This is where the Hocus Pocus comes in. If you see a hypnotherapist and you fall asleep, then you've wasted your money unless, (of course, you're a chronic insomniac.) Hypnosis or hypnotherapy is not sleep. Unfortunately though many people are attracted to hypnotherapists for the wrong reasons.

Typically people want their symptoms relieved.

Whether it's a binge drinking problem, a specific phobia, an eating disorder or some other symptom, people readily seek out hypnotherapy. The problem with this is that most of the time these individuals, through no fault of their own, come to expect a magical fix or cure. Another attraction to them is the fantasy that by 'being under hypnosis', they wont have to feel any painful feelings or address the deeper issues which gave rise to their symptoms in the first place.

This is Hocus Pocus.

Because the unaddressed past is destined to repeat itself. Hypnotherapy is practice is not sleep. It isn't making people do stupid things like clucking lick chickens, or making them do anything, in fact. Hypnotherapy is a naturalistic method or ritual tailored to the individual to help them open their minds up to deeper aspects of themselves. Such awareness can sometimes illuminate painful states, patterns and repressed experiences. It is not about avoiding. Now sure, so many people presenting to hypnotherapy claim that they know everything about why they suffer. They tell us that they've "tried counselling, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy before". In other words, they have ruminated, dwelled or intellectualized about their symptoms and even their family history without necessarily feeling the core feelings and processing whatever they needed to process in order to change.

Hypnotherapy and even meditation can help people to change, but only if they are willing to examine deeper issues which are typically rationalized ("I've dealt with all that already!"), denied, projected or repressed.

Otherwise it's just hocus pocus. It's just like a sleeping pill which has short terms gains at best.

Hypnotherapy can provide remarkably useful methods for people to uncover and then self manage painful emotions. This works very well in the context of counselling or psychotherapy. But no one can force someone to do this nor should they try. That's one reason why hypnotherapists who offer guarantees miss the whole point of hypnotherapy: to help people to help themselves.

A guarantee displaces responsibility onto the hypnotherapist.

This is appealing to be sure. Because it suggests that people wont have to do any real therapeutic work, just go to sleep and get your mind serviced, just like your car. The mind doesn't work that way. The hocus pocus is removed when people take their minds and symptoms seriously. Which means more than just wanting their problems to go away. It means wanting a deep and rich understanding of what makes them tick.

As A Psychotherapist in Melbourne Adam Szmerling is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Counsellor, Psychotherapist, Master Practitioner of NLP, Ericksonian Hypnotherapist Location - Melbourne, Australia

Helping people deal with a variety of symptoms. His counsellor service Melbourne / Brighton offers Articles on Psychotherapy, Hypnotherapy, Mindfulness Therapy, and offers Online Skype counselling. http://baysidepsychotherapy.com.au