This article was written some years ago by René and it talks about his style of hypnotherapy:
The Hypnotherapy Approach that Truly Works
When we mention the word hypnosis, the strangest thing happens: even the most educated people associate it with witchcraft, stage shows or some inborn powers that only holy people possess. Some people also have the opposite view and that is that some demonic forces are involved when hypnosis is used as a healing modality.
Well, let's see what hypnosis really is and how to best use it to help most of the people most of the time. Would you be surprised to know that you are in the state of hypnosis at least twice daily and sometimes even more than that? Those two times that we are in hypnosis every day are just before going to sleep and slightly after waking up. In fact, every time we access our long term memory we briefly go into hypnosis. It is very difficult for the individual who is entering hypnosis to know that he or she is "there". There is no special feeling that tells you that you are in hypnosis and that's why we, professional hypnotists have to use different tests that we call "convincers". Some of those tests are similar to the things that stage hypnotists use on their volunteers. You probably saw some of them: hand-clasp test, eye-closure, time-distortion, arm levitation, amnesia, positive or negative hallucinations. A lot of people believe that when you are hypnotized that you lose consciousness, that you can't hear anything and that you are totally under control of the hypnotist. They even call the process of being hypnotized as "going under". The hypnotists who know what they are doing never put anybody under anything. Anybody who isn't happy about suggestions that he or she is receiving can open their eyes and leave and even when you are in deepest trance you hear everything around you. There is frequently an association with sleep and hypnosis and sometimes you can hear the infamous words, "You are getting sleepy..." Very often people who reached very deep trance, open their eyes and get up, because they realize that they are not asleep and therefore believe that they were never hypnotized. The only similarity with sleep is for the people who observe the hypnotized person, because they look relaxed, their breathing is deeper and their eyes are closed. The reality of the state of consciousness called hypnosis is that when experiencing it, the person is more alert than when that person is in the normal wakefulness.
Let's now discuss those tests that are used to confirm that the person is hypnotized.
One of the "convincers" that are frequently used in hypnotherapy is a so called time-distortion. Before getting people in the state of hypnosis I usually ask them to note the time on their watches and slightly before emerging from hypnosis (hypnosis is not equal to sleep so there is no waking up) I ask them to guess how long they were in hypnosis. Very often many people are surprised to note that the duration that they have guessed is always shorter than the actual time that passed and sometimes that number is almost double their guessed value. Another "convincer" is the apparent inability to open their eyes when asked to test for that. What is actually happening is that once deeper states of hypnosis are reached, the eyes roll up and in that position it is physically impossible to open the eyes. When asked to test for that (in non-authoritative way) most people are surprised that their eyes remain closed. Here, it is important to note that number one reason that will prevent the attainment of a very deep hypnotic state is a four-letter word, starting with an f: "F.E.A.R.". When the fear is eliminated, people tend to go very deeply into hypnosis.
Scientifically-bent people frequently use their analytical mind too much and since we are trying to shut down the left-side activity of the brain during hypnosis, this can interfere with the process. Some special techniques are developed that are based on mental confusion and thus analytical people can be successfully hypnotized, too. Inadequately trained hypnotists very often see analytical people as non hypnotizable and they try to stay away from them.
Unfortunately a great majority of practicing hypnotherapists use techniques that originate from the 19th century and many schools that teach hypnotherapy leave the practitioners with only one or in rare occasion two techniques of inducing hypnosis. Contrary to popular belief, medical doctors are usually quite poorly trained in hypnosis. Medical schools (if they even spend some time on hypnosis) dedicate at best few hours on discussing theoretical aspects and that leaves almost no time to teach future doctors on how to hypnotize people. General population is left with a belief that only doctors should be allowed to use hypnosis, since they understand human mind and body and this is the same logic as saying that we should only allow car mechanics to drive.
The author of this article is trained by one of the best school of hypnosis in existence in (at least) North America. The name of that organization is Omni Hypnosis Training Center (http://www.omnihypnosis.com). The approach that we have in using hypnosis is based on the work of late Dave Elman and those techniques were refined by the Omni Hypnosis Center's director and René's teacher Gerald Kein as well as Steven Parkhill (the author of the book "Answer Cancer: The Healing of a Nation"). Elman's approach could be summed up in two points: using rapid and instant inductions (that can bring people in hypnosis in a matter of seconds) and discovering the cause behind the problem or an issue. The advantage of that approach is that it drastically reduces the number of sessions necessary for (in many cases) total elimination of the problems or issues that people come to see us about.
