Local Hypnotists

By Paul W Howard

 I cant tell you the number of times Ive heard about this technique and that technique that students have learnt on their hypnotherapy course. However, do these techniques make them good therapists? Of course they dont.

Most hypnotherapy training classes rely far too much on a myriad of techniques that the students in turn come to rely on. The belief is set up that there is a particular technique to solve a particular problem. Nothing could be further from the truth. In point of fact most techniques when adapted and personalised can be used to resolve most problems.

The trouble with most hypnotherapy training is that the student tries desperately to match the clients issue to the techniques they have learnt. This is a totally ineffectual way of training hypnotherapy students, and leads to ineffectual hypnotherapists. Hypnotherapy students need educating in how to THINK like a therapist, not training in how to ACT like a therapist.

To be an effective hypnotherapist you need to understand what a clients subconscious is trying to achieve with the problem behaviour. Until this puzzle is solved the hypnotherapist will have little or no chance of resolving the problem, no matter what technique they use. Therefore a deep understanding of the motivations and perceptions of the subconscious as they relate to the client is not only important but also critical to the education of the therapist. Any hypnotherapy course that does not take account of these needs is training the student to fail.

The training environment is another area where many hypnotherapy training schools fall down. Quite often the training is conducted in a single room where all the practical work is done as well. This is obviously not conducive to a genuine therapeutic environment, or for the concentration of either party involved. I have heard of training schools who conduct their lectures in hotel rooms and the practise sessions are sometimes held in the bar or public areas; always ask the question before embarking on a hypnotherapy course, and if it is being held in a hotel be cautious.

I have been particularly astonished to learn that some so-called hypnotherapy training is conducted in mega auditoriums, with several hundred students being asked to practice their therapeutic skills in the middle of the auditorium with so called assistants offering impromptu advice to maybe 20 or 30 people; the noise was described as being akin to a hall full of turkeys gobbling in nervous anticipation just before Christmas. On the upside I have heard it is a good place to meet future clients, as most people arrive calm and go home nervous wrecks. It brings a new meaning to the concept of touch therapy. Obviously having proper breakout rooms where the students can work one to one is far more professional, and allows the students to get the maximum out of the practicals.

Another important area is preparing the future hypnotherapist to deal with real clients. With most hypnotherapy training schools the first real client the student will encounter is after they are handed their diploma and told, Congratulations, you have passed. The first client a hypnotherapist sees is a very nerve wracking time. The client will not have been screened to ensure their suitability etc; so when you take a nervous hypnotherapist, an unknown client in an unsupervised environment, it is a recipe for disaster. I have known many a promising career halted at the start because of a very negative experience.

When we train hypnotherapists we intersperse their training with real clients that are screened by us to ensure suitability. We are always on hand to supervise in case there are any issues beyond the capabilities or experience of the student. This ensures that the student has the best chance of having a positive experience in their first few sessions, and helps them to build their confidence as an effective hypnotherapist. The sessions are conducted in proper therapy rooms to ensure the clients and the students get the most from the experience.

Another area of concern is, are the trainers practising hypnotherapists themselves? I know of a number of courses being run by trainers with very few client hours under their belt, or others whose sole income is from training new hypnotherapists. The old adage, those who can, do, those who cant, teach, seems to apply here. There is a simple way to check, just ring up and ask for a therapy appointment. If they no longer see clients, or they can get you in immediately, thats a fair indication that they either only train or that they see very few clients. The problem here is that if they are not seeing many clients they are unlikely to be up to date with their skills, or worse still they may not be attracting repeat clients, which probably means they are not very effective as therapists themselves. They might be able to talk the talk, but can they walk the walk?

Paul Howard is a trainer and practising hypnotherapist at The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy in Wallington, Surrey, UK. He can be contacted ve the website at www.sich.co.uk. The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy run intensive and weekend diploma courses thoughout the year. Their courses are always done in small groups and the diploma is externally accredited by The National Council for Hypnotherapy - The premiere hypnotherapy governing body in the UK.

Dont miss the trance to lose your fear
By Paul W Howard

 We all like to believe we’re unique. But when it comes to our fears, we’re anything but.

Spiders, flying and public transport are all it takes to send many people into a state of anxiety or panic. Crowded places are simply terrifying to some people; some fears are of course rational, but others seem to have no simple explanation.

Experts say a few are evolutionary and they have developed in response to dangerous situations that may cause harm, such as a poisonous bite, or being in a situation that makes us feel trapped. If they aren’t instinctive we generally learn them from our parents, or by some long forgotten childhood event or a more recent trauma.

Many fears have some element of perceived danger in them, said Paul White, Chairman of the National Council for Hypnotherapy. To the sufferer, even a seemingly silly phobia - for example of boiled eggs - will hold a perceived danger, food poisoning perhaps, and this may have been set up by eating an egg that was rotten.

Fortunately, in the main, these responses are normal and often useful.

Children for instance, may retreat from a cliff edge because they sense they could fall. Fear of public speaking, which can reduce even the most confident person to a gibbering wreck, comes from a belief that they may be judged and seen as stupid, incapable or unprofessional. As a result, they will spend more time preparing to make sure their speech or presentation goes well.

However, for a large proportion of the public who experience a seemingly irrational reaction to an everyday object or situation, they have to deal with an entirely different form of anxiety that is commonly known as a phobia.

For instance, an agoraphobic may have a fear that they will be sick in public, which could have been set up because they were sick in front of some friends when they were a child and were ridiculed for it. This fear/phobia may not appear for 20 years and will seem to come out of the blue. For example he or she may initially have feelings of nausea, rapid heartbeat, flushing, increased respiration and chest pain when travelling on a bus. This initial attack will be interpreted in their mind as being unwell, believing it might be a heart or asthma attack. Not surprisingly this often makes the feelings of panic a lot worse. This attack will now be linked to the bus and travelling on public transport, where they felt trapped. He or she may have no understanding that it came from an earlier event. The fear of another attack may cause them to go to great lengths to steer clear of any situation where they may be trapped in a public place, or whatever circumstance triggered the reaction in the first place.

Surveys show that as our lives are improving in materialistic ways, our expectations are also rising with regard to happiness and fulfilment, and when the reality doesnt match the expectation; it leaves many of us feeling less content.

Acts of terrorism, despite the low odds of actually being affected by one, have naturally made flying and even travelling into our cities, more stressful.

But don’t get too worried or depressed. According to The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy, major anxiety problems are very treatable. Statistically hypnotherapy has been shown to be far more effective than virtually any other form of psychotherapy. Dr. Mary Lee Smith, world-renowned statistician, concludes in her book The benefits of Psychotherapy, that hypnotherapy is the most effective type of psychotherapy; with hypnotherapy being twice as effective as most other forms.

The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy has been working successfully with various types of anxiety for many years. They have seen just about every type of anxiety going, from a fear of bananas, to a lady in her seventies with claustrophobia, agoraphobia and OCD.

Paul Howard has been specialising in Anxiety and Psoriasis for nearly ten years. He has trained many hypnotherapists around the country. He works at The Surrey Institute of Clinical Hypnotherapy in Wallington, Surrey, UK. He can be contacted via the website at www.sich.co.uk. He is also the Marketing director for The National Council for Hypnotherapy - The premiere governing body in the UK.

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