtual Hypnotherapy is quite different. While it is supplied digitally, it actually slows the brain activity, enables you to focus, watch and listen in a relaxed manner. It then prepares you to sit comfortably, close your eyes and simply listen to my voice while I take you on a relaxed, calm journey of healing to readjust your thoughts and assist you to achieve your goal.
*Dr Karen Phillip is one of Australia’s leading hypnotherapists. She works with clients all over the world, assisting them to relax and reduce their anxiety levels plus manage deal with a variety of other issues. Based in Sydney, Dr Phillip is a lifestyle doctor, author, and speaker who has successfully released a series of ‘Virtual Hypnotherapy’ sessions, that allow listeners to access to a personal, in-home audio therapy session.
