What is Soul Centre Healing Hypnosis (SCHH)?

Soul Center Healing Hypnosis (SCHH®) is a spiritual hypnosis technique created by the UK hypnotherapist Laura Whitworth. A session guides you into deep relaxation, then the practitioner works on what they call entity release (removing spirits or energies they believe are attached to you), and a later session can take you into a past life and put questions to your "higher self". Many people find it calming and meaningful. It is a spiritual practice, not a medical treatment: there is no scientific or medical evidence that entities exist, that removing them helps with health problems, or that past life scenes are real.

Where it comes from

SCHH was created by Laura Whitworth and is taught through her own training courses. She describes it as a past life regression and "quantum healing" technique that also deals with trauma and with energies she calls entities. The name carries the ® symbol, so trained practitioners write SCHH®. The spelling is "Center" in her trademark and often "Centre" in the UK. The training is accredited by the International Practitioners of Holistic Medicine (IPHM), a private accreditation body that you can check on its own public directory. Accreditation of this kind shows that a course met that body's standards. It does not test whether the beliefs behind the technique are true.

How a session runs

Practitioners describe it in stages, and each practitioner works a little differently.

1. A long chat first. You go through paperwork and talk about what you hope for.
2. Hypnosis. You are guided into deep relaxation, first the body, then the mind.
3. Entity release. The practitioner works to find and remove what they believe are spirits, energies or "attachments", and then to "rebuild" and "re-seal" your energy.
4. Past life regression, usually in a second session. You are guided to describe a scene from what you are told is a past life.
5. Higher self questions. You put questions you brought with you to a part of you described as your higher self.

Sessions can be several hours long, so ask what the practitioner plans and how long each part takes.

What people report

Many people describe feeling calm, lighter, tearful or moved afterwards, and some value the images and answers they were given. Others feel very little. Lying quietly for hours, being listened to carefully and having time to think about your questions can be worthwhile in themselves. There is no right way to feel.

What it does not do

SCHH is built on a belief that spirits and energies can attach to people and affect their mood, thinking, habits and health. Medicine does not recognise that, and there is no scientific evidence for it. Feeling foggy, low, anxious, tired or out of control, wanting to drink or smoke, or having dark thoughts all have medical and psychological explanations that a GP or therapist can look into. The same goes for past life scenes: research shows that vivid images under hypnosis can be shaped by suggestion and by what you already believe, and can feel completely real without being accurate. So treat the experience as something that may feel meaningful, not as a diagnosis, a record of the past, or a treatment for anything.

If you are struggling, please see your GP. If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, call Samaritans free on 116 123 at any time.

Who should take care

If you hear or see things others do not, have a serious mental health condition, are going through trauma or a crisis, or have any health condition that worries you, talk to your GP before any long hypnosis session, and tell the practitioner. Be cautious of anyone who tells you that you are carrying entities or that something is wrong with you that only they can fix, asks you to stop medicines, or pushes you towards a block of sessions or an expensive course.

How to choose a practitioner

SCHH and hypnotherapy are not regulated by law in the UK. Ask who trained them, whether their training and their own practice are accredited, whether they are insured and whether they belong to a voluntary register such as the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). Accreditation bodies publish directories, so you can check a claim yourself. Ask for the full price, how many sessions are suggested and what is included, such as a recording.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If you have symptoms that haven't been checked, or you are under medical care, please talk to your GP as well.

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