Everything you want to know about RTT Hypnotherapy
— before you book.
If you’ve been researching RTT Hypnotherapy, you probably have questions. Good ones. The kind that deserve honest answers rather than reassuring marketing copy.
This is my attempt to answer them properly — the things people wonder before they reach out, the things they wish they’d known before their first session, and the things nobody talks about but everyone wants to ask.
If something isn’t covered here, a first call is always the right place to ask. There are no wrong questions.
What is RTT Hypnotherapy — and how is it different from regular hypnotherapy?
RTT stands for Rapid Transformational Therapy. It was developed by Marisa Peer, one of the UK’s most respected therapists, and it combines the most effective elements of hypnotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, psychotherapy and NLP into one focused, solution-led approach.
The key difference from traditional hypnotherapy is what happens in the relaxed state. Traditional hypnotherapy often works by offering positive suggestions while you’re relaxed — essentially trying to overwrite a negative belief with a positive one. RTT goes deeper. In that relaxed state, we access the subconscious directly to find where the belief was formed in the first place — and we change it there, at the root.
The ‘rapid’ part is genuine. Most clients see significant, lasting shifts in one to three sessions. That’s not because the work is superficial — it’s because we’re working at the level where the pattern actually lives rather than managing it from the outside.
Is hypnotherapy mind control? Will I lose control?
Not even slightly — and I understand why people ask. Stage hypnosis has a lot to answer for.
The reality is that hypnotherapy is the opposite of mind control. You remain completely aware and in full control throughout the entire session. I cannot make you say or do anything that goes against your values, beliefs or instincts. Nothing happens without your consent and participation.
Hypnosis is simply a state of deep relaxation and focus — your brainwaves slow down, your conscious mind quiets, and you become more receptive. You’ve been in this state countless times: driving on autopilot, losing yourself in a book, the moments just before you fall asleep. It feels calm and familiar, not strange.
All hypnosis is, at its core, self-hypnosis. I facilitate the session and guide the process, but you are the one making the changes in your own mind.
What if I can’t be hypnotised?
Almost everyone can enter a hypnotic state — because it’s not a special ability, it’s a natural condition the brain moves into easily with the right guidance. The only genuine barrier is not wanting to, or not feeling safe enough to relax.
The concerns that most commonly get in the way are worry about suppressed emotions surfacing unexpectedly, fear of revealing something private, a previous experience of hypnosis that didn’t work, or simply feeling sceptical. All of these are understandable — and all of them can be addressed before we begin.
This is why every client starts with a first call. By the time we get to your session, you’ll know me, understand exactly what to expect, and feel settled enough to relax into the process. That foundation makes all the difference. I also provide a short audio recording to listen to before your session, which gently prepares your mind and nervous system for the experience.
Will I have to relive painful memories?
No — and this is one of the most important things to understand about RTT, particularly for women who have experienced significant pain in their past.
We may visit past experiences — often from childhood or early life — because that’s where many of our core beliefs were formed. But we visit them as an observer, with clarity and adult understanding, not as someone reliving them emotionally. You will not be pushed to go anywhere that doesn’t feel safe. You will not be retraumatised.
The work is always trauma-informed and always at your pace. Some clients are surprised by how matter-of-fact the process feels — not because the material isn’t significant, but because we’re approaching it with understanding rather than re-experiencing it.
What actually happens in an RTT session?
Before your session, we have a thorough conversation so I understand exactly what you’re working through and what you want your life to feel like on the other side. This isn’t a brief intake form — it’s a genuine conversation that shapes everything that follows.
The session itself is typically 90 minutes to two hours. You’ll be guided into a deeply relaxed state — comfortable, aware, and fully in control throughout. In that state, we access the subconscious together. We find the root of the pattern — often a moment, an experience, or a decision made in childhood or early life — and we look at it clearly, with new understanding. Not painfully. Not dramatically. Most clients describe it as feeling like things finally make sense.
We then use RTT techniques to update the belief formed in that original moment — releasing what no longer serves you and installing a new, chosen belief in its place. The session ends with a deeply relaxing integration, leaving you feeling calm, clear and lighter than when you arrived.
After your session, you receive a personalised hypnosis recording created specifically for you — to listen to every day for 21 days while the new neural pathways form. This is an essential part of the process, not an optional extra.
What should I expect in the days after a session?
This is something I wish more practitioners talked about honestly — because the post-session experience can catch people off guard if they don’t know what’s normal.
