Help For Children & Teenagers

Amy works with children from the age of 6 and upwards. Between the ages of 6 and 12, children are usually seen with their parent present. From age 12 to 16 it is a collaborative decision between you, the parent, the child and me as to whether you should be present. (See below for more information on this.)

For your reassurance, Amy holds a full up to date Disclosure and Barring Certificate (DBS).

Children spend much of their time in the hypnotic state. They are great at becoming fully absorbed in whatever they are doing. Have you ever tried to get the attention of a child who is role playing with Lego or watching their favourite TV programme? Sometimes they may appear to be ignoring you but essentially they are in a trance state.

Children are often fantastic at using their imaginations, especially younger ages, which can make hypnosis fun and interesting for your child. With effective use of their imagination change can happen quickly helping them to move on from whatever their issue is. In fact, your child’s active imagination can be part of the reason why you are seeking hypnotherapy for your child. Their imaginations have created a belief system that a one point were useful but have resulted in some unhelpful thought and behaviour patterns and therefore may now be limiting their enjoyment

Hypnotherapy is an ideal way for a child or adolescent to be able to take back control of these unhelpful feelings or behaviours. Pressures from modern day life can result in children, even from a young age, comparing themselves to others resulting in, an often made up, sense of what is expected of them by their peers, family members or society in general.

Going through difficult times whilst growing up is normal but when these times bring out unhelpful or inappropriate levels of stress and anxiety for your child then it may be time to seek professional support.

Here are some of the types of issues that I help children with and that you may be seeking help for your child or teenager using hypnotherapy:

• Night time weeing
• Soiling of underwear
• Separation anxiety
• Bullying
• Anger / frustration
• Various specific fears including fear of dogs
• Fear of the dark, being alone or being sick
• Attending school
• Thumb sucking
• Nail biting
• Exam stress or performance
• Selective eating disorder or other eating issues
• Body image issues
• Self-belief and confidence
• Not feeling good enough, lack of self-belief or confidence / low self esteem
• Worries about the world, their environment, their family or themselves.
• Grief and/ or loss – including pets, new home, falling out with friends
• Difficulty with siblings or other relationships

When working with your child we will have a conversation before the session without your child present. This is usually done over the phone and so I can understand your child’s issues from your perspective, their likes and dislikes, explain hypnosis to you and answer any questions you may have. This also allows me to focus my attention completely on your child during the session and aim all discussion at your child. I ask you to be purely an observer unless I request your input. This is important for the therapy to be most effective.

Sessions with your child may include play, art, games, discussions that may appear off topic or include other appropriate activates that will help your child to interact, open up to me and importantly trust the process and build rapport with me for effective therapy.

I use the Gillick competency guidelines to help assess whether your child has the maturity to make their own decisions and whether they are able to understand the implications of those decisions and whether it is appropriate for them to be seen alone. From the age of 16 it is more likely I will see your child alone although this is still a joint decision. Understand more about Gillick competency here.

Your child’s safety is paramount, and any child protection concerns will be shared with the relevant agencies; for these reasons I will never guarantee confidentiality to your child.

I am, of course, more than happy to discuss your child’s personal situation with you and allay any concerns you may have around hypnotherapy. Call or email.me for more information or to book a appointment. I look forward to speaking with you.

Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly…” proverb