What is Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is a form of therapy that uses hypnosis, a state of deep relaxation and heightened suggestibility, to help people overcome a wide range of issues such as addictions, phobias, anxiety, and depression. During a hypnotherapy session, a therapist guides the person into a trance-like state, usually by speaking in a soothing and calming manner and then provides positive suggestions to help the person overcome their issue.
Hypnotherapy is believed to work by accessing the subconscious mind, where many deep-seated emotional and behavioral issues are believed to reside, and making positive changes at this level. The subconscious mind is the part of the brain that controls our habits, beliefs, and emotions, and it can be difficult to access and change through traditional forms of therapy. Hypnotherapy allows the therapist to bypass the conscious mind and make changes directly in the subconscious mind.
Hypnotherapy most often involves a practice called hypnotic regression.
What is Hypnotic Regression?
One of the most powerful techniques used in hypnotherapy is hypnotic regression. This technique involves inducing a hypnotic state and then taking the person back in time, to a specific event or period in their past that is related to their current issue. This allows the person to gain insight and understanding into their issue and to process and release any negative emotions associated with the event.
For example, a person who is struggling with a phobia may be taken back to the time when they first experienced the phobia-inducing event. Through hypnotic regression, the person can process and release the negative emotions associated with the event, and learn how to react differently to similar situations in the future.
Hypnotic regression can also be used to access past lives, and it’s believed that some of our present-day issues may have roots in past lives. This technique is known as past-life regression and it can be used to uncover repressed memories, gain insight into current issues, and heal emotional wounds from past lives. And past-life regression can be a life-changing experience!
Hypnotherapy is considered a safe and effective treatment option, and it can be used alone or in combination with other forms of therapy. It’s important to consult a qualified hypnotherapist who has the proper qualifications and training to ensure that you receive safe and effective treatment. It’s important to keep in mind that hypnotherapy is not suitable for everyone, if you have any concerns, please consult with your healthcare provider before seeking hypnotherapy.
What Can Hypnotherapy Help With?
Hypnotherapy can help with a variety of traumas and/conditions. For example:
- Abandonment
- Phobias
- Sadness
- Loss
- Grief
- Addiction
- Anger
- Depression
- Finding Purpose
- You name it, hypnotherapy can help.
* Please note that hypnotherapy is not a substitute for traditional medical care.
How Does Hypnotherapy Work?
The Intake Session
Before your hypnotherapy session, we’ll meet for an hour or so to discuss your goals. This meeting will help inform your plan of care. We’ll talk about what you’re experiencing and then deep-dive into possible catalysts.
Here’s an example:
During a client intake, she expressed that she didn’t feel worthy of love. That she wasn’t good enough. And this belief she had about herself caused her to bounce from bad relationship to bad relationship. It made her incredibly sad and lonely. All she wanted was to be loved—to be able to surrender to love instead of getting stuck in her head. As we dug, deeper, we identified that this belief my client had about not being worthy of love came from her experiences as a child. She experienced a form of abuse as a child where her parents often made her feel not good enough; unlovable.
Now that we had identified where this belief came from, I was able to create a plan of care through hypnotic regression.
Once we’ve identified the root cause of your condition, we’ll set a time to meet for your hypnotherapy session. If there are multiple conditions to work on, we may set multiple regression sessions. Usually, one session per condition is all that’s needed.
Present Life Regression
Now, the type of regression session we schedule will be based on what we discuss in the intake. If the root cause of your conditions can be explained by trauma or experiences in this lifetime, we’ll do a present-life regression. In a present-life regression, I will guide you into a state of relaxation, intense concentration, and focused attention to achieve a heightened state of awareness that is sometimes called a trance. Once you’re in the hypnotic trance, your subconscious will guide you back to the memory or memories that require attention. And then, you take the lead and become the healer. This is where you begin to work through the memories/experiences that come up for you. And through this work, you find the healing you need to move past whatever blocks are in your way.
Below is a testimonial of a recent client that I followed up with a few weeks after her present life regression session.
Some clients come with a condition that is not explainable by an experience in their present life. For instance, a client I once worked with had a paralyzing fear of death that was not related to an experience during her present life. So, the plan of care created was to take her back to a past life that served her present life’s greatest good. In this past life regression, my client experienced a life where she dedicated her life to teaching children of an indigenous tribe. While the children loved her, many of the adults in the tribe felt threatened by her (a westerner) presence. At the end of her past life experience, she was killed by a few tribesmen. She then experienced herself leaving her body and merging with Source/God, which led to a beautiful healing of her current fear of death.
Below are reviews from a few past life regression clients copied and pasted from Sacred Stairways’ Google reviews.
Time and Cost of Regression Sessions
Intake Session – 60 minutes – $75.00
Before we conduct a regression, we’ll meet for an intake session. This session gives us the opportunity to get to know each other and will help me understand your goals. It also allows us to build rapport. An important factor in your ability to enter the hypnotic state is the level of trust you have in your hypnotherapist.
Regression Session – Between 1.5-3 hours long – $225.00
When we reconvene for your regression session, I’ll go over some notes from your intake session. We will then set an intention to bring the most beneficial experience, whether it be in a present or past life.
From there, you’ll be gently guided into a hypnotic state. Once in the hypnotic state, the journey begins.
After the regression is over, you and I will discuss your experience and next steps.
Qualifications
Adam Dince is a certified hypnotherapist in good-standing through iNLP and the International Federation of Hypnotists. Schedule An Appointment
Hypnotherapy FAQs
FAQs
Is hypnosis mind control?
Not at all. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. All suggestions made to you during the session are within your control to accept. It’s completely up to you as to which suggestions you accept and which you let go.
Will I be asleep during hypnosis?
You sure aren’t. If you’ve ever watched someone get hypnotized, you might believe they are asleep, because the subject is so relaxed that they exhibit many of the physical signs of sleep. However, during hypnosis, if anything, you’re completely aware of what’s going on in the hypnotic state and can open your eyes at any time.
Can you get stuck in hypnosis?
It’s impossible. Since all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, there is no getting stuck. It’s essentially like being in a daydream. At any time, you can end the daydream by opening your eyes. Either way, you’re completely lucid the entire time.
Will I expose my inner-most secrets?
Again, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. You will not tell me anything you do not wish to share. You are in complete control of what happens during hypnosis.
Will I remember the session?
You will absolutely remember the session. You are not asleep and in fact, you’ll be in a heightened state of awareness. Two safeguards I employ are to
suggest at the end of the session that you remember everything and I also record the session so that you may listen to it again later just in case.
Will I be made to do something I’m uncomfortable with?
There’s no way. Just a reminder that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. You are in 100% control throughout the entire session. You cannot go against your morality or ethics during a hypnosis session. If you try, the noise of the inner-conflict will pull you out of the hypnotic experience. Keep in mind that you do not disassociate from your ego while under hypnosis. It listens in the background the entire time. It’s the ego’s job to protect you.