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Hypnosis is already part of your day, occurring in
those moments when you find yourself daydreaming, spacing out, or lost in
thought. These moments are natural activity-relaxation patterns of the body
known as the ultradian rhythm. At other times we may find our attention highly
focused or concentrated, such as when we watch a movie and lose track of the
seats and people around us. Both of these states, whether dispersed or focused,
yield an openness in which learning easily occurs.
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Beneficial change occurs not when the therapist
attempts to remove symptoms, but when he or she helps clients to use what they
know, both consciously and unconsciously, in new ways on behalf of their
enlivening interests. Hypnotherapy is the focusing of attention to clarify and
promote the client's interests and to engage their conscious and unconscious
resources on behalf of their well being.
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The techniques of hypnotherapy have evolved from the
early commands employed by stage hypnotists to the sophisticated methods
pioneered by Milton Erickson, M.D. Erickson affirmed that the unconscious is
not an evil force trying to thwart our best intentions, but instead harbors the
very resources necessary to support each individual's desire for change. The
hypnotherapist helps the client harness these resources, creating new options
that were previously unused and out of awareness.
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Hypnotherapists employ a number of methods to assist
clients in achieving their desired outcomes. They may communicate with the
unconscious, tell anecdotes and metaphors, stimulate memory recall, utilize age
regression, attend to the client's physical experience, or assist the client in
discovering new perceptions and making new meaning of habitual experiences.
Good hypnotherapy is art and science masquerading as conversation—and may be
experienced by the client as nothing more than engaging conversation, yet is
often responsible for an increased sense of well being and desired change. Few
hypnotherapists utilize only hypnosis; many apply insight-oriented and
behavioral techniques as well.
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The problems treatable through hypnosis are many.
While hypnosis is commonly associated with habit cessation (losing weight,
quitting smoking, etc.), many hypnotherapists have a much broader range of
treatment. A well-trained clinician using hypnotherapy can help clients who
suffer from physical symptoms and conditions (including migraine, fibromyalgia,
sleep disorders), psychological symptoms (including depression, anxiety, grief,
low self-esteem, stress, insomnia, substance abuse, phobias, memory loss,
learning disorders) and life transition issues (career change, divorce, aging,
relationship crises). Even forms of schizophrenia and multiple personality have
been cured through hypnosis. The medical applications range from pain control
and anesthesia, comfort during birth, bleeding control, and the healing
associated with surgical procedures.
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In Ericksonian hypnotherapy, the client is never put
under the "control" of the hypnotist. The client is always free to
alter the hypnotic experience or to awaken at will. Each client may experience
their sessions differently depending on his or her desires, psychology, and
unique resources. For some, it may involve a heightened awareness, for others,
a profound relaxation. Often there is nothing that would be recognized as
formal trance work as the hypnotherapist learns to recognize and engage the
various trance states that each of us naturally and uniquely exhibit.
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Hypnosis and trance states are not artificial
conditions imposed upon a "subject," but are rather collaborations
between the therapist and client to utilize the client's unique resources,
conscious and unconscious, to correct an existing symptom or problem or to
assist in an aspiration or goal. It is inspired learning that promotes the
client's well being and confidence to competently attend to important life
issues.
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