Melbourne Strategic Hypnotherapy Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy
Lasting Change Through the Powerful Combination of Clinical Hypnotherapy and CBT
Welcome to Melbourne Strategic Hypnotherapy, where lasting change begins through strategic integration of clinical hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Located in Caulfield North, we proudly serve Brighton, Malvern, Albert Park, Elwood, Middle Park, and surrounding Melbourne suburbs.
We specialise in helping people overcome challenges that have held them back for years.
Whether you're struggling with anxiety, chronic pain, weight issues, smoking, sleep problems, want to improve your sports performance, or face other concerns, our integrated approach offers a proven path to the breakthrough you've been seeking
Michael Greaves: Clinical Hypnotherapist & Psychotherapist
Qualifications
- Diploma of Clinical Hypnotherapy and Strategic Psychotherapy (2023)
- Psychotherapist - Integrative practice
- 40+ years therapeutic experience since mid-1980s
Professional Memberships
- Australian Hypnotherapists Association (AHA)
- Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists (ASCH)
- Australian Association of Cognitive Behavioural Therapists (AACBT)
- International Association of Strategic Psychotherapists (IASP)
Approach
Evidence-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy integrated with Clinical Hypnotherapy and depth-oriented experiential psychotherapy. Tailored, collaborative treatment for adults and children.
Experience
- Therapeutic practice since mid-1980s
- Formal psychotherapy practice since 2023
- Brighton resident 40+ years
- Specializations: Anxiety, addiction, trauma, behavioral change
Why Our Integrated Approach Works
works directly with your subconscious mind, where automatic behaviours, emotional responses, and deeply held beliefs reside. Through guided relaxation and focused attention, we access the part of your mind that controls your habits and reactions, allowing us to create profound change at the deepest level.
CBT is a structured, evidence-based approach that helps you identify and change unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours. It provides practical tools and strategies you can use in daily life to manage challenges, build resilience, and maintain progress long-term.
Research shows that combining hypnotherapy with CBT produces significantly better results than either approach alone. A landmark study in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology found that adding hypnosis to cognitive behavioural therapy substantially enhanced treatment effectiveness across multiple conditions. This makes sense: CBT gives you conscious strategies and tools, while hypnotherapy ensures your subconscious mind fully embraces and supports these changes. When both levels of your mind work together, transformation becomes natural and lasting rather than a constant battle of willpower. At Melbourne Strategic Hypnotherapy, you receive the best of both approaches, tailored specifically to your unique situation and goals.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT helps rewire logic patterns using tools and strategy
Clinical Hypnotherapy.
Hypnotherapy forms the foundation of our therapeutic base
Together, they create transformation that feels natural rather than forced.
Clinical Hypnotherapy combined with Strategic Psychotherapy works with Logic and creative components of the mind simultaneously.
Conditions We Treat with Strategic Hypnotherapy
Quit Smoking Hypnotherapy
Ready to become smoke-free for good? Clinical studies show hypnotherapy is more than twice as effective as nicotine replacement therapy alone for long-term smoking cessation. Our integrated approach addresses both the physical addiction and psychological patterns that keep you reaching for cigarettes. Most clients become smoke-free within 1-3 sessions.
Learn more about quit smoking hypnotherapy →
Weight Loss Hypnotherapy
Weight struggles don't stem from lack of willpower or nutrition information. The real barriers are subconscious patterns around emotional eating, stress, self-image, and your relationship with food. Our integrated approach helps you develop a healthy, intuitive relationship with food and eating. Research shows hypnotherapy combined with behavioural interventions leads to greater weight loss that's maintained long-term.
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Anxiety Hypnotherapy
Living with anxiety is exhausting and limiting. Whether you experience generalised anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, or persistent worry, our integrated CBT-hypnotherapy approach is particularly powerful. We help your nervous system return to a calm baseline and neutralise specific triggers at the subconscious level. Most clients report noticeable improvement within 4-6 sessions, with many achieving complete freedom from symptoms.
Learn about anxiety hypnotherapy →
Chronic Pain Management
Living with chronic pain affects every aspect of your life. While our integrated approach doesn't cure underlying medical conditions, it can significantly reduce your perception of pain and improve your quality of life. Research shows cognitive-behavioural hypnotherapy reduces chronic pain intensity by an average of 29% across various conditions including back pain, migraines, fibromyalgia, and arthritis.
Explore chronic pain hypnotherapy →
Sleep and Insomnia Hypnotherapy
Struggling to fall asleep, waking repeatedly through the night, or feeling exhausted despite hours in bed? Our integrated approach combines hypnotherapy to quiet racing thoughts and condition your mind for sleep, with CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia) techniques. Unlike sleeping pills that only mask symptoms and create dependency, our strategic approach helps you develop natural, healthy sleep patterns that last.
Find out about sleep hypnotherapy →
Sports Performance Hypnotherapy
Whether you're an elite athlete, weekend warrior, or recreational enthusiast, mental factors often determine the difference between good and great performance. Our strategic approach combines hypnotherapy for mental rehearsal, confidence building, and accessing peak performance states, with CBT techniques for managing performance anxiety and maintaining focus under pressure.
Read about sports performance hypnotherapy →
Phobia Treatment
Phobias and intense fears can severely limit your life. Whether you experience fear of flying, heights, enclosed spaces, needles, or animals, our integrated approach is remarkably effective. We combine systematic desensitization through hypnotherapy with CBT techniques. Most specific phobias respond well to just 2-4 sessions using this powerful combination.
Learn more about phobia treatment →
PTSD and Trauma Recovery
Trauma leaves lasting imprints on your nervous system and subconscious mind. Our integrated approach uses gentle hypnotherapy techniques to process and resolve traumatic memories without requiring you to relive distressing events in detail, combined with CBT strategies for managing triggers and improving emotional regulation.
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Depression Support
While severe depression requires medical treatment, our integrated CBT-hypnotherapy approach can be valuable complementary treatment or standalone option for mild to moderate depression. We combine hypnotherapy for mood elevation with CBT techniques including behavioural activation and cognitive restructuring.
Learn about depression support →
Stress Management
Chronic stress affects your physical health, mental wellbeing, relationships, and work performance. Our strategic approach combines hypnotherapy to teach your nervous system calm resilience, with CBT techniques for identifying stress triggers and developing effective coping strategies.
Read about stress management →
Your First Step: Free 15-Minute Consultation
Understanding the Integrated Approach
We understand that choosing to try integrated CBT-hypnotherapy is a significant decision. That's why we offer a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation with no obligation.
This conversation allows you to:
• Learn about how we combine CBT and hypnotherapy
• Ask questions about the integrated approach
• Discuss your specific situation and goals
• Understand whether our strategic method is appropriate for your needs
• Determine if we're a good fit to work together
There's no pressure, no sales pitch, and no judgment—just honest, helpful information to support your decision-making.