What is hypnosis and how does it work?

Hypnotherapy involves focused attention on a single dominant idea, whilst in a calm, relaxed state, and being receptive to the therapeutic suggestions that the hypnotherapist makes, and which have been discussed at the outset of the session.
You’ll be focused completely on the subject, just like watching a movie and those suggestions will be taken on board by your sub conscious mind, and eventually become natural to you.
Hypnosis can be thought of as a mild, trance-like state, involving increased suggestibility, relaxation, and heightened imagination. It’s not really comparable with sleep because you are awake the whole time and aware of your surroundings. It is most often compared to daydreaming, or the feeling of “losing yourself” in a book or movie. You are fully conscious, but you filter out most of the distractions around you and focus intently on the subject at hand.
In the everyday trance of a daydream or movie, an imaginary world seems almost real to you because it captures your emotions. Imagined events can, to some extent, cause real fear, sadness or happiness, and you may even jolt in your seat if you are surprised by something. These situations can be thought of as self-hypnosis, in fact many researchers and hypnotherapy experts believe that we put ourselves into a state of self-hypnosis very regularly, probably daily.

The value and effectiveness of hypnotherapy has been confirmed by various professional medical authorities over the years, most notably:

British Medical Association – 1892 and re-confirmed in 1955.

American Medical Association – 1958

British Psychological Society – 2001 

Hypnotherapy is a very well established, complementary therapy benefiting from an enormous amount of evidence-based research and practice.

I qualified in 2017 with a Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy from The UK College of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy, the qualification is approved by The British Psychological Society.

Now, let’s clear up some misconceptions about hypnosis as a therapy:

  • You will not be asleep, just very relaxed and focused
  • You are not under the control of the hypnotherapist
  • You will only respond to the suggestions and ideas that are relevant to your issue
  • You will be aware of your surroundings but not distracted by them (like the cinema)
  • You cannot become stuck in hypnosis

For a successful outcome, all you need is a strong commitment and a willingness to work with your hypnotherapist.

therapy

What does the ‘Cognitive Behavioural’ part mean?

Sometimes known as the Talking Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is based on the concept that thoughts, feelings, and behaviour are interlinked and that negative, unhelpful thoughts lead to similar feelings and they, in turn, produce a negative form of behaviour i.e. fear, anxiety or unrealistic concerns.
CBT breaks down the thoughts and beliefs, causing the problem into their component parts. It examines whether they are justified and/or realistic and shows you how to replace negative thoughts with helpful, positive thoughts (cognitions)
From these new thoughts, follow positive feelings and behaviour. CBT doesn’t involve ‘regression’ to the point where the problem started, but accepts that there is a pattern of thought that may or may not have been triggered by a particular event and how to deal with the way it is affecting you today.
By combining hypnosis with CBT, the new positive approach to the issue is gently and naturally absorbed by your sub-conscious.
The key to overcoming the fear or anxiety or to breaking a habit is to work with the therapist on identifying why the issue exists and agreeing a plan to overcome the problem with a new positive approach which is implemented with the use of hypnosis. In effect, you change the way you look at the issue.