Hypnosis is the process of using trance and trance states to actively engages one's unconscious in the task of solving a problem. Hypnosis can be incorporated into psychotherapy treatment or used by itself.Some of the problems treated with hypnosis are
:: anxiety
:: writer's block--and other types of blocks
:: depression
:: habit control
:: weight management
:: pain management
MORE ON HYPNOSIS
One way to think of hypnosis is as a state of inner absorption. Inner absorption occurs when our minds are concentrated and focused.
While our conscious minds are engaged in focused attention our unconscious can become active in helping us solve our problems.
Another term used to describe hypnosis is trance. Hypnotherapists facilitate the development of a purposeful trance state.
You probably have experienced trances in your daily life. The experience of hypnotic trance is not dissimilar from those times when our attention is so focused that we miss the freeway turnoff or ride past our bus stop. Sometimes we can be so absorbed in reading a book that we are unaware of noise or activity around us. This level of focused attention is very like the trance state of hypnotherapy.
People respond to hypnosis in different ways but most describe the experience as one in which they feel pleasantly calm and relaxed.
MYTHS ABOUT HYPNOSIS
People have ideas from TV, movies and nightclub acts that people in trance lose control of themselves or do funny things. That is not what hypnosis therapy is about. People who have been hypnotized for a therapeutic purpose remain aware of who and where they are and have control of themselves.While our conscious minds are engaged in focused attention our unconscious can become active in helping us solve our problems.
WILL IT WORK FOR ME?
There are no guarantees. Hypnosis, like any other therapy tool, works well for some and less so for others. It works better for some problems than others. It is your option to use hypnosis as part of your psychotherapy treatment.
I welcome the opportunity to discuss how hypnosis therapy might benefit you.
ONE MORE THING...
More information about clinical hypnosis can be found at the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis.
An excellent hypnosis resource in the San Francisco Bay Area is the Milton H. Erickson Institute of the Bay Area (MHEIBA) .
