The 5 types of hypnosis (and how they work)

Surely you have seen in a movie or read in a book about hypnosis, that psychological procedure - and even almost mystical - in which an expert manages to take a person to a state of semi-consciousness and where through suggestion you can modify some aspects of his behavior or bring old memories to his mind that seem to have been forgotten.

However, this process has a lot of science and no magic tricks behind its execution, In addition, the full will and work of both parties is needed for the result to be favorable. When it is achieved, it can bring many benefits to the patient, in addition to giving him that necessary push towards change, which in a more ‘conscious’ way he cannot perceive.

Has being hypnotized ever intrigued you? Well In this article you will discover the different types of hypnosis that exist and how each of them works, as well as its benefits and therapeutic applications.

What is hypnosis?

As we have just mentioned, hypnosis is a clinical psychological tool that helps a person to achieve changes in his or her behavior. some cases, so that you can bring up some forgotten memories and clear up blackouts (if there is no disease that cause). It is carried out through a process of

meditation Y deep relaxation, so that the person can access her information widely and without resistance.

However, It should be clarified that this procedure is not recommended or does not have the same functionality in all people, since there has to be the will to collaborate and the ability to relax the body. Some patients may over relax and fall asleep completely, while others have trouble reaching this state and hypnosis simply does not occur.

What is hypnosis for?

This type of approach is implemented when the person has gone through some type of trauma that prevents them from bringing some type of information or generate an action, since the unconscious creates a wall to prevent it from suffering the negative emotions of said episode. Which helps to overcome them and to solve various problems in an effective and lasting way.

It is ideal for treating fears, phobias, traumatic experiences, addictions to certain substances (usually alcohol and cigarettes), bring back memories of childhood, change some behaviors, among other possible applications.

5 types of hypnosis and how they work

Hypnosis is not necessarily done in one way, this will depend on the type of client and the objective you want to achieve.

1. Traditional or suggestion hypnosis

This is the most common type of hypnosis of all and also the oldest in history, its origins date back to the 18th century. It became popular thanks to Franz mesmer, who used a series of magnets to bring the person to a state of semi-consciousness through the animal magnetism, which proposes that, by transferring energy from a healthy person to a sick person, it could heal. Later, this practice would be called ‘mesmerism’ in honor of Mesmer.

Later, other professionals tried to give a more scientific and human sense to the practice of hypnosis, beginning with James Braid who claimed that this was a state of the nervous system (contradicting the proposed mesmerist). On the other hand, Pierre Janet attributed a sense of psychological dissociation, until finally reaching the most modern version of classical hypnosis, proposed by Sigmund Freud, in which he proposed that this method could be used to unravel memories or memories repressed and help the patient to overcome a trauma (basis that was used for the theories of psychoanalysis).

With this in mind, we can say that traditional hypnosis (as we know it now) is based on a clinical-psychological procedure leading to the induction of a trance state through total relaxation of the mind of the person. In this way, being in a state of semi-consciousness, it is possible to suggest the individual through of verbal instructions that guide the hypnotist towards their behaviors, behaviors or content mental.

2. Ericksonian hypnosis

This type of hypnosis arises from a proposal made by the American psychologist and pioneer of psychotherapy Milton H. Erickson, which is clearly distinguished from the traditional one in terms of the use of the verbal content with which the trance state is induced. In this hypnosis, instead of generating direct suggestions towards a specific path (for example, talking about a behavior or a specific thought) a series of metaphors are used with which the person is able to give a more flexible, creative and open speech.

This is done with the intention that the person can lower their defenses completely and can speak freely about whatever it is that has led them to therapy. This type of hypnosis is ideal for those who have problems to relax completely, they cannot leave the blank mind, are difficult to suggest, are reluctant to hypnosis, or have difficulty trusting the process.

It should be noted that many people tend to confuse the author of this procedure (Milton H. Erickson) by the evolutionary psychologist and disciple of Freud, Erik erikson.

3. Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP)

We can say that this is the most innovative and current type of hypnosis that exists, although hypnosis procedures such as Such, if they share their methods and their objectives, which is to change the person's thinking and influence a more beneficial behavior for the herself. Thus, Thought patterns and language are used to promote favorable changes in the way that person acts and improve his psychological skills.

It was developed by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, who gave their own interpretation to the methods used in Ericksonian hypnosis, but adding a little more focus to language, since they claim that it has a close relationship with neurological processes and patterns of speech. behaviour. The objective is that the person can change their own mental speech so that they have greater control over her actions, in order to improve her abilities.

This technique is considered a pseudoscience of communication and personal development, although it is widely used in psychotherapy as additional tool to improve the confidence of some patients or guide them to make better decisions and resolutions of problems.

4. Cognitive behavioral hypnosis

Although at the beginning of its implementation as a proposal for psychological processes, it was not precisely accepted by the behavioral current due to its subjective essence and as a process of the unconscious mind (accepted in this case by psychoanalysis), with the passage of time and more studies now, the cognitive-behavioral current has acquired its own procedure of hypnosis. Which is based on a series of methods based on suggestion to make direct changes in the behavior or behavior of the person.

This procedure is performed as a result obtained from different previous methods, such as body relaxation, the use of imagination, creativity and working the person's own belief system.

The great difference that this type of hypnosis has with the rest is that it is used as a complementary part of a larger intervention focused on a problem in specific (changing a repetitive thought, breaking obsessions, changing behaviors, modifying behaviors, such as work to overcome addictions and problems of the sleep-wake).

5. Autohypnosis

As the name implies, it is a type of hypnosis that a person can implement on himself, reducing to the hypnotic state through autosuggestion and other external support tools so that the person maintains his concentration and does not distract his thoughts. Among these support tools are voice recordings (where the prompts for suggestion are recorded), as well as natural sounds that lead to relaxation or devices that manage to alter brain waves to blur the state of consciousness and bring it to semi-conscious.

This type of hypnosis is used primarily to control and focus on everyday situations (for example, clearing the mind to find solutions to a problem or to get away from stress) in order to reinforce personal skills and assertiveness. It is widely used to face an intimidating challenge, overcome a fear, relax the body, rest your mind, find a balance for sleep, or stimulate yourself to start a new habit beneficial.

If you are interested in doing this practice, you should take into account that part of the success of it falls on your willingness to make it work, as well as committing to achieving complete relaxation of your mind and Body. Talk to your therapist first to assess the pros and cons of trying, if it is to your benefit then why not give it a try? You may be surprised by the results you can achieve, in addition to learning a positive new technique.