Clinical Hypnotherapy versus Councelling...

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Permalink Reply by Bonnie Robinson on October 5, 2008 at 10:23am

Do Counselors use Hypnosis with their clients? Clinical Hypnotherapy does use a fair amount of counseling techniques in with the use of hypnosis to help with whatever the issue is but I'm not sure just what you are taught when becoming a counselor.

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Permalink Reply by John Sannicandro on October 5, 2008 at 2:45pm

I am a licensed mental counselor in Massachusetts. Counselors in my state have the same educational requirements as those with doctorates. We must have a 60 credit hour graduate program and 3700 post graduate hours supervised while on the job before independent licensure. Some use hypnosis as a therapeutic technique but most don't. Hypnosis is a great tool that many counselors would do well to incorporate in in their practice. The American Psychological Association believes that only mental health professional with graduate degrees should be practicing hypnosis. I believe this is arrogant and uninformed.

Yes we both deal with similar issues with clients. Since I have begun to practice hypnosis with clients I have noticed that my training gives me confidence and rapport building is something that I was taught in school. We are taught to diagnose and treat all types of mental illnesses from adjustment disorders to major mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.We also should have some training in substance abuse treatment, family counseling, group counseling,life span psychology.and be familiar with psychotropic medications.

For me personally, I believe that knowledge of hypnosis gives a counselor an edge when treating clients. I tend to lean toward cognitive-behavioral approaches with an emphasis on the mind body connection and this is right in line with hypnosis as a therapeautic technique.

I don't believe that academia has or should have a monopoly on the use of hypnosis as a therapeautic tool.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on October 5, 2008 at 5:04pm

Hi Carol,

Based on your question -- I am sensing that
you will enjoy checking out the responses to Gil Boyne's discussion on Hypnotists and Hypnotherapists

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Permalink Reply by Paul Feiger on October 5, 2008 at 6:13pm

Carol: I am in the midst of obtaining my MFT Master's degree and have extensive training in NLP and hypnosis. I think that Clinical Hypnotherapists and Counselors do much the same work, but from a different philosophical foundation. Hypnotherapists believe in getting to the unconscious mind NOW and working with the client in that milieu. The counselor uses the conscious mind to access the unconscious mind to accomplish the same. It takes longer using the counseling method as practiced in traditional therapy. I believe that a combination of the two, with emphasis on hypnosis, works the best.

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Permalink Reply by Jeannie Martin on October 5, 2008 at 8:19pm

My experience is that Hypnotherapy is ultimately counselling. However, it is its own form. During the hypnosis session there is frequently a direct connection with a part of the subconscious mind that is holding onto an idea that it believes SERVES the person. At that point, it is necessary to interact with that part and gently encourage it to perhaps re-assess or understand new information that pertains to the goodwill of the person as a whole, and to perhaps take on another job in assisting in that person's healing. That takes thinking and knowing something about people/consciousness.
These are times that you literally think on your feet, because inside of the depths of each of us is a myriad of parts that represent who we are. One never knows 'who' is going to emerge in the session.
I am constantly learning more about ways in which to deal with these scenarios, and I personally think there will be no end to it. Hypnotizing someone is not the issue. What happens in the process is the key.
What is amazing is that hypnosis provides direct access to the 'hard drive' of our being. It is there that re-framing, deleting or upgrades can take place. Just like a computer.
That is why it is different in its own way as counselling. It is not about acknowledging your challenge and then learning how to cope with it. It is about changing the information that holds it in place. Then....like dominos, it can remove the whole issue forever.
Of course there are different degrees of results, but always there is a moving forward towards healing.

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Permalink Reply by Carol on October 5, 2008 at 10:41pm

Dear all....

Thanks for your responses, very interesting and it reflected my thoughts, I agree that any councellor who uses hypnotherapy has an an affective edge, I do wonder sometimes that knowing why you had a problem is important too but not always, and this is where the councelor may have the edge. Generally I think it is quite important for any hypnotherapist to attend a minor councelling course in order to learn the basics of how to be congruent and to place more enphasis on listening skills and also to learn the basics of counselling, this is good grounding to becoming a good hypnotherapist.

But then hypnotherapy is an art, where as councellors may have the edge in some cases, hypnotherapist may be just as affective if not more so if they are a true artist at their work .

Mmmm interesting.
Carol

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Permalink Reply by Carol on October 5, 2008 at 10:53pm

Hi Michael...

I am having a problem finding the discussion you mentioned by Gil Boyne about Hypnotists and Hypnotherpists, could you help me out please. I'll make you a nice cup of tea for your effort.

Carol

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Permalink Reply by John Sannicandro on October 6, 2008 at 12:40am

Any good therapist will also tell you that psychotherapy is an art, not a science, and an inexact science as well. No therapeautic technique is a "one size fits all", not even hypnosis.

