Clinical Hypnosis
There may be times when I will suggest the use of Clinical Hypnosis (Definition and Description below) as an adjunct to our current therapy.
I will only do so if I feel that the use of Clinical Hypnosis will enhance the current interventions that are being used, and only if you agree to the use of Clinical Hypnosis.
Research shows that the use of Clinical Hypnosis in counseling / therapy can be beneficial with the following:
It is important to keep in mind that hypnosis is like any other therapeutic modality: it is of major benefit to some clients with some problems, and it is helpful with many other clients, but it can fail, just like any other clinical method.
DEFINITION AND DESCRIPTION OF CLINICAL HYPNOSIS
Hypnosis typically involves an introduction to the procedure during which the subject is told that suggestions for imaginative experiences will be presented. the hypnotic induction is an extended initial suggestion for using one's imagination, and may contain further elaborations of the introduction. A hypnotic procedure is used to encourage and evaluate responses to suggestions. When using hypnosis, one person (the subject) is guided by another (the health professional trained in clinical hypnosis) to respond to suggestions for changes in subjective experience, alterations in perception, sensation, emotion, thought or behavior. Persons can also learn self-hypnosis, which is the act of administering hypnotic procedures on one's own. If the subject responds to hypnotic suggestions, it is generally inferred that hypnosis has been induced. Many believe that hypnotic responses and experiences are characteristic of a hypnotic state. While some think that it is not necessary to use the word "hypnosis" as part of the hypnotic induction, others view it as essential.
Details of hypnotic procedures and suggestions will differ depending on the goals of the practitioner and the purpose of the clinical or research endeavor. Procedures traditionally involve suggestions to relax, though relaxation is not necessary for hypnosis and a wide variety of suggestions can be used including those to become more alert. Suggestions that permit the extent of hypnosis to be assessed by comparing responses to standardized scales can be used in both clinical and research settings. While the majority of individuals are responsive to at least some suggestions, scores on standardized scales range from high to negligible. Traditionally, scores are grouped into low, medium, and high categories. As is the case with other positively-scaled measures of psychological constructs such as attention and awarenes, the salience of evidence for having achieved hypnosis increases with the individual's score.
- This definition and description of hypnosis was prepared by the Executive Committee of the APA, Division 30
MYTHS ABOUT HYPNOSIS
People often fear that being hypnotized will make them lose control, surrender their will, and result in their being dominated, but a hypnotic state is not the same thing as gullibility or weakness. Many people base their assumptions about hypnotism on stage acts but fail to take into account that stage hypnotists screen their volunteers to select those who are cooperative, with possible exhibitionist tendencies, as well as responsive to hypnosis. Stage acts help create a myth about hypnosis which discourages people from seeking legitimate hypnotherapy.
Another myth about hypnosis is that people lose consciousness and have amnesia. A small percentage of subjects, who go into very deep levels of trance will fit this stereotype and have spontaneous amnesia. The majority of people remember everything that occurs in hypnosis. This is beneficial, because the most of what we want to accomplish in hypnosis may be done in a medium depth trance, where people tend to remember everything.
In hypnosis, the client is not under the control of the health professional using hypnosis. Hypnosis is not something imposed on people, but something they do for themselves. A health professional using hypnosis simply serves as a facilitator to guide them.
I will only do so if I feel that the use of Clinical Hypnosis will enhance the current interventions that are being used, and only if you agree to the use of Clinical Hypnosis.
Research shows that the use of Clinical Hypnosis in counseling / therapy can be beneficial with the following:
- Trauma (incest, rape, physical and emotional abuse, cult abuse);
- Anxiety and stress management;
- Depression;
- Bed-wetting (enuresis);
- Sports and athletic performance;
- Smoking cessation;
- Obesity and weight control;
- Sexual dysfunctions;
- Sleep disorders;
- Concentration difficulties, test anxiety and learning disorders;
- Pain management
It is important to keep in mind that hypnosis is like any other therapeutic modality: it is of major benefit to some clients with some problems, and it is helpful with many other clients, but it can fail, just like any other clinical method.
DEFINITION AND DESCRIPTION OF CLINICAL HYPNOSIS
Hypnosis typically involves an introduction to the procedure during which the subject is told that suggestions for imaginative experiences will be presented. the hypnotic induction is an extended initial suggestion for using one's imagination, and may contain further elaborations of the introduction. A hypnotic procedure is used to encourage and evaluate responses to suggestions. When using hypnosis, one person (the subject) is guided by another (the health professional trained in clinical hypnosis) to respond to suggestions for changes in subjective experience, alterations in perception, sensation, emotion, thought or behavior. Persons can also learn self-hypnosis, which is the act of administering hypnotic procedures on one's own. If the subject responds to hypnotic suggestions, it is generally inferred that hypnosis has been induced. Many believe that hypnotic responses and experiences are characteristic of a hypnotic state. While some think that it is not necessary to use the word "hypnosis" as part of the hypnotic induction, others view it as essential.
Details of hypnotic procedures and suggestions will differ depending on the goals of the practitioner and the purpose of the clinical or research endeavor. Procedures traditionally involve suggestions to relax, though relaxation is not necessary for hypnosis and a wide variety of suggestions can be used including those to become more alert. Suggestions that permit the extent of hypnosis to be assessed by comparing responses to standardized scales can be used in both clinical and research settings. While the majority of individuals are responsive to at least some suggestions, scores on standardized scales range from high to negligible. Traditionally, scores are grouped into low, medium, and high categories. As is the case with other positively-scaled measures of psychological constructs such as attention and awarenes, the salience of evidence for having achieved hypnosis increases with the individual's score.
- This definition and description of hypnosis was prepared by the Executive Committee of the APA, Division 30
MYTHS ABOUT HYPNOSIS
People often fear that being hypnotized will make them lose control, surrender their will, and result in their being dominated, but a hypnotic state is not the same thing as gullibility or weakness. Many people base their assumptions about hypnotism on stage acts but fail to take into account that stage hypnotists screen their volunteers to select those who are cooperative, with possible exhibitionist tendencies, as well as responsive to hypnosis. Stage acts help create a myth about hypnosis which discourages people from seeking legitimate hypnotherapy.
Another myth about hypnosis is that people lose consciousness and have amnesia. A small percentage of subjects, who go into very deep levels of trance will fit this stereotype and have spontaneous amnesia. The majority of people remember everything that occurs in hypnosis. This is beneficial, because the most of what we want to accomplish in hypnosis may be done in a medium depth trance, where people tend to remember everything.
In hypnosis, the client is not under the control of the health professional using hypnosis. Hypnosis is not something imposed on people, but something they do for themselves. A health professional using hypnosis simply serves as a facilitator to guide them.
