Hypnotherapy: Cerebral suggestions for change

By Ellen Mahoney

     Relax. Now watch the pendulum swing back and forth, back and forth. Your eyes are getting heavy. Very heavy. You are feeling sleepy. Very sleepy. Now you will read this article carefully. Very carefully.

     If you automatically balk at the idea of someone manipulating your mind while you're "under," hypnotherapy may seem like an invasive, unnerving idea. But the power of suggestion offered through this adjunct to psychotherapy can help address everything from improving athletic performance and helping one stop smoking to promoting relaxation during childbirth and conquering fears.

     As an adjunct to psychotherapy, hypnotherapy is sometimes referred to as a "fringe" treatment not traditionally taught in traditional psychotherapy trainings. But like many alternative health practices-such as acupuncture, chiropractic and herbal remedies-hypnotherapy has found an important place in healthcare.

      In basic terms, the practice of hypnotherapy combines hypnosis with psychological therapy. Franz Mesmer, a Viennese psychiatrist from the 1700s, is considered the "founder" of hypnosis. Mesmer was able to influence patients' imaginations with the use of magnets, enabling him to treat some psychological illnesses. Mesmer coined the term "animal magnetism," and the word "mesmerizing" comes from his last name.

     In the 1800s, particularly in Europe, hypnosis was routinely practiced by physicians, and often used as an anesthetic. Later, with the advent of drugs, hypnosis became less popular. Today, more people are open to the idea of hypnotherapy, but its reputation is still challenged by skeptics who question the training, credentials and ethics of hypnotherapists and the validity of the practice.

     Hypnotherapy is based on many years of clinical research by psychologists, including such luminaries as Freud and Jung. The most common hypnotherapy used today is Ericksonian hypnosis, developed by psychiatrist Milton Erickson. Erickson saw the value of accessing an individual's inner thoughts via hypnosis, and is regarded as the world's leading hypnotherapist. From the 1930s to the1980s, Erickson taught and practiced a client-friendly style of hypnosis that eventually found validity in the fields of medicine and psychotherapy. He later founded the National Association for Clinical Hypnosis.

     "There is a big difference between hypnosis (which is just giving suggestions), and hypnotherapy (which is doing deep therapeutic work in the state of hypnosis)," says Diane Zimberoff, LMFT, master clinical hypnotherapist and founder/director of the Wellness Institute in Issaquah, WA. "Over the past several hundred years, hypnosis has been highly valued and also at times feared, depending on how it was being used or misused. Mesmer used it and healed many people in France, for example, and people flocked to him. In America, during the '50s and '60s, hypnosis' reputation moved out of the realm of healing because it had been used for stage show entertainment. Now, because of the strong movement towards mind/body holistic healing, hypnosis is a highly valued skill."

     Michael Hathaway, doctor of clinical hypnotherapy, certified hypnosis instructor and author of The Everything Hypnosis Book (Adams Media, 2003), says the best thing hypnotherapy can do for patients is to help them get a second view of a situation they're stuck in, so they can achieve positive changes in their life. However, he adds, "Hypnotherapy is not helpful to those who do not want it to help them, or those who do not have the ability to understand their reality due to drugs, alcohol or mental illness."

     Like all forms of therapy, each therapist puts his or her own spin on the practice. A typical hypnotherapy session with Hathaway, for example, lasts about an hour and a half and costs about $90. The first part of his session is devoted to "information gathering" where he assesses a client's ability to image in the five different senses with questions and directions such as, "What is an activity you like? Now imagine that activity." He says everyone is different in the way he or she images, so it's important to know how a client will respond to suggestions. "I want to find out what the person enjoys doing and how they relax," he says. "By doing this, they are already entering into a relaxed state of mind and are becoming more receptive to suggestions that will be given when we address the presenting problem."

     Next, Hathaway looks at what the person wants to change. "If it's a habit," he says, "I want to know what part of them likes the habit (and why they use it), such as smoking to relieve stress. Then I find something they don't like about the habit, perhaps related to something else they don't care for, such as a food. Belief in the ability to change is the most important thing."

     After figuring out the best way to communicate with the patient via receptive words and acceptable thoughts, Hathaway then begins hypnosis, which he considers an ethereal state of mind that's not easily defined. "When in hypnosis, a person is in an altered state of consciousness and a heightened state of suggestibility," he says. "However, a person will not do anything in a hypnotic trance that they would not do while in a normal waking state."

