Fears and phobias
Online hypnotherapy for fears and phobias
A phobia is old learning that never got updated. Work on it from a safe base at home, at your own pace, and you can approach what you've been avoiding with a calmer mind.
How hypnotherapy helps with phobias
A phobia is a focused form of anxiety, and hypnotherapy can help relieve anxiety. A 2019 review of 17 controlled trials found the typical person who had hypnosis became less anxious than about 79% of people in the comparison groups, with the benefit growing at follow-up (Valentine et al., 2019). In a setting many people dread, a 2024 review found hypnosis reduced anxiety in people having oral surgery, rated as moderate-certainty evidence (Steenen et al., 2024).
Studies of specific phobias are more mixed: a 2022 review of dental anxiety found contrasting results between trials (Wolf et al., 2022). For me, though, phobias are some of the most satisfying work I do, because the change shows up so clearly in everyday life: the flight booked, the injection had, the spider calmly put outside.
Most people with a phobia know perfectly well the fear is out of proportion. Knowing doesn't help, because the response runs faster than reasoning. It may have started with a frightening moment, been picked up from someone else, or appeared from nowhere. Either way it was learned, and it can be updated.
Fears we can work on
- Travel: flying, driving, motorways, tunnels, the Underground, lifts
- Medical: needles, blood, dentists, vomiting
- Animals: spiders, dogs, birds, insects, mice
- Situations: heights, enclosed spaces, crowds, blushing, speaking in public (see confidence)
- Anything else: the approach is much the same, whatever the fear
Why online works especially well for phobias
For many fears, simply getting to a therapist is part of the problem: the train, the lift up to the office, the crowded street, a stranger's room. Online, you skip all of it. You start from somewhere you already feel safe, and that sense of safety is exactly what we build on.
In my experience people let themselves get closer to the fear when they know they are at home, with their own things around them and my voice steady in their headphones. We approach it gradually in imagination, which is where a phobia actually lives, and you stay in charge of the pace. It also means you can fit sessions around a deadline, such as a holiday flight or a hospital appointment, without adding travel to an already anxious week.
What a course looks like
- A free consultation. 15–30 minutes by phone or video. Tell me about the fear and any date you're working towards.
- Your first session. We look at how the fear works for you and you have a first, gentle experience of hypnosis.
- Updating the response. Using Ericksonian hypnotherapy and NLP, we revisit what sits behind the fear from a calm, observing distance, without reliving it.
- Rehearsal. In a relaxed state you practise meeting the thing you fear and staying calm, until the new response feels natural.
- Self-hypnosis to take with you. A short technique to use before the real thing.
Sessions are an hour, by Microsoft Teams or Zoom. After 7 hours (usually five sessions), any further sessions for the same issue are £97.50 an hour: see my halve-fees promise. See how online sessions work, or anxiety if your fears are broader.
Questions about phobias and online sessions
Will I have to face my fear on camera?
No. Nothing is sprung on you, and there are no spiders in the post. We work in imagination, step by step, at a pace that feels right, and you can pause at any time.
Travelling is part of my fear. Can I still get help?
Yes, and that's one of the best reasons to work online. You don't need to go anywhere to start. We build calm from home first, and the real-world steps come when you are ready.
I have a flight or an appointment coming up soon. Is there time?
Often, yes. Tell me the date at the free consultation and I'll give you an honest view of what we can do before then.
What if my fear is stopping me getting medical or dental care?
Please tell your GP or dentist as well. They can often make adjustments while we work on the fear.
| 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, an Advanced and Ericksonian Hypnotherapist with more than 20 years' experience, a Master Practitioner of NLP trained by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, and a member of the General Hypnotherapy Register. 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
- Steenen SA et al. (2024). Review of hypnosis and anxiety in oral surgery. Journal of Anxiety Disorders 105:102891. PubMed 38945067
- Wolf TG, Schläppi S, Benz CI, Campus G (2022). Efficacy of hypnosis on dental anxiety and phobia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Brain Sciences 12(5):521. PubMed 35624907
Individual experiences vary. See everything I can help with on what can be treated.
15–30 minutes by phone or video, no obligation. Or call 07923 495558.