In 1955, the British Medical Association (BMA) issued a report stating that hypnosis was a valuable medical tool, and recommended that all new doctors be trained in applying it. Despite this endorsement, hypnosis has since become a much maligned, misrepresented and misunderstood form of psychological treatment. Because of this, hypnotherapy is often seen as the last option; ‘I’ve tried everything else and nothing’s worked so let’s throw caution to the wind and give it a shot’ – self-defeating. Or, it’s seen as something with magical properties, a method that can change our behaviour whether we want it to or not by forces that lie beyond our control and human understanding – frightening and disempowering. Or it’s simply seen as light entertainment.
Based on my experience to date and a mountain of evidence that hypnotherapy is an enduringly effective form of psychological treatment, one of the three aims of this book is to disentangle the nonsense from the reality where hypnotherapy is concerned, and to put hypnosis back on the map as a bona fide, enduringly effective client-centred therapy.
Furthermore, recent neuro-scientific advancement has led to a far greater understanding of how human brains function. The findings have provided invaluable evidence to support the theoretical foundations of hypnotherapy. With this in mind, the second aim of this book is to unite this current scientific knowledge with the theory and practice of hypnotherapy.
However, not surprisingly, the chief aim of this publication is to help you identify, understand and address the causes of your own dissatisfaction with life, and to enable you to stop existing and start living the life you choose to live.
There are five underlying premises to this book:
First, with sufficient motivation to do so, human beings are capable of changing.