Hypnotherapy is a type of complementary medicine in which hypnosis is used to create a state of focused attention and increased suggestibility during which positive suggestions and guided imagery are used to help individuals deal with a variety of concerns and issues.
The United States’ Federal Dictionary of Occupational Titles describes the job of the hypnotherapist: “Induces hypnotic state in client to increase motivation or alter behavior patterns: Consults with client to determine nature of problem. Prepares client to enter hypnotic state by explaining how hypnosis works and what client will experience.
Tests subject to determine degree of physical and emotional suggestibility. Induces hypnotic state in client, using individualized methods and techniques of hypnosis based on interpretation of test results and analysis of client’s problem. May train client in self-hypnosis conditioning.”
There are some types of hypnotherapy which are :
- Traditional hypnotherapy
The form of hypnotherapy practiced by most Victorian hypnotists, including James Braid and Hippolyte Bernheim, mainly employed direct suggestion of symptom removal, with some use of therapeutic relaxation and occasionally aversion to alcohol, drugs, etc.
2. Ericksonian hypnotherapy
In the 1950s, Milton H. Erickson developed a radically different approach to hypnotism, which has subsequently become known as “Ericksonian hypnotherapy” or “Neo-Ericksonian hypnotherapy.” Erickson made use of an informal conversational approach with many clients and complex language patterns, and therapeutic strategies. This divergence from tradition led some of his colleagues, including Andre Weitzenhoffer, to dispute whether Erickson was right to label his approach “hypnosis” at all.
The founders of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), a method somewhat similar in some regards to some versions of hypnotherapy, claimed that they had modelled the work of Erickson extensively and assimilated it into their approach. Weitzenhoffer disputed whether NLP bears any genuine resemblance to Erickson’s work.
3. Solution-focused hypnotherapy
In the 2000s, hypnotherapists began to combine aspects of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) with Ericksonian hypnotherapy to produce therapy that was goal-focused (what the client wanted to achieve) rather than the more traditional problem-focused approach (spending time discussing the issues that brought the client to seek help). A solution-focused hypnotherapy session may include techniques from NLP.
4. Cognitive/behavioral hypnotherapy
Cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy (CBH) is an integrated psychological therapy employing clinical hypnosis and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). The use of CBT in conjunction with hypnotherapy may result in greater treatment effectiveness. A meta-analysis of eight different researches revealed “a 70% greater improvement” for patients undergoing an integrated treatment to those using CBT only. In 1974, Theodore X. Barber and his colleagues published a review of the research which argued, following the earlier social psychology of Theodore R. Sarbin, that hypnotism was better understood not as a “special state” but as the result of normal psychological variables, such as active imagination, expectation, appropriate attitudes, and motivation.
Barber introduced the term “cognitive-behavioral” to describe the nonstate theory of hypnotism, and discussed its application to behavior therapy. The growing application of cognitive and behavioral psychological theories and concepts to the explanation of hypnosis paved the way for a closer integration of hypnotherapy with various cognitive and behavioral therapies.
Many cognitive and behavioral therapies were themselves originally influenced by older hypnotherapy techniques, e.g., the systematic desensitisation of Joseph Wolpe, the cardinal technique of early behavior therapy, was originally called “hypnotic desensitisation” and derived from the Medical Hypnosis (1948) of Lewis Wolberg.
5. Curative hypnotherapy
David Lesser (1928 – 2001) was the originator of what is today known by the term “curative hypnotherapy”. It was he who first saw the possibility of finding the causes of people’s symptoms by using a combination of hypnosis, IMR and a method of specific questioning that he began to explore. Rather than try to override the subconscious information as Janet had done, he realised the necessity- and developed the process- to correct the wrong information.
Lesser’s understanding of the logicality and simplicity of the subconscious led to the creation of the methodical treatment used today and it is his work and understanding that underpins the therapy and is why the term “Lesserian” was coined and trademarked. As the understanding of the workings of the subconscious continues to evolve, the application of the therapy continues to change.
The three most influential changes have been in Specific Questioning (1992) to gain more accurate subconscious information; a subconscious cause/effect mapping system (SRBC) (1996) to streamline the process of curative hypnotherapy treatment; and the ‘LBR Criteria’ (2003) to be able to differentiate more easily between causal and trigger events and helping to target more accurately the erroneous data which requires reinterpretation.
Hypnotherapy expert Dr Peter Marshall, former Principal of the London School of Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy Ltd. and author of A Handbook of Hypnotherapy, devised the Trance Theory of Mental Illness, which provides that people suffering from depression, or certain other kinds of neuroses, are already living in a trance and so the hypnotherapist does not need to induce them, but rather to make them understand this and help lead them out of it.
