Hypnosis
What is therapeutic hypnosis and how does it really work?
When I say that I work with hypnosis, I sometimes see that moment of hesitation. Will I remember anything? Will I lose control? Can I be made to say something I do not want to say? And what if I cannot be hypnotised at all?
No wonder. For years our picture of hypnosis has been shaped by films, entertainment shows and scenes in which someone snaps their fingers and another person suddenly has no idea what they are doing.
Therapeutic hypnosis looks nothing like that.
Hypnosis does not mean losing control
Contemporary psychology describes hypnosis as a state connected with focused attention, reduced interest in surrounding stimuli and greater responsiveness to suggestion. That does not mean having no will of your own. During a session you can hear, speak, think, move and respond.
For some people hypnosis is very deep relaxation. Others say they feel almost as usual, only far more focused. Some see vivid images, others mainly feel emotions or notice associations.
There is no single "correct" way of experiencing hypnosis. And I am not waiting for you to stop thinking. We work precisely with what appears.
If I am consciously present, what is hypnosis for?
Because every day a huge part of our reactions fires faster than we can analyse it.
You can know perfectly well that someone's opinion is not worth worrying about, and still feel your chest tighten before speaking in public. You can know you have the right to refuse, and still say "all right" one more time. You can understand that eating in the evening does not solve stress, and yet the evening is exactly when it is hardest to stop the automatic reaction.
This does not mean that "your subconscious is sabotaging your life". It means, rather, that intellectual understanding alone is not always enough for an emotional reaction to change just as quickly. And that is where hypnosis can be an interesting tool.
What happens during the work?
We start with a specific theme. Not with the question "what is wrong with you?", but rather: what happens in the situation you want to change?
What comes first? A thought? Tension? An image? An emotion? An impulse to run, to attack, to shut down or to do something very familiar?
During hypnosis we direct attention exactly that way. Sometimes a memory appears. Sometimes an association that was not there before. Sometimes a reaction in the body. Sometimes nothing spectacular - just a very simple understanding of something that had been slipping past for years.
Not every session looks the same. And that is a good thing.
Is hypnosis "scientifically proven"?
This question deserves an honest answer, not a marketing "yes, of course".
Hypnosis is studied clinically and there are areas where the results are promising - among them work with pain, some symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, and anxiety connected with medical procedures. At the same time the quality of the evidence differs depending on the problem, and in not every area are the findings clear-cut.
That is why I do not treat hypnosis as a magic solution to everything. It is a method of working. Not a guarantee of a result.
And what about the "subconscious"?
I often use that word on this site, because it describes well the experience of things that happen automatically: reactions, associations, emotions or beliefs that we do not consciously choose in the moment.
I do not, however, imagine the subconscious as a mysterious warehouse holding the absolute truth about your life. In a session we are not looking for one hidden secret that will "fix everything". We look at what appears - and check what it means to you.
The most important question is not "will I go deep enough?" Far more important is this: can I be curious enough about what appears in me to stop trying, for a moment, to control it, correct it or judge it?
Hypnosis does not take your control away. What it can do is create conditions in which you do not need to hold on to it as tightly as usual. And sometimes that is exactly when you notice something that was not visible before.
If you want to see what this work looks like in practice, you can start with a free intake call. Book an intake call - 30 minutes, online, free of charge.