Can Hypnotherapy work for you?
Almost everyone has heard of hypnosis, and if you have a problem that you need or want to overcome, it is reasonable to ask this question. Can Hypnotherapy work for you?
There is good news and bad news. Those for whom hypnotherapy works can benefit hugely. Vast numbers of people have had life changing positive outcomes with hypnotherapy. Psychological and medical literature record multiple amazing successful case histories. However, and here is the bad news…
Only around 5% of the population can benefit to that extent.
What does that mean?
It means that if you are seeking hypnotherapy, and have never experienced it before, there is a 95% chance it won’t work for you. If you are one of the lucky 5% then you have just won the psychotherapy jackpot; almost any positive change you can imagine can be made hugely more possible with hypnosis.
As a Chartered Psychologist I have an implicit responsibility to share with you the truth about hypnotherapy to the best of my knowledge.
Here is the first truth: 95% of people who seek hypnotherapy, will not obtain the outcome they want through hypnosis. Yes, the interaction with the therapist may help, but, alas, the hypnosis will not be the active ingredient in any positive change.
There is a second truth about hypnotherapy, and this may make you uncomfortable (please accept my apology in advance). Many people seek hypnotherapy because they want a cure to be “done to them.” They want someone else to do the psychotherapy equivalent of waiving a magic wand to take away their problem.
Of course, we all want that! Here is the second truth about hypnotherapy. For 95% of people that magic wand does not exist, however much we want it to. And I want it as much as you! Perhaps you can appreciate why I call the 5% who can benefit from hypnosis “the lucky 5%.”
Logically the next question is, how can you determine whether you are in the lucky 5%? All experienced hypnotherapists have techniques that are used to determine if someone can benefit from hypnosis. Ethical hypnotherapists will not charge for finding out whether you can benefit.
From their point of view, that means that 95% of the appointments they make will result in zero income. Clearly that is no way to run a therapy business!
What then is the solution?
Here is what I do. At the telephone discussion stage, if someone insists on hypnotherapy, I establish the thinking that led to that intensity of conviction. Usually people have read media reports or seen films in which hypnosis was effective. Hypnosis not working (as is the case 95% of the time) doesn’t make for an interesting media article or compelling TV, as such most people simply have not been exposed to the realities of hypnosis.
I explain the realities, and make clear that if we meet there is a 95% probability of that person not being one of the lucky 5%. If that is the case, and it usually is, then there are plenty of other psychotherapy methods that can help.
Upon meeting, if after the various tests the person turns out to be one of the lucky 5%, then they have exactly the therapeutic method they wanted. Of course, being one of the lucky 5% is no guarantee of success. Many people have, and continue to overpower the effect of hypnosis with deep seated counter-intentions. That is possibly the subject of another article. Suffice to say, with the general population, the success rate of hypnosis is less than 5%. Being one of the lucky 5% does not mean that you have a magic wand to solve all problems, it just means you have an advantage that others do not.
Do you want to answer the question, can hypnotherapy work for you?
If so call Dr Nigel MacLennan to discuss on
