From Reiki to Hypnotherapy: A Different Way to Heal

When I first discovered Reiki in 2009, one of the things that attracted me most was its simplicity.

I had often come across approaches that focused heavily on remembering and analysing past events. There's real value in that work — but if I'm honest, I didn't want to relive it. I didn't want to talk about it. I'm not even sure I always knew exactly what "it" was. It sometimes felt like I couldn't move forward until I'd dug up every detail, and that idea itself was exhausting.

Reiki offered a different perspective.

What appealed to me was the idea that healing could begin where I was, without needing to remember every detail of the past. It felt gentle, natural, and accessible.

Later, I was drawn to EFT for similar reasons — it offered another way to create change without spending endless hours searching through memories, with the focus more on moving forward than on explaining exactly why.

But it was hypnotherapy, years later, that gave me language for something I'd been sensing all along.

What I found fascinating about hypnosis was its ability to help people access their subconscious mind and create positive change. Often, the beliefs, habits, and protective strategies we develop in childhood serve an important purpose. They help us survive difficult situations and make sense of the world around us.

The problem is not that these protective strategies are wrong.

The problem is that they can continue operating long after they are needed.

A belief or decision that protected a child may not serve an adult. What once kept us safe can sometimes limit our confidence, relationships, choices or sense of freedom.

Through hypnotherapy, people can begin to recognise these old patterns and develop new ways of thinking, responding, and protecting themselves. The aim is not to criticise the past, but to update it.

For me, Reiki and hypnotherapy complement each other beautifully. Reiki encourages relaxation, awareness, and a sense of inner calm. Hypnotherapy helps people access their own inner resources and create new possibilities for the future.

One helps create the space. The other can help guide the direction.

As a Reiki Master Teacher and Clinical Hypnotherapist, I continue to be fascinated by the ways people can heal, grow, and move forward without becoming trapped in endless analysis of the past.

Sometimes understanding helps. Sometimes relaxation helps. And sometimes what we need most is the confidence to let go of an old way of being and step into a new one.

What's helped you move forward — understanding the past, or simply giving yourself permission to leave it behind?