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Melbourne Clinical Hypnotherapy Dr Bruce Alexander

Other concerns

Other concerns I work with

Hypnotherapy can help with a wider range of issues than most people realise. If you don’t see your concern listed under my main services, it may still be something I can help with.

The six conditions I list as main services are the ones I see most often. But the underlying mechanism — the belief systems, the emotional loops, the habitual responses — is consistent across many other concerns. If you’re unsure whether what you’re dealing with fits, a free discovery call is the easiest way to find out.

Start typing to filter the list below by condition name.

These tend to share a common pattern: a nervous system that has learned to fire too easily or too often, producing the physical, mental and behavioural responses that maintain themselves.

Social anxiety

Reduces the automatic spike of self-consciousness in social situations, so the body and mind don't recruit the same level of alarm.

Phobias and fears

Re-patterns the trigger so the feared stimulus no longer fires the same fight-or-flight response.

Panic attacks

Interrupts the catastrophising loop and helps the nervous system stay below the threshold that tips into an attack.

Health anxiety (hypochondria)

Eases the looping focus on bodily symptoms and the conviction that something is wrong, so the body's signals can be read more accurately.

Performance and exam anxiety

Quietens the anticipatory bracing before tests, presentations or performances, so the body works with you rather than against you.

PTSD and trauma responses

Works gently at the level where the traumatic memory is held, reducing its hold on the present without forcing detailed recall.

Jealousy and relationship insecurity

Works with the underlying beliefs that feed the jealous response, so trust and steadiness can grow without constant vigilance.

Noise sensitivity

Reduces the nervous system's over-reactive response to everyday sounds, settling the startle reflex into a calmer baseline.

Anger and road rage

Interrupts the fast escalation pattern that turns frustration into rage, allowing a more grounded response in the moment.

Excessive guilt or rumination

Reduces the gravitational pull of the self-critical loop so thoughts can pass through rather than circle back.

Stress and emotional overwhelm

Calms the chronic alarm state and rebuilds the body's capacity to settle, even when the load is high.

Concerns around depression, grief and major life transitions, where the work supports broader treatment rather than replacing it.

Depression

Supports your broader care by working with the patterns of thought and behaviour that depression entrenches. Best used alongside other treatment, not as a replacement.

Postnatal depression

Gentle support during a vulnerable period — working with the emotional weight, sleep disruption and identity shift that come with new parenthood. Used alongside specialist care.

Grief and bereavement

Supports the work of grieving without rushing it — gently easing the physical heaviness while honouring the loss.

Adjustment to life changes

Helps the system settle through major transitions like job loss, relationship change, relocation or retirement, when the ground feels uncertain.

Self-esteem and confidence

Works at the level of the underlying beliefs about your value, rather than at the surface of affirmations.

Impostor syndrome

Addresses the core belief that you don't deserve your place — the part that no amount of evidence seems to satisfy.

Behaviours that have become automatic — beyond the point where willpower alone makes a sustained difference. The work addresses the trigger-response loop, not just the behaviour.

Gambling addiction

Interrupts the compulsion at the level it actually fires, so the pull to gamble softens rather than just the resolution to stop.

Pornography addiction

Works with the underlying drivers — emotional regulation, escape, habit — so the pull is addressed at its source, not just the behaviour.

Sexual behaviour concerns

A confidential space to address compulsive or troubling sexual patterns, working with the regulating function beneath them.

Compulsive masturbation

Works at the level where the compulsion fires, addressing the regulating function rather than imposing surface restrictions.

Marijuana dependence

Interrupts the learned trigger-response loop around use, similar to the approach for smoking and other habit-driven substances.

Vaping cessation

Interrupts the learned trigger-response loop so the urge to vape stops arriving with the same force.

Compulsive shopping

Works with the emotional pull beneath the purchase — the soothing, the reward, the moment of release — rather than just the spending.

Impulse buying

Softens the automatic reach for the purchase so the gap between impulse and decision becomes a real choice.

Kleptomania (compulsive stealing)

Addresses the regulating function the stealing serves, working at the level where the urge actually arises.

Cybersex addiction

Works with the underlying drivers and the screen-bound trigger pattern that maintains the compulsion.

Sugar and food cravings

Softens the emotional pull to specific foods, so reaching for them is no longer the default response.

Body-focused habits that often serve a regulating or soothing function. The work softens the urge underneath, not just the surface behaviour.

Skin picking (dermatillomania)

Works with the regulating function of the behaviour, not just the surface habit, so the pull eases at its source.

