Hypnotherapy

What Is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is a clinically established form of guided hypnosis that helps people with a history of substance use disorder and traumatic experiences to heal. When a clinically trained hypnotherapist guides a patient into a state of deep relaxation, the effects on the unconscious mind and the ability to become more self-aware can lead to remarkably positive results.

In this hypnotized state, the patient is not aware of their surroundings or what is going on around them; they are solely focused on specific thoughts or tasks. Only a licensed and certified healthcare professional who is trained in the technique should perform hypnotherapy.

How Does Hypnotherapy Work?

During a hypnotherapy session, you’ll become much more self-aware and tuned in to your inner psyche. Your clinician will guide you into a deeply relaxed state, where you’ll be open to positive suggestions and focused on your inner experiences. This process brings to light your thoughts, emotions, and memories, accompanied by a sense of deep relaxation. Due to the relaxed and suggestive aspects of hypnotherapy, you’ll be more likely to recall any repressed trauma and other memories that you’d previously been blocking from your consciousness.

Your doctor may use hypnosis in two different ways. First, they may use suggestion therapy, which allows the person to respond to suggestions, which may lead to changed behaviors or perceptions.

Hypnosis Treatment

Hypnosis may also be used as an analysis that helps the doctor find the underlying cause of a disorder or resulting symptom. Once the issue is identified, the therapist can address it and work with the patient toward a resolution.

Contrary to what you may see on television, participants in hypnotherapy don’t lose their ability to control their own behaviors. They aren’t being controlled by the therapist, and they can come out of the hypnotic state on their own. You will probably be able to remember what happened during your hypnosis session.

Hypnosis is used as a treatment for many conditions, such as substance use disorder, mental health, anxiety, and phobias. A doctor may recommend hypnotherapy along with other medical and psychological treatments. It’s often helpful to relieve pain and encourage behavior change.

Hypnotherapy is a tool used to facilitate the results of other treatments. It should be performed by a trained health care provider in a clinic or other medical facility. The patient and health care provider will work together to decide if hypnotherapy should be part of the treatment plan.

Benefits of Hypnotherapy in Addiction Treatment

Hypnotherapy can provide numerous benefits as part of an addiction treatment plan. This therapeutic technique can make treatment for addiction more successful in numerous ways:

• Places you in a temporary state of deep relaxation, which allows you to be more receptive to helpful suggestions from your therapist
• Allows you to recall repressed memories from past traumas, which may have led to your addiction
• Helps you learn how to relieve stress and other emotions that lead to using drugs or alcohol for coping
• Helps with pain management, which may alleviate symptoms of withdrawal from drugs or alcohol.

Hypnotherapy for Alcoholism

Hypnosis has been used as part of alcoholism treatment programs, though it cannot replace other aspects of treatment, such as alcohol detox. The patient remains conscious and relaxed under hypnosis, which helps them think more clearly about how to handle their substance use disorder.

Hypnotherapy for alcoholism can work in two distinct ways:

• The therapist may help clients find alternatives to drinking, such as going for a walk or working out if drinking habits developed due to stress. They make these suggestions under hypnosis so that the mind can recall them in a situation that makes the client crave a drink.
• Alternatively, the therapist may use hypnotherapy for alcoholism by training the mind to associate drinking with an undesirable feeling. For example, making the client think about how bad a hangover is the following day or how severe the headache feels can deter the urge to drink again.

Medical Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy has often been overlooked as a potential treatment option in medical care. One study conducted with just five participants using hypnotherapy to aid in alleviating physical, behavioral, and emotional symptoms found that all participants had successful outcomes after no more than three sessions of hypnotherapy.

One of the most profound recent developments has been the recognition that the power of hypnosis stays with the patient. This view is much different from the traditional notions held in the past.

Benefits of Hypnotherapy in Addiction Treatment

Hypnotherapy places you in a temporary state of deep relaxation, during which time you are highly receptive to helpful, healing suggestions from your therapist. As you are able to access long-suppressed memories, perhaps of past traumas, you can often begin to view your addiction from a completely different perspective. Your openness during hypnotherapy can help you gain better control over your addictive behaviors. Hypnotherapy also assists in relieving stress and anxiety concerning your ability to cope without using drugs or alcohol.