Simone Hamilton

Hi, I'm Simone.

For nine years I ran a private practice in Canberra, first in a wellness centre and later from home. Most of the people I worked with were adults wanting to change their relationship with smoking, weight or alcohol, or to find relief from anxiety, phobias and the effects of trauma. I also supported people with ADHD, and parents would often bring their children and teenagers to see me when anxiety, fears or big feelings were getting in the way. Almost every client came to me through word of mouth. Often one person would come, and before long their partner, a friend, or a parent looking for support for their child would get in touch too.

Hypnosis was part of my life long before it was my profession. My mother practised as a hypnotherapist for decades, and I trained alongside her. I grew up understanding it as something practical and grounded, a way of helping people reach the part of themselves that already knows what they need.

Smoking has always been personal for me. I began offering quit-smoking support after my father passed away, from a smoking-related illness, and I wanted to help other people find freedom from it, gently and without the shame that so often comes with trying to stop. At one point I ran a quit-smoking promotion and ended up seeing more than 160 people in a short space of time. Many did beautifully. But at that volume I also saw a pattern: some people came back weeks or months later, smoking again and quietly blaming themselves. It wasn't them. Their session had taken the habit away without working out what it had been doing for them. Maybe it softened stress, gave them a break, or was the only five minutes in the day that belonged to them. That job was still there, nothing had replaced it, and so the habit came back to do it.

That's where The Hamilton Framework began. It works out what the pattern has been doing for you, builds something that does that job instead, and only then asks the pattern to go. I've turned my clinical work into structured online pathways, with hypnosis sessions, workbooks and support, so it can reach people wherever they live and fit around the life they already have.

My own life hasn't been a straight line either. I spent part of my childhood in Papua New Guinea and have lived across three Australian states, including a stretch in remote Arnhem Land. In 2021 I stepped back from practice to care for my family. The idea for this framework came with me through that time, and I came back to it when life settled. I know from experience that change happens in seasons, and that stepping back isn't the same as giving up.

I've also walked part of this path myself. I've used GLP-1 medication and lost 35 kilograms, so I know the hope that comes with it, and the relief of finally feeling like your appetite isn't running the show. I also know the fear that can creep in alongside it: what happens when I stop? Will the weight come back? Can I trust myself without it? The medication gave me space, but the habits, feelings and routines underneath were still mine to understand. That experience is a big part of why I created the GLP-1 Transition pathway, to give people the support to rebuild those foundations alongside the care they're already receiving from their GP.

Outside of work, I'm mum to Josh and Hannah, and home in Canberra is shared with Charlie, our dachshund cross, and Buttercup, a Birman cat who is very sure the house belongs to her. Writing is the thing I'm loving most right now. I co-wrote Tales of Tinderella with Julie Okely, which became a #1 Amazon bestseller, and I've since written a screenplay: a murder mystery thriller inspired by my time living in a country town in New South Wales.