Animal Hypnosis, Part 1

(This blog was originally posted on March 16, 2014)

Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

Every so often, someone asks me if I can hypnotize the family dog to stop barking so much or get the cat to stay off the kitchen counters. After all, if I can help a human client to rewrite a mental script and change an unwanted behavior, surely I have a similar technique that will make Max a little quieter and give Rex better table manners? Surely, I must have some technique in my hypnosis toolbox that will convince the champion show horse at the barn that the flower-boxes in front of a jump are not monsters. No, I don’t. But—and?—yes, I can.

In addition to my certifications in hypnotherapy and therapeutic guided imagery, I trained in Reiki energy healing with Tanya Nord, a Reiki Master and hypnotherapy instructor at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute. When I earned my certifications as a first- and second-degree Reiki practitioner, Ms. Nord told the class that from now on our touch would have healing power. In addition to offering energy treatments for my clients, I also wanted to provide these natural healing techniques to help quiet and relax my equestrian clients’ horses and to ease my senior animals’ discomfort from arthritis pain. A few years ago I finally took an animal-communication class with Lydia Hiby, and a new world of sensitivity, communication and healing opened up for me.

Lydia is a former veterinary technician, so in addition to teaching her students how to do what she does as an animal communicator she also provides a lot of general information about animal behavior, general first-aid and conflict resolution techniques. One of the first things she teaches in her communication class is how to do an intuitive body scan to detect physical discomfort in an animal. I now use this skill every time I do Reiki to find out whether and where I should specifically direct this energy to relieve stress or tension in my clients (human and non-human). This technique is not a substitute for medical or veterinary care! Like hypnotherapy, I provide Reiki to complement traditional medical care/treatment. However, this technique can provide useful clues about where the medical or veterinary expert should focus the examination when the client confirms that he or she (or the pet) experiences physical discomfort in a specific area.

The most important skill I have honed through Lydia’s animal-communication training is to use and trust my intuition. I do not “know” where the information comes from when a dog tells me she wants to eat steak and peas or that a cat wants to be a pirate like Johnny Depp but is far from the brave, swashbuckling rogue that his humans believe him to be. I have no way of knowing that when the big horse I’m talking to says he loves apples, he has only just been introduced to this new delicacy two days ago. When I do these readings, Lydia or the owner (i.e., human “parent” or guardian) is usually present to confirm or dispute the accuracy of the information I picked up during the conversation. More often than not, I come up with otherwise obscure details that I should not have known about an animal I have never met before—but I have learned to trust my gut instinct and just go with what I am picking up.

I will discuss how people can apply the self-confidence and behavior-modification skills they have learned through hypnotherapy and the (animal-)communication skills I am honing with Lydia Hiby to help change a pet's unwanted behavior in tomorrow's blog.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

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