Time for Change
January 7th, 2012
I love my job. I love working with people. It’s one of those jobs that even when I’m out socially, people inevitably have questions. They’re curious about my work – I’m curious about people in general and so I often find myself in chatty conversation about what it would be like to work together.
As I run training courses both in therapy and business communication skills all around the UK and Europe, I meet a lot of new people. And that’s a lot of curious people from a complete range of different backgrounds.
One aspect of my work that I really wanted to get across on my Website was the question I’m most frequently asked.
‘What happens in a Cognitive Hypnotherapy session?’
I’m not sure I’ve ever managed to explain it sufficently no matter how many years and edits the website can go through.
Sure, I could outline the basic format. We start with a conversation about what you’d like to change or improve in your life. Then, we’ll work through a therapeutic exercise together and the session will usually finish with some relaxation work.
This seems so vague though – and that’s the challenge. As the sessions are bespoke for the individual who comes to see me, no two sessions are the same.
There’s often overlaps – there’s certainly patterns and behaviours that some people repeat where i’ve seen many similar before. Yet, no matter how many clients I see and work with – there is always something new. And that’s what makes us so wonderful as human beings.
We don’t fit into a manual or a textbook. There isn’t a magic formula – it’s only through a process of engagement that is two ways that your life can really change.
I frequently get phone calls/emails ‘My friend came to see you and you did X and Y, will we do the same thing?’ And the most honest, congruent answer I can give is ‘I don’t know.’
It’s not until we’re in the therapy office, having a conversation in which you outline what you’d like to change and how you’d like it to be different – that I’ll be able to determine the best course of action that will help.
There’s not one magic formula for working with people with confidence issues or low self esteem, every phobia is different. Our anxiety or depressions are unique to us and we all cope with stress in different ways.
Cognitive Hypnotherapy takes the best elements of different therapies such as CBT, NLP, Pyschotherapy, Jungian Theory, Gestalt work and I find the right combination to get the most effective results at the fastest rate possible for you.
I believe strongly in a dialogue during our time together – to find out how you’re finding the experience both in and out of the therapy/coaching room during our work together.
So I’m still not there in explaining it quite as succinctly as I’d like – but I think we know why. It’s very much something that talking about can be limiting, but actually for the benefits – it’s there to be experienced.
Zack Polanski is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist and NLP Trainer working at 1 Harley Street, London. He works with a variety of issues ranging from building confidence to low self esteem.Dea ling with stress and anxiety, phobic reactions and performance improvement.
To find out more about his unique mix of formal therapy, a conversational style and hypnosis – please call on 07738088632 or email at info@zackpolanski.com
Tags: anxiety, Cognitive Hypnotherapy, confidence, Depression, Harley St, Harley Street, hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, London, NLP, Phobias, relaxation, self esteem, Stress, Therapy, UK
Derren Brown
October 25th, 2011
Of all the enquiries I usually get every week asking me questions about stopping smoking, dealing with a phobia or wondering if it’s possible to grow in confidence, increase self esteem or deal with stress- the majority the past few days have been about Derren Brown’s ‘The Assassin.’
For those of you who didn’t see the show on Channel 4, Derren essentially took a member of the public and hypnotised them into assasinating a well known celebrity and forgetting they ever did.
As with most of Derren Brown’s shows with hypnosis, it was a coup of television! It was beautifully done and the tension was wracked up to the max.
Cognitive Hypnotherapy and the client/therapist relationship is obviously very different. It’s a lot more permissive and centred around what the individual wants as opposed to any ideas of what the therapist thinks they should have.
The show was excellent in giving demonstrations of the power of Hypnosis. The creativity of our imaginations and how focused and determined we can be when we decide to fix our attention on something.
It’s simply not the reality of the therapy room, though. In my clinic at 1 Harley Street (and the Clerkenwell Rooms) – the session is bespoke. It’s entirely client and solution focused. It’s about what you feel you need to move on in life in the ways that you want to do it.
Although killing celebrities may sometimes seem like a tempting use of persuasion, I’m far more interested in seeing people become happier in their lives and moving forward in new ways.
