When the tests come back clear but your gut still won't settle, the answer is often in the connection between your gut and your nervous system. That is where I work.
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Most people who contact me about IBS have already been through the tests. Bloods, stool samples, scans, sometimes a gastroscopy or colonoscopy, and everything has come back clear. That should be reassuring, yet the symptoms carry on.
If that sounds like you, you are not imagining it, and you are not on your own.
You might recognise some of this:
Your gut has its own nervous system, with millions of nerve cells in constant conversation with your brain. When that system is on high alert, through stress, anxiety, poor sleep or simply months of worrying about symptoms, the gut becomes more sensitive. Normal digestion starts to register as pain, the muscles of the gut speed up or tighten, and stomach acid and reflux become more likely.
This is why IBS and reflux so often flare during stressful periods, and why the worry about symptoms can keep the cycle going long after the original trigger has passed. It is not "all in your head". It is a real, physical response driven by a nervous system that has learned to stay on guard.
Diet changes can reduce what irritates the gut. Hypnotherapy works on the other half of the picture: calming the system that makes the gut so reactive in the first place.
Want to understand IBS in more depth? Read my guide to IBS symptoms, causes and management.
I use gut-directed hypnotherapy, an approach developed specifically for IBS, combined with The Darren Carter Method to address the stress, anxiety and habits of worry that keep symptoms going.
We start with a consultation, where I learn your history, your symptoms, what you have already tried and what tends to set off a flare. From there, every session is built around you rather than a generic script.
In the sessions we work on:
Every session is 90 minutes: 60 minutes of hypnosis and 30 minutes to talk through what's changed and what's next.
You receive a recording of each session to listen to between appointments, along with a Client Support Guide, so the work carries on at home. Hypnotherapy fits well alongside a nutritionist or a low FODMAP plan, and many of my clients use both together.
Sessions are available in person at my practice in Wokingham, or online via Google Meet from anywhere in the UK.
No pressure. No upsells. Just clear options so you can pick what fits where you are right now.
£60 consultation, then £85 per session
£315
Total value £540, you save £225
Book 3-Session Package£395
Total value £700, you save £305
Book 4-Session PackageKlarna is available at checkout if you would like to spread the cost. Online sessions cost the same as in person.
Every person is different, but the changes clients most often describe are:
"I used to plan my day around my IBS symptoms, avoiding social events and long journeys. Hypnotherapy has helped me regain control and live my life without constant worry."Emma
"IBS made me fearful of eating certain foods, and I felt trapped by the limitations. Hypnotherapy has transformed my relationship with food and given me the confidence to enjoy meals again."Mark
"The stress of managing my IBS symptoms while working full-time was overwhelming. After hypnotherapy, I've found calmness and relief I never thought was possible."Louise
Read more from clients on my reviews page.
Gut-directed hypnotherapy has been studied for IBS for over thirty years, with much of the original research carried out in Manchester. Clinical trials have shown it can reduce symptoms such as pain, bloating and bowel disturbance, and improve quality of life, with many people keeping those improvements for years afterwards.
In the UK, NICE guidance recommends that hypnotherapy be considered for IBS that has not settled with first-line treatment. It is one of the most researched psychological approaches for IBS available.
You can read more about how clinical hypnotherapy works here.
Yes. This is exactly where hypnotherapy is most useful. Clear tests mean nothing structural has been found, which points to a gut that has become over-sensitive and a nervous system that is keeping it that way. That is what gut-directed hypnotherapy works on.
Yes. Reflux is very often driven by the same stress response that affects the rest of the gut, and many people with IBS have reflux too. We work on both together.
Yes, and the two work well together. Diet reduces what irritates the gut, while hypnotherapy calms the system that makes the gut so reactive. Many of my clients are also working with a nutritionist.
Most people notice a difference within the first few sessions. The four-session package is the one most people choose, as it gives time to settle the gut, the sleep and the worry around symptoms, and to make sure the change holds.
Yes. Online sessions take place via Google Meet and work just as well as sessions in person. All you need is a quiet room where you will not be disturbed.
It usually is, and it is part of the work rather than something separate. If anxiety or health worries are a large part of the picture, you can also read about my anxiety and health anxiety work.
IBS often comes alongside other things. These are the areas I work with most.
Calm a nervous system stuck on high alert.
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When worry about symptoms takes over.
Find out more →
Get back the rest your body needs.
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Quieten constant thoughts about food.
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Break the cycle of intrusive thoughts and compulsions.
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Freedom from the fears that hold you back.
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Change your relationship with food for good.
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Stop unwanted habits at the source.
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Support for stress, confidence and everyday balance.
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Sessions via Google Meet, anywhere in the UK.
Find out more →There are two ways to begin. If you would like to talk it through first, I offer a free 20-minute phone call. Just send me a message through the form and I will call you back. Or if you would rather get started, you can book your consultation directly.
