What Is Clinical Hypnotherapy/Hypnosis?
by Stefanie Schaefer (Nat) Dip.Hom
The first and most important thing I’d like to do is to demystify clinical Hypnotherapy/Hypnosis.
Hypnotherapy was accepted in the 1950’s by the British and American Medical Association. It’s essentially the opposite of meditation where you empty your mind. With hypnotherapy you are filling your mind with positive suggestions. The more commitment from you, the client, the better the outcome.
The great thing is, Hypnosis is actually a natural state which we all experience many times per day.
Some examples for this are:
- Day dreaming
- Driving on familiar roads
- Watching TV or other screens, being mesmerized
- The time before we nod off or before waking up
When you see a trained Hypnotherapist however, he or she will guide you to this relaxed state/trance and it’s good to know that a hypnotised person is still able to hear everything and is in total control of each session. This is called an “induction” followed by a “deepener” and eventually the hypnotherapist has the opportunity to re-programme the sub conscious mind with affirmations and positive suggestions.
At the time of total relaxation we reach a meditative state and this is the time when our subconscious mind opens up, ready to take on board what it needs to hear, to make positive changes for the future.
Did you know that our subconscious mind cannot differentiate between reality and imagination? This is why people who experience a panic attack – as an example – experience symptoms and fear as if there were in real danger.
The 2 parts of the mind and how it all works
Our mind has two parts. The conscious mind and the subconscious mind.
We are constantly aware of our conscious mind. We make decisions, we analyze situations, and we jump to conclusions with our conscious mind. It is very easy to feel that our conscious mind is all that there is, but scientists say the conscious mind is only about 10% of our thinking capacity.
The other 90% is locked away in your subconscious mind. Everything you have ever experienced or known is in your subconscious mind. Including every single thought, word, every song and every loving act performed. Your subconscious is like a huge storage unit of all your past experiences with overwhelming influence on all your actions and reactions.
Most of us are not aware of the subconscious or its tremendous power to bring success and happiness into our lives. Changes of behaviour have to occur here, where they were established in the first place.
Making changes with Hypnotherapy
Clinical Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool to change an old belief system – which can often stop us from fully enjoying our lives – transforming it into a new and positive one. It can be very therapeutic and a good break away from our stressed filled world to assist self-improvement. It’s also a powerful tool, not only for shifting self limiting beliefs and behaviours, but also in fighting addictions, fears and phobias as well. Some of my greatest successes have been as varied as helping children overcome anxiety associated with school, through to food addiction and weight loss utilising my ‘Virtual Gastric Band’ sessions. I certainly love to hear from my clients and am proud of their results.
After a session most Hypnotherapists will give you a recording to listen to. By listening to this repeatedly, new neural pathways in the brain are being created and over time the old neural pathways (with old behavioural patterns) will eventually break down and get flushed out. A good hypnotherapist will also teach self-hypnosis and other NLP tools.
Is there something holding you back in life? If so, try Hypnotherapy and see what it can do for you!
For an appointment with Stefanie please call 09-486 217or send an email to stefaniehomeopath@gmail.com
