10 REASONS WHY I AM A HYPNOTHERAPIST

Early on in my career as a counselor, I would have an occasional experience in a session in which I would find myself talking in a slow, musical way, with words flowing one after the other, and, as I spoke, I would watch my client become very quiet and inward.  At the end of the session, they’d comment on how good that felt, and that during those quiet, inward moments, they’d had a different felt sense of their problem, and an ‘aha’ moment of understanding in an embodied way how they could transform their experience.  Then, at their next session they’d talk about how things had changed for the better, and that they wanted to return to that quiet, inward space in which they could work so differently with their experience.

At the time, it was just luck for me, and I didn’t know how to recreate that experience.  Now I do.  I know that through hypnotherapy, I can help clients to access that deep, quiet place in which they can connect with a deeper intelligence and embodied wisdom that is the basis for real and lasting change.

Here are some of the elements of the hypnotic state that make it healing and transformative.

Inclusive – The deeper state that hypnotherapy opens us to is inclusive.  Within the crucible- the space that we enter- all aspects of self and world are invited. Nothing needs to be excluded, so every part of a problem can be worked with. It allows for lasting solutions that are resonant with the whole person.

Peaceful-The ‘side effects’ of hypnotherapy are relaxation and a sense of peace.  It provides a quiet space in a busy world, beneath and beyond the chatter of the mind. Hypnotherapy helps us to get in touch with a deeper intelligence and wisdom, and an inherent ease in the body.  Clients often report that, besides help in resolving problems, they sleep better, and generally feel a more relaxed, peaceful energy.

Affirming– When hypnosis was in its infancy, the belief was that the powerful, all-knowing hypnotist instructed the empty mind of the client in what to do. The client was seen as a vessel that the hypnotist filled with their suggestions. The client had no power in the session, and this philosophy reinforced the idea that the client was weak and unable to find their own solutions. We know differently now.

As a hypnotherapist, I help each client to connect with their own deep inner knowing, and to understand how to apply it to daily life.  Hypnotherapy, as I practice it, is empowering, and affirming to clients.  It builds self-trust and opens the pathways to inner wisdom, so that clients know themselves as having their own best understandings and solutions.

Compassionate Presence-In order for change to take place, certain qualities must be present.  We must be both open and focused, relaxed and aligned, and compassionate towards the seemingly problematic parts of our experience.  Holding the problem in a compassionate presence allows it to soften, for us to discover the deeper issues that are keeping it in its current form, and to bring the qualities that allow for transformation and healing.

Positive Orientation– Some healing modalities focus exclusively on the problem- whether it’s a sprained ankle or anxiety- and through that focus create an underlying sense that the person is not ok. By narrowing in on the problem, it can exclude it from our creativity, flexibility, and feeling of basic goodness and worthiness.

Hypnotherapy looks at the problem within the larger awareness of the many resources and supports that are available to us, that we may not have recognized-yet.  We create a healing field in which the problem can be brought, opening to all of the myriad possibilities for change and transformation.

Natural– Trance is natural. Whenever our normal waking consciousness doesn’t have the solutions, we naturally look for ways to go inward and connect with a deeper intelligence.  Every culture has its methods- drumming, dancing, music, sacred rituals, meditation or prayer.  Hypnotherapy is part of that lineage.  It provides a way for a modern person to create that sacred space in which they open the pathways to their deeper wisdom, their creative unconscious, the field of infinite possibilities that normal waking consciousness isn’t able to access, and to come up with new solutions and understandings.

Flowing-Where normal waking consciousness identifies us a being in this moment in time, within the deeper state of hypnosis, we can move back and forth in time.  We can move into the past to gather abilities and affirming experiences that we’ve forgotten, as well as to heal and transform past hurts.  We can move into the future, to begin to build a future based on our deepest intentions and callings, and to use that future self to guide us forward into our lives.

Integrating-Hypnotherapy works with solutions, and it also works with how to bring them into daily life.  Most of us have had the experience of having a powerful insight, and, in the next moment, having it disappear.  In hypnotherapy, special techniques allow us to make sure that the new insights and embodied experiences from the session are available to take with you when you leave the session.

Healing– Hypnotherapy speaks in the language that the body and heart understand.  It enables us to heal faster after an injury or illness, to reduce or eliminate pain, to experience more energy and calm, and to work with emotional wounding as well.

Lasting– Because of all of the above, the changes that happen in a hypnotherapy session are lasting.  It’s change that affects our bodies, hearts and minds- both normal waking consciousness and our deeper intelligence.