Many people who get in touch with me have been thinking about starting hypnotherapy for a while. What holds them back is rarely scepticism about whether it works. It is the practicalities. Getting to central London. Fitting sessions around work. Wondering whether the therapist they can reach actually specialises in what they are dealing with.
Online hypnotherapy via Zoom removes all of that. You get access to specialist clinical care, in your own home, at a time that works for you. And the outcomes are exactly what you would expect from an in-person session.
Does It Actually Work Online?
Yes, and this is probably the question I hear most. The short answer is that hypnotherapy works through voice, pacing, and language. None of those require you to be in the same room as me.
Research on videoconferencing-based psychological therapy consistently shows that therapeutic outcomes are comparable to face-to-face delivery (Backhaus et al., 2012; Simpson & Reid, 2014). The working relationship between therapist and client, which is what drives results in any form of therapy, transfers fully through a clear video connection.
In practice, many clients find they settle into a deeper state of relaxation at home than they would in a clinic. There are no unfamiliar surroundings, no journey stress, and nothing to negotiate except finding a quiet chair and closing the door.
What Can Online Hypnotherapy Help With?
I work with the full range of presentations online that I see in my London practice. These are the most common:
Anxiety and panic attacks. For clients whose anxiety has been disrupting daily life, beginning in a familiar and safe environment is not just a convenience. It is clinically useful. There is no added stress of travel or new surroundings to manage before the session even starts. The same applies to panic attacks, where the work focuses on breaking the cycle at the subconscious level, not just managing symptoms.
IBS and gut-directed hypnotherapy. I hold the IBS Hypno Diploma and this is one of my most frequent online presentations. Gut-directed hypnotherapy works through the gut-brain axis, which responds to the same therapeutic communication whether we are in the same room or connected via Zoom. Clients with IBS-D particularly value not having to factor in toilet access when travelling to a session.
Phobias. The desensitisation work that addresses phobias happens inside the hypnotic state, through guided imagery. It does not require the feared stimulus to be physically present, and it does not require you to travel anywhere. This makes online delivery especially practical for clients whose phobia involves public transport, enclosed spaces, or leaving the house.
Insomnia. Insomnia sessions conducted at home in the early evening can transition naturally into sleep preparation, which reinforces exactly what the therapeutic work is building. Clients do not need to drive home after a session that was designed to help them wind down.
Burnout. People in the middle of burnout often do not have energy to spare. The online format removes one more thing to organise, and the nervous system recalibration that is at the core of burnout recovery is just as accessible from a sofa as from a treatment room.
Health anxiety and social anxiety. Clients with health anxiety often have associations with clinical settings that can raise their baseline anxiety before the work has even begun. Starting from home, in a known environment, tends to reduce that activation. The same is true for social anxiety, where an unfamiliar face-to-face setting can itself be a trigger.
The Ericksonian Approach Translates Particularly Well
My training is in Ericksonian hypnotherapy, an indirect, permissive approach that works with the individual’s own language, imagery, and subconscious associations. It does not use rigid scripts. It is built around the client.
This approach relies on voice, tone, and language rather than physical proximity. A focused one-to-one video connection, with clear audio, can enhance the precision of this kind of work. Clients who are analytically minded or who have tried more directive approaches elsewhere often find the Ericksonian method feels more natural and less forced.
What You Need
The practical requirements are minimal:
- A quiet room where you will not be interrupted
- A comfortable chair or sofa that supports your head and neck
- A stable internet connection with a camera and microphone
- Zoom (though other platforms can be arranged)
Headphones are optional but improve the quality of the audio experience. You do not need any previous experience of hypnotherapy or any special preparation.
Working With Clients Outside London
One of the more significant advantages of online delivery is that location becomes irrelevant. I work with clients across the UK and internationally. If you are looking for a specialist in a specific area, such as gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS or Ericksonian methodology for complex anxiety presentations, you should not have to settle for whoever happens to be geographically closest.
You can view session fees at the fees page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is online hypnotherapy as effective as in-person? Yes. The evidence on remote delivery of psychological therapy, and my clinical experience across several hundred online sessions, supports this consistently. The mechanism of change in hypnotherapy is the subconscious mind’s response to therapeutic communication. That does not diminish through a screen.
What if the internet drops mid-session? Before every session begins, I include a safety suggestion: if my voice stops unexpectedly, you will return to ordinary wakefulness naturally and comfortably. We simply reconnect and continue. It is not dangerous or disorienting.
Can I really be hypnotised through a screen? Yes. Hypnosis is a natural state of focused relaxation induced through voice and language. Most clients are genuinely surprised by how quickly they settle into it, often from the first session.
Do I need to have tried hypnotherapy before? Not at all. Most clients come with no prior experience and find it more accessible than they expected.
Is everything confidential? Yes. All sessions use encrypted platforms and everything discussed is subject to full professional confidentiality, in line with the ethical codes of the GHSC and GHR.
Taking the Next Step
If travel, scheduling, or geography has been the reason you have not yet started, I would encourage you to rethink that calculation. Everything that matters in the therapeutic work is fully available to you online.
Book a free initial consultation via the link below, or call 020 7101 3284 to have that conversation directly.
Antonios Koletsas is a GHSC-registered and GHR-accredited clinical hypnotherapist. He holds the IBS Hypno Diploma and is trained in Ericksonian Hypnotherapy at BHRTI under Stephen Brooks. He works with clients in London and online across the UK and internationally.
References
Backhaus, A., et al. (2012). Videoconferencing psychotherapy: a systematic review. Psychological Services, 9(2), 111–131.
Simpson, S. G., & Reid, C. L. (2014). Therapeutic alliance in videoconferencing psychotherapy: a review. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 22(6), 280–299.
NICE (2017). Irritable bowel syndrome in adults: diagnosis and management. Clinical Guideline CG61.