Hair pulling (trichotillomania)

Addresses the soothing function the pulling serves, so the urge softens — not just the behaviour.

Eyelash pulling

Same approach as trichotillomania, working with the soothing function of the pulling rather than just the visible habit.

Eyebrow pulling

Same approach as trichotillomania, working with the soothing function of the pulling rather than just the visible habit.

Nail biting

Interrupts the automatic hand-to-mouth reach and re-patterns the response to the stress or boredom underneath.

Ear picking

Works with the regulating or soothing function beneath the habit, not just the surface behaviour.

Nose picking

Works with the regulating or soothing function beneath the habit, not just the surface behaviour.

Concerns around the gap between trigger and response — where the body acts before the conscious mind catches up.

OCD and intrusive thoughts

Reduces the charge that obsessive thoughts carry, making the compulsion to act on them softer and easier to resist.

Compulsive lying

Addresses the underlying drivers — protection, identity, anxiety — that maintain the pattern, working at the level where it forms.

Difficulty managing anger or aggressive impulses

Interrupts the rapid escalation that turns frustration into a flooding response, building a longer pause between trigger and action.

Procrastination

Works with the underlying avoidance pattern — the resistance, the dread, the perfectionism — rather than just imposing more discipline.

Medical concerns where hypnotherapy works alongside your medical care — easing distress, supporting the body, and addressing the psychological component.

IBS and gut-directed hypnotherapy

A well-evidenced application of clinical hypnosis specifically for IBS symptoms, working with the gut-brain axis.

Chronic pain management

Reduces the suffering component of pain (separate from the sensation itself) and helps the nervous system register it at a different intensity.

Medical procedure distress

Prepares you to remain calm through procedures that would otherwise trigger high anxiety or trauma responses.

Dental anxiety

Reduces the dread and physiological response around dental visits, often used alongside ongoing dental care.

Needle phobia

Re-patterns the response to needles so injections, blood tests and vaccinations become manageable.

Alopecia areata

Supports stress-related triggers and helps regulate the patterns that contribute to hair-loss episodes.

Cancer care support

Helps with anxiety, pain and treatment-related distress through diagnosis, treatment and recovery — alongside your medical team.

A confidential, respectful space to address concerns where anxiety and conditioned response patterns play a major role.

Premature ejaculation

Works with the underlying anxiety and conditioned response patterns that contribute to the issue, in a confidential and respectful setting.

Erectile dysfunction

Addresses the psychological component — anxiety, expectation, the body's bracing — alongside any medical care you may be receiving.

Vaginismus

Works gently with the involuntary protective response, helping the body and mind learn a different association in a safe, paced way.

Patterns where the body has learned to stay aroused at night, or where specific sleep behaviours need to be re-patterned.

Insomnia

See the dedicated sleep page for the full approach to chronic sleep problems.

Night terrors

Works with the underlying arousal pattern that drives night terrors, in both children and adults.

Fatigue patterns

Addresses the emotional and habitual contributors to ongoing tiredness when medical causes have been ruled out.

Sleepwalking

Helps regulate the partial-arousal state that drives sleepwalking, suitable for adults and (with parental involvement) for children.

Bedwetting (nocturnal enuresis)

A well-established application of clinical hypnosis for children and adolescents, used alongside paediatric care.

Restless legs syndrome

Helps with the discomfort and the secondary effects on sleep, alongside any medical investigation of underlying causes.

Concerns around speaking and presence in front of others, usually driven by anticipatory anxiety beneath the surface.

Public speaking

Quietens the anticipatory anxiety so you arrive at the moment with attention available, not consumed by fear.

Stuttering and stammering

Works with the underlying tension and anticipatory pattern, supporting more fluid speech alongside any speech therapy.

Paruresis (shy bladder syndrome)

Addresses the anxiety response in public restroom contexts, easing the physical bracing that prevents normal function.

Using the focused state as a tool — for relaxation, concentration and supporting your own practice.

Meditation training

Provides a structured introduction to the focused state and how to access it on your own, useful as a standalone practice.

Relaxation training

Teaches you to enter and use deep relaxation as a tool, applicable to stress, sleep, pain and many other concerns.

Improving concentration and mental clarity

Reduces the background noise that erodes focus and supports a more sustained attention.

Memory recall support

Works with the focused state to support memory access, used carefully and not for legal or evidentiary purposes.

Not sure?

Not sure if hypnotherapy is right for your concern? A free discovery call is the best place to start. I’ll tell you honestly whether I think I can help.