Hi, I’m Suzanne Hughes and I am a transformational coach and clinical hypnotherapist. I help women move from a life of crippling anxiety and self-doubt to one filled with joy and certainty through my one-to-one transformation sessions and programmes.
I was once where you are now. You want to make changes to your life, but you don’t know where to start. I get it. I’ve been there. Read about how I turned it around and how you can too.
If digging deep and making significant changes to your mindset is not your absolute priority at this point in your life, then STOP READING NOW.
Now is not your time. I only work with the most motivated and committed bad-ass women around. Read more about WHO I work with, and HOW it all works.
Do you feel like you’re juggling a million things and not particularly succeeding in any of them? Do you take on more and more responsibilities because you can’t bear to say ‘no’? Do you feel as though your relationships are suffering because you ‘take out’ your stress on others?
It’s impossible to remove stressful situations from our lives, but a situation is only stressful if YOU perceive it to be stressful.
I can help you to regain control, reduce your symptoms, and change the way you respond to stress through coaching and hypnotherapy techniques such as relaxation, mindfulness, re-framing, and visualisation.
Does the thought of going into work make you feel sick? Do you get heart palpitations, feel dizzy, or maybe even struggle to sleep just thinking about a social event? Anxiety comes in many forms and has many, many triggers and it can make us feel utterly helpless.
Everyone experiences anxiety differently, but hypnotherapy can help through teaching a range of coping strategies and relaxation techniques. If there is an underlying cause for the anxiety (which is usually the case), I can help you dig deep, and be honest and true with yourself to figure out why you react in the way that you do.
Once we understand why you experience anxiety in this way, we can find ways to move forward so you can be the bad ass you are and live life to the max.
Do you feel like the image you portray to the world isn’t really you? Maybe you run your own business or have a highly regarded position at work but deep down you feel like you have no clue what you’re doing and it’s only a matter of time before you’re ‘found out’? Or perhaps you feel like you’d like to put yourself out there more but something is holding you back?
I can help you dig deep into those uncomfortable parts of yourself, and give you the space and tools to have those honest conversations with your unconscious. At what point in your life did you stop having the utmost confidence in who you are and what you’re about? What sparked that change? Why? Using a range of coaching and hypnotherapy techniques, we can really get to the nitty gritty so the authentic you can shine.
Imagine your mind to be like an iceberg, with about 20% showing above the water and 80% below the water. The 20% of the iceberg that is visible represents your conscious mind – the part of your mind that deals in logical, rational thoughts and behaviours. The 80% of the iceberg below the surface – that’s your unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is responsible for your emotions, memories, dreams, automatic functions (i.e. breathing), and automatic behaviours (i.e. habits).
Hypnotherapy is a type of psychological therapy that takes you into a deeply relaxed state so that we can address the unconscious mind. Through communicating with the unconscious mind, we can uncover the reasons why you have the problems that you do, whether that be anxiety, self-doubt, low self-esteem or unhealthy habits. Once we have done this, we can use a variety of techniques to reframe or let go of unhelpful thoughts or beliefs. You will then find it much easier to make the changes you want. You will no longer be battling against yourself, but acting in accordance with your true, authentic wants and desires.
Good question! On a physical level, there seems to be little to no difference between hypnosis and meditation (according to changes in brainwave activity). However, they are used differently. Meditation is typically used to empty the mind to create a deep sense of inner peace whereas hypnosis is usually goal-orientated.
Hypnosis feels different to everyone and there’s no ‘right way’ to experience hypnosis. Some people become hyper-aware of their surroundings; some people become hyper-aware of themselves; some people find their mind wanders and they worry that they haven’t been ‘paying attention’. Some people come out of trance feeling elated and like they’ve had life-affirming revelations, and others come out feeling nothing. It doesn’t matter. The unconscious mind is always paying attention and things will become clear when the time is right, whether that be minutes, hours or days later.
Erm, no! This is an old stereotype that goes back to the early days of theatrical stage performers. Eye-fixation is certainly one way to induce someone into a state of hypnosis, but this can be done by staring at any object – it just so happens that the hypnotists of the 19th century were well-to-do gentlemen who carried swinging pocket watches.
Again, no. These stage hypnotists have a lot to answer for! Let’s go back to the iceberg analogy – that 20% of visible iceberg is your conscious mind and the 80% below the water is your unconscious. Now let’s add a filter on the water line – yes, that bit between the conscious and the unconscious. The filter is known as the critical faculty, and its job is to accept or reject information that is consistent with our data banks in the unconscious. For example, if you find Karen in Accounts overbearing and you hear she’s been bullying a colleague, you are more likely to believe that to be true rather than if you heard it was Sue in HR who always goes out of her way to help you. It doesn’t mean it is true, of course, but your conscious mind has checked with the data banks, and the critical faculty will either accept or reject the information based on what your unconscious already knows to be true.
