WHAT is Hypnosis-Therapy? 

by Stella Rodgers Dip EAI HPD MNCH ~ Licensed Practitioner of NLP

Registered with the National Council of Hypnotherapists

It’s both safe and enjoyable!

You might have picked up a sensationalised picture of hypnosis from the media or stage shows. Please put that out of your mind, you should have a really enjoyable as well as powerful experience, during which you are always in control.

You're in charge 

At every point the therapist will ask if you are willing to let go of old habits; everything needs your permission. S/he is just there to be an experienced guide for you, who knows the territory, and is there to take you only where you want to go, at the pace that is right for you, and by the most pleasant route possible!

Light Trance

One definition of hypnotherapy is 'using a light trance state for positive change'. Each time we visualise in our own mind an event in order to recall it, we go into a light trance state so we can draw that memory out of our 'store-house'. Visualisation is the lightest form of trance, which might be used to take a person on a guided journey.

You might think that a deep trance is necessary but that is not the case. Any time that you are absorbed in or focusing on something you are effectively in a light trance. Even watching television or reading a book is a form of trance, as is looking at a computer screen as you are doing now, it is an altered state of awareness.

What does it feel like?

You might well say, "I didn't feel hypnotised" or "I heard every word". Usually it feels as if you could get up straight away if you wanted to, but you just can't be bothered. You're not going to a hypnotherapist to be 'hypnotised'; you are going to have your life improved / adjusted, the therapist's job is to create positive change in you, not to knock you out!

Early Success

I have used visualisation in teaching for many years, and a surprising success was as an instructor with a group of trainee healers. After the training session each student was amazed at the amount of healing that was brought about through this simple structure of visualisation and light trance to themselves! Each had a story to tell of the interesting journey they had been on that evening. I had not even tried to change them, but allowed them to change anything they wanted by themselves.

What can it help?

The common assistances are to alter behaviour such as smoking or weight control, other help can be given with phobias, fear of heights - spiders - flying etc...

Some Popular Uses

The stresses of modern living can aggravate eczema, psoriasis IBS and other allergy related problems, the symptoms of these unpleasant conditions can be most successfully treated with Hypnotherapy. 

Weight control

When there is a long-term problem with weight there cannot be a ‘quick-fix’. So the dieter who truly wants to be in a new phase of their lives will be putting in some work to achieve their goal of a better and more comfortable lifestyle. Below you see the first suggested step in the programme for weight reduction of a good therapist.

·        Habit reversal

·        Behaviour change

·        Increasing confidence in self and dieting skills

·        Building up willpower and motivation

·        Installing appropriate self control mechanisms

Personal Experience

I had a fear of trains, not a big problem you might say, but family holidays were spoilt for me because of it. Although I knew what had caused this fear a long time ago, I still got stressed out when I had to take a train journey. So, what happened with the hypnotherapy? I had, as it happens, just one session taking me back on a ‘time-line’ and now I can enjoy taking my grandson for train rides!

Hypnosis for pain relief

A recent search term used to discover this site was, "Does hypnosis work for pain?". Here is some information on why it is commonly agreed that hypnosis (and also the placebo effect) are known to be an effective means of altering an individuals' perception of pain.

Why do we feel pain?

Although we all understand how frustrating it can be to be in pain with no rapid means of stopping it, pain plays an important part in our lives and without it we would find it very hard to function.

Pain is our body's way of telling us that there is a problem which demands our attention. Without pain we could be unaware when we damaged ourselves and cause further damage by not taking reasonable precautions.

For example?

A prime example of this is when you twist your ankle or stub your toe. A common reaction to the pain is to limp, taking the weight off of the damaged leg in order to prevent harming ourselves further.

So how can hypnosis help me?

Thankfully, we can effectively "switch off" or "turn down" pain almost as easily as we would switch off light or turn a dimmer switch.

Pain is an unconsciously controlled signal and hypnosis works best in helping us to exert some level of control over our unconscious mind and those functions which run 'beneath' our conscious awareness.

So, is it dangerous to get rid of pain?

Although caution should be exercised and we should never ignore pain, we can very quickly learn techniques which allow us to 'move' pain out of our conscious awareness in order that we can function normally in our day to day life.

STELLA RODGERS  HPD MNCH ~ DCHAc CMIR ~ Holistic Healer ~ Acupuncture ~ Hypnotherapy ~ Reepham ~ Norfolk ~ Tel: 01603 879126 ~  Mob / Text: 07891246348

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change.

Information from the National Council for Hypnotherapy

The NCH is regarded as a premier authority and self-governing body in the practice and teaching of hypnotherapy.

We have all heard about hypnosis, if only from a friend who had a friend who clucked like a chicken at a hypnosis stage show. But what is it really – what is the therapeutic side to hypnosis all about?

A hypnotic ‘state’ is as simple as when you’re reading a book or watching a film – that point when you have cut out all external stimuli and have lost yourself.  That’s your subconscious taking over, as it does when you can’t remember driving two junctions on the motorway because you were ‘miles away’.

Achieving this state in a controlled environment, under hypnosis, allows for you to focus away from your present reality and toward your thoughts, images, feelings and motivations. How good would it be to design your life, rather than live it by default? Hypnotherapy is the key that enables the vast power of the mind to bring about positive and beneficial changes.

The technique is used for psychological purposes to relieve anxiety or otherwise improve or alter behaviour – it’s a way to harness and focus your natural abilities to relax, ease pain, prepare for and recover from surgery, overcome depression, and change unwanted behaviour.

