Anything wrong with Hypnotherapy?

[Tintin]

Is there anything intrinsically wrong with hypnotherapy?

A collegue (who is going to hypnotherapy to overcome her fear of driving) just came to me in some distress because another collegue had told her that If she had hypnotherapy, she was “inviting the devil into her life”.

She is not a christian, but seems to regard me as some sort of moral authority (or at least an authority on morals…), I’ve dealt with it as I thought best, but now I’d just like to check what my learned friends on here would have said / done, as a sort of sanity check on my own reaction…

Thanks for your help.

 

[Al_Masetti]

The direct answer is that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with hypnosis. Popes Pius VI, IX and XII issued positive statements about hypnosis - with the caveat that it is a serious treatment modality and not to be used for entertainment.

I happen to be a Catholic hypnotherapist. Been doing it for around 10 years and used it on myself for decades. [In NJ I have to say that I am a hypnocounsellor. NJ has a lot of legalisms. I also am not permitted to tell people that I have an MS in pastoral counseling. In NJ only PhD’s can state their education. ]

The simplest answer I would offer is to seek out a Catholic or Christian hynotist or hypnotherapist. Ask any person claiming to be a hypnotist what his or her credentials are and what professional organizations they belong to or are certified by and then check out those groups on the internet.

In addition, there are several useful referral services including the National Guild of Hypnotists and the National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists. Both have Web sites.

If fear of driving is an issue, I would recommend use of EMI (Eye Movement Integration) or EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. Ron Klein at the American Hypnosis Training Academy teaches EMI. And you can reach Francine Shapiro who originated EMDR at www.emdr.com

If you contact me directly, I would be pleased to provide additional information or to check out anyone’s credentials for you.

Hypnosis has an interesting history. It goes back thousands of years; some people are naturals at it. The rest of us require training. There are many Web sites providing information. One of the best is operated by Robert Dilts. You can find him by visiting Google and typing in Dilts NLP .

You can also research the life of Mesmer. It fell into disuse after a while and has enjoyed a resurgence.

There are several parts to the treatment, including rapport building, a contract (agreement on what the specific purpose is), trance induction, the actual suggestion work, post Hypnotic suggestion, and coming back out of the trance state.

Pretty easy stuff. Every time you go to a movie, you enter a trance state, operated by the movie editor and sound editor. Watch the next time you are at a movie; everybody is in a trance! When people drive their cars, they often are in a trance state; that’s why they often pass their highway exit!

 

[Viki59]

Fascinating.
Could you define “trance state?” I concentrate on the movie in a theater, but can easily interrupt my concentration to eat popcorn, admonish my children, etc.
Are we in a trance state when watching a movie on TV? Maybe that’s part of the ploy of TV commercials, we’re more suggestible?

If hypnotherapy does render us more suggestible, I suspect this is why protestants feel it’s dangerous, and may open us up to evil suggestions. Is this inaccurate because the trance state ends once the hypnotherapy session ends?
Ive always avoided hypnotism because of reasons like this, but am not sure how realistic they are.

 

[Al_Masetti]

There are numerous ways to define “trance state”.

The simplest way is simply to call it a “state of mind in which the person is highly focused.” If you are doing a cross-word puzzle or are reading a novel and are totally engrossed in the story, … maybe lose track of time… forget that you are hungry and forget to eat… ignore your wife and kiddies… then you are in a trance state.

There are light trances such as I have described and there are deep trances.

Being in a trance state does make us vulnerable to suggestion. The problem is that we enter trance states all the time. It is a natural state of being. Some folks insist that everyone is in a hypnotic trance all the time!!

It’s fun to do people watching. Visit Home Depot and take a look at the people pushing the shopping carts around and take a look at their glazed over facial expressions, with eyes that just stare. And be careful that they don’t run you over because you are invisible to them.

Make the same observation at the supermarket. The most powerful word in advertising is “NEW !”… as it appears on a box of soap powder. And we reach for a box of one brand rather than another. The Mr. Clean bottle is shaped like that for a reason!!!

So, trance is normal.

Some wag once said that the world’s best hypnotist is Ed McMahon… “YOU MAY HAVE WON TEN MILLION DOLLARS!” and a lot of people buy magazine subscriptions.

Visit a bar… find a comortable booth and observe the behavior of people under the influence of alcohol…trance states everywhere… lots of suggestions being made… prowess in athletics, or the stock market or …

So we are open to suggestion all the time in every venue of our existence. Observe people when they open the daily mail. They are in a trance state as they try to figure out what is in each piece of advertising…

Take a look at the facial expressions of people in prayer. In church.

Have you ever bought anything?

Visit a car dealership. Sit behind the wheel. Get ahold of the wheel. Feel the wheel. Feel the leather seats. Visualize the road being smoothed out for you by the new active suspension systgem. See how you will safely travel through any road conditions with all wheel drive.

Most probably any product you have ever bought … the sale took place while you were in a trance.

You need to exercise discipline when buying stuff, when making any kind of decisions. Stocks. Clothing. [Look in your closet… is there an item that you bought and later wonder why?] Should you date this person or that person. Is he or she a great dancer? Or, would he or she make a great parent? What are the issues. Are you mesmerized by the way the person moves on the dance floor. Or their hair. Do they remind you of someone you like (so you are attracted to them) or of someone you dislike (so you are repelled by them).

And you need to exercise discipline when engaging in any medical procedure. And use of hypnosis to treat any condition is using it as a medical procedure to treat a mental /psychological (or physical) condition.

The care you would exercise in any discretionary purchase or discretionary decision is the same care needed when using hypnosis.

Be well. [hypnotic suggestion.]

 

[Viki59]

Hmm.
Pretty all embracing definition.
Thank you for the explanation. I’ll watch what and how I buy.