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Are you finding it hard to break a dependency, or to stay in control of your choices? At Canberra Hypnotherapy Clinic we help interrupt the thought patterns underneath substance use, reduce cravings and rebuild confidence — without judgement, and alongside whatever medical care you already have.
Drug dependency usually starts as an attempt to manage something — pain, stress, sleeplessness, memories that won’t settle. It works, briefly, and then it becomes its own problem. Over time it reaches into everything: relationships, work, physical health, the sense of who you are.
The body’s craving is real, but a great deal of the hold is subconscious: the triggers, the rituals, the reward associations, the automatic response to a particular feeling. That is the layer hypnotherapy works on, which is why it can get somewhere when willpower alone has not. Here is how hypnotherapy works if it is new to you.
Withdrawal from some substances — benzodiazepines and opioids in particular — can be medically serious, and stopping suddenly on your own is not safe. Tolerance also drops quickly during a break, which makes returning to a previous dose far more dangerous than people expect. Please work out the how and the when with your GP or a drug and alcohol service first. Hypnotherapy then supports that plan rather than replacing it.
If any of your use involves prescribed medication, changing the dose is your prescriber’s decision, not ours and not something to do between sessions.
This is a non-clinical service. We don’t diagnose or medically treat dependency, and we are glad to work alongside your GP, psychologist or a specialist service. For confidential advice today, the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline is 1800 250 015, free and open 24 hours. In a crisis, Lifeline is 13 11 14, or call 000.
Free 20-minute consults can be booked by phone, text or message — confidential, and no obligation
People rarely come to us about the substance alone. It is usually what has started to fall away around it.
Regular use changes brain chemistry and creates real physical craving. That side needs medical support — what we work on is the emotional attachment holding the pattern in place.
Dependency feeds anxiety, guilt and low mood, and those feelings then drive the next use. Breaking into that loop is often where the work starts.
Use creates distance from the people closest to you and wears down trust. Many clients say repairing that is the thing they actually came for.
Sustaining a habit costs more than money — it costs reliability, focus and often the job itself. Changing the pattern is what makes stability possible again.
A long dependency can leave you feeling disconnected from who you used to be. A good deal of the work is about finding your own direction and values again.
Ongoing use takes a steady toll on physical and mental health. Acting earlier limits the harm — and your doctor is the right person to monitor that side of it.
Call or text Stella on 0421 206 918, or send a message and we’ll come back to you.
Reaching out is the hard part, and it is also the part that changes things. Spiro Apostolopoulos and Stella Jones are Clinical Hypnotherapists, Strategic Psychotherapists and NLP Master Practitioners, and have worked with Canberrans on addiction since 2012. Sessions use clinical hypnosis and NLP to reduce cravings, steady your emotional state and rebuild motivation, with practical tools to help you hold the ground you gain.
Every session is tailored to the person in front of us — where you are, what you are using, what you want to be different. Nothing here is a template. Meet Spiro and Stella →
Your first session starts with a private conversation about your history, your triggers and your goals. From there your therapist guides you into a deeply relaxed but alert state, where the subconscious is far more open to change. We identify the patterns driving the behaviour, reframe them, introduce alternatives that actually work for you, and build your own sense of control.
Each session builds on the last. You leave with practical tools and a recorded audio for use in between, and secure online sessions are available anywhere in Australia. See what to expect from your first visit →
Call or text Stella on 0421 206 918, or send a message and we’ll come back to you.
It can help a great deal, and it works on a layer most other approaches don’t reach: the emotional triggers, the reward associations and the conditioned responses that sit below conscious willpower. It is at its strongest as part of a wider picture, alongside medical and psychological support rather than instead of it.
How much it helps depends on the substance, the length of use and the person. We would rather tell you that honestly on a free consult than promise you an outcome.
Hypnotherapy itself is safe and non-invasive in the hands of qualified practitioners. Withdrawal is the part that needs medical care: coming off benzodiazepines or opioids abruptly can be dangerous, and tolerance falls fast during a break, which makes going back to a former dose riskier than most people realise. Please plan the how and the when with your GP or a drug and alcohol service, and let hypnotherapy support that plan.
No. This is a non-clinical service — we don’t diagnose dependency or treat it medically. We work on the patterns and the emotional drivers behind it, and we are glad to do that alongside your existing care. In our experience that combination is far stronger than either on its own, and we will say so if we think you need medical support we can’t provide.
We see clients dealing with cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, prescription medications and others. The subconscious patterns behind dependency are broadly similar whatever the substance, which is what makes the approach transferable.
Where prescribed medication is involved, any change to your dose is a decision for your prescriber. We will work on everything around it, but we won’t advise you to alter a prescription.
It depends on the substance, how long it has been part of your life, and how you respond. Some clients notice meaningful change within a few sessions; for others this is longer work. We will give you an honest view at your free consult rather than quoting a package before we have met you.
Yes, and we would encourage it. Hypnotherapy sits well with counselling, behavioural therapy and medical support, because it works on the emotional triggers those approaches tend to leave untouched. If you are already in a program, keep going — we add to it.
Not from us. What you share stays between you and your therapist, and we don’t contact anyone about your care without your consent, other than in the rare circumstances the law requires. A lot of clients come to us precisely because they want to handle this privately.
Then you come back, and we work with it. Relapse is common and it is information, not failure — it usually tells us something useful about a trigger we hadn’t reached yet. Nobody here will be disappointed in you.
Yes. Secure online sessions are available for clients anywhere in Australia, and they are as effective as being in the room. Some people find it easier to talk about this from home.
Call Stella for a free 20-minute consult — confidential, no obligation, and no judgement about where you are starting from.
Monday – Friday, 10:00am – 6:00pm · 42 Geils Court, Deakin ACT 2600 · online Australia-wide
We're confident you'll benefit from hypnotherapy, so we'd like to offer you a free 20-minute discovery call to see if it feels right for you.
Prefer to speak with someone? Call 0421 206 918
