Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is simply the clinical use of hypnosis within a medical discipline such as psychotherapy, dentistry, or general medicine. The practitioner should have significant education, training, and experience in hypnosis in addition to the education and credentials of their primary field.  Having training and experience in hypnosis alone, doesn’t qualify someone to perform dentistry or psychotherapy – hypnosis is an added tool.

What is hypnosis? 

Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness that occurs normally in every person just before he or she enters sleep or is awakened from sleep.  In hypnotherapy, we prolong this brief interlude so that we can work within it’s bounds.

The use of hypnosis in psychotherapy dates back centuries and there are volumes of available literature supporting the efficacy of its use. When utilized in therapy by a skilled practitioner, the efficient and sometimes drastic results can be truly astounding.  Perhaps these often unexpected successes unwittingly add to the shroud of misconception surrounding the science of Hypnotherapy.

in short, hypnosis is a natural skill that helps people improve mental, physical and emotional well-being.

How does hypnosis help in psychotherapy? 

The human mind is extremely suggestible and is constantly being bombarded with suggestions from the outside, as well as suggestive “self talk” from the inside.  Unfortunately, past experiences and traumas, societal pressures, guilt feelings, and old “family rules” are constantly pushing themselves into awareness, directly or in disguised forms, undermining happiness, freedom, efficiency, and health. As a result, much suffering can result from negative thoughts and impulses invading one’s mind from the subconscious.   

By the time a person reaches adulthood, he or she has often built up negative modes of thinking, believing, feeling, and behaving which persist like bad habits.  With hypnosis, we work together to replace those constant negative influences with positives ones. 

How does Hypnotherapy work?

Habit patterns, anxiety symptoms, and unhappiness result from life-long conditioning or inner emotional conflicts.  Hypnotherapy can help you understand your conflicts, change life-long beliefs about yourself and the rules you live by, and freely release emotions which may have been stored inside for years.

With hypnotherapy, you can find your inner power, grow in self-esteem and confidence, and become healthier.

Can everyone be hypnotized?

Yes, because hypnosis is a natural state that everyone passes through when going to sleep.  It’s possible to resist hypnosis, just as it’s possible to resist going to sleep.  However, even if a client is initially resistant to hypnosis, with practice the resistance can be overcome. 

I consider hypnosis to be a skill that a client learns under the direction of the therapist, rather than something the therapist does to the client.

Popular media sometimes suggests that unintelligent, or naive people are easiest to hypnotize.  In reality, the opposite is true.    As with most skills, the more intelligence, experience, and focus you bring to the situation, the quicker you’ll master the skill. 

Can Hypnotherapy be used to help physical conditions?

Many physical symptoms have an emotional base.  It’s not a new idea that emotional strain or worry can produce physical symptoms.  After all, every organ in your body connects to your brain.  Its logical that when your nervous system is upset by some crisis or conflict, you may feel the effects in various parts of your body. 

It also follows that so-called “involuntary” bodily functions such as heart rate and pain may be altered by our minds if we learn the skills to do so with hypnosis. In fact, the successful use of hypnosis for physical responses such as pain management has been scientifically documented for decades.

What is the value of hypnosis in therapy?

Although the effectiveness can be remarkable, there is no magic in hypnosis.  There are many conditions in which hypnosis is an efficient and useful tool, and others in which it has little place.  In psychotherapy, hypnosis is helpful to reduce stress and to access emotions, memories, core beliefs, and habit control centers. 

One benefit to using hypnosis in psychotherapy is that we are trained in our culture to rely solely on our logical “left brain” to solve all problems, but many personal challenges don’t lend themselves to purely logical solutions because they are emotional or habitual in nature.  In a hypnotic state, we quiet down the constant chattering and analyzing of our left brain long enough to allow our powerful right brain to be a partner in our success.  The result is the ability to use our “whole brain” to conquer our challenges.

Why do some people have doubts about hypnosis?

Although it has been accepted for centuries in other cultures, hypnosis is sometimes misunderstood in western culture because popular media has often affiliated hypnosis with various superstitions.  However, hypnosis has been recognized as a beneficial treatment modality by the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association for decades. 

Ignorance about about a topic invites skepticism and fear, but those who have educated themselves about the power of hypnosis understand its value.

   .

Hypnosis Myths

With the help of media such as TV and movies, along with the popularity of hypnosis shows in venues like Las Vegas, there persists a number of inaccurate myths about hypnosis. Lets take a few minutes to dissolve some of this misinformation:

“Hypnosis is an unconscious, unfocused state”

The following is placeholder text known as “lorem ipsum,” which is scrambled Latin used by designers to mimic real copy. Quisque congue porttitor ullamcorper. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae. Aliquam bibendum, turpis eu mattis iaculis, ex lorem mollis sem, ut sollicitudin risus orci quis tellus.

Feature 2

The following is placeholder text known as “lorem ipsum,” which is scrambled Latin used by designers to mimic real copy. Suspendisse nec congue purus. Nulla lectus ante, consequat et ex eget, feugiat tincidunt metus. Mauris id fermentum nulla. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.

Feature 3

The following is placeholder text known as “lorem ipsum,” which is scrambled Latin used by designers to mimic real copy. Integer tempus, elit in laoreet posuere, lectus neque blandit dui, et placerat urna diam mattis orci. Aliquam bibendum, turpis eu mattis iaculis, ex lorem mollis sem, ut sollicitudin risus orci quis tellus.