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What is hypnosis?
Will I lose control?
What can hypnosis be used for?
Can I hear what is going on around me?
Can I respond to an emergency?
What about stage hypnosis?
What about hypnotherapists who advertise in the
"Yellow Pages" and newspapers?
"I need help!"
Will hypnosis help me?
Can I have hypnosis as a National Health patient?
I would like to have private therapy.
How much does it cost?
Do I need my doctor's referral?
What is hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a state of mind produced either by oneself (auto or
self-hypnosis) or by responding to the directions of a therapist.
In therapy, hypnosis usually involves the person experiencing a
sense of deep relaxation with their attention narrowed down, and
focused on appropriate suggestions put by the therapist. These suggestions
may be aimed at helping the person change the way they respond to
a situation (e.g. in the case of a phobia) or to imagine various
scenes (fantasised or constructed from their past) which have significance
for them. Some people respond very well to hypnotic suggestions,
some not so well. Most people remain conscious of, and able to recall
most of what is said to them. Hypnosis has been likened to daydreaming,
and naturally occurring forms of hypnotic trance are common i.e.
when absorbed in a good book or some other activity, or driving
on auto pilot down a familiar road.
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Will I lose control?
At all times you can choose not to respond to the suggestions of
the therapist and to come out of trance. Hypnosis can be likened
to playing the piano - the music teacher can demonstrate but cannot
actually do the playing for you.
Can anyone be hypnotised?
Everyone has the ability to enter hypnotic trance if they so wish.
Some people have a greater natural ability than others. It is not
however something you have done to you but a state of mind you can
learn to produce for yourself.
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What can hypnosis be used for?
The induction of trance is usually linked with physical relaxation
and this of itself is useful in cases of stress and anxiety. The
main use of hypnosis is that it facilitates therapy in many medical
and dental problems. Hypnosis can also be useful in the treatment
of many other conditions such as phobias, post traumatic stress
disorder, and irritable bowel syndrome. Pain relief, control of
bleeding, reduction of the inflammatory response in burns and eczema
are among other useful applications. When in hypnotic trance you
have much greater access to your unconscious mind and any suggestions
given by yourself or a therapist act more powerfully and more surely
than at any other time as they go straight into the 'unconscious
mind' and start to exert an influence over how you feel, think and
behave. Thus suggestions to increase self confidence and to increase
feelings of calmness and comfort can be used regularly while practising
self-hypnosis to help control anxiety and stress. Self-hypnosis
should be practised regularly for 10-15 minutes once or twice a
day especially for the first 3-4 weeks for, as with any skill, it
improves with practice.
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Can I hear what is going on around me?
Yes, hypnosis is not like being asleep; you can hear surrounding
noises but unless important, they can be relegated into the background
and become unintrusive.
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Can I respond to an emergency?
Yes, if something untoward occurs you can 'wake' immediately although
usually it is more comfortable to come back to the here and now
more gradually, usually by counting e.g. from five to one.
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What about stage hypnosis?
Stage hypnotists are expert in fast assessment of good hypnotic
subjects. Anyone who volunteers is expecting to comply with stupid
suggestions either to give their friends a laugh or for some other
reason. Once on stage the pressure to comply is very great even
without hypnosis being induced. Unfortunately stage hypnotists do
not screen for medical or psychological contra-indications to hypnosis
and are not always careful to remove post hypnotic suggestions from
their subjects or from susceptible members of the audience.
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What about "hypnotherapists who advertise in the "Yellow
Pages" and newspapers?
There are no official qualifications or statutory regulations of
hypnosis and hypnotherapy within the U.K. If you decide to seek
help from someone other than a health professional, we would suggest
that you look for someone who is an accredited member of B.A.C.P.
(British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) or a member
of U.K.C.P. (United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy).
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"I need help!"
It must be emphasised that for anyone with a problem - a phobia,
anxiety state, depression, marital disharmony, sexual difficulty,
psychosomatic problem etc. - the necessary help may be available
on the NHS from highly trained professionals. There will be a Department
of Clinical Psychology at your nearest large District General Hospital
or Psychiatric Hospital and, in most cases, your GP will be able
to refer you directly. Children can be referred to their local Child
Guidance Clinic, or, via the school, to the County or City Psychological
Service. Some psychologists are interested in such problems as smoking
and overeating so it is worth enquiring if help for these is available
from your local Department of Clinical Psychology.
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Will hypnosis help me?
Possibly. Hypnosis is one of many techniques which can form part
of a treatment programme. It is not necessarily more effective than
other techniques and it is similar to some other techniques which
have different names. It may be applied to a wide variety of problems
but it is not always necessary. It depends on the problem.
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Can I have hypnosis as a National Health patient?
If you live within the catchment area of a NHS psychologist or psychiatrist
who uses hypnosis (perhaps one of our members) then you may be able
to receive this form of treatment from them as an NHS patient.
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I would like to have private therapy.
The Referral List on the societies' websites provide you with a
list of members who use hypnosis, amongst other therapeutic procedures,
in their work. It is up to you to contact a member for further advice.
Please remember that the person you see may not necessarily judge
hypnosis to be the best way of helping you and may recommend an
alternative treatment. Or it may be that hypnosis will be only a
part of the whole treatment programme.
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How much does it cost?
All our members belong to their own professions and the Societies
are not involved in the fees that they charge. This should be discussed
with your therapist before you embark on therapy.
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Do I need my doctor's referral?
If you are seeing someone privately then this is not usually necessary.
But it may be a professional courtesy for you or your therapist
to inform your doctor. If you wish to receive hypnosis on the NHS
then you will need to go through your GP.
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