Cognitive Hypnotherapy and how it differs from other therapy models
Cognitive Hypnotherapy is a distinct approach to hypnotherapy. It combines effective tools and techniques from Neuro-Linguistic Programming and cognitive therapy models with the latest findings in neuroscience and evolutionary psychology. It applies these principles within its own framework, one that describes the process of a client’s problem pattern from stimulus through to behaviour. Then finally cements positive changes with the use of indirect suggestion and trance phenomena. At the core of Cognitive Hypnotherapy is the belief that; everyone has within them, all the resources they need to resolve their issues and that it is the role of the therapist to guide the client towards making the changes that lead them to their desired way of being or, ‘solution state’.
The practice of Psychotherapy is constantly evolving as science discovers more and more about the nature of the mind. In the past a number of different approaches to therapy have developed and continue to be added to and changed as time goes on. Cognitive Hypnotherapy is a distinct approach to therapy which too continues to evolve as new discoveries are made and our understanding and ability to effect therapeutic change grows. Comparing Cognitive Hypnotherapy with other therapy models highlights some differences and also some similarities. It also gives us an opportunity to understand how these influence it’s practice
Direct Hypnotherapy
A traditional hypnotherapist is likely to rely on direct authoritarian suggestion to create change within the client. After analysing their client, this type of hypnotherapist will offer their solution in the form of direct suggestion with commands and affirmations such as, ‘you are a confident person’ and, ‘when you walk into a meeting you feel calm’, or simply read a standard script for the presenting issue whilst the client is under hypnosis. Cognitive hypnotherapy would say that, whilst direct suggestion may work for a small percentage of people who respond to a more authoritarian approach, this type of suggestion could be setting the client up for failure: either they will or won’t feel the way the hypnotherapist is suggesting. If they do then great, if they don’t then there is the risk that the client will reject all ideas of change and loose confidence in the process on the basis that they did not feel the way the therapist said they would. Therefore Cognitive Hypnotherapy views this approach as too risky and mainly ineffective. Cognitive Hypnotherapy would also argue that the problem with a standard script is that everybody has their own unique relationship with their issue and is viewing the world through a unique set of lenses that make up their ‘model of the world’, any suggestion that falls outside of this model or is unrelated to the way they are ‘doing’ their particular problem will be ineffective. This means that a standard script may be very effective for one person but completely non-effective for everyone else. With this in mind, Cognitive Hypnotherapy provides clients with unique, indirect suggestion patterns, tailored to a client’s individual experience of both their problem and solution state.
Psychodynamic Therapy & Psychoanalysis
Psychodynamic Therapy believes that by exploring the depths of the unconscious; bringing unconscious thoughts to the surface through techniques such as free association and psychoanalysis of dreams, that tension and issues can be alleviated and resolved, usually relying on an insight on part of the client. This approach is similar to Cognitive Hypnotherapy in that it allows the client to speak freely about their experience of the world and believes that the client is the one who will find their solution. But in comparison to Cognitive Hypnotherapy, it lacks the structure and direction to efficiently find the causes of problem patterns and the tools and methods of intervention to reframe the client’s experience and beliefs. For this reason Cognitive Hypnotherapy can achieve results in a far shorter period of time.
Behaviour Therapy
With its roots in Behaviourism, Behaviour Therapy believes that all psychological problems can be addressed at the level of behaviour without the need to explore mental states and cognition. When considering the NLP model of neurological levels, Cognitive Hypnotherapy would argue that only addressing issues on the level of behaviour is not the most effective approach. By simply removing the negative behaviour without changing the person’s cognition, symptoms may manifest in another form of behaviour. Problems may also exist within other levels such as belief or identity and so Cognitive Hypnotherapy aims to address issues on all neurological levels in order to affect lasting change.
Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive Hypnotherapy and Cognitive Therapy share many views on the nature of problems, particularly the problematic errors in thinking that often give rise or contribute to people’s issues. The methods for treatment are similar in that both therapy models aim to:
- Evaluate the validity of a client’s thoughts and beliefs
- Assess what the client expects and predicts
- Assess the client’s attributions for causes of events
What Cognitive Hypnotherapy also does is combine this approach with other useful techniques and devices from a number of therapy models and also the use of trance and hypnotic language patterns aimed at the unconscious.
From these comparisons it can be seen that Cognitive Hypnotherapy is a broad and adaptable therapy model that encompasses some of the most effective parts of a number of psychotherapies and brings them together in a framework that is capable of facilitating change and resolution for a vast range of client issues.
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