Hypnotherapy and Clinical Hypnosis

What is Hypnotherapy? Hypnotherapy treatments The Conscious and Unconscious mind What can I get help with?

Lets start by being clear that this is a reliable and safe therapeutic technique which is centuries old and is recognised by many branches of medicine as a valuable alternative to drugs, to accelerate healing, and to help combat pain. Take a look at the section on brainwaves or the mind for a little more background.

With modern MRI technology we can actually see the areas of the brain that ‘light up’ when people have been induced into an hypnotic trace, showing clearly that the brain is responding in the way that experts in Hypnotherapy have been aware of during its long history and that can now be evidenced using developments in neuro science.

I have had personal experience of how helpful Clinical Hypnosis can be, and I have to say it was much to my surprise. I was convinced that I wouldn’t go under, or that it wouldn’t work, but it did! So I decided to learn how to use it myself and to add Hypnotherapy to my coaching, NLP and management consultancy portfolio of skills and experience.

You may be looking for some help with problems or issues in your life that are stopping you from doing what you want to do, or even stopping you from really knowing how good your life can be and how fantastic you can feel.

Perhaps you have some fears or phobias, feel depressed, unmotivated, cant get a good nights sleep, have stress and anxiety in your life. These are some of the commonest problems that we see in consulting rooms and the good news is that Hypnotherapy can really help with all of them.

Come and see me for a free initial consultation and we can talk through how we can work together to access your own inner resources to make the changes that you need and want to be who you truly are, who you are really meant to be.

Here is some information you can look through to get you started.

What is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnosis is a state wherein the subconscious and conscious parts of the mind begin to work on the same concept at the same time without conflict.

Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis is not a state of deep sleep. It does involve the induction of a trance-like state, but when in it, the patient is actually in an enhanced state of awareness, in this state the conscious mind is suppressed and the unconscious mind is revealed.

Hypnosis is a natural state, each and every one of us goes in and out of trance several times a day, when we are day -dreaming, concentrating and completely engaged with something we are doing (work or hobby) that all sense of time escapes us, falling asleep or even watching the television.

Hypnosis is a different state of consciousness which you can naturally enter so that beneficial suggestions may be given directly to your unconscious mind.

Hypnosis is an effective way of making contact with our inner (unconscious) self, which is both a reservoir of unrecognised potential and knowledge as well as being the source of many of our problems due to the way the brain/mind functions and the conflict that this can cause (see the mind section).

It is a fact that no-one can be hypnotised against their will and even when hypnotised, a person can still reject any suggestion, the unconscious mind will only accept suggestions that be of benefit and in line with the values and intentions of the whole person.

Therapeutic hypnosis is a state of purposeful co-operation between you and your therapist.

Hypnotherapy treatments

Let me start by saying that I will be tailoring your therapy to your personal and unique experience and situation. After all you really are the one with the answers; I bring the toolbox and the process, and help keep you on the right path. Milton Erickson shared a wonderful anecdote with his students that I feel is helpful and may explain more clearly what I mean.

“I was returning from high school one day and a runaway horse with a bridle on sped past a group of us into a farmer’s yard…. looking for a drink of water. The horse was perspiring heavily. And the farmer didn’t recognise it, so we cornered it. I hopped on the horse’s back… since it had a bridle on, I took hold of the rein and said, ‘Giddy up’ and headed for the highway… I knew the horse would turn in the right direction… I didn’t know what was the right direction was. And the horse trotted and galloped along. Now and then he would forget he was on the highway and start into a field. So I would pull on him a bit and call his attention to the fact that the highway was where he was supposed to be. And finally about four miles from where I had boarded him he turned into a farm yard and the farmer said, ‘So that’s how that critter came back. Where did you find him?’ I said, ‘About four miles from here.’ ‘How did you know he should come here?’ I said ‘I didn’t know… the horse knew. All I did was keep his attention on the road’… I think that’s the way you do psychotherapy.”

Hypnosis itself is unlikely to provide a relief of symptoms, whatever those symptoms might be. It is the therapy - hypnotherapy - which is carried out within the hypnotised state that is important.

Hypnotherapy aims to re-programme patterns of behaviour within the mind, enabling irrational fears, phobias, negative thoughts and suppressed emotions to be overcome.