Now, when we are in hypnosis, one effect is to bypass the critical faculty. That’s how we can start making real changes. So as an example, let’s take our fictitious client Amy. Amy has a very successful career – she holds a senior position; she is well-respected; she is known as someone who gets results. Despite being recognised by the company and clients; despite being promoted; despite bonuses and regularly exceeding targets – Amy feels like a fraud. Her conscious mind receives all this information about her positive performance, but her critical faculty checks with the data banks in her unconscious mind, and it says ‘no’. For whatever reason, her unconscious mind KNOWS she is not worthy; in fact, she’s a fraud. It will tell the critical faculty to REJECT any praise or any information alluding to Amy’s success, and it will tell her she’s just ‘lucky’. However, through hypnotherapy, we can bypass this pesky critical faculty and begin to work with the unconscious mind to challenge her beliefs, and ultimately to change them. Once Amy has done this work, she can now enjoy hearing positive information about herself, and her critical faculty will ACCEPT it as truth.
Now, back to the mind-control. Even in hypnosis, a small part of the critical faculty will remain. This prevents people from accepting harmful suggestions, or those that are against their moral beliefs. Remember, we are using hypnosis to get back to the root of the real you – the you before society got its mitts on you! So, don’t worry – hypnosis is not mind control and I can’t MAKE you do anything that you don’t really want to do.
YES! But only if you want it to. If you are considering hypnotherapy to prove someone else wrong, or because someone else wants you to change (hypnotherapists see this ALL THE TIME with clients whose partners want them to stop smoking), then I can guarantee you that it WON’T work. As we mentioned above, your critical faculty will stop you from doing anything that you don’t actually want to do. So, if this is you – save your money!
Absolutely. Hypnosis conducted by a trained professional is perfectly safe. However, if you suffer from certain conditions, such as psychosis, then hypnotherapy is unlikely to be the best route for you. If you are suffering from any mental health condition, I would always recommend that you see your GP first.
A Clarity Call is a free, no-obligation chat where we can discuss your needs and how I can help. It’s your chance to tell me what’s going on in your life and why you think hypnotherapy is the answer, and it’s an opportunity for me to assess whether I think you are a good candidate for hypnotherapy. If I don’t think it’s the right approach for you, or if I think you would benefit from another hypnotherapist with different a specialism, then I won’t accept you as a client – simple!
Well, that’s purely a matter of personal preference. Some people like the structure and extra support that the Journey to Joy package offers, whereas others prefer more flexibility. Either way, I can work with whatever approach works for you.
Sessions are all individual, depending on your personal needs. But generally, the first session will begin with talking therapy to establish your goal and why you want it, before experiencing hypnosis. Subsequent sessions will involve a mix of coaching and hypnotherapy, depending on your needs. I will often set personalised exercises to be completed in between sessions, to ensure that you remain focused and on-track with your goal.
If you can’t make a session, then you need to let me know as soon as possible. If you give less than 48 hours’ notice, then 50% of the session will be charged. If you simply fail to turn up with no notice, then 100% of the session will be charged.
Face-to-face sessions take place at my therapy room at Insight Therapy Centre, which is just a 5-minute drive from Leeds City Centre. It is a beautifully restored Victorian building, with free parking and complimentary tea and coffee.
Online sessions are a really convenient way to experience hypnotherapy. They take place in the comfort of your own home via a secure Skype or Zoom connection, and we can still see and hear each other just as we would if we were face-to-face.
Individual sessions typically last an hour, but if you want to book a longer session then this can be easily arranged upon request. If you are taking part in the Journey to Joy package, then sessions are 90 minutes long.
This is purely down to individual needs. As a guide, most people need around 4-6 sessions, but this can be more or less. As a member of the GHR operating within their ethical guidelines, I will never recommend that a client takes more sessions than I believe is necessary.
If, at the end of the package, you feel like there are other areas of your life that hypnotherapy can help with, then you are more than welcome to book individual sessions on a session-by-session basis.
Once you have booked your session, you will be emailed an invoice. Invoices are payable in advance via BACS to secure your booking.
I am a qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist, with a Diploma in Clinical Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy (DIP. CHH), a Certificate in N.L.P Skills (CERT NLPS) and a Master of Science Degree in Psychology (MSC. PSYCH). I am also a qualified and experienced Teacher of English (PGCE) and have a Bachelor’s Degree in English Language with Linguistics, which is where my love of the power of language originates.
