1. What is Clinical Hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation or altered consciousness characterised by increased suggestibility. Clinical Hypnosis or Hypnotherapy, therefore, is the use of an altered state of consciousness, or trance, for therapeutic endpoint.
There are different brain waves associated with hypnosis. Starting with Alpha, which is a brain wave state when the body begins to relax. Some examples of alpha state are light hypnosis, meditation, day-dreaming, being absorbed in a book, music or television, driving and arriving at your familiar destination without recalling all the usual landmarks!
As the brain waves slow down into theta and delta states, hypnosis deepens and a person’s subconscious or unconscious mind is more accessible for suggestions and change.
2. How does Hypnosis work?
Hypnosis works by inducing a deep state of relaxation often called trance. Under trance the conscious, rational part of the brain is temporarily bypassed, making the subconscious or unconscious part, which influences mental and physical functions, receptive to therapy. Under hypnosis, there is heightened concentration for the specific purpose of maximising potential – changing limiting beliefs/behaviours or symptom management and gaining insights.
Once the individual has achieved desired depth of trance the hypnotherapist uses many different therapeutic methods aimed at overcoming specific problems. These therapeutic methods range from simple suggestions, encouraging imagination, to profound specific approaches for different issues like control room of mind for pain management, Desensitisation protocols for phobias, parts therapy and many such advanced protocols.
Some applications such as inducing a deep state of relaxation require minimal intervention, more complex behaviour patterns such as overeating or treatment of panic disorders require complex therapeutic interventions together with psychological and behavioral homework.
3. Is Hypnosis safe?
Yes, it is a very safe therapeutic modality provided it is conducted by someone from a medical or counselling/therapy background and with sound hypnotherapy training.
- Nobody can ever be hypnotised against their will and even when hypnotised, you will remain in complete control of any suggestions given.
- The whole object of clinical hypnosis is to take back control that has been lost and has therefore resulted in the occurrence of the problem.
- It is estimated that approximately 85% of people of all age groups will readily respond to hypnosis. And usually those who resist hypnosis, do so consciously, and therefore constitute the other 15%.
- Always undergo hypnosis sessions with someone trained professionally and ethically.
4. How common is EMDR therapy?
EMDR therapy is very common around the world. In the United States, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense list EMDR as a “best practice” in treating veterans experiencing PTSD. Research on EMDR includes dozens of clinical trials, research studies and academic papers. It has oficial approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) and government organisations and agencies in the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany, among others.
5. What is Mindfulness?
One of the Definitions of mindfulness is “the awareness that arises out of intentionally attending in an open and non-judgemental way to whatever is arising in the present moment.”
Mindfulness is both a skill and a set of practices to strengthen the skill. It is a natural capacity that everyone has to some extent and one that can be developed further with practice.
It is also important to note what mindfulness is not:
- Mindfulness is not a religion. While mindfulness has its roots in contemplative practices that go back thousands of years and are found in virtually every spiritual tradition; mindfulness itself is not a religion and it does not require that you give up or adopt any particular belief system.
- Mindfulness is not about avoiding your thoughts or feelings. Attending in an open and discerning way includes attending to your thoughts and emotions. Becoming mindful of our thoughts and our thinking patterns helps to steady the mind and keeps our thoughts from running the show. Mindfulness can also help you to become more aware of your emotions and how transient they are when we actually pay attention to them. And it can help illuminate that space between the stimulus and the response so that we can respond instead of react.
- Mindfulness will not eliminate the stress in your life. Stressful things will still happen, but mindfulness can increase your capacity to manage and cope with stress.
- Finally, mindfulness is simple – it is just paying attention, with an open and curious attitude to what is happening right now. However, simple does not equal easy. For many of us, deliberately paying attention to our thoughts and emotions without allowing our minds to wander is quite challenging.
6. How does Mindfulness help in therapy?
Mindfulness practices when learnt and practised consistently can provide huge benefits in managing catastrophizing thoughts, ruminating minds and prevent one from going down the spiral of anxiety and fear.
A key component of mindfulness is practising being aware and shifting from a consistent ‘doing mindset’ to a state of just ‘being’.
These and many more approaches are integrated into therapy and help the individual navigate the conscious mind and its incessant chatter!
7. How are the sessions structured?
Typically, the duration of each session is one hour, the first session may be slightly longer. During the first meeting, relevant personal information is taken and the nature of the issue is discussed. Any other related information that may be relevant is explored.
A brief explanation of the various Mind Body Medicine (MBM) approaches is given including hypnotherapy, EMDR, energy medicine etc. and any questions, fears or apprehensions that one may have are addressed.
Depending on the diagnosis, health challenge, or emotional challenge, sessions are designed guided by the individual’s needs & goal. Sessions combine various modalities such as hypnosis, mindfulness, coaching approaches, energy medicine modalities and EMDR. Based on individual needs and preferences, techniques are taught and where appropriate recordings are given to practice between sessions.
The number of sessions depends on individual requirements, severity and length of presenting symptoms.
All sessions are adapted to suit the individual needs and therapy is done maintaining strict confidentiality. All sessions are online on Zoom.
An initial 20 mins exploratory call is absolutely free. Kindly connect via ‘contact us’ page to enquire about the session costs.