Counselling Hypnotherapy

Heightened Experiential Learning

Every night as we sleep our minds examine and integrate the lessons learned through the day. REM (Random Eye Movement) sleep is a processing phase of sleeping.

Hypnotherapy is an act of orienting the conscious and subconscious mental processes* of the mind to a specific task or problem, then making use of the REM learning state to promote change.

*Conscious vs. subconscious: breathing is subconscious (in the background) when we don’t think about it. It becomes conscious when we focus on it.

Hypnotherapy is incredibly effective because the mind can work efficiently without all the distractions of the outside world. Hypnotherapy is experiential, allowing the mind to absorb the deeper meaning or lesson rather than simply gathering surface information*.

*Information vs. Experience: information is a book about how to ride a bicycle. Experience is sitting atop the bike.

A quick heads-up!

There are video links below that will take you to hypnotherapy video presentations on this website. They are separated out to preserve bandwidth and data for everyone.

What is Counselling Hypnotherapy?

Answering some common questions

Click on these topics to expand.

Hypnotherapy is the inclusion of hypnosis as part of therapeutic work.

From our perspective, a Hypnotist is someone trained in the techniques of hypnosis, distinct and independent from any qualifications regarding the application of therapeutic treatment.  It is important to know the qualifications of anyone you work with regarding your health.

Counselling Hypnotherapy is hypnotherapy performed with a practitioner that is qualified as a counseller.

This is a significant distinction: attaining a state of hypnosis itself is relatively straight forward.  The important question is how to work with the client therapeutically and professionally once the client has shifted into a hypnotic state.

Our Counselling Hypnotherapist is also a Registered Counselling Therapist and a member of the Association of Cooperative Counselling Therapists of Canada.

Hypnotherapy is not about sleep or control.

Hollywood has been unkind to hypnotherapy, creating false imagery of mind control and manipulation in order to create tension and fantastic stories. The client is always in control, they remain equally aware of their experience throughout.
Clients don’t sleep. Relaxation is very common and comes with benefits in of itself, and in that relaxation is an invitation to close one’s eyes to further reduce outside distractions.

Hypnosis is heightened focus.

When sitting in a movie theatre and watching a good movie, it can be very easy to become so focused on the film that we don’t think about the other people around us.  A good story teller can take over our focus in the same way, as can music, a dance, or even a simple crackling fire.  Hypnosis is simply a shift in our state of experience, typically from a state of distraction to one of focus, something that we all naturally experience every day.

Hypnotherapy is natural and safe.

People commonly experience “hypnotic trance” frequently throughout the day.  Driving can offer a perfect example: often people are thinking about where they were (the past), or where they are going (or what they’ll make for dinner) while they drive.  They’re driving in a sort of autopilot state.  That’s basically a hypnotic trance.

And just like that driver, a person in hypnotic trance is aware of their surroundings, they just aren’t focused on them.  Should anything occur that requires their attention they will become aware of that event.

Every night people transition through the same physical state that hypnosis offers.  Hypnotherapists invite their clients inwards towards a part of the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) cycle experienced as we fall asleep.

There are a few exceptions.  Persons dealing with epilepsy have a minor risk with REM.  People who have been diagnosed with significant mental health issues like Schizophrenia, or Altered States and Delusions, should consult with medical professionals prior to working with a hypnotherapist.  These topics are covered as part of screening clients prior to treatment.

What if the power goes out, or the Hypnotherapist leaves?

The client just “wakes up” after a few minutes.

The client shifts into a state that is near to being in REM (Rapid Eye Movement) during hypnotherapy.  The client isn’t actually asleep, they are simply in a comfortable relaxed state that approaches sleep.  A client left alone will begin to notice the quiet and wonder what is going on, and they will naturally bring their attention back to the room they’re in.

If you’ve seen the movie Office Space, we’re sorry but that’s just another example of Hollywood fiction.  A good movie though!

Painting a picture of how Hypnotherapy works

A deer in a meadow

Consider a deer in a meadow, eating grass. It is calm and comfortable, grazing to build up resources. Suddenly a twig snaps in the forest nearby. That deer immediately lifts its head and focus all of it’s attention towards that twig snapping sound. Every muscle is taunt, that deer is ready to move in a heartbeat.
After thirty seconds the deer relaxes, all the muscles calm, and it returns to grazing and building up those resources and reserves.

Humans tend to spend all their time focused outwards. Our environment is filled with twigs snapping. Television is designed to demand our attention and elicit a response. Society has a don’t-ever-stop-running stream of demands and expectations. Family, career, social life. Go, go, go.

Hypnotherapy invites us to set aside all the noise of life and to find our way back to an internal state of recovery and rebuilding resources. We can focus inwards. We can heal, not just survive.

Video links to Hypnotherapy samples

If these aren’t working yet, our apologies. We’re in the middle of a website update.

A Hypnotherapy Session

Watch a short video that demonstrates and explains what hypnotherapy might look and sound like.