Hypnotherapy as a tool for Motherhood
with Emily, trainee Clinical Hypnotherapist & founder of EC Hypnotherapy
I’m planning on doing a whole ‘origin story’/ how Postpartum Matters CIC came to be series shortly but, for today, as I was wanting to introduce our newest facilitator at The Women’s Health Hub - I thought I’d start with what I see as our (or should I say my) pre-origin story of sorts.
As with most people nowadays, I think it really began back at the beginning of 2020 as I found myself eleven weeks pregnant in a pandemic. I was working full time in a Microbiology lab, struggling with hyperemesis gravidarum, an extreme kind of pregnancy sickness. To say it was terrifying would be an understatement and I regularly felt as if I was a character in some sort of post-apocalyptic film.
27th March 2020 - our dating or 12 week scan, where I found out I had to go by myself via social media, not the hospital
When we all got sent home in March 2020, and face to face midwifery appointments stopped and there was so much fear going around, I realised I needed support to guide me through it. Fortunately, as all of the government funded services came to a standstill, there was an abundance of women stepping forward - as doulas, hypnotherapists, yoga teachers, wellness facilitators - to hold us during this time.
This was when I really felt the power and grace in women connecting with each other. I found my amazing yoga teacher Lucy and her online classes & yoga nidras were the little islands of calm in the huge sea of fear. This was where I realised that my busy, anxious brain could actually relax, as long as the set-up was right.
Once we came out of the pandemic and I was still entrenched in my difficult postnatal recovery (more on that later), I still needed all of that support - if not more. This was where all of my sensory differences came to the fore and I realised I may not be neurotypical.
I found support and solace in other women - coaches, mentors, NLP practitioners. From this I realised that I love hypnotherapy. In fact, I now have a regular practice and listen to a hypnosis track almost daily. It is the perfect way I have found, for me, to come back to centre and self regulate (read ‘not scream at my kids and/or husband).
Some great books that are also full to the brim with support - I found all mine on Vinted, have you tried it for books yet?
When myself and Lottie set up The Women’s Health Hub back in April, we knew we wanted the majority of the work we did there to be free at the point of access. We also knew we had to bring in enough income to make the venture self sustaining. No funder will fund 100% of a project. It’s been a challenging one to unpick how we do this without placing too many barriers on the people who can access us.
One of our ideas was to rent the space out. To bring us money in but to also support all of the amazing women out there who run groups or services.
The last few months has seen us reaching out and getting to know local practitioners of all kinds of things. HAPpy Parenting Hartlepool were the first to regularly rent the space. Next month also sees the start of hypnobirthing sessions from Viki at Glitter Birth. The rent is low - £10 an hour or 25% of revenue, whichever is smallest - but we feel this helps support both us and the people who run the services, which feels like a double win to us.
Early vision board and sketching of how we wanted The Women’s Health Hub to look & feel & stand for.
I am especially excited to be welcoming Emily - a trainee clinical hypnotherapist who also owns her own hypnotherapy company, EC Hypnotherapy. She’s here today, in your app or inbox, to introduce herself and her work and to ask - what do you want to know about hypnotherapy? What kind of hypnotherapy support would be most beneficial to you?
Please do comment below and we can start a conversation about this amazing healing modality.
So, without further ado
Let’s hear from Emily…
Hello Mama’s!
Let me introduce myself…I’m Emily, trainee Clinical Hypnotherapist and founder of EC Hypnotherapy. Becoming a Hypnotherapist has been a dream of mine for SUCH a long time! So almost 7 months ago, I woke up and said “right, that’s it, I’m doing it! I’m training as a Hypnotherapist” and here we are…still training but delivering in areas I’m qualified and so excited to deliver in.
My focus is on supporting Mums. The tired Mums, the overwhelmed Mums, the one’s full of self doubt, the one’s in need of a bit of TLC, the exhausted Mums, the one’s wondering “is it just me?” Coming from a place of experience, I know only too well how amazing but overwhelming Motherhood can be.
Hypnotherapy is a psychological technique that uses the power of hypnosis to bring about positive changes in our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Imagine being in what feels like an incredibly relaxing, deep sleep whilst being in full control and fully aware of what's going on. It involves guiding you into a relaxed state, where you become more receptive to suggestions made and are able to access your subconscious mind – that part of your brain responsible for our emotions, beliefs, memories, habits and automatic behaviours. We use visualisation and suggestion while in a dreamy, peaceful state and tap into our subconscious mind, which is more responsive and open to suggestion. By tapping into the subconscious mind, hypnotherapy can help you to reframe beliefs, promote relaxation, boost self-confidence and self-belief, and support personal growth.
Hypnotherapy is a collaborative process. It involves both you and I working together to achieve specific goals and bringing about positive change.
I offer a range of services including one to one online hypnotherapy sessions addressing specific issues and online and in person group hypnotherapy sessions. I have a range of audios available to download that can be listened to at a time and place most convenient to you. I’m also in the process of developing two courses - TLC & New Me. TLC is a three week course designed to address some of the challenges of Motherhood such as exhaustion, burn out, overwhelm, stress, anxiety and poor sleep. This comprehensive program combines the power of hypnosis and therapeutic techniques to provide mothers with effective tools and strategies for rejuvenation, stress reduction, and improved well-being.
New Me is a four week course designed for Mums with dreams and aspirations but who feel held back with a lack of confidence, low self-esteem, limiting beliefs and low motivation. New Me can help improve motivation and self-confidence, develop a more positive self-image, boost self-esteem and overcome fears and anxieties holding them back.
I am SO excited to be working with Zoe and Lottie to deliver some unique sessions with women like you accessing The Women’s Health Hub. Mums often don’t show themselves enough self love and burnt out, overwhelmed mothers are in desperate need of relaxation. I hope to provide this in my guided relaxation hypnosis sessions in July.
Can’t wait to see you there!
Emily x
Emily will be at the hub twice in July! Her Wednesday Wellbeing session is on July 5th, 6:30-7:30 and her Sunday Selfcare session is on July 16th from 10:30. You can book both of them here and here. You can also access all of her online offerings here.
As mentioned, Emily is renting our space so, by attending her sessions you are also helping to support all of the amazing free services we offer at The Women’s Health Hub - how amazing is that?!
As we enter our third month of being, and it continues to grow and we continue to learn, I just wanted to say how grateful we are for all of your continued support.
And, if you know someone who may enjoy a group hypnosis session, or any of Emily’s work, please do share this post with them.
It really makes all the difference to how well these things go and the long-term impact our work can have.
Sending love,
Zoe x
P.S. Value the work we do but can’t make it along? Perhaps you live too far away or there is some other reason. You can still support our work by becoming a paid subscriber to our newsletter or by donating to our Just Giving page. As we continue to work on our funding bids, any help you can give makes all the difference and we are so incredibly grateful.
We have sent you some magical money over from Company of Two.