A Guide to Starting Your Clinical Work

What is hypnotherapy and how does it work?

Clinical hypnotherapy is a state of focused, guided attention in which the conscious mind becomes calm enough for the clinician to work directly with subconscious patterns. It is not sleep, and it is not a loss of awareness. You remain fully conscious throughout. The hypnotic state is a naturally occurring shift in attention, one that most people recognise from the absorbed focus of reading, the automatic quality of a familiar drive, or the moment just before sleep when the mind becomes very still.

At Melbourne Strategic Hypnotherapy, hypnotherapy is not used in isolation. It is integrated with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to produce a combined clinical approach known as CBT-H, or Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy. CBT works at the conscious, reasoning level of the mind, identifying and restructuring the unhelpful thinking patterns and behavioural responses that maintain distress. Hypnotherapy works at the deeper, automatic level where habits, emotional responses, and conditioned behaviours are stored and replayed.

The significance of combining the two is not merely additive. Research by Alladin and others into cognitive hypnotherapy demonstrates that when the logical and subconscious levels of the mind are addressed simultaneously, treatment outcomes are consistently stronger and more durable than when either modality is used alone. The problem is being approached from both directions at once, which is why this integrated model tends to produce meaningful shifts in fewer sessions than conventional talk therapy.

What conditions can hypnotherapy help with?

The integrated CBT-Hypnotherapy model is particularly well suited to conditions that have a strong automatic or subconscious component: situations where conscious effort, reasoning, and willpower have not produced lasting change, because the problem is not primarily a conscious one.

Conditions treated at Melbourne Strategic Hypnotherapy include anxiety in its various forms (generalised anxiety, panic, social anxiety, health anxiety), chronic stress, depression, trauma and PTSD, phobias, insomnia, chronic pain, bruxism and TMJ, gut-directed conditions, weight management, smoking cessation, and sports performance. Many clients present with more than one of these, since anxiety in particular tends to organise itself across multiple areas of a person's life before they seek help.

The clinical work is always tailored to the individual. There are no fixed scripts or templated programmes. The assessment in the first session establishes what is maintaining your specific difficulty, and the treatment plan is built from that.

How do I find a qualified hypnotherapist in Melbourne?

This is a reasonable question, and worth answering directly. The hypnotherapy profession in Australia has voluntary registration through several associations, which means the range of practitioners in the market is wide. When evaluating a practitioner, the relevant questions are: what formal clinical qualifications do they hold, what professional bodies are they accountable to, and do they practice within an evidence-based framework?

Michael Greaves holds a Diploma of Clinical Hypnotherapy and Strategic Psychotherapy and has been engaged in therapeutic practice since the mid-1980s. He is a current member of the Australian Hypnotherapists Association (AHA), the Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists (ASCH), the Australian Association of Cognitive Behavioural Therapists (AACBT), and the International Association of Strategic Psychotherapists (IASP). Each membership carries its own code of professional ethics and ongoing professional development requirements.

The practice is located at Level 1, 187 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield North, and serves clients from Brighton, St Kilda, Malvern, Elwood, Albert Park, Middle Park, and surrounding inner-south Melbourne suburbs.

What can I expect during a hypnotherapy session?

The first session is a clinical assessment. Michael will take a detailed history of your situation, explore the specific patterns maintaining your difficulty, and discuss a proposed treatment structure. This is an active, collaborative conversation, not a passive intake process. By the end of the first session you will have a clear understanding of what is driving the problem and what the clinical work will involve.

Hypnotherapy typically begins from the second session. During the hypnotic component, you will be guided into a state of calm, focused relaxation through verbal direction. Your awareness remains intact throughout. There is no loss of control, and you cannot be directed to act against your values or intentions. The therapeutic work conducted during this state may include direct suggestion, cognitive restructuring at depth, imagery-based interventions, or pattern interruption, depending on what the clinical assessment identified as the most effective pathway for you specifically.

Sessions run for approximately 50 to 60 minutes. You will be fully oriented before leaving the room, and most clients report feeling settled and clear-headed afterward.

Is hypnotherapy safe?

Clinical hypnotherapy, when practised by a qualified and appropriately trained clinician, is a well-researched modality with a strong safety record. The hypnotic state is not a medical procedure and carries none of the risks associated with pharmaceutical intervention. There are no side effects in the conventional sense.

From a neurological standpoint, what happens during hypnotherapy is a shift in the activity of the prefrontal cortex and the default mode network, producing a state of inward focus and reduced critical monitoring. The brain remains fully active and responsive throughout. This is why you cannot be made to say or do anything against your will: the volitional and evaluative functions of the mind do not switch off, they simply become quieter.

Some clients report feeling unusually relaxed or reflective for a brief period after a session. This is a normal part of the process and typically resolves within an hour. It is not an adverse effect. It reflects the fact that the nervous system has been engaged at a level it is not accustomed to, which is precisely the point.

Hypnotherapy is not appropriate as a sole treatment for active psychosis, severe personality disorders, or certain dissociative conditions. A clinical assessment will identify whether integrated CBT-Hypnotherapy is the right match for your situation before any treatment begins.

How many sessions will I need?

The strategic model used at this practice is explicitly designed to be brief. Unlike open-ended talk therapies, the work is goal-directed from the outset: the assessment identifies what needs to change, and the treatment plan is built around getting there as efficiently as the clinical picture allows.

