by Terri Gerber, LICSW

The mind is very powerful. Have you ever used your imagination to envision a terrible situation? You know the kind of fantasies I’m talking about - "what if . . . " It is possible to imagine a terrible tragedy occurring and find that you become tense and frightened. Your body releases stress hormones as if the event is really occurring. Your heart beat and blood pressure may increase, you may feel flooded with anxiety or sadness, depending on the scenario you are imagining. If you have ever used your imagination in this way, then you know the power of your own mind. If your mind can create that kind of stress response, then what if you used its power in a helpful and positive way? You can. The power of the mind to help you heal is very real and well-documented!

There are many ways to use hypnosis in a therapeutic way. It can be used in a very basic way simply for stress reduction. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis; I encourage my clients to use it on their own as a self-care practice. I will often tape part of the hypnotherapy session so you can have an auditory aide for self-hypnosis. Eventually you can go into self-hypnosis without the use of an aid, whenever you feel it wise to calm yourself down and relax.

Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy is eclectic in that it is a combination of Traditional hypnosis, Eriksonian hypnosis, Transactional Analysis, and N.L.P. It is very helpful in providing a person relief from various symptoms. This is done by helping the person to identify the feelings they have prior to or during an unwanted behavior or when a symptom surfaces. Then, with the aid of hypnosis and access to the unconscious mind, the person is able to come to some insight and understanding about their core issues, the source of the symptoms, and what it is they need. Hypnotherapy is very helpful in strengthening inner resources.

Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy is holistic. It is the unconscious mind in which habit patterns, relationship patterns, addictions, as well as our creativity and our spiritual connections reside. In hypnotherapy, the mind, body and spirit are brought into the healing process. It is because of this that hypnotherapy is effective as a tool for change. A safe, thoughtful and careful therapeutic relationship is well-established before this work is started and well-maintained throughout.