What is hypnotherapy?
Distinct from “stage hypnosis,” clinical hypnotherapy is the intentional induction of a relaxed, trance-like state for the purpose of encouraging deeper emotional processing and healing. Hypnotherapy can help people struggling with anxiety and depression and can be a powerful tool for trauma processing and resolution. In this form of hypnotherapy, the therapist acts as a guide to support the client accessing healing from within themselves.
How does hypnotherapy work?
According to the VA, a trance is “a natural biological state of inner absorption, concentration, and focused attention.” This is the state we all experience just before falling asleep. By tapping into this brain state, we create an environment where the “thinking” part of our brain is less noisy, allowing the parts of our brain that hold memory, emotion, and trauma the space to process painful experiences in a safe way. This brain state also allows us to connect with the part of our consciousness where things can integrate and come together. By accessing this space, we can begin the process of creating new cognitive, emotional, and behavioral pathways.
How to know if hypnothearpy could be helpful to you
If you find yourself stuck in behavioral, emotional, and cognitive patterns that are keeping you from accessing healing and growth, hypnotherapy may be able to help. This form of hypnotherapy is especially useful in helping people resolve current challenges that originated from an overwhelming or traumatic experience in their past.
Hypnotherapy can also be beneficial as an additional intervention in conjunction with your current therapeutic work. If you feel you would benefit from this form of deeper work to help resolve experiences, traumas, or patterns that feel stuck, while continuing to see your primary therapist, hypnotherapy may be for you.
A common question is: “What if I’m not hypnotizable?” This is an understandable concern, but thankfully, since hypnotherapy utilizes a naturally occurring state, everyone can access it! Some people may be more or less susceptible to the intentional induction of a trance, but most people find themselves able to tap into the state of deep relaxation and diminished cognitive “noise.”
Clinicians trained in Hypnotherapy
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Elizabeth Woods
Associate Counselor
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