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Help for Panic Attacks, by Video Anywhere in Australia
Panic attacks pass. The dread of the next one tends to stay, and quietly redraws your week around it. Hypnotherapy works on that dread, gently and at your pace, from your own home.
At a glance: usually 6 to 12 sessions, agreed together in your first session. $1,500 to $3,000 in total paid upfront, or $1,800 to $3,600 session by session.
Or call 0427 218 092
15-minute phone call, no obligation. I’ll call you within 24 hours. See what it costs
- 14 yearsin clinical practice
- FellowAustralian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists
- AHA approvedCPD courses I teach other hypnotherapists
- 1 to 1with Ernest, by video from home
Ernest McLeod, clinical hypnotherapistAn Adelaide practice, seeing clients across Australia by video. Fourteen years in practice.
Does any of this sound familiar?
- Your heart suddenly pounds and part of you is sure something is badly wrong.
- You know where the exits are in every room you walk into.
- You’ve left a full trolley in the supermarket, or a queue, or a cinema.
- You notice every flutter, skipped beat and light-headed moment, and you check it again.
- Plans made on Monday feel risky by Friday.
- Some attacks arrive when you’re calm, or wake you from sleep, and that feels the most unfair of all.
If a few of those sound like you, this page is for you. If you haven’t yet had a doctor check you over, please make that your first step. I explain why further down.
Why panic attacks are so hard to shake
A panic attack is your threat system firing at full strength when there’s nothing to fight or run from. It feels physical because it is physical: adrenaline, fast breathing, a racing pulse. According to healthdirect, the symptoms come on quickly and usually peak within 10 minutes. Frightening, yes. But it also means the surge has a ceiling. You’re far from the only one. The Australian Bureau of Statistics found that 3.7% of Australians aged 16 to 85 had panic disorder in the previous 12 months, in its 2020 to 2022 national mental health study.
The harder part for many people is the time between attacks. You start scanning your body for early signs. A normal sensation, like a quick heartbeat after coffee or stairs, gets read as the start of another one, and that reading is enough to set the alarm off. Over months, the list of places and plans that feel safe gets shorter. Telling yourself “it’s only panic” makes sense on paper, but the alarm fires faster than logic can keep up. That scanning and that automatic reading are where hypnotherapy does its work.
How hypnosis helps with panic attacks
Hypnosis is simply focused, relaxed attention. You’re aware of everything during a session, and you stay in charge throughout. It isn’t sleep, and you can’t be made to do anything you don’t want to. In that relaxed, focused state, we rehearse the moments that set you off and practise meeting ordinary body sensations without the alarm attached.
I also teach you breathing and self-hypnosis you can use on your own, so you’re not waiting for a session to feel steadier. You can use them on a quiet morning, before a trip to the shops, or when a flutter catches your attention. Over time, the aim is for ordinary sensations to stay ordinary.
How hypnotherapy for panic attacks works online
- A free 15-minute call
You tell me what’s going on. I tell you honestly whether I think I can help. No obligation, and no hard sell. Ask me anything you like about hypnosis too, such as how it feels or whether you stay in charge.
- Your first session: the treatment plan
A full session where we map what sets your panic off, what you’ve already tried, and what you want to be able to do again. You leave with a plan and the number of sessions I recommend. The $300 for this session comes off the plan.
- Sessions by video and an audio to take home
Most plans for panic attacks run 6 to 12 sessions. You join from home. All you need is a quiet room, a reliable connection and a pair of headphones. After your sessions you receive an audio recording to listen to between appointments, and you’ll learn simple self-hypnosis too. Progress doesn’t have to wait for the next session.
For many people with panic, home is the easiest place to start. There’s no waiting room, no drive, and no worrying about how you’ll get back if you feel wobbly.
Not sure yet whether this is for you?That’s what the free call is for. Fifteen minutes, by phone, at a time that suits you.
What the research actually says
I’ll be straight with you. There’s good research on hypnosis for anxiety in general, and it points most strongly to hypnosis working as a partner to other psychological care rather than on its own. Trials of hypnosis for panic disorder specifically are few and small, so I won’t quote you a figure for panic that doesn’t exist.
The treatment with the strongest trial evidence for panic disorder is cognitive behavioural therapy, often alongside medication your doctor may suggest. Hypnotherapy can sit comfortably next to either. What I offer is a calmer starting point each day and a different relationship with the sensations that used to mean danger.
Is hypnosis for panic attacks safe?
For most adults, yes. Hypnosis doesn’t involve medicine, and side effects are mild and short, like feeling a little drowsy or emotional afterwards. Panic symptoms overlap with heart and other medical problems, so please have a doctor check you before we start, and don’t change any medication without your doctor. Some people with panic find deep relaxation feels strange at first, so we go at your pace. Hypnotherapy isn’t the right place to start if you live with psychosis or a severe mental health condition that isn’t being treated: talk to your GP or treating clinician first. I’ll tell you honestly in the free call if someone else should help.
