mrsm I don't think you have to believe in it, but you have to want it to help.
I guess its like any therapy. It will only work/help if you are willing to allow it to.
Basically she puts me in a trance state, which is just deep relaxation. She talks you through it to the point when you are 'under' Then the therapist will gives me positive suggestions that my subconscious accepts. Hypnotherapists believe that it is your sub conscious and not your conscious that govern how you react to certain situations. I think only 20% or something like that is conscious actions/thinking. The rest is going on in the background like breathing, blinking, acting on gut instinct etc. If your sub conscious has a memory or a learned behaviour that is not useful, it is this that can be healed and/or changed.
I have also had a little regression therapy where you go back to a time when you had a certain experience. That is very spooky. Although I don't 'see' anything, I certainly feel the emotion. In this case it was when I feel most lonely. You find yourself explaining the situation to the therapist who then helps you turn it into a positive memory, not by changing it, but by using your adult self to use your life experiences explain to your child self that it is OK to feel like that and to 'heal' your child self. The idea is now you have explained to your child self why the feeling is there and how best to deal with it in your own way so it holds no power over you. If that makes any sense! I have cried when I was under, I did find that very un-nerving as I struggle to cry in public, even in front of the therapist!
There are a lot of hypnotherapists out there and some are good some are bad. Most offer first half hour free so you can get a feel for them. I changed my first one as I didn't feel she was getting to the root of the way I feel. This one is much better.
It is hard to explain, and I know it sounds like a load of hippy mumbo jumbo, but personally I have found it helpful.
Unfortunately I don't think it is on the NHS as it is an alternative therapy, but you can get them recommended through your gp. This is possibly the best way to go about it.
As for my solicitor, a friend recommended them to me. Again most have a free half hour so you will need to go there and get a feel for them. Go to a few if you can. Can you take anyone with you? I took my friend for some support. It helps to have another pair of ears, as most of what was said went straight over my head as my brain was Swiss cheese at the time!
(Apols for war & peace!!)