Hypnotherapy is used as a complementary medicine to treat various physical and mental disorders and illnesses. It uses exercises that bring the patient to a trance or a relaxed state and altered state of consciousness. It teaches the patient how to master their own states of awareness that can affect their own bodily functions and psychological responses. Hypnotherapy became popular in the mid 1900s when the successful psychiatrist, Milton H. Erickson started using hypnosis as part of his treatment.

What happens during hypnosis?

The body relaxes and the thoughts become more focused. Hypnosis lowers the blood pressure, heart rate and changes certain types of brain activity. This helps the patient feel physically at ease, mentally awake, and highly responsive to suggestions.

How hypnotherapy works

The client and the hypnotherapist determine an achievable goal. This includes a thorough evaluation of the problem in order to come up with an achievable and desired outcome. The patient is assessed in terms of receptivity, suggestibility, and the possibility to achieve the desired outcome. All in all, the patient is screened for factors that would disqualify him or her for hypnotherapy. If not done properly, hypnotherapy can cause more problems.

The hypnotherapist will ask questions like why the patient chooses to undergo hypnotherapy, what the patient wants to achieve, if the condition is medical or psychological, and if the patient have had other treatments for the said condition. Then the hypnotherapist will asses the patient’s capacity to receive and act on posthypnotic suggestions.

Based on the initial assessment during preparation, the therapist will guide the patient to a complete state of relaxation necessary for hypnosis to occur. The hypnotherapist will use one or more approach such as the use of authority, guided visualization or imagery, repetition of sounds or words, music or rhythm, emotional cues or probes, and use of analogy, metaphors or associative statements as comparisons familiar experiences or images.

When the patient is fully relaxed, the hypnotherapist will make suggestions by verbalizing the desired outcome. If the patient takes it in and acts upon the suggestion, it will affect the patient’s behavior after he or she has emerged from hypnosis. It is the posthypnotic suggestion that is the key to achieving the goal.

When the hypnosis is done, the patient is led back to consciousness and will discuss the experience with the therapist. Each session last about an hour and it takes about 4-10 sessions before results become imminent.

Disorders that can be cured by hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is used as complementary treatment to chronic illnesses, asthma, phobia, insomnia, addictions, stress, eating disorders, migraine and tension headaches. It is also used for various illnesses and disorders.