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Agoraphobia Help by Video, Without Leaving Home
Agoraphobia rarely looks like fear from the outside. It looks like the same three shops, the aisle seat, the lift home you always arrange. Working by video means the first step happens in the room you already feel safe in.
At a glance: 4 sessions by video. $1,000 in total paid upfront, or $1,200 paid 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?
- You know where every exit is before you’ve sat down.
- The supermarket is fine until the queue gets long and the trolley is full.
- There’s a line around your week, and you only find it by crossing it.
- You’ll go almost anywhere, as long as one particular person comes too.
- Invitations get a good excuse, because the real reason is too hard to say.
- Your world is a little smaller this year than it was last year.
If a few of those sound like your week, read on. If you’re housebound now, or your mood has sunk along with your world, please book in with your GP as well. I explain why further down.
Why agoraphobia keeps shrinking your world
Agoraphobia isn’t really a fear of open spaces. It’s a fear of being somewhere that would be hard to leave, or hard to get help in, if panic arrived. That’s why it settles on queues, buses, cinemas and crowds, and why an empty beach can feel fine.
It grows on relief. Leave the queue and the fear drops within a minute, and your nervous system remembers the escape rather than the fact that nothing bad was about to happen. So the boundary moves in a little. Then a little more. It rarely feels like avoidance. It feels like a preference. That’s why reassurance, or forcing yourself through on willpower, so often gives out. The relief has already done its teaching. Undoing that lesson, gently and in steps, is the part hypnotherapy is aimed at.
How hypnosis helps with agoraphobia
Hypnosis is a state of focused, relaxed attention. You stay aware of everything and in charge the whole way through. It isn’t sleep, and nothing can make you do something you don’t want to do. Hypnotherapy works on the part of you that reacts before you’ve had time to think. We use that calm, focused state to rehearse the places you’ve stopped going, a piece at a time, so your body practises expecting something calmer.
Between sessions you take planned steps into the real version, from a ladder we write together. You also leave with an audio recording to play before those steps, and simple self-hypnosis you can use on your own. The rehearsal is designed to make the steps feel possible. The steps are where the change holds.
How hypnotherapy for agoraphobia works online
- A free 15-minute call
You tell me how far your world reaches at the moment. 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 start of your program. We map where the boundary sits, what you’ve stopped doing, and what you’d like back first. Then we begin, with hypnosis and the first rungs of your ladder.
- Sessions by video and an audio to take home
The program is four sessions. You join from home, the one place that’s easy to arrange. 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 before the steps you take, and you’ll learn simple self-hypnosis too. Progress doesn’t have to wait for the next session.
Video matters more here than with almost anything else I see. Nobody should have to beat the problem first just to get to the appointment.
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
Honestly, the research on hypnosis for agoraphobia is thin. The best-supported approach is cognitive behavioural therapy with gradual exposure to the situations you avoid.
The one randomised trial I know of is a small German pilot study, published by Fuhr and colleagues in Frontiers in Psychology in 2023. It gave 36 people with agoraphobia either 8 to 12 sessions of hypnotherapy or a place on a waiting list. The hypnotherapy group improved more, but the main result held in one method of analysis and not in another, and the authors say a larger trial against standard treatment is needed. A promising signal, not proof. So the program is built around real steps into real places, with hypnosis making them easier to take.
Is hypnosis for agoraphobia safe?
For most adults, yes. Hypnosis doesn’t involve medicine, and side effects are mild and short: you might feel a little drowsy or emotional afterwards. It isn’t the right place to start if you live with psychosis or a severe mental health condition that isn’t being treated. If that’s you, talk to your GP or treating clinician first, and I’ll tell you honestly in the free call if someone else should help. If you’re housebound, or your mood has dropped along with your world, see your GP as well. A racing heart, dizziness or breathlessness deserve one medical check, and please don’t change any medication without your doctor.
What hypnotherapy for agoraphobia costs: $1,000
4-session program: $1,000
4-session program: $1,000 paid upfront (that’s $250 a session), or $300 per session as you go ($1,200 for all four).
- Four sessions by video, with an audio recording to use between them.
- Paid upfront: $1,000 in total. That’s $250 a session.
- Session by session: $300 each. $1,200 for all four.
- 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
Please see your GP as wellIf you’re housebound, if your world has been shrinking for months, or if your mood has dropped along with it, your GP is the right first call, and the appointment can be by phone or video. A racing heart, dizziness or breathlessness deserve one proper check too, so a physical cause isn’t missed. Your GP can refer you to a psychologist with a Medicare rebate through Better Access, and hypnotherapy sits well alongside that. Chest pain or trouble breathing 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, which probably explains why I care more about what works than what sounds impressive.
- 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 agoraphobia
Does hypnotherapy work for agoraphobia?
It may help some people, but the research is thin. The only randomised trial I know of is a small German pilot study of 36 people, where hypnotherapy did better than a waiting list, but the result held in one method of analysis and not in another. It hasn’t been tested against standard treatment, and the best-supported approach is still CBT with gradual exposure. That’s why hypnotherapy for agoraphobia here is built around real steps into real places, and it sits well alongside a psychologist and your GP.
What is the success rate of hypnotherapy for agoraphobia?
I don’t quote one. The success rates you see advertised usually come from small or unchecked studies, or from a practitioner’s own records. I’d rather show you the published research, and where every number on this page comes from.
Will I lose control?
No. You hear everything, you remember it, and you can open your eyes and stop at any point. I’d rather be plain about that here, because feeling trapped somewhere you can’t leave is the heart of agoraphobia. There’s no state to get stuck in. Hypnosis is focused, relaxed attention, a bit like being absorbed in a good film. Nothing can be made to happen that you don’t want.
Do I have to leave the house for this?
Not for the sessions. Every one is by video, from home. The steps outside happen between sessions, in an order you’ve agreed, starting small.
Does hypnotherapy work over video?
Yes. The work depends on your attention and on what we do together, and both travel perfectly well over a video call. If your safe place is home, that’s where we start.
How many hypnotherapy sessions will I need for agoraphobia?
The program is four sessions. If your agoraphobia has been building for years, I’ll tell you honestly on the free call whether four is realistic, or whether you’d do better with a psychologist as well.
I’m already seeing a psychologist. Can I do this too?
Yes. Let them know, and tell me what you’re working on, so we’re pulling in the same direction. Please don’t change or stop any medication without talking to your doctor.
What if it isn’t helping?
Tell me. We review progress at every session and change the approach if something isn’t working. If hypnotherapy isn’t right for you, I’ll say so and point you towards 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
Related
- ClaustrophobiaWhen it’s lifts, tunnels and closed doors that undo you.
- Fear of flyingWhen the dread starts weeks before the plane does.
- EmetophobiaWhen the fear is of being sick somewhere you can’t leave.
- All phobiasEvery phobia I work with, and how the program runs.
Free and confidential, open now. Tap to call.
Where these numbers come from
Fuhr K, Bender A, Wiegand A, Janouch P, Drujan M, Cyrny B, Schweizer C, Kreifelts B, Nieratschker V, Batra A (2023). Hypnotherapy for agoraphobia: feasibility and efficacy investigated in a pilot study. Frontiers in Psychology 14: 1213792. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1213792. A pilot randomised trial of 36 people comparing 8 to 12 sessions of hypnotherapy with a waiting list. The main result was confirmed in the intention-to-treat analysis but not the per-protocol analysis. It wasn’t compared with standard treatment. I’ll always show you where a number came from.
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.