What is Clinical Hypnotherapy?

Treatment using trance states has been used for thousands of years. Over the past 200

hundred years the technique has been refined and now, with the availability of modern MRI

scanners, is being investigated at the physiological level; this has proven that hypnosis can

change the way the brain operates.

Hypnotherapy makes use of hypnosis because the hypnotised person is more open to

suggestions.

The uses of hypnotherapy are many, the most common is to reduce stress and to break

unwanted habits such as nail biting as well as more difficult ones like nicotine addiction

through smoking (and patches/gum) or poor eating habits.

There are many techniques available to the Clinical Hypnotherapist so that the therapy can

be tailored according to patient needs, all of these involve inducing a hypnotic trance. You are

actually in a trance at least twice a day, as you awaken from sleep in the morning and

re-enter it at night you pass through a trance state; hypnosis artificially induces and

maintains that trance state so that therapy can be effected.

Why use hypnosis? your subconscious mind guides you through most of your day. If you drive

then it is your subconscious mind that is doing the gear changes and, particularly on a tedious

journey, much of the driving. By addressing the unconscious mind and bypassing the very

critical conscious mind, therapy can happen faster. So a phobia that has been plaguing

someone for years and could take years of psychotherapy to reduce could be brought under

control in only a few sessions.

So what can you expect? On your first visit an extensive case history will be taken. This is so

that the hypnotherapist can a) ensure that hypnotherapy is right for you at that time b) to get

as full a story of all factors that may be playing a part in your problem c) to provide

information of your likes, dislikes, interests etc that can be used in your therapy. You should

also expect that permission to write to your GP or consultant will be asked for to let them

know you have sought hypnotherapy treatment. You may also be asked to contact your

doctor in advance especially in the case of persistent headaches. It should be borne in mind

that, just like any other treatment, hypnotherapy does not promise a cure, although it can

produce quite remarkable effects at times.

The hypnosis part is what most people enjoy most, it is always nice to see that broad smile

that many people come out of trance with. In general, no real therapy will be carried out on

that first session as you have only just provided the case history but you will be given positive

suggestions that will start to become part of you, beginning the process of the treatment.

During the trance expect to be able to hear everything around you, you can cough or scratch

an itch if you like, you can even open your eyes but it will seem like just too much effort. On

the other hand, you may remember absolutely nothing except the early parts of the induction

process and be unable to move a muscle; everyone's experience of hypnosis is different. It is

best to wear comfortable clothing that you can relax in, most hypnotherapy is carried out with

you in a sitting position.

Subsequent sessions will incorporate therapy that is designed to bring you to a position of

inner strength and with a reduced or no problem, all using your own inner resources. At some

stage you will be taught self-hypnosis so that you can make a greater contribution to your

own therapy.

Some recent cases I have dealt with include a businessman who suddenly became frightened

of flying. He had 3 sessions of which he has absolutely no recollection, and now he flies without

a second thought.

A lady who had walked out on her NHS dentist twice, went for root canal treatment after

hypnotherapy and failed to notice that she had had an injection in her gum, she had already

anaesthetised it due to a post hypnotic suggestion given in therapy. She completed her

treatment with all the enjoyment most of us would have felt, but no worse!

These are only two cases, I have helped people to stop smoking, reduce arthritic pain to allow

them to sleep, lose weight, reduce excessive drinking, reduce anxiety, remove phobias,

enhance their sports performance, help with the discomfort of irritable bowel syndrome and

reduced the annoyance of tinnitus.

Other areas where hypnotherapy is used effectively is pain control (the part of the brain that

perceives pain, the anterior cingulate cortex, can be turned down), pregnancy and (possibly)

pain-free childbirth, to aid IVF success, to treat skin complaints, eating disorders, exam

nerves and fear of public speaking, to help with nightmares, bedwetting and lots more.

More information can be found on my personal website, www.hedgeshypnosis.co.uk