The main hurdle anyone must overcome before opening themselves up to hypnotherapy is accepting they have a problem that needs dealt with. Whether it be an addiction or an eating disorder, no one likes to admit they are struggling.

But once the initial decision has been made to undertake therapy there are numerous issues to consider - practical and otherwise. What about, for example, location? Despite assured complete confidentiality people may prefer to see a hypnotherapist that is perhaps outside their local area, but still in surroundings they are comfortable in.

Money, of course, is a paramount issue. Hpynotherapists may offer reduced rates for students, and the unemployed or those seeking benefits, but which ones? No one wants to end up bartering with a hypnotherapist over the price of their mental well being.

And what guarantees that the hypnotherapist is the real deal? There are no laws in the UK that govern hypnotherapy, so what’s to stop anyone setting up shop to listen to people’s problems? There are qualifications and professional bodies, but these can often be confusing and over-whelming.

This is where Hypnotherapy Directory (www.hypnotherapy-directory.org.uk ) comes in. It was set up to provide a simple, easy, and most importantly un-daunting way of connecting people that need help with the people that provide it. A comprehensive searching tool, the site allows postcode, town and country searches of the whole of the UK, and produces a list of hypnotherapists registered in this area. Each hypnotherapist has a profile, listing a bit about themselves, their approaches, what areas they deal with, and all their training, qualification and experience and fees.

The site shows which hypnotherapists are registered/accredited with a professional body, and full profiles are only displayed after insurance and qualification documents are checked or membership with a professional body has been verified.

The site has also become a huge information bank - there are articles written by hypnotherapists, as well as comprehensive information on all kinds of distress - from depression to eating disorders to phobias, to help people identify their problems and become informed, not scared.

So don’t suffer in silence. Help is available, and most importantly it’s available in a simple, easy to find way.