Clinically speaking...

4 components of hypnosis (#2) Following up from the previous entry 2. The subconscious / unconscious (Brain or Mind) In this section what we want to look at are essentially three related sub-topics: A.    Conscious & Unconscious/Subconscious B.    Brain Waves C.    Brain Hemispheres     A.        Conscious & Unconscious/Subconscious . While there are distinctions among the three terms – conscious, subconscious, and unconscious – for the purpose the moment, we will look only at conscious & subconscious/unconscious.   That means, for now we will assume the subconscious and the unconscious are synonymous even if they are not. These two terms (for our purpose here this moment) will be used interchangeably. We may delve further into distinguishing these two terms later. It is said that 10% of all our daily behaviors operate at the conscious level. 90% or the remainder (daily actions – inc...

  4 Components of Hypnosis - #1 I have listed four (4) components of hypnosis here. This is not to suggest that there are only four (4) components. Others may well describe different factors/components. I have listed these out here purely for the purpose of helping others better understand hypnosis as I teach in in the training courses I conduct. These components are: 1.     Suggestion – beliefs / patterns of behaviour 2.     The subconscious / unconscious 3.     Mind-Body connection - Body is robotic 4.     Imagination: Visualization (Imagery) & Feeling  In this entry, I will be covering the first of the four.  The rest will come with subsequent entries to this blog. 1. Suggestion – beliefs / patterns of behaviour One of the best definitions of hypnosis I have come across is: “The Art and Science of Suggestions.” It is both an Art and a Science. “ Art ” means something intuitive, imprecise...

  WHAT CAN HYPNOSIS/HYPNOTHERAPY TREAT? I have often stressed that hypnosis is not magic, and therefore it is not a panacea by any means. Yet at the same time, I would also suggest there is virtually no psychological, emotional, and/or even physiological or biological “issue” it cannot be used to help remedy. This, again, is yet another area we can delve deeply into and give consideration to a wide array of possibilities and discourse.   However, for the purpose here, let’s confine ourselves to the rudimentary – perhaps the so called day-to-day issues (as opposed to deep psychological/psychiatric/medical disorders). For now, the following are some examples (though not exhaustive) of areas we can and should look into using hypnosis at this level ü   Weight Management ü   Smoking cessation ü   Pain management ü   Anger management ü   Insomnia ü   Improve self esteem ü   Public speaking ü   Overcoming negative beliefs ...

So you figured hypnosis is being asleep, being gullible, being weak-minded and/or being controlled by someone else? If that’s what you have been told or you have come to believe, allow me to invite you to reconsider. Many think that hypnosis is synonymous to being asleep. So if you thought that, you will not be alone.  In fact, because of that very misconception many would deny having experience hypnosis because they did not fall asleep. This was true for me as well. I recall the first time I experienced hypnosis (“formally” that is) was when I attended the training to become a hypnotherapist. Our instructor/trainer, Dr. Krasner, induced hypnosis and then brought us out of it. Following that he asked how many of us believed we had not been hypnotized and why.  There were quite a number of us who did not think we had been hypnotized and one of the common reason was because: “well, I was not asleep,” or “I distinctly heard what was being said or the sound around the room,” or ...

  Psychological and Medical – We are complementary   This was actually written in response to a newspaper report by a medical doctor, we shall refer to as Dr C, entitled “ Misdiagnosing disease .”   Dr C, in attempting to clarify some cases of misdiagnosis among Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients, was quoted as saying: “Patients suffering from depression may have slower movements but not tremors.” This is factually inaccurate as clinical or major depression may cause slowing down of movement, sedation, headaches, confusion, as well as jitteriness and even tremors. Further symptoms he described for PD include “slowing down in speech and body movement, softening of voice, and lacking in facial expression”. These too, however, are symptoms that may be presented by an individual suffering from Clinical Depression.   It is also interesting to note, as Dr C pointed out, that dopamine (or the lack of it) is one of the factors associated with PD. Similarly, dopamine, ...

The very first posting I would like to enter (well, technically the second one since the first one was on introduction) is about differentiating hypnotherapy from clinical hypnotherapy. While I have written the same article elsewhere, I would like to include it here along with other posting relevant to the original intent (which has to do with all things "clinical" with respect to what I do). While many in the field tend to use these two terms interchangeably, I would posit the idea that they are different one from the other. While not everyone who practices hypnosis/hypnotherapy will agree - this blog is about my personal view, and there are also those who subscribe to similar view. So here goes: Hypnotherapy and Clinical Hypnotherapy These two terms are often used interchangeably. But are they really synonymous? Or are there subtle and/or significant differences between the two. Like the word hypnosis, the differing definitions provided by practitioners and “academicians” (...

If you are reading this and have some how found yourself to this site/blog - allow me to first and foremost Welcome you to my blog: Clinically speaking ... Let me begin this new blog by explaining the intention - my intention. Incidentally, it is 4:50 am NOW where I am. I have to say, it's been a long time since I've done something like that - i.e., be "inspired" to get up and hit the track writing (running) doing what is on my mind. Anyway, back to the intention or purpose of this blogging. Different from my previous blogging, I envision this as the place to go with more "serious" stuff, if you will. All matters directly relevant to my work as a psychologist, a clinical hypnotherapist, a life coach, etc.  Hence, the blog title: Clinically Speaking. In case you, the reader, may not be familiar with me as of yet - let me give you a brief introduction. My name is Sylvester. My academic training has been psychology and counseling. With over 30 years of work exp...