Hypnotherapy

One of the simpler and more pleasurable types of therapy that I enjoy practicing with my clients is hypnotherapy. Although work with hypnosis usually involves only a fraction of my clients at any one time, it is a powerful therapeutic tool for several different sorts of problems in living for which people seek my help. However, many common misconceptions exist concerning hypnosis.

For example, many people will initially be very skeptical of whether they can really be hypnotized. However, the truth is that hypnosis is not the dramatic change in mental orientation that it is often portrayed to be on stage and television. Hypnotic trances are naturally occurring phenomena. Who has not fallen into a light trance state, otherwise labeled “day dreaming”, during a boring speech or class? How many people have not experienced “highway hypnosis” while driving along a monotonous interstate road? “Highway hypnosis” occurs when a driver suddenly realized that time and distance has passed (perhaps even the correct exit ramp) with no conscious awareness on the driver’s part.

In short, I believe everyone can achieve at least a light trance state. A problem often arises, however, when clients are resistant to being formally hypnotized.

Another common misconception that is often a source of resistance is the fear of losing control, of giving up one’s will power to the hypnotist. I have heard clients whom I have offered to hypnotize go on lengthy discourses of how foolishly people can be made to act while hypnotized or how they have heard of people programmed to commit crimes through post-hypnotic suggestions. This, as IBMers would say, is sheer “fou-fou dust.”

Even through the person being hypnotized is allowing the hypnotherapist to assume the role of a temporary guider to what she/he is experiencing, the client can always reclaim control and come back out of trance, if and when she/he wants to do so.

Moreover, the clients decide how deeply into trance they will allow themselves to go and how long they will stay in trance. I actually probably have more trouble getting people to come out of trance according to my time frame than I do getting them to go into trance. This is because the trance state is so pleasurable that many people just do not want to reorient themselves to their pre-trance condition.

This leads me into another common myth about hypnosis. I have never had anyone get “stuck” in a hypnotized state. I have had people fall asleep and been forced to awaken them.

I remember a workshop many years ago in which a well-known hypnotherapist from Houston, Jack Tractor, discussed how he treated people who remain in trance at the end of their allotted time with him. He informs the person that if they do not come out of the trance shortly, he will charge them for two sessions, rather than one. He reports this is quite effective as a prod to encourage reluctant clients to return to their “normal” conscious state.

I worked with one lady whom I hypnotized for relaxation and pain control purposes whose hand would be “stuck” in trance. Part of the pain alleviation procedure that I use involved the client numbing her hand, and then placing her hand on the painful area. The numbness in her hand is then transferred to the afflicted area, in this case, her knee. My client’s knee would become numb, as it is supposed to, thereby eliminating the pain, but her hand remained “tingly” for some time. The prickly sensation did not interfere with her ability to use her hand, but is present, nonetheless. Both of us agreed that, while unusual and somewhat unpleasant, the benefits received heavily outweigh the discomfort, and we simply allowed this curious phenomenon to continue. I suspected that this very angry, yet dependent lady would, unconsciously, like to hit someone. I am yet another person labeled a “doctor” and she has learned to associate “doctors” with pain. So, I honor her mild unconscious protestation and do not attempt to take the “prickles” away from her.

I also use hypnosis to facilitate the solution of problems such as high anxiety, habit control such as smoking cessation or weight loss, and to defuse the emotional impact of traumatic events. I have never used it to probe for deeply-based, dark secrets, and I cannot imagine a situation where I would. Indeed, I very seldom ask clients to talk while in a trance state.

To reiterate, hypnotherapy is a fun and valuable therapeutic tool, but not a necessary one for most clients.