(This blog was originally posted on March 17, 2014)
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| Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan |
People seek out
my hypnotherapy services because the logic/will-power/decision-making and
reasoning faculties of their conscious mind want to change a behavior that no
longer works for them. They are willing participants who become active partners
in the therapy process. In addition to hypnosis and guided imagery, I teach my
clients behavior-modification techniques that they can use to gently replace
the unwanted or “problem” habit with a behavior that is more conducive to their
desired lifestyle. But dogs, cats, horses and the multitude of other domestic
animals people share their lives with do not make the decision to change a
behavior. Their owners do.
So, when people
ask me to hypnotize their dog so it won’t bark so much or to persuade the cat
to stay off of the dining table, I must politely defer to a professional animal
trainer’s expertise to resolve those behavior issues. However, as a certified
hypnotherapist, I have many tools and techniques that can help the human
partner change specific responses to the pet that can reinforce any new
behaviors that the companion animal is learning. The first thing I want to know
is what the client think is going on with the animal. What might make it easier
for the pet, or help the pet, to change its unwanted behavior? Imagery is a
great place to start this exercise.
When Lydia Hiby teaches animal-communication
clinics, she encourages and supports each of her students to develop our
intuitive skills so we can also do what she does. This skill is also very
important for a client who wants to improve his or her communication and
relationship with a companion animal by correcting an annoying habit. When the client
is in hypnosis, I guide the client through a visualization exercise in which he
or she is listening and paying attention to every detail in their pet’s
environment. What does the animal see? Hear? Smell? Touch? Perceive? How do
these stimuli affect it, in terms of why and how often it repeats the undesired
behavior? There is no right or wrong answer in this exercise; the important
thing is for the client to give him or herself permission to experience the
world from your pet’s point of view.
Next, I would
guide the client in another visualization journey in which the person gets to practice
using the behavior-modification techniques that the trainer recommended to
correct the unwanted behavior. How is the pet responding to the training cues? The
imagery includes noticing physical details about the animal—how it looks,
smells, feels, how energetically it responds to the person’s commands—and how
the client feels and responds to the pet’s efforts to do the right thing. The individual
gets to practice each of the techniques with confidence, control and patience
with the animal and him- or herself. Since the person will already be relaxed,
comfortable and calm during these hypnosis and visualization exercises, he or
she will also be replacing the previous negative response (frustration) to the
behavior with this new emotional reaction (calm). At the end of the
hypnotherapy session, I will teach the person how to anchor these sensations of
calm and relaxation with the confidence and skills he or she has acquired in
order to apply the training techniques and easily achieve the desired change of
behavior.
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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