SCOTLAND'S best known hypnotherapist Ronald B Harris is writing a book about his experiences as a practitioner. Ronald is one of a handful of specialists who pioneered hypnotherapy in Scotland and is believed to be the first hypnotherapist in Scotland to work out of a medical practice where its NHS doctors refer patients to his private clinic.

Ronald said: "I'll soon be celebrating 46 years as a Hypnotherapist and in that time I have treated well over 100,000 people for a wide variety of problems. I'd put my success rate at around the 90 per cent mark.

"Hypnotherapy is an eternally fascinating job - no two cases are the same, and at times you have to a bit of a detective to get to the root cause of a problem.

"It's one of the reasons I always make up a personal CD for clients. I find it is much more effective than the generic, one size fits all, many hypnotherapists use these days."

These are absolutely not like those downloaded from the internet.

With his 50th professional anniversary looming, Ronnie, who is married to the former Miss Scotland, Sheena Drummond, thought it would be appropriate to mark the occasion by bringing out a book about some of the many interesting cases he has been involved in - with identities suitably disguised to preserve anonymity.

Provisionally entitled Secrets of the Mind, the book will delve into some of the more unusual cases Ronald has encountered.

He added: "When I started out, there were only a handful of hypnotherapists practising in Scotland. Now it's very much part and parcel of everyday life. "There is wide acceptance of it as a way to improve and take control of your life.

"Giving up smoking and weight loss still feature strongly but I have also noticed that more people are coming with stress related problems than previously."

Ronald, who holds a one-day clinic every week at the Kenilworth Medical Centre, Cumbernauld in addition to his full-time practice in Glasgow's West End, also recently helped a father and son to lose more than seven stones between them with the exciting Virtual Gastric Band Technique.