What to expect in hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is something that many people do not understand. We have all heard of hypnotherapy, but our views and expectations are often doubled by media portraits that make it seem magical or incredibly powerful. We see that scene magicians use “hypnotism” to make people act like ducks, and it is a common feature in detective stories where bad boys use hypnotism to make victims of all kinds act and commit aggressive crimes.
Of course, this has very little to do with actual hypnotherapy, which is a much more scientific and much less outrageous tool that can be used in the context of therapy to produce several benefits for people who are a little less dramatic.
The question is, how exactly does hypnotherapy work? And what should you expect?
The basic idea behind hypnotherapy is simple, and it is to make “suggestions” directly to the unconscious mind. Hypnotherapy was first used as part of psychodynamic therapy born out of Freud’s theories. Freud has speculated that many of the things that make us behave strangely, that cause our anxieties and phobias, or make us forget important events, are acting on an unconscious level. This may be because our unconscious mind is protecting our psyche from memories or emotions that may be damaging, or we are not aware of how we feel.
Therefore, Freud would use various methods to try to approach the unconscious mind more directly. This would mean using techniques such as “free association” in which I would ask patients to say the first thing that occurred to me and “analysis of dreams,” where they would analyze the content of dreams using hidden clues about the functioning of the mind unconscious. Therefore, it would be possible to discover often forgotten memories or to change the processes of unconscious thought and thus improve the psychological well-being of the patient.
Another method I would use is hypnotherapy. Here the patient would completely relax, and the analyst would use a “script” to help him drop his guard. This would include open and forward-looking statements that could make the individual more confident in what the hypnotherapist said. Finally, by inducing a trance state, it is possible to speak directly to the unconscious mind to present suggestions that would not be rejected and that the individual would really believe.
At the same time, hypnotherapy can be used to make a patient reveal things that they may have forgotten or repressed, and in this way can get to the bottom of the events and beliefs that may be causing severe psychological harm.
So what will happen when I get hypnotherapy? Well, first of all, you will have a general consultation where you will check the hypnotherapy problem and goals and where the therapist can know more about you. From here, you will be relaxed and have a calm and comfortable environment to do it. This can include music or soft effects. From here, the hypnotherapist will read a script designed to help you relax and gradually open your mind to suggest.