I am a full-time family doctor (GP) based in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. After many years of conventional medical practice, I realised that although drugs and surgery do have a place, in many medical conditions the most important factor in recovery is the mental attitude of the patient.

I started using hypnosis in my general medical practice about 15 years ago and have had the privilege to study with some of the world’s best medical hypnotists and have developed my own philosophy, style and techniques.

I have recently been carrying out a programme of research, in conjunction with the University of Edinburgh, into the use of hypnosis in family medicine.  I have a particular interest in the use of hypnosis in depression and with funding from the Chief Scientist’s Office, Scotland, have completed a randomised trial into the use of our programme of Positive Mental Training in the treatment of depression.  The results are very encouraging for this as an effective self-help treatment in depression.

Hypnosis keys us in to our own intuitive ability to heal, which we have lost in our hectic busy lives. If an animal is sick, you don't need to tell it how to get better, it intuitively knows what to eat and when it needs to rest. We also know this but to access this part of our brains we need to be in a special relaxed state In this state we can plant positive messages which reset the "software" in our brains. This can be used to relieve anxiety, depression phobias, heart disorders, sleeping problems, panic attacks, skin disorders, bowel disorders, and to help us stop smoking and lose weight.

Emotions have a purpose for us; they look after us and take care of us by telling us when to be careful and when to relax. When we feel bad we do not know exactly where our bad feeling is coming from. All we know is that we feel bad. There may be many possible sources for our bad feeling, and we may think we know the source, but our conscious mind does not know where the feeling is coming from. Usually the source is an unconscious trigger, which we did not register consciously. Our unconscious mind always knows exactly where our tension came from and what the triggers are. So hypnosis allows the unconscious mind to sort out our problem for us. We all have a simple set of tools in our minds to help us sort out problems, so that, for instance, in our sleep, we sort out our problems using our past experiences to help us. To do this we need access to positive memories, but when we feel bad our brain only allows us access to negative memories. So hypnosis allows access to deep relaxation, to a depth we normally cannot achieve, which gives us a positive mindset and allows our unconscious mind to access positive memories, and make the learnings required to sort our current problems for us.

There is nothing obscure or dangerous about hypnosis. It is a way of strengthening commands and ideas by inserting them at the most receptive time for the brain. It is not magic but a recognised medical technique.