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.

A moment’s thought about the nature of the common complaint of ‘stress’ immediately begins to blur these boundaries. It is true that we can talk of stress as being physical in the case of physical exhaustion, or as being mental in the case of a traumatic situation that is responded to with worrying thoughts. However in both cases it will be evident, that whilst the originating area of stress appears to be either body or mind, both will be affected. For example; negative or worrying thoughts can lead to headaches, nausea, irritable bowel syndrome and many other physical symptoms and conditions. Prolonged periods of physical exhaustion can lead to chemical imbalances that leave a person feeling depressed. So it can be seen that whilst a symptom may exist solely within the body or the mind, it is possible that the nature and condition of either can be an influencing factor in the symptoms existence. Taking this a stage further, is it possible then that changing the nature of ones thoughts could bring about a ‘healing’ in physical symptoms and vice versa?

If we consider the miraculous healing ability of the body and the sheer genius with which it is maintained and operated, it seems highly probable that it would be necessary for there to be some kind or orchestrating intelligence behind it. We can call that intelligence the unconscious mind. There is a clear example of the unconscious mind controlling chemical and electrical changes within the body in the form of the ‘Fight or Flight’ response. In this case the unconscious mind, deciding that a situation is dangerous or life threatening, triggers the response in the body releasing chemicals that increase heart rate, speed up the rate of breathing, increase sweating, slow digestion, dilate the pupils and increase strength. Here we have an example of the mind influencing the body on at least two levels. Firstly the originating trigger for the overall response was in the mind and not the body, and secondly we have the intelligence behind the orchestration and triggering of the individual physical components that make up the overall fight or flight response. If the unconscious mind is capable of this sort of fine tuning within the body, it opens up the possibility that the unconscious mind can be responsible for the changes that bring about the healing of physical conditions. One indicator that this could be the case is the placebo affect, where the belief within a patient that they are receiving effective treatment for their condition leads to a positive change and in some cases a full recovery. In actuality the treatment is know to be non-effective, this means that it is the belief that is the important factor in determining their return to health. Is it then possible that a belief could also contribute towards an illness or mental or physical condition?

To take this idea further it is useful to refer to the work of Dr. Leonard Orr. ‘Orr’s law’ refers to two aspects of mind that he called the ‘Thinker’ and the ‘Prover’. According to Orr, the ‘thinker’ part of our mind makes decisions based on experiences that lead to beliefs about the world. The ‘prover’ part of our mind provides evidence that they are true by filtering our perceptions to make the information coming to us from our senses congruent with the ‘thinker’s’ beliefs. This is particularly relevant in therapy as it means that a client’s past experiences of care will have left them with expectations that could either help or hinder their progress now. Beliefs about their ability to be helped, to help themselves or even core identity beliefs such as ‘I am capable’, or ‘I am useless’, could all have an affect on the effectiveness of the therapy they are receiving now. Addressing these beliefs is an important part of the therapy process.

One aspect that can be brought into this discussion is that of our emotions. Our emotions affect the way we see the world too. If we are generally feeling happy then a small mishap in our day is likely to be dealt with easily, perhaps even laughed off. If on the other hand we are already steeped in negative emotion when the same mishap occurs, it is likely that we will perceive the event as being far more problematic and allow it to have a greater impact on our already negative mood. People with Depression generally experience a lot of negative emotions. These emotions act as lenses, colouring the world around them and so their experiences within it. The consequential perceived negative experiences that they have lead to more negative emotions, more anxiety, more stress responses and so more depression. Cognitive hypnotherapy aims to offer a framework of understanding to identify these sorts of self generating problem pattern loops and limiting beliefs, and enable clients to harness the power of their mind to aid in the healing process of both physical and mental conditions and so lead them to greater well being and effective functioning.

References:

http://www.hypnosis-kids.com/thinker.htm

http://stress.about.com/od/stressmanagementglossary/g/FightorFlight.htm