HYPNOTHERAPY is a skilled communication aimed at directing a person’s imagination in a way that helps elicit changes in some perceptions, sensations, feelings, thoughts and behaviours.
In a typical hypnotherapy session the hypnotherapist and client will discuss the intended alterations or therapeutic goals desired. The hypnotherapist will ask questions about previous medical history, general health and lifestyle to decide on the best approach for the individual.
Hypnotherapy may be found to be helpful for those seeking relief from a range of problems and is used alongside a person’s own willpower and motivation to seek a desire goal. It is often used to help relieve anxiety, aid sleeping, address bedwetting, address attitudes to weight, and help clients achieve behavioural change to stop smoking. It may also help with minor skin conditions that are exacerbated by stress and confidence issues and may also be used to enhance performance in areas such as sport and public speaking. Hypnotherapy may help people to cope with and manage the relief of perceived pain.
Hypnotherapy has also been used with both adults and children to help manage the pain associated with irritable bowel. There is evidence to support its use in this condition for both adults and children and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Guidance (NICE) recommends the NHS should consider referring patients for hypnotherapy if their irritable bowel is persistent and has failed to respond to simple prescribed medicine.
HYPNOSIS IS SAFE and surprisingly children and young adults do it all the time! It can be ‘deep’ which is just like the moment before you and I fall asleep or when your child fails to hear you when you have been constantly calling them – a deep relaxed state in which everything else is tuned out except the focus for concentration. Very much in the same way as when driving on a motorway, you realise that you have no conscious awareness of having driven from the last junction to the next!
Hypnotherapy for children and teenagers under 16 years of age, will always be discussed with parents before hand and their written consent gained. Some children find it easy to sit back and experience a deep relaxing trance state with their eyes closed. For others, it is easier and more practical to induce an awakened trance state through drawing, colouring or playing a game. By noticing subtle shifts in level of awareness, metaphors or stories may be used by the hypnotherapist to implant hidden suggestions for change and improvement.
At no time will your young person be out of control or in a coma like state. During the session, their conscious mind will always be alert for anything that may seem out of place, whether that is something said or a fire alarm going off – even if they should inadvertently fall asleep! At the end of a session he or she will be brought back to full wakefulness in a calm and gentle manner to a familiar and friendly face.
It is important to note that hypnotherapy can be both fast and extremely effective and as every session is tailored to the needs of the individual, results can vary from one young person to the next.