As a professional certified clinical hypnotherapist, I get this type of question frequently. I don’t take offense because I realize that many people know hypnosis only through Hollywood or the entertainment stage. In reality, the use of hypnosis in hypnotherapy is approved by the Council on Mental Health of the American Medical Association as a gentle and effective scientific tool to re-pattern beliefs, attitudes and behaviors to create success and happiness in your life.

 

What is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy works directly with the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is the 90 percent of your brain that stores memory of events, experiences, beliefs and emotions of your past. Anything the mind can affect, hypnotherapy can address and resolve. It is a natural yet altered state of mind with a deep level of focus. We all have the capability to enter into this altered state of awareness. Have you ever read a book for 15 minutes or so before realizing you had no idea what you read? Your mind was elsewhere. You were in a hypnotic state. Have you ever driven home and arrived at your destination only to realize you didn’t remember the drive? You were in a hypnotic state.

Hypnotherapists take this hypnotic state one step further; they guide their client’s thoughts toward a specific goal using verbal techniques which access forgotten memories and emotions, reprogramming and ultimately transforming habitual and negative beliefs, attitudes and behaviors into those which are predetermined, positive and desirable.

 

What Can Hypnotherapy Do for Me?

Irrational fears and phobias are often the result of a past trauma remembered in the subconscious mind and held in the body. The fear or phobia is then triggered by the negative beliefs and emotions caused by the trauma. For example, I had a client who was afraid to spend time outdoors interacting with nature, and just thinking about gardening or camping brought on panic attacks. She had lived with this irrational fear for 35 years, and at her husband’s urging wanted to resolve it so they could take their kids on a camping trip. I regressed her back in her subconscious mind to memories of Sunday School, when she was 6 and 7 years old. She remembered being terrified of the snake in the Garden of Eden. We released her fear of the snake by bringing an adult perspective to a childhood impression, and I am happy to say that she and her family now regularly enjoy camping together.

Internal conflict and difficulty making decisions can cause a lot of mental, and therefore physical, stress. No matter how much you think about a problem, you cannot make a decision where you are comfortable knowing it’s the right one. It often causes you to lose sleep and feel irritable as the indecision constantly nags at your attention. I’ve had many clients come to me for help with making important decisions.

Recently, a client came to me because she wanted to accept her boyfriend’s proposal but couldn’t bring herself to actually do it. The indecision was affecting their relationship and she needed a fast resolution. With hypnosis, we accessed her subconscious mind and gave the conflicting "parts" of her mind an identity that then carried on a dialogue. The parts then negotiated their concerns and came to a common agreement, giving the young woman the decision she needed. In two hours she was able to make a decision that had plagued her for the better part of a year.

Have you ever experienced emotional pain so intense you can feel it physically? At best it is uncomfortable, and at worst severely painful. What is it? It is your subconscious mind sending you a message. The subconscious mind expresses itself through emotion and physical sensations, and negative emotions become trapped in the body causing pain and discomfort. You don’t have to know why they are there or what they are about—that is what hypnotherapy can do.

With simple techniques like "focusing," a skilled hypnotherapist can translate what your subconscious mind is trying to tell you and work with you to release it. With more involved techniques like "breathwork," you can release large amounts of negative emotion and energy, leaving you feeling very calm and peaceful. Recently, I had a client who came to me stating she was always feeling aggravated and didn’t know why. She mentioned she also had intense hip pain. After two sessions of "breathwork," the client reported the feeling of aggravation was gone and was surprised that her hip pain was also completely gone.

These are just a few examples of how hypnotherapy can improve your life. It is a gentle and effective tool that some report works faster than traditional talk therapy. American Health Magazine reported the following findings from a recent study: Psychoanalysis: 38 percent improvement after 600 sessions; Behavior Therapy: 72 percent improvement after 22 sessions; Hypnotherapy: 93 percent improvement after 6 sessions.

 

Imagine If:

Weight loss was not a struggle and could be comfortably accomplished without pills, injections or restrictions.

You could easily stop smoking and add years of health to your life.

You could replace the stress and tension in your life with inner peace and calmness.

You could improve your work performance, sports performance or test results.

YOU CAN, simply by changing your thoughts.

 

Kate Nucci, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Transpersonal Hypnotherapist, received her degrees from the state licensed Institute of Hypnotherapy, with her undergraduate degree from Vassar College. For more information, questions or to schedule a free consultation, call 813-424-0335, email [email protected] or visit KateNucciHypnotherapy.com. See ad page 49.