Most people think that hypnosis is hypnosis is hypnosis. That's just not true. There are different schools of thought. And different schools teach different approaches to healing.
Most people don’t realize that there are different schools that teach different methods. They also don’t realize that there are different levels of qualification. There are different therapeutic techniques because no one technique works with every person. Or every issue.
There are surface issues. And there are complex issues. And not every hypnosis practitioner is qualified to work with the more than just the surface issues. So, this creates some confusion when it comes to choosing the right hypnosis practitioner.
Here’s what you need to know.
Regardless of the school, the practice of hypnosis involves the same three basic steps. And they are ….
- Inductions
- Deepeners
- Therapeutic Techniques
The types of inductions and deepeners and therapeutic tools a hypnosis practitioner uses will depend on the their level of training and skill and experience. But the purpose of these tools and techniques is always the same. And that is to gain access to the Subconscious Mind for the purpose of creating positive change.
Basic Certification
Basic Certification means that the practitioner has completed the requirement for a certain number of classroom hours. This requirement varies from school to school. So when you are shopping for a hypnosis practitioner make sure you choose someone who has more than a weekend certification.
This includes counselors and psychologists. Many counselors and psychologists practice hypnosis. And many have only a weekend certification. They may be highly skilled within the scope of their own practice and profession. But to be skilled using hypnosis requires considerably more training than a handful of hours.
Basic Certification teaches the basics of inductions, deepeners, and simple techniques that are suited to working with surface issues. Surface techniques involve relaxation and guided imagery. And the client has a passive role in the process.
Surface Issues
Surface issues are problems that respond well to suggestion alone. Examples of surface issues are:
- Symptom management such as pain management.
- Stress management such as relaxation or self-hypnosis training.
- Performance enhancement such as academic, sports, vocational performance
Suggestion is the primary tool for every hypnosis practitioner. It’s the basis of everything we do. So every hypnosis school teaches the use of imagery and suggestion.
Imagery is highly effective for many issues because the Mind thinks in pictures. Words evoke pictures in the Mind. And imagination is the language of the Subconscious Mind. That’s where hypnosis practitioners work.
Hypnosis is both a state and a process.
The state of hypnosis is a natural state that everyone experiences throughout the day. A trained hypnosis practitioner can help you to access this state using a process called a hypnotic induction.
This is what gives us access to the Subconscious level of Mind. So we can communicate with it and help you to create the kind of changes you want. Without the benefit of hypnosis, you’re working primarily with the Conscious Mind. This is essentially what counseling is.
Counseling is good for a lot of issues.
It provides a person with support in making a change. It encourages insight to make changes. And it can provide a person with strategies for coping in daily life. The same is true of therapeutic hypnosis. It’s just that hypnosis is quicker because it gives us access to the Part of the Mind that’s responsible for preventing change from happening.
Most hypnosis practitioners started out by learning how to induce hypnosis using a progressive relaxation style of induction. But hypnosis is not relaxation. While most people will certainly benefit from learning how to relax, this is not a requirement for hypnosis.
That’s a good thing because not everyone is able to relax. For example, a person with anxiety will have difficulty relaxing into hypnosis. Thankfully, relaxation isn’t necessary for every client or problem.
Choosing a hypnosis practitioner with advanced training means you don’t have to be able to relax to get the results you’re after. Once the anxiety has been resolved, relaxing will come naturally because relaxation is one of the lovely side-benefits of hypnotherapy.
When a person is unable to consciously create change, it’s usually because there’s a block at a Subconscious level of Mind. Their Subconscious Mind is preventing them from creating that change. And when a problem is highly emotional, surface techniques will fail to get a lasting result. So, this is where deeper technique like regression hypnosis is more effective.
Regression hypnosis is a deeper technique.
It is not a surface technique for managing symptoms or improving performance. It is based in the recognition that every problem is the result of a life experience.
So the goal of regression hypnosis is not to manage symptoms. It’s to locate the experience that caused the problem to begin with and resolve it there. Then there’s nothing left to generate a problem.
A hypnosis practitioner who is certified in regression-to-cause hypnosis has advanced training. They have gone beyond the basic techniques of suggestion alone. So they can adapt to your needs by choosing the right induction and the techniques that are best suited to your needs as a client.
During a regression hypnosis session your healing practitioner will establish the depth of hypnosis needed to create lasting change. Different issues require different depths of hypnosis. And to establish depth requires testing, and then verifying that you are actually where you are where you need to be to get the results you’re after.
The goal of regression work is to resolve the underlying cause of the problem.
To do this involves conscious awareness.
Regression hypnosis is an interactive process. So you are never unconscious or unaware of what’s happening. In fact, you are much more aware than you normally would be.
Your Conscious awareness is not merely along for the ride, however. It is an active participant in the healing journey. So, this is not a passive process. This is because it takes consciousness to change consciousness.
Your hypnosis practitioner will act as a guide who goes with you on a journey of self-discovery. But the healing you will accomplish is a gift you will give to yourself. It’s not something that is done to you. Or for you.
It requires your participation.
All that’s required is that you follow instructions. This will allow your healing practitioner to guide you into hypnosis so you can locate the cause of the problem. This will allow you to correct the underlying problem. So you can come back into alignment with your best intentions for yourself.
Regression hypnosis allows you to vividly recall events from the past. This will bring to light the thoughts and feelings and memories that are responsible for creating and keeping a problem in place. This is what will allow you to change how you think and feel and behave in daily life.
So that’s it.
When choosing a hypnosis practitioner you need to realize that all hypnosis is not the same. Different schools teach different techniques. And basic certification only qualifies a practitioner to work with surface issues.
Surface issues have to do with managing symptoms or improving performance. Deeper issues have to do with feelings and memories and emotions. And to resolve a deeper issue requires advanced training in regression-to-cause hypnosis.
If you choose a Certified Regression-to-cause hypnosis practitioner, you can feel confident knowing that you have a healing practitioner with advanced training under their belt. So, whether it’s a surface issue, or something with deeper roots, you’ll have someone who has the qualifications to help and guide you to get real and lasting results.
