As the title of this blog entry states, the first ever UK hypnosis convention will happen in London this year and I have been asked to present during the event (I’ll be speaking on Saturday) and be keynote speaker at the Gala Dinner on the Saturday night. It is an incredibly ambitious project and looks like it is going to be a fabulous event.

Read more here about the UK Hypnosis Convention

On the Saturday I will be presenting about hypnosis and the brain. There are many hypnotherapists and clinicians of varying backgrounds using hypnosis for therapeutic gain and benefit, but do we really have any idea of what is actually happening inside the brain when we are doing so?

Most hypnosis professionals refer to ‘making changes inside the head’ but what changes are actually happening and are they actually happening at all?

In this lecture, I’ll be offering up an outline of the relevant brain anatomy when it comes to hypnosis, an explanation of classic cognitive neuroscience and how it relates to hypnosis, how hypnosis is being used to understand much of neuroscience, a lot of important evidence base and the most pivotal neuroscientific studies, the methodologies used in these studies (they are illuminating and fascinating!), the reasons why pain studies have been historically used to study hypnosis too, how the hypnotised brain is actually studied; the pros and cons of such approaches, and how neuroscience disproves a number of classic theories in the field of hypnosis.

That may initially sound like quite an academic lecture, and it is. That’s a good thing though, right? You’ll be getting massive brain stimulation while learning more about the brain! Woooo! Yet the practical benefits of developing such an understanding will become incredibly plain on the day too. It always advances skills to have your underpinning knowledge (that feeds your practical skills) enhanced and broadened.

This presentation is for anyone who uses hypnosis, anyone interested in cognitive neuroscience, and anyone who wants to explore what the evidence base tells us happens in the brain when people are hypnotised.
I am thrilled to be offering this lecture, much of the content is material I have researched during my own Phd studies and from my own Phd supervisor Dr Ben Parris who has explored hypnosis and cognitive neuroscience as much as any researcher in the world today.

This lecture will be very in-depth, it’ll refer to very credible references and will delight the hearts and minds of any hypnosis professional. Everyone in attendance will receive a copy of the slides and a list of all references used in this lecture. I think you’ll leave this lecture with very valuable knowledge and a deeper understanding of our subject matter of hypnosis.

Read more here about the UK Hypnosis Convention

With that presentation delivered, I plan on attending as many lectures and presentations that day as possible too, there are some fabulous speakers who I plan to see, and some of whom I have arranged to hang out with, catch up with, talk hypnosis with, and generally enjoy myself with (likely to involve Gin a fair bit too).

Later on that evening at the gala dinner, I’ll be making my keynote presentation and I will discuss, review and examine some of the classic feuds in the history of hypnosis (the last 150 years) and what we learned as a field as a result of those feuds. I’ll also discuss and explore the type of mindsets that typically help the field of hypnosis develop and progress. I’ll court some controversy but heck, I plan on it being a lot of fun too. I can’t wait to deliver it.

I’ll also be recording snippets of audio throughout the entire weekend, including late into the evenings, with speakers and attendees and those snippets will find their way into a special “behind the scenes” edition of the Hypnosis Weekly podcast.

So firstly, I wanted to say, if you are a hypnosis professional I think you should attend. There is a huge amount of experience, talent and education on offer. Secondly, if you do join, I hope you’ll track me down, come and say hello and have a chat with me. Thirdly, if you have not yet booked a seat, then go visit the UK Hypnosis Convention Website and when purchasing, use the code AEDISC.  It’ll give you a very healthy 20% discount on your ticket. You can thank me later.

Come jump on board. Hope to see you there. Read more here about the UK Hypnosis Convention

If you’d like to learn a bit more about the event, and hear from the man behind it, Nick Ebdon, then you can also go and listen to my hypnosis weekly podcast edition when he featured a couple of weeks ago.