Wholeness Healing Center

Hypnotherapy: Why It’s Worth the Work

Guest Writer – Judi Viatale, The Wellness Institute

Anyone who has benefitted in hypnotherapy will tell you that it takes some courage, and a lot of work, to benefit from the deep and profound healing hypnotherapy sessions have to offer. While the actual process of hypnosis isn’t especially rigorous, what happens when a client is hypnotized can seem to be daunting, at least until it is fully experienced.

Why might clients think hypnotherapy is scary? Here are some of the things they might fear:

• Being “out of control,” or manipulated by the therapist

• Concerns about not coming back to “normal” after hypnosis

• Confronting frightening or traumatic memories

If your clients express these concerns, you can tell them:

• Your conscious mind will be relaxed, but you will still be aware of what’s happening

• You will not be under anyone’s control but your own

• You can come out of the hypnotic state at any time

• If you have painful memories, I will be here to help you work with them and be reminded that they happened a long time ago and are not happening now.

The Cleveland Clinic defines hypnosis and hypnotherapy almost synonymously, but there are differences, especially when it comes to Heart-Centered HypnotherapyTM. The state of hypnosis is present in both instances, but the experience of hypnotherapy takes it one step further.

Revisiting The Past to Heal the Present

In hypnosis, the therapist may take the client into the hypnotic state and merely offer suggestions to help modify behavior. In Heart-Centered HypnotherapyTM the client is invited to relate feelings or conditions they have in the present to past experiences through the process of age regression. In an age regressed state, clients can express emotions that had previously been stifled or suppressed. What was held in, can come out and be reframed, giving the client freedom from the cycles of unconscious impulses that encroach on their present lives.

Is this always a simple, easy process? It’s true that doing the actual work can be somewhat painful, but the results are so profound and lasting, they are well worth the effort. When the hypnotherapy client regresses to a traumatic memory, expressing the emotions—fear, anger, sadness, abandonment, jealousy, hurt—allows these locked-away feelings to be released. Doing this often relieves somatic symptoms and clears emotional blocks, as well.

Once the emotions are expressed, the Heart-Centered HypnotherapyTM process gives clients a chance to identify the “old conclusions” they made, such as “I am helpless,” or “I am worthless.” Then, they are invited to see how these faulty beliefs influenced their behavior. Perhaps those who feel helpless let others dominate them, or the clients who feel worthless hide or indulge in self-sabotaging behavior, including addictions.

The healing portion of the session lets the client connect with this younger version of the self, and console it by giving loving words and positive messages. Then the client goes back to the old conclusions and old behaviors to reframe them. Now, “I am helpless” becomes “I am capable,” and “I let others dominate me” transforms into “I have clear boundaries and stand up for myself.”

Why It’s All Worth It

Hypnotherapy is definitely a valuable experience for clients, and a powerful tool for therapists. Clients experience liberation from the internal prison of having their current lives disrupted by traumatic memories. They have the opportunity to change the way they see themselves and live more healthy and productive lives. They can be more spontaneous, playful, and joyful when they experience this newly found freedom.

Therapists have the opportunity to watch clients go deep into their subconscious, accelerating the process of identifying and working to heal trauma. Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy™ also gives therapists ways to use more creativity and empathy than talk therapy can. Of course, you can use hypnotherapy as a way of enhancing your talk therapy sessions with clients. It is bound to change the way that your clients respond to you and will most definitely change the trajectory of their progress and point it toward living life with passion and contentment.

Wholeness Healing Center has two trained hypnotherapists who offer these services. Call our office if you would like to schedule an appointment with one of them.

Works Cited
Vitali, Judi, July 26, 2022. The Wellness Institute (Blog). https://www.wellness- institute. orghttps://www.wellness-institute.org

Tags: age regression therapy, facts about hypnotherapy, hypnotherapy