Hi, I’m Debbie McNicol…
DipCAH, DipCHyp, HPD, NLP
My journey into the world of hypnotherapy began with a deeply personal experience – struggling with debilitating and seemingly random panic attacks – a particularly daunting challenge at the time as a career woman trying to hold my own in a fast-paced and demanding corporate environment.
Why Did I Become a Hypnotherapist?
Approaching my teens, I became a fairly anxious child, and most school reports then were along the lines of ‘Debbie worries too much’. I assumed it was just part of who I was. However, from my mid-thirties onwards, after failed IVF and working in a demanding corporate career, my ‘Debbie worries too much’ stepped up a notch and escalated into fully blown panic attacks.
After exhausting various traditional treatments, I sought more holistic self-help, such as yoga, meditation and mindfulness. Although they helped, my panic attacks continued to escalate and I realised I still needed more help – that’s when I sought hypnotherapy as an alternative approach. It was a great unknown to me and felt like a last chance saloon.
“What a breakthrough that hypnotherapy was! I wasn’t just able to manage my panic attacks – they went.”
It became clear during my therapy that in my career I was a round peg in a square hole and so as we worked on my self-esteem, and the realisation I did deserve a different and better life, choices opened up to me. It was such a life changing and positive experience that I wanted to learn more and train to see how I could help others enjoy the benefits, too.
So, I undertook a year’s intensive training in Clinical and Advanced Hypnotherapy and began helping others. For many years this was done alongside my corporate career.
Fast forward 15 years, and after a series of fairly brutal and consecutive losses in my life left me feeling overwhelmed, I sought further therapy in the form of Cognitive Hypnotherapy.
This was even more transformative – as well as allowing confidence, joy, and flow back into my life, I was also able to recognise and reframe some earlier trauma, realising the label I’d been given, and accepted, of being a ‘natural’ anxious worrier, was not the case at all.
Again I felt driven to be able to help others in even more ways and to this end, I undertook a further year’s in-depth training, with the internationally renowned Quest Institute.
“Today, as a fully qualified and experienced practitioner able to devote myself full-time to my passion, I’m here as a source of hope, understanding and support for anyone dealing with anxiety, uncertainty and associated issues.”
I really get what anxiety, overwhelm and over-thinking feels like; and how exhausting and life-limiting it can be. Throughout my studies and experience of Clinical and Cognitive Hypnotherapy, I have personally witnessed how transformative it can be. Letting go of past traumas and reshaping the way you view yourself really can unlock your potential to a happier, more fulfilling life.
Trainings and Qualifications
Hypnotherapy Practitioners Diploma (HPD) (2007)
Diploma in Clinical and Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapy (DipCAH) (2007)
with UK Academy of Therapeutic Arts and Sciences
Smoking Cessation CPD
with the National Council of Hypnotherapy (2007)
Anxiety Specialist Certification (2007)
Hypnosis for Childbirth Practitioner Certificate (2010)
with the National College of Hypnosis and Psychotherapy
Understanding Tinnitus (2011)
with David Collingwood-Bell
Self-Esteem (2011)
with Hilary Norris-Evans
Weight Management (2011)
with Rae Jenson
Trichotillomania (2011)
with Anne Thornton-Patterson
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) Diploma Course Parts 1 and 2 (2014)
with NLP Centre of Excellence
British Wheel of Yoga Foundation Course Level One (2015)
Chakra Awareness Course (2016)
WordWeaving Practitioner Course (2018)
with The Quest Institute
AMDR (Applied Memory Deconsolidation and Reconsolidation) Working With Self-Compassion To Heal Shame (2023)
Diploma in Cognitive Hypnotherapy (DipCHyp) (2024)
with The Quest Institute
NLP Master Practitioner (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) (2024)
with The Quest Institute
Compassionate Trauma Repair (CTR) with Applied Memory Deconsolidation and Reconsolidation (AMDR) (2025)
with Gill Woods
Fundamentals of EMDR Level 1 (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) (2025 – training completed, accreditation underway)
with Advanced EMDR
Professional Accreditations
Get in touch today to arrange a free no obligation chat to begin your journey towards clarity and calm with Hypnoasis.
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