The meaning behind Lethe
In Greek mythology Lethe is a river in the underworld, where souls bathe in order to release all of their memories so that they can be reborn into their new life in the underworld. This is why it is also known as the river of forgetting.
I found it fitting, yet ironic, that while hypnotherapy is about releasing old thought patterns, fears, beliefs and feelings. It is not about forgetting. I might even suggest that in order to release something you would first need to remember it. Just as in order to give something away you would first need to remember that you have it.
Hypnotherapy is not necessarily about delving into the challenges you’re facing as this can have different implications for each individual. More so it is about creating space for whatever is limiting you to move forward, whether that be low self esteem, fear, conditioned beliefs etc. By giving those things the space to surface we can then work to release it and replace the feeling/ belief with something new and much more desired.
Elise Behind Lethe
Behind Lethe, is me, Elise. My journey with Hypnotherapy began in 2024. After studying Psychology for 4 years I was accepted into Royal Holloway University to study it further. I knew that I wanted to work with people, to help them in a therapeutic manner and yet the prospect of university didn’t feel aligned at the time. With this in mind I knew I wanted to be working toward something so I researched courses where I could fulfil my desire to make a difference. I signed onto a counselling course, of which year 1 was Hypnotherapy and an introduction to counselling skills.
The course required me to accumulate a certain number of practice hours with volunteers. While working full time made this difficult, I noticed that the work never became tedious. I had so many moving experiences with volunteers, whom over a year later still speak about the profound nature of being under hypnosis. It was this that made me realise I had found an art that I wanted to practise. I believe hypnotherapy can be particularly helpful for those that are aware of their thought patterns, limiting beliefs and/ or potentially intellectualise their feelings. While this is not a requirement to try hypnotherapy as this can be explored during our work together, when this is the case I believe delving into the body and unconscious mind can be more successful than talking through the issue. Have you ever tried to logically think your way out of an uncomfortable emotion, only to find you just cannot convince your body to feel okay about it? By using hypnotherapy to enter a meditative-like state, it’s possible to suggest new core beliefs and release old feelings.
It can be difficult to try and make positive change if you don’t know that you can feel differently, while there are no guarantees I feel hypnotherapy gives that opportunity to feel differently and integrate long lasting change. I believe many issues in adulthood root back to self esteem and childhood and everyone deserves to let go of burdens that were never theirs to carry. Everyone deserves to let go of programs that they have forgotten.
What is Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is for anyone, however it’s not for everyone.
The hypnotic state is one you’ve most likely visited in your every day life, for example, when you’re driving somewhere and can’t remember how you made it there… your conscious mind has wondered off while your subconscious has taken control of driving.
The hypnotic state is akin to a state of deep relaxation where your conscious mind can wander off and the subconscious is more easily accessible for change to be made. This is important because the conscious mind often analyses and filters out information based on our core belief systems, which can perpetuate deeply rooted beliefs that are now limiting to us.
As the hypnotherapist, I will first lull you into a deeply relaxed state using information that you have given me in the initial consultation. Then we will look to address the issue in a highly personalised manner. For the majority of issues, 4 sessions is the average treatment length.
Contact Me
Interested in trying hypnotherapy? Please get in touch.