What is Hypnotherapy?

Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis is not a state of deep sleep. It does involve the induction of a trance-like condition, but when in it, the client is actually in an enhanced state of awareness, concentrating entirely on the hypnotist's voice. In this state, the conscious mind is suppressed and the subconscious mind is revealed. The therapist is able to suggest ideas, concepts and lifestyle adaptations to the subconscious, the seeds of which become firmly planted.

The practice of promoting healing or positive development in any way through hypnosis is known as hypnotherapy. As such, hypnotherapy is a kind of psychological therapy. Hypnotherapy aims to re-programme patterns of behaviour within the mind, enabling irrational fears, phobias, negative thoughts and suppressed emotions to be overcome. As the body is released from conscious control during the relaxed trance-like state of hypnosis, breathing becomes slower and deeper, the pulse rate drops and the metabolic rate falls. Similar changes along nervous pathways and hormonal channels enable the sensation of pain to become less acute, and the awareness of unpleasant symptoms, such as nausea or indigestion, to be alleviated.

Hypnosis is thought to work by altering our state of consciousness in such a way that the analytical left-hand side of the brain is turned off, while the non-analytical right-hand side is made more alert. The conscious control of the mind is inhibited, and the subconscious mind awoken. Since the subconscious mind is a deeper-seated, more instinctive force than the conscious mind, this is the part which has to change for the client's behaviour and physical state to alter.

For example, a client who consciously wants to overcome their fear of spiders may try everything they consciously can to do it, but will still fail as long as their subconscious mind retains this terror and prevents the conscious mind from succeeding. Progress can only be made be reprogramming the subconscious so that deep-seated instincts and beliefs are abolished or altered

What is a Hypnotherapy session like?

At an initial session the hypnotherapist will spend some time gaining a full understanding of your problem and working out what is the best approach for your treatment. The technique does not involve you being put into a deep sleep, and you cannot be made to do anything you would not ordinarily do. You remain fully aware of you surroundings and situation, and are not vulnerable to every given command of the therapist. The important thing is that you genuinely want to change some behavioural habit or addiction and are highly motivated to do so. You have to want the treatment to work and must establish a good clinical rapport with the therapist in order for it to do so.

The readiness and ability of clients to be hypnotised varies considerably and hypnotherapy generally requires several sessions in order to achieve meaningful results. However the client can learn the technique of self-hypnosis which can be practiced at home, to reinforce the usefulness of formal sessions with the therapist. This can help counter distress and anxiety-related conditions.

What are the benefits of Hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy can be applied to many psychological, emotional and physical disorders. It is used to relieve pain in surgery and dentistry and has proved to be of benefit in obstetrics. It can shorten the delivery stage of labour and reduce the need for painkillers. It can ease the suffering of those with disabilities and those facing terminal illness, and it has been shown to help people to overcome addictions such as smoking and alcoholism, and to help with bulimia. Children are generally easy to hypnotise and can be helped with nocturnal enuresis (bedwetting) and chronic asthma, whilst teenagers can conquer stammering or blushing problems which can otherwise make their lives miserable.

Phobias of all kinds lend themselves well to hypnotherapy, and anyone suffering from panic attacks or obsessional compulsive behaviour, and stress-related problems like insomnia, may benefit. Conditions exacerbated by tension, such as irritable bowel syndrome, psoriasis and eczema, and excessive sweating, respond well, and even tinnitus and clicky jaws (tempero-mandibular joint dysfunction) can be treated by these techniques.

Although there remain many other areas of human suffering in which Hypnotherapy may bring relief, there are instances in which it may be contra-indicated. These could include some manifestations of depressive illness, epilepsy, psychosis (e.g. schizophrenia) and some breathing problems.

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