Most hypnosis practitioners today use what is called "direct suggestion only" hypnotherapy. What that means is that they induce hypnosis (that takes typically 30 to 40 minutes and after that suggestions for improvement are read or even the tapes are played to their clients. That is repeated for 10 to 15 sessions and it is estimated that that approach works in only about 20 % of the cases. That leaves a huge number of people frustrated and believing that "hypnosis did not work" for them. Our view is that we always have to discover the cause behind the issues and problems and once this is resolved on the subconscious level, then we can use the direct suggestions to get the permanent change for the better. When this is done properly, many issues or problems disappear and never come back. The beauty of our approach is that we are well equipped to handle any type of issues or problems without having to resort to "rocket science". We also have at our disposal a number of different techniques (other than just discovering the cause behind problems or issues) and we always fit technique to the client and not client to the technique. One of such techniques is so called "Parts Therapy", where the assumption is that our mind is composed of different parts that are behind different behavior, issues or problems. Thus, one part of us would be the one wanting to wake up early in the morning eager to start working and another part of us would be the one having a hard time that it has to not only go to work, but also wake up so early. We can apply the same principle to let's say clients who are overweight: there is one part of them that wants to become slimmer and the other part that enjoys food and that wants to stay the same. Obviously, this creates a conflict and a potentially difficult situation that spawned increasing number of diet and exercise programs while our population is getting more and more obese. Once we apply "Parts Therapy", we create negotiation between opposing parts and start a mediation process that enables positive dialog between parts and once we have mutual agreement and respect, the results are quite spectacular.
People who experience those advanced techniques realize how powerful they are and would never accept the outdated approach of enduring 10+ sessions of direct suggestions-only approach or as I like to call it a "19th century technology". I encourage all the hypnotherapists to become up-to-date with the new teachings and there will be no shortage of clients that they will be able to help.
The Hypnotherapy Approach that Truly Works
When we mention the word hypnosis, the strangest thing happens: even the most educated people associate it with witchcraft, stage shows or some inborn powers that only holy people possess. Some people also have the opposite view and that is that some demonic forces are involved when hypnosis is used as a healing modality.
Well, let's see what hypnosis really is and how to best use it to help most of the people most of the time. Would you be surprised to know that you are in the state of hypnosis at least twice daily and sometimes even more than that? Those two times that we are in hypnosis every day are just before going to sleep and slightly after waking up. In fact, every time we access our long term memory we briefly go into hypnosis. It is very difficult for the individual who is entering hypnosis to know that he or she is "there". There is no special feeling that tells you that you are in hypnosis and that's why we, professional hypnotists have to use different tests that we call "convincers". Some of those tests are similar to the things that stage hypnotists use on their volunteers. You probably saw some of them: hand-clasp test, eye-closure, time-distortion, arm levitation, amnesia, positive or negative hallucinations. A lot of people believe that when you are hypnotized that you lose consciousness, that you can't hear anything and that you are totally under control of the hypnotist. They even call the process of being hypnotized as "going under". The hypnotists who know what they are doing never put anybody under anything. Anybody who isn't happy about suggestions that he or she is receiving can open their eyes and leave and even when you are in deepest trance you hear everything around you. There is frequently an association with sleep and hypnosis and sometimes you can hear the infamous words, "You are getting sleepy..." Very often people who reached very deep trance, open their eyes and get up, because they realize that they are not asleep and therefore believe that they were never hypnotized. The only similarity with sleep is for the people who observe the hypnotized person, because they look relaxed, their breathing is deeper and their eyes are closed. The reality of the state of consciousness called hypnosis is that when experiencing it, the person is more alert than when that person is in the normal wakefulness.
Let's now discuss those tests that are used to confirm that the person is hypnotized.
