Should We All Just Trust Our Unconscious Mind? Is It Ok To Have Undefined Goals In Hypnotherapy?

Should We All Just Trust Our Unconscious Mind

? Is It Ok To Have Undefined Goals In Hypnotherapy?

To answer those title questions: No. And No.

That would be an uninspiring article if it ended it there, wouldn't it?

It is the time of year whereby some of my hypnotherapy students are working on their case studies and this week, one particular student encountered a moderately common problem among case studies, and a less than common, but common enough issue in professional clinical hypnotherapy practice... The client not really knowing what they want to achieve from the sessions. They just want to "get better." or they want to "be happier." Sadly, these kinds of wishes are too broad and tend to be tough to measure.

What's more, they are not exactly well-formed or well-defined desired outcomes for the hypnotherapist to work towards.

if the hypnotherapist is not entirely sure on what it is that the client wants to achieve with the hypnotherapy sessions, then whatever interventions are applied are unlikely to be fruitful, and if they do benefit the client, they might have been due to luck or be temporary.

You need to have somewhere to move towards.

Agreed, some clients do not always know exactly what they want, or even where they want to go. As the hypnotherapist, you enquire, ask questions and investigate and explore.

Over recent times however, many schools of hypnosis think it fine to have no direction on a 'conscious' level. Many think in terms of 'magical thinking' and that our all-seeing, benevolent, demi-God that lives within us will serve us perfectly - the unconscious mind knows what we want, let it sort things out, eh?

No. Don't.

I was taught to trust my unconscious mind to know what interventions to provide my clients with, just like Milton Erickson used to do apparently. The client is told by those advocating this approach to trust their unconscious mind to learn what you need to learn from the hypnosis session. For example, in his 1987 work Therapeutic trances: The cooperation principle in Ericksonian hypnotherapy, Stephen Gilligan advocates this notion. Many other prominent and influential trainers do too.

My advice is that you do not rely on any such notion of trusting your unconscious mind.

Rather, I highly recommend that you prepare thoroughly, that you are specific and perhaps systematic in the way you gather initial information which you can then discuss and explore with more questioning should you need to. Then, when you understand the client better, you can agree upon some goals and define outcomes together for the sessions ahead and of course agree upon your treatment plan together, looking at the strategies best suited to achieving those well-defined goals and outcomes.

it is not always the case, but in my experience and professional opinion, when it comes to hypnotherapy, more benefits are gained when there is something being worked towards and an achievement aimed for. it enables and enhances the therapeutic alliance too, making it something which is collaborative and helps empower the client rather than decisions being made solely for them by the hypnotherapist... Or by some invincible unconscious force that knows all.

POST COMMENT

Does Hypnotherapy Session Works? Hormone balance restoration with hormone therapy Seattle Aromatherapy Bath – Helps You to Unwind After a Hectic Day Portable light therapy The Importance of Hands-on Experience in Massage Therapy Elegance and Luxury in retail therapy – Wafi City Mall Laser Therapy for your Pet Kill Your Stammer - Therapy For Stuttering When Traditional Therapy Fails To Cure Your Fear Of Being Alone Best inversion therapy tables Penile injection therapy to treat erectile dysfunction What Is The Best Way To Find Work In Physical Therapy? Benefits of Aromatherapy