Hypnotherapy for Eating Disorders in London

Hello, I’m Susannah. I am a fully qualified clinical hypnotherapist and coach with over 22 years of experience helping people change their relationship with food and their body.

I have been awarded the Senior Qualification of Hypnotherapy Practice (SQHP) from the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council (GHSC) and the HPD from the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH). If you’re looking for therapy for eating disorders or food-related challenges, I would be happy to talk through how I can help.

Eating disorders and disordered eating are about more than just food. They’re often linked to control, emotion, self-worth, and limiting beliefs around body image, which can be difficult to change with willpower alone.

Many of my clients have spent years stuck in cycles of restriction, bingeing, emotional eating, or obsessive thoughts about food and weight. These behaviours can become deeply ingrained in the subconscious mind and are often driven by fear, stress, or unmet emotional needs.

I have a specialist interest in disordered eating and have been supporting clients for over 22 years. Eating disorders are complex and varied, and finding a sustainable solution requires a holistic approach. This isn’t a quick fix, but with the right support, change is possible. My approach is collaborative and tailored to your needs. After your initial consultation, I will create a bespoke treatment plan, combining elements of hypnotherapy for eating disorders, NLP, coaching and psychotherapy.

If you would like to learn more about my eating disorder hypnotherapy programme or book an appointment, get in touch.

Do you have an unhealthy relationship with food?

About Susannah

Susannah Saunders

Hello, my name is Susannah. I am a clinical hypnotherapist and life coach in London with over 20 years of experience helping people to enjoy a happier, more fulfilling life. Get in touch to find out more or book an appointment in London today.

NLP, Coaching and Hypnotherapy for Eating Disorders

When you’re stuck in a cycle with food, it can feel like it takes over your whole life. You might spend a lot of time thinking about what you’ve eaten, what you should eat, or how to regain control. 

These behaviours are often linked to how you feel about yourself, your body, and your emotions. Many clients I work with describe an inner voice that’s critical, harsh or impossible to please. You might feel as though nothing you do is ever enough and food becomes the one thing you can control.

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You might find yourself stuck in unhelpful thought patterns like “I’ve ruined it now,” or “I’ll start again tomorrow.” Or maybe you swing between being extremely strict and feeling completely out of control. These black-and-white thinking patterns can be exhausting and often mask deeper feelings like shame, fear, loneliness, or low self-worth.

Hypnosis can be an effective therapy for eating disorders because it works at a subconscious level to rewire those unhelpful thought patterns. In our sessions, we’ll explore the role food currently plays in your life, whether it’s offering comfort, distraction, structure, or control, and how we can begin to meet those needs in healthier ways.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to eating disorder hypnosis. I’ll create a personalised treatment plan based on your needs and your goals. While many clients start to notice improvements after a few sessions, eating disorders can be complex, and I often work with clients over 6-12 sessions.

My eating disorder hypnotherapy programme can help you:

How Hypnotherapy for Eating Disorders Works

Hypnosis is a natural state of deep relaxation and focused attention. It’s similar to daydreaming or being completely absorbed in a book or film. During hypnosis, your conscious mind becomes quieter, and your subconscious mind becomes more open to positive suggestions and new ways of thinking.

This is helpful because many of the behaviours and thought patterns around food aren’t conscious choices. They’re driven by habits, emotions, or beliefs that are happening without your awareness. Hypnotherapy for eating disorders allows us to work directly with that subconscious part of your mind to gently change those unhelpful patterns.

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In our sessions, I’ll guide you into a relaxed state and use tailored suggestions, visualisations and coaching techniques to help you build a healthier relationship with food, your body and your self-worth. It’s a collaborative process, and you’ll remain fully in control. In hypnosis, you will only take on the suggestions that are beneficial to you.

You’ll also receive an eating disorder hypnosis audio to listen to at home. This helps reinforce the changes we’re making in our sessions, and supports your brain in building new habits and ways of thinking more easily over time.

Contact me today to book a session

The Science Behind Eating Disorder Hypnosis

Your brain is wired to keep you safe. When something feels emotionally overwhelming, whether that’s stress, shame, loneliness or fear, your brain often looks for ways to help you feel better or more in control. For many people, food becomes part of that coping system.

