It seems like everybody wants to test the hypnotic abilities of the hospital porter turned therapist.

The married father-of-two has now set up his own business from his home on the Fens Estate in Hartlepool.

Whether you want to stop smoking, lose weight or gain confidence Jeff says he can help. All you have to do is sit back and relax."

A hympnotic trance is the first step towards overcoming problems ranging from insomnia to irritable bowel syndrome.

Panic attacks, anxiety, stress and pain relief - they are all on Jeff's hit list.

He can even do past life regression and just recently he helped one woman overcome an anxiety concerning water so that she could enjoy a cruise.

"Hypnosis tackles a multitude of problems," said Jeff. "It is also recognised as a gentle but effective way of treating tricky health issues.

"It is gaining in popularity all the time but it is still regarded with a lot of scepticism and misconceptions."

But Jeff says he feels sorry for the people who don't realise the benefits. "Sometimes people are doubtful. Even my family and friends were at first but now some of them are willing to try it."

But why did Jeff turn to hypnotherapy.

He explains: "The sense of satisfaction I get from helping people is great. It has been a big challenge and it was hard when I was studying and travelling to college as well as working. But it has all been worth it."

Jeff also works as a porter in the facilities department for the University Hospital of Hartlepool and North Tees NHS Trust.

But he's planning to drop his hours to three days so that he can spend more time on his hypnotherapy.

He said: "I get a lot from it and I really enjoy it. It has been a good year. There is still so much more for me to discover. I'm learning new things all the time."

What started as a passing interest five years ago has turned into a career for Jeff and for the past year he has been treating people across town.

He said: "It was after reading an article in a newspaper that I first became interested in hypnotherapy and then I started reading up on it. I used to get books from the library and I became more and more interested."

After his hobby developed Jeff embarked on a 12 month foundation course and then went on to complete a diploma in clinical and therapeutic hypnosis in Newcastle, which he completed last year.

And since then Jeff said the response has been overwhelming.
His clients can either be treated at his home or he can travel to theirs.

He works with them to gain information and then takes them down into a light hypnotic trance to find out how suitable they are for hypnosis and, after that, a deeper trance.

He said: "It is a very pleasant experience, which has had a lot of successful outcomes for myself and my clients over the past 12 months.

The individual becomes focused and receptive to positive suggestions and often on awakening the client says they did not feel as if they had even been hypnotised."

Michelle tried out a hypnotherapy session herself. This is the result.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and my eyes are open, 9, 10 and I am fully awake.

For the last 20 or so minutes I have been under the watchful gaze of Jeff and have just had my first experience of hypnotherapy.

People are always telling me to relax and my mum says that I am a born worrier.

So when I was offered the chance of an introductory hypnosis session that would help to leave me stress free, I couldn't turn it down.

I was a little apprehensive.

The only experience I have ever had was when a hypnotherapist (and his dog) visited the student union back in my university days. Needless to say the double act left me feeling that it was something I would never try and I did take a little persuading.

When I met Jeff, he explained that he would carry out a consultation exercise which all patients receive.

I am the type of person who can never switch off so I knew Jeff had his work cut out.

Over the next twenty minutes Jeff lulled me into a sort of sleep. It was a strange feeling as though half of me was there and half of me wasn't. He talked me through a situation where I had to imagine myself in a field on a summers day and he encouraged me to believe that all my worries were floating away on a cloud.

I don't think I was ever fully 'under' but when Jeff brought me out of the sleep I did feel slightly light headed. Jeff said that I should feel a lot more relaxed and that I would have more energy for the rest of the day.

I'm not sure I'll ever stop worrying but he was right about the energy -

I managed an entire keep fit DVD that night!