Hypnotic Therapy - Who Will It Work For, And Why?

Hypnosis was accepted by the American Medical Association in 1958 as an effective treatment for treating tension and stress related symptoms. Does it really work? What should a person look for when seeking a hypnotherapist, or buying hypnotic tapes & CDs?

There are many assorted hypnotic modalities that are used to reach the unconscious to cause change. Each method has its positives and its negatives. We are all different, so it makes sense that the best results will be gotten by utilizing the methods that each person will respond to.

Most companies that sell hypnosis recordings offer CD's that consist of standard traditional hypnotic techniques. A few sellers offer much more modern and effective Ericksonian hypnosis methods. And fewer still offer NLP methods.

The newest and possibly most effective technique available is video hypnosis. Video hypnosis relies on the latest Neuro-Linguistic Programming thought processes to produce rapid changes in a person. Video hypnosis modalities are not subliminal in nature.

With "Traditional Hypnosis," we simply make post-hypnotic suggestions to the unconscious mind. In case you are wondering, as far as I'm concerned, the term unconscious and subconscious are equal - they refer to the same part of the mind. This type of self-suggestion works well for a person who generally accepts what he/she is told without questionning everything.

Most hypnosis programs that are sold today are based on "Traditional Hypnosis" methods. The reason for this is that it really doesn't take much training or experience to write a script and just instruct a subject to do something. Unfortunately Traditional Hypnotherapy is not very compelling for people who are critical or analytical in their thinking processes.

By contrast, Ericksonian Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming methods work much better for most people in today's generation! This is because today people are taught to question everything they see and hear, rather than just follow the flock. So these techniques do work very well for people who are analytical or critical in their thinking processes.

These techniques are far more effective at reaching and influencing the unconscious. However, it can take many years of training and experience to learn how to apply these methods with success. This is a chore that is accepted only by truly dedicated hypnotherapists.

With "Ericksonian Hypnosis," we use little stories, called hypnotic metaphors, to offer suggestions and ideas to the unconscious. This is a compelling avenue, because it usually eliminates the blockage of and resistance to post-hypnotic suggestions that is very often caused by the conscious mind. There are two types of metaphors, "Isomorphic," and those of the imbedded command or "interspersal" nature.

Isomorphic metaphors guide the unconscious by telling a story that offers up a moral. The unconscious draws a one-to-one relationship between the contents of the story and the contents of a problem behavior.

For example, if a child is predisposed to tell lies, the parent might tell the child the story about the "Boy who cried wolf." The unconscious would draw a parallel between the boy in the story and the child, and realize that telling lies could lead to disaster, so the child would probably stop lying.

With the Embedded Command technique, the hypno-therapist conveys an interesting story that engages and distracts the conscious mind. The metaphor includes hidden direct post-hypnotic suggestions that are generally accepted by the unconscious. For example: While the subject is in hypnosis, he/she may hear the hypno-therapist say something like: I'm going to tell you a story about ...[a beach that has feelings. Isn't that] ...strange to... [you]? It's a warm summer's day, and... the beach [feels great].

The hypnotist pauses, shifts his voice tonality, and emphasizes the bracketed text. The unconscious recognizes a "Selectional restriction violation." Beaches can't have feelings. So it's like the unconscious says to itself: "Wait a minute, a beach can't feel anything, so that must mean that I'm supposed to feel great."

Since the suggestions are hidden in a story that is misdirecting the conscious mind, it is not likely that the conscious will realize that it has just received a direct suggestion, so it won't block it or resist it.

Process Instructions direct the unconscious to remember a past event of an appropriate learning experience from the past where something useful was learned, and then apply that experience to making a change in the present.

With "Neuro-Linguistic Programming" (NLP), rather than using suggestions, we use the same methods of thinking that are creating a problem, like an excessive appetite, to get rid of the symptom. NLP in the hands of a trained hypnotherapist can be very effective.

NLP Anchoring: Have you ever heard some old music and had it recreate feelings from the past? When you originally listened to the music, you were experiencing those feelings, and they subconsciously became associated with the sound of the music. So the song became an Anchor for the feelings. Now when you hear the song, it triggers the same feelings again.

Anchoring can be a very useful method. Suppose that you have a memory of being commended for having done something well in the past. If you get back inside of that memory, you'll be able to revivify the feelings of self-esteem that you had at that time. If you touch two fingers together while you re-experience those feelings of self-esteem, that touch will become an anchor for the feelings of self-esteem.

Now suppose that you want to create motivation to stick to a diet and lose weight. If you make a mental image of yourself with a thin, sexy body, and simultaneously trigger the anchor - (press the two fingers together again), your unconscious will associate the feelings of self-esteem to your image of you with the thin body and your level of motivation to lose weight will increase markedly.

NLP Flash: This is a very effective NLP method that can be used to flip things around in the unconscious, so that thoughts and experiences that used to trigger feelings of stress actually trigger relaxation instead.

The NLP Flash method is also extremely effective for extinguishing conditioned responses. For example: If a smoker has a cigarette while drinking coffee, his/her unconscious will associate the two behaviors together so that he/she automatically gets an urge for a cigarette anytime he/she has a cup of coffee. The Flash will cause the smoker's mind to disassociate the image of a cigarette from the cup of coffee so that he/she does NOT get an craving to smoke just because he/she is drinking coffee.

With "Subliminal" CD's, the recording has two tracks. One track contains a cover sound that is heard by the conscious mind. The cover sound could be anything from music to the sound of a bubbling brook. The second track contains direct suggestions that are listened to by the unconscious mind. These suggestions are repeated many times during a session.

Subliminal programs can be listened to as they play in the background while you are working, or talking on the phone or partisipating in any other activity. You don't have to stop what you are doing and relax like you do with self-hypnosis CD's. Subliminals can be an addition to hypnotherapy programs. But Subliminals will never replace Hypnosis or NLP because they are not as effective! They are not even in the same universe!! Some studies have claimed that it can take up to 80 hours of listening to a subliminal CD before it will have any effect on many people.

The last hypnotic methodology that we're going to talk about is Video Hypnosis. Video hypnosis is the most efficient form of hypnosis!

The techniques used in video hypnosis are based on the NLP technology, which works based on the utilization of a person's existing thought patterns instead of direct suggestions.

Over 70% of the people on the planet learn more efficiently by seeing, rather then by hearing.

Think about it. If you feel an craving to eat or smoke when watching television, it's because your unconscious recorded the video image of either food in your hand, or a cigarette in your hand, and then tied that image to an image of the TV. You never spoke to yourself and told yourself in words to associate them together, true?

And that's why the Video Hypnosis technique is so compelling. It's not hypnotic in the traditional sense, relying on the spoken word; rather, it relies on transmitting images to the unconscious. And if you've ever cried when watching a sad TV show, then you know how powerful and effective video hypnosis can be at reaching the unconscious. With this technique, results usually start with the very first viewing!

The Video Hypnosis technology trains the unconscious by way of a high-tech digital process. This frees you of your cravings and tensions and allows someone who smokes to stop without willpower, and a dieter to lose their cravings and appetite. Results start after the first viewing!