As a general guide, specific phobias often resolve in 2 to 4 sessions. Smoking cessation typically requires 1 to 3 sessions. Anxiety, chronic stress, insomnia, and behavioural change programmes generally run across 4 to 8 sessions, with most clients reporting meaningful improvement well before the end of a programme. Trauma work tends to require more time and a more carefully staged approach.

These are clinical estimates, not commitments. Progress is reviewed at regular intervals, and the treatment plan is adjusted in response to your clinical trajectory. The aim is always the minimum number of sessions required to produce a durable outcome, not the maximum number the situation might justify.

Can hypnotherapy help with anxiety?

Yes, and the combined CBT-Hypnotherapy model is particularly well suited to anxiety. Anxiety is a pattern maintained across multiple levels of the mind simultaneously: at the level of thought (cognitive distortions, catastrophising, intolerance of uncertainty), at the level of physiology (Autonomic Nervous System dysregulation, heightened Amygdala sensitivity), and at the level of behaviour (avoidance, safety behaviours, compulsive reassurance seeking). Treating only one level tends to produce incomplete results, because the other levels continue to maintain the pattern.

CBT provides the tools to identify and restructure the cognitive and behavioural components. Clinical hypnotherapy works directly with the Autonomic Nervous System and the subconscious associations that trigger the anxiety response before conscious thought even registers. Together, they address the problem at the source rather than at the surface.

Research by Barlow, Craske, and Alladin supports the effectiveness of integrated cognitive and hypnotherapeutic approaches for anxiety disorders. Most clients notice a meaningful reduction in baseline anxiety within the first few sessions, with continued improvement as the underlying pattern is resolved rather than managed.

Further reading on the clinical mechanics of anxiety is available in the Anxiety Knowledge Hub.

What does a session cost?

Sessions at Melbourne Strategic Hypnotherapy are $200.

A complimentary 15-minute phone consultation is available before your first booking. This is a clinical conversation, not a sales call. It gives Michael the opportunity to understand your situation and to determine whether the integrated approach is appropriate for your needs. It gives you the opportunity to ask questions and to assess whether this is the right fit before committing. If this practice is not the right match for your situation, you will be told that directly, and pointed toward a more appropriate resource.

To arrange a consultation, call 0412 694 720 or use the online booking page.

What do clients say?

Melbourne Strategic Hypnotherapy holds a 5-star rating on Google. The following are drawn from verified client reviews.

" Michael is a fantastic hypnotherapist who genuinely cares and listens intently, always aiming to get to the root cause. He has helped me unlock a level of creativity I hadn’t been able to access for years and move through a writer’s block that felt impossible at times. The shift has been huge, both creatively and personally, and I’m incredibly grateful for his support."

— Tiana Martel 12 reviews • 0 photos starstarstarstarstar 6 weeks ago, Google Review

" I had one session with Michael before my public speech that was frightening me. I never had felt comfortable publicly speaking in front of a big crowd. After the hypnotherapy session, I revisited the voice recording several times Michael had given me, as a homework.. And I cant tell how smooth and fun the public speaking had been.. Thank you very much!"

— Basak Kerimoglu 11 reviews • 1 photo starstarstarstarstar 9 weeks ago, Google Review

" I initially sought help from Michael for a mix of personal and professional stressors that were impacting my health. The progress I made was achievable with the tools that he taught me, and discussions in our weekly sessions that allowed for deeper introspection. As a result, my relationships and general well-being have improved significantly, and I am so appreciative of the safe space that Michael created. Even months later, I am still utilising the resources that were provided to me."

— Jodie Lam 5 reviews • 2 photos starstarstarstarstar 15 weeks ago, Google Review

All reviews are from clients who booked through Melbourne Strategic Hypnotherapy and left feedback independently via Google. Read all reviews on Google.

Outcomes vary between individuals. No clinical approach produces identical results for every client. The most consistent feedback relates to the pace of change relative to previous treatment attempts and to the practical, structured nature of the sessions.

How does this differ from traditional therapy?

Conventional talk therapy tends to direct its energy toward understanding: exploring the history of a problem, identifying its origins, and building insight into the patterns involved. This is a legitimate clinical goal, and insight has value. The limitation is that understanding why a pattern exists does not, in itself, change the pattern. A person can develop sophisticated understanding of their anxiety over years of therapy and still find themselves anxious.

The strategic model used at this practice focuses on the mechanics of how the problem is being maintained right now, and on the most direct pathway to change. The history of the problem is relevant only insofar as it illuminates the current structure of the difficulty. Once that structure is identified, the clinical work targets it directly.

The second distinction is the use of hypnotherapy to access the subconscious level of the mind, where automatic patterns, emotional responses, and conditioned behaviours operate. Conventional therapy works almost entirely at the conscious, verbal level. CBT-Hypnotherapy works at both levels simultaneously. This is not a philosophical preference: it reflects the understanding that most of the patterns driving psychological distress are not primarily conscious processes. They were learned below the level of deliberate choice, and they are maintained below it. Accessing that level directly, through hypnotherapy, is what makes the integrated approach both faster and more thorough than conventional alternatives for many clients.

Professional standards and memberships

Michael Greaves holds a Diploma of Clinical Hypnotherapy and Strategic Psychotherapy and is bound by the ethical codes and professional development requirements of four recognised bodies:

• Australian Association of Cognitive Behavioural Therapists (AACBT)
• Australian Hypnotherapists Association (AHA)
• Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists (ASCH)
• International Association of Strategic Psychotherapists (IASP)

Full biographical and clinical background is available on the About page.