Pat Russell Psychotherapy & Hypnotherapy

HYPNOTHERAPY

A trance is being neither awake nor asleep, it can feel like those few lovely seconds when we are 'falling asleep' at night but extended to
30-50-60 minutes!

All hypnotic states are characterised by tremendously pleasant relaxation - an altered state of consciousness, not a loss of consciousness, which individuals allow themselves to enter. It is a natural, effective and safe way of making contact with the inner mind - the subconscious - which is a source of many of our problems as well as a tremendous reservoir of our answers.

A trance can be very powerful but also benign and very enjoyable.



Therapy vs stage hypnosis
Hypnosis used safely and for a reason by a hypnotherapist is not the same as that used by a hypnotist for 'entertainment'. Stage hypnotists don’t seek to know or have any concern for the subject’s emotional issues, nor do they intend to assist positive change in the person.

The hypnotic state is a vehicle or tool for therapy, rather than a therapy in itself.



Who can achieve it?
Virtually anyone! If you daydream, 'drift off' or drive 'on automatic pilot' on a motorway then you have been in a very light self-induced trance. It is no harder than that. And you leave the responsibility with the therapist to make it happen.

It is a voluntary state the individual allows - to seek hypnotherapy and then fight it is poor use of a session fee! Individuals easily go deeply into trance to the extent that they want, expect and allow it to happen. So the client should discuss any concerns if they are not covered in the information-giving segment.

Hypnotic abilities do vary from person to person and the hypnotic state can even improve with practice. Hypnosis can take as long as 20 minutes to induce or the client may be hypnotised almost the moment the eyes are closed. It has nothing whatever to do with intelligence. A gentle curiosity and a comfort with and trust in the therapist are really all that's needed.



The reality regarding popular beliefs

The Reality:
- during hypnotherapy the person is still in touch with their surroundings and can hear the clock ticking for example.

- a therapist cannot make a person do anything against their belief system.

- hypnotherapy does NOT involve losing control and the therapist cannot, nor professes to, control the person’s mind.

- the person doesn’t have to talk during hypnotherapy, but could CHOOSE to do so. There are other, less intrusive ways of communicating to provide feedback in trance.

There is no possibility whatsoever of ‘getting stuck’ in hypnosis.



Contraindications/Safety issues
The client should inform the therapist if there is a history of the following: epilepsy, migraine headaches, heart or breathing problems, allergies, fears or phobias, clinical depression, psychiatric illness, use of recreational drugs. This is to ensure that hypnotherapy is conducted in the most appropriate manner. Particular induction techniques and on rare occasions hypnotherapy itself may be ruled out by this information.

Always question a hypnotherapist regarding qualifications. Ideally the therapist should have additional, broader psychotherapeutic knowledge and training.



Some conditions utilising a combination of psychotherapy and hypnotherapy:

Stress, anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia

Phobias, compulsions, inhibitions

Breaking habits – smoking, nocturnal enuresis, stuttering, nail biting

Obtaining relief and often remission from symptoms of stress-related asthma, IBS, skin disorders

Effective weight control, improving work/exam/presentation/sporting performance, increasing concentration and memory, boosting self-confidence, tapping into one’s potential

Gynaecological problems such as PMT, amenorrhea, difficult menopause, psychogenic infertility

Sexual problems such as impotence, premature ejaculation, vaginismus



Hypnotherapy is natural and safe with no harmful side effects