Hypnotherapy
The American Psychological Association Division 30: Society of Psychological Hypnosis provides the following definitions:
A state of consciousness involving focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness characterized by an enhanced capacity for response to suggestion.
The use of hypnosis in the treatment of a medical or psychological disorder or concern to create subconscious change (new responses, thoughts, attitudes, behaviors or feelings).
➤ Changes in behavior while engaged in hypnosis include heightened suggestibility and responsiveness. In other words, learning happens more effectively. New neural networks begin to form, altering default patterns.
➤ Hypnotherapy helps the nervous system feel safe and open to new learning, allowing the formation new neural networks as the brain updates memories that serve as internal references
➤ All hypnosis is self-hypnosis.
➤ Rigid default patterns are associated with depression and maladaptive behaviors.
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Over the course of our lives we unconsciously develop “default patterns,” or physiological and behavioral set points… that, once established, the brain and nervous system strive to maintain” (McCraty & Zayas, 2014). These patterns may create a sense of comfort and safety that can be maladaptive in other contexts. New perceptions from internal and external stimuli are compared to established reference patterns and when the brain finds a match, it feels a sense of safety even if the reference pattern is associated with chaos or overwhelm. When an experience doesn’t match the existing reference patterns, the system strives to return to safety, requiring an internal shift or external action in order to find a match.
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Hypnotherapy induces a relaxed altered state of consciousness prior to the working phase. The induction helps the nervous system feel safe and open to new learning. A recurring mismatch that is perceived as safe creates new impressions and neural networks, updating memories that serve as references, a process also known as neuroplasticity.
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Some meditation practices (Vajrayana Buddhism) are very similar to he meditation practices (Vajrayana Buddhism) are very similar to hypnosis. The therapeutic suggestions used in hypnotherapy are common in some meditation practices, but not all, and are central in hypnosis.
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Hypnotherapy is supported by numerous published controlled research studies and case reports that demonstrate its efficacy as an empirically validated psychological treatment. Click here for a summary of the research.
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