Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy

Clinical Hypnosis involves a structured process where a trained healthcare professional, psychotherapist, or hypnotherapist provides the patient with precise instructions to induce a state of focused relaxation. Establishing rapport between the patient and the hypnotist is essential for the patient’s conscious critical mind to ease and temporarily diminish. In this state, the patient becomes receptive to the hypnotist’s suggestions and can vividly imagine them as real. With the patient’s consent, the subconscious mind becomes accessible, allowing the therapist to convey information in a manner that bypasses the critical factor of the conscious mind, ensuring greater acceptance and receptivity.

The reason to use clinical hypnosis is to enlist your subconscious cooperation so you can get the results you want from therapy.

Throughout daily life, individuals frequently enter states of consciousness akin to hypnosis without conscious effort. These instances include becoming engrossed in a captivating movie or book, experiencing the transition between wakefulness and sleep, or engaging in storytelling. Even situations like driving while mentally preoccupied demonstrate a divided state of consciousness akin to hypnosis.

Clinical hypnosis harnesses this innate capacity of the mind to process information on multiple levels, akin to the everyday examples mentioned above. It serves as a specialized therapeutic communication tool, employed by trained healthcare professionals proficient in hypnosis techniques. When utilized appropriately, clinical hypnosis enhances the effectiveness of various treatments. For example:

Certain dentists, equipped with training in clinical hypnosis, employ this technique to alleviate dental anxiety in patients. Additionally, they utilize hypnosis to enhance patients’ tolerance for dental discomfort and address conditions such as jaw clenching and teeth grinding, commonly referred to as bruxism.

Similarly, physicians with training in clinical hypnosis integrate this approach into medical practice to prepare patients for invasive procedures and surgeries, aiming to mitigate discomfort and anxiety. Moreover, hypnosis is utilized to support patients in adhering to prescribed treatment plans or recommended regimens.

In our practice, therapists trained in hypnosis utilize it as a therapeutic tool to enhance the depth, efficiency, and efficacy of psychotherapy.

A skilled hypnotherapist employs not only direct suggestions during hypnosis but also utilizes this tool, with the patient’s informed consent, to delve into and address the unconscious emotional origins of enduring physical and psychological symptoms. This therapeutic application of hypnosis in counseling and psychotherapy is referred to as hypnoanalysis.

Our therapists who use hypnosis employ it to help patients in the following areas:

• stop smoking
• reduce overeating
• lose weight
• relieve chronic pain
• recover from depression
• improve self-esteem
• recover from some addictions
• manage and reduce anxiety
• overcome phobias
• cope with panic disorder
• reduce or eliminate annoying habits such as nail biting
• resolve complicated grief
• recover from PTSD
• compensate for learning problems
• improve study habits
• improve public speaking and overcome “stage fright”
• overcome athletic and sports performance problems and “slumps”

Stop smoking with hypnosis. The three keys to changing a harmful habit such as smoking are:

• Intention to eliminate the habit
• Strategy for doing so
• Implementation of the strategy

One of the prevalent reasons individuals seek assistance from a professional hypnotist or hypnotherapist is to quit smoking. When you engage our services to aid in smoking cessation, following your hypnosis session, you will realize that smoking is a voluntary action and that you no longer need to smoke. You will possess the ability to decline smoking with minimal stress or withdrawal symptoms, as you genuinely aspire to be a non-smoker. Typically, this can be achieved within several sessions, although outcomes may differ depending on each individual case.

• Hypnosis is not mind control. You cannot be compelled to act on suggestions that are contrary to your beliefs or values. Hypnosis cannot be imposed upon you without your consent. Effective clinical hypnosis requires your willingness and cooperation as a participant. Collaboration between you and your hypnosis provider is essential for successful outcomes.
• Hypnosis is not sleep. During hypnosis, the individual is not in a state of sleep; rather, it is a state of heightened mental focus and concentration. While deeply relaxed, the individual remains alert and aware of their surroundings, including the hypnotist’s voice. It is common to recall the suggestions given during the hypnosis session afterward. If someone enters a state of sleep during the session, it is no longer considered hypnosis. In such cases, the hypnosis provider will gently awaken the individual.
• Who can be hypnotized? The majority of individuals can undergo hypnosis if they are willing to participate. Cooperation and the ability to focus and follow instructions are essential prerequisites for successful hypnosis sessions.
• You cannot “get stuck” in hypnosis. Hypnosis is a therapeutic technique that empowers individuals to enhance control over their emotions, thoughts, and actions. As the individual maintains control throughout the process, it’s impossible to be hypnotized against one’s will or to remain in a hypnotic state indefinitely.
• Emerging from hypnosis. Some people sometimes initially emerge from hypnosis feeling temporarily foggy, groggy, or drowsy. Other times, some people feel energized. You may feel as if you have just awoken from a nap, although you were really not asleep. I will help you re-alert completely from the hypnotic state and emerge feeling clear headed, physically normal, refreshed, and in control of your feelings.
• Hypnosis for refreshing memory and recall. Hypnosis serves as a valuable tool for accessing and examining unconscious memories and emotions. However, it’s essential to understand that hypnosis does not act as a “truth serum.” Memories recalled during hypnosis may be subject to distortion. Therefore, it’s crucial to corroborate these memories independently to establish their factual accuracy.
• Hypnosis and legal testimony. In certain states and jurisdictions, hypnotically refreshed testimony is inadmissible in court. This means that (a) if you are a witness to, or a victim of, a crime, and (b) if you may have to testify about that crime in court, then, (c) the use of hypnosis to address any of your memories of that crime could result in your being disqualified from testifying about that material in court.

Potential “risks” or “side effects” of clinical hypnosis. Hypnosis is a low risk, non-drug alternative for creating positive therapeutic outcomes. However, there is the possibility that certain “side effects” could occur.

• During a hypnosis session, it’s possible for pent-up or suppressed emotions to surface, potentially leading to feelings of sadness or tearfulness. You may also experience tearfulness without immediate awareness of the underlying cause. In such instances, it is the responsibility of your hypnosis provider to assist you in managing these emotions safely and therapeutically.
• Spontaneous recollection of old memories during hypnosis is possible, but their accuracy cannot be determined without independent objective verification.
• There is the potential that you could temporarily feel more anxious. This could come about for several reasons: (1) if you try too hard to make hypnosis work, (2) if you are afraid of what may come to mind if you enter a hypnotic state, (3) if you are afraid to relax, and (4) if you recall upsetting or traumatic experiences or feelings from the past. It is your hypnotherapist’s job to help you manage these types of experiences should they occur.

Self-hypnosis and relaxation training. Based on your specific concern and treatment strategy, we may introduce self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques for you to practice independently. Incorporating these self-help practices can support ongoing progress, enhance your coping skills, and empower you to manage your symptoms more effectively.