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 Providence Hypnosis Center, LLC    401 351 1700                 Providence, Rhode Island               email: patrick@provhyp.com

NEW LOCATION:   easy parking         420 Angell St   Providence

Hypnosis Q&A From Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy UK....

• Hypnotherapy is a completely safe and harmless form of therapy. • Hypnosis is a state of responsiveness, not sleep or unconsciousness. • You are still in control of your own body and mind during hypnosis. • Hypnotism is officially recognised by many professional and scientific bodies.

What is hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a method by which any person may be guided into a state of responsiveness in which psychological and physical changes, beyond normal conscious capability, may be achieved. In other words, hypnotic trance is essentially a state of hyper-suggestibility.

• Anyone can be hypnotised, if you can relax and follow simple instructions you can enjoy hypnosis. • Measurable psychological and physiological changes occur in hypnosis.

What does it feel like?
Hypnosis is essentially a state of heightened suggestibility. So asking what it feels like is like asking: "What does suggestibility feel like?" Suggestibility is not a feeling, it is a cognitive state (like belief or knowledge) that can be accompanied by different feelings and sensations.

In other words, the experience is different for different people, and at different times. Typically, however, hypnosis is associated with a pleasant state of deep inner calm and physical relaxation. Deep hypnotic relaxation is similar in some ways to the kind of profound trance found in expert yoga or meditation practitioners.

What is hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is basically any therapy done in conjunction with hypnosis. It is often classed as a form of complementary medicine (CAM).

Hypnosis is not an occult or esoteric art, it is a scientifically acknowledged psychological and therapeutic discipline.

Hypnotherapists tend to use an integrative approach which may combine programs of direct verbal suggestion or visualisation with ‘analytic’ psychotherapy techniques such as age regression.

Does it work?
Yes. Hypnosis has fascinated psychologists and medical professionals for over a century and has been subject to a great deal of rigorous testing and research. It also has an enviable and long-standing reputation for effectiveness among the general public.

Is hypnotherapy like stage hypnosis?
Stage hypnosis is slightly different from hypnotherapy, however it is real hypnosis and the effects produced are possible for everyone to experience. Some stage hypnotists do good work but others generate misconceptions about the nature of hypnotic trance, which may lead to unfounded fears about hypnosis. In clinical hypnotherapy clients are never asked to do anything embarrassing or against their will.

Is hypnosis safe?
Absolutely. There are no known records of anyone having been physically or mentally harmed as a direct result of hypnosis itself.

• It is utterly impossible for anyone to get ‘stuck’ in hypnosis.

Hypnosis Speeds Healing

......Ginandes and Daniel Rosenthal, professor of radiology at the Harvard Medical School, published a report on their study of hypnosis to speed up the mending of broken bones. They recruited 12 people with broken ankles who did not require surgery and who received the usual treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In addition, Ginandes hypnotized half of them once a week for 12 weeks, while the other half received only normal treatment. The same doctor applied the casts and other care, and the same radiologists took regular X-rays to monitor how well they healed. A radiologist who evaluated the X-rays did not know which patients underwent hypnosis.

The result stood out like a sore ankle. Those who were hypnotized healed faster than those who were not. Six weeks after the fracture, those in the hypnosis group showed the equivalent of eight and a half weeks of healing......

The following thoughts are drawn from an extensive discussion of hypnosis written by Roy Hunter. There is additional information available at hypnosis.com.

QUESTIONS (and responses):

What IS hypnosis?

Opinions vary on the exact definition of this natural state of mind. First of all, contrary to what is commonly believed by many, hypnosis is NOT a "sleep" state even though a person in hypnosis may appear to be sleeping. I prefer the way my late mentor, Charles Tebbetts, defined hypnosis, so let me quote his exact words as written in MIRACLES ON DEMAND (which is, unfortunately, no longer in print): "There is no legal definition of hypnosis. Webster's dictionary describes it incorrectly as an artificially induced sleep, but it is actually a natural state of mind and induced normally in everyday living much more often than it is induced artificially. Every time we become engrossed in a novel or a motion picture, we are in a natural hypnotic trance (p. 211-212)."

I totally agree with the theory Charles Tebbetts taught: ALL HYPNOSIS IS SELF-HYPNOSIS, AND THE POWER IS IN THE MIND OF THE PERSON BEING HYPNOTIZED. So, in reality, the Hypnotherapist is more like a guide who facilitates the hypnotic process. Myron Teitelbaum, M.D., author of HYPNOSIS INDUCTION TECHNIQUES, came to the same conclusion--as is evidenced by what he wrote in the last two pages of Chapter 3: "The hypnotist is merely the guide who directs and leads the subject into the trance (page 18)."

