Hypnotherapy for Childhood Trauma in Adelaide

When childhood experiences still affect you as an adult

You don’t need to name what happened, here or with me. Some adults notice patterns like these:

• You stay on guard, even when things around you are calm.
• A raised voice, a look or a certain tone can knock you sideways.
• Trusting people, or asking for help, feels risky.
• Your inner voice is harsher than you’d ever be to a friend.
• You look after everyone else and leave yourself till last.
• Some feelings arrive bigger than the moment seems to call for.

Blue Knot Foundation describes childhood trauma as overwhelming negative events that a child experiences or witnesses. It notes that trauma early in life can affect how a child develops. So if old patterns still show up, it isn’t a weakness. It’s how a young mind learned to cope.

Why is childhood trauma so hard to overcome?

Children depend on the adults around them, which Blue Knot notes can leave them especially vulnerable. A child also can’t make sense of things the way an adult can. So the mind finds ways to stay safe, like keeping quiet, staying alert or pleasing others. Those patterns of behaviour made sense back then. Years later, the subconscious mind can still run them in the background.

Sometimes it goes further. healthdirect says complex PTSD is often caused by trauma experienced as a child. If the trauma went on for a long time, my complex trauma page may fit you better.

Childhood trauma hypnotherapy for adults: how we work

Childhood trauma hypnotherapy for adults works on how you feel and live now. It doesn’t dig up the past. Trauma-focused therapy with a psychologist comes first. The role of hypnotherapy is a calm support beside it. It isn’t trauma processing.

You never have to relive it. This is nothing like stage hypnosis. You don’t have to tell me what happened, and you set the pace. In any hypnotherapy session, you can open your eyes and stop at any time.

In a relaxed, focused hypnotic state, we work on:

• a felt sense of safety, so you can remain grounded in body and mind
• calming your body’s alarm system when old reminders set it off
• sleep, and ways to reframe the harsh inner voice
• being kinder to the younger you

If you feel ready, Rewind is one of the tools I’ve found useful. You see a memory from far away, as if watching an old film, then play it in reverse. You keep the details to yourself. We only use it if you’re comfortable.

I don’t use hypnosis to search for memories. The research section explains why.

How childhood trauma hypnotherapy works: video or in person

Most of my sessions happen by video on Google Meet, and in-person sessions are by arrangement. Here’s how it unfolds.

1. 1A free 15-minute phone call

   Share only what feels comfortable, and tell me who already supports you. I’ll be straight about whether this fits. You can also ask me anything about hypnosis, like what it feels like or whether you stay in control.

2. 2First session: your plan

   We look at your triggers, sleep and support. You leave with a tailored plan and a suggested number of sessions.

3. 3Your follow-up sessions

   Typically 6 to 12. Each is a short chat, then hypnosis in a chair, eyes closed. We check how you’re going every time. You take a recording home and learn a short self-hypnosis routine for the days between.

For video, you need a quiet room, a steady connection and headphones. If the call drops, I ring you straight back.

Not sure yet? Talk it through with me first. It’s free and takes fifteen minutes.

Or call 0427 218 092

What the research says about hypnosis for childhood trauma

The research on memory carries a clear warning, too. Victoria’s Better Health Channel lists false memories among the rare unwanted effects of hypnosis. A 2005 Victorian inquiry into “recovered memory therapy” named hypnosis among the most controversial techniques linked to it. So I never use hypnosis to look for, or confirm, memories of childhood. We work with what you already know, and how you feel today.

Is hypnotherapy for childhood trauma safe?

For most adults, yes, when we go gently. You’re in charge of what we talk about. Some people feel tired or a bit emotional afterwards, and that usually settles the same day.

Please see a psychologist or your GP first if:

• you often lose time, feel unreal or switch off without meaning to
• you’re in crisis, or thinking about ending your life (call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 000)
• you’re not safe at home now (call 000, or 1800RESPECT)
• you live with psychosis or severe depression

Keep seeing your GP or psychologist while we work together. Sessions are for adults 18 and over. If you’re under 18, please talk to your GP or school counsellor.

What childhood trauma hypnotherapy costs in Adelaide: $1,500 to $3,000

Your first step is a 90-minute session for $300. In it we build your treatment plan together, and you hear the full cost before you commit to anything.

Who you’ll be working with

Ernest McLeod

Clinical hypnotherapist, Adelaide and online

I’m Ernest McLeod, a clinical hypnotherapist with fourteen years in practice. I’ve been The Hypno Coach in Adelaide since 2012. These days I see people by video across Australia, and in person by arrangement.

This work is personal for me. Years ago a car hit me, and I was left with PTSD, severe anxiety and nightmares. I came to rely on sleeping pills. I saw a hypnotherapist as a sceptic, and it helped me move on. My mind no longer felt like a prison. That’s why I take great care with this work, and why I’m honest about where it fits.

Fellow, Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists (ASCH) · Certified NLP Practitioner · Time Line Therapy® Practitioner · Trainer: AHA-approved CPD courses

What I’m not: I’m not a psychologist or a counsellor, and I’m not registered with AHPRA. Hypnotherapy isn’t a registered profession in Australia. My memberships are voluntary. I also teach other hypnotherapists. The Australian Hypnotherapists’ Association has approved my smoking, vaping and gambling cessation courses for professional development (CPD). More about me