Hypnotherapy: What is it Exactly
<P>Hypnotherapy is a technique that uses therapy with a patient who is hypnotized; as such its touted as an effective treatment, but has attracted a great deal of controversy from the therapeutic and medical profession. </P> <P>The essential point of hypnotism, and the reason it seems an excellent tool for the hypnotherapist, is that the patient is usually much more suggestible under hypnosis than not, and susceptibility to suggestion is the most valuable therapeutic facet of the treatment. </P> <P>The work of a hypnotherapy specialist is actually in several steps, only one of which is to hypnotize the patient. The actual consultations begin far in advance of therapy, since, as has been suggested, the patient is far less resistant to revealing his/her issues, and far more amenable to therapeutic suggestion in the hypnotic state. </P> <P>The first step prior to inducing that state (which is used primarily to alter behavioral patterns or increase a patients motivation toward self-actualization), is to prepare the patient to enter the state of hypnosis itself. The technique of inducing the hypnotic state requires little preparation, but the patient to be hypnotized usually requires quite a bit. </P> <P>The hypnotherapist must fully explain what he plans to do, how the hypnotic technique will work and what the client will experience. The therapist will then test the patient with a series of word-suggestion exercises and a brief, single hypnotic session to determine how readily the patient can be emotionally available for suggestibility. The patients threshold for susceptibility to suggestion is thus determined. </P> <P>Finally, unless the patient is extremely resistant (in which case there is very little that hypnotherapy can do for that individual), the hypnotic state is induced. Some hypnotherapists use a single fixating point, such as focusing the patients attention on a rotating sphere or an object such as a pencil (Sigmund Freud famously used his gold watch, swinging it back and forth); others induce the state through near-sleepiness, induced by soft music and gentle whispers from the therapist. </P> <P>Once the state is reached, there are several individualized interactive methods, based on the therapists analysis of the patients needs. Most hypnotherapeutic sessions are simple conversations about the patients issues, and give-and-take suggestions and motivations from both sides. </P> <P>One therapist, Milton Erickson, used informal conversations between himself and the patients which carried over into the hypnotic state, leading some colleagues to wonder if he was practicing any hypnotic treatment at all. Despite these reservations, it is now clear that Erickson was opening the path to other forms of cognitive/behavioral therapy to be included with hypnosis, techniques enhanced by Theodore Barber and Joseph Wolpe. Wolpe,in the 70s, devised a form of therapy called hypnotic desensitization which led a patient to conquer fears and phobias through stages of increasing exposure to fearful ideas and objects. </P> <P>The hypnotic form of therapy has been successfully used in pregnancy to both prepare a mother for the event and to reduce anxiety over the discomfort that is experienced in labor; many mothers have had their children while under hypnotic suggestion, and report that the birth was relatively painless and satisfying as an emotional experience. </P> <P>The therapy is most frequently used, however, to treat forms of depression (in fact, in Victorian times, Freud and numerous other pioneers in psychiatry used it to treat patients known as hysterics). There is enormous evidence for the efficacy of suggestion in a patient who is suffering from clinical depression, anxiety and habit disorders, and a number of near-suicidal patients have been taken from the brink by hypnotherapeutic sessions. </P> <P>In addition, it has been used with great benefit for patients who are addicts and alcoholics, as the suggestibility pattern can be used to break down the psychological need for a drug and replace it with a form of aversion to it. </P> <P>Hypnotherapy can be seen as motivational therapy, behavioral modification therapy and aversion therapy, all in one.</P>
Category: Employment Training
Related Articles
- Sports Medicine - Careers and Salary
- Skills and Knowledge Required for Chief of Surgery Jobs
- What Are Nuclear Medicine Technologists
- Radiologic Technologist: Working Behind the Shield
- How to Determine Hematologists Responsibilities and Duties
- How to Be Top Power Trading Executive
- Finding a Job as a Corporate Financial Associate
- How to Find the Best Audiology And Training
- Pediatric Pulmonology Career and Training
- Occupational Therapist Assistants: The Helping Hand
- How to Follow the Pediatrician Career Path
- Understanding Chief Executive Officer Responsibilities
- Corporate Financial Associate Salary is Dependent on Several Factors
- How To Find A Midwife In The United States
- How Can You Learn Cake Decorating?
- How To Become a Pediatric Oncologist
- Guesstimating Pediatrician Salary
- Working as a Nurse Practitioner
- What are the Chief Financial Officer Duties and Responsibilities
- Learning about a Psychiatrists Job Description
Business News
- SmartGuy Tops 50,000 in Global Internet Engagement
- SmartGuy Now Manages 20,000 City Business Networks
- SmartGuy®️ introduces Free Phone App
- SmartGuy® Completes New Platform
- How Businesses Rank High on Google INSTANTLY
- SmartGuy Now Surpasses 145,000 Businesses
Popular Posts
- A Mans Desperate Attempt to Improve Mankind and Counter the Inevitability of Mans Demise
- Risks of Artificial Intelligence
- What Are The Four Types of AI
- What is Theory of Mind
- What are Intelligent Agents and How are They Used in AI
- What are Neural Networks and How Do They Relate to AI
- What is Deep Learning and How Does It Relate to AI
- Why is Image Recognition a Key Function of AI
- What is Automatic Programming
- What are Constraint Satisfaction Problems
- What are some common misunderstandings about AI
- How Does the Strong AI Differ From the Weak AI
- How Many Different Kinds of Agents Exist in Artificial Intelligence
- What is a Chatbot
- What is Artificial Intelligence
- What are Different Platforms for Artificial Intelligence Development
- What is the Future of Artificial Intelligence
- If you are starting a new business how Will you use AI to promote your business
- How Do Face Detection Systems Work
- Can AI Data be Manipulated by Others