IS HYPNOTHERAPY FACT OR FICTION?

I read an article recently, well I read lots of article, but this one did catch my eye as I’m often challenged when I say I’m a hypnotherapist. People want to know if I will control their minds or make them cluck like a chicken. You know the sort of thing. To be honest, I imagine most of us have questioned its validity at some point, I know I did before I trained to be a Clinical Hypnotherapist. Well surprisingly, Hypnotherapy actually has a robust scientific framework, and research shows how effective it can be when dealing with symptoms of anxiety.  

 What people often don’t know is Hypnotherapy was the first model of psychotherapy found in the 1600’s, but it was quickly shelved because no one understood how it worked. Then in 1843 a Scottish surgeon Dr. James Braid discovered that concentration could guide the brain toward a more suggestible state, and whilst this was controversial, physicians have continued to test and teach the technique over the centuries with great success.

As a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist, I use guided visualisation to help my clients go into a nice relaxed state, this creates a powerful combination of dissociation  and an openness to new experiences. We call this a “hypnotic state.” This state of deep relaxation isn’t particularly difficult for most of us to achieve, it is reminiscent of what happens during meditation, except instead of training people to tune into the present moment, hypnosis makes them more receptive to suggestion.

With the invention of MRI scans we can now see how, during hypnosis, the activity in a brain region that helps people switch between tasks, quietens down. Researchers have also found that hypnosis can calm brain regions that help control autonomic functions like heart rate, blood flow, and breathing.

One of the most interesting modern applications of hypnosis is in the operating room. Studies have shown that people who received hypno-sedation experienced less pre-operative anxiety, required less pain medication during surgery, and reported less post-operative pain intensity, nausea, fatigue, and discomfort, than people who chose general anaesthetic.

However, despite the mounting evidence, hypnosis is still not without sceptics and who would be surprised when we know historically, the power of hypnosis hasn’t always been used responsibly. The imaginative potential of hypnosis has been shown to create false memories, sometimes with devastating effects, but when conducted by a trained professional and properly applied, modern hypnotherapy can provide powerful results and help people take control of their lives in a positive way.