The word “hypnosis” is derived from the Greek work “hypnos”, which means to sleep. After this, ‘Hypnosis’ meant ‘to put to sleep’. This term was coined as long ago as 1841 by a Scottish surgeon named James Braid. It’s interesting to note that Braid was influenced heavily by the earlier work of Franz Mesmer, known as ‘Mesmerism’ i.e. the idea of being ‘mesmerised’ by someone or something.
In my experience in speaking to friends, family and the general public, hypnotherapy is often misconstrued in so far as most think ‘hypnotism’ – a form of entertainment on stage or television – as opposed to the therapeutic treatment of ‘hypnotherapy’. What these have in common is the use of ‘trance’.
It should be emphasised that trance is very ordinary, perfectly safe and perfectly natural in many ways. We go into trance many times during the day. Trance is no more than a daydream. We go into trance when we’re watching television, engrossed in a movie or book, scrolling on our phones, while we’re walking, running, washing the dishes etc. we do it all the time.
Trance is natural state of highly focused attention and when we are in that state, we have access to the subconscious mind, which is a powerful state for positive change.
To achieve positive change, the client’s subconscious mind needs absolute focus and attention, and this is where ‘Hypnosis’ comes into the picture – because it gives you this directed focus.
Hypnosis allows an experienced practitioner i.e. a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist, to use induction techniques to encourage the subject’s brain to enter into the trance/ daydream state. This is generally achieved by encouraging relaxation. We would then use techniques i.e. ‘deepeners’ which are designed to enhance the quality and depth of trance in order to guide the subject to a key point between wakefulness and sleep which is similar to the state of Rapid Eye Movement, or REM. It is at this point where we have access to the subconscious mind which allows us to maximise the potential of the client accepting the ideas which are presented to them.
In its purest state, hypnotherapy exists to help people to make positive changes in their lives, from managing stress, anxiety, insomnia, anger, depression, improving performance, weight & health management, breaking bad habits to managing and eliminating emotional trauma from the past, and more.
Thanks to cinema and media hype, many aspects of hypnosis have been exaggerated or completely misunderstood.
One of those aspects is ‘trance’. On television and in movies, people/ characters in a trance are basically portrayed as brainless zombies, who do whatever the hypnotist asks them to do, mumbling “yes master” as they do so. Or, on stage, a stage hypnotist carefully selects (a lengthy process generally edited out of TV shows) a suggestable member of the audience who is in essence willing and accepting to the suggestion of looking silly i.e., dancing and/ or making chicken sounds etc.
Trance, in its purist form, is nothing like that. It’s simply a very relaxed state where a person focuses their thoughts and energy inside, instead of focusing on the outside world. During hypnosis, you’ll remain wide awake, in complete control, and able to hear and understand everything that’s happening.
As a practicing Solution Focused Hypnotherapist, during each session, before hypnosis, we help the client identify and take small constructive steps in the direction of the desired change. This state then becomes a tool to help the person undergoing hypnosis to deal with whatever issue they might want to address.
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy is a psychotherapy of the James Braid tradition, using the very best procedures that science and research illustrates and in addition uses trance.