Zack Polanski is an NLP Trainer and a Cognitive Hypnotherapist. Working with several corporate organisations and some of the top educational institutions in the country, his work is always confidential and based on what the client needs. E-mail – info@zackpolanski.com or Phone on 07738088632
Hemispheres
October 6th, 2011
I tend not to recommend books on my blog as I get all sorts of requests from people asking me to link to their work. However, on this occasion, I’m happy to make an exception.
The Master and his Emissary by Ian Mcgilhurst.
To any therapist – I would suggest this book will vastly enhance the way that you work. I frequently get emails asking for suggestions, and for the forseeable future, I shall point people in this direction.
I do have a caveat here – that the book is heavy. It’s certainly not light reading and will require absolute engagement. When the lightbulbs do start to flicker though and jigsaw pieces fall into place, to mix metaphors, it really is a wonderful moment.
The basic premise of the book is about the hemispheric differences in our brain and how these are represented in society. Simplistically, in this blog, the left hemisphere representing logic, reason, specificity and more recently – our business/commerical brain.
The right hemisphere representing creativity, wholeness and an entry point into the wider world. The artistic brain.
Traditionally, there was a balance between the two hemispheres – with information entering through the right, being assessed by the left and returning to the right for consideration. This, the book argues, is the healthiest way in which our mind/brain can work and is conducive to a balanced existence.
Over the past hundred years, mainly since the industrial revolution, the left side of the brain has gradually crept up and placed it’s influence on our thinking. This has resulted in short sightnedness, unfettered individualism and a rise in selfish greed. The book goes on to wax lyrical about political philosophy and tracks the differences in our ‘culture’ through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Reformation – tying in with neuroscience and the different implications this can have in how we percieve our world.
For the therapist, frequently when we work with issues whether it be phobias, lack of confidence or self esteem, depression or anxiety – more often than not, the underlying problem is that of hemispheric dissonance (or in other terms, a misalignment between the conscious and the unconscious mind) – although the book is not targeted at therapists, it’s clear where the dots can be connected and the future of our industry can be percieved to outline where we would like to go next.
If anyone would like to discuss any areas of the book with me, I’m always more than happy to recieve correspondence – on info@Zackpolanski.com
Zack Polanski is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist working in Central London at 1 Harley Street. He works both as a therapist and delivers training programmes to companies. Specialising in issues around confidence and self esteem, Zack also works utilising hypnosis and NLP around issues of anxiety and depression. Get in contact on 07738086632.
Tags: anxiety, blog, book, brain, Central London, Cognitive Hypnotherapist, Depression, East London, Harley St, Harley Street, hypnosis, hypnotherapist, London, Mind, NLP, North London, Phobias, South London, Training, West London, Zack, Zack Polanski
Ethics
September 14th, 2011
In the work I do, as there often is in life,there’s often a real push and pull between what clients want and their willingness to get it.
I make it clear on the site – and always whenever people phone me for an appointment – that Cognitive Hypnotherapy is not a magic bullet. It’s not a miracle cure yet it can do incredibly, effective things and has helped countless amounts of people move on in their lives within that parameter.
Often it can look like magic,and change can more often than not feel effortless and people are amazed at the results – it does require work from the client, though. Or at least their attention and effort in bringing about the changes they want on an unconscious level.
This might make it sound a little less cool or sellable – I have no problem with that, though. It’’s honest; and it doesn’t take anything away from the fact that it’s still an incredible tool for change.
This isn’t unique to Cognitive Hypnotherapy. In other areas I have worked, studied and researched – whether it be more traditional modes like pyschotherapy, counselling or CBT – there’s often this parallel between really great results emerging not from the therapist,but the client. The therapist acts as a guide to reach the areas that the client didn’t even know were accessible previously.
This is particularly prevalent with something like ‘Stop Smoking.’ People phone me up and want a success rate percentage. That’s easy,I say. It’s 100% of the time when the person is committed to the work, and 0% of the time when they’re not. It sounds playful - I also think it’s fair, honest and ethical.
Cognitive Hypnotherapy is made up of truly effective principles and techniques to ensure that people get the result they want especially when it’s important to them. I don’t just not guarantee because it’s more ethical – I do it because it makes me life easier as well.
