Aspects Of Hypnotherapy

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“What is Hypnosis?” Describe the psychological and physical aspects of hypnosis and discuss the role of relaxation in Hypnotherapy. This essay aims to explain that hypnosis is about focused attention that is combined with deep relaxation. It is a natural state of mind that can be achieved by using a set of techniques to enhance individual concentration. These techniques can be psychological where we experience an altered state of consciousness and the subconscious mind plays an important part. The other technique is to do with the physical aspects where we are able to relax our minds, and our body and mind become one as we go into a deep relaxation. During each phase of our relaxation, four different brain wave states have been…show more content…
He found that they appeared to be asleep yet were able to follow what he was saying. Similarly Puysegur found other clients also had the same reaction and thus rejected any magnetic force and suggested that it was more psychological force. Further work and development on this subject saw an English Doctor named James Braid who used the term hypnosis derived from the Greek God of sleep ‘Hypnos’. Whilst this was not an ideal name, as it doesn’t have anything to do with sleep he still felt that hypnosis was to do with suggestion and developed the eye fixation technique to get his clients into a trance state. Freud on the other hand felt positive that humans had mental processes and thus supported Hypnosis initially until he become more involved in free association, which is still used today. This theory has also enhanced the development of hypnosis of today. During Hypnosis a trained hypnotist helps the client to create the time and space in their mind using the aforementioned techniques. One particular technique, Personal Muscle Relaxation (PMR) sees the hypnotist creating an altered state of consciousness for the client through relaxation to enable access to the subconscious mind and thus increase the client’s response to suggestion. This helps the client focus on the necessary…show more content…
For example, clients being able to focus on how deep their breaths are becoming can further aid the relaxation process. Clients become increasingly aware of their breathing rate, which slows down significantly as they become more and more relaxed. Furthermore, the hypnotist’s voice is vital as it can produce a trance state. The voice ideally should be soothing and monotone so that the client doesn’t focus on your voice but what we are trying to achieve. Similarly, the environment that your client is in is paramount to their relaxation process requiring a quiet room with no distractions is ideal. This means that they can focus only on the hypnosis and not be distracted by other unwanted noises. In conclusion, hypnosis has been very successful in many peoples’ lives as it helps them make the necessary changes that they wish to make in their lives. It is very safe as it is a complete natural state of mind. As we relax, our minds and bodies become one and our subconscious mind takes over where the power of suggestion occurs. The different research findings over the years have helped in its development as we have seen hypnosis from a theory of magnetic force to a psychological force. The different waves also show when and how relaxation has occurred and a hypnotic state
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