A Holistic Approach To Individual & Family Therapy
Phone: 410-479-0434
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Denton, MD 21629
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LCSW-C, DCSW
Hypnosis may be defined as a state of mind in which the subconscious awareness is dominant over the conscious awareness. The conscious mind is that faculty used to gather and analyze information for storage in the brain’s memory bank. The subconscious mind is more like a transmitting station. As the “inner mind”, it is understood to be a focus of control directing body function, as well as emotional and spiritual functioning. In hypnosis, the analytical processes of the mind are “moved out of the way” temporarily and by design, for the clinical purpose intended.
The word hypnosis comes from the Greek word, “hypno”, meaning sleep. But the subject is not asleep. He or she is simply in a very relaxed state, able to use the mind’s energy, directed for a specific purpose. Hypnosis has references in the literature dating back to Greek times, but in more modern times, doctors such as Mesmer and Freud in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were using hypnosis for the purpose of effecting a cure. Hypnosis for medical and psychotherapeutic purposes became accepted practice back in the 1950’s, and has
gained more widespread acceptance as a treatment method because of its short-term treatment length.
It may come as a surprise that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis; nobody can be hypnotized without being a willing subject, and the subject can always reject the suggestion. A patient is not being treated by hypnosis, but rather in hypnosis.
Hypnosis in itself does not cure, but it allows the patient a clearer view of his problems, enabling him to meet his needs with new understanding. The hypnotic state is a meaningful, interpersonal relationship involving real therapist rapport and patient participation. Because of the patient’s increased receptivity and genuine therapeutic needs, the productive involvement of the patient with the hypnotherapist can result in the ready acceptance of suggestions. This is an amazing and helpful short-term treatment modality.
Adapted and excerpted from “Why Hypnosis Works,” Dr. Michael Preston’s article in Medical Hypnoanalysis Journal, September, 1989
