Peter Gilmour is a hypnotherapist who recently worked with Swindon Town Football Club. The Centre for Sports Hypnosis caught up with him recently to find out how it was going.

 

CSH: How long have you been using hypnosis in sport?

PG: About 12 years

 

CSH: What got you into this field?

PG: To help my son in his tennis career. He was on the junior tennis circuit and used to lose his temper on court when things went against him. He was a known player at the LTA but no one there or any other coach had a clue how to deal with it despite the fact that most of the talented kids were exactly the same.

 

CSH: You recently worked with Swindon Town. How did that come about?

PG: I’d already worked with a couple of the players and they recommended me to Manager Maurice Malpas when things weren’t going very well.

 

CSH: What were you tasked to do when you started with them?

PG: They left it to me really but that’s the same at every club. Most football Managers don’t know much about sport psychology. But it was very simple, they were on a losing streak and needed more points. As everyone always says, it’s a results business and they needed a few wins because they’d lost five on the bounce at home.

 

CSH: How were you received? And how was hypnosis received?

PG: Again, it’s usually the same, some guys are really interested, some not so much and some not at all. I’ve worked at eight clubs so I’m used to the situation of going in during the season, standing in front of them and saying okay guys ‘I’m going to hypnotise you all now and help you play a bit better.’ The funny thing is that players who show no interest to start with usually end up being the most enthusiastic. Of course, they’ve only seen stage hypnosis and you get all the usual jokes ‘Don’t look into his eyes’ or ‘are you going to turn us into chickens’ etc, etc.
But when they experience it, they love it. Actually, these days I use rapid inductions more and more for Hypnotherapy but I usually start with a progressive relaxation. Depends, every situation is different and you have to feel what’s right in any given circumstance.

 

CSH: What was the first thing you did with Swindon?

PG: Gave a talk to the players followed by a group hypnotic session. It’s what I always do.

 

CSH: How has it progressed since then?

PG: We did well, I started seeing players individually as well as the group sessions and results improved as they always do. At every club I’ve worked we’ve achieved results of historical proportions. Most people say that if you can get an improvement of 1% or 2% or even half a percent it’s worth doing but my results show more like 50% performance improvement and I suspect it’s the same for anyone doing this stuff but don’t tell anyone because they’ll think you’re mad!
But then the Manager left and there was a seven week hiatus before a new Manager arrived. I felt I did some of my best work ever during that period but no one really noticed because everyone was worried whether they’d keep their jobs when the new Manager arrived. When he did, he didn’t even want to talk to me. He turned out to be one of those old-fashioned blokes who think all sports psychology is mumbo-jumbo.

 

CSH: What effect does your work appear to have had on the team?

PG: They became more confident, motivated, focused, positive, happy and believed much more in themselves and the group. That’s the effect I expect and I don’t take no for an answer these days.

 

CSH: What would you say has been the best part of working with Swindon Town?

PG: Well I was only at Swindon for a few months but the best part for me is always watching athletes you’ve worked with perform well. It’s always a joy to hypnotise footballers either individually or as a group because I love the game and I know it helps them raise their level.

 

CSH: What have you found to be the most difficult aspect of using hypnosis with the team and in general?

PG: There’s nothing difficult about the actual work at all. Getting through the door in the first place is the only difficult aspect but once you’re in every moment is beautiful. The problem is that sports psychology is badly neglected in our country and many coaches and administrators look upon it as a luxury or an added extra whereas in fact it’s as crucial to winning as water is to life.

 

CSH: What are your future plans with Swindon Town? And elsewhere?

PG: I’m no longer with Swindon Town but I have individual footballers, tennis players and golfers as clients and I’m also talking to a number of Premiership and a Championship clubs
about next season. I have high hopes for a young British female tennis player I’m working with and also for an up and coming Eastern European tennis player who I’ve seen from time to time and with whom I’ll work a lot more when we get the logistics worked out.

I also have a practice at the famous Hale Clinic in central London where in addition to sports clients I have a general Hypnotherapy practice and anyone is welcome to come and see me there. I work quite extensively in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire but I’ll travel anywhere to work with performance athletes of any kind or to talk about my work.

Pete can be contacted at www.hypnosport.com, by email at peter@hypnosport.com, or by phone on 07831 699624.

 

Thank you for talking to us!

 

This article may be reproduced for use on websites and print media, as long as it is used in its entirety, no links to websites are removed, and the following acknowledgement is prominently included:

Produced by The Centre for Sports Hypnosis
www.sportshypnosis.org.uk

Articles used on websites should have a clickable link to www.sportshypnosis.org.uk. Articles used in print and other media should include the website address as above.

For any other use, please contact us.