Over time, these coping strategies can become automatic, triggered by certain thoughts, feelings, or situations, even when they’re no longer helpful. That’s because the subconscious mind controls most of our habits and emotional responses. It’s not trying to sabotage you. On the contrary, your subconscious misguidedly believes it’s protecting you.

Meaningful change must happen in the subconscious first. We will explore how you envision your future and what thoughts and beliefs can help you achieve that future. Eating disorder hypnosis requires an open mind and a commitment to making meaningful change, so you need to be in the right mindset to work with me. If you are ready to try something different and curious about eating disorder hypnotherapy, please get in touch to find out how I can help. 

What Causes Disordered Eating?

There’s no single cause of an eating disorder. For most people, it’s a mix of different factors, and often, it’s not really about food at all. Many clients describe a sense of needing control when their emotions feel overwhelming, or they’ve learned to cope by being ‘disciplined’ or ‘good’. Food can become a focus because it’s tangible, measurable, and seems easier to manage than what else is going on in their life.

For others, disordered eating develops as a way to deal with painful emotions like grief, trauma, shame, loneliness and anxiety, or to numb or distract from feelings they don’t yet have the tools to process. Over time, these coping mechanisms can become hard-wired into the brain’s survival system. Body image plays a role for many, too. We live in a world that often equates thinness with worth and self-control, and that can plant deep-seated beliefs around appearance, perfectionism, and being ‘good enough’.

Some common contributing factors include:

  • Low self-esteem or negative self-image
  • Perfectionism or people-pleasing tendencies
  • Early experiences of criticism, control, or bullying
  • Family attitudes around food, weight, or appearance
  • Stress, anxiety, or big life transitions
  • Trauma or adverse childhood experiences
  • Social or cultural pressure to look a certain way
  • Neurodiversity (e.g. ADHD or autism), where food routines may become rigid or emotionally loaded

Different Types of Eating Disorders Hypnotherapy Can Support

Disordered eating can take many forms. Some clients come to me with a formal diagnosis, others just know that their relationship with food has become challenging and all-consuming. 

I work with a wide range of food-related issues, including:

Binge Eating

Frequent episodes of eating large amounts of food in a short space of time, often followed by feelings of shame, guilt, or regret. Hypnotherapy can help reduce the urge to binge by addressing the emotional triggers and creating new, more constructive coping mechanisms.

Using food as a way to manage emotions like stress, sadness, boredom, or anxiety. Together, we explore what those emotions are trying to communicate and how they can be addressed in healthier, more fulfilling ways.

Alternating between binge eating and purging behaviours (such as vomiting or over-exercising) can feel impossible to break. Hypnotherapy for emotional eating disorders can support a more balanced, compassionate mindset and help reduce the intensity of those compulsive urges. This approach is best suited for those who are already working with medical or nutritional professionals or who are in stable recovery.

Anorexia often starts as a way to feel in control, but can become isolating and all-consuming. While I do not offer support with weight restoration (this must be managed medically), I can work with clients who are already nutritionally stable to address the ongoing anxiety, perfectionism, and thought patterns that fuel the eating disorder.

An obsession with ‘clean’, ‘perfect’ or ‘healthy’ eating that becomes restrictive and stressful. Hypnotherapy can help create a more flexible mindset and reduce the anxiety that fuels the need for control.

Some clients don’t identify with an eating disorder label but feel deeply unhappy with their body, weight, or appearance. They may feel stuck in obsessive thinking, constant checking, or avoidance behaviours. This kind of distress can be just as disruptive, and it’s something I frequently support clients with.

Many people are caught in years of on-and-off dieting, going from one extreme to another and never quite feeling ‘in control’ of food. Hypnotherapy can help rebuild trust in your body and your own internal cues, moving away from rigid rules and all-or-nothing thinking.

While I do not offer medical treatment, I can support adults who are already working with a dietitian or specialist team and want to explore the subconscious fear or anxiety linked to certain foods, textures, or eating situations.

Can Hypnosis Cure Eating Disorders?

Hypnosis isn’t a magic fix, and I wouldn’t use the word “cure” when it comes to eating disorders. These are complex conditions that often involve deep emotional, long-held habits and limiting beliefs that have been built up over time. What hypnotherapy can do is offer a powerful way to work with those patterns at a subconscious level, where many of these behaviours are stored.