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Permalink Reply by Henxy on October 6, 2008 at 12:41am

Ah, there are the schools of thought (such as Bandler), who believe that content-free is the way forward. Does it really matter why a problem existed, especially as many problems are born outside logic, as long as the future is better without the problem?

I think that counselling alone has a significantly less improvement outcome than hypnotherapy, as counselling can benefit someone merely by having someone create the space and actually listen to the client.

Hypnotherapy is a great tool for effecting change, which is why I would suggest hypnotherapy and counselling over simply counselling alone.

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Permalink Reply by GIL BOYNE on October 6, 2008 at 2:36am

Hello Paul, Jeanne and Carol, I think your answers are right on target! Clinical hypnotherapy uses the access of trance with uncovering techniques to modify or change earlier traumas and/or/faulty percerptions of childhood conditioning. My work, "Transforming Therapy " is primarily based on "Analytical Hypnotherapy" with the addition of principals and methodology I learned in my trainings with Fritz Perls, and other leaders in the field os psychotherapy. W hile there are many issues that do not require in-depth analysis and many that respond to suggestion programming alone, for most issues analytical work is quick, direct and effective. It is true that the issues of building rapport, effective listening and using the ten principles of an effective therapist are largely neglected in hypnotherapy training. The very broad issue of ethics in therapy is skimmed over in most trainings. I highly recommend a book that I believe should be in every therapist's library.
I plan to make this book "required reading in my Trainings.
The title is, "The Ethics of Caring " by Kylea Taylor, a licensed Marriage and Family Counselor (Master's Degree).
Published by Hanford Mead Publishers, Santa Cruz, Calif.--available from Amazon. (also available in German)

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Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on October 6, 2008 at 5:37am

Hi Carol-


1) Go to top of the page and click on discussions
2) Scroll down till you see the discussion called GREETINGS FROM GIL BOYNE and click on it- Scroll down -- Gil's 2nd post on Hypnotherapists and hypnotists generated four pages of comments that may be of interest...
I am copying my reply below for your convienence --

I take honey and lemon, Please

Best,
me
Copy

Hi Gil,
I totally agree. The free, electronic community that Scott Sandland has created for all of us is simply the best hypnosis resource available. It is certainly the best hypnosis resource that I have ever seen, in my brief 28 years of studying, practicing and teaching hypnosis. Kudos to Scott!

When I read your post, I remembered how exciting it was for me to meet you, all those years ago!

Newbies--

I can still remember my excitement in meeting Gil Boyne - it was kinda like how I imagine I might feel if I was meeting one of the rock stars who were part of my late teens...
I met Gil at an International Hypnosis Hall of Fame (IHHF) Awards Banquet in PA on April 8, 2000. I doubt that many of you are even aware of the IHHF - but, back in the day - being inducted or even being nominated for induction in the IHHF was a great honor for any hypnosis professional. The IHHF created and awarded Gil with The "Millennium Award" and named Gil "The Man of the Century". I received a Post-induction, Golden Alumni Award for "Healing with Hypnosis" but the night belonged to Gil and deservedly so.

Before responding to Gil's post, Let me say for the record: I have the greatest respect for Gil Boyne's major contributions to the art and science of hypnosis as an educator, practitioner and publisher.

Now to respond to his second post and about Hypnotherapists and hypnotists -

In my opinion, modern day hypnosis practitioners should not even think about "fixing" their clients and instead of focusing on a client's perceived disabilities or labels. I think that we should be focusing on helping our clients get the most out of their innate abilities, resources and skills. I like to think of it as "The New and Improved" practice of hypnosis.

We have moved into the New Millennium and medicine and psychology has evolved from the old "Doctor/Therapist" centered approaches of the 1950s, 60s and 70s to the new standard of quality care - "Client centered" approaches that began to emerge in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Back in the late 1950's and early 1960's, adding hypnosis to therapeutic practice was viewed by licensed health care providers as an "adjunct" to their medical and/or therapeutic practices. At the time, medical and therapeutic practice was based on the old Freudian and Newtonian world views and licensed hypnosis experts never saw hypnosis as anything more than a tool that they could use to enhance their therapies. This is why licensed health care providers still get so bent out of shape, when certified hypnos called themselves "therapists" today. Licensed health care providers still do not believe that our hypnosis training is enough to warrant the use of the title of therapist.... I sort of agree.

The thing of it is, today most psychotherapists have moved away from fixing their patients' pasts and are now acting more like counselors or coaches than "therapists" themselves. Today, most licensed therapists are using cognitive and behavioral modalities that focus on helping their patients change their beliefs and increase their coping skills.

In my opinion, these "Cognitive and/or Behavioral Therapies" which are the most popular forms of psychotherapy being used today are unrecognized or unacknowledged forms of hypnotic healing. The reason that they are not generally recognized as "hypnotic" is because they do not use conventional entrancement.
I think now is the time for all of us to rethink everything that we used to know about helping our clients with hypnosis and the role entrancement plays in doing that, in line with the latest research in neurology and the way we view the world and ourselves today...

Just my opinion...

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