What is hypnotherapy and how does it work?
To understand how hypnotherapy works it’s useful to know a little about the mind. We have two complementary systems of mind, the conscious and the subconscious. If you imagine an iceberg, the conscious mind is the tip that pokes just above water, while the subconscious holds everything below the surface. Your conscious mind is the logical and rational part of you, which psychologists refer to as your System 2 mind. Your subconscious, on the other hand, is automatic and emotional, and psychologists refer to this as your System 1 mind. We like to think that our behaviours and decisions are guided by our conscious, logical minds, but we are wrong. It’s now well accepted that it’s our subconscious that calls most of the shots, in fact some researchers go as far as to say that 90% of our actions and decisions are determined by our subconscious minds!
Hypnosis is a state of focused attention that communicates directly to your subconscious mind. It is during this trance state that the mind is open to suggestion and becomes receptive to new information. Your conscious mind takes a back seat as you turn your attention inward toward your deeper unconscious self, which already has all the answers you need.
Hypnotherapy is the coming together of hypnosis and psychotherapy, and my own psychotherapy component makes use of both CBT and NLP. The suggestions made to you during our trance-work come from the information gathered during the CBT case formulation. Together we formulate something known as a solution state, which is about more than simply the absence of the problem, as good as that might sound, it’s about developing you as the best that you can possibly be. Once we have established the very best version of you, in terms of beliefs, emotions and behaviours, I’ll have your subconscious become so absorbed into the images and beliefs that the ‘new you’ will become deeply etched into your brain.
This occurs through a process called neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to change through experience and, vitally, this experience can be real or imagined. Yes, the fact is that your brain can’t tell the difference between reality and imagination, it uses the same cortical structures for both. This means that if you can imagine something well enough as far as your brain is concerned it has happened and it will change its structure to accommodate this new information. In short then, hypnotherapy will neuroplastically reprogramme your brain.
During the hypnotic trance you will be in control the whole time, you will be aware of what’s happening but you will find that it’s just easier to go along with my suggestions rather than oppose or question them. Some people are concerned that hypnosis involves taking control of your mind, but in fact the opposite is true because hypnotherapy will give you back control of your own mind.
Hypnotherapy is fast, effective and long lasting. It is entirely natural and, unlike medications, has only positive side effects. Hypnotherapy improves mood, enhances positive outlook, improves motivation and increases energy.
