Hypnotherapy

“Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness where the subconscious level of the mind is in a state of hyper-suggestibility.”

What are the conscious and unconscious minds? One way of explaining this is by the “Iceberg Analogy.” That is to say, that the tip of the iceberg, the part that we see, is not what sinks the ship. it is the 90% that is under that water, that we cannot see., that does this. It is much the same as for the conscious and unconscious minds. The 10% is our conscious mind, while the greater 90% is our unconscious.

Did you know that we only use approx. 5-10% of our brain capacity?

With help of hypnosis we can uncover the potential in our subconsciousness mind.

Conscious mind

It is part of our mind that allows one to be aware of things; things is one’s immediate awareness are in one’s conscious mind. The conscious mind has the ability to analyze things, to make judgements about what is right or wrong. It is part of our mind that limits us and tells us what is possible.

Unconscious mind (subconscious)

This part of our mind is a storehouse for all of the experiences we have had throughout our lives: ones’s experience, learning, manner for interacting with one’s world, and one’s automatic functions. The unconscious mind is not as rigid or as analytical as the conscious mind. More importantly, it is not a limited as the conscious mind. This is the part of the mind that hypnosis works on primarily.

The unconscious mind responds to experiential communications, is capable of symbolic interpretations, and tends to have a global view. The unconscious mind should not be confused with unconsciousness. This term does not help with the myth that hypnosis is state of being unconscious.

Hypnotic states we experience without being hypnotized:

a) waking hypnosis - when you are listening to ads on TV, phone, tablet or radio - repetitive to the point that you start repeating them because you heard them over and over even you may have not been paying attention.

b) daydreaming/ reverie - it is very common when we lost our attention during the day and go into our day dreams. In reverie, we actually feel like we got lost in our day dream. It is quite common to experience many of the 5 senses in this hypnoidal state.

c) hypnopompic and hypnagogic states - they are essentially the same. The hypnagogic state is the state entered into just before falling asleep at night and the hypnopompic state is the state just before waking up in the morning. These states are emulated by hypnotist when doing trance work.

Hypnosis refers to a state or condition in which a person becomes highly responsive to suggestions. The hypnotized individual seems to follow instructions in an uncritical, automatic fashion and attends closely only to those aspects of the environment made relevant by the hypnotist. If a client is profoundly responsive, s/he or they hear, see, feel, smell, and taste in accordance with the suggestions given, even though these may be in direct contradiction to the actual stimuli that impinge upon the client. Furthermore, memory and awareness of self can be altered by suggestions. All of these effects may be extended post-hypnotically into the individuals subsequent waking activity. It is as if suggestions given during hypnosis come to define the individuals perception of the real world. In this sense the phenomenon has been described by as “believed in fantasy.” (source: 1990 Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc.)

Common misconceptions relating to hypnosis

a) people believe that they will loose consciousness - it is a misunderstanding can be attributed directly to stage hypnosis, and the way hypnosis has often bee portrayed in films and on TV. The way to answer this concern is to let the apprehensive client know that far from being unconscious, the client will be even more focused during hypnosis than before.

b) surrender of will - many people believe that hypnosis is somehow a surrender of will, in that the client will submit to the “power” of the hypnotist/hypnotherapist. As hypnosis is a subjective experience, nothing could be further from the truth. It is important to stress that the client is always capable of making decisions at all times. The client is in the power and control of the process. It would be also unethical to go against the client will.

c) weak mindedness - some may believe that only fools can be hypnotized. The truth is, because hypnosis required concentration, the best clients are actually the more intelligent of the population.

d) revelation of secrets - some others believe that while under hypnosis you can be forced to reveal secrets about yourself and others. However, as a client is aware of everything while being hypnotized, this surely could not happen. People can talk if necessary, but can fib just as easily.

e) confusion between hypnotizability and gullibility - it is a similar to the misconception about weak-mindedness. In this case clients believe that if they are hypnotizable, it means that they are gullible.

f) dominant personality - this type of misconception that one has to have a strong will to be a hypnotist and that males make better hypnotists than females. This is not the case, an in fact, some of the most successful hypnotist are women.

If you have a medical condition, please consult with your family doctor or your MD to ensure it is suitable to your medical condition.

How long is a session?

The initial (intake session) is about 90 minutes long where we discuss your needs, goals and get to know each other. The subsequent sessions are about 60-70 minutes long.

How much does it cost?

The hourly fee is $195 incl. HST and it will be pro-rated upon the actual time incurred.