What is Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is a form of therapy that uses hypnosis to achieve a variety of objectives. Hypnosis can be used very successfully to uncover the roots and sources of emotional difficulties and personal obstacles. Hypnosis can be used successfully to resolve conflicts between individuals, even in instances when one of them is deceased, or between different aspects of an individual’s nature. Hypnosis can be used successfully to achieve a rapid change in behavior. Finally, hypnosis can be used successfully to bring an individual’s conscious awareness in contact with one’s Higher Self.
Can you really achieve so much?
Naturally, anyone familiar with the topics alluded to above would be doubtful that such varied and dramatic objectives can result from a single mode of therapy. This reservation is natural when one is not familiar with hypnosis.
Although forms of hypnosis were used in ancient Egypt, over 5000 years ago, in classical Greece, at the famous Oracles, and throughout the middle ages, many people remain unaware of this mode of therapy, and, most importantly, the changes and success it can generate for you and your loved ones.
An English physician named James Braid introduced the term “hypnosis” in the 1840’s. Dr. Braid chose this term because the hypnotic state can be somewhat similar to conventional sleep. Since the Greek term for ‘sleep’ is ‘hypnos’, hypnosis seemed like an adequate term to describe an induced sleep-like state. Today, however, we know that the hypnotic state is quite different from conventional sleep; nonetheless the term remains in use.
An understanding of hypnosis requires the understanding of a very basic aspect of the human mind: it can operate in the conscious and subconscious modes. The conscious is the rational, analytical portion of the mind. Therein lies temporary memory and will power. The subconscious mind is imaginative, emotional, protective of the individual, in a large sense, and it houses permanent memory and an archive containing all the information needed to assemble the emotional individual. This archive, known as self-image, is analogous to the physical DNA.
The self-image contains information on how successful the individual is, his tolerance for pain, his weight, or figure, the degree and extent to which the individual attracts love and affection, and just about everything else one would use to describe oneself.
The concept of image matching
An immutable law of mental operation is the law of image matching. Simply stated, this law says that an individual’s external image, who we are and are perceived to be, will always match who our self-image says we are. This law seems quite strong, especially to those who believe that a strong will power can overcome any obstacle. Will power, however, lies in the infinitely smaller conscious mind, thus never winning a match against the self-image found in the subconscious part of the mind.
This simple law explains why no amount of will power will make a person loose weight, for example, until a significant change in the self-image is effected. Hypnosis, by definition, is a state during which these two portions of the mind communicate, thus lending itself to the analysis of what the self-image is, and to its change.
Since just about every human ailment results from some type of emotional response or attitude, any condition can be alleviated with the proper use of hypnotherapy. When the ailment is of a physical or psychiatric nature, the therapy is conducted in harmony with the primary physician. When the disturbance is psychological in origin, conventional psychotherapy can be enhanced by the skillful use of hypnotherapy.
Can hypnosis hurt you?
This is a good question. Hypnosis is a consent state, which means that you must be willing, actually wanting, to be hypnotized in order for it to work.
Hypnosis is a natural state of mind, one of deep physical and mental relaxation, during which your senses and mind are actually quite active and alert. This state is reached through suggestions by the therapist, but you are able, always, to choose your response to each suggestion. If you like a suggestion, and you want the benefits it can bring you, then you accept it. Otherwise, you are free to reject the suggestion.
At any time during the session, you are capable of opening your eyes and emerging from the hypnotic state. Thus, with this type of self-control, it would be impossible for you to be hurt by hypnosis. In fact, in over 200 years of recorded hypnosis history, cases oin which harm resulted to the client have not surfaced.
Because the hypnotic is a 100% consent state, the person always emerges from it. Being in control of the experience, those issues you prefer to keep private will stay that way.
What about self-hypnosis?
Self-hypnosis is a wonderful way of achieving your personal goals and overcoming your obstacles. Once you learn the proper techniques, they will be with you for a lifetime of use and benefits.
There are no dangers to self-hypnosis. You can begin to learn to enter the hypnotic state by learning to relax your muscles. At the very least, this will lead to a much better night of sleep. You will have more pleasant dreams and wake up more refreshed and energetic.
Some objectives you can achieve now!
- Stop smoking
- Loose, or gain, weight permanently
- Improve concentration and learning
- Become motivated to achieve your dreams
- Overcome excessive worry
- Improve self-confidence and assertiveness
- Maximize sport performance
- Eliminate fears!
- Overcome guilt
- End procrastination
- Achieve success
- Resolve personal issues
- Improve healing
- Plus much, much more!!!
What about regressions?
Regressions are excellent tools used by hypnotherapists to achieve great results for your life. People often ask whether it is necessary to believe in reincarnation in order to experience a regression. The answer is that a regression is simply an experience of events from the past. Often, regressions take the mind back to childhood when some early memories are formed. The re-experience, understanding and forgiveness of those early memories bring about resolution of current conflicts.
Definition of Hypnotherapy
The Federal Dictionary of Occupational Titles describes the job of the hypnotherapist: “Induces hypnotic state in client to increase motivation or alter behavior patterns: Consults with client to determine nature of problem. Prepares client to enter hypnotic state by explaining how hypnosis works and what client will experience. Tests subject to determine degree of physical and emotional suggestibility. Induces hypnotic state in client, using individualized methods and techniques of hypnosis based on interpretation of test results and analysis of client’s problem. May train client in self-hypnosis conditioning
Traditional hypnotherapy
The form of hypnotherapy practiced by most Victorian hypnotists, including James Braid and Hippolyte Bernheim, mainly employed direct suggestion of symptom removal, with some use of therapeutic relaxation and occasionally aversion to alcohol, drugs, etc.[9]
Ericksonian hypnotherapy
In the 1950s, Milton H. Erickson developed a radically different approach to hypnotism, which has subsequently become known as “Ericksonian hypnotherapy” or “Neo-Ericksonian hypnotherapy.” Erickson made use of an informal conversational approach with many clients and complex language patterns, and therapeutic strategies. This divergence from tradition led some of his colleagues, including Andre Weitzenhoffer, to dispute whether Erickson was right to label his approach “hypnosis” at all.[10]
The founders of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), a method somewhat similar in some regards to some versions of hypnotherapy, claimed that they had modelled the work of Erickson extensively and assimilated it into their approach.
Weitzenhoffer disputed whether NLP bears any genuine resemblance to Erickson’s work