Clinical Hypnotherapy
We should discard one myth first. If your only exposure to hypnosis was gained by watching a stage hypnotist — an entertainer — then everything you know about hypnosis is wrong. It is very important to understand that what a board certified hypnotherapist like Dr. Ransen does has almost nothing in common with what you may have seen on stage or on TV.
You will not be unconscious. You will be aware of everything that happens and every word spoken while you are in trance. You will not say or do silly or embarrassing things. You will never be asked to say or do anything you don’t want to, and you always have the ability to discuss something or to decline to discuss it. You can get up and leave any time you want. Clinical hypnotherapy is therapy, not show business.
Dr. Ransen is often asked if hypnotherapy is like meditation. While the two have some attributes in common — relaxation, an enduring sense of well-being — they are more different than alike. While many people who meditate strive to achieve a pure and simple state of mind, uncluttered by worldly concerns, people in trance are encouraged to notice, experience, and reflect on their thoughts, memories, and desires, the better to explore and connect with their subconscious minds. When the session is over, you will have acquired some incredibly easy solutions that your conscious mind is normally not aware of, and you will have left behind some healthy suggestions that your subconscious mind will never forget. Hypnotherapy and meditation are highly complementary — both are beneficial and neither interferes with the other.
Why Choose Hypnotherapy?
Most people struggle at times to gain access to thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that are mysterious or troubling to them. In addition to obvious long-term goals like smoking cessation, weight loss, sleep disturbances, losing irrational fears and so on, there is a long list of behaviors and sensations that people would like very much to change or control. Hypnotherapy is probably the most effective way to achieve these goals in a very short time — often just one session, or perhaps two. It is safe, effective, drug-free, and completely free of side-effects. Your first and subsequent experiences with hypnotherapy will leave you with a very pleasant sense of well-being that may last for days, weeks, or indefinitely.
More important, clinical hypnotherapy empowers you to achieve whatever goals you bring to the experience. In other words, hypnotherapy works. The results are immediately apparent to you, and usually last indefinitely. Unlike some forms of health care, you are not locked into a program of weekly or monthly sessions in order to sustain the benefits you have achieved. Once your subconscious mind has been redirected to achieve your goals, the treatment is over. From that moment forward, you will simply “know” which behaviors are your friend, and which are not.
Some people believe strongly that they cannot be hypnotized. This is quite rare, but occasionally they are right. Normally, such people would not request a hypnotherapy session. If they do ask, and if they are unable to experience trance, then no charge will be assessed. Remember, though, that trance is different for every individual; it can range from light relaxation to deep transformation. You may not immediately know for sure whether you have been in trance. The only way to know for sure is to begin to live in the ways you wanted to live. On occasion, I have seen many people who swear they were not hypnotized, slip instantly into trance again whenever I touch their foreheads and say, “go to sleep now.”
Responsible board-certified hypnotherapists like Dr. Ransen do not make wild claims about the kinds of problems that can be solved with hypnotherapy. The therapy can benefit a very wide range of mental and physical conditions, but it won’t cure cancer, broken bones, or baldness. Dr. Ransen takes very seriously his obligation not to overstate what you can expect to achieve with hypnotherapy.
How Many Sessions will I Need?
Everyone responds a little differently to hypnotherapy. Also, some goals can be achieved more quickly than others. Still, over the years, we have gotten a pretty good idea how many sessions are usually needed to achieve certain goals, and how far apart those sessions should be spaced. Some goals are generally achieved more quickly than others.
For example, people who are highly motivated to quit smoking often need only one session in order to lose all the desires and cravings to smoke. Some people see progress after one session, but they may need two or even three sessions over the course of a few weeks before they let go of their addiction completely and forever. Like smoking cessation, some other goals can be achieved quickly. For example, people often gain quick relief from various kinds of shyness, anxiety in crowds or in open spaces, excessive concern about germs and cleanliness, addiction to gambling, obsessions, computer games or pornography, and so on. Once in a while, a person may not respond well after a few sessions. In those unusual cases, we don’t recommend that they try again and again. Dr. Ransen will not accept more money from anyone if either he or his patient determines that hypnotherapy is not working effectively. Instead, solutions can almost always be found with the help of other kinds of therapy.
Obviously, goals such as weight loss take longer to achieve, but success does not necessarily require more hypnotherapy sessions. Normally, if one session is not enough, then we would simply space out any additional sessions over a longer period of time. Instead of one session per week, which is normal for those who want to quit smoking, we may agree on one session per month, over the course of two or three months, for those who want to lose weight. Again, if a client does not respond well after a few sessions, then we suggest that hypnotherapy may not be the best answer for that person, and we can discuss other effective ways proven to lead to steady and healthful weight loss. By the time people decide to see me, they understand well that crash diets are definitely not the answer.
At best, hypnotherapy can work wonders. At worst, you will have learned how to achieve a soothing, relaxed state of mind whenever you need to reduce your level of stress. Perhaps this best explains why hypnotherapy has become so popular in the past 20 years.
In order to achieve the full benefits, hypnotherapy sessions may last up to two hours, as opposed to the more common 50 to 60 minute duration of regular therapy sessions.