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The benefits of hypnosis
We may not always be able to change what happens to us, but we can change our experience and how we respond. At Inner Wellness Center, we help ordinary people with the every day problems of life. With a physician's written approval, we also help patients with chronic pain using proven, effective hypnotic techniques.
Here are some reasons to consider private hypnosis sessions:
- most people feel good, relaxed, and energized after a session
- it is a rapid way to get results (3-6 weekly sessions on average)
- hypnosis is inexpensive and non-invasive
- hypnosis is empowering...it puts you back in control.
As hypnotherapists, we act primarily as a coach, facilitator, and educator. We show you how to create and expand good feelings and cultivate a greater sense of trust and belief in inner wisdom. We help you overcome any blocks or internal conflicts that may be keeping you from reaching your goals. And we teach you the art of self-hypnosis so that you leave with the skills to help yourself for life.
Who uses hypnosis?
Hypnosis is well-known and appreciated by many performers and top athletes, who often use hypnosis as part of their conditioning regime. But hypnosis is not just for Olympic medalists and Oscar winners. We've used hypnosis to help my clients achieve a wide variety of goals:
- Improved sleep patterns
- Increased confidence and a more positive outlook
- Relaxation and a greater sense of overall well-being
- More clarity around particular business or personal issues
- Better eating and exercise patterns
- Smoking cessation
- Reduced alcohol consumption
- Improved memory recall and the removal of test anxiety
- Pain management, surgery preparation, and recovery
- Calm, comfortable natural childbirth
- And more.
About complementary medical uses for hypnosis
Hypnosis can be complementary to the fields of medicine and psychology. If you are a health care provider or a patient, and you would like to try hypnosis -- to help manage pain, reduce stress, prepare for surgery and accelerated post-surgical healing, improve self-esteem, etc. -- we are happy to support you. There is a growing amount of literature on the efficacy of hypnosis on conditions like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), fibromyalgia, insomnia, and in reducing the symptoms caused by conventional cancer treatment. All medical and mental health patients need their physician's written referral prior to receiving hypnosis for a physical or mental disorder. (See more on our limits below.)
Please read: Limits with Inner Wellness Center services
Hypnotism is not a licensed profession. As a consulting hypnotist, we are not licensed mental health practitioners or a medical doctors. The services rendered are held out to the public as a form of motivational coaching, training in relaxation, and education in perception. This instruction is offered with the understanding that ALL hypnosis is self-hypnosis. We do not represent our services as any form of medical care or psychotherapy, and despite research results to the contrary we make no health benefit claims for our services.
If you have pain that has not been diagnosed, please work with a physician to receive appropriate medical attention. Obtaining a referral for complementary hypnosis from your licensed medical or mental professional is a simple process. Please contact us for a form. In this way, we can work together safely and legally for your benefit.
Insurance
We do not accept insurance, and most insurance companies do not reimburse for hypnosis.
"Can I be hypnotized?" Yes, almost always
Hypnosis is simply the intentional induction of the natural trance state. Contrary to the myths, hypnosis is not mind control, nor is it a rare ability that only some people have. If you can follow instructions, you can be hypnotized.
Hypnosis works because we are "wired" with this ability. We go in and out of light states of hypnosis every day.
Have you ever been driving somewhere and forget long stretches of the road you traveled because you were lost in thought? That's called "highway hypnosis," and it happens when a part of your attention becomes absorbed in thought. Even though you are not aware of it, another part of your mind is driving the car safely.
Most people feel that hypnosis feels both "weird" but also somehow familiar. Taking ourselves into hypnosis intentionally can feel a bit like entering that "twilight" state we are in before we fall asleep or when we are beginning to wake. The conscious, protective part of the mind is always present and can abort the session at any time.
As with most things, there are some people who are more easily hypnotized - people who are good at focusing and imagining tend to be the best (kids are great!). But just about anyone can be hypnotized to a satisfactory level for therapeutic benefits. And because hypnosis is a conditioned response, everyone gets better with practice.