As the body is released from conscious control during the relaxed trance-like state of hypnosis, breathing becomes slower and deeper, the pulse rate drops, the metabolic rate falls and brain waves change.

Hypnotherapy involves you experiencing a sense of deep relaxation and wellbeing with your attention focused on appropriate suggestions made by the therapist. These suggestions help people make positive changes within themselves.

Suggestion Therapy

Hypnotherapy can be applied to many psychological, emotional and physical disorders. It is used to relieve pain in minor surgery and dentistry and has proved to be of benefit in obstetrics. It can shorten the delivery stage of labour and can reduce the need for painkillers. It can ease the suffering of the disabled and those facing terminal illness, and it has been shown to help people to overcome addictions such as smoking and alcoholism, and to help with bulimia. The treatment period will normally be between two and four weekly sessions.

Analytical Therapy

This is used for the more deep-rooted problems that prove resistant to Suggestion Therapy. The technique aims to find and remove the underlying original cause of such things as irrational fears, emotional problems, relationship difficulties, psychosexual problems, lack of confidence, moodiness, sleeping difficulties, stuttering/stammering, anxiety, inferiority complex, unhappiness, phobias, etc. and most other problems where there is a psychological factor at work. The treatment period will normally be between six and twelve weekly sessions.

As I said the therapy that we use will be tailored to your needs and who you are, it is one to one and completely private and confidential.

The Conscious and Unconscious mind

Did you know that you are only aware of about 20% of what is actually going on in your head!?

The conscious mind is mainly active when we are awake and is responsible for our decision making processes, or rationalisation and analysis. It decides what action we will take, often based upon past unconscious experiences, and constantly re-assesses a situation to ensure that the correct action has been taken. The conscious mind has no memory capacity, and therefore only deals with the 'here and now' situation.

Although recent ground breaking research has found that our conscious mind may only think it makes decisions, that it is our unconscious mind that is making decisions and our conscious mind ‘catches up’ and affirms the action or thought as its own!!

Well what we can say is that the brain is made up of three different (in evolutionary terms) layers which are the reptile, small mammalian and intellectual brain. Or more helpfully to us the intellectual brain (conscious) and the emotional (unconscious) brain.

We need to bypass the conscious intellectual mind and speak directly too to emotional unconscious mind which is where we can effect change and where we work through hypnotherapy.

When you have your first session we will look in more detail at how this knowledge and understanding about how you ‘tick’ can help, but the great thing about hypnotherapy is that it will still work even if you don’t want to get up to speed with neuro science and psychology!!

What can I get help with?

The list is quite a long one, but as I have talked about earlier the most common issues and problems are:

Anxiety and Stress

Hypnosis is of enormous help in reducing stress and/or anxiety levels, though there are two distinctly different methods of treatment. Whether you need help for a 'one-off' situation like a driving test, for example, or a more persistent and possibly deeper-rooted problem, Hypnosis can help you. The best method for any individual can really only be determined by consultation, many people finding that two or three sessions, spread over a month or so, are sufficient.

Fears and Phobias

When you have a fear or phobia that you really cannot get to grips with however hard you try, no amount of well-intentioned 'help' from friends or family is likely to solve the problem - it can even make things worse. Although it may seem impossible to you now, hypnotherapy can help to remove the problem so that you could simply forget it ever existed in the first place. Using only the right sort of therapy means that you won't replace one fear with another, either.

A phobia is an excessive or unreasonable fear of an object, place or situation. Phobias are extremely common. Sometimes they start in childhood for no apparent reason; sometimes they emerge after a traumatic event; and sometimes they develop from an attempt to make sense of an unexpected and intense anxiety or panic (e.g. "I feel fearful, therefore I must be afraid of something").

It is often believed that the only way to overcome deep-rooted fears is to somehow 'face up' to the feared experience. This is not how Hypnotherapy works, this is a truly gentle method for working on fears and phobias.

Self Confidence and Self Esteem

Hypnosis can help to identify the cause. Lack of confidence and self esteem can be deep rooted, and is often due to negative experiences, if left unaddressed these negative experiences can set a precedent for future achievement. It can be beneficial to pinpoint the initial cause of the confidence problem.
Gaining and developing self-confidence underlies all our lives and having self-confidence can improve every aspect of life.

Lack of self-confidence breeds fear... fear of failure, change or unfamiliar situations. This fear can restrict lives, offering less variety, happiness and success. Most people would benefit considerably from increasing their self-confidence.

