Hypnotherapy and its challenges

September 14th, 2011 by Anil Arora

Hypnotherapy has gone through a lot of changes over the last twenty to thirty years, for a long time it was believed that hypnotherapy could solve all issues related to the mind and even to the physical body. Even though today hypnotherapy is somewhat better regulated and even embraced by society due to the way it has been portrayed in the media, there is still some expectations which are unachievable using hypnotherapy.

Very often the client will arrive with a somewhat unrealistic idea of how Hypnotherapy is going to magically change their life in a few sessions. We know that some issues such as giving up smoking and some phobia’s can be cured in a few sessions if not a single session. When a client arrives with issues such as anxiety, depression or stress and thinks that it will take a few sessions to resolve, it then becomes problematic. We know the power of hypnosis and how it can make big differences in peoples lives, but we must also be realistic about its limitations and what it can achieve in a certain period of time.

Most therapist know that there is a fine line between communicating to the client the reality of the power of hypnotherapy and at the same time not discouraging their belief in it. Belief in the power of hypnotherapy is also integral for the successes of the treatment. If this very important part is not managed with sensitivity then it will impact the whole outcome of the therapy.

Having said this, there will be exceptions where a client changes dramatically after a few sessions, which is good, however, this is rare.