Hypnosis in Munich

Hypnosis is a particularly suitable method to lead people away from the waking state (in which reason dominates) to a state of trance (in which the senses dominate). More precisely, the term hypnosis covers a large number of techniques, which enable the hypnotists to put their patients from a conscious state (the rationally working brain areas are active) into a passive state (reduced influence of the reason). In this way, a stronger activation and mental capacity of the subconscious (the brain areas processing and triggering emotions) can be achieved. During the state of trance, measurable changes of different brain areas arise, the vegetative nervous system is more activated and normally a pleasantly intense deep relaxation is reached.

Hypnosis is capable of far more than bringing a relaxing effect – as scienctific evidence shows it is very effective in treating traumatic disorders and psychosomatic diseases, too.

The terms trance and hypnosis are often put on the same level (“the hypnotic subject is in a state of trance/hypnosis”):

The states of trance are a normal and natural part of our lives that occurs quite frequently. There are moments while driving a car, moments of day-dreaming, of being immersed in a good book or caught by a specific piece of music: In these situations in everyday life we are in an at least weak state of trance.

The depth of trance that can be usually reached in a hypnosis session, however, is much deeper than the usual everyday trances. This is why in the hypnosis session it is possible to particularly intensively work with the patient’s feelings and use them systematically for initiating processes of change and development.

Relaxation methods, such as the progressive muscle relaxation according to Jacobson or autogenic training also lead to inducing a light trance. This is why patients with previous experiences and knowledge in this field can be hypnotised very easily, because they already have a self-trained ability to enter into trance.

Although hypnosis is one of the oldest and most proven healing method of human history, in Germany and in particular in Munich there are currently only relatively few people and even less well-trained therapists (doctors, psychotherapists or alternative practitioners) – compared to other treatment methods – that can systematically use hypnosis in order to heal people. This can only be explained with the massive lack of knowhow and information sources of psychotherapists and doctors.

The effectiveness of hypnotherapy in case of most of the affective disorders (including anxieties, panic attacks, depressions and burn-out) were subject to extensive scientific research. In addition, from my practical experience it is often also possible to successfully treat stress-related chronic physical diseases with hypnosis.

Overview

Scientific recognition of hypnosis

Treatment duration and (costs) comparison with other treatment methods

Suggestive hypnosis

Hypnotherapy (hypnoanalysis/regression therapy)

With respect to what problems can hypnosis be helpful?

Reasons speaking against hypnotherapy

Scientific recognition of hypnosis

The scientific recognition of hypnosis took place in England already in 1955 and in the United States in 1960. In Germany, hypnosis was astonishingly defined as scientifically recognized treatment method only in 2006 by the Scientific Advisory Board on Psychotherapy, although research confirming the effectiveness of hypnosis have existed much longer.

Treatment duration and (costs) comparison with other treatment methods

Hypnosis is one of the few real short-term therapies. This means that in comparison with other treatments, such as psychoanalysis (according to Sigmund Freud), the in-depth psychological methods or behavioural therapy, only very few sessions are required in order to enable the client to solve his problem.

Sustainable changes are possible already after one session, whereby in my experience most problems of my patients can be solved with 2 to 5 (rarely more than 10) treatment sessions.

The scientist Alfred A. Barrios analysed the price-performance ratio of the three most important forms of therapy – psychoanalysis, behavioural therapy and hypnotherapy.

He concluded that hypnosis is most effective and most cost efficient at the same time. It is therefore astonishing that the costs for hypnosis are not reimbursed by all statutory and private health insurances, but only by very few private health insurers. The results of the study:

Psychoanalysis: 38% of the patients achieved a solution after 600 sessions.
Behavioural therapy: 72% of the patients achieved a solution after 22 sessions.
Hypnotherapy: 93% of the patients achieved a solution after 6 sessions.

Source: “Psychotherapy: Theory, research and practice (Spring, 1970 issue). Hypnotherapy: A reappraisal“ by Alfred A. Barrios, PhD.

There is high likelihood – and Barrios’s statistics are more than clear on that – that hypnotherapy will be the most cost effective and fastest treatment method also for your problem.

Suggestive hypnosis

In science it is principally differentiated between suggestive hypnosis (typically a non-clinical form of hypnosis) and clinical hypnosis (Hypnoanalysis and regression therapy).

In suggestive hypnosis (where the patient only listens and does not speak or report by himself), the hypnotic subject may have the feeling that he is far away from his everyday life or experience a state that is very similar to the state of sleep. The suggestions of the hypnotist are individually adapted to the respective client and implemented accordingly.

In reaction to this suggestion the hypnotic subject either develops his own mental (internal) pictures, physical-kinaesthetic perceptions or especially perceives single words. Amnesia (the hypnotic subject can often not remember what happened during the session) appears slightly more frequently in suggestive hypnosis than in Hypnoanalysis, because the hypnotic subject has a less active role.

Hypnotherapy – clinical hypnosis

There are different clinical forms of hypnosis (hypnotherapeutic methods), including Hypnoanalysis and other regression therapies. Hypnoanalysis is a form of hypnotherapy that I use very often in my practice in Munich. In this hypnotherapeutic treatment the hypnotists talks to the hypnotic subject when in trance, so that the patient is given the opportunity to process and work off emotional conflicts under the guidance of the therapist. While in trance, the patient gets better access to his emotions by bypassing reason (the awake state remains active, but it stepped back) and reveals accumulated emotional injuries (access to the emotional memory from the point of view of neuropsychology, i.e. to the limbic areas of the brain). In this way the patient can work off his emotions step by step, for instance “cry uncried tears” and “let out accumulated rage”, until they are completely resolved.

With respect to what problems can hypnosis be helpful?

Hypnosis can help with almost all problems with respect to which negative behaviours and symptoms are caused by negative emotions and convictions, among other things in cases of:

anxieties
panic attacks
phobias
depressions
burnout
many psychosomatic diseases
many chronical pains
for weight reductions in case of compensatory eating behaviour
concentration problems
performance improvement

Reasons speaking against hypnotherapy

Under the following circumstances the use or effectiveness of hypnotherapy are not recommended:

the intake of medium to high dosage of neuroleptics, as with the intake of neuroleptics the access to the emotional memory is heavily aggravated and the brain is often not able to re-evaluate – which is important for any therapeutic progress
acute psychosis such as schizophrenic episodes, acute delusion, acute manic states, heavy depressions
very pronounced addictive behaviour (alcohol, narcotics, drugs)
very pronounced Borderline personality
frequent epileptic seizures
recent myocardial infarction or stroke, or a thrombosis with respect to which the attending doctor advises against deep relaxation (please clarify with the doctor)
acute or chronic illnesses that conflict with physical relaxation

Hypnosis is also counter-indicated in the following cases:

complaints that are so severe that a stationary admission seems necessary
acute suicidal tendencies
the treatment is in parallel and supplementary to a treatment by a doctor or a different therapeutic and psychiatric treatment and the attending doctor or therapists does not consent to a supplemental hypnotherapy or hypnosis treatment
the person to be hypnotized does not want a change (lacking self-motivation)
the client is not prepared to contribute to the process of change or is not able to reflect upon his problems and is not willing to learn it, either.

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