In my practice, I don’t focus solely on symptom control or surface-level behaviour change. I work with clients to explore what’s really driving the problem. That might include self-worth, perfectionism, control, shame, anxiety, or a critical internal voice. Together, we aim to build new responses and beliefs that feel more supportive and sustainable.

For some people, eating disorder hypnotherapy can bring significant change. For others, it becomes one part of a wider support system, alongside medical care, nutritional support, or other therapeutic approaches. I often collaborate with other professionals when needed, and I’m always happy to discuss whether this approach feels right for you.

If you’re in the right place to engage with this work – open, curious, and ready to explore change – hypnotherapy can be a very effective part of your recovery journey.

Hypnotherapy for Eating Disorders in London & Online

My private London hypnotherapy practice was founded in 2003. I have been awarded the Senior Qualification of Hypnotherapy Practice (SQHP) from the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council (GHSC) and the HPD from the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH).

To learn more about hypnotherapy for eating disorders and how I might be able to support you at my London hypnotherapy clinic, get in touch. We can talk through your symptoms, and I can explain how I might be able to help.

What My Clients Say

FAQs

Hypnotherapy for eating disorders works by helping you access the subconscious part of your mind, which is the part that often holds unhelpful beliefs, habits, and emotional triggers around food, body image, and control. In sessions, I guide you into a relaxed but focused state where we can gently replace those negative patterns with more helpful ways of thinking and feeling.

Yes, eating disorder hypnosis can be very effective in reducing binge eating and emotional eating. These behaviours are often automatic coping strategies triggered by stress, shame or low self-worth. Hypnosis helps break the cycle by dealing with the emotional factors behind the behaviour.

Absolutely. Many of my clients haven’t received a formal diagnosis, but they know their relationship with food has become obsessive, distressing, or difficult to manage. Eating disorder hypnotherapy can help you regain a sense of control and calm, even if you haven’t received a diagnosis.

Traditional therapy for eating disorders often focuses on conscious thought patterns, behaviour tracking, or talking through the past. When we combine this with eating disorder hypnosis, we can go deeper, working directly with the subconscious mind where many of these habits and beliefs are stored. This can help change the emotional and automatic responses that drive food-related behaviour.

Yes, hypnotherapy for eating disorders is safe and non-invasive. You remain in control throughout every session. Hypnosis is simply a natural, focused state, like daydreaming, and you won’t do or say anything you don’t want to. Many clients find it calming and empowering.

Yes. Eating disorder hypnosis can be used alongside medical, nutritional or psychological support. I often work with clients who are also seeing a GP, dietitian, or therapist. Hypnotherapy is a complementary approach that can help support the work you’re already doing elsewhere.

That depends on your goals and how long the problem has been around. Some clients begin to notice positive changes after just a few sessions. For others, especially those dealing with longer-term eating issues, I generally recommend 6–12 sessions. We will always tailor the approach to your needs.

Not at all. While food and eating behaviours are important, therapy for eating disorders often focuses on the emotions, habits, and beliefs driving those behaviours. We will address things like low self-worth, perfectionism and anxiety. 

No, eating disorder hypnosis is more than just hypnotic suggestion. While I do use carefully tailored language to support positive change, we also work with imagery, memory, emotional regulation, and sometimes techniques from NLP or coaching. It’s a structured, therapeutic process, not just passive listening.

Hypnotherapy is not mind control, and you need to feel open, motivated and willing to let go of unhelpful behaviours. This work is not about forcing change, so it does require commitment and a readiness to try something different. If you’re unsure whether you’re at that point yet, I’m happy to talk it through with you first.

The main difference is that hypnotherapy targets the subconscious mind, the part responsible for automatic responses, emotional habits and deeply held beliefs. Rather than just talking about what’s going wrong, we use hypnosis to help the mind practise new responses that feel safer, calmer and more manageable.

Yes, eating disorder hypnosis can be helpful for teenagers and young adults, provided they are open to the process and want support. I adjust the approach depending on age and emotional maturity, and always aim to create a safe, collaborative space.

You don’t need to feel completely relaxed for hypnotherapy to be effective, though many people do find it very calming. People experience hypnosis in different ways, so whilst some people go very deep into relaxation, others feel more conscious and aware. I’ll guide you through it all step by step.

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