Therapy Methods
In addition to maintaining a client-centered approach, there are various methods and techniques that I, the hypnotherapist choose to use while working with you. In the following section, I will describe the primary therapeutic methods that I use. A short description will help you understand how I work with your presenting problems, conflicts, symptoms, traumas, and phobias, etc.
Parts Therapy
Roy Hunter, Alliance Hypnotherapy Inc., states that today there is increasing interest in a complex hypnotherapy technique called “parts therapy” because of its high success rate in helping clients resolve inner conflicts. It is based on the concept that we all wear different “hats” throughout life. As such, parts of the total personality become more expressive during certain times, such as when we perform a particular task. Hypnotherapy can allow internal dialogue to occur within ourselves while wearing these various hats. Stated simply, parts therapy allows different aspects of the self to communicate with both the therapist and the client’s conscious mind, expressing its purpose, and responding to the “W” questions (who, what, when, and why).
When Do I Use Parts Therapy?
I use parts therapy if you are experiencing an internal conflict, as might be evidenced by one who says, “I am stuck and I don’t know what is going on in my life.” Another example might be when someone says, “A part of me wants to get rid of this weight while another part wants to keep on eating!” The personality part desiring to reduce one’s weight is in conflict with another part wanting to overeat. This might be the result of one or more of several common causes: overwork, unresolved personal or family problems, past programming, unresolved past experience, secondary gain (such as protection from the opposite sex), authority imprint, self-punishment, etc.
The Value of Parts Therapy
Appropriate use of parts therapy can help conflicting branches of the self achieve resolution. The process is much like conflict resolution except that while the client is role-playing his/her various parts, the therapist remains objective in order to facilitate inner dialogue. Competent, client-centered parts therapy can help achieve three important hypnotherapy goals: (1) discovery of the causes of problems, (2) facilitating release, and (3) subconscious relearning. The benefits are great as clients often learn things about themselves that they previously did not know on a conscious level. Resolving inner conflicts will lead to the resolution of external conflicts.
Age Regression Therapy
Regression therapy is a therapeutic process that uses one’s earlier life experiences as a source of material to resolve current problems. It is a solution-focused approach. The act of regressing someone back to their childhood is by no means a phenomenon. If you listen carefully, people regress all the time, whether it’s at a casual party or standing in line at a grocery store.
Hypnotic techniques help to bypass your analytical mind, enabling the therapist to elicit forgotten memories including painful ones that have been suppressed. Many forgotten memories, especially traumatic ones, are instilled in the subconscious mind. We all have defense mechanisms that shut down our innate ability to tap into our emotions due to our inability to cope with stress, fear, or pain. Compartmentalizing or trying to forget painful experiences is a natural tendency. After years of repressing these issues, the actual facts of the event and the emotions that are associated with the event become fragmented – waiting to be unleashed and reconciled.
Within the therapeutic setting, the hypnotherapist facilitates regression and makes the information in your subconscious mind conscious. The verbal interaction that occurs between client and therapist creates the context within which the client is able to regress into a past memory, one that may be influencing their present life in a negative way. Regression will bring the client to the ISE (Initial Sensitizing Event) and, in this way; help to determine the origin of the connecting emotion. When the origin of the emotion is determined, the client will be guided to re-live the experience by being directed to stay focused on all of the sensations and feelings that come with the experience on a physical and emotional level. At this time, the client will recognize that there is an instance of choice in how he/she relates to the experience. It may be met with a positive, negative, or indifferent response. The therapist will then ask the client to reconstruct the experience with positive emotion. When the original negative emotional imprint is changed, all of the following experiences that connect to the original negative emotion have to be re-evaluated and reconstructed. The reframing or reconstruction is done by using the client’s imagination to re-create a different reality at a sub-conscious level, releasing them from the emotions that are connected to the event that has been causing them suffering. What makes this a healing experience is that the client is able to get in touch with their true emotions and perceptions of the event without being judged or criticized. The therapist will provide the client with a safe space to reconnect and integrate their emotions, creating a context within which the client will experience release or gain a better understanding of the issues that have been holding them back. Your mind not only contains the knowledge of life and the purpose for its existence but also the answers for its own emotional, physical and spiritual improvement.
Past Life Regression
The fact that you are reading this means that you are at least curious about the possibility of past lives. I would never tell you to believe in past lives because that is something you need to discover for yourself. I can tell you that exploring your past lives is a fascinating and informative journey. Have you ever met someone for the first time and felt as if you have known him or her before? Have you ever arrived somewhere new and it is as if you had been there before? These experiences could be the result of past life memories. As you explore the relationships and events of your past lives, you will be in a better position to understand and improve your current life in many ways. Maybe you have yet to be in touch with your innermost self. I do not know exactly what past life you will encounter, that is for you to find out. There are many paths to self-discovery and one approach is to access soul memory through Past Life Regression Therapy. This is a dynamic and highly personalized process guided by the higher Self, the super-conscious, and is facilitated by the hypnotherapist.
Past life journeys are powerful experiences that deepen your understanding of yourself and sense of purpose as well as provide you with lessons of the soul. People may explore a past life to help them gain an understanding of some of the issues they are faced with in this life. There is often a connection or pattern of behaviour that has its roots in another time and place. Experiencing a past life that has some connection to the life that is currently being lived provides an understanding that can be powerful and transforming. You may discover valuable lessons and skills learned in a previous life or come face to face with a choice that brings you back into the present. Moreover, you may be giving yourself the opportunity to release promises or agreements made at another time that no longer serve you. It is these unique insights about your life purpose that are unmatched by any other experience. People often come to see me wanting to find out why they are here and what their purpose in life is. Sometimes we come into this life picking up the very challenges we need in order to continue down a path of growth. Once we overcome these challenges, then who do we become? How effective are we then to go ahead and continue growing? Often, past life regression sheds light on why we came here and what our purpose in life is.
Past life regression enables you to cut through the layers of consciousness. While in a hypnotic trance, many individuals are able to access a deeper, more complete understanding of themselves and their potentials than is typical in the ordinary waking state. For lack of better words, it is as if one shifts from the psychological to a spiritual dimension of being. Spirituality in this sense is not to be confused with religious belief or dogma. “Spirit” is an energetic essence that exists within us all. From the accounts of those who have encountered Past Life Regression, our spirit is that part of us that transcends time and links us to the divine contained within ourselves. It contains the memories and awareness of all we have been and everything that we are. Through hypnosis, it is possible to consciously realize that we are spiritual beings occupying the human form, not human beings striving to be spiritual.
Allowing yourself to trust the process, letting things unfold in any way that makes sense to you, will allow you to gain an understanding that you are safe and nothing can harm you. It may be that your body could be harmed, but not you, not your soul, not your essence. Your subconscious mind will lead you through the process. It will lead you to where you need to go in order to resolve your current or past issues. The type of hypnosis that I provide at 3rd Eye Hypnosis is client-centered, not directive. It is not about me telling you what to do but about helping you tap into your own inner wisdom. When I enter a session with you, I believe that you have the inner wisdom and intuition to know where your inner problems lay and I believe that you have the resources to know how to resolve these conflicts when the opportunity presents itself. I am there to empower you and help you to access your own resources.
Reserve 2 hours for your past life regression. And, if possible, experience hypnosis before doing a past life regression, so the process will be familiar and comfortable.