How Effective Is Hypnotherapy?
Consider this: If someone has a headache, they may take a headache pill, and if it isn't effective they probably say something like, "XXX didn’t remove my headache at all. I guess it doesn’t work for me." And they try something else.
Similarly, if they go to their doctor with a rash and he prescribes an ointment which doesn't solve the problem, they probably go back and ask him to prescribe something else.
No big deal, normal behaviour, and no one is surprised.
However, if somebody goes to a hypnotherapist for some reason or other and does not find what they want there, they're likely to say something like, "Hypnosis is a load of rubbish. It doesn’t work," or "That therapist isn't any good."
It probably won’t even cross their mind that it didn't work for them, as in the cases of the pill and ointment, and this is what we hypnotherapists are up against, when, in reality, hypnosis is probably effective in the areas for which it is suitable slightly more often than many drug therapies are.
The problem lies in drug testing and percentages. When a drug gets tested, if it gets a 65% success rate, the medical world will feel that it is good odds. However, if it were hypnosis that was being tested, those self same individuals would make certain that they spread the word that it fails in as many as 1 in 3 times. For some reason nobody can explain, there is a distinct focus on the number of times hypnosis has not achieved its objectives rather than the times it has. And there's often surprise and wonderment when it works – to all but the practitioner. The practitioner is more surprised when it doesn't work. Perhaps it's a case of 'be careful what you look for'.
The truth is that in the real world, no therapy or treatment is successful 100% of the time. Just as in the cases of the headache pills and the rash ointment, no one can guarantee success. Sure, they can give you probabilities, but no cast-iron guarantees. Like all therapies, orthodox, contemporary or fringe, hypnotherapy is not always successful. The reasons vary, but the fact is some people are not suitable for hypnotherapy, some problems are not best treated with hypnotherapy, and even when somebody and their problem are both suitable, the therapist cannot be 100% certain of success. It's just like any other treatment method –sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
What is certain though is that it's a totally safe, totally natural, drugs-free method of employing the astonishing power of the human mind to produce beneficial change.
Overall though, on the understanding that the client is committed to change, hypnotherapy is an extremely effective treatment for a vast array of psychological and physiological conditions.
Now, before I conclude this section, I came across some interesting figures the other day. Some reports suggest that where hypnotherapy is professionally conducted where the client engages with and completes a course of treatment, and where appropriate ‘homework’ is undertaken, hypnotherapy has a greater than 90% success rate. A survey of psychotherapy literature by Alfred A. Barrios, Ph.D. revealed, in American Health Magazine, the following outcomes:
Psychoanalysis: 38% recovery after 600 sessions
Behaviour Therapy: 72% recovery after 22 sessions
Hypnotherapy: 93% recovery after 6 sessions
Not bad.
And if you're still unsure, I offer your first appointment for free. That way, you have the opportunity to talk to me and experience hypnosis and hypnotherapy with no obligation or financial commitment.
Similarly, if they go to their doctor with a rash and he prescribes an ointment which doesn't solve the problem, they probably go back and ask him to prescribe something else.
No big deal, normal behaviour, and no one is surprised.
However, if somebody goes to a hypnotherapist for some reason or other and does not find what they want there, they're likely to say something like, "Hypnosis is a load of rubbish. It doesn’t work," or "That therapist isn't any good."
It probably won’t even cross their mind that it didn't work for them, as in the cases of the pill and ointment, and this is what we hypnotherapists are up against, when, in reality, hypnosis is probably effective in the areas for which it is suitable slightly more often than many drug therapies are.
The problem lies in drug testing and percentages. When a drug gets tested, if it gets a 65% success rate, the medical world will feel that it is good odds. However, if it were hypnosis that was being tested, those self same individuals would make certain that they spread the word that it fails in as many as 1 in 3 times. For some reason nobody can explain, there is a distinct focus on the number of times hypnosis has not achieved its objectives rather than the times it has. And there's often surprise and wonderment when it works – to all but the practitioner. The practitioner is more surprised when it doesn't work. Perhaps it's a case of 'be careful what you look for'.
The truth is that in the real world, no therapy or treatment is successful 100% of the time. Just as in the cases of the headache pills and the rash ointment, no one can guarantee success. Sure, they can give you probabilities, but no cast-iron guarantees. Like all therapies, orthodox, contemporary or fringe, hypnotherapy is not always successful. The reasons vary, but the fact is some people are not suitable for hypnotherapy, some problems are not best treated with hypnotherapy, and even when somebody and their problem are both suitable, the therapist cannot be 100% certain of success. It's just like any other treatment method –sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
What is certain though is that it's a totally safe, totally natural, drugs-free method of employing the astonishing power of the human mind to produce beneficial change.
Overall though, on the understanding that the client is committed to change, hypnotherapy is an extremely effective treatment for a vast array of psychological and physiological conditions.
Now, before I conclude this section, I came across some interesting figures the other day. Some reports suggest that where hypnotherapy is professionally conducted where the client engages with and completes a course of treatment, and where appropriate ‘homework’ is undertaken, hypnotherapy has a greater than 90% success rate. A survey of psychotherapy literature by Alfred A. Barrios, Ph.D. revealed, in American Health Magazine, the following outcomes:
Psychoanalysis: 38% recovery after 600 sessions
Behaviour Therapy: 72% recovery after 22 sessions
Hypnotherapy: 93% recovery after 6 sessions
Not bad.
And if you're still unsure, I offer your first appointment for free. That way, you have the opportunity to talk to me and experience hypnosis and hypnotherapy with no obligation or financial commitment.
