“What therapy??”


When people ask me what I do and I tell them I’
m a hypnotherapist, a typical response is to
stare into my eyes and to exclaim, “Are you
going to try to hypnotize me!” Others just smile
in an amused or incredulous way. These
reactions are not so surprising considering that
most people only know about hypnotherapy
from movies and stage shows. They have seen
hypnotists perform tricks that are meant to
entertain their audience, so naturally they
consider hypnotherapy a kind of game.

So what is hypnotherapy? Let’s begin with the
word itself. ‘Hypnos’ means sleep in Greek. And
therapy means the treatment of an illness or a
disability. From a profession point of view
hypnotherapy is a specific healing modality that
was developed over the last 200 years. A great
number of brilliant and dedicated physicians
and psychologists have contributed to
hypnotherapy. In the United States Dr Milton
Erickson was a intuitive and perceptive
personality who contributed to this unique
modality. His effective and shrewd methods
now help patients recover from issues that
include phobias, anxiety, eating disorders,
addiction, depression, lack of motivation, low
self-esteem, sexual dysfunctions, traumas, and
allergies.

Hypnotherapy was recognized by the American
Medical Association in 1958 and now, fifty years
later, more and more psychologists are including
hypnotherapy as part of their treatment. Today
many psychologists either take training in
hypnotherapy or refer their patients to
professional hypnotherapists.

So how does it work? It’s really quite simple.
The part of your brain you ordinarily use to
read, for example, represents about 13% of your
brain function. This is what is referred to as the
conscious mind. The rest is the subconscious
mind. A hypnotherapist guides you through
gentle and relaxing techniques until you reach a
state of deep relaxation. You are aware of your
environment and retain control of your actions,
but the conscious mind is placed in an
“observer” role rather than an active role. By
accessing different brain frequencies and other
parts of the brain, your subconscious mind can
communicate with you and the therapist about
what’s happening under the surface.

Our lives are so busy and full that many
emotions and instincts happen beneath our
normal awareness. Have you ever jumped aside
to avoid being hit by a car without ‘thinking?’ In
many case we react so fast that what we feel
escapes the conscious mind.

Let’s say you want to loose weight. You have an
aim to not eat so much or certain foods and to
exercise, but you keep bingeing on this ice-cream
every evening, and when the alarm clock rings
an hour earlier so you can go walking in the
park, you just turn it off and stay in bed. So
what's happening? There is a lack of sync
between your conscious mind (I’ve decided to
do this, I must to this, I shouldn't do this!) and
your subconscious mind (Eating ice cream
makes me feel good; I don’t want to get out of
bed; I have no energy.) has another agenda The
result is that you feel bad about yourself and
blame yourself for your lack of discipline.

The good news is that this self incrimination is
unnecessary, because it’s possible to understand
what’s happening in the subconscious mind and
harmonize it with you conscious mind. It’s
possible to find out why you react the way you
do.

Very often, after a session, my clients say
something like “I didn’t remember that that
happened when I was a child!” or, “That really
makes sense, but I never made the connection
before!” or “Now I understand why I’m doing
that!”

Though I treat people with serious psychological
problems—psychotherapists refer patients with
issues like PTSD, depression, bipolar disorders—
most of my clients are “normal” people like you
and me; they just want to stop smoking and lose
weight or sleep better. Most of us have
vulnerabilities and some physical or emotional
issues, and hypnotherapy can help us
experience more harmony and well-being in our
lives. We all want to have more balance and
happiness for ourselves and the people we love.
Don't you? It is possible.

And if you doubt that you can be hypnotized,
ask yourself: “Do I want to be healed?” “Do I
believe it’s possible? If your answer is no, no
sophisticated or expensive drug, no specialist or
expert will be able to help you. You are the
expert.

A famous hypnotherapist, (this famous man’s
name) said, “Hypnotherapy is a
therapy of consent.” This means, if you want to
heal or find a solution to an issue or expand
your possibilities, I can help you. You are
ultimately in charge of your life. You are the
expert.  I am your coach. I am here to help you
heal yourself.


Agnès Cartry, CCHT
Certified Alchemical Hypnotherapist,
Hypnotherapy Trainer, Somatic Healer
Call (530) 277-9513 or email agnes@2healyourself.
com to schedule an appointment
Email me at
agnes@2healyourself.com
for more information or call me
at 530 2779513