Hypnosis in clinical practice

A summary of the process of applying hypnosis in clinical practice.

It is not easy to define what is a hypnotic state.. We can summarize it as a state of suggestibility that is produced through a hypnotic induction.

It is not the same as falling asleep, it is different from a conventional relaxation, and yet the perceptions are different.However, the perceptions are different from those of a state of wakefulness.

The truth is that with hypnosis, the critical factor of our neocortex, the one that indicates us what is reality and what is not, is crossed. This allows the patient to focus with greater power the physical and emotional answers, the memories and the sensations, with what the distractors are more controlled.

Who can be hypnotized?

We affirm that the brain in the hypnotic state is in what are called theta waves.. We all reach this type of wave frequency at different times in our lives. Certain moments when we fall asleep or wake up, looking at the fire or the sea, when our brain rests and we find ourselves looking into the void...

The truth is that the ability to enter hypnosis depends more on the subject's own defenses, which try, unconsciously, to maintain control at all times as a form of security.

That said, with the interpersonal differences that may exist, anyone can enter hypnosis at different levels of depth..

Key ideas to keep in mind

In order for the person's unconscious to allow entering into that hypnotic state with as few alarms as possible, it is necessary to clarify some aspects to the patient:

1. The patient will be in control at all times.

He/she will be able to leave the state at any time. No one does anything that is against his or her personal principles. This implies that the hypnotist has no power over the patient.

2. The subject remains at all times in a state of consciousness.

And can speak as the therapist when necessary.

3. No one is trapped in a hypnotic state.

Everyone "can come out" of this state.

4. There are people who think that entering a hypnotic state implies mental weakness, but it does not.

Nothing could be further from the truth, the more powerful that brain is, the better it will enter a hypnotic state.

5. Some people think they can use it as a lie detector.

The reality is that in hypnosis you can lie perfectly well. To avoid this type of confusion it is important to do what is called pre-hypnotic talk, where all the doubts of the subject about hypnosis are clarified.

The pre-hypnotic talk

From this talk you can do what are called suggestibility teststo check the characteristics of the subject with whom we are working, or the group in question. They are useful to see if the person generates a lot of resistance, is very suggestible or doubtful. They can also be used to create suggestions to be used later and to check if the person can follow instructions; this way it is achieved that the person trusts the therapist when feeling that the suggestions that the hypnotist is giving work, generating positive expectations on the process, without feeling the pressure of being already hypnotized.

Induction to the hypnotic state

After these tests we begin the induction. The objective of the process is to get the person into a hypnotic state or trance..

There is an immense range of hypnotic inductions, some are slow, lasting more than 10 minutes, others are fast, lasting less than minutes, and others are immediate.

Induction allows us to go beyond what is called the critical factor of the brain, that which it considers possible, real, manageable and over which we have control.that which it considers possible, real, manageable and over which we have control. The induction crosses this border, the patient feeling that things happen that are out of their usual perceptions, thus causing the part of our brain that generates control over what surrounds us, the neocortex, to be saturated with information that it considers incoherent, and our emotional system, the libic, which does not differentiate too much between reality and imagination, is set in motion.

The state of deepening

From this moment on, we begin the process of deepening.. We look for the person to increase even more his state of suggestibility, since the state in which the patient is can fluctuate and we want him to go deeper into what he is feeling at that moment in order to keep it stable and to be able to work with him.

Hypnotic phenomena

Then we can apply what are called hypnotic phenomena, which further deepen the state of suggestion and also serve to further convince the patient to be hypnotized (and are popular in shows). and also serve to further convince the patient of being hypnotized (and are popular in shows).

Some of these typical phenomena are:

• Catalepsies or rigidity of the body or body parts. The image of the subject between two chairs.
• Ideomotor movements.
• Amnesia of name, numbers, or words.
• Regression to other important vital moments for the person.
• Projection into the future where a goal is achieved.
• Seeing things that are not there and not seeing other things that are there: the so-called positive or negative hallucinations.
• Anesthesia in parts of the body or in its totality, very useful for medical interventions.
• The famous posthypnotic inductions, to be used days after exercise for some healthy purpose.

Exit from the hypnotic state

Finally we will come out of the state emerging with energy and with suggestions of well-being and calm. You will have experienced a hypnosis exercise in all its steps.