What Is Hypnotherapy Good For (Besides Smoking Cessation)?
When people are in despair and looking for a last hope, they often see hypnosis as one of the tools. To many, hypnosis has a similar reputation to psychic readings, astrology, or shamanism: it sounds interesting but cannot be serious... yet, who knows, maybe there is something to it.
I’ve heard people asking, “Do you believe in hypnosis?” as if it were Santa Claus.
Hypnosis, like attention or memory, is a mental capacity we all have. What makes it different is the presence of the other. Hypnosis is more like a tango; it takes two. It is like therapy: based on psychological science, but the outcome mainly depends on the rapport between the therapist and the patient.
Although hypnosis is like therapy, it can make changes that logic and persuasion cannot achieve. It does this by creating direct communication with the unconscious mind, bypassing critical logic and resistance.
The unconscious mind dictates most of our life’s trajectory and remains hidden from our awareness. A psychotherapist's work involves helping people balance these hidden processes and their external representations (emotions and behaviors). Some psychologists focus only on external, conscious processes, to change emotions or behavior patterns. Others explore what is hidden, improving external representations through internal changes, while some use a combined approach.
The unconscious is complex, subjective, and impossible to explore empirically. A few known approaches to such exploration are psychoanalysis (including dream analysis) and hypnotherapy. Beyond its therapeutic benefits, some people find it interesting and rewarding to learn about themselves by exploring what is hidden. Many artists and creators see this exploration as a key to connecting with their creativity.
Since Freud and Jung, dreams have been seen as direct access to the unconscious. During the day, we live on autopilot, responding to external stimulation and following our social roles without much self-awareness. When we dream, we do not respond to external stimulation; stories are spontaneously created and always have subjective meaning.
We can learn a lot by paying attention to our dreams. However, what we experience when we dream cannot be explained using daily logic; it needs analysis and interpretation. Psychoanalysis helps interpret this meaning using the language of symbols that the unconscious mind communicates to us during dreams.
Like dreams, a hypnotic trance creates a unique space where unconscious mind symbols are more accessible. Often, dreams are interrupted and unfinished, and the stories dreamed are not fully completed for interpretation. Jung developed the “active imagination” technique, which brings patients back into their dreams and guides them into the next chapters, finding missing pieces.
Hypnosis creates one of the best conditions for active imagination and helps explore unconscious processes. Guided into hypnosis by a trained psychologist, a person can reconnect with their dreams and bring the unconscious material into their conscious life.
Is it always beneficial to bring the unconscious into consciousness? Is there any danger in actively exploring the unconscious? I will discuss this later.
