Hypnotherapy for Health Anxiety and Pain Management
Ease Physical and Mental Tension, Calm Health Worries, and Support Your Body’s Natural Healing
Learn to soothe an overvigilant nervous system, reduce pain perception and health preoccupation, and support your body’s healing capacity through evidence-based, solution focused hypnotherapy.
How Hypnotherapy Helps With Health Anxiety and Pain
Solution focused hypnotherapy does not claim to cure medical conditions and does not replace medical diagnosis or treatment. However, it can be a valuable supportive therapy alongside medical care to help manage anxiety and support pain management strategies.
Hypnotherapy can help to:
Calm an overvigilant nervous system that becomes focused on bodily sensations and health concerns
Reduce catastrophic health thoughts and health-related anxiety that can amplify suffering
Support pain management by helping the mind and body relax, reducing physical tension and pain perception
Improve sleep and rest, which are often disrupted by pain, worry, or heightened body awareness
Ease unhelpful attention patterns that can amplify physical sensations and health preoccupation
Rebuild a sense of safety, trust in your body, and gentle self-compassion at a manageable pace
Support engagement with healing activities and medical treatment without excessive worry
Many clients notice improvements in their ability to manage pain and worry, feel more at ease in their body, and approach health challenges with less anxiety, even as healing progresses gradually and naturally.
Why Choose Solution Focused Hypnotherapy for Health Anxiety and Pain?
Solution focused hypnotherapy is a forward-focused therapeutic approach that supports wellbeing and pain management and combines:
Solution focused brief therapy techniques
Neuroscience-based psychoeducation
Clinical hypnosis
Rather than analysing illness history or focusing on distressing symptoms, this approach helps calm the mind and nervous system, reduce the anxiety that can amplify pain, and strengthen your ability to work with your body toward healing and recovery.
Sessions are structured, practical, and carefully adapted to support nervous system regulation, manage pain and worry at a sustainable level, and move forward at a pace that supports both healing and wellbeing.
Who Solution Focused Hypnotherapy Can Help
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can support people experiencing health anxiety or living with chronic pain by helping to calm an overvigilant nervous system, reduce health preoccupation and anxiety, and ease the mental suffering that can accompany physical symptoms.
Rather than dwelling on medical histories or focusing on distressing diagnoses, this approach helps the mind and body settle in the present, creating the conditions needed for reduced anxiety, better pain management, and trust in your body’s resources.
Sessions are practical, structured, and time-limited, with an emphasis on gently calming the nervous system, supporting pain management and healing, and helping you move forward with greater ease and resilience. Many clients find this a supportive, forward-focused alternative to traditional talking therapies, helping them manage their symptoms without being consumed by worry.
How It Works
Over our sessions, we’ll work together to help you:
Understand how the nervous system, anxiety, and attention interact with pain perception and health worries, and how the mind influences physical experience
Learn tools to calm the nervous system, reduce pain-related tension, and support your mind-body connection for healing
Develop a more supportive, solution-focused approach to managing health anxiety and pain without catastrophising
Reinforce feelings of calm, safety, and trust in your body through guided relaxation and hypnosis
Each session is structured as follows:
A discussion of “what’s been good?” to help your brain notice moments of less pain, times when anxiety eased, or when you felt more at ease in your body, however small, and move into a calmer state. These do not need to be complete relief — perhaps you had a few hours of relative comfort, or felt less worried about your health.
Brain revision to remind you of the neuroscience behind pain perception and health anxiety, including how the nervous system responds to threat, how attention amplifies symptoms, and how calming the system supports pain management and healing.
A simple scaling exercise to explore how you are managing pain and health worries this week and what might help you feel slightly more at ease or supported.
A visualisation exercise to explore what greater comfort and ease might feel like, how your body might feel more relaxed, and what small step you can take to support healing and wellbeing naturally.
A guided relaxation to support nervous system regulation and gently reinforce comfort, ease, and trust in your body’s healing capacity at a subconscious level.
Many clients notice a real difference after just a few sessions.
Meet Laura
My name is Laura Bartlett and I am a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist and Psychotherapist, with a strong academic and professional background in psychology and evidence-based therapy. I hold a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from Royal Holloway, University of London, alongside a Diploma in Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and a Hypnotherapy in Practice Diploma.
I am a registered member of the Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy (AfSFH), fully insured, and hold an enhanced DBS certificate — so you can be confident you are working with a qualified, professional, and ethical practitioner.
Before retraining as a therapist, I spent 20 years working in the London corporate world as an insurance broker. With an Advanced Diploma in Insurance (ACII) and a Level 3 Diploma in Management and Leadership, my approach is practical, grounded, and evidence-informed.
You’re In Safe Hands
Membership Number: 2625
The Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapists (AfSFH) maintains the only dedicated register for Solution Focused Hypnotherapists. All members are fully qualified, insured, and required to follow a strict Code of Conduct and professional standards. AfSFH also sets and monitors best-practice standards, with members completing at least 21 hours of ongoing professional development each year, including regular supervision and further training.
Membership Number: 12094
The National Council for Hypnotherapy holds one of the largest registers of independent Hypnotherapists in the United Kingdom and strives to maintain the highest standards among its members.
