Phobias ยท Online across Australia
Emetophobia: Help With the Fear of Vomiting, by Video
It’s rarely the illness itself. It’s the moment before, somewhere you can’t leave, with no warning. We work on that alarm from the privacy of your own room, and nobody else needs to know.
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?
- Whole food groups are off the list: reheated rice, shellfish, anything from a buffet.
- You check a use-by date you already checked this morning.
- Someone coughs on the bus and you’re off two stops early.
- A bug going round the school rearranges your whole month.
- You feel queasy before a dinner out, then push the food around the plate.
- You’ve lived with this for years, and almost nobody knows.
If a few of those landed, read on. If your eating has narrowed a long way, or your weight has been dropping, please see your GP first. I explain why further down.
Why the fear of vomiting is so hard to reason with
Emetophobia is a fear of vomiting, but ask many people what the worst part would be and they describe the room, not the illness. In public. No warning. Nowhere to go. It’s a fear of losing control, and being sick is simply the least predictable way that could happen.
Then there’s the loop. Nausea is an ordinary symptom of anxiety: fear slows digestion and puts the gut on alert. So you feel queasy, read it as proof you’re about to be sick, and get more frightened, which makes the queasiness worse. When you leave, don’t vomit, and feel the relief, it gets filed as a near miss. Years of near misses build a very convincing case for something that was never true. That’s why reassurance, from yourself or anyone else, rarely settles it for long. The fear has been learned, so it needs something new to learn, and that’s the part hypnotherapy is aimed at.
How hypnosis helps with emetophobia
Hypnosis is focused, relaxed attention. You stay aware and in charge, it isn’t sleep, and you can’t be made to do anything you don’t choose to. Hypnotherapy works on the link between the queasy sensation and the panic that follows it. We use the session to practise a calmer reading of that feeling, and to rehearse the situations you avoid, starting a long way from the thing itself.
Between sessions you take small, planned steps, beginning lower than you’d expect. You also take home an audio recording and simple self-hypnosis to use between appointments. Nothing asks you to watch anyone be sick, or picture yourself unwell, before you’re ready.
How hypnotherapy for emetophobia works online
- A free 15-minute call
You tell me what the fear has changed in your life. I tell you honestly whether I think I can help. You don’t have to say more than you’re comfortable saying. 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 what you avoid, what you check, and what you’d most like back, a meal out or a winter without dread. Then we begin, with hypnosis and the first, very small steps.
- Sessions by video and an audio to take home
The program is four 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 a fear that so often stays hidden, working from home helps. There’s no waiting room, and no one needs to know where you’ve been.
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
It’s a real and fairly common fear. In a 2012 Dutch study in Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, van Hout and Bouman found that 8.8% of a community sample reported a fear of vomiting, with about four times as many women as men. An earlier survey of 56 people with emetophobia, published by Lipsitz and colleagues in Depression and Anxiety in 2001, found that about three quarters had eating rituals or significantly limited what they ate.
What there isn’t, honestly, is good research on hypnosis for emetophobia. The approach with the most support is cognitive behavioural therapy with gradual exposure. So that’s the backbone of how I work, and hypnosis is how I make each step easier to take.
Is hypnosis for emetophobia 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 your eating has narrowed a long way, or your weight is falling, see your GP first: fear-driven eating can overlap with an eating disorder that needs its own care. Lasting nausea deserves a check too.
What hypnotherapy for emetophobia 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 wellNausea that lasts deserves one proper check, so a physical cause isn’t missed. If your safe foods have shrunk to a handful, if you skip meals before going out, or your weight has been falling, please see your GP before anything else. Restrictive eating driven by fear of vomiting can overlap with an eating disorder called ARFID, which needs its own care. If checking and handwashing have become compulsions, a psychologist is the better fit, and your GP can refer you with a Medicare rebate through Better Access. Hypnotherapy sits well alongside that.
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 emetophobia
Does hypnotherapy work for emetophobia?
I can’t point you to good research on hypnosis for emetophobia, and I’d rather say so plainly. The approach with the most support is cognitive behavioural therapy with gradual exposure. So hypnotherapy for emetophobia here uses gradual exposure as its backbone, with hypnosis there to help you take each step. If checking and washing have become compulsive, a psychologist should be part of the plan.
What is the success rate of hypnotherapy for emetophobia?
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. That matters here, because losing control is the very thing this fear is about. 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.
Will I have to watch someone vomit, or imagine being sick?
No. We start a long way from that, often with nothing more than a word or a short paragraph, and you decide when a step is ready. Good exposure work never begins with shock.
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.
How many hypnotherapy sessions will I need for emetophobia?
The program is four sessions, and we review progress at each one. If the fear has been with you for decades, or sits alongside checking and washing that feel compulsive, I’ll tell you honestly on the free call whether a psychologist should be part of the plan.
I’ve put off having a baby because of this. Is that unusual?
No. In the Lipsitz survey mentioned above, nearly half the women had avoided or delayed pregnancy. A decision that size deserves a conversation with your GP or a midwife about the support available for sickness in pregnancy, alongside any work we do.
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
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- All phobiasEvery phobia I work with, and how the program runs.
Free and confidential, open now. Tap to call.
Where these numbers come from
van Hout WJ, Bouman TK (2012). Clinical features, prevalence and psychiatric complaints in subjects with fear of vomiting. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy 19(6): 531-539. doi.org/10.1002/cpp.761. The 8.8% is the prevalence of self-reported fear of vomiting in a Dutch community sample, with a female to male ratio of 4 to 1.
Lipsitz JD, Fyer AJ, Paterniti A, Klein DF (2001). Emetophobia: preliminary results of an internet survey. Depression and Anxiety 14(2): 149-152. doi.org/10.1002/da.1058. A survey of 56 members of an online support group (50 women, 6 men), so it describes people who were already looking for help, not everyone with the fear. 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.