Hypnotherapy - Hypnosis

"The thinking process is unconscious. We become aware of the results consciously"

Milton H Erickson, M.D.

Hypnotherapy is one of the most internationally recognized Mind Body techniques and can be traced back as far as the Ancient Egypt time. Dr. Milton Erikson, MD (1901-1980) was the father of the Milton Model where hypnotherapy is used for changing "unwanted-negative behaviors" by "reframing" and suggesting positive ones to improve people's lives and well-being. Erickson was an exceptional therapist. He used a naturalistic and flexible method for trance induction that worked "with" the client, not "on" the client.

Erickson tailored his approach depending on the client's individual problem and personality. He would gather information about his client by questions and observation to find what they wanted and what sort of person they were. He would then know the best way to induce trance for them and would be able to work with them on their own terms. This is why Ericksonian hypnotherapy is known as "permissive" hypnosis as opposed to other schools of "authoritarian" hypnosis. It is not about following a script to use on all clients, but about learning enough about the client and their needs to create an induction that will be best suited to assist them.

The Milton model language is multi-layered and rich in possible meanings. It involves the use of metaphors - the art of telling a story that while seemingly random, actually gets to the heart of a client's problem. It is based on acute observation (sensory acuity) both of very small changes in a patient's physiology and of the patterns that a client runs and when and how these patterns occur.

"Our subconscious mind is such a powerful the processor that it can interpret one million times more data than the forty million nerve impulses per second of our conscious mind"

- Dr. Bruce Lipton. The Spontaneous Evolution- 2009 -

It has been made possible to teach Erickson's unique and incredibly successful form of Hypnotherapy to hundreds of thousands of people thanks to the modelling work done by the founders of NLP, (Neuro-Linquistic Programming), Richard Bandler and John Grinder, and to the plethora of books that he co-wrote in his lifetime. The core of his work is the use of artfully vague language; this allows the client to take whatever meaning from what is said that is most appropriate for them.

How Hypnosis works?

The unconscious mind is the Key!

To get powerful, lasting and rapid results in therapy and in coaching, it is essential that the methods employed reach and influence the unconscious (subconscious) mind. The unconscious mind houses the emotions, imagination, memory, habits, intuition, and is the pathway to the subconscious. It also regulates our autonomic body functions. It is the very core or essence of how we experience the world and ourselves. Meaningful personal transformation, whether in or out of therapy, results from a shift in the unconscious mind.

Hypnotherapy is about working naturally and easily with a person's subconscious mind, so it is basic to the art and science of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. NLP works with language, different perspectives, how we know what we know, the study of subjective experience, beliefs and values, time-lines, parts, anchors, strategies and all these techniques are designed to bring the conscious and subconscious minds into rapport so that the client can go through their everyday life more resourceful, more flexible and more able to achieve their desired outcomes.

All behavior, even the most bizarre, has a positive intention. Individuals make the best choices available to them at any given time. Thus, by increasing the information available to the client about any situation, they have access to more resources and can use these resources to change their response to situations both in the past and to situations in the now where they may have been feeling "stuck" or unresourceful. That not only can allow everyone enter trance, but that trance is a naturally occurring state that all people flow in and out of during the course of normal experience. There is no such thing as a resistant client, only an inflexible communicator. In Ericksonian hypnotherapy the onus is on the therapist to be flexible enough in their approach to allow the client to tap into their unconscious mind and access the resources that they have available to them at an unconscious level.

Hypnosis is a state of heightened awareness and focused concentration; it is usually accompanied by physical and mental relaxation. All Hypnosis is Self-hypnosis. The brain operates in four general states determined by the frequency of the electricity generated by the exchange of chemicals in the neural pathways. The four states include:

• Peak performance – Gamma       > 35 Hz
• Focus consciousness – Beta          12-35 Hz
• Hypnotic consciousness - Alpha    8-12 Hz
• Imagination/Reverie – Theta          4-8 Hz
• Sleeping/subconscious –Delta         0.5-4 Hz

Full Conscious Awareness is where we spend most of our waking hours.  In this state, our mind is attentive and uses logic to reason, evaluate, assess, judge, and make decisions.  Unfortunately, when making life changes, the conscious mind often gets in the way.

Today, many mental health professionals and MD's use hypnosis to treat people with addictions, stress, pain, anxiety disorders, and phobias. Guided imagery, Relaxation and Meditation are part of hypnosis and integrated to create greater results.

In the Hypnotic State, the doorway between the conscious and the subconscious is opened, memories become easily accessible, and new information is stored.  In this state you are not really "thinking" in the traditional sense.  You are "experiencing" without questioning, without critical judgment or analysis, like when you watch a movie, and the hypnotherapist can make suggestions that are very likely to "stick" - precisely because your conscious mind is not getting in the way.  You are not "judging" or being "critical" of the suggestions.

“Most importantly, cognitive Neuroscientists conclude that our life is run by the subconscious mind, which makes 95 percent of our actions, emotions and behaviors, while 5 percent only is run by the conscious mind.”

- Dr. Bruce Lipton. The Spontaneous Evolution- 2009 -

Concentration typically increases dramatically during hypnosis. Within the context of therapy, heightened hypnotic concentration has value as an inherent aspect of trance and is a partial explanation of the effectiveness of hypnotic suggestion. In addition, specific issues such as improved study habits and various achievement goals ranging from public speaking to improved sports performance are addressed directly by this hypnotic phenomenon. The person can actually re-enter a state of self-hypnosis later while studying or performing, to gain further value from the concentration inherent to the hypnotic state.

Revivification of significant events, whether or not they were previously repressed, can be combined with many therapeutic modalities. Also, many persons have used hypnotic access to buried memories to find missing objects of value. Although the use of hypnosis for solving crimes has been restricted in recent years by the courts, hundreds of crimes have been solved by the use of forensic hypnosis. Victims and witnesses to crimes have hypnotically recalled crucial memories, whether buried because of detail or time or trauma.

A person can be taught to re-enter hypnosis to access stored memories while taking examinations or, in certain situations, to improve job effectiveness. Therefore, persons developing memory recall skills are supported by the value of increased suggestibility during the initial hypnosis sessions, as well as by the later heightened concentration and recall natural to the state of self-hypnosis.

The pain threshold changes dramatically during hypnosis or self-hypnosis. Hypnosis can provide great relief for chronic pain sufferers referred by their physicians for such complaints as back pain, arthritis, headaches or recovery from injury. As with any issue, the good hypnotherapist will work comprehensively and holistically toward lasting results, dealing with life-style, stress, emotions and personality factors, as well as possible secondary gains. Self-hypnosis can often provide some immediate benefit, while any underlying emotional and life-style issues are addressed during hypnotherapy sessions.

In deeper levels of hypnosis major surgery can, in many cases, be painlessly performed with no other anesthetic agents. In addition, physiological functions normally controlled by the unconscious mind can be affected, such as by suggestions from a dentist to a hypnotically anesthetized patient to control salivation and bleeding.

When a person has been struggling with feelings such as fear, grief or anger, there are various therapeutic methods during hypnosis to help him or her access those feelings when appropriate and express, release or transform them.

Can you imagine your life free of debilitating fears, negative emotions caused by traumatic events and limitations?

Call Chantal today!

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