Additionally, the common belief evidenced by research is that a person experiencing hypnosis slows down his or her brain waves from BETA into ALPHA--although some people believe that we may actually enter THETA during deep trance states. (THETA is normally the "dream" state we pass through on the way to and from DELTA--or deep sleep.) Be aware that since we must all pass through ALPHA on the way to and from sleep, we could easily say that all of us experience hypnosis at least twice daily. But in working with clients, I keep the explanation as simple as possible.

To me, the most accurate way of defining hypnosis is to simply call it "guided meditation." Since many of us enter a meditative or "trance" state while listening to music, watching TV, listening to a good speaker or a good sermon at church, or even while reading, you could say that the hypnotist does not even have to be a live person. So if hypnosis were ever outlawed, it would be virtually impossible to enforce, because we would have to stop the freedom of speech and freedom of press!

On the other hand, if all hypnosis is--as Charles Tebbetts firmly believed--really Guided self-hypnosis, then that truly makes the hypnotist an artist! This is why I chose THE ART OF HYPNOSIS as the title for the first volume of my major work based on the teachings of my late mentor.

2. Does a hypnotized person give up control?

Do we give up control of our minds during a movie? When is the last time you got so involved during a movie or TV show that you actually felt emotion? You were literally in a hypnotic trance, although you still have the power to emerge from that state if desired. Your mind may be guided by a movie, TV show, self-hypnosis tape, or Hypnotherapist, but YOU still have the power to resist. Even though there are some people who seem to at least partially give up control of their minds, that is because of misunderstanding who has the power. Certainly one can be TRICKED into believing that he/she has "given up control" in some forms of stage hypnosis or other experiments--but does that make it right? I am part of the NEW ETHICS of hypnotherapy, perpetuating what my mentor taught me to disclose: "ALL HYPNOSIS IS SELF-HYPNOSIS." Once people really understand this fact, they may enter deep states of hypnosis while still retaining the power to resist unwanted suggestions.

I proved this myself several years ago during a profoundly deep trance when the hypnotist suggested that I shave my beard. I brought myself right out of hypnosis and gave her a lecture on ethics that hopefully she will always remember.

Let's start informing people where the real power is--within THEIR OWN MINDS! And we can begin by no longer referring to people in hypnosis as "subjects." My own students are asked to use the following definitions for people in hypnosis:

CLIENTS = People hypnotized for self-improvement, etc.

PARTICIPANTS = People hypnotized for practice, demonstration, stage hypnosis, etc.

PATIENTS = People hypnotized for medical applications of hypnosis.

SUBJECTS = Those who are the subjects of someone experimenting with hypnosis (whether for scientific research, or parlor games done by untrained hypnotists). Please AVOID using this word to refer to clients or patients experiencing hypnosis for a beneficial purpose! In my opinion, the very fact that the scientific community has used the word "subject" for so many decades is part of the reason why people still fear hypnosis today. This very word implies giving up control... and while there are those who wish to still use "disempowerment" hypnotic methods by tricking people into giving up control, I believe it's time to teach the truth about where the power is!

3. How does hypnosis feel?

Since hypnosis is a natural state of mind, clients are often surprised that they hear every word. Unless one enters a deeper state, or at least a medium state, he or she may not "feel" any different than when relaxing in the favorite easy chair with a good book. One may feel quite mellow, and may feel light (or weightless), or very heavy as if sinking into the chair. If one enters a really deep state, the feeling may be euphoric for some, or almost like being intoxicated without the side effects. In a light state, it is entirely possible for a client to believe that he or she was not hypnotized; so it is important for a Hypnotherapist to know how to competently handle the pre-induction discussion as well as the discussion after hypnosis.

There are certain abilities which are enhanced during the actual hypnotic process itself: (a) the ability to IMAGINE, (b) the ability to REMEMBER, (c) the CREATIVE abilities, and (d) RESPONSIVENESS TO SUGGESTIONS. Naturally, it is this last ability which creates the appeal of hypnosis to some and the fear of hypnosis to others. And before you go experimenting with hypnosis, be advised to seek competent "hands-on" training--or at the very least, invest in a quality Home Study course! Simply reading is not enough if you plan on facilitating hypnosis.