What Should I Consider When Choosing a Hypnotist?

Why should you as a seeker of assistance in problem resolution and/or personal growth, go to a hypnotist rather than to some other mental health professional? One reason is that hypnosis has the advantage over talk therapy of being able to deal directly with the subconscious mind. Here emotion and motivation reside. It is in the subconscious mind that habits lurk and the power to release them is available. It is the subconscious mind which gives you a healthy heart beat, blood pressure, immune system, etc. ... or does not.

Self-hypnosis unlocks the power of your subconscious mind. Through self-hypnosis, best taught to you while in the hypnotic state produced by an experienced professional in this field, you have all this power at your disposal at will. Talk therapy simply does not reach this deepest and most influential level of your being. Hypnosis does. This makes it a faster more effective form of therapy than the majority, which deal only with the conscious mind.

Having chosen hypnosis, why should you get it from a professional hypnotist rather than a psychologist or other mental health professional? One reason is that someone, whose whole attention is devoted to this, is likely to be keeping closer track of the changes and new discoveries now happening so rapidly in this area of study-- new discoveries which could be the quickest, most permanent way of getting the results you are looking for. Another reason for going to a professional hypnotist is that this person is practicing the techniques of this particular mental health tool on a full-time basis rather than on the perhaps rare occasions it is requested of him by a client who has heard hypnosis works. The full-time professional hypnotist is also likely to have far more extensive training in how to effectively use this tool than do many other professionals who have had the short course in it required of them or no training at all beyond some reading on the subject and that magical title doctor in front of their name.

Now that you have decided to seek this kind of professional, why should you use a Lifeworkswest Hypnosis Group Associate? Primarily because every certified Lifeworkswest Hypnosis Group Associate has learned to effectively use the the National Guild of Hypnotists hypnosis program, a systematic program of problem resolution and personal growth, which will enable you to achieve your fullest potential mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Because our goal for you is complete Integration in all of these aspects of self, Lifeworkswest Hypnosis Associates have learned to use these techniques to encourage self-discovery, expansion of personal boundaries and the learning of new skills. They are using a system developed by The National Guild of Hypnotists over the years since 1950 and regularly updated to incorporate the best of the new discoveries in this field. Its results have been proven successful over time.

While a discounted price is the ''candy'' which frequently encourages such a decision, its real value is that it commits you to finishing what you have started. It commits you to staying with it through the snags, slow periods and frustrations that may occur in any project requiring the honest effort that results in gains truly worth achieving. This increases the success rate way above that which can be expected when it is easy to quit at the first obstacle. Clients using this same system with all its advantages who choose to take their program session by session show a success rate which is significantly below those who have committed to completing the program they have constructed for themselves with their hypnotist's assistance --anywhere from 15% to 30% more successful depending on the projects being worked on. At the higher end of this difference in effectiveness are such problems as habit control (smoking and alcohol addiction to nail biting), weight reduction, and removing blocks to success. Items strictly in the growth category such as spiritual exploration and athletic enhancement tend to be closer to the 15% range of increased effectiveness.

The following questions may be of use to you in selecting a hypnotist or hypnotherapist if you still plan on shopping around or simply want to better understand the program, which you and your hypnotist have created together.

1. WHAT IS YOUR EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND BOTH IN COLLEGE AND SCHOOLS OF PROFESSIONAL HYPNOSIS? (HOW MANY YEARS, GRADUATION DATE FROM HYPNOTISM TRAINING AND HOURS TAKEN THERE, ETC.)

Be sure you check where training in hypnosis and any college degree, especially a doctorate, was received and what it took in terms of time and required curriculum to acquire it. This is also a good time to ask about how often your hypnotist updates his knowledge In the field of hypnosis specifically. When did he last attend a seminar or convention on this?

2. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING THIS PROFESSIONALLY?

Obviously, longer is better here. Anyone who has been practicing less than a year should have the assistance of a more experienced Mentor for advice on the tougher cases.