How do you hypnotize someone?
The process of hypnotizing someone is not as mysterious as it might seem. Always remember it is not the hypnotist who has some kind of power over someone. Hypnosis is a state of reducing a person's awareness to a singular focus. It is often induced through a relaxation of the nervous system that the client allows for themselves because they choose to be hypnotized. Through repetition, the response becomes conditioned, enabling the client to go into hypnosis very quickly and easily.
To help someone enter the state of hypnosis, we use what is called an induction technique, and it can vary depending on the preferences and personality of the person we are working with. Usually, we use different suggestions to build on the ideas of physical and mental relaxation, gradually encouraging the client's attention to turn inwards.
Hypnosis and spirituality/religion
The client-centered hypnosis we practice is not spiritual in nature, however, it is compatible with almost all religious and spiritual traditions, except the few that teach it should be feared.
Hypnosis is about putting people in a more intentional relationship with the power of their own mind. Like meditation or visualization, it does not require that the client have any religious background, but clients who bring a religious preference are honored and respected for what they believe. Hypnosis can also help the client experience the benefits of his/her spiritual beliefs more fully.
Answers to common hypnosis myths
There are many misperceptions about hypnosis. In truth, all hypnosis is really self-hypnosis, and the hypnotist is like a teacher or guide. The client is always in control, and we are a team working together.
Here are some common myths to debunk, many of which are largely a product of the entertainment industry.
- Hypnotism is not mind-control -- You can always choose to emerge from a session if you choose. You will only accept the suggestions that fit with your value system. You are always in control.
- Wild claims about hypnosis (on the internet and other advertising) that seem to promise the impossible should be regarded with extreme skepticsm. That said, we are continually inspired by the power of the mind to create wellness and by the innate Universal Healing Wisdom we all possess.
- A person can not get stuck in hypnosis -- There have been cases reported where a person might enjoy the experience so much that they don't want to emerge right away, but the client is always in control.
- Hypnosis is not hard to enter, or only for gifted people -- Like most things, some people enter deep states of hypnosis easily right away, some people only achieve light states without a lot of practice, and most of us are somewhere in between. Almost anyone with average intelligence can be hypnotized. The most important factor is trust. That is why rapport between the client and hypnotist is so important.
- Despite appearances to the contrary, stage hypnotism is not mind control -- Some stage hypnosis is pretend where the audience members are simply going along with the show, and some is authentic. An audience member who truly experiences hypnosis wants to, at which point it is possible to hallucinate etc. Many of us have a part of ourselves that likes to be "on stage" and in the all-for-fun atmosphere of a stage hypnotist, it can be a perfect setting to experience enjoyable hypnosis for some people.
- Hypnosis is not "truth serum" -- You won't reveal any secrets that you do not want to share. Again, you are always in control.
- Is hypnosis the same as sleep? -- No, hypnosis is very different from the sleep state, although the earliest practitioners did not realize this at first. Hypnosis is a focused state of awareness that induces a heightened state of suggestibility. Occasionally, someone may drift off to sleep during a hypnosis session. This is most common if the person has had difficulties with sleep (perhaps due to pain/stress) and is overly tired. My sessions are interactive, so this is rare, but if it happens, I simply gently wake the client up.
- Does hypnosis always work? No. Like anything else, hypnosis is not 100% effective for every client and every issue. Clients who receive the most benefit from hypnosis are motivated to make changes and willing to be active participants. The best sessions occur when there is a good rapport between the client and hypnotherapist, when the client is motivated to participate in their own change process, and when the client (and hypnotherapist) can adopt a "go with the flow" attitude that invites exploration.
Free 30-minute consultation
It's important you feel safe and comfortable with your hypnotherapist and with the idea of hypnosis, so we offer free 30-minute consultation sessions.
Call 360-593-2214 to schedule an appointment. |
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