What is Hypnotherapy?

What is Hypnotherapy

Trance is one of the oldest healing phenomena known to man; it has been around for thousands of years, and it is found in most cultures in some form or other.

This article seeks to describe the state of hypnosis and the process hypnotherapy.

...you will feel very relaxed and comfortable in a hypnotic trance.

Hypnosis

Have you ever sat in a cinema watching a good film and been surprised how quickly the time has passed? Most people are surprised to learn that they have been in a light trance when watching an enjoyable film; Hollywood calls it "willing suspension of disbelief".

Watching a movie has all the hallmarks of a hypnotic trance:

• you are fully conscious and could choose to respond to some external stimulation if you wanted to
• time seems to travel at a different speed
• you are aware of what is going on around you (e.g. people coughing, opening packets of sweets, etc.) but you are concentrating on something else

You will have experienced "willing suspension of disbelief" in a number of circumstances:

• As a child in the playground playing "Let's pretend"
• If you have ever acted in a play
• Reading a good book
• Listening to an accomplished talker

In the state of "willing suspension of disbelief", the part of the brain that filters messages going into the unconscious, the "critical faculty", is by-passed.

In the same way that when you are watching a movie you are relaxed and comfortable, you will feel very relaxed and comfortable in a hypnotic trance. Just as you could decide to get up and walk out of the cinema in the middle of a film, you could decide to come out of a hypnotic trance whenever you chose to. You are completely in control.

Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis to make your life better in some way.

Typically, the hypnotherapist thinks of the mind as having two parts: the conscious and the unconscious. If the conscious mind can be likened to the captain of a ship, the unconscious would be the crew. The captain says, "Full speed ahead", and the guys down in the engine room actually set the speed of the engine.

In a hypnotic trance, the conscious part of the mind is less active and the critical faculty is by-passed. Once in this state, suggestions and metaphors are transmitted directly to the unconscious in order to make rapid, permanent, and positive changes.

Hypnotherapy is a powerful technique for change.

Again, you are in control; it is up to you whether you accept the hypnotherapist's interventions.

What will a Hypnotherapist Do?

A clinical hypnotherapist is a skilled and trained professional who helps you use your own powerful mind to increase motivation or change behaviour patterns by inducing a trance state.

Prior to being hypnotised, you will have a consultation in which the hypnotherapist will discuss the goal you want to achieve in detail. The more the hypnotherapist knows about you, the more individual the therapy can be and therefore the greater its impact.

The hypnotherapist will explain just what hypnosis is, how it works and what you will experience beforehand.

After your consultation, your hypnotherapist will induce a hypnotic state using the best methods and techniques to suit you.

To summarise, despite rumours to the contrary, no-one can force you into a hypnotic trance; you have to want it to happen. You are conscious at all times and completely in control.

Please read our article on Choosing a Hypnotherapist