Cognitive Behavioural
Hypnotherapy
What is Cognitive
Behavioural Hypnotherapy?
As the name suggests,
Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy (CBH) is an integrated psychological therapy
which combines clinical hypnosis with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
concepts and techniques.
What is the benefit of
using hypnotherapy as part of the treatment?
The value of hypnotic
procedures in facilitating relaxation is well established, and a client who is
enjoying the sense of calmness and safety which is experienced whilst in
hypnosis is likely to be better able to disclose and work through difficult
material and experiences. Some
therapeutic approaches, for example, encourage the client to relive a difficult
memory in order to rehearse a different outcome such as a more effective means
of coping with the problem encountered, whilst in other cases hypnosis allows
individuals to more easily vent unexpressed feelings.
Hypnotherapy is often
applied in order to modify a patient’s behaviour, emotional content or
attitudes, as well as a wide range of conditions including dysfunctional habits,
anxiety and stress-related illness. It
can also help to achieve more effective pain management and help towards
personal development.
Not only are cognitive and
behavioural therapies, and to some extent hypnotherapy, on their own considered
to be more effective than other types of psychotherapy, but the combination of
CBT and hypnotherapy has the benefit of often producing much more rapid results
than standard CBT on its own.
How do the two therapies
work together?
Basically, the CBH
approach helps individuals to overcome psychological problems which are
perpetuated by errors of thought and/or unhelpful and negative thought
patterns, by re-programming them using hypnotherapy to think positive
thoughts. In this way, patients can
effectively ‘unlearn’ old and destructive learning patterns and habits and
learn new and healthier ones.
Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy
uses the cognitive ability of the patient, which allows them to observe and
think about their assumptions, feelings and behaviour, whilst at
the same time exploring and working with unconscious factors under
hypnosis. In addition, in order to
effectively replace ‘bad thinking’ with ‘good thinking’, it creates behavioural
change which brings with it different emotional responses to cement the ‘good
thinking’ in place.
The integration of
techniques which Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy uses emphasises the
interplay between mental processes, feelings, behaviours and consequences, and
is a very effective tool in terms of developing self-awareness and promoting
personal development, as it provides the patient with specific tools for both
understanding and changing coping strategies which have in the past been
unhelpful and even harmful.
Cognitive Behavioural
Hypnotherapy helps people to identify where their thoughts are negative,
destructive or unhelpful and so assists them in dealing with depression, low
self-esteem and self-confidence issues and self-destructive behaviour. The behavioural aspect of the therapy relies
to some degree on assertiveness skills training and systematic desensitisation.
Who might benefit from
Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy?
Cognitive Behavioural
Hypnotherapy has been used effectively for the treatment of a range of clinical
and medical problems, as well as certain others which could be deemed as
psychological. Phobias, habit disorders,
anxiety, psychosexual problems, smoking cessation, weight loss, eating
problems, hypertension, psychosomatic problems and irritable bowel syndrome are
all examples of conditions which CBH has successfully resolved. It can not only be used with individuals, but
also works effectively with both couples and groups.
What happens in therapy?
When clients first come to
us, we make an initial assessment to determine their capacity to enter into
Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy and, should this be an appropriate way forward,
treatment sessions typically lasting one hour would be arranged, thus offering
the possibility of a relatively short treatment period. The majority of each session is typically
spent teaching, reviewing or applying specific Cognitive Behavioural
Hypnotherapy strategies to the client’s problems and, particularly earlier on
in treatment, the sessions are often more educational, with the therapist
describing how to use particular techniques.
As the sessions progress, however, more time is spent in actually using
the new strategies under hypnosis.
How long does Cognitive
Behavioural Hypnotherapy last?
Cognitive Behavioural
Hypnotherapy, as has been described, is generally aimed at producing more rapid
results than other types of therapy and, as such, the number of sessions is
normally limited to 10 to 12. These main
sessions are followed up by two further sessions which are held at six-weekly
intervals. CBH can, however, also be
used effectively for longer-term treatments according to the specific needs of
the individual client.
The value of hypnotic
procedures in facilitating relaxation is well established, and a client who is
enjoying the sense of calmness and safety which is experienced whilst in
hypnosis is likely to be better able to disclose and work through difficult
material and experiences. Some
therapeutic approaches, for example, encourage the client to relive a difficult
memory in order to rehearse a different outcome such as a more effective means
of coping with the problem encountered, whilst in other cases hypnosis allows
individuals to more easily vent unexpressed feelings.Basically, the CBH
approach helps individuals to overcome psychological problems which are
perpetuated by errors of thought and/or unhelpful and negative thought
patterns, by re-programming them using hypnotherapy to think positive
thoughts. In this way, patients can
effectively ‘unlearn’ old and destructive learning patterns and habits and
learn new and healthier ones.