Hypnotherapy
WHAT IS HYPNOSIS?
- A naturally occurring state, which everyone enters on numerous occasions every day. Common experiences are daydreaming and “auto pilot” moments such as driving.
- A state of relaxation in which you are always in complete control and fully aware of what is going on.
- You fully participate in and remember the whole session, since this is necessary for change to occur.
- You work in partnership with the therapist since you only enter hypnosis if you want to.
- You are not asleep.
- It is completely safe.
WHAT IS HYPNOTHERAPY?
- Hypnotherapy is an effective and speedy technique using hypnosis to gain access to the sub-conscious/unconscious mind giving you the ability to help change programming and conditioning, thereby bringing rapid and permanent change.
- Hypnotherapy enables you to manage your thoughts and defuse negative memories and emotions.
- Hypnotherapy focuses on finding out why we are the way we are and establishing strategies for change.
BENEFITS OF HYPNOTHERAPY:
- Promotes good health by assisting you break free of any destructive thought patterns that spoil the quality of your life.
- Ability to cope with the pressures and stress of modern day living.
- Facilitates effortless change by enabling you to understand the origins of your current situation.
WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE?
Each person has a different sensation but common experiences are a very pleasant relaxation and heightened awareness.
USES:
Hypnotherapy can successfully assist with the treatment a variety of conditions. It does this by resolving the underlying emotional issues or by alleviating symptoms of the condition. The following are just examples of the areas that Hypnotherapy can help with:
Personal:
| Addictions | Compulsions | High blood pressure | Pain management |
| Agoraphobia | Confidence | Indigestion | Panic attacks |
| Anorexia | Depression | Inferiority feelings | Self esteem |
| Anger/Frustration | Failure syndrome | Inhibitions/Shyness | Smoking |
| Anxiety | Fears/Phobias | Irritable Bowel Syndrome | Stress/Worry |
| Arthritis | Guilt | Marital/sexual problems | Trauma |
| Asthma | Hay fever | M.E./Fatigue | Weight issues |
Organisational:
| Business coaching | Relaxation |
| Communication skills | Sales/Influence |
| Management skills | Self hypnosis |
| Performance improvement | Sickness aAbsence management |
| Public speaking | Wellbeing initiatives |
BRIEF HISTORY OF HYPNOSIS
Archaeologists have found evidence of the use of hypnosis in every major civilisation since 4000BC.
Hippocrates (370 BC) identified that feelings and emotion can cause illness and that their origins are in the brain.
Plato identified the interaction between mind and body.
The eighteenth century saw disenchantment with orthodox medicine. Franz Anton Mesmer, under the inspiration of Maximillian Hell, resurrected the earlier work of Paracelsus and focused on magnets as a mechanism to cure patients. In addition his techniques involved patients concentrating on his eyes and objects he held before them. Mesmer brought to the attention of the masses the potential for faith and the human body itself to effect a cure.
James Braid coined the word “hypnosis” and suggested that the Mesmeric state was a form of sleep (Hypnos). He concluded “Personal integrity was more secure than when in a fully aware state.” His 1848 publication “The Power of the Mind Over the Body” helped hypnosis emerge as a new science.
In 1800’s James Esdaile performed over 3000 operations in India using only hypnosis and found the mortality rate was 5% as opposed the norm of 25 – 50%. On his return to England, he failed to convince the British Medical Association of his discovery and lost his licence and he was informed, “God intended people to suffer”.
The First World War proved an opportunity for hypnosis to be used extensively for pain relief (Dr. Henry Munro) and for dealing with shell shock and battle neurosis (William Brown and J.A. Hadfield)
The Second World War again saw hypnosis used as a painkiller.
The British Medical Association (BMA) finally recognised the value of hypnosis and in 1953 described it as “A useful tool to treat psychosomatic and psychoneurotic illnesses”
Throughout the twentieth century, hypnosis was used to entertain audiences.
Dr. Milton Erickson is probably the greatest modern hypnotherapist. His influence spans the 1950’s until 1980’s. His work was innovative because he:
- Used indirect suggestions for inducing the hypnotic state. He recognised the value of rapport and suggestions, which were centred on the individual and his/her interests, work, abilities.
- He believed that individuals have sufficient inner resources to heal themselves and to be happy
Richard Bandler (a mathematician) and John Grinder (a Linguist) developed Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and at its core is the work of Dr Milton Erickson. NLP and hypnosis share common ground in that they work with patterns of behaviour. Recognising that hypnosis is a naturally occurring part of everyday life they realised that it could be used to influence states in others, to imagine what's going on inside someone's head, and to replay experiences in our minds etc. Therefore hypnosis was incorporated into NLP and it is both part of its set of tools and as a technique for change.
William Wesley Cook, writing, in 1910, about hypnotism, stated:
- “It… confers advantages that cannot be acquired through any other medium.”
- “Scientists regard it as a natural power, for ages kept dormant, but apparently destined to perform an active part in the welfare and development of future generations.”
- “…a natural endowment possessed by practically everyone and capable of being developed by all who will devote to its study the patience and energy always so necessary for the development of natural talents.”
Public misconceptions and fear generated by stage hypnotists has seriously curbed the widespread use of hypnotherapy and consequently the benefits outlined by William Wesley Cook remain unrealised.
An independent view (2005):
“Far from the world of stage hypnotists, true hypnosis can be used to help a range of different medical conditions………….In randomised controlled trials, hypnosis has been shown to relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and asthma, to improve relaxation in various conditions and to be helpful in controlling pain. Other research has also shown that hypnosis may help with a variety of conditions including: relief from pain and nausea caused by chemotherapy; symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome; weight control; some causes of infertility and healing broken bones.” (Report from a prestigious independent consumer organisation in the UK)
Hypnosis is now entering a period of great opportunity to reach a mass audience and for its potential to be finally realised. Increasingly people realise that we have all the resources we require within us, and that hypnosis and NLP are a means to access these resources.