Are there any books you’ve read and enjoyed on the subject of hypnosis/hypnotherapy?
Jon Rhodes
Yes! The first book I read on hypnosis was well before I even began training as a clinical hypnotherapist. It was called ‘Uses And Abuses Of Hypnosis’ by Robert Temple. I found this book in a second hand book store, and rarely for me at the time, I managed to finish all the way through! It was a long time a go, but from what I remember the book argued for a more wide spread use of hypnosis for such things as pain control in surgery. However it did also warn about possible abuses of hypnosis as well.
I also have a few hypnosis scripts books that I occasionally like to leaf through, such as ‘Scripts And Strategies’ by Roger Allen. I plan on making my own scripts book in the not to distant future, as I have quite a personal collection I have built up over the years.
A lot of my reading now is online. I like to learn by talking to other hypnotherapists on social networks, and reading online journals. It feels ‘fresher’ and more relevant.
I’m about 40lbs overweight and would like to shed this load but at the same time I find myself feeling very unmotivated when it comes to starting a diet and exercise program? What would you recommend to give me the motivation to lose weight?
Don’t try and lose all the weight in one go. Thinking about losing 40lbs can be quite daunting. Instead aim to lose about 2lbs a week – that’s a far more manageable sounding goal. Do this for 20 weeks and you’ve reached your target.
The way to lose weight, and to keep it off is not to live some Spartan type of existence. Motivation rarely lasts long, and it’s not surprising. We do still need some quality of life even when we are trying to lose weight!
Find an exercise that you enjoy. Try different things, and stick with what clicks with you. Going to the gym is not for everyone, but many people enjoy playing badminton, tennis, or going swimming.
Control of food intake is more important than exercise. The very first piece of advice I would give is to avoid starving yourself. Again you will not stick to such a Spartan regime for long. Find things you can reduce in your diet. Aim to eliminate/reduce high fat and high callorie foods. You know what most of them are – chocolate, crisps (chips in the US), cake, fast food etc. Increase your consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables instead.
You may have some favourite foods that are high in fat and/or calories. With some thought you can modify them so that you are not totally missing out. If you like fried eggs for instance, try poaching them instead. Grill bacon instead of frying it. If you have a sweet tooth, try sucking on boiled sweets instead of eating chocolate. Boiled sweets will give you that ‘sweet fix’, but take a lot longer to eat.
Your life should not be one long story of pain and denial. Often setting one day a week where you can eat anything you like takes the pressure off. Over time many people begin to enjoy the healthy eating and they often indulge less and less over time on their ‘diet holiday’.
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How can I improve my ability to go “under hypnosis”?
Hire a great hypnotherapist like yours truly! Seriously though, I like the way you have formulated your question, as it shows you have some good insight into the workings of hypnotherapy. A hypnotherapist is a guide, and helps the subjects into a state of hypnosis. It is very much a skill on the part of the subject to allow themselves to go into this state of mind.
Like with most things, you improve the more you do it. So I would say that if you experience hypnosis a few times a week, you will definitely improve your abilities to go into a deeper trance. This may include listening to audios (you can listen to them many times if you wish), doing self hypnosis, or hiring a ‘live’ hypnotherapist.
Is there anything you don’t like or wish you could change about your profession as a hypnotherapist?
I don’t like some of the charlatans and occasional bad practice that gives the profession a bad name. It annoys me when you see hypnotherapists attempt to treat issues such as sexual abuse when they are clearly not trained to do so. They risk causing further damage to the patient. Often they are only motivated by trying to help the individual, but they would better help them by encouraging them to seek counseling from a counselor who is specifically trained in such matters.
It also annoys me when some hypnotherapists, usually the ones who produce audio sessions, claim to be able to cure cancer and such matters. This is giving false hope, and there is no evidence that hypnosis can do this.
There is also the very obvious misinformation about hypnosis that comes in the media. For instance Uri Geller recently claimed that he hypnotized Michael Jackson against his will, to find out if he was guilty of child abuse, and that MJ was not aware of this. It is not possible to hypnotise someone against their will, and a person is fully aware of what is happening whilst in a trance.
One last pet hate is when hypnotherapists offer audio sessions for very sensitive areas such as abuse and bereavement. I feel that these types of sessions should be left to ‘live’ hypnosis, as a person may become very upset during a session, and possibly further traumatised. There are a few very well known hypnotherapists around who seem to disagree with me on this, as they offer many such sessions, but I will not do, no matter how financially lucrative they appear to be.
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