There are many new emerging therapies to aid in mental health treatment. One of those is the use of hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy is a treatment designed to help place you in a focused state. In this hypnotic state, you will become more receptive and help you identify and address thoughts and feelings that trigger you.
Hypnotherapy Sessions
It can be difficult when your mind tells you one thing and your body performs another. Using hypnotherapy can help you reconnect the mind and body to accomplish the recovery goals you have put in place. Hypnotherapy sessions allow for distractions to be removed from the forefront of your mind and let you speak openly about certain behaviors that need attention. It is a tool that helps you to change negative thoughts and behaviors. It allows for open conversation without the walls that certain mental illnesses can create.
What Can It Treat?
Hypnotherapy can be effective in conjunction with all types of mental health treatment plans. It can be used to treat:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Phobias
- Stress and burnout
- Addictive behaviors
Main Benefits of Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is groundbreaking work that is making great strides in treating mental health. Hypnotherapy creates a space to effectively and efficiently cope with stress and anxiety. This can be especially helpful before diving into more intense types of therapy and mental health treatment.
Hypnotherapy can help increase your ability to concentrate on a difficult topic while keeping calm and balanced. It can also help with being able to break free from compulsive actions and habits, such as:
- Using substances
- Overeating or not eating enough
- Help increase pain tolerance in some situations
- Help improve your self-control
- Effective in reducing negative thoughts and behaviors
How Does It Work?
It starts with finding a hypnotherapist that works in the mental health field, which we provide here at Acera Health. Hypnotherapy starts with allowing you to think about the details of the source of your anxiety. While doing so, you remain in a controlled setting. You will be encouraged to enter a trance state of deep relaxation instead of allowing the feelings of anxiety to grow. This provides a safe place to face some of your stress and anxiety.
The hypnotherapist will guide you. You will also stay awake and lucid the entire time. The hypnotherapist uses relaxation techniques, keywords, guided imagery, and some combination of all the above to help you relax. As you relax, the hypnotherapist will encourage changes in behavior. You are also fully aware during sessions and capable of making decisions.
Hypnosis Can Be Used in Two Ways
Hypnotherapy is usually used in conjunction with other types of traditional therapy because being put in a hypnotic state is an avenue to explore painful thoughts, feelings, and memories that might have been residing in your subconscious mind. There are two main ways in which hypnotherapy is used:
- Suggestion therapy: During the hypnotic state, you will become more responsive to suggestions. Practicing hypnotherapy creates room for you to change your behaviors and redirect your mind. It can also help you shift your sensations like pain.
- Analysis: The hypnotic state is used to venture into the psychological root of a set of symptoms or disorder, such as a terrifying event that you may have buried in your subconscious mind. Once the root of trauma is brought to the surface, it can be talked about in traditional therapy.
Between these two types of hypnotherapy, the hypnotherapist can evaluate what is best for your treatment and advise your mental health team on the next steps to help you combat your illness. This kind of feedback is key to helping address specific thoughts and feelings that trigger you.
Are There Negatives to Hypnotherapy?
There haven’t proved to be many downfalls to hypnotherapy thus far. However, it has been shown to be ineffective for people who have psychotic symptoms, things as hallucinations and delusions, or someone who is in the depths of addiction and actively using drugs.
There is also a chance of having adverse reactions. They are rare but do happen in a small percentage of clients. Some side effects might include:
- Headache
- Drowsiness
- Dizziness
- Distress
- Creation of false memories
These are all things to consider when trying to determine if hypnotherapy can help as part of your treatment program.
Give Hypnotherapy a Try
Hypnotherapy is a wonderful holistic treatment in the mental health field that has started to help many people, including those struggling with depression and anxiety. There is a beautiful mind-body connection, and hypnotherapy can help you improve your connection with yourself.
At Acera Health, we understand that getting the right treatment to suit your mental health needs can be difficult and scary. You might feel like you can’t manage the stress and anxiety that come with traditional therapy or that it will be ineffective.
Hypnotherapy is an emerging treatment that is helping many clients conquer the hardest parts of their recovery. Hypnotherapy can address depression, anxiety, stress, and compulsatory actions. Incorporating this type of therapy into your treatment plan can accompany traditional types of therapy and provide a refined approach to care. Our goal is to help you develop skills you can apply to everyday life that will motivate and hold you accountable.
If you or a loved one is struggling, the time to get help is now. To learn more about hypnotherapy and our programs, reach out to Acera Health today by calling (949) 647-4090.
Melody is a highly skilled proactive clinical administrator, with more than 17 years of experience serving the community in the behavioral health field.
Her clinical management career started in 2011 as a compliance manager and program director. In 2018, she became an executive as chief clinical officer (CCO). She is a seasoned licensed marriage & family therapist.
