Clinical Hypnotherapy is ….
- a useful counselling tool that may or may not be used during a counselling session
- a technique that may or may not suite your individual circumstance
- used after a thorough assessment if recommended by the counsellor
Clinical Hypnotherapy is NOT ….
- a smoking cessation technique
- a weight loss technique
- a tool for accurately recalling traumatic past events
- a tool for “finding” lost objects!
Hypnotherapy as Therapeutic Counselling Tool
Hypnotherapy is a therapeutic counselling tool that is used within a counselling session. Clients are facilitated into a state of relaxation through a variety of techniques. Each counsellor develops his/her own unique style and preferences in facilitating this relaxed state. Some techniques include: systematic relaxation (drawing attention through each area of the body and cueing relaxation), focusing on relaxed breathing, physically contracting muscles and then releasing them, and simply finding a comfortable position and focusing on the visualization described.
Once a relaxed state is achieved, the therapist will generally invite the client to use metaphor and imagery to increase emotional awareness, work through concerns, or symbolically process challenges. A therapeutic trance is merely a state relaxation in which a client processes the concerns brought to counselling. Trance is a natural state that one moves into and out of in everyday life.
How is therapeutic trance integrated into a counselling session?
Trance is a state of relaxation that people move in and out of naturally and frequently. We move into trance when we find ourselves on “auto-pilot” while driving, and end up at work or school before we realize where we are heading. We move into trance when watching and engaging movie, or reading a well written book. Trance is a comfortable state in which we engage our abilities to visualize and imagine. You can observe people moving in and out of trance, we recognize this as “daydreaming”. As you know, one can easily stop daydreaming at will.
Therapeutic trance occurs in counselling therapy sessions when clients engage in the deep thinking process that allows transformations to occur, essentially “change”.
Clinical hypnotherapy involves intentional utilizing of the natural trance that occurs during therapeutic conversations. At times, the therapist will intentionally assist clients into a natural and comfortable trance to allow the processing of highly emotional content. At times, emotional states are blocked for clients, using hypnotherapy can assist in moving past the intellectual barriers and can make emotional content more available. Just like the “autopilot trance”, clients move into and out of this trance state with ease and at will. Thus, all hypnotherapy sessions are engaged in with the consent and continual awareness of the client. Unlike stage hypnotism, clinical hypnotherapy involves full awareness at all times as well as the full memory of the session.
How to select a trained hypnotherapy counsellor?
When selecting a hypnotherapist, it is advisable to select a fully trained counsellor. Trained counsellors generally have a full post-secondary education, which includes both a Bachelors Degree and a Masters Degree. The counsellor should be certified or registered with a registering body, such as: Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association or the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors.
It is possible, in British Columbia, to claim to be a counsellor without a Masters Degree. There are many ways in which people can gain training in hypnotherapy through weekend workshops, unregulated schools, and seminars. Thus, it is advisable to double check the credentials of the counsellor, and make sure they are fully trained in the profession and that hypnotherapy is merely one of many techniques used in-session.
