Hypnotherapy can deal with a variety of personal issues including weight loss and traumatic memories. I can’t help you forget bad memories, it just isn’t possible, but I CAN help you modify how you feel about them to reduce their impact.
Sessions last 45 minutes to 90 minutes; please see the Rates section .
What is Hypnosis? It’s not like what you see in the movies.
Hypnosis is a natural state of selective, focused attention, and, even though it is 100% natural and normal, it remains one of the most fascinating phenomena of the human mind. Our ability to enter this unique state of consciousness opens the door to countless possibilities for healing, self-exploration and change. Hypnosis, called by different names in different cultures and times, has been recognized for thousands of years and used for many purposes.
When you enter into the absorbed state of hypnosis, you can use your thoughts, talents and experiences in ways not usually available to you. With the help of a trained professional, you can develop innate, individual abilities that enable making desired changes in your thoughts, feelings and behaviours possible. For reasons that are as yet not clear, the focused state of hypnosis allows changes to intentionally be made “automatically”, changes that you could not ordinarily make consciously.
Treatments that do not use hypnosis only reach the conscious mind, which comprises 10% of the individual’s total being. When someone is put into a hypnotic trance there is the potential of going into the other 90% of the mind, the subconscious, to discover and treat the underlying problem.
How can a treatment aimed at your mind affect your body?
The body responds physically to thoughts. For example, when you think a frightening thought, you can experience increased heart rate, shortness of breath, “butterflies” in the stomach and so on. Similarly, when you think a pleasurable thought, you can experience reduced heart rate, deeper breathing, relaxation of muscles, and so on. These are autonomic nervous system responses that are involuntary, but they can be utilized to promote health. When hypnotized, an individual is very open to suggestions that can enhance positive and diminish negative physical reactions.
Can anyone be hypnotized?
Some people find it easier to relax than others. By the same token, some people are able to go into trance more quickly and more deeply than others. About 85% of people can go into at least a light trance. For most therapeutic goals, light trance is enough to enable almost everyone to benefit from hypnotherapy to some extent.
Even for those people (maybe 10-15%) who do not enter into even a light trance state, hypnosis may still be helpful to assist their relaxation and improve their suggestibility to constructive comments and suggestions.
Will I be asleep or unconscious?
The word hypnosis comes from the ancient Greek word ‘hypnos’ meaning sleep, but it is mis-named. Hypnosis is NOT sleep. Sleep and hypnosis may seem similar since you may be relaxed and have your eyes closed (although not necessarily), but there are many differences. One main difference is that you tend to be in a relaxed state, but with heightened awareness! If you were to fall asleep during a session, you would return to normal consciousness when asked to, or simply awaken after a short nap. You would feel refreshed, relaxed and would suffer no ill effects at all.
“I don’t think I was hypnotized–I heard every word you said!”
Some people, after a session of hypnosis, don’t believe that they were hypnotized at all. This likely comes from misconceptions about just what a ‘trance’ really is. There are differences between the brain waves of people who are asleep and those who are in a trance. In practice, people who are hypnotized often talk with the hypnotist, and can both answer and ask questions, hear everything that is said very clearly, and are perfectly well aware.
There is no mysterious feeling to being hypnotized and your mind is not taken over nor controlled. This expectation and perhaps a demand to have some mysterious experience beyond conscious control or awareness seems to leave some people disappointed and even denying they had any experience at all. These same people may actually have received substantial results and unconscious change.
Will I lose control of myself?
No, there is no loss of control. Hypnosis allows clients to be more focused and less distracted and more skillful in using their own mental abilities constructively. In this way, they can achieve more of their goals, and consequently, actually achieve more (not less) control of their personal comfort, health, and well-being. The ‘control’ misconception appears to originate from stage hypnosis which actually involves people doing what they want to be doing in a social agreement to be entertaining.
Can I get stuck or trapped in the hypnotic state?
No. At any time you can re-alert or choose to ignore suggestions. No one stays hypnotized indefinitely – you will always “come out” of trance within a short time.
Will hypnosis make me remember things accurately?
No. Hypnosis can improve your recall of events that you believe happened to you, but hypnosis is not a way to find out the truth (whatever that may be) about events that are in dispute. Under hypnosis you may re-experience events, but there is no guarantee that you are remembering them correctly. Hypnosis only assists the subject in recalling perceptions, not truths.