INFORMATION CENTER: WHAT IS HYPNOSIS?

The hypnotic state is usually produced by a therapist narrowing and sharpening the mind’s focus by repetitive commands to relax. Brain wave tests of patients under hypnosis confirm the fact that the condition is an awake state rather than a sleep state. It is a special state that has never been truly defined by neurological research. In this state the awake part of the brain is like a guardian that will not let you do anything you do not accept as a suggestion. If, for example, the suggestions are to stop smoking and the patient truly does not want to stop, the therapy will fail.

Not every individual can use the hypnotic process. The competent therapist will test your ability to be hypnotized. It is not cut and dried. There are different degrees of hypnotizability but the experienced therapist can achieve success in behavior modification with your ability rated below average to very high. As you may expect, below average will have a more difficult task than the highly hypnotizeable. The hypnotherapist that will guarantee success should set off a warning signal to the individual seeking this form of therapy.

Hypnotherapy in any State in the United States or abroad is not a licensed or certified practice. The word “certified” notwithstanding. That can lead to certain abuses. For example, on other web sites you will find in credentials the use of the term ‘Clinical Hypnotherapist’. The meaning of the word “Clinical” is having experience in a hospital setting, working with hypnotherapy to help patients. Anything else is self-anointed, as is CHP, standing for some sort of certification. You should pick an experienced and competent therapist by checking academic credentials and length of experience. Hypnotherapists that have worked with and been recommended by the medical profession are sure to answer that criteria.