Insomnia hypnotherapy in Penzance and across Cornwall

Calm your mind with CBT hypnotherapy, from someone who has lived it.

Insomnia rarely looks the same twice. Some people cannot fall asleep. Some wake in the middle of the night. Some wake early and lie there, watching the clock. Plenty of people get all three.

Whatever your version looks like, it is nearly always driven by the same things: a racing mind that cannot switch off from the day, and an evening routine that is quietly working against you. Both can be changed.

What’s actually keeping you awake

The pattern I see most often is a mind that will not put the day down. Thoughts circle, the body stays on alert, and the harder you try to sleep, the further away it gets. Late eating and evening alcohol are common culprits too. Both can wake you in the small hours even when they feel like they help you drop off.

And here is the myth I correct more than any other: waking during the night does not mean something is wrong with you. Brief waking is a normal part of human sleep, and most poor sleepers significantly underestimate how much sleep they actually get. Once the panic about being awake loses its grip, sleep usually starts to recover on its own.

How Hypno-CBT works for insomnia

We look at two things together: what you think, and what you do. The CBT work untangles the thoughts that keep you wired at bedtime, and reshapes the habits around your evening and your bedroom.

You will learn techniques for stepping back from a racing mind rather than wrestling with it. One favourite is a cognitive defusion exercise called leaves on a stream, which teaches your mind to let thoughts pass instead of chasing them. Journaling often helps too, giving the day somewhere to go before you get into bed.

This is a doing therapy. You will take exercises away, practise them during the week, and report back, and we shape each week around what actually happened. Where hypnosis is useful I bring it in at the end of a session to reinforce everything we have worked on, and you will receive a personal hypnotherapy recording made with your name in it. Many clients make it part of their wind-down.

A real example

One client I worked with had her whole evening routine inside the bedroom: television in bed, cups of tea in bed, taking her make-up off in bed. Her brain had learned that bed meant everything except sleep.

We moved the routine out of the bedroom, so that getting into bed meant one thing only. Her sleep began improving within days. Small changes, made in the right order, can move surprisingly fast.

How quickly will I sleep better?

Honestly, often quite quickly. Most of my insomnia clients have started to feel a difference within the first week or two, and eight sessions is usually enough.

The real variable is you. Sleep changes are behaviour changes, and nobody can do them to you. The clients who do the exercises between sessions get the results. I will be straight with you about that from the start, because it is the difference between feeling a bit better and being free of the problem.

What to expect from your sessions

We start with a free, confidential 20 minute phone consultation. Sessions are one hour, online via Zoom or at home within about 10 miles of Penzance, with appointments available seven days a week from early morning to evening.

Sessions and fees

About me

I’m Kathy Brewerton, HDipCBH, CPT, MNCIP. I hold a Level 5 Higher Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy from the UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy in London, I am a registered member of the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists, and I work in regular clinical supervision. Sleepless, anxious nights were part of my own story with anxiety, which is partly why this work matters to me.

When to see your GP first

If you snore loudly or wake up exhausted no matter how long you sleep, see your GP before we start, so sleep apnoea can be ruled out. This matters more if you carry extra weight or take regular medication.

If you take sleeping tablets, we can still work together, and I have done so with other clients, but only alongside your GP. I will always ask whether your GP knows we are working together, and if not, I will ask you to okay it with them first. Everything above board, always.

Frequently asked questions

Is it normal to wake up during the night?

Yes. Brief waking is a normal part of the human sleep cycle, and most people fall straight back to sleep without remembering it. The problem starts when waking triggers frustration or panic, which switches the body to alert and keeps you awake. Change your response to waking, and sleep usually follows.

What if my mind races the moment I lie down?

That is the most common pattern I see, and it responds well to this work. You will learn defusion techniques that let thoughts pass rather than pull you in, and we will move the mental churn earlier in the evening through journaling and a proper wind-down, so it stops arriving at lights out.

Do I have to come off sleeping tablets first?

No. I have worked with clients on long term sleeping tablets, always in conjunction with their GP. Any change to medication is a decision for you and your doctor. My only requirement is that your GP knows we are working together.

Can I do this online?

Yes. Insomnia work translates very well to Zoom, and your personal hypnotherapy recording works exactly the same wherever you are. If you are within about 10 miles of Penzance, I can also come to you at home.

Take the first step

The first step is a free, confidential 20 minute phone consultation. No pressure, no obligation, just a conversation about what you are experiencing and whether this approach is right for you.

kbhypnocbt@outlook.com