Phobias ยท Online across Australia
Help for a Fear of Heights, by Video Anywhere in Australia
Many people feel something at a railing. The real question is what your fear of heights has quietly cost you. Hypnotherapy and small, planned steps can help you take some of it back.
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?
- The gutters haven’t been cleared in years, because of the ladder.
- At a friend’s place you stay inside while everyone else is on the balcony.
- You ask for a low floor at hotels and don’t say why.
- You can’t watch anyone lean on a rail at a lookout, especially your kids.
- Your legs feel unreliable up high, even behind a solid barrier.
- For a split second at an edge, your mind shows you falling, and you’ve never told anyone.
If some of those landed, read on. If the last one worried you, there’s a plain answer about it in the questions below.
Why a fear of heights is hard to talk yourself out of
Being wary up high is normal, and useful. A fear of heights becomes a phobia when it starts making decisions for you: the job with a roof inspection turned down, the holiday route planned around a bridge, the lookout you wait in the car for.
Part of it is physical. On the ground, your eyes read nearby surfaces all the time to keep you balanced. Up high there’s nothing close enough to read, so you sway a little more and your body over-corrects. That wobble is real, and it happens to people without the phobia too. The fear grows when you read the wobble as “I’m going over”, stiffen up, and wobble more. Telling yourself the railing is solid rarely stops that loop. Breaking it, so the wobble stays just a wobble, is the part hypnotherapy is aimed at.
How hypnosis helps with a fear of heights
Hypnosis is focused, relaxed attention. You’re aware of everything and in charge the whole time. It isn’t sleep, and you can’t be made to do anything you don’t want to do. Hypnotherapy works on the reaction that arrives before you’ve decided anything. We rehearse the approach to the edge in small pieces: the stepladder, the second-floor balcony, the lookout with a proper railing. You practise feeling steady in your body there.
Between sessions you practise for real, somewhere a fall isn’t possible, one rung at a time. You also take home an audio recording and simple self-hypnosis to use between appointments, so the practice has some calm behind it.
How hypnotherapy for fear of heights works online
- A free 15-minute call
You tell me where heights get in your way. 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 list the heights you avoid, score them, and pick the first one worth getting back. Then we begin, with hypnosis and the lowest rung of your ladder.
- 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.
We don’t need to stand on a balcony together for this to work. The rehearsal happens in your mind, and the practice happens in places you choose.
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 can’t point you to a strong trial of hypnosis for a fear of heights. What the research does show is that this fear responds well to repeated, graded practice. In 2018 The Lancet Psychiatry published a trial by Daniel Freeman and colleagues. It randomly gave 100 adults with a fear of heights either about two weeks of automated virtual reality therapy or their usual care. On a questionnaire measuring fear of heights, scores fell by an average of 24.5 points in the therapy group, against 1.2 points in the comparison group, and the improvement held at follow-up.
That wasn’t hypnosis. What I take from it is that gradual practice is what shifts this fear, so that’s the backbone of the program. Hypnosis is how I make each step easier to take.
Is hypnosis for a fear of heights 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. Practise only where a fall isn’t possible: proper railings, enclosed stairwells, fenced lookouts, never a real ladder or a cliff edge. Dizziness or spinning at ground level is a medical question first, so see your GP about that.
What hypnotherapy for fear of heights 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 wellDizziness, spinning or hearing changes at ground level are a medical question first, and deserve a GP visit. If the fear began with a fall, or with watching one, and the memory keeps coming back uninvited, a psychologist is a good first step; your GP can refer you with a Medicare rebate through Better Access, and hypnotherapy sits well alongside that. And please practise only where a fall isn’t possible: proper railings, enclosed stairwells, fenced lookouts. Never a real ladder, scaffolding or a cliff edge.
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 fear of heights
Does hypnotherapy work for fear of heights?
There isn’t a strong trial of hypnosis for this fear that I can point you to. What the research does show is that a fear of heights responds well to repeated, graded practice: in a 2018 trial of 100 adults, automated virtual reality therapy lowered fear of heights scores far more than usual care. That trial wasn’t hypnosis. So hypnotherapy for fear of heights here is built around graded practice, with hypnosis there to help you take each step.
What is the success rate of hypnotherapy for fear of heights?
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.
Why do I get an urge to jump when I look over an edge?
It’s common enough to have a name, the high place phenomenon, and people who have never wanted to harm themselves report it. One explanation is that your body pulls you back from the edge faster than conscious thought, and a moment later you read that recoil as an urge. If you are having real thoughts of ending your life, that’s different, and it deserves a conversation today: call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or talk to your GP.
Will I lose control?
No. You hear everything, you remember it, and you can open your eyes and stop at any point. 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.
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 fear of heights?
The program is four sessions, and we review progress at each one. Most of the change comes from practice between sessions, so how much you practise matters as much as the number.
Is a fear of heights the same as vertigo?
No. True vertigo is a spinning feeling with a physical cause, often in the inner ear, and it can happen in your kitchen. Feeling unsteady up high is different, and the phobia is the fear built on top of it. If the room spins at ground level, see 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
- Fear of flyingWhen it’s the aircraft rather than the altitude.
- ClaustrophobiaWhen the glass lift troubles you as much for the box as the drop.
- AgoraphobiaWhen it’s anywhere hard to 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
Freeman D, Haselton P, Freeman J, Spanlang B, Kishore S, Albery E, Denne M, Brown P, Slater M, Nickless A (2018). Automated psychological therapy using immersive virtual reality for treatment of fear of heights: a single-blind, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Psychiatry 5(8): 625-632. doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30226-8. The 24.5 and 1.2 are average falls on the Heights Interpretation Questionnaire (scored 16 to 80) at the end of treatment. This was a virtual reality therapy trial, not a hypnosis trial. 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.