Hypnosis can provide a lot of entertainment but it can also provide essential therapeutic services. However, many people still ask is it good or bad? Do ‘subjects’ lose control an end up doing something g they would not want to do? 
This viewpoint could be enhanced by the ITV1 game show ‘You’re back in the room’ which starts this month. It is described as a ‘comedy game show’ where five complete strangers work together to complete incredibly simple challenges. The only thing standing between them and the cash prize is their own minds. This is because they have been hypnotised by hypnotist Keith Barry.
But does this put hypnotism in a bad light?
Hypnotherapist Graham Russell, Chairman of the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH), says it does not.
“Hypnosis is hypnosis. Like many things it can be used in a serious way or a trivial way.
“To me, stage hypnosis is a trivial use of a very powerful therapeutic tool. At the NCH we help people to overcome psychological issues and problem behaviours using hypnosis.
“However, as long as the boundaries are not blurred, I don’t personally see anything wrong with stage shows. It is a separate role employing very different people to us in the therapeutic world.”
Other hypnotherapists also see the positive side.
Said one therapist: “It looks like some fun. It will show the power of hypnosis to millions of prime time television viewers. They will also get to see that it is safe and that people come out the other side without any harmful effects.”
He added that there is a strong possibility that this will be good advertising for hypnotherapists and he was expecting new clients at his practice.
What exactly is hypnotherapy? It is the application of hypnotic techniques in such a way as to bring about therapeutic changes. An NCH hypnotherapist’s job when working with a client is to activate the inner resources of the client in order to achieve realistic goals.
Contrary to what many people believe, hypnosis is not a sleep state and not always a trance state, even though a person in hypnosis may appear to be sleeping. Hypnosis is really a natural state of mind and is an important part of everyday life.
Simply put, whenever one’s mind wanders, daydreams or is focused on something, such as reading a book, driving a familiar route, watching a film, that person is in a state of hypnosis.
Hypnotherapy clients will also realise, after the initial meeting with their therapist, that whoever hypnotises them, they themselves are always in control and if they choose to they have the power to resist. In fact, the client is always the one in control, when they decide how deeply into hypnosis they wish to go, and then they become aware of what hypnosis is.
The hypnotherapist is a guide and helps the client on a journey, but the change can only be made by the client. And this change can be used for a variety of reasons, ranging from weight management and fighting phobias to dealing with anxiety, stress and unwanted habits like smoking. Hypnotherapy is also used for pain control and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
All members of the NCH are registered, fully trained and qualified. They seek to protect the health and wellbeing of people who use their services.
The therapeutic benefits of hypnotherapy are also recognised by the NHS and members are urged to register with the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) which is approved as an Accredited Register by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care.
If you think hypnotherapy can be of benefit to you, why not look up an NCH member near you by using the NCH directory (click here).It could change your life.
