Hypnosis was accepted by the American Medical Association in 1958 as an effective approach for treating worry, and stress related symptoms. But does it really work, and what should a person look for when seeking a hypnotist, or buying hypnosis tapes & CDs?

There are many novel hypnotic modalities that are used to reach the unconscious mind to invoke change. Each method has its pros and its cons. We are all different, so it only makes sense that the best results will be reached by utilizing the methods that each individual will have the most success with.

Most therapists who sell hypnosis cd's and tapes offer tapes that consist of standard traditional hypnosis methods. A few sellers offer much more modern and effective Ericksonian Hypnosis techniques. And fewer still offer NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques.

The newest and by far the most powerful technique is video hypnosis. Video hypnosis makes use of the latest NLP thought processes to create instant change in an individual. Video hypnosis methodologies are not subliminal in nature.

With "Traditional Hypnosis," we simply make commands to the unconscious mind. In case you are wondering, as far as I'm concerned, the term unconscious, and subconscious are indistinguishable -- they refer to the same part of the mind. This type of hypnotism works well for a person who generally accepts what they are told without a lot of questions.

Most hypnosis programs sold today are based on "Traditional Hypnosis" methods. This is because it really doesn't take much schooling to create a script and just command someone to do something. Unfortunately Traditional Trance is not very efficient for people who are critical or analytical in their thinking processes.

By contrast, Ericksonian Hypnosis and NLP methods work far more effectively for most individuals in today's generation! This is because today people are taught to question everything, rather than just do what they are told to do. So these technologies do work very well on people who are analytical or critical in their method of thinking.

While it's true that these modalities are much more successful at reaching and having an affect on the subconscious, it's also true that it can take a lot of training to learn how to apply these methods with success. So this is a chore taken on only by dedicated hypno-technicians.

With "Ericksonian Hypnosis," we use little stories; called hypnotic metaphors, to introduce new suggestions to the subconscious mind. This is a compelling approach, because it usually eliminates the resistance to suggestions that is often caused by the conscious mind. There are two types of metaphors, "Isomorphic," and those of the imbedded command or "interspersal" nature.

Isomorphic metaphors offer guidance to the unconscious by telling a story that offers up a moral. The subconscious draws a one on one relationship between parts of the story and parts of a negative behavior. For example, if a child is telling a lot of lies, the hypnotherapist might tell the child the story about the "Boy who cried wolf." The unconscious would draw a parallel between the boy in the story and the child, and realize that telling lies could lead to disaster, so the child would probably stop lying.

With the Embedded Command technique, the hypno-technician tells an interesting story that engages and distracts the consciousness. It contains covert direct suggestions that are usually accepted by the unconscious. For example: While the client is in hypnosis, he can usually hear the hypnotist say something like: I'm going to tell you a story about a [beach that has feelings. Isn't that] strange to [you]? It's a warm summer's day, and the beach [feels great].

The hypnotist pauses, shifts his voice tonality, and emphasizes the bracketed text. The unconscious recognizes a "Selectional restriction violation." Beaches can't have feelings. So it's like the unconscious says to itself: "Wait a minute, a beach can't feel anything, so that must mean that I'm supposed to feel something, and I'm supposed to [feel great]." Since the suggestions are embedded in a characterization that is misdirecting the conscious mind, its unlikely that the conscious will realize that it has just received a suggestion, so it won't block it or resist it.

"Process Instructions" direct the subconscious to remember the experience of an experience from the past where something appropriate was learned, and then apply that learning to eliminate bad behaviors in the present.

With "Neuro-Linguistic Programming" (NLP), rather than using post-hypnotic commands, we use the same thought patterns that are creating a problem, like insomnia or stress, to cast out the problem. NLP in the hands of a trained practitioner can be very effective.

NLP Anchoring: Have you ever heard some old music and had it remind you of feelings from the past? When you originally listened to the song, you were feeling those feelings, and they subconsciously became attached to the melody of the song. So the song became an Anchor for the feelings. Now when you hear the song, it triggers the same feelings again.

Anchoring can be a very effective methodology. Suppose that you have a memory of being commended for having a great accomplishment in the past. If you get inside of that memory, you'll be able to revivify the feeling of self-esteem that you had at that time. If you touch two fingers together while you re-experience those feelings of self-esteem, that touch will become an anchor for the feelings of self-esteem.

Now suppose that you want to create motivation to stick to a diet and lose weight. If you make a mental image of yourself with a thin, sexy body, and simultaneously trigger the anchor - (press the two fingers together again), your subconscious will connect the feelings of self-esteem to the mental image of you with the thin body and your level of motivation to lose weight will increase exponentially.

NLP Flash: This is a very powerful Neuro-linguistic programming technique that can be used to "flip" things around in the subconscious, so that thoughts and experiences that used to trigger feelings of stress actually trigger relaxation instead.

The NLP Flash technique is also a fast way to erase a conditioned response. For example: If a smoker has a cigarette while drinking coffee, his/her subconscious will pair the two behaviors together so that he/she automatically gets a craving for a cigarette anytime he/she has a cup of coffee. The Flash will cause the smoker's mind to disconnect the image of a cigarette from the cup of coffee so that he/she does NOT get an urge to smoke just because he/she is drinking coffee.

With "subliminal" tapes, the recording has dual tracks. One track contains a cover sound that is heard by the conscious mind. The cover sound could be anything from music to nature sounds. Track number two contains direct suggestions that are listened to by the unconscious mind. These post-hypnotic suggestions are repeated over and over during a session.

Subliminal programs can be played in the background while you are working. You don't have to stop what you are doing and relax like you do with self-hypnosis or NLP. Subliminals can be used as an adjunct to hypnotism. But Subliminals will never replace Trance or Neuro-linguistic programming because they are not as effective! They don't even come close!! Some experts have made claims that it can take up to 80 hours of listening to a subliminal CD before it will have any effect on many people.

The last method of hypnotism that we're going to talk about is "Video Hypnosis." Video Hypnosis is the most compelling form of hypnosis! The methods used in video hypnosis are based on the Neuro-linguistic programming technology, which works based on the utilization of a person's existing patterns of thought instead of hypnotic suggestions.

Over 70% of the people on the planet learn more automatically by seeing, rather then by hearing. Think about it. If you feel an compulsion to smoke or snack when watching TV, it's because your mind recorded the video image of either food in your hand, or a cigarette in your hand, and then correlated that image with the visualization of the TV. You never spoke to yourself and told yourself in words to associate them together, did you?

And that's why the Video Hypnosis technology is so effective. Video Hypnosis is not hypnotic in the traditional sense, relying on the spoken word. But if you've ever shed a tear when watching a depressing movie, then you know how useful Video Hypnosis can be at reaching the unconscious mind. With this method, results usually start with the very first viewing!

© 2006 By Alan B. Densky. This technical document can be re-printed as long as it is not altered and the author's name and clickable web address are retained.

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Alan B. Densky, CH opened his hypnosis practice in 1978. He is the author of 4 published books on hypnosis and NLP, and the creator of the Neuro-VISION Video Hypnosis Technology. Visit http://www.neuro-vision.us/ for our free hypnosis articles and MP3 downloads.