If the thought of hypnotherapy conjures up images of a pocket watch swinging on a chain, you’re probably not alone. But this is far from what hypnotherapy is about. Hypnotherapy is all about helping you make positive change. As an alternative and complementary therapeutic treatment, a clinical hypnotherapist can help you overcome challenges that may be holding you back. From phobias, anxiety and anger, to weight loss, fertility, and low self-esteem, to quitting to smoke and developing self-confidence, hypnotherapy can help you move forward. Still undecided? Hypnotherapy can also help with procrastination. Read on to learn more.
Hypnotherapy is not a new-age concept. It dates back to ancient Greece and Egypt all the way through to contemporary acceptance in the 20th century and beyond. Gaining popularity by the mid-1900s, clinical hypnotherapy was recognised as a valid medical process in 1958 by the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association. Today, across the world and in Australia, hypnotherapy is regarded as a viable modality for a broad range of issues ranging from stress, anxiety and pain to weight management and psychosomatic illness.
To better understand what hypnotherapy is, it helps to know what hypnotherapy is not. Hypnotherapy is not mystical, it’s not about losing control and it’s not a state of sleep. With the guidance of a clinical hypnotherapist, hypnotherapy is a safe, alternative therapy option to gain mind-body control and make positive change. By reaching an intensely calm and relaxed state, you can achieve a heightened focus and concentration. This state of absorbed awareness is likened to reading a good book or being immersed in a great movie.
The focus is not necessarily on difference but on how they work together. Hypnosis is a tool used in hypnotherapy for positive therapeutic outcomes. A certified and qualified clinical hypnotherapist, as a mental health professional, is trained to help you reach a deeper state of consciousness.
Hypnotherapy is a guided process with verbal cues and repetition to help open your mind to constructive suggestions. During this type of specialised hypnosis, a trained therapist can help you can reach an intense level of concentration by blocking out the rest of the world, allowing you to explore memories and feelings possibly hidden from the conscious mind.
Hypnotherapy can also help you perceive things differently to enable positive change. Because you’re in a heightened state of concentration, hypnotherapy may work to plant positive seeds of change while you’re less distracted and more receptive. Hypnotherapy may also work because your brain is less cluttered as you filter out the external world, making room for deeper processing and acceptance as well as being more open to absorb suggestions and guidance.Hypnotherapy can reduce worry, increase relaxation and boost low self-esteem because it can help overcome issues or symptoms which may be holding you back. Hypnotherapy can also help with anger, fertility and procrastination. Contemporary research supports hypnotherapy as a complementary or alternative modality, helping to treat a number of conditions relating to:
• IBS or gastrointestinal disordersWear comfortable clothes and arrive well rested so you don’t fall asleep in your session. And research your therapist in advance to ensure they’re qualified and certified as a trained clinical hypnotherapist.
Your trained hypnotherapist will start by explaining what will happen in the session as well as gain an understanding of patterns and behaviour unique to your circumstances, and discuss any potential risks. For example, hypnotherapy may not be suitable for patients with psychotic symptoms or psychiatric disorders. Your clinical hypnotherapist will do a full review of your symptoms, medication and mental health before commencing treatment.
After a comprehensive review of your circumstances, and a discussion about what conditions you’d like to address, you’ll get into a relaxed and comfortable state, completely aware of what’s going on throughout your hypnotherapy session. Your therapist will make guided suggestions to achieve therapeutic goals, switch beliefs and create healthier patterns -- similar to guided meditation or mindfulness. Because you’ll be at a heightened state of focus you’ll be more open to suggestions and advice than in your regular mental state. Your session will end with you exiting a deep state of relaxation, as well as a debrief and action plan.Hypnotherapy will only work when a person is ready to make it work. That, and hypnotherapy is not magic. Change takes time, especially when it’s about changing patterns in behaviour. This means that you’ll probably need 4-6 weekly sessions to achieve change with hypnotherapy.
As a therapeutic tool, hypnotherapy can offer great value for specific problems where success doesn’t rely on mystical powers but rather about quietening of the mind, focussed relaxation and guided conversations. Hypnotherapy can have a powerful impact on feelings and behaviour through the specialised work of a qualified clinical hypnotherapist and a patient’s willingness to change.
Bondi Junction Massage & Float Centre is a restorative and remedial oasis of calm and wellbeing in the heart of Sydney’s eastern suburbs, treating thousands of clients since 1985. Our centre is currently OPEN, adhering to a COVID Safety Plan. To find out more about hypnotherapy and our other treatments, please make contact or book now.
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