One of the "convincers" that are frequently used in hypnotherapy is a so called time-distortion. Before getting people in the state of hypnosis I usually ask them to note the time on their watches and slightly before emerging from hypnosis (hypnosis is not equal to sleep so there is no waking up) I ask them to guess how long they were in hypnosis. Very often many people are surprised to note that the duration that they have guessed is always shorter than the actual time that passed and sometimes that number is almost double their guessed value. Another "convincer" is the apparent inability to open their eyes when asked to test for that. What is actually happening is that once deeper states of hypnosis are reached, the eyes roll up and in that position it is physically impossible to open the eyes. When asked to test for that (in non-authoritative way) most people are surprised that their eyes remain closed. Here, it is important to note that number one reason that will prevent the attainment of a very deep hypnotic state is a four-letter word, starting with an f: "F.E.A.R.". When the fear is eliminated, people tend to go very deeply into hypnosis.
Scientifically-bent people frequently use their analytical mind too much and since we are trying to shut down the left-side activity of the brain during hypnosis, this can interfere with the process. Some special techniques are developed that are based on mental confusion and thus analytical people can be successfully hypnotized, too. Inadequately trained hypnotists very often see analytical people as non hypnotizable and they try to stay away from them.
Unfortunately a great majority of practicing hypnotherapists use techniques that originate from the 19th century and many schools that teach hypnotherapy leave the practitioners with only one or in rare occasion two techniques of inducing hypnosis. Contrary to popular belief, medical doctors are usually quite poorly trained in hypnosis. Medical schools (if they even spend some time on hypnosis) dedicate at best few hours on discussing theoretical aspects and that leaves almost no time to teach future doctors on how to hypnotize people. General population is left with a belief that only doctors should be allowed to use hypnosis, since they understand human mind and body and this is the same logic as saying that we should only allow car mechanics to drive.
The author of this article is trained by one of the best school of hypnosis in existence in (at least) North America. The name of that organization is Omni Hypnosis Training Center (http://www.omnihypnosis.com). The approach that we have in using hypnosis is based on the work of late Dave Elman and those techniques were refined by the Omni Hypnosis Center's director and René's teacher Gerald Kein as well as Steven Parkhill (the author of the book "Answer Cancer: The Healing of a Nation"). Elman's approach could be summed up in two points: using rapid and instant inductions (that can bring people in hypnosis in a matter of seconds) and discovering the cause behind the problem or an issue. The advantage of that approach is that it drastically reduces the number of sessions necessary for (in many cases) total elimination of the problems or issues that people come to see us about.
Most hypnosis practitioners today use what is called "direct suggestion only" hypnotherapy. What that means is that they induce hypnosis (that takes typically 30 to 40 minutes and after that suggestions for improvement are read or even the tapes are played to their clients. That is repeated for 10 to 15 sessions and it is estimated that that approach works in only about 20 % of the cases. That leaves a huge number of people frustrated and believing that "hypnosis did not work" for them. Our view is that we always have to discover the cause behind the issues and problems and once this is resolved on the subconscious level, then we can use the direct suggestions to get the permanent change for the better. When this is done properly, many issues or problems disappear and never come back. The beauty of our approach is that we are well equipped to handle any type of issues or problems without having to resort to "rocket science". We also have at our disposal a number of different techniques (other than just discovering the cause behind problems or issues) and we always fit technique to the client and not client to the technique. One of such techniques is so called "Parts Therapy", where the assumption is that our mind is composed of different parts that are behind different behavior, issues or problems. Thus, one part of us would be the one wanting to wake up early in the morning eager to start working and another part of us would be the one having a hard time that it has to not only go to work, but also wake up so early. We can apply the same principle to let's say clients who are overweight: there is one part of them that wants to become slimmer and the other part that enjoys food and that wants to stay the same. Obviously, this creates a conflict and a potentially difficult situation that spawned increasing number of diet and exercise programs while our population is getting more and more obese. Once we apply "Parts Therapy", we create negotiation between opposing parts and start a mediation process that enables positive dialog between parts and once we have mutual agreement and respect, the results are quite spectacular.
People who experience those advanced techniques realize how powerful they are and would never accept the outdated approach of enduring 10+ sessions of direct suggestions-only approach or as I like to call it a "19th century technology". I encourage all the hypnotherapists to become up-to-date with the new teachings and there will be no shortage of clients that they will be able to help.
