Anxiety
Online hypnotherapy for anxiety
Hypnotherapy can help relieve anxiety, and online you begin from the one place you already feel safe: your own home. Private sessions with Tim Dunton by Microsoft Teams or Zoom, wherever you are.
How hypnotherapy helps with anxiety
Anxiety is where the research on hypnotherapy is at its most encouraging. When researchers pooled 17 controlled trials in 2019, the typical person who had hypnosis ended up less anxious than about 79% of the people in the comparison groups, and the difference was larger still at follow-up (Valentine et al., 2019). The same review found hypnosis did best when it was combined with other psychological approaches. That is how I work: Ericksonian hypnotherapy, NLP and mindfulness, shaped around you rather than read from a script.
It holds up in some of the most nerve-racking moments people face, too. A 2025 analysis of 142 studies found that hypnosis clearly lowered people's anxiety before medical procedures (Lahoud et al., 2025).
Underneath most anxiety is a protective alarm that has become too sensitive. It fires when there is no real danger, your body braces, and then worrying about those feelings turns the alarm up further. Nobody is born with that loop. It was learned, and in hypnosis we can teach your mind a calmer response.
What we can work on
- Worry and tension that never quite switch off
- Panicky feelings, and the dread of the next one
- Social anxiety and the fear of being judged
- Health anxiety
- Pressure at work and feeling overwhelmed (see stress)
- Nerves before interviews, presentations and exams (see confidence)
- The racing mind that keeps you awake (see sleep)
Why online works especially well for anxiety
This is where I feel most strongly about working online. For a lot of anxious people, the hardest part of getting help is everything that comes before the session: the journey, the unfamiliar building, the waiting room, walking in to meet a stranger. Online, all of that simply disappears. You start from your own sofa with the door closed and a drink beside you.
In my experience that changes the session itself. Clients often tell me they feel far less on edge at home, and they settle into hypnosis more quickly and more deeply than they expected. With headphones on, my voice is close and private, right there with you, which many people find more intimate than sitting across a room from me. And when we finish, you are already somewhere safe, with no crowded train or busy street to face on the way home.
What a course looks like
- A free consultation. 15–30 minutes by phone or video. You tell me what is going on, ask anything you like, and decide whether I am the right person for you.
- Your first session. We map your pattern: what sets it off, what your body does, when it began. Then you have a first, gentle experience of hypnosis.
- The sessions that follow. We work on what keeps the alarm switched on, looking back at old experiences from a calm distance rather than reliving them, and rehearsing the situations that used to trigger you until calm feels normal.
- Tools you keep. I teach you self-hypnosis and mindfulness techniques to use between sessions and long after we finish.
Sessions last an hour, on Microsoft Teams or Zoom, whichever you prefer. I'll give you an honest idea of how many to expect at the consultation, and after 7 hours (usually five sessions), any further sessions for the same issue are £97.50 an hour (see my halve-fees promise). You can read exactly how online sessions work before you book.
Questions about anxiety and online sessions
What if I panic during an online session?
You are in your own home and fully in control, and you can open your eyes at any moment. I can see you on camera the whole time, so if anything feels too much I slow down or bring you gently back. Most people find being somewhere familiar makes this far less likely, not more.
Video calls make me anxious. Can I still do this?
Yes, and you would not be the first. During hypnosis your eyes are closed, so you are not watching yourself on screen. If it helps, we can have a short test call before your first session so the technology is out of the way.
What happens if the connection drops while I'm in hypnosis?
Nothing harmful. You simply come back to normal awareness in your own time, exactly as you would at the end of a session. Rejoin the same link, and if we can't reconnect within a couple of minutes I'll ring the number you gave me when booking.
Can I keep taking my anxiety medication?
Yes. Hypnotherapy sits comfortably alongside it. Keep taking anything prescribed, and talk to your GP before changing it. There is more on this on is it right for me?
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Format | Online by Microsoft Teams or Zoom |
| First step | Free 15–30 minute consultation |
| Fee | £150 per hour; see fees |
| Typical course | Usually around five sessions (7 hours) |
| Session length | 1 hour |
Who you'll be working with
I'm Tim Dunton. I have more than 20 years' experience and have been training since 2004. I'm an Advanced and Ericksonian Hypnotherapist, a Master Practitioner of NLP trained by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, and a member of the General Hypnotherapy Register. I have also come through anxiety of my own, so you will never have to justify the irrational part to me. More about Tim.
The research
- Valentine KE, Milling LS, Clark LJ, Moriarty CL (2019). The efficacy of hypnosis as a treatment for anxiety: a meta-analysis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 67(3):336–363. PubMed 31251710
- Lahoud MJ, Gurary ST, Elia N (2025). Meta-analysis of hypnosis around medical procedures (142 studies). Anaesthesia 81(1):103–115. PubMed 40991959
Individual experiences vary. See everything I can help with on what can be treated, or read the FAQ.
15–30 minutes by phone or video, no obligation. Or call 07923 495558.