There are some uses of hypnotherapy. Clinicians choose hypnotherapy to address a wide range of circumstances; however, according to Yeates (2016), people choose to have hypnotherapy for many other reasons:
“Ignoring specific issues such as performance anxiety, road rage, weight, smoking, drinking, unsafe sex, etc., those seeking hypnotherapy today do so because of ill-defined, vague feelings that:
(a) their health is far from optimal;
(b) their worry about past/present/future events is excessive and debilitating;
(c) they are not comfortable with who they are;
(d) they’re not performing up to the level of their true potential; and/or
(e) their lives are lacking some significant (but unidentified) thing.”
Also, hypnotherapy can help people with the problem of smoking. The hypnotherapy has in terms of smoking cessation a greater effect on six-month quit rates than other interventions, nevertheless, another conclusion says there was no evidence available from randomized controlled trials to assess the effectiveness of hypnosis during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period for preventing postnatal depression.
Hypnotherapy also being used in helping childbirth. Hypnotherapy is often applied in the birthing process and the post-natal period, but there is insufficient evidence to determine if it alleviates pain during childbirth and no evidence that it is effective against post-natal depression.
Hypnotherapy can also be used in patient with bulimia. Literature shows that a wide variety of hypnotic interventions have been investigated for the treatment bulimia nervosa, with inconclusive effect. Similar studies have shown that groups suffering from bulimia nervosa, undergoing hypnotherapy, were more exceptional to no treatment, placebos, or other alternative treatments.
There are some other uses of hypnotherapy, among its many other applications in other medical domains, hypnotism was used therapeutically, by some alienists in the Victorian era, to treat the condition then known as hysteria. Modern hypnotherapy is widely accepted for the treatment of certain habit disorders, to control irrational fears, as well as in the treatment of conditions such as insomnia and addiction. Hypnosis has also been used to enhance recovery from non-psychological conditions such as after surgical procedures, in breast cancer care and even with gastro-intestinal problems, including IBS.
As the name of Hypnotherapy getting raised, people tend to choose hypnotherapy instead of drugs. The most important reason because hypnotherapy can be used in the long term period without giving the addictive effect toward the patient. Here below another reason why people choosing hypnotherapy instead of drugs.
- Kicking Bad Habits
Since being hypnotized allows you to be more suggestible than usual, there is evidence that it can help you quit bad habits like smoking or drinking. WebMD explains that a session will usually involve a hypnotherapist creating negative connotations with the experience of smoking, like having an extremely dry mouth afterwards, that will deter the smoker next time. So if you have a vice you just can’t kick, hypnosis might be the ticket.
- Relieve Hot Flashes
If you’ve suffered from hot flashes or know someone who has, you know that it’s worth going to any length to control them. According to one study, women who were treated with hypnotherapy for hot flashes reported better sleep quality and fewer hot flashes.
- Lose Weight and Keep It Off
Since hypnosis helps adjust someone’s frame of mind or attitude, it would make sense that it might be used for weight loss. Shape Magazine explains that hypnosis isn’t a replacement for a diet but rather a method for overcoming mental barriers preventing weight loss, like binge eating or fear of exercising.
- Reduce Stress
Stress is never fun to deal with, which is why The Wellness Institute cites hypnotherapy as an alternative treatment for stress and anxiety. It’s a good option to explore for someone who isn’t interested in taking medicine, but still wants to rewire bad mental habits, like cyclical thinking or obsessing. Hypnosis can adjust your thought process and help you cultivate a more relaxed attitude.
- Treat Chronic Pain
Any pain is unwelcome, let alone chronic pain. People with chronic pain will take drastic measures to treat it, but it might not have to be so drastic at all. According to WebMD, research shows that hypnotherapy can help treat and curb chronic pain. Since most pain is actually generated by your brain, it makes sense that a mental therapy like hypnosis could help with pain management.
- Promote Healthy Sleep
When you undergo hypnosis, you enter a sleep-like state, but remain awake. Given how close hypnotherapy is to sleep, it’s easy to understand how it might help you with insomnia, and promote healthy sleep. Hypnotic suggestion can be used to train your brain to develop more restful nighttime patterns.
- Treat Depression
Hypnosis can help adjust your thought processes, which includes those associated with depression or anxiety. People suffering from depression or anxiety have reported positive results from being treated with hypnotherapy as a medication alternative.
- Treat Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome is extremely uncomfortable, and can even be debilitating under certain circumstances. Luckily, hypnotherapy has been proven to help patients who suffer from IBS, according to About IBS. Interestingly, it can help relieve primary and secondary symptoms like nausea and backache, and might also help to tackle the anxiety symptoms that often appear alongside the gastrointestinal symptoms.
Those above are brief interview of Hypnotherapy. If you need more information or even a one session treatment for hypnotherapy, you can just go in to Hydro Medical Bali. Our medical team will be assisting you to get in to hypnotherapy deeply and offer you a treatment with the help of professional medical team.
