Joanna Yap at the Borneo Online discusses the use of hypnosis for therapeutic change with a bit on her own personal experience (that’s her pictured above, undergoing hypnotherapy):
JUST saying the word ‘hypnosis’ can evoke a sense of excitement.
For most people, the first image that comes to mind is that of a swinging pocket watch at the end of a long chain, wielded by a magician to put someone into a trance.
He could be made to bark like a dog, for instance, with no recollection of what happened afterwards.
Another common perception of hypnosis is that of hapless victims hypnotised to perform deeds of deception and even murder against their own will.
This is the stuff Hollywood scriptwriters have exploited with much success to entertain the masses.But what most people are not aware of is that many of us enter into hypnotic states everyday without realising it.
“Have you ever driven yourself around and suddenly realised you have arrived at a place you did not want to go to with no recollection of how you got there? That’s because your mind was in a trance-like state,” explained Kuching-based hypnotherapist Sunny Chai when met by The Borneo Post recently.
Sunny is one of a handful of practising local hypnotherapists.
A chartered certified accountant by qualification, he has been interested in hypnosis since he was young, but the interest was only developed during his undergraduate days when he read accounting and finance at the University of Birmingham, UK.
“At first, I used to do hypnosis at gatherings and parties as a way to entertain my friends and acquaintances,” recalled the boyish looking 28-year-old.
“But later, when I realised how much good it could do and how it could be used to help people, I started to take it very seriously and looked into ways to improve my knowledge and skills.”
Hypnotherapy is based on the premise that every individual has the potential and resources within him to solve problems and effect change.
In essence, hypnosis is a tool which allows a therapist to speak directly into a person’s subconscious mind and bypass certain psychological barriers which the person may or may not be aware of.
Our subconscious mind is the part of our brain that is basically on autopilot, and takes care of the more mundane details of daily living.
For example, when we sit on a chair, our conscious mind might be aware that we are sitting down, but our subconscious mind is the part of our brain which controls our movement to sit down and remain seated.
The subconscious mind is thought to be more receptive than the conscious mind and thus more open to suggestions and ideas presented by the hypnotherapist, who acts as a facilitator to help the client access resources in their subconscious to effect change.
Hypnotherapy — the use of hypnosis to provide psychological therapy — is relatively new to Malaysia.
As such, there are many misconceptions, such as those mentioned at the start of this article, about what it is and can or cannot do.
Hypnotherapy has been used to help people quit smoking, manage their weight and eating habits, overcome phobias, manage physical pain, deal with anxiety and depression, manage heartbreak and grief, enhance personal development, and enhance sport and work performance.
Depending on the client and type of change the client desires, it can take between a single to several sessions spreading over several weeks to effect the desired change.
Because it speaks directly to the subconscious, hypnotherapy can be the key to unlock fast but lasting change in a person but it is also not a panacea for every type of problem, neither will it result in the same effect for everyone, Sunny cautioned.
He believes that almost anyone can benefit from hypnotherapy but there are certain factors to take into consideration.
It is advisable for people thinking of undergoing hypnotherapy to meet and discuss their options with a qualified hypnotherapist first and also with their usual medical advisors.
“This is my belief — that everyone can be hypnotised, except for those who have brain damage caused by accident or trauma and their brain cannot function properly anymore. Anyone else with good, logical thinking can be hypnotised,” said Sunny.
“In China, they conduct hypnotherapy in Chinese so language is not a barrier.”
Hypnotherapists utilise a wide range of tools to induce a hypnotic state in a client.
Clients are put into a relaxed state but maintain full awareness of their surroundings at all times.
In some ways, being in this state actually increases a person’s awareness of their surroundings as more of their subconscious mind is allowed to surface.
People who have emerged from a session often report feeling refreshed, like they have just emerged from a good sleep.
Among unusual queries Sunny has encountered was someone asking whether hypnotherapy could help them forget the pain of a heartbreak and their memory of the person who caused it.
However, he pointed out that memory repression is not a viable long term therapy because it can lead to more problems.
A better way to deal with this type of situation was to help the client work through their underlying emotions, and reframe their thoughts into more positive and hopeful ones.
Even though modern hypnotherapy is a new and constantly evolving field, there is actually quite a lot of science and research behind it.
Some of the tools and techniques hypnotherapists use have been employed in modern psychology for decades.
For example, sports psychologists have long used positive imaging to help athletes improve their physical performance on the field as well as frame their mindset towards positive thinking and success.
However, Sunny is quick to point out that hypnotherapy is not meant to replace medicine, and should be seen as an alternative to complement modern medical and psychology practices.
A good hypnotherapist will adhere to ethical guidelines of the profession and do their best to help the client feel comfortable and safe as well as taking care to inform clients what to realistically expect from a session.
Read more at http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/08/21/using-hypnotherapy-as-a-tool-for-psychological-health
If you’re in Taipei and interested in hypnosis, check the services page linked to in the top left sidebar. Not in Taipei? Check the store for recordings in the same menu area as well as links to lots and lots of info and goodies. Of course, browsing this site will bring you to a digital ton of positive resources on a wide variety of topics as well.
Brian
www.BrianDavidPhillips.com
