How does hypnotherapy work?
An article on the Alternative Health Journal discusses and speculates exactly how hypnotherapy works.
Being in a trance means that the mind is relaxed, imagination is enhanced and more option to suggestion. The mind is still conscious and alert, but the patient becomes unaware of their surroundings and anything that my be going on around them.
A hypnotherapist cannot ultimately make someone change, the person also has to want to change themselves, whether it be giving up smoking or overcoming a phobia, but the decision is up to them. Whilst the hypnotherapist can make suggestions and give ideas on how to change, it’s up to the patient to accept them.
A recent study carried out by the University of Geneva revealed that when a person was in a hypnotic trance the brain reacted differently, but that the subjects still had the choice.