The one thing that there is a lot of controversy about is whether or not a hypnotist can control someone and make them do something against their will. To start off with, you will not do anything that is against your moral code. If you're a mugger and a hypnotist tells you to rob the next person you see then you probably would do - because you'd do it anyway. If, however, you believe that stealing is wrong then you wouldn't rob the person because you'd feel subconsciously uncomfortable about it.

Of course there are ways of making the action seem more reasonable to the person so that it does fit in with their moral code - but it doesn't need a hypnotist to do that. A lot of wars have been fought over thousands of years because people are persuaded that a particular course of action is the right way to behave. People want to believe what makes them feel comfortable, loved or important and if someone helps them to feel like that then they may start to take on other people's beliefs without questioning them.

That may sound scary to some people. It may even put them off coming to see me or any other hypnotist. After all, if I can start to change someone's beliefs then doesn't that make me in control? Not at all. Everyone that comes in to see me is there of their own free will. If they say they have only come along because someone else has been nagging them then I will question them really carefully to make sure that they have some desire to change. I will actively try and discourage them from going through with the session because if they have no real desire to change then we're unlikely to get a significant difference. After all, how often do you willingly do something that you don't want to do just because someone else has told you to?

So, everyone is there because they have chosen to be and they're there because they're not happy with something in their life and want to change it. But, there's also something that's stopping them making that change - otherwise they wouldn't have come to see me in the first place. Now the person is in two minds. "One part of me wants to be a non smoker, lose weight, be more confident, get rid of my phobia... but there's another part that likes smoking, needs to eat and hates exercise, is scared to be confident and terrified that if I get rid of my phobia I'm going to have to get on a plane, be in the same room as a spider or go to the dentist!"

It's my job to make the desired state of mind more desirable, to make it a stronger feeling, something that the person really wants and to help them to leave their old state of mind behind, to make those old feelings weaker and irrelevant. Hypnosis is a great way of doing that because it allows people to make leaps of imagination and get into their subconscious mind that is holding them back. The subconscious is very literal and likes structure. It takes control of repetitive behaviour and creates habits for you - some of them make your life easier, like walking, remembering your way home or how to eat. Unfortunately, it also creates bad habits which, because you've already started doing the behaviour before you're aware of it, can be difficult to break if you're trying to break them consciously.

Often the subconscious hangs on to old, out of date information because you've never experienced any alternative reactions. So, for example, smoking was important when you were a teenager because all your mates did it and it meant you fitted in with them, now it's just a habit that you don't like. Balloons popping unexpectedly at a party when you were a child was frightening so your mind makes sure you don't go near them again because you don't want to be frightened like that again. Because you don't go anywhere near them your only concept of balloons is of that they're frightening. By going into these memories and experiencing them in a different way you can break that habitual response and give your mind a new, more desirable action that you can access in future.

So, rather than the hypnotist taking control, it's now you who are taking back control over the things that annoy you, frighten you, hold you back or make you behave or feel differently to the way you would like to.