Hypnotherapy

Does it Work?

As an experienced hypno-psychotherapist, I’ve simply lost count of the times I’ve been asked the questions ‘hypnotherapy – does it work?’

Hypnotherapy most certainly is a highly effective intervention for a wide range of issues. That fact alone will be sufficient for many people to decide to contact us to personally experience the power of hypnotherapy in enhancing their career and life experience. For others, however, a more detailed explanation of how hypnotherapy works might be appreciated.

Technically speaking, hypnotherapy is the application of therapeutic techniques with clients when they are in a state of hypnosis. There is a significant difference between

• a hypnotist


• a hypnotherapist


• a psychotherapist &


• a hypno-psychotherapist

Hypnotist

A hypnotist is trained to guide people into hypnosis and to assist them deal with simpler matters such as relaxation and basic stress management and also to work with matters like smoking cessation.

Hypnotherapist

A hypnotherapist is trained and skilled in the application of more advanced therapy techniques with clients in hypnosis. For example, a well-trained hypnotherapist would typically be skilled in dealing with certain anxiety disorders such as fears and phobias, helping people with performance enhancement and developing self-confidence etc. and with using regression (where appropriate) to address emotional issues arising from past experiences.

Pyschotherapist

A psychotherapist uses the techniques of various schools of thought in psychotherapy such as psycho-dynamic (including Freudian, Jungian and Adlerian) and various others (including but not limited to Counselling, Gestalt therapy , Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Rational Emotional Behavioural Therapy) but not primarily hypnosis or hypnotherapy, to help clients deal with their emotional issues and life challenges.

Psychotherapists are trained to deal with more complex problems including a wide range of anxiety disorders and certain forms of depression.

Hypno-Psychotherapist

Hypno-psychotherapy is a reasonably recent term in Australasia even though it has been recognised in the United Kingdom and Europe for several decades. The hypno-psychotherapist uses an appropriate mix of hypnosis, hypnotherapy and psychotherapy to assist clients achieved desired clinical outcomes from more serious emotional problems and life challenges.

We advise you to take care in selecting your practitioner in any of these areas. It is not an uncommon marketing approach for therapists to adopt the most current terminology to describe their practice.

However, the success of your therapy experience will always depend not so much on the title of the therapist but more on his or her qualifications, accreditation and experience.

One of the advantages of using better-qualified and experienced practitioners is that their training instills into them the knowledge of when to involve an appropriate medical specialist in the diagnosis and perhaps medical treatment of a problem thus ensuring the best possible outcome for the client.

Hypnotists, hypnotherapists and hypno-psychotherapists are not trained in medical diagnosis.

As a guide to assist you in selecting a therapist, the National College of Hypnosis and Psychotherapy of the United Kingdom and its affiliate in Australasia, the National College of Hypnosis and Psychotherapy (Aust). expect students to complete several months of training prior to commencing practice as a hypnotist, in the order of 14-18 months of training to acquire the skills to practice as a hypnotherapist or hypno-psychotherapist, and some four years of training and preparation to be ready to gain internationally recognized registration with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy as a hypno-psychotherapist.

The principal of Gold Coast Hypnosis, Alan Patching, is also the principal of the National College of Hypnosis and Psychotherapy (Aust).