Sleep Problems

The problem with not having a good nights sleep (i.e. experiencing the appropriate amount of REM sleep) is that it will create a vicious cycle of stress, anxiety, tiredness, depression, lack of energy which in turn will affect our ability get a good nights sleep. Lack of sleep can also be symptomatic of other problems that can be helped with Hypnotherapy (i.e. stress).

Your immune system needs effective sleep and in so many ways healthy sleeping can be both a life enhancer and a clear indicator that you are well balanced, did you know that approximately 35% of adults experience poor sleep!
And…
Habits and Obsessions including OCD
Panic attacks
Depression

I could go on with the list of problems Hypnotherapy can help with, you are probably familiar with the very successful quit smoking programme, but did you know we can also help with weight loss and irritable bowel syndrome?

Brain Waves

Electrical activity emanating from the brain is displayed in the form of brainwaves. There are four categories of these brainwaves, ranging from the most activity to the least activity. When the brain is aroused and actively engaged in mental activities, it generates beta waves

Beta These beta waves are of relatively low amplitude, and are the fastest of the four different brainwaves. The frequency of beta waves ranges from 15 to 40 cycles a second. Beta waves are characteristic of a strongly engaged mind. A person in active conversation would be in beta. A debater would be in high beta. A person making a speech, or a teacher, or a talk show host would all be in beta when they are engaged in their work. They are associated with cognition and concentration. When we are wide awake and alert we are in the Beta State.

Alpha The next brainwave category in order of frequency is alpha. Where beta represented arousal, alpha represents non-arousal. Alpha brainwaves are slower and higher in amplitude. Their frequency ranges from 9 to 14 cycles per second. A person who has completed a task and sits down to rest is often in an alpha state. A person who takes time out to reflect or meditate is usually in an alpha state. A person who takes a break from a conference and walks in the garden is often in an alpha state. These brainwaves are associated with relaxation, visualization and creativity. As we start to relax our brain wave cycles start to relax also, should this state of relaxation become deep enough, our brain would enter the Alpha State.

Theta The next states, theta brainwaves, are typically of even greater amplitude and slower frequency. This frequency range is normally between 5 and 8 cycles a second. A person who has taken time off from a task and begins to daydream is often in a theta brainwave state. A person who is driving on a freeway, and discovers that they can't recall the last five miles, is often in a theta state--induced by the process of freeway driving. The repetitious nature of that form of driving compared to a country road would differentiate a theta state and a beta state in order to perform the driving task safely. It is a state where tasks become so automatic that you can mentally disengage from them. The ideation that can take place during the theta state is often free flow and occurs without censorship or guilt. It is typically a very positive mental state. These brainwaves are associated with, hypnotic trance states, heightened receptivity, increased memory, and advanced meditation. As we relax further we would fall into a light sleep, this is the Theta State

Delta The final brainwave state is delta. Here the brainwaves are of the greatest amplitude and slowest frequency. They typically centre around a range of 1.5 to 4 cycles per second. They never go down to zero because that would mean that you were brain dead. But, deep dreamless sleep would take you down to the lowest frequency. Typically, 2 to 3 cycles a second. These brainwaves are associated with healing, detached awareness, and sleep.

When we go to bed and read for a few minutes before attempting sleep, we are likely to be in low beta. When we put the book down, turn off the lights and close our eyes, our brainwaves will descend from beta, to alpha, to theta and finally, when we fall asleep, to delta.

It is a well known fact that humans dream in 90 minute cycles. When the delta brainwave frequencies increase into the frequency of theta brainwaves, active dreaming takes place and often becomes more experiential to the person. Typically, when this occurs there is rapid eye movement, which is characteristic of active dreaming. This is called REM, and is a well known phenomenon.

When an individual awakes from a deep sleep in preparation for getting up, their brainwave frequencies will increase through the different specific stages of brainwave activity. That is, they will increase from delta to theta and then to alpha and finally, when the alarm goes off, into beta. If that individual hits the snooze alarm button they will drop in frequency to a non-aroused state, or even into theta, or sometimes fall back to sleep in delta. During this awakening cycle it is possible for individuals to stay in the theta state for an extended period of say, five to 15 minutes--which would allow them to have a free flow of ideas about yesterday's events or to contemplate the activities of the forthcoming day. This time can be an extremely productive and can be a period of very meaningful and creative mental activity.

