A Beginner’s Guide to Hypnotherapy: Healing Stress and Manifesting Your Goals with Hypnosis
Calling all Go-Getters who want success AND sanity: it’s time to try something different. Something that works.
So many wellness efforts today feel like just that, don’t they? Effort. Simply more tasks that just get piled on top of your already-too-long to-do list. They quickly become deprioritized when you’re too busy, and most of us are always too busy. If you’re an ambitious person seeking alignment and calm, I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to sacrifice your goals in order to reduce your stress.
In fact, reducing your stress is how you can achieve your goals and realize a more clear and peaceful path forward. My goal as a hypnosis practitioner is to teach efficient and effective techniques that can be integrated into your day, rather than forcing an entire routine into your already-packed schedule.
And the best part about hypnotherapy? You don’t have to understand any of the science behind hypnosis in order to benefit from it!
BUT, knowing you, you probably want the facts first.
If you’re ready to make meaningful progress toward long-term success, this guide explores how hypnosis can work for you and keep working for you… so you can finally stop struggling, hit your stride, and manifest those beautiful dreams of yours.
What is hypnotherapy?
Hypnosis has actually been used for thousands of years, making its definition less exact and more fluid. Essentially, it’s a tool, or a collection of techniques, used to access and influence the subconscious mind in order to bring about healing and change. Hypnotherapy is rooted in the concept of neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to change and adapt throughout life.
The practice of hypnosis and hypnotherapy relies on inducing a trance-like state in a client—where suggestibility is heightened and neural pathways can be rewired—in order to change habits, thoughts, and beliefs.
A trance-like state simply refers to the specific brainwave state a hypnosis practitioner achieves through various and preferred techniques.
It’s that state in between GO-GO-GO and ZZZZ when we’re relaxed and in a creative flow… a state we go in and out of naturally every day, including right when we’re waking up or falling asleep.
A much more thorough exploration of the science behind hypnosis, including all the different kinds of brain waves and nervous system modes, come back for Part 2 of this guide, the upcoming Hypnosis Deep Dive. But for now, let’s kick that cartoony “you are feeling very sleepy” image to the curb and instead, think of a trance-like state as being nothing more than a relaxing daydream.
Let’s acknowledge the myths about hypnosis
As a certified hypnosis practitioner, one of my biggest priorities is to help you navigate past all the pop-culture myths and urban legends of hypnosis in order to prove just how positive, healing, and life-changing it can be, and how it can continue to work for you every day.
Its evolution into modern society was unfortunately filtered through a heavily patriarchal lens, causing it to actually devolve from a form of self-directed, holistic healing into a form of entertainment and a device for control. That’s where our culture’s collective memory of waving watches, spiraled eyes, and clucking like a chicken comes from...
Hypnosis: The Original Holistic Healing Technique
Hypnosis has been used as a healing modality for centuries, originating in the sleep temples of ancient Egypt and Greece.
“Psychic surgery” was performed by priestesses, guiding patients into an altered state using chanting or drumming to stimulate self-healing for both psychological and physical ailments.
Luckily, modern hypnotherapists like Milton Erickson, for example, have returned to the ancient, maternal roots of hypnosis by focusing on its healing, transformative effects.
Erikson’s work and career spanned from roughly the late 1920s to the 1970s, and his theories often diverged from that of his contemporaries. Early 20th-century hypnosis practices generally depended on standardized practices and laboratory research, while Erikson’s techniques were “naturalistic, permissive, and indirect.” Hypnosis relied on the primary role of the practitioner, but Erikson believed that self-induced trance states could be achieved.
Not to name drop… but other established hypnosis authorities in early 20th-century psychology include the famed Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. Heard of them?
Jung, at times, used “paternal” hypnosis that employed more direct techniques and specific suggestions, the practitioner remaining firmly placed in reality. Jung, like Erickson, preferred the more emotional maternal-style of hypnosis; the trance state is the same, but the practitioner is more likely to experience changes in their own level of consciousness alongside their patients.
Freud studied hypnosis but eventually rejected it, believing the power of suggestion alone could not be relied upon, claiming that suggestions simply could not be maintained outside of the trance-state. Freud further believed that the root of people’s problems could only be resolved at their source and could not be masked by suggestion. Erickson disagreed with Freud’s notion that the unconscious mind was inherently dark and negative, and instead believed that the unconscious held enormous wisdom that could be accessed in order to solve practical problems. Ideas like these were fairly radical for his time, but today are the cornerstones of hypnotherapy.
