Re: hypnotherapy and ADD

[Bill]

@ Dennis

Thank you for your well reasoned response. I agree with most of what you are saying. Unfortunately, hypnotherapy is an unregulated profession, so there is a wide range of claims. KNOW YOUR THERAPIST is an important piece of advice regardless of the treatment modality. I used Wendi Friesen as an example only to help someone who said they found that the slow, monotonous approach didn’t work for them. Wendi is a high energy, rapid fire hypnotist. I agree that Wendi can’t cure cancer or increase the size of someone’s breasts.

“Comparing CBT to hypnosis is ridiculous to me.” is where we obviously disagree. I have the advantage that I have used both. In the hands of a skilled, sensitive practitioner they both provide a framework for positive change. They are not as different as you might think. CBT, which uses conscious tools to affect change in the subconscious, can include guided visualization, and Hypnotherapy, which uses subconscious tools to affect changes in conscious behavior, often includes coaching to help the person implement the changes they imagined.

I have spoken about my experience with CBT elsewhere on this site. It was helpful in adding structure to my understanding and giving me a framework to analyze the thoughts I was experiencing. Hypnotherapy helped me stop feeling like a loser. One particular session stands out for me. I don’t know if you’ve ever felt as though different “parts” of you were battling each other. In my case, it was a hyper-critical inner voice that kept pointing out my failings and mistakes. I remember describing it to a therapist as the feeling that I had a “self-destructive gene.” Hypnotherapy helped me imagine a conversation between those two parts, leading to mutual understanding and re-integration. There are other ways of achieving the same result. Hypnotherapy happens to be the way that allowed me to stop fighting myself. I’m not saying it’s the only way. I just object to it being dismissed.

Let me finish with some practical advice from Gerard Egan in the basic psychology text, _The Skilled Helper_. He points out on page 45 that as many as 40% of therapists report that they follow an “eclectic” approach – a combination of various models, rather than a strict adherence to one. They balance their theoretical training with their professional experience. The key to success is finding a good fit with a therapist, regardless of their model. Don’t let labels, like “CBT,” “Hypnotherapy” or even “ADHD” box you in.

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