What is Clinical Hypnotherapy and Hypnoanalysis?

Most people first learn about hypnotism from Scooby-Doo cartoons, playground games and movie cliches. It gets imprinted in the mind as some hocus pocus that leaves us at the mercy of someone else’s will.

Although hypnotism has been used widely by entertainers and charlatans for hundreds of years, it’s important to know that the state of Hypnosis is a naturally occuring phenomena that you fall into yourself several times a day without any coersion whatsoever.

Stage Hypnosis and Clinical Hypnotherapy are not the same thing.

Generally when people go to see a stage hypnotist they are consciously going for entertainment and are mentally anticipating certain behaviours. Stage hypnotists are highly skilled at cold reading people. They can pick out people from the audience who will provide the most entertainment value.

Clinical Hypnotherapy uses hypnosis in a clinical setting to help you to access the knowledge and wisdom you have stored at a subconscious level. The hypnotherapist enables you to explore your issue and establish its reach and boundaries. Many hypnotherapists use custom scripts to help instil positive beliefs. A good and effective hypnotherapist will write the script “in your language” using your own belief systems and metaphors you can relate to.

Hypnoanalysis is a specialised and very powerful enhancement of hypnotherapy. It combines aspects of NLP with hypnotherapy to bring about change from a core level. For me, hypnoanalysis is the preferred route because it helps with resolution.

Doing Hypnoanalysis

First through hypnotherapy, you achieve a relaxed state. Then through hypnoanalysis, you are guided to focus your attention intently on your issue in a way that is problem-solving rather than problem-dwelling. You will be asked questions and given mental exercises to do that compels your subconscious to find new perspectives. New perspectives hold new solutions.

Hypnoanalysis provides a break from everyday critical thinking and engages you to discover your own solutions. Many people are pleasantly surprised when they experience the deeply relaxed state and realise they remain aware of their own free will.

There are restrictions on using hypnoanalysis. You wouldn’t use it with young children or with people who have recently suffered a stroke or heart attack. It’s also not a suitable therapy for telecoaching or other remote coaching methods.

Benefits of Hypnoanalysis

Hypnotherapy and Hypnoanalysis both enable you to access your subconscious mind where many of your answers lie.
Hypnoanalysis bypasses your normal head-chatter that ordinarily results in self-sabotage and protective denial.
Hypnoanalysis allows you to peel back layers of your issue and deal with each one effectively.
As you address the issue at a subconscious leve, the effects filter through so that your conscious efforts can be more rewarding.

How Hypnoanalysis Helps During Psychotherapy & Coaching

Hypnoanalysis overcomes psychological resistance to dealing with an issue because it bypasses the part of you that over-thinks and edits your answers. You can relax knowing that the hypnotherapist is only going to focus on your issue.
For people who feel overwhelmed and unable to discuss their problem, hypnotherapy gives you a break by enabling your subconscious to take the driving seat.
Hypnotherapy acts like a temporary time out. It takes the pressure off you for a while and gives you some breathing space to develop new behaviours. Hypnoanalysis not only takes the pressure off you, it also helps you to come to terms and deal with the root of the issue. So any new behaviours that arise, arise because you’re naturally ready for them.
Some clinical hypnotherapists will teach you how to do self-hypnosis. By learning self-hypnosis you empower yourself to take time-outs or deal with challenges between sessions. Self-hypnosis is a good life skill to have – it helps aid focus for a successful outcome. It’s been used by sportsmen, women in childbirth, people getting a tattoo and in thousands more situations.

Guided Meditation

I’m including Guided Meditation in this section because it is very similar to self-hypnosis.

Guided Meditation is a focused relaxation where you gain the ability to let go of the problems and issues facing you and instead, concentrate your mind on a different aspect that helps you to overcome the problem.

In coaching and therapy, Guided Meditation is used to assist with getting through subconscious resistance. It is also sometimes used as a relaxation aid at the beginning and/or end of a session.

It has remarkable daily applications such as anger-management, nervousness, relaxation in the middle of a hectic day, controlling blood pressure etc.

This is part of a series of posts outlining the methods I use during coaching. The full series is:

If you have any questions about any of this, please post a question below or email me directly.

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