What is Hypnotherapy?
By Penny Samuels
The word “hypnosis” usually arouses strong feelings in people, ranging from cynicism to incredulity, curiosity to deeply interested. Everybody has an opinion, often based on stage shows or Paul McKenna’s publicity-friendly proclamations of “I Can Make You Thin!”, or “I Can Make You Rich!” (he can’t, by the way).
The earliest references to hypnosis date back to ancient Egypt and Greece. In 2600 BC the father of Chinese medicine, Wong Tai, wrote about similar techniques, and the Hindu Vedas, written around 1500 BC, mention hypnotic procedures. However, it took until 1958 for the British Medical Association (and the American Medical Association and Psychiatric Association) to adopt hypnosis as a viable therapeutic tool.
Hypnosis is a consent state (that is, a person consents to be hypnotised), and it is perfectly safe. At any time you wish you can leave the hypnotic state immediately. You are never, at any time, in the control of the hypnotherapist. You cannot be made to do things, or disclose information, unless you choose to. If something is against your will, wishes or morals and you would not do it ordinarily, neither would you in hypnosis.
I am sometimes asked if hypnosis is dangerous. Emphatically no, not at all. The induction of hypnosis is never dangerous, especially in the hands of a trained and experienced practitioner, although personal disappointments may arise because of unrealistic expectations or preconceived information. This is why practitioners should always take the time to explain the process to their clients, what hypnosis can and cannot do, and give them time to ask questions or air areas of concern they may have.
People considering utilising hypnosis to help them make a change are sometimes concerned they will be unable to be hypnotised. Almost all people of average intelligence (unless some form of organic brain damage is present) can be hypnotised, if they are willing, and do not resist. Hypnotherapists seldom encounter resistance, since people are seeking their help.
The depth of hypnosis varies according to a person's ability to respond, and the skill of the hypnotherapist. However, persons heavily under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs are usually unsuitable candidates for hypnosis.
In fact, only a very small percentage of the population cannot be hypnotised, around 5%; almost everybody else can. This is in part because trance is a part of our daily lives: we are in a light trance whilst daydreaming, meditating, practicing yoga, or when completely absorbed in a hobby, book or movie. One particular trance state has been experienced by most drivers – instantly recognisable when arriving at your destination with little memory of the journey.
Hypnotherapy is very effective because positive hypnotic suggestions bypass the intellectual (conscious) mind, and focus on the subconscious. When given an acceptable new suggestion the subconscious mind accepts it literally as a new reality.
Suggestions stay with some people indefinitely, others may need reinforcement. The effects of hypnosis are cumulative: the more the techniques are practiced and post-hypnotic suggestions are used, the more permanent the results become.
The ability to reprogramme emotional attitudes and reactions is a latent ability within every person. Hypnotherapy is the most functional and reasonable way to train or retrain life-long attitudes and help a person achieve their full potential, rather than suffer a lifetime of emotional upsets or fears the conscious mind is unable to change.
The addition of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) techniques add to the power and depth of the hypnosis and its ability to help effect permanent change. Self-hypnosis training and reinforcement CDs/mp3s for home use can also provide additional help.
Penny Samuels
This article was posted by Penny Samuels
