Hypnotherapy for Habit and Behaviour Change in Skipton

✓ NMC Registered Mental Health Nurse

✓ 20 years NHS Experience

✓ Fully Insured

✓ Enhanced DBS Checked

Evidence-based support for meaningful, lasting change

Evidence-based, individualised support tailored by Christopher Hardy, a Registered Mental Health Nurse of 20 years' NHS experience - to strengthen your motivation for change and reinforce new behaviours

Clinically informed support to interrupt old habits and create new, automatic patterns

Clinically-informed support to help you in your breaking old habits and embedding healthier life choices.

Strengthen your motivation for change

An evidence-based approach to support in making positive change, whether its smoking or vaping cessation, comfort eating or other unwanted behaviours.

Struggling to change a habit, despite knowing exactly what you “should” do, can feel frustrating - disheartening, even. Whether it’s smoking, emotional eating, procrastination, or other patterns of stress and avoidance, many behaviours begin to feel automatic over time - that’s because they are.

Habit research shows that behaviours become automatic responses to repeated cues and contexts, rather than conscious decisions (Gardner et al., 2014). This is why change can feel difficult, even when motivation is strong.

The important point is this: change is possible, but it works best when approached in a way that reflects how the brain actually learns.

Why habit change often doesn’t respond to willpower alone

Having found this page, you'll likely recognise some, if not all, of these common problems:

• Starting with strong motivation, then losing momentum,

• Returning to unhelpful patterns of behaviour during stress, fatigue, or uncertainty,

• Feeling “stuck” in behaviours you don’t fully understand.

It's important to understand that this is not a lack of discipline - habits are designed by the brain to reduce effort. Through repetition, they become automatic and efficient, requiring less conscious input (Wood & Rünger, 2016). While helpful in many situations, this process can also maintain behaviours that no longer serve you.

Effective change therefore involves more than trying harder—it involves working with these automatic processes.

A realistic, evidence-based approach to behaviour change

Research suggests that sustainable habit change typically includes:

Gradual formation of new patterns

Small, repeated behaviours in consistent contexts can become more automatic over time (Lally et al., 2010).

Disrupting existing triggers and responses

Changing internal or environmental cues can weaken old habits and create space for new ones (Wood & Rünger, 2018).

Allowing time and flexibility

Habit formation varies widely between individuals and behaviours, often taking weeks to months (Lally et al., 2010).

This is why structured, supportive approaches tend to be more effective than short-term or purely motivational strategies.

How hypnotherapy can support habit and behaviour change

Hypnotherapy focuses on the automatic, learned aspects of behaviour, the level at which habits are formed and maintained. Within a relaxed, focused state, it may help you to:

• Recognise and respond differently to familiar triggers

• Mentally rehearse new behaviours in a structured way

• Strengthen motivation aligned with your goals

• Develop greater awareness and control over automatic responses

Hypnotherapy is not a quick fix or guaranteed outcome. However, it can be a useful adjunct within a broader behaviour change approach, particularly where habits are well established (Valentine et al., 2019).

The emphasis is always on supporting sustainable change, rather than promising instant results.

Why choosing the right practitioner matters

Hypnotherapy in the UK is an unregulated profession, meaning training standards, clinical experience, and accountability can vary significantly. This makes your choice of practitioner particularly important.

Asclepieia Hypnotherapy and Wellness is clinically led by Christopher Hardy, a Registered Mental Health Nurse with over 20 years’ NHS experience . This background brings a different level of depth and safety to behaviour change work.

What this means for you:

• Clinical understanding of mental health and behaviour
  Habits are often linked to stress, anxiety, coping strategies, and emotional regulation,not just surface behaviours.

• Experience within evidence-based healthcare
  Approaches are informed by psychological research and clinical practice, not trends or untested methods.

• Ethical, professional and safe standards of care
  Including safeguarding, boundaries, and working within appropriate scope.

• A calm, non-judgemental approach
  Grounded in years of supporting people through complex challenges.

In an unregulated field, this level of training and experience offers greater reassurance, accountability, and clinical insight.

What you can expect from sessions

Sessions are structured, collaborative, and tailored to your goals, we will work together to:

• Understand the function and context of your current habits

• Identify realistic, meaningful changes

• Introduce techniques to support new behavioural patterns

• Build consistency over time, at a manageable pace

There is no pressure to “get it right”. Change is approached as a process - one that can be adjusted, supported, and sustained.

Habit and behaviour issues commonly supported

• Smoking and vaping cessation

• Emotional or habitual eating

• Procrastination and avoidance patterns

• Overthinking and worry cycles

• Sleep and daily routines

• Confidence and self-sabotaging behaviours

If a behaviour feels automatic, repetitive, or difficult to shift, this approach may help you move forward.

A grounded, realistic view of change

Sustainable change is rarely immediate; however, with the right support, many people find they can:

• Feel more in control of their responses

• Develop more consistent, helpful habits

• Reduce reliance on unhelpful coping patterns

• Improve overall wellbeing over time

The aim is not perfection, but steady, meaningful progress.

Start your next step

If you are looking for hypnotherapy for habit change in Skipton, North Yorkshire or online, and want an approach grounded in clinical experience and evidence-based principles, you are welcome to get in touch.

Book an initial consultation to explore how this could work for you.

References

• Gardner, B., Sheals, K., Wardle, J. and McGowan, L. (2014) ‘Putting habit into practice, and practice into habit’, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 11(135).

• Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C.H.M., Potts, H.W.W. and Wardle, J. (2010) ‘How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world’, European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), pp. 998–1009.

• Valentine, K.E., Milling, L.S., Clark, L.J. and Moriarty, C.L. (2019) ‘The efficacy of hypnosis as a treatment for anxiety: A meta-analysis’, International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 67(3), pp. 336–363.

• Wood, W. and Rünger, D. (2016) ‘Psychology of habit’, Annual Review of Psychology, 67, pp. 289–314.

Written by Christopher Hardy BSc (Hons), DipPSN, RNMH (NMC Registered Mental Health Nurse, PIN 09F0389E)