Some clients notice a significant shift immediately: a lightness, a clarity, a sense that something has genuinely moved. Others find the change accumulates more gradually over the days and weeks that follow, as the new beliefs settle in. Both are completely normal. Results aren’t always dramatic — sometimes the most significant shifts are the quiet ones.
You may also notice old thought patterns arising but with less charge than before — the thought appears but doesn’t land the same way. You may find yourself responding differently to situations that used to trigger you, without consciously deciding to. And occasionally, some clients feel emotionally tired for a day or two as the subconscious integrates the work. This is temporary and a sign that something real is shifting.
I’m available between sessions for any questions or support as you move through the integration period. You won’t be left to navigate it alone.
How many sessions will I need?
Fewer than most people expect. RTT is designed to create real, lasting change in one to three sessions — not the months or years that some other approaches require.
Some issues resolve powerfully in a single session. Others — particularly those with deeper roots or multiple connected layers — benefit from two or three. We always focus on one main issue at a time, because the mind works best with clarity and focus rather than trying to address everything at once.
On your first call I’ll give you an honest sense of what I think you’ll need based on what you share with me. I’ll always give you my genuine view rather than a vague answer — and I’d always rather you invest in the right thing than the most expensive thing.
Does RTT work online?
Completely — and I say this with confidence because I’ve worked with women all over the world via video call and the results are consistently just as powerful as in-person sessions.
The subconscious mind doesn’t need you to be in the same room. It needs you to feel safe, relaxed and ready. All of that is entirely possible online. You’ll need a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted, somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down, and a reliable internet connection. That’s genuinely all it takes.
How is RTT different from talk therapy or coaching?
Talk therapy and coaching are valuable — and for many women they’re an important part of their support. What makes RTT different is the level at which it works.
Talk therapy primarily works with the conscious mind — the roughly 5% that thinks, analyses, reflects and decides. Coaching works at a similar level — building awareness, shifting perspective, creating new habits and behaviours. Both are working with the part of the mind you can already access.
RTT communicates directly with the subconscious — the 95% that holds your beliefs, habits, emotional patterns and automatic responses. That’s where the patterns you keep experiencing actually live. We’re not talking about the pattern. We’re changing it at the source.
Many of the women I work with have done significant therapy or coaching already. They come to RTT not because that work didn’t help, but because something deeper remains unshifted. That’s exactly the territory RTT works in.
Is RTT right for everyone?
Honestly — no. And I think it’s important to say that clearly rather than tell everyone they’re a perfect candidate.
RTT works best for women who are ready to go beneath the surface — who sense that the pattern they keep experiencing has a root, and who want to find and change it rather than keep managing around it. It requires a genuine willingness to engage with the process and to listen to the recording afterwards.
It is not the right starting point for someone in acute mental health crisis, or for someone with severe clinical conditions that require medical or psychiatric support first. In those cases, I will always be honest about what I think the right first step is — and I’ll point you there with care, not judgment.
If you’re not sure whether this is right for you, a first call is the best way to find out. We’ll both know by the end of it.
Why does RTT cost more than a standard therapy session?
It’s a fair question and worth answering properly.
A standard therapy session is typically one hour, once a week, over many months. The cost per session may be lower, but the overall investment — in time, money and emotional energy — is often significantly higher. RTT is designed to create lasting change in one to three sessions. You’re not paying for a session. You’re paying for a result.
It’s also worth understanding what a single session actually includes. Before your session you receive a personalised audio recording to prepare your mind and nervous system for the work ahead. The session itself runs 90 minutes to two hours. After your session you receive a follow-up that includes your personalised post-session recording, supplementary tools and coaching support to help you integrate the change.
A single RTT session that shifts a belief you’ve been carrying for twenty years — with preparation, deep subconscious work and guided integration — is a very different investment from fifty therapy sessions that help you understand that belief without changing it.
Still have a question?
Bring it to a first call. It’s a relaxed, no-obligation conversation — just the two of us talking honestly about where you are, what you’ve tried, and whether RTT feels like the right next step.
There’s no pressure to decide anything on the call. But most women find that by the end of it, they already know.
Maria x
I’m Maria — a Clinical RTT Hypnotherapist and Confidence Coach working online with professional women worldwide. I combine Rapid Transformational Therapy with trauma-informed coaching and nervous system regulation, going directly to the subconscious root of self-doubt, anxiety and the patterns that keep brilliant women stuck.
If something in this post resonated, a first call is a relaxed, no-obligation conversation about where you are and whether this work is the right fit.
