By Ernst Lamothe Jr.
With people seeking various non-medical, non-invasive treatments to heal various issues in their lives, hypnotherapy has slowly gained traction as an option.
Hypnotherapy is a type of guided hypnosis used among psychological and medical treatments. Treating anxiety, depression, addictions and facing fears, hypnotherapy can improve sleep and quality of life.
“Hypnotherapy can help improve and resolve relationships, address grief issues, resolve issues with anger management and, most importantly, boost self-confidence and assertiveness,” said Karen Schwartz, a national board-certified clinical hypnotherapist at Transformative Services in Syracuse.
Throughout her experience, Schwartz gives some insight and describes her field of work and why she continues her work in hypnotherapy.
Here are five things to know about hypnotherapy.
1. Mind over Matter
Although patients want immediate relief of their symptoms or illnesses, they mentally have to put it in their heads that they want to heal and that they will get better.
“It’s not just the therapy methods and experience that work to help ease these symptoms, but it is rather the willingness of the patient that they heal over time,” said Swartz.” It is crucial for therapists to have a background in different therapies in order to master the techniques of hypnotherapy.”
2. Counseling
Hypnotherapy is more than just hypnosis, but it offers beneficial services such as counseling. Counseling addresses several problems such as marital issues, behaviors, self-esteem, eating disorders and many more.
“Each situation is handled differently, depending on what the patient is looking to resolve within themselves,” explains Schwartz, who has a master’s degree in psychology. “It is important to get an understanding of how a person ended up in the situation they are in and other leading factors that may be affecting them.”
Once the therapist grasps a better understanding of the situation, then the effects of hypnosis can begin to alter the mind.
3. Pain management tool
Many people do not consider hypnotherapy as a medical treatment, but it is an effective tool for pain management, addictions, injuries and depression, said Schwartz. Hypnosis is also a great tool for removing emotional pain in which many people suffer from on a daily basis. Prenatal hypnosis is another common form of therapy that more pregnant women are starting to consider.
The main area in the body that hypnotherapy targets is the brain. The brain controls all of our sensory integration, and with hypnosis it allows the body to feel sensory sensation causing the body to feel more calm and worry-free.
4. You might need multiple sessions
Anyone expecting a quick one session fix for their specific issues must understand that is not how hypnotherapy works.
“Each person enters the office with different worries or issues they would like to resolve within themselves, and they have to understand that it can take many sessions to resolve,” said Schwartz. “Everyone heals differently, so someone can feel better with just one session and with others it takes several sessions to see results.
According to The Jaguar Path shamanic training, many people suffer from multiple things rather than just one or two, and in this case, Schwartz mentions that each session will work on healing one part of the body at a time rather than focusing on healing everything altogether. In reality, healing takes time whether that is one week to a whole year, so it is important to always listen to your body.
5. Triggering different emotions
Like regular therapy, many of our bad habits, experiences or phobias will come up in the sessions. While fear is natural and a healthy response to danger, especially in a survival instinct mode, phobias are different. They are more intense than fears and can lead to anxiety and panic attacks. The main goal of hypnotherapy is to push those bad habits away and to place positive reinforcement as our main focus. This then builds a clearer foundation of how we want to continue to live our lives.
“Hypnosis is an important factor to triggering the subconscious,” said Schwartz. “Triggering the subconscious releases tension and unwanted emotions that may be weighing down the person emotionally.”
In addition, the best result with hypnotherapy is when patients are willing to make it work, she sad.