Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy

There has always been confusion about what hypnosis or hypnotherapy is all about and much of the confusion is brought about by the lack of knowledge about the phenomenon of the hypnotic trance and the misuse of this trance state for the purpose of entertainment and the making of money that goes with entertainment.

Sensible and dedicated hypnotherapists do not contaminate their work by demonstrating on a public stage the healing abilities of hypnosis. One cannot visualize a member of the medical profession, or a complementary medical professional, charging money for people to come and watch their clients make fools of themselves.

In New Zealand, at this time, it seems that a large proportion of the so called hypnotherapists have as part of the modus operandi, endorsed stage hypnosis and this has served and will continue to serve the opinion that hypnotherapy and hypnosis is a gimmick.

The NZ School of Clinical Hypnotherapy has always and will always be opposed to stage hypnosis and we are dedicated to training hypnotherapists who have the interests of the health of their clients as of paramount importance. In order for the public and for people who desire to become hypnotherapists to have the best chance of succeeding with the use of hypnosis, it is necessary to have an adequate understanding of what is meant by hypnosis and hypnotherapy.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a state of mind where the body is very relaxed. The person in hypnosis looks as though they are asleep like they are when in bed at night. When a person is asleep at night they are unconscious or it could be said that they are unaware. Certainly unaware that they are asleep, unaware of what is going on around them. Their conscious mind is asleep. While they are asleep they are not thinking such things as “it is good to be asleep”.

When that person is in hypnosis or in the hypnotic sleep, they are very conscious. They hear very clearly and are aware of where they are and who is there with them. They are very conscious, can think and reason and they have full control of themselves.

So one might ask why people in hypnosis on a stage seem to be under the control of the hypnotist and their willpower subverted. The truth is that each of these subjects know full well what they are doing and if they knew how to control it they would. However, they volunteer to perform. It will be noticed that not everyone who volunteers actually is able to perform and so are sent back to their seat. So the person in hypnosis is conscious, is aware, is in control, and although a small proportion of people actually perform for a stage hypnotist, they will not undertake dangerous things nor will they act on suggestions which are against their moral nature. You cannot get people to steal, cheat, murder or things like that and the suggestions along that line will result in the person opening their eyes and coming out of hypnosis. Hypnosis is then a conscious stage where the body is asleep and the mind is awake.

The phrase often used that a person is “under hypnosis” is completely erroneous. The person is not “under”, however the stage hypnotist likes to have people believe that they are under his or her power hence the use of the word “under”. It is not the ability of the so called hypnotist that puts people in the hypnotic state, but it is always the ability of the subject that results in hypnosis. All hypnosis is self hypnosis and any reputable user of hypnosis knows this.

Hypnotherapy

The easiest definition of hypnotherapy is “the giving of therapeutic suggestions to a person while they are in a state of hypnosis”.

Why would we want to do this?

First of all, it is a fact that everything that we have learned has been learned by suggestions and these suggestions lodge in the subconscious mind and become our knowledge. That knowledge in the subconscious mind, is what causes us to behave the way that we do.

The conscious mind is the mind that we think with, whereas the subconscious mind does not think but simply records all the things that we experience through the senses. Everything we touch, taste, smell, hear and see, records in the subconscious and this begins to occur the moment that we are born. The first suggestion that we experience through the senses is using taste and touch and that occurs when we are put to the breast or the bottle. It goes in the mouth and tastes good and feels good. That experience is etched on the subconscious mind and is the reason why babies put everything that is put in their hands straight to their mouths.

This learning carries on and every time they experience something through the senses like touching, smelling, tasting, seeing and hearing, this experience lodges in the subconscious mind. Each time they experience these things, it reinforces in the subconscious exactly what muscles, nerves, bones etc it needs to move in order to accomplish what they wish to do.

The subconscious then answers to the call of the conscious mind. Where problems arise is when the programming of the subconscious mind is such that it overrides the intention of the conscious mind. A person may decide that they will stop smoking and this decision is made by the conscious mind which is the thinking mind. However, if the person’s subconscious mind is programmed for smoking by consistent use, a conflict arises between the two minds and it is the subconscious mind that always wins for it overrides the conscious mind decision to stop smoking. The person then goes to see a hypnotherapist because they think they have a weak will.

The truth of the matter is that it has nothing to do with weak willpower but has everything to do with the programming of the subconscious mind. Now if the subconscious mind is re-programmed, we would then have a position where the conscious mind and the subconscious mind are in agreement. When the two minds are in agreement, we have a winner.

Now the way to re-programme the subconscious mind is to talk to it directly by bypassing the conscious mind. There is only one way to bypass the conscious mind and talk directly to the subconscious mind and that is when the person is in hypnosis. In fact the bypassing of the conscious mind, and talking directly to the subconscious mind, is the one and only reason why we use hypnosis. Thus it can be seen that hypnotherapy is the name given to the giving of suggestions directly to the subconscious mind.

It is very important that in order to help people with hypnotherapy, the hypnotherapist must be able along with the client, to decide on the real problem rather than trying to deal with a symptom of the problem and often the presenting problem is a symptom and not the real problem. Having ascertained the real problem, it then behoves the hypnotherapist to make sure the suggestions given are appropriate and compiled in proper therapeutic language.

Thus it is very important for the public good that hypnotherapists are well trained in all aspects of human behavior and all aspects of physical and mental activities both normal and abnormal. There are times when hypnotherapy is not appropriate and if hypnotherapists are not adequately trained, they would be unable to decide when hypnotherapy is appropriate and when it is not.

Therefore, the public should use care when choosing who to consult with and whether that hypnotherapist has been trained in a hypnotherapy training programme which is of sufficient length and depth, for there is no way that a qualification is bona fide if it was completed in a matter of a few months or in some cases a few weeks.