Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy
Hypnosis is an exceptionally powerful therapeutic method used to bring about rapid and lasting change in the subconscious mind. It can bring about rapid relief from symptoms, improved well being, and achievement of personal goals.
But what exactly is hypnosis?
It may surprise you that there is no absolute definition to cover every observable effect of ‘hypnosis’ or ‘trance’. Even the word hypnosis originated from a misunderstanding, since it is derived from the Greek word ýpnos (hypnos) for sleep – but in hypnosis you will not be asleep.
‘Trance’ can be described as a state of absorption or fixation of attention. In fact, that’s the basis of the well known swinging watch method, although I do not use a watch! The trance state can be induced by a professional hypnotist, but it also occurs naturally and spontaneously.
However, you might experience hypnosis as virtually the opposite – a relaxed, twilight state where your mind drifts, still aware but taking little notice of anything said. The hypnotist can then talk more directly to your subconscious to create change.
Within the context of therapy hypnosis can be very relaxing – you will usually be helped to relax and may be guided through beautiful imagery. In contrast, the spontaneous trance of shock, fear or depressive rumination is anything but relaxed. That’s what I will work to get you out of!
Hypnosis is interrelated with suggestibility: it can be induced by suggestion; and once in hypnosis you become more suggestible. In hypnotherapy increased suggestibility is utilised to speak positive, healing and life affirming ideas into your subconsious. The subconscious then acts upon these ideas to create change.
In this way hypnosis can be used to reduce stress, remove symptoms, change behaviour, block pain, relax the gut (IBS), accelerate healing, enhance performance and achieve your goals. Hypnosis can also connect you to forgotten memories and buried emotions that are the root cause of symptoms – sometimes necessary for those symptoms to resolve more permanently.
Therefore hypnosis provides a gateway into the deeper subconscious part of the mind. This allows ‘access’ to reach and resolve the root cause of your problems. It enables you to more easily reprogram the conditioning or ‘software’ that maintains your fears and drives unwanted behaviour.
However you will not lose control. You will not be made to do or say anything against your will. And you won’t do the kinds of silly things you might have seen on TV.
What is Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy, in short, is the combination of hypnosis with psychotherapy methods to bring about therapeutic change.
Why hypnotherapy over other kinds of psychological help? Most psychological treatments deal mainly with conscious thoughts and emotions. But some problems are more deep rooted or the result of subconscious programming. It is the subconscious mind that stores past experiences, emotions and habits or responses that give rise to psychological (and sometimes physical) symptoms.
Hypnotherapy is highly suited for treating the subconscious part of the mind. For this reason it can sometimes be successful where other therapies are not. It can also speed up the process of psychotherapy in some cases, as well as being helpful in a number of physical health conditions.
The Health Education Authority has said: “Research shows that there is more scientific evidence for hypnotherapy than any other complementary therapy…by using hypnosis people can perform prodigious feats of will-power and self-healing.”
Contact me now for an appointment or to enquire
I have gained expertise in a number of different styles of hypnotherapy, which I apply singly or in combination depending on your difficulties. The following is a brief overview:
Suggestion Therapy
A traditional hypnotic treatment used to create deep relaxation, an open mind, reduce stress and increase confidence, without going deeply into the causes of your problems. Suggestion therapy makes use of the mind’s heightened susceptibility to suggestion during hypnosis in order to influence behaviour and create change.
Suggestion therapy can be used to assist other therapies; or used alone to help minor problems, such as pre-test nerves, confidence, or stopping smoking. Suggestion therapy also has an important role in chronic pain, as well as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Suggestion therapy is also suitable for creating hypnosis audio files, which you can listen to between appointments.
Solution Focused Therapy
Solution-focussed therapy helps you to leave behind the limitations of symptoms, anxieties and negative thinking to achieve what you want in life. This may be simple relief from distress, a successful relationship, or other goal. It works by awakening your full potential, abilities and choices.
The principle: problems in your life and the way you think trigger anxiety and depression, or keep you stuck in unwanted behaviours and habits. You already have the potential to solve your problems and help yourself. Solution-focused therapy is aimed at helping you to realise that potential. It brings about a state of mind that creates solutions and frees you from limitations.
Solution-focused therapy is especially helpful with confidence and self-esteem problems, and change can often be achieved very quickly. It is now recognised as a successful intervention in the treatment of depression, obsessional states and anxiety, panic attacks, phobias and trauma (including PTSD). This kind of therapy usually requires around 3 to 10 sessions.
Included in solution-focused therapy are Ericksonian techniques of metaphor and language patterns, and neuro-linguistic programming, such as the ‘Fast Phobia Cure’. It can be a particularly attractive option for those who prefer a ‘feel good’ positive style of therapy and do not want to look back or talk much about their problems.
Brain Working Recursive Therapy (BWRT) ®
A more recent addition to the armoury of solution focused techniques available to us to help with a wide range of symptoms. Strictly speaking BWRT is not considered to be hypnosis because there is no hypnotic induction or deepener, but you will close your eyes and be solely focused on certain images for a while.
The method I use has proven to be an excellent and fast acting treatment for fears, phobias and simple trauma. This is because it works to reprogram the brain, often without the need to undergo longer more traditional therapies. I make use of BWRT as needed to get you past obstacles that cannot be resolved consciously.
A great thing about BWRT is that you don’t even need to disclose the nature of what’s bothering you if you don’t want to. So I can help you without even knowing what happened!
Hypnoanalysis & Regression
For much of the last century this was most commonly used by hypnotherapists to treat anxiety and nervous (neurotic) illness. It works on the principle that every effect has a cause. Hypnoanalysis and regression aim to reveal and treat the root cause of the symptoms.
Though based on psychoanalytic theory this form of therapy should not be confused with psychoanalysis, which is a complete exploration of the entire personality taking several years. Regression, for example, is intended to work much faster – usually within several sessions.
An emotional event in childhood may continue to exert an unwanted effect in the present. The event may have been entirely forgotten, but you begin to experience symptoms. Sometimes the event is not forgotten but the emotion is disconnected, so that the significance of how it affected you is overlooked. There may by physical symptoms for which no medical cause can be found (somatization/conversion symptoms). There may be anxiety, phobias or difficulties with relationships.
The analytical process uses hypnosis to facilitate full recall of the causes of symptoms in the past. When the cause is resolved the symptoms either disappear spontaneously or become easier to treat with other methods.
Traditionally there have been two approaches: free association (a 6-12 session course) and direct regression. Direct regression is much faster than free association because it only seeks to treat one specific symptom. Free association spreads a wider net and may successfully resolve multiple symptoms.
