Hypnosis

‘What is hypnosis?’ Describe the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in Hypnotherapy.

Psychological therapies aim to assist clients in finding alternatives to their present unsatisfactory ways of thinking, helping them to become more accepting of themselves. Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation in which your mind is focused allowing connections between thoughts, feelings and behaviours become clearer. Hypnosis therefore allows the hypnotherapist to guide the client in finding alternatives ways of thinking and responding. Hypnosis is defined not as a therapy but as a procedure by means of which therapy is delivered. This procedure typically involves an interaction between two people, the hypnotherapist and the client and is known as the hypnotic induction. During the hypnotic induction, the hypnotherapist usually requires the client to be in a relaxed state, both mentally and physically. The aim of hypnosis is to achieve a hypnotic state and to attain this hypnotic induction follows a set of principles. These principles include selective attention which involves narrowing the client’s attention to a selective range of stimuli, usually feelings and imagery as opposed to external stimuli. It may also help for the client to focus on internal stimuli such as their breathing; this in-turn reduces the client’s awareness of their surroundings and external stimuli. Secondly, suggestion is a key to hypnosis; the hypnotherapist presents positive suggestions for imaginative experiences to the client (Micheal Heap). The client is guided by the hypnotherapist to respond to these suggestions in an involuntary manner; a well known example of this involuntary response is the finger locking test. The hypnotherapist suggests that on the count of the three the client will not be able to separate their fingers. Suggestion conveyed from the hypnotherapist to the client can be used more extensively to move back in time (age regression)...