Calm Your Mind
Calm Your Mind
Ericksonian Hypnotherapy
Milton Erickson (1901-1980) is considered the father of modern medical hypnotherapy. Erickson’s ideas and therapeutic strategies were deeply empowering because they were marked by an emphasis on the resources, strengths and values of his clients.
The principles of Erickson’s work presupposed that “trance” was a natural everyday phenomena and that people’s problems were the domain of the unconscious. Therefore, the domain for the change laid also in the unconscious mind. It was a question of how to provide people with access to those resources to support recovery and change.
Through his love of visualization and incorporating hypnotic suggestions in stories, Erickson was able to develop a state of mental receptivity and activity that leads to better mind conditioning and outcomes. Although, the techniques are not as intense and explicit as other forms of hypnosis, the results are almost instant and are more readily tangible.
Ericksonian hypnotherapy is a simple, elegant and respectful way to restore self-trust by reconnecting with your natural resourcefulness. It uses indirect suggestions, which are much harder to resist because they are often not even recognized as suggestions by the conscious mind, since they usually disguise themselves as stories or metaphors. By using metaphors and symbols, the mind is being conditioned to set itself and adapt to changes at a gradual pace. An example of an indirect suggestion is “and perhaps your eyes will grow tried as you listen to this story, and you will want to close them, because people can, you know, experience a pleasant, deepening sense of comfort as they allow their eyes to close, and they relax deeply.”
As an adjunct to psychotherapy, this kind of hypnosis can help clients enter a relaxed, comfortable, trance state for obtaining specific therapeutic outcomes. The therapist can make suggestions designed to help the client formulate specific internal processes (feelings, memories, images and internal self-talk) that will lead to mutually-agreed-upon outcomes.
Hypnotic suggestions can influence behavior when the listener is:
- relaxed, receptive and open to the suggestions
- experiences visual, auditory, and/or kinesthetic representations of the suggestions
- anticipates and envisions that these suggestions will result in future outcomes.
These three criteria are facilitated through the use of “hypnotic language patterns.” Hypnotic language patterns include: guided visualization, stories, guided memories, analogies, ambiguous words or phrases, repetition, and statements about association, meaning, and cause-effect.
Hypnosis has many applications in therapeutic settings. Among them are:
- Building Confidence
- Relaxation During Childbirth
- Treating Phobias, Fears and Anxiety
- Sleep Disorders and Disturbances
- Interpersonal Problems
- Depression
- Sexual Difficulties
- Psychosomatic Complaints
- Post Trauma Relief
- Pain Management
- Stress Management
- Habit Change
- Academic Performance
- Athletic Performance
- Help with Life Transitions
- Preparation for Medical/Dental Procedures
- Blocks to Motivation and Creativity
- Treatment of Grief and Loss
As a result of this treatment often clients report:
- A greater sense of inner ease and outer relaxation
- Deeper co-operation and understanding with their body
- Decreased feelings of frustration, mistrust and hyper-vigilance
- Increase sense of confidence
- Increased self-esteem
- Overall increased sense of Well being