Hypnotherapy

I like to use hypnotherapy as a natural anxiety remedybecause it goes deep to the inner store-house of our beliefs and learned responses, which is why it has found wide acceptance in treating disorders.

By getting down deep to where the problem lays, hypnotherapy can replace it with positive behavior. I use a type of hypnotherapy during my therapy session called “non-directive” because I have found it to be the most effective.

A Technique Used in Therapy

There is a major difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy: directive and non-directive. Directive hypnotherapy, sometimes called “stage hypnosis” or “guided imagery,” is when the patient is put into a trance with scripted language like “Your eyes are getting very heavy.” In addition hypnosis is performed on its own, whereas hypnotherapy is always done during a normal therapy session.

A significant drawback with this type of hypnosis is the fact that the subconscious becomes guarded due to the unusual language used. When then subconscious hears a line like, “You are getting very sleepy” it knows something different is about to happen because it never hears this type of language during normal, everyday conversations.

When you are trying to motivate the subconscious is change, the last thing you want is resistance. This is why directive hypnosis has limited results.

Non-directive hypnotherapy is talk therapy, except that the therapist tends to be more talkative because he or she is conversing with the client’s subconscious. While the hypnotherapist talks with the client, the hypnotherapy occurs throughout the conversation.

Non-directive hypnotherapy has a number of advantages over directive hypnosis. As mentioned, the unconscious is more accessible because it is not given any reason to become guarded or alarmed. Without this hindrance, the non-directive hypnotherapist is more easily able to converse with the patient’s unconscious and find out what will be needed to affect a change.

Hypnotherapy can help anxiety by addressing the following:

• De-stress and manage daily anxiety and increase coping skills
• Alleviate phobias, fears, and panic attacks
• End nightmares, nail biting, exam nerves, jealousy, procrastination, and insomnia
• Learn to calm yourself and meditate effectively
• Over social anxiety by gaining confidence in public speaking and stage performance

Hypnotherapy for Anxiety

Sometimes people seek hypnotherapy as a sort of “last resort” thinking that hypnotherapy will succeed where therapy alone has failed. The reasons that hypnotherapy does not work for some people is for the same reasons that regular therapy alone does not work, such as the person is not motivated to change. This does not mean that it is the person’s fault — sometimes it is not the right time for change even as much as we may want it.

There are many health professionals who have received training in hypnotherapy. I highly recommend that you see someone who has training in psychology as opposed to just hypnotherapy or hypnosis. That would include either a Masters or Ph.D. in psychology, Additionally, I would see someone who was licensed as a therapist or psychologist. There is because hypnotherapy is a powerful intervention that can uncover some deep psychological issues.