What hypnotherapy is and what it is not.
I would like to explain more about hypnotherapy. Let me first tell you what it is not and what it is. Many people’s perception understandably is usually what they have seen on the television.
The stage hypnotist conducts a series of suggestibility tests with all his audience to find out who the most susceptible people are. A small percentage of the general population can enter a deep trance state rapidly; a trance state is no more than focused attention on one thing to the almost total exclusion of everything else. A trance state is not dissimilar to driving a car down a long, long road then wondering how you have arrived at your destination or reading a book and losing track of time.
Because the stage hypnotist has let’s say 300 people in the audience, he will ask all the of the people to imagine their hands sticking tightly together with super glue. He will lower the tone of his voice and softly repeat this suggestion. Those whose hands stick together are the susceptible people and those who don’t are cannot be hypnotised. Well in fact they can, but he has a show to do and wants the people who are easy to work with. Some people have a perception that they will fall asleep and orbit Jupiter and come back with a personality transplant. However, if they fell asleep (which does occasionally happen) they would not hear what is being said! When I was going through my training my old GP who was also a trained counsellor would ask me how I was getting on? I would tell him in finite detail. One day after me extolling the virtues of hypnotherapy again. He said “Robin, the medical profession has been using it for hundreds of years! Many years later I was about to go live on a radio show and the presenter said “I had better not look in your eyes (connotation of stage hypnotism). I replied, what do you mean, the medical profession has been using it for hundreds of years!
The state itself is not dissimilar to how you feel just before you fall asleep at night in that dreamy, relaxed state or just before you wake in the morning when you are wondering whether to get up, half asleep, half-awake or if you have ever driven your car along a road when you have lost track of time The person may feel their fingers tingle, their shoulders, arms, legs heavy (limb catalepsy) their eyeballs moving about (rapid eye movement) visualise colours of reds, purples, blues which may present kaleidoscopic. A time distortion usually occurs where 30 minutes may seem like 10 minutes. This is because the person is so inwardly focused that they lose track of external reality. These sensory distortions are all excellent signs of the hypnogogic state.
Because I spend three quarters of my life conducting hypnotherapy, I enter a trance sate doing it. (I was 21 years of age yesterday!)
The persons skin colouration may go pale, their features go into repose and sit very still, passivity of movement. distortions are all good signs of the
Although I work from memory it is akin to someone reading a relevant, relaxing good book to you in a compelling manner. Never discount my ability to bore people into hypnotic states!
My wife says I am a natural, I say it has taken me a lot of hard work to be this natural!
I always give the person a synopsis of the hypnotic induction and therapy I am about to use to make sure there are no contra indications.
Some people do not like a countryside setting or releasing their problems via a red balloon technique.
I joke with my clients that I am not really a hypnotherapist but a virtual travel agent trying to fine tune their holiday experience!
The optimal level of relaxation occurs on the 4th session. At the first session many years ago, a man was so nervous he was childlike in his questions before the session, by the 4th session as I was about to terminate the hypnotic state, he briefly open his eyes and told me not to as he was so relaxed!
Most people on the first session are understandably nervous, I joke that I have had 31 years of first sessions that I am a bundle of nerves as I don’t know what I am getting! I also joke that I was blond haired and good looking when I started my career-look at me now! Judicial humour is an excellent way to put people at ease.
I use my voice to induce a hypnotic state, speaking in a relaxing tone and changing tonality and slowing down for important key words relevant to the persons recovery.
The common mis perception is that the person loses control during hypnotherapy. However, there is only one form of hypnotherapy. Self-hypnosis. I present a framework for the person to take from my words what is relevant to them. Several years ago, I would do home visits for an ex- miner who had a crushed sciatic nerve. The was in a great deal of pain and was on significant pain killing medication and muscle relaxants, he was taking sleeping tablets and on mood enhancers. He requested hypnotherapy to help him manage his pain as the medication was not helping. He was excellent in the hypnotic state and working alongside his doctor we manged to reduce to half his tablets and considerably improve his quality of life.
One day he asked me to help him stop smoking, his reasons were to save money up to help his daughter set up a new business. Although being excellent in the hypnotic state, he did not quit smoking as he was not doing it for himself! The person always has control.
During my sessions, a person is not asked to talk as this can be circuitous and runs the risk of creating false memory syndrome.
Before using hypnotherapy, the consultation is conducted using Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy approaches which are excellent at isolating dysfunctional core beliefs that a person may hold, they are usually in the form of demands (not preferences) that they are levelling against self, others or the world with an inaccurate definition.
Robin W. Thorburn ADHP (NC) MNRHP FNSHP UKCP (H)