Hypnotherapy

What is hypnotherapy?

The term "hypnosis" is derived from the Greek word hypnos , meaning "sleep." Hypnotherapists use exercises that bring about deep relaxation and an altered state of consciousness, also known as a trance.  This allows access to the material stored in the subconscious mind.  A person in a trance or deeply focused state is unusually responsive to an idea or image, but this does not mean that a hypnotist can control his or her mind and free will. On the contrary, hypnosis can actually teach people how to master their own states of awareness. By doing so they can affect their own bodily functions and psychological responses.

How does hypnosis work?

When something new happens to us, we remember it and learn a particular behavior in response to that circumstance. Memories stored in our brains hold the original physical and emotional reactions that occurred when the given memory was first formed. Each time similar events occur again, the physical and emotional reactions attached to the memory are repeated. These reactions may be inappropriate or unhealthy. In hypnotherapy, the trained therapist guides you to remember the event that led to the first reaction, separate the memory from the learned behavior, and reconstruct the event with new, healthier associations.

During hypnosis, a person's body relaxes while his or her thoughts become more focused and attentive. Like other relaxation techniques, hypnosis decreases blood pressure and heart rate, and alters certain types of brain wave activity. In this relaxed state, a person will feel very at ease physically yet fully awake mentally. In this state of deep concentration people are highly responsive to suggestion. If you are trying to quit smoking, for example, a therapist's suggestion may successfully convince you that in the future you will have a strong dislike for the taste of cigarettes.

There are several stages of hypnosis. The process begins with reframing the problem; becoming relaxed, then absorbed (deeply engaged in the words or images presented by a hypnotherapist); dissociating (letting go of critical thoughts); responding (complying whole-heartedly to a hypnotherapist's suggestions); returning to usual awareness; and reflecting on the experience.

 

Fertility Therapy

Why some couples experience difficulty conceiving a child is still a mystery. In our time of easy and effective birth control we have come to assume that once the decision has been reached to start a family, it will automatically happen. If the months begin to roll by without the desired result, the couple usually takes a look at possible physiological explanations with the aid of their physician. After a complete assessment by an MD, it is important to continue this process by considering psychosomatic possibilities. The mind-body connection is powerful, and working with both sides of the equation is often appropriate.

If there is an unknown resistance which creates a barrier to conception, it is often buried deep in the subconscious mind. Many of us carry a lifetime of traumas from our own birth trauma, to dysfunctional parenting in our childhood that can create a psychosomatic blockage. The commitment to becoming a parent is profound and irreversible- --somewhere in our spirit we know what a final and complete decision we are making by wanting to bring a child into the world. It is not uncommon that the first step in becoming a new parent is to release any fears that are hidden deep within our psyches.

These fears and blockages are part of our subconscious mind and, therefore, not accessible through conventional talk therapy. The subconscious mind has six major functions:

  1. it serves as a memory bank or computer which records every minute detail of our life experiences;

  2. it controls and regulates the involuntary functions of the body;

  3. it is the seat of our emotions;

  4. it is the seat of our imagination and dreams;

  5. it carries out our habitual conduct and is the dynamo that directs our energy;

  6. it is our link to the non-local self or spiritual self.

 

Hypnotherapy directly accesses the subconscious mind. By entering into hypnosis the subconscious mind is given a voice and can oftentimes diagnose difficulties and traumas that stand in the way of conceiving a child. The mind-body connection is subtle and powerful. While in hypnosis, the therapist gently guides the client to a full release of impediments. This allows psychosomatic barriers to neutralize and lets nature take its course. The subconscious mind has the hidden potential to heal and balance the whole body. Hypnotherapy has a proven history of being particularly effective as a tool for fertility and conception.