Hypnotherapy

 

What is hypnotherapy?

When you hear the word hypnotherapy, your mind tends to go straight to the hypnosis you sometimes see on TV. This type of hypnosis is intended to be fun and entertaining and that’s why you can’t compare to the hypnosis we use as part of psychotherapy.

Therapeutic daydreams

The state of hypnosis achieved during hypnotherapy can be compared to daydreams. You’re focusing so much on one thing and one thought that you don’t take in many of the stimuli in your surroundings, if any at all. You’ve probably had those times when you’ve been driving for a while and you suddenly realize that you’ve ‘lost’ a big chunk of the journey. You just can’t remember driving that stretch of road. This is actually a kind of hypnosis. It’s this same state of mind that is used during hypnotherapy.

 

Will I lose control over myself and my body during hypnosis?

During hypnosis, you are still in control of yourself. The therapist is not controlling your body and able to make you do crazy things, the way you might have seen on TV. At all times, you can still decide what you want to do.

 

How does hypnotherapy work?

During a hypnosis session, a therapist will use speech to give you access to your subconscious mind. This can be done in real life or online. This state of hypnosis is also called a trance. It brings your body into a calm, relaxed state where you get to explore your subconscious. By doing this, you can learn to listen to your subconscious without your conscious brain constantly distracting you. You’ll learn to recognize thoughts and feelings. As a result, you’ll gain new insights that you can use in your daily life.

How is this different from meditation?

In meditation, as in hypnotherapy, you enter a different state of consciousness. You’re observing your conscious thoughts without judging them. You’ve switched off your conscious thoughts for a moment, so to speak. But there are also differences.

In hypnosis, you go into a deeper trance and make contact with your subconscious, becoming aware of the thoughts and feelings that are there. This is a good time to make changes. 

The goal is also different: Hypnotherapy is for therapeutic purposes. That’s not the case with meditation. During meditation you are consciously in the here and now, whereas in hypnotherapy, you are unconsciously in the here and now. Having said this, meditation does sometimes have an (unintentional) therapeutic effect. 

 

What is hypnotherapy used for?

Hypnotherapy is mainly used to make subtle alterations to our thoughts and behaviors. It is used to treat a variety of symptoms, including:

• Symptoms of anxiety
• Stress
• Lifestyle problems
• Sleep problems
• Pain
• Feelings of depression
• Emotional outbursts
• Psychosomatic symptoms
• Sexual problems
• Irritable bowel syndrome

 

Therapist for hypnotherapy

Are you interested to know what hypnotherapy could do for you? Or do you have other questions? Call on +31851 308 900. Together, we can see if hypnotherapy is a suitable solution for you. We’ll make sure you receive appropriate support and expert treatment.

Always in combination with other treatment methods

As of yet, there is no conclusive evidence that hypnotherapy is an effective method of treatment. However, there are studies that show encouraging results achieved through hypnotherapy. Since this therapy hasn’t been proven as fully effective, at iPractice hypnotherapy is only ever used as a supplement to other tried-and-tested methods. It is never a stand-alone treatment.

 

Is hypnotherapy covered by my insurance?

In many cases, you can get hypnotherapy fully or partially reimbursed through your health insurance provider.