Your idea of hypnotism is perhaps based on what you have seen on TV, maybe a Derren Brown type show or even the Little Britain scenes with the immortal words: “Look into my eyes…” Neither actually represents a true picture of hypnotherapy – in fact, most therapists would suggest that these images of hypnosis are detrimental to the profession and prevent people with many debilitating problems from seeking help.

We think it’s important to bring to the public awareness the difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy. It has nothing to do with ‘looking into your eyes’ and more to do with looking into your behaviour!

Hypnotherapy is commonly used to help with weight loss and stress – and it has also been proven to be beneficial with smoking cessation and Irritable Bowel Syndrome – but surprisingly, it is probably most often used for psychological problems like anxiety and low self-esteem.

With smoking cessation, hypnotherapy in general has shown to be two and a half times more effective than nicotine replacement therapy (i.e. nicotine gum/patches), and is five times more likely to succeed than willpower alone.

So what can hypnosis do for us?

Well, one area where it is recognized for achieving massive success is indeed with the problem of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

So how can hypnotherapy help IBS?
Over a decade of scientific research has shown hypnotherapy to be an effective choice for alleviating the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Hypnotherapy routinely produces positive results in over 80% of the people who use it.

Hypnosis has been so successful for improving IBS symptoms that Adriane Fugh-Berman (MD), chair of the National Women's Health Network in the USA, says that hypnosis should be the treatment of choice for IBS cases that have not responded to conventional therapy.

The main theory behind the success of hypnosis for IBS is that the relaxation improves blood flow to the gut – something that stress tends to inhibit – and so improves digestion and the movement of food through the bowel. I can testify to this myself as I first had this therapy before deciding to study hypnotherapy and it was very successful.

NLP is used in conjunction with hypnotherapy, it's the way we use language to our best advantage for a multitude of reasons.

Let me give you an example, have you ever had a conversation with someone who just doesn't get what you are trying to tell them? It might be because you are using a pattern of language they are not familiar with. How can this be? 

Well, if you are talking to a visual person, this means that they are constructing information using a picture in their 'minds eye' as you tell them something, but you are not using visual language, i.e. talking to them in an audio or kinesthetic [feeling] way, so it will not make sense in their mind.

To put it simply  "I hear what you're saying" - is an audio persons way of talking. "I see what you mean" - is a visual person. "I'm getting a feeling for the plan" - is a kinesthetic persons way of processing language. So to have better communications [and avoid arguments!] notice which one your friend or work colleague is using, and go to that way of talking! 

You can understand why NLP is supported by its practitioners in the psychotherapy field and has influenced other forms of brief and eclectic interventions.

Its models and tools have been used widely outside of psychotherapy in business communication, management training, television media, teaching, executive coaching and motivational seminars.

  The History

Neuro-linguistic programming is usually shortened to NLP - it's an interpersonal communication model and an alternative approach to psychotherapy that was co-created by Richard Bandler and linguist John Grinder in the 1970s. It was based on the subjective study of language, communication and personal change, in particular, through modelling three successful psychotherapists, Fritz Perles (gestalt therapy), Virginia Satir (family systems therapy), and eventually Milton H. Erickson (clinical hypnosis). Bandler and Grinder aimed to discover and model the successful patterns of behaviour and communication distinguishing these exceptional individuals from their peers. Some consider NLP to still be a set of techniques or strategies for enhancing communication and personal influence rather than a model or theory.

In the early 1980s, NLP was heralded as an important advance in psychotherapy and counselling and it attracted some interest in counselling research and clinical psychology. In the mid 1980s research reviews in The Journal of Counselling Psychology and by the National Research Council (1988; NRC) committee found little empirical basis for the claims about preferred representational systems (PRS) or assumptions of NLP, marking a decrease in research interest. While the title Neuro-linguistic programming implies a basis in neurology, computer science, and linguistics and it is often marketed as a new science.

Modern times ...

Today the predominant patterns of NLP, the application of those patterns, and many variants of NLP are found in seminars, workshops, books and audio programs in the form of exercises and principles intended to influence change in self and others. There is great variation in the depth and breadth of training and standards of practitioners, and some disagreement between those in the field about which patterns are and are not "NLP". While the field of NLP is loosely spread and resistant to a single comprehensive definition, there are some common principles and presuppositions shared by its proponents. In general, NLP aims to increase behavioral choice by the manipulation of personal state, belief and internal representation either by a practitioner/trainer, or by self-application.

• Problems, desires, feelings, beliefs and outcomes are represented in visual, auditory and kinesthetic (and sometimes gustatory, olfactory) systems.
• When communicating with someone, rather than just listening to and responding to what a person said, NLP aims to also respond to the structure of verbal communication and non-verbal cues.
• Certain language patterns such as the 'meta model' of NLP can help clarify what has been left out or distorted in communication, to specify thinking and outcomes, re-frame Milton Model language patterns are intentionally non-specific and metaphoric to allow the listener to fill in the gaps and make their own meaning from what is being said and find their own inner resources and solutions for problems, beliefs, and set sensory specific goals.
  
• In contrast, the actual state someone is in when setting a goal or choosing a course of action is also considered important. A number of techniques in NLP aim to enhance states by 'anchoring' resourceful states associated with personal experience or model states by imitating others.
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STELLA RODGERS HPD MNCH  DCHAc CMIR. HPD MNCH. Licensed Practitioner NLP 

Acupuncture ~ Hypnotherapy ~ Reepham ~ Norfolk 

Tel: 01603 879126 ~ Mob / Text: 07891246348