Introduction

As a solution-focused hypnotherapist (SFH), I regularly guide my clients towards developing positive activity, positive interaction, and positive thinking — core components that build resilience, confidence, and emotional wellbeing. The Take 5 Ways to Wellbeing framework provides a beautifully simple, evidence-based structure that complements this approach perfectly.

Developed from extensive international research, and now widely promoted by health bodies such as the UK NHS (NHS, 2024), the Five Ways to Wellbeing offer five daily actions that can improve mental health and reduce the risk of depression and anxiety. What makes this particularly powerful within SFH is how these actions naturally align with many of the therapeutic tools we already use, allowing clients to embed sustainable wellbeing habits both in and between sessions.

 

The Evidence Base Behind Take 5

The Five Ways to Wellbeing were originally developed in 2008 by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) following a government-commissioned Foresight report into mental capital and wellbeing. The recommendations were drawn from a substantial body of international evidence identifying simple lifestyle behaviours that consistently improve wellbeing across cultures, age groups and demographics (Aked et al., 2008).

The NHS now widely promotes these Five Ways to Wellbeing as a cornerstone of self-help for mental health (NHS, 2024), recognising their role in both prevention and recovery. As hypnotherapists, incorporating this model into practice allows us to build on a growing base of robust, peer-reviewed research.

 

How Solution-Focused Hypnotherapy Builds on Take 5

At the heart of SFH is the principle of focusing on what works: helping clients to notice, amplify and build on their strengths, successes and resources. The Take 5 model sits perfectly within this solution-focused stance, encouraging small, achievable steps that support positive momentum.

Where SFH goes one step further is in how we help clients activate these behaviours:

• We encourage clients to create positive interactions through visualisation of healthy relationships, rehearsing confidence in social situations, and building emotional safety.
• We guide clients towards positive activity by helping them identify enjoyable, manageable steps that align with their interests, goals, and strengths.
• We foster positive thinking through reframing, future-focused goal setting, and amplifying times when clients have already successfully coped or thrived.

By embedding Take 5 principles into solution-focused work, we help clients not only understand what supports wellbeing but also experience these shifts at both a conscious and subconscious level through trance work, metaphor, and guided imagery.

 

The Five Ways in Practice: A Solution-Focused Lens

Connect
Social connection is a key protective factor for mental health. As hypnotherapists, we can help clients:

• Visualise positive social experiences.
• Rehearse interactions where they feel confident and valued.
• Use trance states to strengthen self-compassion and trust in others.

These interventions activate oxytocin pathways, enhancing feelings of belonging and safety (Uvnäs-Moberg et al., 2015).

Be Active

Physical activity improves mood, supports cognitive function, and reduces stress.

• In goal setting, we support clients to identify small, achievable activities they feel confident starting with, gradually increasing activity levels at a pace that feels right for them.
• Hypnotic suggestions can help clients maintain motivation and build confidence as they notice progress over time.

Exercise also promotes endorphin and dopamine release, contributing to motivation and emotional regulation (Meeusen & De Meirleir, 1995).

Take Notice
Mindfulness — being present in the moment — reduces rumination and anxiety.

• Guided visualisation can anchor clients in peaceful, sensory-rich environments.
• We can embed mindful noticing into daily routines, such as mindful walks or gratitude practice.
• Encouraging clients to reflect on positive moments builds serotonin stability and enhances mood (Young, 2007).

 Keep Learning
Learning new skills builds confidence, cognitive flexibility, and purpose.

• SFH encourages clients to set achievable learning goals.
• Trance work can strengthen motivation and focus.
• Celebrating even small wins triggers dopamine, reinforcing progress (Berridge & Robinson, 2016).

5. Give
   Acts of kindness benefit both giver and receiver.

• Hypnotherapy can amplify feelings of gratitude, compassion, and generosity.
• Clients may explore visualising themselves giving, helping, or supporting others.
• Giving promotes oxytocin release, boosting wellbeing and connectedness (Crockett et al., 2014).

Amazingly we can also stimulate oxytocin release when we offer kindness, self-compassion, and care to ourselves, strengthening emotional regulation and internal safety (Power, 2023).

 

Bringing It Together: Small Steps, Lasting Change

One of the most empowering aspects of combining SFH with Take 5 is that clients often discover they are already doing elements of these behaviours without fully recognising their value. By shining a light on these existing strengths — a core technique in solution-focused work — we help clients to build confidence, agency, and hope.

As hypnotherapists, we can:

• Co-create simple home practice tasks using Take 5 as a framework.
• Build each “way” into personalised hypnotic scripts.
• Use preferred future questioning to help clients visualise themselves regularly engaging in these behaviours.
• Reinforce that even the smallest actions can compound over time to create meaningful, lasting wellbeing.

 

Conclusion

The Take 5 Ways to Wellbeing framework offers an evidence-based, practical model that sits beautifully within solution-focused hypnotherapy practice. By integrating these five pillars into our work, we empower clients to take small but powerful steps towards resilience, confidence and emotional health — building wellbeing one action at a time.

 

Article by Jemma White of Hello Positivity Hypnotherapy, based in Bangor, Co. Down, Northern Ireland.
You can find more at:
www.hellopositivity.co.uk
Instagram: @hellopositivityhypnotherapy

References

• Aked, J., Marks, N., Cordon, C., & Thompson, S. (2008). Five Ways to Wellbeing: The Evidence. New Economics Foundation.
• NHS. (2024). Five steps to mental wellbeing. Retrieved from: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/guides-tools-and-activities/five-steps-to-mental-wellbeing/
• Berridge, K. C., & Robinson, T. E. (2016). Liking, wanting, and the incentive-sensitization theory of addiction. American Psychologist, 71(8), 670.
• Crockett, M. J., et al. (2014). Prosocial behavior and the neurobiology of oxytocin. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 3, 19–25.
• Meeusen, R., & De Meirleir, K. (1995). Exercise and brain neurotransmission. Sports Medicine, 20(3), 160–188.
• Power, T. (2023). The DOSE Effect: How to Optimise Your Brain Chemistry for Better Mental Health. TJ Power.
• Uvnäs-Moberg, K., et al. (2015). The role of oxytocin in human stress regulation. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 61, 414–419.
• Young, S. N. (2007). How to increase serotonin in the human brain without drugs. Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, 32(6), 394–399.