What hypnotherapy for panic attacks costs
Your first session: $300
This is where we build your treatment plan. The $300 is credited towards the plan.
- Most panic attack plans run 6 to 12 sessions. We agree the number together in your first session.
- Paid upfront: $250 a session. 6 sessions: $1,500 in total. 12 sessions: $3,000 in total.
- Session by session: $300 each. 6 sessions: $1,800. 12 sessions: $3,600.
- Session length: your first session runs up to 90 minutes, and follow-up sessions up to 60 minutes.
- Prepaid sessions are valid for 12 months. Any you don’t need can be used for something else, or passed on to someone you know.
- Pay by card or bank transfer. Prices in AUD. No GST applies.
Or call 0427 218 092
See your GP firstPanic attacks and heart problems share a lot of symptoms, and so do thyroid problems, asthma and some medications. If you haven’t been checked, please book in before we start. I’d rather you lose a week to a GP visit than skip it. Your GP can also refer you to a psychologist with a Medicare rebate through Better Access, and hypnotherapy can sit alongside that. New chest pain, pain spreading to your arm or jaw, or fainting is a 000 call, straight away.
Who you’ll be working with
I’m Ernest McLeod. I’ve practised as a clinical hypnotherapist for fourteen years, with an Adelaide practice and clients right across Australia by video. Before that I spent twenty years as a software engineer and designer, so I like to know how a problem works before I try to change it.
- Time Line Therapy® Practitioner
- Fellow, ASCH
- Trainer: AHA-approved CPD courses
- Certified NLP Practitioner
What I’m not: hypnotherapy isn’t a registered profession in Australia, so I’m not AHPRA-registered and I’m not a psychologist. My ASCH Fellowship is voluntary. I also train other hypnotherapists. My courses on quitting smoking, vaping and gambling count as professional development (CPD), approved by the Australian Hypnotherapists’ Association. More about me
Questions people ask about hypnotherapy for panic attacks
Does hypnotherapy work for panic attacks?
It may help some people, but I can’t point you to strong evidence for panic specifically. The research on hypnosis for anxiety in general is good, and it suggests hypnosis does most as a partner to other psychological care. Trials for panic disorder itself are few and small. Cognitive behavioural therapy, often with medication your doctor may suggest, has the strongest evidence, and hypnotherapy can sit alongside both.
What is the success rate of hypnotherapy for panic attacks?
I don’t quote one, and there’s no reliable figure for panic to quote. Success rates you see advertised usually come from small studies that nobody has checked, or from a practitioner’s own records. I’d rather point you to the published research and let you judge it for yourself.
Will I lose control, or panic during a session?
No. You hear everything, you remember it, and you can open your eyes and stop whenever you like. Hypnosis is focused, relaxed attention, not sleep.
Some people with panic find that relaxing can feel strange at first, because a slower heart can feel unfamiliar. That’s common and we plan for it. You can sit upright, keep a light on, and we go at your pace.
Does hypnotherapy work over video?
Yes. The work depends on your attention and on what we do together, and both come through a video call well. Many people with panic find it easier to settle in their own home.
How many hypnotherapy sessions will I need for panic attacks?
Most plans for panic attacks run 6 to 12 sessions. We agree the number in your first session and review it as we go. That’s a typical range, not a promise.
Can a panic attack hurt me?
A doctor who knows your history is the right person to answer that for you, especially if you have a heart or lung condition. Once you’ve been checked and cleared, that reassurance means something, and we can build on it.
I take medication for panic. Can I still do this?
Generally, yes. Please don’t change or stop any medication without talking to your doctor, and tell me what you’re taking when we speak.
What if it isn’t helping?
Tell me. We review progress as we go and change the approach if something isn’t working. If hypnotherapy isn’t right for you, I’ll say so and suggest what might be. Any prepaid sessions you haven’t used stay yours for 12 months. You can use them for something else, or pass them on to someone you know.
Is it covered by Medicare or my health fund?
Hypnotherapy isn’t covered by Medicare, and you don’t need a GP referral. Health fund extras cover varies, so check with your fund before you start.
Ready when you are
Tell me the best time to reach you and I’ll call within 24 hours. Fifteen minutes, no obligation.
Request a free consultationOr call 0427 218 092
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Where these numbers come from
healthdirect Australia. Panic attacks and panic disorder. healthdirect.gov.au/panic-attacks-and-panic-disorder. Source of “usually peak within 10 minutes”.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing, 2020 to 2022. abs.gov.au. 12-month panic disorder: 3.7% of Australians aged 16 to 85.
Valentine KE, Milling LS, Clark LJ, Moriarty CL (2019). The efficacy of hypnosis as a treatment for anxiety: a meta-analysis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 67(3): 336-363. doi.org/10.1080/00207144.2019.1613863. The basis for saying hypnosis works best alongside other psychological care.
Hypnotherapy is a complementary therapy, not medical treatment, a diagnosis, or a substitute for care from your doctor or a psychologist. If your symptoms are severe or persistent, please speak to your GP. Last updated 9 October 2026.