A native of Co. Wicklow James Jameson is an experienced clinical hypnotherapist. His practice, Jameson Therapies is long established in Bray and Wicklow. James is a member of the Institute for Clinical Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy and is a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). He holds an Advanced Diploma in Hypnotherapy and is certified by the American Board of Hypnotherapy, one of the largest governing bodies in the World. In addition to his hypnotherapy qualifications James is also qualified to practice and teach the incredible, newly emerging Energy Psychology approaches.

Originally an engineer, James worked for many years in corporate management before making the change to a career where he could truly help people bring positive change to their lives.

Contact information for Jameson Therapies:

web : http://www.jamesontherapies.com
phone : 1800 924865 (Freephone number)
regular mail : 11 Rose Hill, Wicklow Town, Co. Wicklow
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1. When you began your practice, was it a nerve racking experience when your first client came through the door?

I would say exciting rather than nerve racking.  I looked forward to it, seeing it as a natural and positive outcome of the learning and practical training I had undergone.  It also served as a concrete marker of a new phase in my life.  The fact that my first client wanted something relatively straightforward (motivation for dieting) helped.  The session went very well, and she was obviously pleased, as she returned at later times to work with other issues.

2. Although I haven’t done a poll on this, I would say it’s a safe bet that if 100 people in County Wicklow were asked to name a hypnotherapist in County Wicklow, your name would feature highly. What is the secret of your success?

I would say the most important reason is that I have a great liking and respect for people, regardless of their issue. I believe myself to be very professional - I will go the extra mile.  Word of this gets around and often clients will come to me purely for this reason, regardless of other options that may be available to them.

 More than most, I spend a lot of time on retraining and learning new approaches. This means I have skills and experience that few if any people in Ireland have, especially in the area of Smoking Cessation and the new field of Energy Psychology.  In addition to broadening my scope for helping people, this also means that many issues can be dealt with much more quickly - again, people see this as an advantage.

Longevity is another reason I am well known.  When you have been around for a long time it indicates experience as well as success and this gives people a sense of comfort in coming.

Advertising helps, but only if the other elements of the practice are right. 

3. You have helped a lot of people give up smoking. Is this the main focus of your practice or are there other areas you specialise in as well?

While I have helped many people to stop smoking and indeed have developed a lot of expertise in this field, I also help people with other problems such as depression, anxiety and panic, performance problems, self-esteem and self worth, life purpose and so on.  In addition to my Hypnotherapy experience my Energy Psychology expertise is a big plus in this area.

4. Will hypnotherapy fail if the person trying to make a change doesn’t really want it to happen?

I would say that wanting to change is a basic pre-requisite for making a change. Having said that it is one of the interesting aspects of the work that I am often dealing with a conflict within the client whereby at the conscious level change is desired, but at a deeper level there is a great fear of or resistance to change.  Working around this can be an interesting journey, both for me and the client.

Occasionally I meet a client who simply doesn’t want to change - at any level.  This is more common in the case of something such as cigarette cessation where there may be an element of coercion, either from a parent or spouse.  When this happens the chances of success are reduced. If I suspect a client has been “pushed through the door” I will have a long chat with him or her before deciding whether or not we should proceed.

5. What is the biggest misconception people have about hypnotherapy?

Despite the more outlandish aspects of Stage Hypnosis the vast majority of people are quite knowledgeable and realistic about hypnosis, even if they don’t always realize it.  Just about all of them realize that a hypnotist cannot control your mind.  The misconceptions I come across are relatively minor, such as if you are hypnotized you won’t remember anything - people remember their sessions perfectly well. 

Once or twice outside of the practice I have come across someone who when they heard I was a hypnotist were almost afraid to look at me, thinking I could read their mind or some such thing.  Once they get to know me they relax - mind reading is not my forte!

6. Is there any particular client you have worked with and achieved something that makes you think “Yes, this is why I do what I do”

In reality I could say this of all of my clients.  Whether it is something straightforward like helping someone to stop smoking, or something more complex such as helping him or her to let go of a serious behavioral or emotional problem, to see a client make the desired change is incredibly gratifying. Even in situations where the desired result is not achieved a lot of learning and accessing of wisdom occurs, and often the client will enter into a new relationship with and have a much more positive attitude to the problem - of itself this can bring about wonderful life changes.

Occasionally something remarkable happens, such as the disappearance of a physical problem along with a related emotional issue, or the discovery of a hidden gift - this can seem miraculous, and while it may be a high point and wonderful to be a part of, it is the day to day ongoing work that supplies the real satisfaction.

7. Is it important to think about and write down goals? Do you write down goals?

That depends upon the type of person you are, whether or not you have goals in the first place, and if you do how complex they are.

I have noticed that few people have major set goals in their lives - while they may desire more, in reality, once they have sufficient to live on they are content to go through life enjoying the many gifts life is providing them.  For people in this situation there is perhaps no point in setting goals.

If you are unhappy or dissatisfied, then it may be worthwhile to determine what would make you satisfied and/or happy, and then set a plan to achieve it.  Listing milestones and steps to your goal along with timelines can serve as a very effective set of instructions which will keep you on track.  Of course having the map is one thing, starting the journey is another.  If the desire is strong, the motivation will be there and the action will happen.  If the desire is weak, in all likelihood nothing will happen.  

A word of warning - what you think will make you happy may not do so. To quote the Dalai Lama: “Sometimes not getting what you want can be the greatest stroke of luck”.  Choose your goals carefully.

A lot of self-help books and achievement gurus almost make a fetish out of goal setting - as far as I am concerned there is no hard and fast rule. If you think clearly and are relatively organized you may not need written goals, you can act to a plan in your head or you may simply “know” what needs to happen next.  For more disorganized or fearful people, written goals can be a godsend because they break down the necessary actions into manageable steps.

In complex team situations, written goals and targets serve to coordinate and keep everyone on song.

There is a school of thought that it is far better to let life operate though you - stop trying to control the uncontrollable, open up to what life has to offer and opportunities will materialize. Then if you wish you can take them.  While this may be a bit alien to many people, and even seem like an excuse for doing nothing (it is not) I believe many successful people have operated in this way - when done properly it uses up far les energy that the ‘force it to happen’ approach as in some forms of goal setting.

As for me, I tend to write lists for relatively minor things, such as what I have to do tomorrow (and only if there are a lot of things to be done tomorrow).  As to the major things, I have an idea in my head as to what I want, and my approach is more or less to become receptive to moving towards completion.

8. Do stage hypnotists do more harm than good to your profession?

While there are those who say that Stage Hypnosis trivializes the Hypnotherapy profession (Stage Hypnosis is banned in my professional association), there is also the argument that it serves to lead people to this powerful and effective form of therapy.  People are bright and perfectly capable of discriminating between the use of something for entertainment and the use of the same phenomenon for the purpose of healing.

9. What 3 items would you want with you if you were stranded on a desert island?

Gosh! …..I have no idea.

10. The 3 most important things I have learned in life so far are….

Life is the greatest teacher - the most important and life enhancing lessons I have learned (professionally and personally) have not been from books, but rather from direct communication with people and direct experience.  Books are a relatively minor form of learning, and in reality I rarely finish “serious” or self help books. I have no problem finishing entertainment fiction, detective novels etc.

Whether you like it or not, change will happen, nothing stays the same - in fact change is the only constant (and if you ask me next week my 3 most important lessons they could well be different).

The great adventures are those into the inner world, the world of mind (including body), soul and spirit.