Hypnotherapy Treatment Plan Summaries

The basic approach to Brief Clinical Hypnosis and Brief Hypnotherapy for common clinical problems is to:

1. Re-experience the problematic emotions in the safety of the therapist's office.
2. Intensify these emotions so that they feel real.
3. Use these feelings as a "bridge to the past".
4. Hypnotically go back into the past to the first time similar feelings were felt.
5. Reframe and reinterpret the feelings that were experienced the first time.
6. Express and release all of the bound up feelings and emotions.
7. Then, in hypnosis, work back up to the present, working through any similar experiences that were had along the way.

CAUTIONS!

Given here are some summary guidelines for the hypnotherapeutic treatment of common clinical problems. Please understand that the treatment of these problems must be conducted by a competent, qualified, licensed mental health professional who is well trained in the use of clinical hypnosis.

These problems are not to be treated as self-help issues! The guidelines given here are not meant to enable anyone to treat these problems on their own. They are summary guidelines and insufficient for self-help. They are given here to give you guidance about what to expect in terms of competent psychological treatment with hypnosis and hypnotherapy.

Panic Attacks
Caused by --	Stress overload and inner conflict. Traumatic experiences
Treated by --	Resolving the conflict by making the right decision for you. Understanding how the traumatic experiences turned out and then moving on. Learning mindfulness; how to stay in the present and be fully present. Learning relaxation techniques. Relabeling bodily sensations so that they are no longer interpreted as signals of catastrophe.
Suggestions --	I totally accept myself even though I am imperfect and have all of these problems.
Phobias
Caused by --	Generalization of anxiety to specific situations or objects.
Treated by --	Uncovering the root fear/s. What you are or were really afraid of. Finding other ways to deal with your fears instead of avoidance. Confronting your fears. Learning relaxation techniques.
Suggestions --	I totally accept myself even with this fear. I can find the inner strength to face and overcome what I fear.
Depression
Caused by --	Anger turned inward against oneself.
Treated by --	Forgiving yourself. Becoming more active. Finding meaningful activities.
Suggestions --	I forgive myself and I forgive God for all of my mistakes and misdeeds. I accept myself even though I have made big mistakes in my life and even though I am imperfect.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Caused by --	Pervasive worrying and fearfulness.
Treated by --	Learning to interrupt your negative and worrisome thoughts. Learning to stay in the present. Learning relaxation and self-calming techniques. Learning to trust yourself. Learning to cope with uncertainty.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Caused by --	The emotional imprints of extraordinary, frightful experiences in which you thought you were going to die.
Treated by --	Realizing it's over and that you are now safe. Realizing that you survived. Realizing that you did all that you could at the time. Learning to relax. Learning to stay in the present. Learning to interrupt negative thoughts and feelings. Becoming more active. Finding meaningful activities. Realizing that the "flashbacks" have already served their purpose and that they are no longer necessary.
Chronic Pain
Caused by --	? ? ?
Treated by --	Realizing the purpose that the pain served and continues to serve as a signal. Negotiating with your Unconscious to use less pain to serve that purpose. Or, to decrease the pain that's already served its purpose and that is no longer necessary.
Dysfunctional Habits
Created by --	At some time in the past something uncomfortable happened and doing the habit made you feel more comfortable. By repetition, the behavior was imprinted in your unconscious and became a habit.
Treated by --	Make the decision to stop doing it now; to change the behavior. Realizing that the now undesirable behavior did make you feel more comfortable once a long time ago, but that now, those circumstances are no longer happening and no longer apply. Therefore, giving yourself permission now to be rid of the habit so that you can feel more comfortable now.