How? Well, I generally only want someone in the room with me during treatment who genuinely wants to make a change – and is willing to take responsibility for that change too. This is how truly transformational change happens.
Sometimes someone has the absolute desire to change but doesn’t quite believe it can happen – this is completely different again. If the desire is there, then we can find the how and we can move to engage and work together. The belief is helpful, but not necessary for a positive outcome.
And those positive outcomes when they’re met are often far and beyond what the individual thought could happen in such a relatively brief amount of time – and it’s lovely because they’ve always been met in an ethical way, which emphasised not the skill of the therapist alone, but the autonomy of the client and the inner resources available to them.
Zack Polanski is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist working at 1 Harley Street. He works with a variety of issues including confidence, self-esteem, phobias, smoking cessation, addictions, public speaking, PTSD and body disorders. Sessions must be booked 7 days in advance. Phone: 07738088632 or E-mail: info@zackpolanski.com
Tags: anxiety, body, Cognitive Hypnotherapy, confidence, Depression, esteem, hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, NLP, Zack Hypnotherapist, Zack Polanski
August 19th, 2011
This week has been a really interesting week of working with people; From seeing people with phobias, to anxiety disorders, addictions, depression and obsessive behaviour.
Something that’s really struck me about the work I do with people is their bravery. There are very few universals in the clients that I see- and everyone is very unique and different- but there’s something deeply touching about people’s wants, needs and desires to change. Often when people have come to see me, they’ve given up in the past and that’s how they’ve let their problem(s)/issue(s) get to a level where they really desire to make a change or they’re so keen to improve their lives from the state they feel they’re already in- that they go at it with full force.
I was reflecting on this when I read a passage last night from Irvin Yalom’s “The Gift Of Therapy” and there was a short passage which really struck a chord;
“Heddeger spoke of two modes of existence; the everyday mode and the ontological mode. In the everyday mode we are consumed with and distracted by material surroundings- we are filled with wonderment about how things are in the world. In the ontological mode we are focused on being per se- that is , we are filled with wonderment that things are in the world. When we exist in the ontological mode- the realm beyond everyday concerns- we are in a state of particular readiness for personal change.”
The key phrase I believe is the latter. Clients don’t usually get through my door until they’re already ready to begin to make that personal change- and being ready to make a difference in any aspect of your life often requires bravery.
The Catch 22 is that i’m not wholly sure if it’s the bravery that creates readiness or vice versa or if actually they’re both just fueling along. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter- the important part is the decision. Are you ready, and indeed brave enough, to make changes in your life?
Zack Polanski is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist at 1 Harley Street, London. W1G 9QD
The Lewis Clinic is a clinic of hypnotherapists working from the centre of London at Harley St, but also includes many clients from North, South, East and West.
Tags: Addiction, behaviour, Cognitive, confidence, Depression, disorder, Harley St, Harley Street, hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, NLP, phobia, Polanski, Stress, Zack, Zack Polanski
My friend is in a real bad way…..
July 29th, 2011
A common theme, it appears, amongst my clients whether they are private clients, well known people in the public sphere or corporations is the struggle to find the right balance between dependency and independence.
The most startling example is that of Relationships. I’m sure most people know someone, or have been there themselves, where they are in a partnership that doesn’t feel entirely equal. There’s the dangerous ground of playing a symetrical game of assuming that A does something for B, and then B has to reciprocate before A does something else.
This seems so cold and cynical, and rarely does the relationship operate like that in terms of what’s actually said – but frequently, much more telling is the deeper lying structure of how the dynamic organises itself.
I was struck by a small story printed in the Boston Globe on March 20th 1987. It’s about a lady called Susan Butcher. (With thanks to Mary Catherine Bateson for the story came to my attention in her marvellous book, Composing A Life.)
The Iditarod, the 1,157 mile dogsled race across Alaska has been won repeatedly by Susan. This gruelling course was originally set up to be run to save lives at a time when serum was desperately needed in Nome to combat an epidemic. Now, as a race, this mode of caring and service has been converted into a straight out compeitition. Yet it is clear that even in this competitive framework, Butcher excells at taking care of her dogs.
