Applications of Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy as a tool for personal development has many applications. These include the breaking of vices – smoking, overeating, for example – through to more subtle personal goals such as the development of enhanced self confidence.

Several qualities characterise the therapeutic relationship. Carl Rogers particularly valued congruence – the degree to which an individual is true to his own feelings, or the degree to which one person is in tune with another.

This concept of congruence has significant implications for all psychotherapeutic practices, particularly counselling. Indeed, Carl Rogers is widely regarded as the father of the counselling movement.

Hypnotherapists undergo professional training which equips them to become proficient in a range of functions :

• Assessment
• Hypnotic induction
• Therapy - which may take one of several possible modes, depending on the therapist’s training
• Safe termination of hypnosis

In the UK, hypnotherapists are presently unregulated. Many choose to join professional associations, although this is not mandatory. For this reason, clients are advised to enquire very carefully about the professional training and qualifications of therapists. Peer referral is always the ideal; as a minimum, a therapist should have appropriate insurance and qualifications.

The process of hypnosis does not, as is commonly imagined, involve one person giving up their self-control. Indeed, such is the body of mythology which has sprung up around the field of hypnosis, that some clients delay seeking therapy. This is clearly unfortunate. The antics of stage hypnotists have done little to help the ordinary man in the street, possibly suffering from low self esteem or other confidence-related problems, who could derive significant benefit from a course of hypnotherapy.