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IF YOU are thinking about therapy, hypnotherapy, counselling or support for yourself it may help to look at what other people say. This can include what therapy or counselling have done in their situation or what they have seen and read about it. You'll have some ideas of your own.
THE INTERNET is a useful place to find information, so that you can see where you might fit into the general framework of hypnosis or hypnotherapy, or other forms of 'talking therapy' and counselling. SEARCH ENGINES are a useful place to start - in fact there's so much information it can be hard to know where to stop!
GET a FEEL of what people say, whether you like the idea or you don't like the idea, or you like the idea but with some reservations ~ or you just get a feeling about something. NATURALLY a great deal depends on the kind of help there is in your area, and some of the help can be relatively expensive, so you'll want to make sure you are happy about trusting yourself and your cash to someone else.
PERSONAL recommendations from people you know can be a good bet. Having said this, the things that suit one person may not suit you, so you are going to be the best person to decide what you want to do, when you want to do it, how much you wish to pay and how much time you have available. A WORD of CAUTION here, because you may have some physical problem which people perhaps have told you (and you may believe this yourself) could be largely due to your state of mind. Certainly one's state of mind is very important in all sorts of ways, and stress or anxiety for instance could be playing a part in things. You owe it to yourself to visit your doctor or to find a doctor who can make the necessary health checks and give you advice. You are the person responsible for yourself.
HYPNOSIS is simply a word used to describe the state of hypnosis. There are differing views on that, for instance whether it is a form of sleep, self-induced hypnosis, or a state of suggestibility where the conscious mind does not 'get in the way' of what is needed at a deeper level, and so on. Here again you will have ideas about what the process is, what it can do for people, and what you want it to do for you, and there's no real definitive answer.
YOU MAY have seen stage performances at the theatre or on TV where the hypnotist seems able to do anything he wants with members of the audience, to the extent that they seem under his control. That is 'entertainment' - well some people think so. Hypnotherapy carried out properly does not work like that. The client should retain control of the procedure just as much as he or she would like to and feels a need to.
HYPNOTHERAPY is a process where the hypnotherapist works with a client to help them in their life. It would be no good solving one problem brilliantly for him or her, without looking at other areas of the person's life or personality which could be affected. Some areas of behaviour can be worked on using mainly behavioural methods, or a combination of cognition and de-sensitisation. Of course hypnotherapy can also use these, but may need to get closer to the original cause of a problem.
EVERYONE is an individual, and what a hypnotherapist or any other therapist should do, is gain sufficient information in order to provide the most appropriate help in the circumstances. However, by accessing the client's subconscious during hypnosis it can become easier to find and address the root cause of the problem. Work out which method would suit you, your personality and your situation best. You may be apprehensive about forms of therapy on offer, and that is perfectly acceptable. Keep on looking till you find what you are looking for. Don't go for something that doesn't feel right, whatever other people may say. The same applies to any type of activity! Have a look at plenty of information too.
IF YOU THINK you would like to embark on any kind of therapy or counselling for yourself, allow some time to find a practitioner who is near enough, ask for a brochure, ask for a free chat to satisfy yourself that the therapy is what you want and that this is likely to be the sort of person you feel comfortable with - though not for too long, because your therapy should not last indefinitely.
THESE PRINCIPLES should apply to anyone you are thinking of approaching for help, such as a counsellor, voluntary agency or self-help organisation.. Give yourself some time to work out what YOU want, first and foremost, and don't let someone else persuade you, or invade your privacy.
MOST of the WORK is done by the client, whatever the method used, and YOU are the person leading your life. Counselling is really about helping individuals to work out what is best for them, rather than imposing any framework.
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