And how can it help you?
Anna Katharina Schaffner | Psychology Today
A version of this article was originally published on 18 July 2024 on Psychology Today/The Art of Self-Improvement
I have worked as a coach now for many years, but I am happy to share that I just completed my practitioner certificate in clinical hypnotherapy. Why hypnotherapy? First of all, I want to be able to move freely and flexibly on the coaching-therapy spectrum, and go exactly where my clients need to go. Sometimes that is deeper, sometimes it is not. And the hypnotherapy course offered a vast menu of various different therapeutic approaches, which beautifully suited my integrative soul.
Secondly, I have always been fascinated with the power of the subconscious mind and our imagination, especially when it comes to behaviour change. I have experienced the benefits of hypnotherapy many times (I did a hypnobirthing course which worked like a charm and I also regularly use visualization and audio trances for important events or specific things I want to achieve). I have now started to offer hypnotherapy, also to my hypno-curious coaching-clients. So far I am astounded by how effective it can be. It involves a combination of deep physical relaxation, hyper-focused attention, and positive, strategic suggestions. But how exactly does it work and what can it do for you?
What’s so great about hypnotherapy?
Most of us know exactly what we should do to live better and more fulfilling lives. And yet we often find ourselves a slave to old, unhelpful patterns, perpetually trapped in the gap between insight, intention and action. Just because our conscious mind knows what we want and what we ought to do doesn’t mean that we are actually able to translate this knowledge into action. For all lasting and sustainable change of our thinking, feeling, and behaviours, our subconscious mind needs to be on board. If our subconscious is not convinced that changing is a good idea, it will throw obstacles in our ways and make us immune to positive transformation.
Hypnotherapy is a therapeutic modality that seeks to address the subconscious mind directly and to turn it into a powerful ally in the change process. In a state of hypnosis, we are more able to access and remember positive, resourceful states, to recall skills and qualities that we already have, to find new solutions to our challenges, and vividly to imagine the benefits of our desired state.
What is hypnosis? And what is hypnotherapy?
Hypnosis is a state of altered awareness. It is a trance state which combines deep bodily relaxation with sharply focused attention. It is a perfectly natural state which we enter and exit all the time. We can be in a light trance state when we are day-dreaming, driving down familiar roads, listen to someone attentively, or are fully absorbed in a film or in a book. Clinical hypnosis uses these natural states and strategically amplifies them.
When we are in a trance state, our body becomes deeply relaxed but our attention is hyper-focused. Our focus moves from conscious to subconscious activities. Our brain-waves slow down, and we transition from stressed or highly alert states into meditative, creative states of deep relaxation in which we can recall and access our inner resources. In both light and deep trance states, we become highly responsive to positive suggestions. We can re- or pre-experience positive states, using memory recall or visualization.
Hypnotherapy opens up neurological pathways between conscious thought processing and unconscious activity and function. It helps you connect what you already know (which is stored in a part of the brain known as the cerebrum) with the part of the brain that can make changes take place unconsciously (the cerebellum, where memories and learning are stored).
In a hypnotherapy session, positive, pre-agreed suggestions and other evidence-based therapeutic interventions are delivered to clients in conversation, or a light or deep trance state. In that state, you are much more receptive and open to changing your perspective, approaches, feelings and behaviours.
Will you lose control and will I turn you into a chicken?
No. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. Hypnosis is a very pleasant, conscious experience that combines deep relaxation with hyper-focused attention on internal events. You can only go into hypnosis if you want to go there. You alone decide the level and depth of your trance. You remain in full control at all times. You only take in suggestions that are positive and helpful for you, and that are fully aligned with your values.
Often, our conceptions and fears of hypnosis are based on stage show hypnosis. Stage hypnosis could not be more different from therapeutic forms of hypnosis. Stage show hypnosis is all about effect and showmanship, displaying the powers of the hypnotists – often at the cost of the hypnotized. In clinical hypnosis, the only aim is to help the client get better. All healing suggestions are discussed, defined and agreed with the client. Proper clinical hypnotherapists adhere to a very strict code of ethics, and the healing and growth of the patient is our only objective.
All suggestions made during hypnosis are pre-agreed with you. I discuss with you in detail what you want to achieve, including your case history, what has helped you in the past, and what has not worked. We agree exactly what you want me to suggest to you during hypnosis. My only interest is to help you achieve your aims by activating and accessing your own inner resources.
We will work only on clearly defined physical, psychological or behavioural challenges that you genuinely want to change. I only work with clients on SMART goals – i.e. goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. Clinical hypnotherapy is an evidence-based practice. It is not magic and it has nothing to do with manifesting. Know that I am not a fan of manifesting, and I do not offer esoteric interventions such as past-life regression or rebirthing.
What can hypnotherapy do for you?
In addition to opening you up to positive suggestions, to finding new solutions, to allowing you to reconnect with your inner resources, and to help you regain your optimism and motivation, hypnosis is a fast and highly effective way of calming down the autonomic nervous system. It can be powerfully beneficial for those of us who suffer from chronic stress, anxiety, exhaustion, burnout and overwhelm and who find it hard to relax and to detach from work.
I increasingly believe that simply changing our state can often be more powerful than dwelling in the problem-space, trying to solve our challenges analytically. There is an important place for that, too, of course, but often solutions come to us when we are in a resourceful, connected state, rather than just in the head-space. Stress can keep us stuck, for in a chronic fight/flight/freeze state we can lose accesss to what we know, feel, and need.
I help clients with the following challenges:
Anxiety
Burnout
Negative self-talk
Performance anxiety
Positive habit change
Stress management
Unhealthy working habits
Unhelpful beliefs and self-stories
If you’d like to experience the power of your subconscious mind do get in touch. Unlike other therapeutic interventions, hypnotherapy usually requires only between 1-3 sessions before results can be seen and felt.
Image: Ludde Lorentz @Unsplash
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