Thanks to Erickson’s work and legacy, hypnosis is now more widely accepted by therapists as a legitimate option. In 1958, both the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association recognized hypnotherapy as a valid medical procedure. The notion that hypnosis is nothing more than a magic trick or a spectacle may have begun its descent out of our modern periphery, but the process is still pretty slow. Fortunately, those of us in the field still have decades of scientific data to back us up.
What can hypnosis be used for?
Hypnosis can be used for healing all sorts of mental and emotional blocks that range from healing past traumas to changing habits like quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, or even improving your sleep. It’s also incredibly powerful for unleashing creativity, exploring intuition, and this chronic overachiever’s favorite… manifesting BIG goals!
My approach to hypnosis
Personally, my favorite use of hypnosis is focused on career and business, especially for clients who are pursuing a path of purpose. I love to help busy professionals and entrepreneurs tap into their natural abilities to heal their negative patterns and stop burnout dead in its tracks.
This has become my special area of interest because I have been there myself. Throughout my career, I’ve trained and coached thousands of leaders in all kinds of environments, from non-profit organizations to corporate institutions and start-ups, including consulting with big companies to help them unlock the talent of their workforce. But all of that left me overwhelmed, constantly stressed, and prone to falling back into negative patterns.
Now, my mission is to empower busy, burnt-out people by introducing them to the transformative powers of hypnosis. I show them how to clear away their mental noise and make room for their ambitions. Together, my clients and I create a personalized roadmap toward reducing their stress, creating lasting, positive changes and long-term results.
How does it feel to be hypnotized?
First, let’s begin by addressing some of the rumors and falsities that I mentioned earlier.
No, you can’t be under a practitioner’s “control” or made to do anything against your will.
You don’t actually fall asleep; you’re simply brought to a relaxed state in which you remain awake and fully conscious.
There is also no memory-wiping with the snap of a finger; you’ll remember everything that takes place.
You cannot get “stuck” in a trance state.
You have the power to reject suggestions.
Next, find out for yourself with this free gift!
From here, let’s talk a bit more about brain wave states. This describes the speed at which our neurons are firing, which for most of us are going too fast, too often. Going into that “trance state” I mentioned earlier is really, at its core, just your brainwaves slowing down.
The Beta state, for example, occurs during active concentration, like when you’re focused on completing a task.
A hypnotherapist’s job is to help slow down a patient or client’s brain waves until they reach their Theta state, which is a process we’re all capable of and actually do every day.
Our Theta state occurs naturally when we relax or engage in relaxing activities like watching a movie, meditating, or doing restorative yoga.
When our brains are in this state of relaxation, different regions in our brains switch on and off, making our minds work differently than when we are mentally engaged, deeply focused, or stressed and on edge.
This is also when suggestibility is heightened, making this the ideal state for hypnotherapeutic techniques. This is where a patient or client begins to experience their mind with their senses; they begin to see and feel as if they’re in a daydream.
What is a hypnotherapy session like?
This all depends on your needs and your practitioner’s preferred modalities. When working with me, our first session begins with a conversation about your goals. You may find at first that some of my questions feel a little unusual, but this is where we begin to dig into the subconscious.
For example, I may ask where in your body you feel stress, and if that feeling were a color, what would it look like? This is because the subconscious works beyond logic and language; so colors, symbols, and even physical sensations are what begins to guide our work.
When we move into the trance portion of our session, you will be asked to lie back and get comfy as I usher you through what feels like a guided meditation or visualization. If your session is over Zoom (which the majority of my sessions are!), it’s great to have a comfy place for this, and even an eye mask.
Also just know, it’s okay if you aren’t one of those people that can “see” things in your mind—everyone is different and I’m trained to work with whatever comes up for you.
Next, I’ll guide you through working with your subconscious, exploring past memories, future scenarios, and different parts of yourself like your inner child, and more. There will be a dialogue back and forth to help bring these insights to the surface during your session. I often describe this feeling as deeply relaxing, or like a light daydream. Afterwards you may feel like you’ve just emerged from a restorative massage or woke from a refreshing nap.
Each session will close with me sharing a few self-hypnosis practices as we collaborate on an action plan to keep your transformation evolving long past the session.
What’s next?
If you’re ready to amp up your wellness routine and kiss burnout goodbye for good, then I’m so excited to work with you. Book a free consultation with me so we can discuss your goals and a plan of action!
Ready to dive in? Learn more about my work with private clients here and book your session today!