At every rest stop in the 1987 race, her rival Rick Swenson left early, while Butcher gave her dogs the full four-hour rest time; she was so busy caring for them that she had only fifteen minutes of rest for herself. By the end of each lap, her dogs were forging ahead of his. They seemed to gain in power the further along they got.
At the last rest stop, the rules of the race determined that you had to give your animals the full rest time. Butcher’s lead became unbeatable. Where he was willing to overtax his dogs, she was willing to overtax herself, organizing her efforts around caring for her dogs. After the race, care for herself: a glass of wine, a hot bath and a sleep. It has been observed that in womens’ athletics, the women will stop playing when a team mate is injured, until she has been attended to, while male athletes will more quickly resume their competitive combat. Slowing down for caretaking is obviously a losing strategy in the short run, but a winning strategy in the long run, whether in a two week race across Alask or the life and survival of the human species on a planet that must be cherished for it can never be replaced.
Zack Polanski is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist working from 1 Harley Street, London. He also has a clinic available in both North and East London depending on your individual requirements. He works with confidence, self-esteem, depression, anxiety and stress. Alongside this work, he also has experience as a business coach and a skills trainer.
Tags: anxiety, business coach, clinic, Cognitive, confidence, hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, London, phobia, Stress, Trainer, Zack, Zack Polanski
Versatility
June 28th, 2011
I’m in a hotel room in Romsey – I’m working at the moment with a private corporate client over the next few weeks on rapport in the workplace. The pysche and wellbeing of the managing directors, the employees and how communication can be effective in the workplace.
I also work at several drama schools coaching actors 1-1 on things like confidence, performance anxiety or anything that might crop up in their personal lives (from depression to just wanting to be better at something.)
Similarly, I train therapists and practitioners, coach politicians and consult for various institutions (including a nightclub and a youth offending institution.)
My most common work is working with members of the public. Whether it’s preparing someone for their audition at drama school or working with someone who’s experienced trauma – 1 on 1 work is something I really enjoy.
I like to keep busy - people who know me are often bemused how many different hats this entails. I don’t really see it that way, though. For me – they’re all under one umbrella of working with people.
So why this blog? It’s not intended to be an advertisement for ‘Zack Polanski Hypnotherapy Services’ – it’s intended to suggest a wider point about versatility.
So often I meet people who feel really stuck in their lives, their relationships or their careers. They can’t see a way out or they feel really tied up in their story. Frequently, learning a new skill set is a big jump.
I’d still encourage people to do it sometimes, even if it’s a leap – yet in the meantime, you may not even have to move off the spot. Sometimes you can look at your feet, turn yourself around and just face in a different direction. This alternative perceptual position can be enough that you can begin to see new angles and ideas upon your perspective – something that can have seemed so difficult or impossible, can come within your reach.
As a therapist, a communicator, a philosopher, a mentor and a coach - guiding you to find that new position and encouraging you to take that leap is often my specialist area. I’d love to help.
Zack Polanski is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist at 1 Harley Street, London. W1G 9UD. 07738088632 or info@zackpolanski.com
Tags: anxiety, business, coach, Cognitive Hypnotherapist, confidence, Depression, drama school, Harley St, Hypnotherapy, mentor, performing, trauma, Zack, Zack Polanski
May 31st, 2011
Wow. So it’s been a month of incredible weather which seems to be finishing off with a day or two of rain.
In both my private client work, various work with businesses and corporations and counselling at drama schools – i’ve noticed a real trend of reflectivity at this time of year. As we reach the half way point of 2011, people thinking about where they’ve come from since January and where they would like to be by December.
I’ve seen a variety of people for confidence issues, people who have previously been suffering from anxiety – and a few unusual phobias too. The common theme though has been that clients this month, even more than usual, have been in a place where they just feel stuck.
It’s interesting that idea of being ’stuck’ and how do we know when we are? It’s almost invariably a feeling. It might be an uncomfortable feeling in our stomach, or the heavy weighing down of our shoulders – something that just lets us know that not all is as it could be.
