Criticism of Psychotherapy

I've often seen comments on the forum here and elsewhere about the slowness of psychotherapy next to Hypnotherapy. I wonder if people could tell me what their experiences are? I practice integrative hypno and psychotherapy and I've been wondering at the difference between a heavily weighted academic degree in a particular model of psychotherapy, and the eclectic nature of some alternative schools that emphasise the experiential nature of psychotherapy. I'm one of those schools and, while my work is accredited by a UK professional body, I'm not a University and I don't offer academic qualifications. I'd be curious to know if criticism of psychotherapy is perhaps in a more abstract sense or a specific sense and whether people can pin down exactly what kind of psychotherapy they are anti or indeed, for.

As an integrative psychotherapist and hypnotherapist, I hear stories from both camps. Clients and supervisees inform me: Hypnotherapists can lack insight and actually transmit their performance anxieties and psychotherapists can keep people in therapy longer than necessary because they lack the skill to encourage change and growth. So which hypnotherapists and which psychotherapists?

Thanks

Jenny

Read Your Client

Tags: Psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, schools, training

Favorite

0 members favorited this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Vince C on January 25, 2011 at 9:53am

{my boldface}

"Hypnotherapists and psychotherapists can lack insight and actually transmit their performance anxieties but

psychotherapists can keep people in therapy longer than necessary because they lack the skill to encourage change and growth."

What use is a person in the mental health field if they lack skills to encourage change and growth?

I have no problem with psychotherapists practicing. There's a very small overlap in our services (they dont do weight, smoking, or pain) and they have such small volume (stringing along same 10-20 clients for years). However, they are known to take legal action against hypnotists while all I do is poke fun of them once in a while.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Henxy on January 25, 2011 at 11:47am

You also suggest impropriety/incompetence on their part: 'stringing along same 10-20 clients for years'...

I think many of the disagreements/feuds between professional groups arise from a lack of respect and a lack of understanding about what the other does. Perhaps the psychotherapists you refer to (note: not all psychotherapists!) perceive hypnotherapists with caution and suspicion because one or a few hypnotherapists behaved badly in the past? Perhaps they just don't understand how an interaction with a client can be both successful and succint, because their model is of slow, progressive change which is undertaken by the client whenever the client feels ready? (Older models of psychotherapy encouraged 45 sessions. Not to 'string' anyone 'along', but to deliver their kind of therapy their way.

I am undertaking a masters course in CBT, taught by psychotherapists. I have been pleasantly surprised at how grounded, supportive, inclusive and sensible their teaching is.

I always find I learn from different professional groups. I know various individuals can be irritating to the extreme, but it doesn't mean the entire profession is a waste of space (look how many of us wouldn't be here if that were the case!) ;-)

Respectfully,

Henxy.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Bill Kennedy on January 25, 2011 at 12:26pm

Go Henxy!

It's funny. I was at a hypnosis demonstration for World Hypnosis Day and was talking to the people around me about the hypnotist we were about to see. The woman behind me said she'd been seeing her for 8 years! That completely changed my view of hypnotherapy. I had always thought of hypnosis as one or two sessions and you're done, but there's no reason why someone couldn't keep coming back to you. I think it can be the same with psychotherapy clients: many will keep coming back to the same practitioner as new issues arise in their life. It doesn't mean that they come every week, though.

Henxy said:

You also suggest impropriety/incompetence on their part: 'stringing along same 10-20 clients for years'...

I think many of the disagreements/feuds between professional groups arise from a lack of respect and a lack of understanding about what the other does. Perhaps the psychotherapists you refer to (note: not all psychotherapists!) perceive hypnotherapists with caution and suspicion because one or a few hypnotherapists behaved badly in the past? Perhaps they just don't understand how an interaction with a client can be both successful and succint, because their model is of slow, progressive change which is undertaken by the client whenever the client feels ready? (Older models of psychotherapy encouraged 45 sessions. Not to 'string' anyone 'along', but to deliver their kind of therapy their way.

I am undertaking a masters course in CBT, taught by psychotherapists. I have been pleasantly surprised at how grounded, supportive, inclusive and sensible their teaching is.

I always find I learn from different professional groups. I know various individuals can be irritating to the extreme, but it doesn't mean the entire profession is a waste of space (look how many of us wouldn't be here if that were the case!) ;-)

Respectfully,

Henxy.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Vince C on January 25, 2011 at 5:02pm

One woman's comment changed your belief system? Sign her up to do powerful changework!

Your previous view of hypnotists doing 1 or 2 sessions on average is correct. Well trained hypnotists are taught to empower the client by teaching them self-hypnosis as well as post hypnotic suggestions to utilize all the processes on their own in other context in their lives.

Bill Kennedy said:

Go Henxy!

It's funny. I was at a hypnosis demonstration for World Hypnosis Day and was talking to the people around me about the hypnotist we were about to see. The woman behind me said she'd been seeing her for 8 years! That completely changed my view of hypnotherapy. I had always thought of hypnosis as one or two sessions and you're done, but there's no reason why someone couldn't keep coming back to you. I think it can be the same with psychotherapy clients: many will keep coming back to the same practitioner as new issues arise in their life. It doesn't mean that they come every week, though.

Henxy said:

You also suggest impropriety/incompetence on their part: 'stringing along same 10-20 clients for years'...

I think many of the disagreements/feuds between professional groups arise from a lack of respect and a lack of understanding about what the other does. Perhaps the psychotherapists you refer to (note: not all psychotherapists!) perceive hypnotherapists with caution and suspicion because one or a few hypnotherapists behaved badly in the past? Perhaps they just don't understand how an interaction with a client can be both successful and succint, because their model is of slow, progressive change which is undertaken by the client whenever the client feels ready? (Older models of psychotherapy encouraged 45 sessions. Not to 'string' anyone 'along', but to deliver their kind of therapy their way.

I am undertaking a masters course in CBT, taught by psychotherapists. I have been pleasantly surprised at how grounded, supportive, inclusive and sensible their teaching is.

I always find I learn from different professional groups. I know various individuals can be irritating to the extreme, but it doesn't mean the entire profession is a waste of space (look how many of us wouldn't be here if that were the case!) ;-)

Respectfully,

Henxy.