Hypnotherapy

What is hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is therapy through hypnosis. In the medical world, hypnotherapy is recognized as a method of psychotherapy. The British Medical Association recognized hypnotherapy as a psychotherapy method in 1953 and the American Medical Association in 1958. In Turkey, applications using the hypnosis technique are practiced as a treatment method with the approval of the Ministry of Health.

Is Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy the same thing?

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy are different things. Hypnosis is the temporary influence of a person or a group of people through words, looks, suggestion and similar means. Here, the person's attention is focused on certain points and the person's subconscious is activated. During the day, we sometimes experience a state of hypnosis without realizing it. An example of this is when you are driving in a car and you don't understand or remember how the journey went. If you call out to a child who is immersed in playing with his toys and he does not hear you, he is in hypnosis. Hypnotherapy is a method applied for the treatment of diseases. It is mostly applied in psychiatric and mental illnesses.

Can every person be hypnotized?

During the day, we sometimes experience a state of hypnosis without realizing it. We are under hypnotic influence while watching commercials on TV, listening to a political leader, watching a movie. An example of this is when you are driving in a car and you don't understand or remember how the journey went. If you call out to a child who is immersed in a game with his toys and he does not hear you, he is in hypnosis. Closing ourselves to the outside world and focusing only on what we are doing is just like focusing on suggestions in hypnosis. We all have countless hypnotic experiences as a natural part of our lives, even those who say "I am not hypnotized". Therefore, this familiarity is better understood when hypnosis is re-experienced as part of our natural life in a hypnotherapy setting and with the help of a hypnotherapist.

Is hypnotherapy a state of sleep?

We cannot define hypnotherapy as a state of sleep. In fact, in conscious hypnosis the person is fully conscious. In hypnotherapy, a trance state occurs when the person's attention is concentrated at the highest level. They become open to suggestions. Each person may be affected differently by hypnotherapy. It may vary according to the methods applied. At the lightest point of the hypnotic state, relaxation occurs in the person. He/she remembers what was said to him/her. However, when the hypnotic effect is deeper, the person's consciousness shuts down. The subconscious goes from passive to active. The person cannot remember the conversations and suggestions during the session after the session. Whether it is a light or heavy hypnotic state, in both cases, the words and suggestions spoken by the hypnotherapist are realized by the client.

Can there be a situation such as not coming out of hypnosis?

There is no such thing as the person being unable to come out of hypnosis or waking up. Even if the hypnotherapist leaves without ending the session, the person can end the session on their own after a while, get up and continue their daily life.

How is the brain affected during hypnosis?

A conscious brain is more critical, tends to analyze more when solving problems. It may show resistance. This can lead to indecision and difficulty in taking action. Under hypnosis, the unconscious mind, freed from this analyzing ability of the conscious mind, becomes more ready to receive suggestions and therapy takes place. The person undergoing hypnotherapy feels the support and guidance of the hypnotherapist during this process. He accepts the suggestions in line with his request. In this way, the hypnotherapist can make them do many things.

Will I lose control during hypnosis, will I do things I don't want to do, will I unintentionally give away my secrets?

Another point to know here is that the hypnotherapist's power is not unlimited. A person under hypnosis does not do anything he/she does not want to do or say anything he/she does not want to say. Any suggestion that would contradict the person's beliefs, moral values and value judgments is rejected even in the deepest hypnosis. The pictures you see in the media under the name of hypnosis, in which people exhibit strange uncontrolled behaviors, have nothing to do with medical hypnotherapy. These are stage shows put on by people with no psychological background or training, for the purpose of attracting attention.

Is hypnosis dangerous and harmful?

There is no danger either during or after the session. During and after the session, vital functions such as blood pressure, blood sugar, circulation and respiration are not adversely affected biologically. Hypnotherapy is the safest and least dangerous treatment method compared to drugs and other treatment methods.

Is the effect of hypnosis permanent?

Since the field of hypnosis is the brain, its effect is permanent. For example; words such as regime and diet are very unpleasant for the subconscious mind when it comes to weight loss. You have to give up the foods you enjoy eating. For this reason, most diets result in more weight gain. However, the reasons for uncontrolled eating are hidden in the brain, in the subconscious mind. Underlying uncontrolled eating are actually our emotional and spiritual needs. It is known that negative emotions such as stress, tension, anxiety, guilt and anger cause overeating.

How many sessions does hypnotherapy take on average?

The number of sessions of hypnotherapy depends on the following conditions. The more favorable these conditions are, the shorter the sessions are expected to be.

• The problem you want to solve,
• Characteristics of the environment and surroundings in which you live,
• Suggestions and therapy approach used by the hypnotherapist,
• A safe and positive relationship with the hypnotherapist,
• Personality traits,

Especially the time between the first sessions should not be too long. It is important to start with 2-3 sessions per week and to increase this period in the following sessions in order to make hypnotherapy more effective.

Conditions to be referred to Hypnotherapy in psychological problems:

• Mood disorders (depression, bipolar),
• Anxiety disorders (uncontrollable anxiety, fear, panic, tension, distress),
• Somatoform (body-oriented) disorders,
• Eating Disorders,
• Obesity
• Sleep disorders,
• Disorders in the sexual sphere,
• Obsessions (OCD),
• Psychosis (in remission),
• Tics,
• Stuttering
• Nocturnal enuresis,
• Addictions (such as smoking, alcohol, drugs, gambling, internet...),
• Phobias (various extreme fears),
• Traumas
• Performance anxiety (exam stress, stage excitement),
• Performance enhancement in sport,
• Improving performance in education (reluctance to study, inability to sustain attention, boredom, memory, learning, recall),

Personal development: In the process of personal development, we all have different goals, dreams, priorities and accordingly different thoughts, behaviors and attitudes. As we progress through this process, we also discover our strengths and weaknesses. We always have the opportunity to strengthen our weaknesses while using our strengths to achieve our goals. Hypnotherapy is a very effective method in this regard. By strengthening our weaknesses with hypnotherapy, it will be easier to lead a healthy, happy and successful life. We can list the most common negative characteristics as follows:

• Insecurity, lack of self-confidence,
• Excessive excitement and fear in social situations,
• Inability to speak in public,
• Not making eye contact, thinking "everyone is looking at me",
• Problems in relationships with the opposite sex,
• Lack of self-control,
• Excessive emotional and physical reactions,
• Anger management,
• Inability to express feelings and thoughts,
• Trembling, sweating, stuttering, flushing,

Hypnotherapy practices in our hospital:

Hypnotherapy practices continue intensively in our hospital. Hypnotherapy is applied to our clients who apply to the psychotherapy outpatient clinic by our trained and experienced specialists. In the first interview, detailed information about the client, the reasons for coming and the problems they are experiencing is obtained and evaluated, and if deemed appropriate, the hypnotherapy process starts from the next session. Before the first hypnotherapy session, the hypnotherapy client is given detailed information about the session.