It’s very difficult when our children face difficulties of any kind –but hypnotherapy can really help and in a short space of time. In addition a hypnotherapy session can be fun, engaging and provide your child with skills which they will have for the rest of their life.

We caught up with Camilla Ross, a primary school teacher for over 20 years in London and Gerrards Cross to find out the benefit of hypnotherapy and how it could help your child.. Camilla has worked a great deal supporting children with their mental health as a pastoral and safeguarding lead and that became the part of her job where she felt she was making the most difference. Camilla retrained as a Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist and also as a KidsMatters Practitioner to support children and adults in a different way. As a teacher and mother of two teenagers she has a good understanding of how to communicate with children and teenagers as well as the different stages they go through. Over to Camilla….

What is hypnotherapy for children?

Hypnosis is a state of mind similar to daydreaming, or being so engrossed in a movie or book you don’t notice what’s going on around you. As adults, we slip in and out of this state regularly during the day – perhaps staring out of the window or ‘zoning out’ during a meeting.

Your child will regularly enter in and out of this state of imaginative flow, when they are playing or focused on a task. In this creative, highly focused state your child will be more receptive to positive suggestions and will be able to access their imagination and resources to fulfil their potential and overcome problems.

Because children are used to accessing their creative, imaginative minds – and lack some of the inhibitions and limitations that adults often place on themselves – they are very open and receptive to hypnotherapy.

‘I’m like a superhero!’; ‘I feel calm’; ‘I can see what I need to do’ – these statements are how some of my younger clients describe the process of hypnosis. Encouraging a child to access his or her state of hypnosis is a very empowering experience. A child begins to develop the skills to look inwards to reach his or her potential, to trust in his or her own judgement and to have access to a range of skills which can help in situations which may have caused him or her problems in the past. The best thing? They can carry these skills with them throughout their lives!

I can help children understand, in an age appropriate way, how their body is reacting to stress and anxiety. Together we can work to find techniques that help them manage these feelings better, breathing and mindfulness are often part of the session along with anchoring, a technique that helps your child recall happier feelings in stressful situations.

What can hypnotherapy help with?

For children and teenagers hypnotherapy can be used to treat a range of issues including lack of confidence, exam nerves, phobias, low self-esteem, anger management, picky-eating, bed-wetting, thumb-sucking, concentration issues, sleep problems and pain relief.

What age is it suitable for?

I work with children from 5 years up. My approach is highly personalised and I have children, teenagers and adults visiting me in my hypnotherapy room.

What happens in a session?

Following an initial consultation with you, I will get to know your child, asking them about their hobbies, favourite books, movies, sports and so on which not only helps to put your child at ease, but allows me to identify the best tools to work with your child in their imaginative flow. We will often use some toys whilst we chat to encourage them to relax.

Based on what you and your child have said you would like to work on, I will use a range of techniques – including talking to the child to help them access their imaginative mind, using storytelling, giving them positive suggestions and providing them with a secret superpower – to empower your child to overcome their issue. It works best if the child is hoping to make changes too. You will have recordings of the hypnotherapy so your child can listen again as often as you wish after the session.