by Tim Brunson, PhD
There is an incorrect presumption by some that all hypnosis involves either stage-related entertainment or constitutes a practice of psychotherapy. This limited view is completely incorrect. Furthermore, such an extremely limited view of hypnosis represents a complete misunderstanding of its definition and application. Yes, although hypnosis can be used for entertainment purposes and during any psychotherapeutic endeavors, it is clearly much more than that as it permeates a much wider range of mental functioning and human communication. (The International Hypnosis Research Institute offers well thought out definitions on our website).
Very simply, hypnosis is a process that uses suggestion and imagination to increase the efficiency of selective thinking. Hence, it employs the brain's capacity to simulate and anticipate. (Essentially, suggestion and imagination is synonymous with simulation and anticipation.) These capabilities are native to the human brain's frontal lobes. These enhanced abilities allow us to drive, walk, and set goals. Also, when these functions go awry, they can become the triggering basis for such mental health issues as worry, rumination, phobias, obsessions, and compulsions. Everyone experiences the negative aspects of simulation and anticipation from time to time. This does not, however, mean that they can or will be diagnosed as having a mental illness. Generally, a qualified clinician would assess that the subject's condition is so severe as to interfere with the "normal" functions of life. (Selective thinking is the ability to choose which of one's thoughts will take primacy over potentially competing ones. This is much akin to the concept of focus. When a person focuses on relaxing their painful hand or the path of a golf ball, they are selecting their dominant thoughts.)
As already mentioned, the use of suggestion and imagination is a part of just about every communication. This ranges from innocent suggestions that someone should have a nice day, to school teachers advising students to carefully review material and relax before taking an exam, to a football coach who makes specific character-building comments to his team or gives pointers on mental focus to a quarterback. If people really understood hypnosis, they would see that to a very large extent to be every human being constantly performs the role of a hypnotist.
Hypnotherapy involves the use of hypnosis (i.e. empowered thinking through the use of suggestion and imagination) for the purpose of enhancing performance, assisting with mental health issues, and in order to facilitate physical healing. When used regarding the second application, it could be construed to be even vaguely involving psychotherapy (but only to the extent that it involves a diagnosable mental pathology). Clearly, the other two uses of hypnotherapy most definitely are not psychotherapy.
Suggestion and imagination are very ubiquitous concepts, which involve just about any extra-personal and intra-personal modes of communication. Thus, sales people, lawyers, policemen, ministers, and politicians use it constantly – without ever being accused of practicing psychotherapy without a license. Additionally, the measure of the effectiveness of any form of persuasion or motivation directly involves just how efficient the selective thinking of the subject has become.
A hypnotherapist – and a hypnotist who uses the hypnotic process for something other than the three uses mentioned above – is a practitioner who has received specific training. This training involves increases sensory acuity (as they must be hyper aware of the effects of their skills on their subjects) and very specific training as to how to use verbal and non-verbal techniques in order to enhance selective thinking. Unlike a typical lay person – to include psychotherapists who have not received formal hypnotherapy training – a practitioner deliberately uses his or her skills for the explicit purpose of achieving one of the three mentioned uses.
Recently a court in Colorado had to judge whether hypno-coaching, as some call it, constitutes a form of psychotherapy. Our stance is that it absolutely does not. Hypnotherapeutic coaching – which is our term for the same concept – only involves the performance enhancement use of the hypnotic process. This is fitting with the definition of coaching, which involves teaching and training for the purpose of facilitating the achievement of a personal or professional goal. Hypnotherapeutic coaching is a variation in which the practitioner overtly uses their sensory acuity abilities and enhanced communication skills in a way that magnifies and/or further facilitates the teaching and training process. It does not address mental pathologies or any psychological issues.
Psychotherapy, on the other hand, is a general – and thus very vague – term that involves therapeutic treatment or interaction with a client, patient, family, couple, or group for problems of a more psychological nature. The problem here is the vagueness. At one level – as psychology is loosely defined as the science of the mind and the mind is involved with all human interactions – a rather warped definition would imply that anyone who communicates is involved with psychotherapy. Of course, that is absurd as it would mean that every politician, school teacher, minister, and football coach could be prosecuted. On the other hand, if the role of a psychotherapist – or psychologist – was more accurately defined as involving the treatment of a psychopathology, then a more workable definition would be achieved. In that case, psychopathology, which is defined as involving mental illnesses, mental distress, or abnormal/maladaptive behaviors, would be more appropriately considered the domain of psychotherapists of any sort. Thus, performance coaching – the domain of the hypnotherapeutic coach – is clearly not included in the realm of a psychotherapist. For instance, using hypnosis to help golfers with their putting skills does not involve psychotherapy by any stretch of the imagination – that is unless one would argue that golfing is a mental illness. Therefore, as long as hypno-coaches stay away from any presenting issues that involve mental illnesses, mental distress, or abnormal/maladaptive behaviors, they should be safe.
It is our opinion that at no point should any practitioner – in any field – go where they don't belong. This is true regardless as to whether or not such boundaries are specified by associations or legal guidelines. A hypnotherapist of any ilk should therefore be adequately trained to recognize when they are potentially dealing with a psychopathology. Unless they are licensed AND QUALIFIED to handle the presenting problem, they should immediately terminate the session and offer to refer the subject to the appropriate clinician. On the other hand, psychotherapists who are not specifically trained and adequately qualified to use hypnotherapeutic techniques should likewise not hold themselves out as hypnotherapists or use such techniques until such training is received. Unfortunately, as the vast majority of psychotherapists do not understand the difference between psychotherapy and hypnotherapy, they are routinely allowed by their associations and licensure authorities to misrepresent themselves and cross into areas in which they lack competence.
Tim Brunson, PhD, is the founder and executive director of The International Hypnosis Research Institute. He has produced numerous courses for hypnotherapists, mental health practitioners, coaches, and medical professionals. Additionally, he has produced over 150 self-help and clinical hypnotherapy recorded sessions, which may be found at TimBrunson.com.
Posted: 11/15/2012
