Press and Testimonials

LISA JACKSON IN THE NEWS...

Zest magazine, June 2007

THE THERAPY Hypnotherapy

THE GUINEA PIG Tabitha McDonald, 29. She's been smoking for 15 years and gets through ten to 20 cigarettes a day.

WHAT DID IT INVOLVE? 'The session started with a 45-minute chat about what to expect and why I wanted to stop smoking. I explained that I wanted to quit for health reasons and that my main trigger is boredom - cigarette breaks punctuate my day and I consider my mid-morning and mid-afternoon cigarettes rewards for hard work. I also socialise with smokers a lot, which doesn't help. The hypnotherapist, Lisa Jackson, explained that hypnosis works by implanting suggestions into your unconscious mind that you no longer want to smoke. The session started as I expected, with Lisa telling me I was feeling deeply relaxed. I went into a trance and the next thing I recall is being counted out of my hypnotised state - quite spooky!'

DID IT WORK? 'Much to my surprise, it really did! Despite going on a group holiday with six smokers, I've managed not to smoke for a month. I did feel a little grouchy for the first few days, and I'm fidgeting a lot, but find that every time I think of having a cigarette, an image of a sad, old, wrinkly smoker pops into my mind - which must be down to the hypnosis!'

Prima Baby magazine, January 2008

FORGET THOSE TV BIRTHS
Birth doesn't have to be like an episode of ER. OK, so these types of births make the best TV, but the majority happen with a lot less drama. After all, women are designed to give birth, and have been doing so for many, many years. If you want to get back to basics and tune into your natural birthing instincts, a course in HypnoBirthing might appeal. HypnoBirthing aims to give women the confidence that they can give birth naturally, and teaches breathing, hypnosis and visualisation techniques to help them do just that, explain HypnoBirthing teachers Lisa Jackson and Michelle Pearson. This was something that proved a big help to Claire Arnold, 22, from Dunstable, when she gave birth to her second baby, Adeleine, now 6 months. 'I'd had a difficult first birth, but learning HypnoBirthing techniques really helped my fears. I felt in control during labour, and trusted my body. The pain did not register until Adeleine was crowning,
at which point I felt some burning. One more push and she was born!' says Claire.

BREATHE WELL
HypnoBirthing teachers suggest slow and deep breathing during 'surges' - the HypnoBirthing term for contractions - where you breathe in deeply to a quick count of 20, and out deeply, again to a quick count of 20. 'Breathing like this helps to maximise blood flow and oxygen to your uterus and creates space in your abdomen so that the muscles of your uterus can dilate your cervix more easily,' explains Lisa.

DON'T EXPECT PERFECTION
When it comes to delivering your baby, things don't always go exactly to plan, and taking special antenatal classes or learning to breathe right doesn't guarantee a pain-free or perfect birth. 'It's impossible to have total control over how your birth works out, but you can control how positive you stay, and how you respond to things,' explains Anja. That's something Maria Mitchell, 30, from Croydon, learnt when she gave birth to her son Caleb, now 8 months. 'For most of the birth I used the breathing and visualisation techniques I'd learnt on a HypnoBirthing course to help me feel calm and in control. But then Caleb got stuck and I had to have an epidural and forceps delivery. Even though that wasn't part of the plan, the skills I'd learnt stopped me from panicking. It could have felt traumatic, but I really don't have bad memories of the birth.'

Croydon Advertiser, January 2008

... Lisa's approach complements a single hypnotherapy session with an in-depth interview, a breathing technique and mental distractions. She said: 'I try to give clients practical strategies to handle situations they usually associate with smoking. For example, calling a friend or indulging in a fun pastime - whatever the individual prefers'... Lisa makes it sound easy, but she used to smoke 40 a day and knows it's anything but... 'I know exactly how the smoker's mind works and I know it's possible to recondition yourself so you don't [want to smoke],' she said.

Pregnancy & Birth magazine, February 2008

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE
'In HypnoBirthing we never refer to contractions,' says hypnotherapist Lisa Jackson. 'We call them surges. And we never say pain, we say pressure or tightening. If you use gentle, less negative terms, your expectations will be more positive and so will the outcome.'