3. ARE YOU COMMITTED TO (OR AT LEAST WORKING TO WARDS?) HYPNOSIS AS A FULL-TIME CAREER?

This is a measure of this person's level of commitment to hypnosis as a the focal point of their career interest. lf they expect it to become their full-time livelihood, any spare time they have for study, continuing education and the development of professional expertise will be going into this. If your hypnotist is not focused, how can he help you to become focused?

4. WHAT IS THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF SESSIONS YOUR CLIENTS SEE YOU FOR?

If the hypnotist (or any other mental health professional) refuses to answer or tells you he sees clients once or twice a week for as long as it takes to deal with that problem, probe further. The average number for which most hypnotists dealing only with the presenting problem will see a client is one to four times according to a three year survey Hypnosis Success Center has conducted at hypnotist conventions and health shows. Or you may be at the other end of the spectrum from the hypnotist who doesn't know what else to do for a client after one through four sessions. You could wind up going for a year or more to get the help you should have gotten in six or eight sessions of effective hypnotherapy. This is frequently the case when what is being labeled hypnosis, is largely talk therapy with a little hypnosis thrown in at the beginning or end of your session. Request a written plan of action with a specific end point.

5. DO YOU USE A CLIENT INTAKE FORM? CAN I SEE IT?

lf yes, have it faxed or mailed to you. Check to see if it asks only such surface things as Name, address, phone and how will you pay for this or is a deeper, more complete document whose purpose is to discover both existing problems, growth desires, and ultimate life goals of a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual nature. The surface only questions will not permit the hypnotist to learn who you are as a whole person--he will see only YOUR PROBLEM. And he may not even see that as completely as he must to best help you resolve it because other things in your life may be influencing that problem. Such things may require resolution before the presenting one can be solved or at least require differently worded suggestions for most rapid and permanent resolution of it. On the other hand, a three-hour intake for which you may pay a few hundred dollars before even receiving your first hypnosis session is usually a precursor to a very long program which may or may not suit your needs.

6. HOW MANY SESSIONS MIGHT IT TAKE TO DEAL WITH MY SPECIFIC PROBLEM OR PERSONAL GROWTH INTEREST?

Most of them can't tell you that -- or will tell you the one to four session average mentioned above. lf they give you a number, go on to question eight.

7. WHAT WILL WE BE COVERING ON THE THIRD SESSION? THE SIXTH, ETC.?

lf they can't tell you, consider that he who has no plan probably can't assist you in having one.

They will be dealing with whatever comes up during a session rather than giving you the tools you need to resolve the problem or achieve the growth for which you are striving. A teacher makes a study plan whose purpose it is to get you from where you are to a set end goal in terms of knowledge and skills. That study plan must be flexible enough to adjust to your individual needs, but must give you the tools you came for in a planned, predictable fashion which you can rely on to get you to the next higher level. You don't want to spend your life in kindergarten or be still trying to graduate from college long after you hoped to be successfully employed in your chosen career. You don't want to be the twelve-year-old pushed prematurely into high school either. Life is a series of choices, actions and levels of achievement. The purpose of a specific plan of therapy and growth created just for you is to get you from where you are to where you want to be in a timely, reliable way suited to your individual personality and level of growth. It will help you be at readiness with a whole new set of exciting and fulfilling goals once you accomplish those you came in with--this time in possession of the tools to get there largely or entirely under your own power ... Which leads us to question eight.

8. DO YOU TEACH SELF-HYPNOSIS AND IF SO ON WHICH SESSION WILL I BEGIN TO USE IT?

The answers you want here are positive and specific, showing a strong commitment to helping you solve your own problems. Self-hypnosis is a powerful supplement to your program as it is so important to your long term growth and independence. It should start early.

State of Utah Mental Health Professional Practice Act

Title 58, Chapter 60

Utah code Annotated 1953 as Amended by Session laws of Utah 2007 Issued April 30, 2007

United States Department of Health & Human Services definition of Hypnosis "Hypnosis is the bypass of the critical factor of the conscious mind and the establishment of acceptable selective thinking".

Under the Department of Health & Human Services its National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) web sites there are pages of information about the use of hypnosis.