Whole Brain Hypnotherapy: How My Approach Is Different
Many approaches to hypnosis focus on quieting the conscious mind so that suggestions can be directed toward the subconscious.
That approach can be useful for some people.
But I take a different route.
I call my approach Whole Brain Hypnotherapy because I work with both the conscious and subconscious mind.
Your conscious mind is intelligent.
It analyzes. It questions. It notices when something doesn't make sense.
If I suggest that you're confident, but your experiences have taught you that speaking up leads to criticism or rejection, part of you may have a very good reason not to believe me.
Repeating the suggestion doesn't necessarily resolve that conflict.
So instead of trying to override your logical mind, I engage it.
I want you to understand why your subconscious learned what it learned, how those beliefs may be influencing your current responses, and whether those beliefs still make sense in the context of your life today.
Then we can use hypnosis and individualized therapeutic suggestions to support a different way of responding.
The goal isn't to convince you of something you don't believe.
It's to help you discover what you can believe now that you understand the bigger picture.
Why Work With Both Minds?
The conscious and subconscious minds have different roles, and both can contribute something valuable to the process of change.
The Conscious Mind
Brings understanding, reasoning, and choice.
The conscious mind can:
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Recognize when an old belief no longer makes sense.
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Bring present-day knowledge and perspective.
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Question, reconsider, and evaluate information.
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Contribute insights and actively participate during hypnosis.
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Actively reinforce suggestions and arguments made in hypnosis
The Subconscious Mind
Automatic responses, beliefs, and associations.
The subconscious mind can:
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Develop automatic responses based on past experiences.
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Form associations between experiences, emotions, and situations.
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Maintain patterns that once seemed helpful or protective.
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Responds according to old information, even when circumstances have changed.
Why Personalization Matters
I also personalize your sessions. I do not use generic hypnosis scripts. instead I choose approaches that are specific to you- your language, your goals, your motivation and your history.
WHY?
Two people can struggle with the same symptom for completely different reasons.
One person might have a hard time saying no because growing up they had to take on a lot of extra responsibility due to a parent being absent or ill.
Another may have a hard time saying no because as a child the only way to earn praise was to be productive. Taking more on was a way to get acceptance.
The surface behavior looks the same.
But the underlying beliefs and associations may be completely different.
That's why I don't begin by deciding which suggestions you need based solely on the symptom you want to change.
I want to understand why that symptom exists.
What did your subconscious learn?
What does it associate with the situation you're struggling with?
What might the current response be accomplishing for you?
And does that response still serve the same purpose it once did?
Those are the kinds of questions we explore together.
Whole Brain Hypnotherapy is built around your history, your experiences, and the specific beliefs and associations connected to what you want to change.
What Happens During a Session?
We begin by understanding the pattern you want to change.
Sometimes the connection between your current response and an earlier experience is obvious.
Other times, we need to do a little detective work.
We explore the messages you've received, the behaviors you've observed, the associations you've developed, and the ways your subconscious may have learned to protect you.
We look for the beliefs or expectations that might explain why your current response makes sense.
Then we begin questioning whether those beliefs still apply.
For example, perhaps you learned at a young age that speaking up led to criticism.
Staying quiet may have helped you avoid conflict at the time.
But you're not in that same situation today.
You have different resources, different choices, and a different understanding of yourself and the world around you.
Once we understand the connection, we can use your own experiences to develop a new perspective.
I call this a hypnotic argument.
Rather than simply telling you to feel confident, I help you recognize why you can respond differently now.
We may use visualization, imagery, individualized suggestions, and other therapeutic techniques to help you explore and rehearse new responses.
And because your conscious mind is part of the process, you're welcome to ask questions, share insights, or let me know when something doesn't quite make sense.
You don't have to simply lie there and accept everything I say.
We're working together to develop an understanding that makes sense to you.
Do We Have to Revisit the Past?
No.
Understanding where a belief came from can be helpful, but you don't have to relive every difficult experience to begin changing your relationship with it.
Sometimes a person already knows exactly where a belief originated.
Other times, we can work with the information available in the present without needing to uncover a specific event.
My focus is on understanding the beliefs and associations connected to your current pattern, not on creating an intense emotional experience.
We work at a pace that respects your comfort, preferences, and goals.
The Goal
The goal is not to overpower your subconscious.
The goal is to help it learn something new.
Your mind may have developed a particular response because of something you experienced, observed, or came to believe.
Perhaps that response once helped you feel safe, avoid conflict, gain approval, or maintain a sense of control.
But what made sense then may not be what serves you now.
Whole Brain Hypnotherapy is about understanding those connections and using that understanding to support meaningful change.
It's not about giving everyone the same suggestions.
It's about discovering what makes sense for you.
