Hypnotherapy isn't just for entertainment. It may be fun watching an adult on stage who has been hypnotised to have a two year old tantrum, but that's stage hypnosis. Add the 'therapy' part to 'hypno' and you have an amazing therapy that can help people reduce stress and anxiety, overcome fears, phobias and addictions, and even help people through the emotional journey of loss and bereavement.
Hypnotherapy taps into the subconscious side of the brain. This is the part that stores your memories, fears, habits, skills. So when you learnt to walk, you programmed your subconscious mind so that you didn't have to think about walking. When you learnt to drive, you programmed your subconscious. The things you do automatically are a result of you programming your subconscious mind. The problem comes when the power of the subconscious impacts on our everyday life.
So what goes on during a hypnotherapy session? Hypnotherapy starts with talking. You tell me why you want hypnotherapy. Some people just need to talk. So this part of a hypnotherapy session can feel a little like counselling. You are not judged, you are safe to talk. People who need hypnotherapy for anxiety or relationship issues, or low self-esteem, often find that the hypnotherapy brings out past events that maybe they haven't dealt with yet, or maybe they thought they had got through by trying desperately hard to avoid and forget. The problem is, the subconscious mind never forgets.
So, after our talk, we then commence with hypnosis. If you have come to hypnotherapy because you want to lose weight, stop smoking, or you fear flying, I can do suggestion hypnosis, which is where you lay back and I talk to you about how positive and great you will feel and that you can lose weight, or stop smoking, or get on that plane.
For me, the most exciting part of hypnotherapy is hypno-analysis. Two techniques may be used here; 'Free Association', which was founded by Sigmund Freud. And 'Direct Regression'. This is where Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy come together to help find the initial activating event of your problem.
Please see my next blog on Hypno-Analysis.
