What is Solution Focused Hypnotherapy?
By Elaina Curran, DSFH, AfSFH reg, CNHC reg.
We all have struggles and difficulties in life. Sometimes we are able to work through them on our own, and sometimes a helping hand is needed. Thankfully, a wide choice of options is available to us, one of them being Solution Focused Hypnotherapy (SFH). So, what is it and what is involved?
SFH is a modern approach to hypnotherapy that incorporates several well-established talk-therapy techniques. The very foundation of SFH is based on an understanding of neuroscience and how the brain reacts to the environment or to circumstance. Developed by David Newton, Director and Senior Lecturer at the Clifton Practice in Bristol, SFH is the result of his many years of experience, his expertise and clinical success.
One of the key elements of SFH is its use of hypnosis which reaches the subconscious to promote change in a profoundly relaxing and effective way. The range of issues SFH can help with is diverse and may include health issues such as anxiety, phobias, smoking cessation or pain management. SFH can also be effective in improving any aspect of performance such as sport, exam jitters or public speaking.
Key Points, Principles and Practice:
Know Your Brain: The therapist will explain about the brain in a simple and relevant way. The more knowledge you have about how the mind works and how it reacts to the world, the more confidence you will have to take control, resolve issues and find a way forward.
You are the Expert: No one knows you better than you. What constitutes a solution for one person struggling with weight management, for example, will be different for someone else struggling with the same issue. The therapist gives you the opportunity to draw on your strengths and internal resources, thus finding solutions that are best suited to you.
Goal Oriented: While the reasons that bring you to a Solution Focused therapist are respected and acknowledged, the sessions focus on how you would like your life to be. As a team, you and your therapist will actively work toward attaining your preferred future.
Making Changes: When you make small changes, goals become manageable and realistic. The therapist will help you find the resources within yourself to make those changes. In all SFH sessions, talk-therapy tools are used to measure incremental progress as well as helping you to visualise the next step towards reaching your desired goal.
Positivity: SFH helps you to move away from any negative, self-defeating thought patterns and forward with a positive frame of mind. If laughter and humour can occasionally be integrated in the sessions, so much the better!
Hypnosis: Using positive suggestion and empowering imagery, hypnosis allows you to bypass the conscious mind, with all its’ analytical and anxious thoughts, and focus on changing unwanted and unhelpful thought patterns. As our Stress Bucket starts to empty during trance, you should find that any angry, anxious, sad or fearful thoughts diminish, while your Intellectual Mind steps up to find solutions.
Commitment: SFH can be an invaluable tool to help you successfully create change in your life. The commitment and desire for change is, as always, down to you.