Integration of Hypnosis with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is a state in which a person is open to receiving suggestions and are naturally able to respond to these suggestions effectively.
Thus Hypnosis can be very useful in helping people become aware of their thought processes (because they could be suggested to do so) and to also to create the desired changes (which can also be suggested). When applied in therapy, hypnosis is a very effective tool to bring.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
It is a systematic approach to Psychotherapy, which is growing in popularity as an effective psycho-therapeutic method to help people deal with various kinds of emotional and psychological issues.
its effectiveness as a mode of therapy has been more extensively researched than any other approach to psychotherapy. Its treatment sessions are brief and highly structured.
Where is CBT effective?
CBT can help people overcome and deal with a wide range of issues. Some of these problems include:
Anxiety
Panic disorders
Addictions
Eating disorders
Obsessive Compulsive Disorders
Fears and Phobias
Post-traumatic Stress Disorders
Social Phobia
Depression
Personality disorders
Chronic aches and pains, etc.
Integration of Hypnosis with CBT
Just like CBT is more effective than medication alone, when Hypnosis is added to the mix, it becomes more effective than CBT alone.
Researches have shown that for between 70–90% of clients, cognitive and behavioral therapies were more effective when integrated with hypnosis, i.e., that for the vast majority of clients cognitive-behavioral hypnotherapy is superior to CBT alone.
CBT focuses on giving the client a new range of skills consciously. But at a lot of times even though people have the skills, they find it difficult to apply the same. Most people face an internal conflict between what they have decided to do (consciously develop & apply skills) & their automatic behavior or existing habits (subconscious). This makes the application of these skills very tiring. A good example of this conflict is waking up early to exercise (decision) and the desire to continue to sleep (automatic response when the alarm rings). The result of this conflict in most cases is a snooze.
Since hypnosis deals with the subconscious, it can effectively help resolve this conflict. Hypnosis also helps by acting as a vehicle to integrate these skills with the subconscious thereby making the application of skills more natural and effective. Experimentation and rehearsal of applying these new skills can be carried out in the subconscious during hypnosis.
Hypnosis can also help enhance the homework and experimental aspects crucial in CBT as these can be seeded & reinforced in the subconscious. Hypnosis can also help by creating a degree of detachment from thoughts and feelings which allows the client to observe these thoughts and feelings as an outsider (3rd person). This helps the client see that we are not our thoughts and feelings which makes it easy to challenge these thoughts, feelings and other unhelpful beliefs.
- Making the therapies briefer and even more effective.
- Identifying problems and deeply-held beliefs more easily.
- Helping with catharsis, i.e., releasing intense negative emotions can become easier and faster with the help of hypnosis.
- Challenging or disputing existing cognition of the client with the least resistance.
- Identifying and observing automatic and unconscious thought patterns
- Creating change in automatic behaviors and emotional states far more effortlessly.
- Dealing with traumatic repressed memories.
- Establishing rapport and trust between the Therapist and Client.
