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Your Subconscious Can Help
You
The effectiveness of hypnosis is based on communication with your subconscious.
When you are hypnotized, communication with your subconscious mind is attained. In a light trance you are even able to speak
from your subconscious. Your subconscious mind can then help you and the hypnotherapist understand what is really driving
your behavior. If necessary, the emotional charge of painful experiences can also be erased. You will be guided to visualize yourself overcoming your challenges--and this image will be
imprinted into your mind to help you reach your goals. Finally, your hypnotherapist will speak directly to your subconscious
mind, bypassing your conscious mind, and provide a hypnotic suggestion for your future (desired) behavior. When given a hypnotic suggestion that is within the bounds of your belief system, and moral
orientation, the subconscious mind accepts the suggestion literally as a new reality. And, when you are gently brought back
to normal wakefulness, you will remember most, if not all, that was said during the session.
Is Hypnosis Medically Approved? There is evidence that hypnosis was practiced thousands of years ago by healers in ancient Egypt. The procedure
has been lost and rediscovered countless times throughout recorded history.
Modern accounts begin with the theories of the physician Franz Anton Mesmer, and his ideas about "animal
magnetism." Mesmer's concepts laid the groundwork for James Braid, a Scottish-born physician who in 1842 mistakenly named
the treatment "hypnotism." Hypnos was the Greek God of sleep and master of dreams. Dr. Braid initially believed
hypnosis was a form of sleep. By the time he realized his error and tried to change the name, the word hypnosis had established
itself.
In more recent times, the American
Medical Association (AMA) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) approved hypnotherapy for use by trained professionals. The British Medical Association also adopted hypnosis
as a viable therapeutic tool in 1958 (the same year as the AMA). In 1983 the World Health Organization recognized
hypnosis as a valuable therapeutic method. Because of the extensive research
supporting the use of hypnotherapy for pain management and to alleviate the uncomfortable side effects of chemotherapy and
radiation treatment, a number of oncologists nationwide recommend hypnosis for their patients. The benefits of hypnosis for cancer patients have been cited in medical journals such as Oncology
and the New England Journal of Medicine. Hypnotherapy has been shown to demonstrate
improved capacity to manage symptoms in aggressive cancers like mesothelioma as well as other types of cancer. Hypnosis is also helpful in alleviating anxiety
related to the cancer in the patient and loved ones.
 Is Hypnosis Effective?
The effectiveness
of hypnosis has been documented in peer-reviewed research studies conducted over the past 50 years. Summaries of many of these
studies will be posted on this website. Based on these studies and professional experience, it can be said with confidence
that hypnosis is effective for: weight loss, smoking cessation, pain management, phobias, anxiety, and surgery preparation/post-op
recovery. Hypnosis can also complement a physician's treatment--by helping to relieve symptoms--of
irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, Crohn's disease, allergies, diabetes, asthma, symptoms of menopause, and cancer-related
pain nausea and vomiting. To read what respected publications and health authorities have said about hypnosis, click here.
While hypnosis can never be used as a substitute for medical advice, or treatment, there
is no denying the usefulness of hypnosis as a means to harness the power of your inner mind to heal and improve your life.
While much has been recently written about the power of the mind and intentions, in actuality
this power has been taken into consideration by medical researchers for 100 years. The word placebo means "I will please"
in Latin, and the first known placebo-controlled medical trial was conducted in 1907. Thus, for a century, researchers realized
that if patients believed that a treatment or drug would help them, in many cases that belief alone was sufficient to produce
the expected recovery. We now understand that the belief triggers the body's impressive healing
capabilities, and while the placebo-administered patients thought the treatment or drug was responsible for their healing,
they were really doing it themselves. Thus, the ability of our mind to improve our health and
life are well documented. And, one of the best ways to harness this inner power is through the use of hypnosis.
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