Is Hypnotherapy Mind-Control?

“Neurons that fire together, wire together.” Donald Hebb, Psychologist

“Most people walk through the world in a trance of disempowerment. Our work is to transform that into a work of empowerment.” Milton Erickson, Hypnotherapist

“All hypnosis is self hypnosis.” Dave Elman, US Hypnotist

When I tell people what I do for a living, the most common reaction is to step back in mock-horror and say, “Oh no! Are you hypnotising me now?!” Often followed by, “can you hypnotise children to go to sleep?” The answers to those questions are “no”, and “yes” (although, I hasten to add, not my own children).

Unless you have experience of hypnotherapy, it would be easy to see it as mystical new-age nonsense (at best) or frightening mind-control (at worst).

But I can promise you that it is neither of those things. As a practising clinical hypnotherapist for well over a decade, I have seen first hand the life-changing results of hypnosis. And no-one has ever left my clinic clucking like a chicken.

Transformation

Whilst most therapeutic approaches have the power to transform lives, none – in my view – is as transformative as hypnotherapy. It delivers astonishing results in a relatively short timeframe (most clients come in for one to three sessions); it is forward-looking focussing on how to do things better in the future; and it is empowering, helping the client to see that it is they who has the power to take control of the direction of their life.

On this last point, an important distinction to make is that it is the client doing the work, not the hypnotherapist doing it to the client. It is the client that is making the changes; the client that is exploring new ways of thinking and behaving. The therapist is just the facilitator.

No honest therapist would claim that what they do is entirely altruistic and I feel extremely fortunate to have played a part in these transformations: a 40-a-day man in his late sixties stops smoking; a woman overcomes her flying phobia and meets her baby granddaughter living abroad; a woman gets over emetophobia (fear of vomit) and decides to try for a baby with her partner.

That’s in addition to the hundreds of clients whose lives have been transformed by using hypnosis to easily implement healthy changes such as cutting down on sugar or alcohol, managing anxiety better or overcoming addictions or phobias.

What Actually Happens?

It’s true that some hypnotherapists like to swing pendants and use crystals, but most – myself included – have a more practical approach.

Alongside hypnosis, I use a range of techniques from neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and the talking therapies to build rapport with my clients and identify and overcome any obstacles which are stopping them leading a fulfilling life.

Hypnosis works so well because it accesses the unconscious mind where so many of our limiting beliefs (such as not feeling good enough, or not feeling worthwhile) are held. Once those limiting beliefs are identified, hypnotherapy techniques can shine a light on them and, ultimately, repair or reframe them so that they are no longer the obstacles to that fulfilling life.

Donald Hebb said, “Neurons that fire together, wire together” which refers to the way our brains get used to doing things a certain way so it feels easier to do those things in that way (think about habits you might have like eating something sweet after a meal, or having a glass of wine at 6pm). We live so much of our lives on autopilot, doing the same things, at much the same time, in much the same way. These automatic set responses and habits are stored in our unconscious minds: which is why hypnosis is particularly successful at breaking those patterns of behaviour.

What Hypnosis Is…

Hypnosis creates a heightened state of focused awareness in which the conscious “thinking” mind is quietened to allow the unconscious mind – where our habits and impulses are stored – to open up to positive suggestions for change.

The hypnotic state is a completely natural state that we all experience regularly (think of those times when you have been so deeply focussed on an activity, a book or even a daydream that you don’t notice what is going on around you). It feels very different for everyone: some clients have described it as a floaty day dream; others as a heavy sleepiness.

Put simply, hypnotherapy is therapy which takes place whilst the client is under hypnosis so that the hypnotherapist can bypass the conscious mind and work on the unconscious mind.

What Hypnosis Isn’t…

Hypnosis isn’t a magic button: it cannot make you taller or better looking; it can’t turn you into an overnight Olympian.

Hypnosis isn’t mind control: you cannot be hypnotised unless you want to be hypnotised. So there is no risk of you clucking like a chicken on stage (unless you want to).