Clinical Hypnotherapy

What is hypnosis?

To understand Hypnosis; think about how you feel when you are daydreaming or find yourself lost in a book or film, you are fully conscious but can tune out most of the stimuli around you; focusing on only the story for example. The imaginary events you are reading about or watching can cause you to feel real fear, sadness or happiness; by focusing intently on the subject at hand you can exclude other thoughts and other sensations; this is very similar to what you experience when you are hypnotized and in fact some would argue this is a type of self hypnosis.

Certain fundamental characteristics are identified when in Hypnosis, intense concentration, extreme relaxation and high suggestibility.

Hypnotism usually involves both a hypnotist and a subject; although it is possible for someone to hypnotize themselves. It involves a trancelike state in which a person becomes highly focused and is much more open to suggestion; at all times the subject remains aware of the presence of the hypnotist.

Some experts describe it as an alternative state of consciousness; attention is focused away from the present reality and toward particular images, thoughts, perceptions, feelings, motivations, sensations and behaviours of another time.

When someone is hypnotized they may be more able to access their own creativity; limit the effect of inhibitions and work to re programme patterns of thinking and behaviours; they can be especially receptive to suggestions to help heal them, critical judgment may be weakened and their response to suggestions or commands strengthened. This state resembles sleep but is induced by suggestion. Calling it ‘sleep’ is inaccurate; rather than being in a drowsy state of sleep the subject is actually hyper attentive, focused on the words of the hypnotist.