What’s the “therapy” in Hypnotherapy?
What Is Hypnotherapy?
When many people hear the word therapy, they picture classic talk‑therapy: sitting in a chair for an hour, analyzing and explaining what’s wrong. Because of that association, new clients sometimes launch into long narratives—after all, that’s what therapy is for, right?
Hypnotherapy is different. The stories, reasons, and rationalizations that satisfy the conscious mind (the part that loves to make sense of things) are often irrelevant to the subconscious mind—the irrational powerhouse that stores our conditioning and drives 95 % of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. In other words, we are frequently not upset for the reason we think. To discover and shift our real motivations, we dive beneath the surface through hypnosis, speaking directly to the subconscious where the pattern began.
Hypnotherapy vs. Talk‑Therapy
Talk‑therapy works mainly with the conscious mind—the 5 % that handles logic and willpower.
Hypnotherapy works with the other 95 %—the subconscious mind, where our habits, emotions, and automatic programs live.
That’s why relying on will‑power alone to break a habit feels like an uphill battle: you’re asking the tiny conscious mind to override a massive subconscious program. Hypnotherapy goes straight to the source.
How a Session Works
Intake & Goal‑Setting
We identify the emotions, beliefs, and recurring patterns surrounding your issue.Accessing the Subconscious
Using those emotions as a bridge, we enter a relaxed hypnotic state and locate the Initial Sensitizing Event (ISE) or Initial Sensitizing Relationship (ISR) where the pattern began.Dialogue & Resolution
Through gestalt‑style dialogue between parts of the self, we uncover unmet needs, release stored emotions, and reframe outdated beliefs.Integration
Resistant parts learn the benefits of change, fractured parts reintegrate, and your goals become the new subconscious program.
The process can be emotional—tears, laughter, forgiveness, relief—but that release is exactly what makes it therapeutic.
Why Keep the Word “Therapy”?
Therapy simply means a method intended to improve well‑being. Hypnotherapy can improve mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well‑being by updating subconscious programming. Merely using the word hypnosis connotes stage hypnosis and hypnotherapy is more than just putting you in the hypnotic state. Hypnotherapy is not stage hypnosis (no duck‑quacking!).
What Hypnotherapy Can Address
Habit change: smoking, overeating, nail‑biting
Stress, anxiety, insomnia
Pain management and even surgical anesthesia
Recovering lost items or memories
Exploring past‑life or spiritual questions
Releasing limiting beliefs that cap your potential
Hypnotherapists vs. Psychologists
Some psychologists use hypnosis, but most are not trained hypnotherapists—and vice‑versa. They are distinct modalities that occasionally overlap.
Ready to Explore?
I offer free phone consultations to answer questions and discuss how hypnotherapy can help you. Reach out any time—you might be one relaxed conversation away from profound change.