Hypnosis works by lowering your brainwave state by taking you into deep relaxation and down through alpha and into theta (sometimes even delta) states.

Consultations

Contact me if you have any questions and to arrange your initial free consultation. info@laughingcrow.co.uk
Telephone: 07

The Administrating Agency for The General Hypnotherapy Standards Council Promoting the Profession Protecting the Public

Code of Ethics & Conduct

All practicing members undertake to adhere to the following code:

1. Client Welfare

The welfare of the client is the primary concern of the therapist. It should only take second place if not to do so would seriously jeopardise other members of the public or the therapist's welfare.

2. Confidentiality

Confidentiality is to be maintained in all but the most exceptional circumstances. These can only include:

3. Service

Hypnotherapists will only offer services in areas in which they have demonstrated their competence, to the agreed National Occupational Standards level. They have a responsibility to provide the client with the best possible service available including onwards referral to another therapist or medical practitioner that may offer such a service. Trainee members may only use the techniques and work only with issues for which they have been given express permission by their course tutor, following formal assessment and monitoring of skill development. Trainee members must ensure that all clients are fully aware of their trainee status.

4. Development of 'Skill-base'

Hypnotherapists are required to maintain or improve their level of skills and professional competence by:

An awareness of research and developments in the field of Hypnotherapy and other linked fields must be maintained.

5. Exploitation

All exploitation is abuse.

Hypnotherapists shall not behave in any manner that gives rise to the exploitation of a client. They will

Hypnotherapists shall only deal with clients under the age of 17yrs or with special needs, after obtaining informed consent of an appropriate adult (parent or legal guardian). All sessions should be conducted in the presence of an appropriate adult (parent, guardian or agreed adult third party) OR recorded on time indexed video/audio format, unless informed consent is obtained from the appropriate adult to work on a 1:1 basis. Members who have specific training in assessing Gillick competence may utilise these skills.

6. Advertising

Advertising, no matter in what form or medium it is placed, shall represent a true picture of the hypnotherapist, their skill base, qualifications, facilities and any benefits that may be expected from hypnosis and shall conform to current Advertising Law.

TESTIMONIALS IN ANY FORM MUST NOT BE INCLUDED.

7. General Conduct

Hypnotherapists shall not behave in any manner, within or outside the context of therapy that would undermine the public's confidence in the profession or bring the profession into disrepute. Some examples:

Clients should be made aware of appropriate avenues of complaint.

Notes

Notes of clarification to Bye Laws:

1(a)(2) Most standards of confidentiality applied in professional contexts are based on the Common Law concept of confidentiality where the duty to keep confidence is measured against the concept of "greater good". A stronger form, as advocated, may be provided by the use of a written contract containing a confidentiality clause. The sharing of anonymous case histories with supervisors and peer-support groups is not a breach of professional confidentiality. The sharing of open case histories with supervisors is also not a breach. Feedback to referring medical practitioners can take the form of general comments as to progress; specific details should be kept confidential. The Hypnotherapist should also be prepared to share information necessary for the continuing treatment of clients by other health-care professionals, where the re is an overlap or hand on of care. This should not be a reason to dilute the standards of confidentiality.

1(a)(4), Continuing Professional Development may include attending live courses, seminars, workshops or conferences, taking courses via distance learning, conducting research, and writing books, articles or publishable book reviews. All must be relevant to the practice of hypnotherapy.

1(a)(5), Should at any time a relationship, other than as described above, develop between a client and therapist, then the client shall be referred on to another competent therapist, at the earliest time commensurate with the welfare of the client and in any case, no further fees shall be taken.

Working with children: The NCH wishes to highlight that members should only work with children if th y are so qualified to do so, and to be aware of the potential risks to them of false or malicious claims being made by children if they are seen without an appropriate adult.

1(a)(7), In the clause regarding bringing the profession into disrepute, the NCH also considers it to be a breach of the code to bring the NCH into disrepute. Ways that members can bring the NCH into disrepute include:

1(b)(3) A supervisor is suitably qualified if they hold Cert. Hyp. Sup. or higher grade of supervisory training.

1(b)(4) The inclusion of a clause that defines the scope of confidentiality, within therapy raises it from a Common Law duty to Contractual Limitation and duty to deliver.