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About Hypnosis
History of Integrative Therapy
About Integrative Therapy
 

What is hypnotherapy?

Hypnosis is a natural altered state that people go in and out of throughout their everyday living. The state just before falling asleep and just before fully awakening is a type of altered state. Daydreaming is also an altered state. Hypnotherapy is the process of inducing this altered state for the purpose of bringing about positive change in one's life.

During a hypnotherapy session, a person is in control of their entire experience. The client is brought into a hypnotic state through the use of guided relaxation and imagery. During the guided imagery, the client's conscious mind is quieted so that the therapist can communicate directly with the subconscious mind, which stores 90% of the client's memory.

In 1958, the American Medical Association endorsed the use of hypnosis and hypnotherapy as a “valid therapeutic tool.” Hypnotherapy can be used to help with many different medical, physical, spiritual and emotional needs including: weight loss, smoking cessation, addressing fears and phobias, pain management, connection to spiritual purpose, self-esteem enhancement, as well as removal of any other blocks or obstacles to creating the life you desire.


Misconceptions about hypnosis

A client will never do anything under hypnosis that they would not do in their waking state. If the information a client receives under hypnosis goes against what is important to the client, then the subconscious mind will either change it to something more appropriate to their needs or completely ignore and discard the information. That is why it is impossible to brainwash someone through the use of hypnosis.

Stage hypnosis is very different from clinical hypnotherapy. During a stage show, there is a certain expectation in the subject's mind and a desire to entertain and let loose. Hypnosis becomes that excuse for them to let go. That is why many people allow themselves to cluck like a chicken while they are onstage; not because they were told to, but because they want to.

The last concern most people have is that they will stay stuck in a state of hypnosis. It is impossible for a person to stay in a state of hypnosis permanently. A person's brain will always bring them back to the present, with awareness of who they truly are.

 
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