Fear of Surgery or Medical Procedures

Alongside my private practice, I currently provide hypnotherapy support within Belfast City Hospital as part of a pilot programme developed in partnership with the Macmillan Information & Support Centre.

The pilot was created to support patients experiencing significant anxiety before cancer treatment, particularly those struggling with radiotherapy mask anxiety, claustrophobia, treatment-related fear, anticipatory nausea and overwhelming distress before appointments.

What has become increasingly clear through this work is that many of these difficulties are not caused by a lack of information or understanding. Patients often know exactly why treatment is important. The challenge is that the nervous system has learned to respond as though the situation is dangerous, creating powerful fear responses that can feel impossible to control.

My approach focuses on rapid nervous system regulation techniques designed to help people feel calmer, more confident and more in control. These include breathing strategies, safe place visualisation, mindfulness-based techniques and personalised calm anchors that can be used during treatment.

In many cases, meaningful change can happen surprisingly quickly.

Recently, I worked with a patient who was extremely distressed about attending radiotherapy treatment later that afternoon. During a single session we focused on helping her nervous system settle and creating a practical anchor she could use throughout treatment. She attended her radiotherapy appointment confidently that same day.

While every person’s experience is different, examples like this demonstrate an important principle: when fear is being driven by learned nervous system responses, helping the body feel safe can create rapid and meaningful change.

Following the success of the pilot, discussions are underway to expand support into additional cancer services, including support for patients living with brain cancer and other treatment pathways where fear, distress and nervous system activation can become barriers to care.

Whether the challenge is surgery, MRI scans, radiotherapy, blood tests, injections, cancer treatment or another medical procedure, my aim is simple: to help people feel calm enough to access the treatment they need and regain a sense of confidence and control.