TALK TO YOURSELF
'Give yourself a positive affirmation you can repeat every day,' says Lisa. 'For example, 'My baby's birth will be easy because I'm relaxed.' You may feel a bit silly, but the message will sink into your unconscious mind and, when it comes to B-day, you'll feel calmer and more in control of the pain.'

USE YOUR IMAGINATION
'It may sound a little bit kooky, but try to imagine your vagina slowly opening like a lotus blossom, with the soft petals unfolding around your baby's head,' says Lisa. 'If you can get this peaceful image fixed in your mind, you'll be more likely to relax your vagina to allow your baby's passage through it. Relaxation also encourages the production of the hormone oxytocin, which stimulates your uterus to contract.'

Zest magazine, February 2008

ANTI-AGEING HYPNOTHERAPY
WHAT IS IT? The treatment involves using hypnosis to reduce your stress levels and alter behaviour that may cause premature ageing.

WHAT DOES IT INVOLVE? First, the therapist asks about your diet and lifestyle, so that she can establish if you do anything that could be prematurely ageing you. Next, she helps you go into a trance before teaching you self-hypnosis (you're meant to do up to 20 minutes twice daily at home), which is surprisingly easy to pick up. Then the hypnotherapist implants skin-enhancing habits, such as wearing an SPF daily, drinking less alcohol and eating antioxidant-rich foods. She then asks you to imagine a number of scenarios, from tiny antioxidant soldiers combating your free radicals, to seeing yourself with your skin looking its best. At the end, you wake feeling relaxed and refreshed. A minimum of three sessions is recommended.

WHO'S IT GOOD FOR? Best for those who have unhealthy habits that need breaking or a hectic life, as stress is a major contributing factor to the ageing process and hypnosis is extremely relaxing.

DOES IT WORK? 'This is a lovely treatment but you have to do self-hypnosis to permanently change your habits, and that takes discipline.'

Zest magazine, May 2006

'I CURED MY DENTAL PHOBIA WITH HYPNOTHERAPY'
'I've been terrified of going to the dentist since I was a child, when a nurse held me down while I was having a filling,' says Tamsin Larcombe, 27. 'As an adult, I avoided going for years and eventually found one who offered intravenous sedation. But being heavily sedated to have a filling seemed ridiculous, so I decided to go for hypnotherapy. In the session, the therapist and I made a list of what I feared about it, starting from the least scary situation and working up to the worst. She then put me in a trance, described each situation to me and asked me to imagine myself feeling calm. When I was able to visualise the scenario without feeling fearful, we moved on to the next. I went to the dentist a week later and it was amazing. I had a filling with no sedation and I was finally able to control the fear.'
Tamsin visited Quiet Medicine Clinical Hypnotherapy in London (www.quiet-medicine.co.uk).

Zest magazine, September 2006

HAVE NO FEAR...
Does your flying phobia stop you getting on a plane? Do spiders make you cry? Try one of these alternative cures...

HYPNOTHERAPY
HOW DOES IT WORK? 'A technique called hypno-desensitisation is used,' says hypnotherapist Lisa Jackson (www.quiet-medicine.co.uk). 'The patient visualises the aspect of their phobia that evokes the least anxiety (such as seeing a photo of a spider). When they can do this and feel calm, another, slightly scarier scenario is visualised. It's increased until they can imagine their fear anxiety-free.' For info, visit www.bsch.org.uk.

Best magazine, May 2008

'Undergoing hypnosis is also an excellent option to go for when trying to give up smoking, and can be hugely effective. "It's the most successful way of quitting, according to the largest-ever study of ways of breaking the habit," says hypnotherapist Lisa Jackson... "In the session you're helped to become deeply relaxed, and this enables your hypnotherapist to make habit-breaking suggestions to your unconscious mind, where your behaviour patterns are stored. When you wake, your conscious mind will carry out these suggestions and you won't want to smoke."

To read testimonials from some of Lisa Jackson's patients, click here.