Duration of Hypnotherapy

(This blog was originally posted on January 27, 2014)

 

Photo by Rick Hustead

The duration of hypnotherapy is comparatively shorter than traditional psychotherapy, such as psychoanalysis. However, an issue is seldom resolved in just one, two, three or even four sessions. “[Hypnotherapy] is not a miracle cure,” Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., explained. “It can relieve initial trauma in a few sessions, but it may take longer to deal with other issues.”

My goal as a hypnotherapist is to help each of my clients effectively resolve his or her specific vocational and avocational self-improvement goal(s) in a realistic amount of time. For example, hypnotherapy for weight loss usually lasts 28 sessions; hypnotherapy for smoking cessation can typically be dealt with in six sessions. Simple problems may take less time to resolve; but for general self-improvement or lifestyle-change issues, hypnotherapy is an ongoing process that can last for years.

I do not set limits on the amount of time the therapy will take, because these perceived deadlines can set the client up for frustration and disappointment if the process takes longer than expected. I can typically identify the true causal factor or issue that a client is dealing with during the first hypnotherapy session, even when this is not the issue the person has originally come to resolve. However, I will not try to draw out this issue and potentially cause unnecessary stress for my client until he or she is ready to address it and let it go.

For example, weight is only symptomatic of an emotional issue in approximately 20 percent of people who come in for weight-loss therapy, Kappas said. “If you don’t eliminate the cause of a problem, it could come back.”

         

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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