In many ways though – that feeling is helpful to us. It’s an excellent calibration mechanism between the start of treatment and the conclusion. It’s a good way of checking in with ourselves on how we’re feeling – the absence of the feeling of being stuck, or the replacement with an opposite feeling – just confirms that we’re starting to move on with our lives and find new choices.
It’s a little bit like the weather – we only notice the rain because it’s been so sunny or vice versa. It’s all news of difference.
So here’s the question – if you wanted news of difference in your life, how would you notice? What would it be? What differences would you be making from today?
And the most powerful question – how best can you being to implement those changes so you don’t have to feel stuck any longer?
Zack Polanski is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist working at 1 Harley Street. His work with NLP, Hypnosis and Pyschology is powerful in working with peoples confidence, anxiety, phobias, depression, self-esteem issues, relationships and coaching. You can call on 07738088632 or info@zackpolanski.com
Harley Street is just by Oxford Circus Tube and is accessible from North, South, East, West and Central London very easily.
Tags: anxiety, coaching, Depression, Harley St, Harley Street, hypnosis, hypnotherapist, NLP, Phobias, relationships, self esteem, Therapy, Zack, Zack Polanski
May 13th, 2011
It’s been a really interesting month with a variety of themes emerging amongst my client work.
I’ve become increasingly curious about factors that promote change in a person. Whether it’s because they want to quit smoking, be less anxious, stop being phobic of something or to just live a relaxed life – to find the commonality that is often the straw that breaks the camels back.
There’s an (apparently) old adage I heard this week – ‘The roads not crowded along the extra mile.’ It really resonated with me in terms of those clients who make incredible changes – there’s often an internal congruency that they bring to our work together which just allows them to push through those barriers that may have been there before.
Often though, clients will come to see me because they can’t break through those barriers and they feel stuck. They feel like they’ve tried every logical thought pattern they could think of – they could write a thesis around their issue(s) yet they can’t seem to quite let go. That’s where I become really interested in knowing not only how I motivate people through our session work together but what is it that finally clicks in a person – that keeps them more effective and happier once our sessions are over.
It’s definitely an area to consider as we create a field that is absolutely not about codependency but the empowerment of each and every individual. There’s nothing codependent necessarily about seeing help for change – it’s just ensuring the help is short term to get the individual on to their feet and moving again in a relatively short amount of time.
Zack Polanski is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist. Based at 1 Harley Street, London – he regularly sees clients from Central London, North, East, South, West and the rest of the UK and Europe.
He works regularly on issues such as lack of self esteem, confidence, depression, phobia and anxiety. Call 07738088632 or e-mail at info@zackpolanski.com
Tags: anxiety, Cognitive Hypnotherapist, confidence, self esteem, Stress, Zack Polanski
Alternatives
May 4th, 2011
I don’t often get political on these pages; although I like to be politically active in my day to day life, it’s often easier to keep the two things with an artificial seperation.
Sometimes though an issue comes round so big – that it makes sense to utilise every forum or springboard that we have in order to make our voice heard.
A lot of what I often talk with clients about in the therapy room is the concept of choice. About giving ourselves more options, empowering ourselves with interactivity and taking action.
Frequently when I talk to, mainly, young people about politics – they feel disenchanted, disempowered and that nothing ever changes. And the frustrating thing is, they’re largely right. Politics, in the UK, has a broken system. We’re barely represented in a fair and just way – and it call comes back to our voting system.
Ask people on the street what political issues they care about – they’ll frequently cite the cuts, Libya, schools, hospitals, unemployment…and others too – yet the voting system transcends all of these. The voting system is the meta system and at a fundamental level decides how we elect the people who make these further decisions.
I’d never tell anyone how to vote or use this platform to push a political agenda – I will though encourage people to read and watch as much as they can and not be swept up by the lies and spin coming out of either campaign.
And just know if and when you go to that Ballot Box, that that this decision is crucial.
Zack Polanski is a Cognitive Hypnotherapist (and political activist) at The Lewis Clinic, 1 Harley Street, London. W1D 9UG
Contact Number: 07738088632 or info@zackpolanski.com
Tags: clinic, Cognitive, Harley St, Harley Street, hypnotherapist, Lewis Clinic, Zack Polanski