There is an agreed Code of Conduct, an established Complaints & Disciplinary Procedure and all members are obliged to maintain comprehensive Public Liability & Professional Indemnity Insurance, maintain regular CPD (continuing professional development) hours, and attend Supervision when needed.
CASE STUDY: How Hypnotherapy Helped Jenny Break the Cycle of Chronic UTI Pain
Details changed for confidentiality reasons)
Jenny, an Accounts Manager living with her partner, had been struggling with chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) for years. The pain, repeated antibiotics, and ongoing worry had begun to affect her daily life, relationships, and even led her to cancel her wedding.
When Jenny discovered solution focused hypnotherapy, she was sceptical but hopeful. She wanted support in reducing stress, breaking the constant focus on pain, and restoring confidence in her body.
During sessions, she learned how chronic stress and heightened nervous system responses can maintain pain and symptoms, even alongside medical treatment. Guided relaxation and solution focused techniques helped her calm the nervous system, reduce fear, and shift attention from symptoms to moments of safety and support.
Gradually, Jenny noticed meaningful changes:
She attended work events without UTI-related anxiety
Reduced unnecessary antibiotic use
Reconnected socially and engaged in life without constant worry
Began to rebuild trust in her body and enjoy daily life
By the end of therapy, Jenny described feeling calmer, more hopeful, and in control. While she wasn’t symptom-free, her relationship with pain had changed — she felt empowered to manage stress, reduce flare-ups, and focus on living fully.
Client Testimonials
“Laura is warm, understanding and non judgmental. The space is calming and professional. She took the time to understand my needs, medication that might impact my experience.” — HR, Female, 24
“I didn’t realise how many things I was doing that were keeping me symptomatic. Laura’s knowledge of the brain and her ability to explain how it functions made me understand how little changes in my daily life can make big impacts in my physical and mental health. Hypnotherapy helped me change — and I finally feel confident that I will heal.” — KR, Female, 31
Next Steps…
Ready to ease health anxiety and manage pain more effectively?
Book an initial consultation or learn how solution focused hypnotherapy can help you calm health worries, support pain management, and move forward with greater ease and resilience.
I service the local areas of Hadleigh, Leigh-on-Sea, Benfleet, Chalkwell, Southend-on-Sea, Canvey Island, Dunton, Laindon, Basildon, Horndon on the Hill, Corringham, Stanford-le-Hope, Pitsea, Thundersley, Hockley, Hawkwell, Rochford, Westcliff-on-Sea, Wickford and Rayleigh. Or anywhere in the World via Zoom.
An initial consultation is £35 and takes up to 45 minutes. It can take place online via Zoom or in-person in my relaxing therapy room at 96 Westwood Gardens, Hadleigh, Essex, SS7 2SJ.
During the initial consultation I will take some basic information from you - including what you are looking to achieve from sessions. I will then explain how the brain works including why it is negatively biased and what causes our intrusive thoughts. We will discuss the format of further sessions and you will leave with a sleep audio to listen to at home.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hypnotherapy for Health Anxiety and Pain Management
Can hypnotherapy help with health anxiety and pain management?
Yes. Solution focused hypnotherapy can be very effective in supporting people with health anxiety and pain management by helping to calm the nervous system and reduce the heightened awareness that amplifies both worry and physical discomfort.
It works by addressing the way the brain processes perceived health threats and pain signals, helping to ease catastrophic thinking, reduce physical tension, and support the body’s natural healing capacity. Hypnotherapy helps the mind respond more calmly to bodily sensations, reducing anxiety levels and making it easier to manage pain and health worries with greater control.
Will hypnotherapy cure my health anxiety or pain straight away?
Hypnotherapy is not a quick fix and does not guarantee that health anxiety or pain will disappear overnight. These experiences are deeply connected to the nervous system and how the brain processes perceived threats.
Instead, solution focused hypnotherapy focuses on gradually calming the nervous system, reducing the intensity of health worries and pain perception, and helping your brain learn to respond more calmly to bodily sensations. Many clients notice positive changes after just a few sessions, but lasting improvement comes from consistent practice and allowing the mind and body to build new, healthier responses over time.
Is solution focused hypnotherapy safe alongside other treatments or medical care?
Yes. Solution focused hypnotherapy is safe and non-invasive and can be used alongside other treatments, counselling, or medical support for health anxiety and pain management.
It does not replace medical advice, medication, or therapy when needed. Instead, it complements other approaches, focusing on calming the nervous system, reducing health preoccupation, and supporting the body’s natural capacity for healing and comfort.
Is solution focused hypnotherapy suitable for all types of health anxiety and pain?
Solution focused hypnotherapy can support people experiencing a wide range of health anxiety and pain-related difficulties, including:
Health anxiety, hypochondria, or persistent worry about illness or symptoms
Chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, back pain, or migraines
Medically unexplained symptoms or heightened sensitivity to bodily sensations
Pain or anxiety related to medical procedures, diagnoses, or recovery
Stress-related physical symptoms such as tension, fatigue, or digestive discomfort
Each session is tailored to the individual’s needs and circumstances, ensuring the approach is safe, compassionate, and relevant to your specific health concerns.