     The hynotherapist works with the fact that all people, at one time or another, have gone into trances or daydreams. Have you ever driven for several miles down the highway, then suddenly realized you haven't been paying attention? The hypnotherapist tries to help the client achieve this trance-like state so he or she can change through suggestions the therapist presents.

     There are different ways to guide an individual into a hypnotic state, but the main ways strive to relax the client through restful words, sounds, imagery and breathing. The therapist guides the patient with authoritative commands such as "you will" or "you are" until a desired state of consciousness is achieved.

     Different problems require different approaches. To deal with a patient's fear of flying, for example, Hathaway's first questions would be, "How did you learn this fear, and how long have you had it?" One technique he uses is called "affect bridge regression," in which a client is regressed over a period of time to determine how he or she learned the fear in the first place. Once Hathaway has a sense of the root of the problem, he says the goal is to have the person observe where they learned it, so he or she can hopefully resolve it and move on.

     Another technique is called desensitization, in which the client repetitively rehearses an activity to remove the charge. When working with a fear of flying, for example, all the minute details of taking an airline trip are rehearsed so the patient becomes accustomed to the experience, and is hopefully more relaxed.

     Is hypnotherapy a miracle cure-all? "No," Zimberoff says, "but it may sometimes appear that way in comparison to traditional talk therapy. People often have very profound experiences in their hypnotherapy sessions and can feel cured or free from something that has plagued them for years."

     Hathaway adds that there is a great deal of responsibility for the hypnotherapist to always act in the best interest of his or her clients. In most states, hypnotherapy does not require any governmental license or regulation. But at a facility like the Wellness Institute, for example, a hypnotherapist in training typically needs to have a master's degree in a health-related field such as social work, psychology or nursing before beginning the hypnotherapy program.

     "The more credible hypnosis associations have standards for certification, as well as codes of ethics," Hunter says. "I would recommend a relative or friend only to a hypnotherapist who belongs to at least one of these hypnosis associations. Many health care professionals around the country use hypnosis, but do not belong to any of the hypnosis associations. Any credible institution will set standards that meet or exceed the certification standards of a major professional hypnosis association." However, he notes, some schools of hypnosis around the country create their own "associations" and set their own standards.

     "The public needs to be educated to look for hypnotherapists who are professionals in the first place, and licensed in their state before they are even trained in hypnotherapy," Zimberoff says. "They should be trained by a reputable institute with a long-standing reputation for high quality standards in the field. It is also preferable if the hypnotherapist has taken advanced training rather than just one basic course since hypnotherapy is a very complex field."

    

Resources, local and beyond

     For more information on hypnotherapy check out:

. www.aaph.org (American Association of Professional Hypnotists)

. www.hypnosis.com (American Board of Hypnotherapy)

. www.natboard.com (National Board for Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists)

. www.ngh.net (National Guild of Hypnotists)

. The Art of Hypnosis, by C. Roy Hunter (Kendall/Hunt, 2000),

. The Art of Hypnotherapy, by C. Roy Hunter (Kendall/Hunt, 2000)

. The Everything Hypnosis Book, by Michael Hathaway (Adams Media, 2003)

. Hypnotherapy, by Dave Elman (Westwood Publishing, 1984)

     The following are advertisers in Nexus who use hypnotherapy in their practice. Turn to the page listed after their name to read their ad and learn more about what they offer:

. Jeanie Bein, PhD, 303-940-7308;

. Jolee Henry, MA, NCC, CCH, CTF, 303-321-8484

. Joann Morris, MA, LPC, CHT, 303-665-9505;

. Mary Prinz, LCSW, CHT, 303-581-0280;

. Adam Reynolds, 303-938-8633;

     The following are advertisers in Nexus offering hypnotherapy training:

. American Academy of Hypnotherapy, Inc., 720-344-7236;

. Colorado School of Counseling Hypnotherapy, 303-776-6103;

. Day of Miracles School of Integrative Healing, 303-777-2551x1;

. Eastburn Institute of Hypnosis, 303-761-8651;

. Transpersonal Hypnotherapy Institute, 800-366-9417;

 See also the Nexus Calendar and Classifieds.