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Phobia Factor - Phobia Factor |
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Written by Erin Frustaci
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Wednesday, 18 October 2006 |
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Page 1 of 3
Close your eyes. You are getting sleepy. You will now bawk like a chicken.
When you wake up, you will realize this is not how hypnotherapy works at all.
Life’s problems won’t simply disappear with the snap of a finger. Hypnotherapy is no magic show.
“The biggest challenge is making people really understand what it is,” said Ray Williams, a hypnotherapist who practices in Fort Collins.
 Hypnotherapy is a form of psychotherapy that interacts with the subconscious mind to treat a variety of problems.
Williams has been practicing hypnotherapy on and off for 20 years and has spent the last seven years in Fort Collins.
A big black leather reclining chair sits in his cozy home office. Framed credentials hang neatly on his wall and two mangled forks sit decoratively on his desk. From here, he works with people who want to lose weight, quit smoking, improve grades, reduce stress and overcome depression and phobias. Anyone can be hypnotized, Williams said, as long as they are open to relaxing.
Charlton Wilson, a hypnotherapist in Loveland, said he can’t make someone do anything they don’t want to do.
“I am essentially poking around in their subconscious with their permission,” he said. “Hypnotherapy is basically deep realization.”
The stay-at-home dad attended The Colorado School of Counseling Hypnotherapy in Longmont and has practiced hypnotherapy for the last two years. Having extensive therapy sessions himself has helped him become a better therapist, he said.
“When I was 20 years old, I realized I had a drinking problem,” Wilson said. “I would say I have an allergy to it.”
He sought treatment through cognitive therapy and made immense strides toward becoming the person he wanted to be. He hasn’t had a drink in 20 years. While curbing his addiction, he also revealed his dream of becoming a therapist.
“While my therapy was quite effective, it took me 10 years,” he said. “Hypnotherapy is like super-charged traditional cognitive therapy.”
He works with a broad spectrum of clients to overcome problems including alcohol addiction, drug addiction and sex addiction, among others. Whenever he works with a client suffering from some kind of addiction, he strongly advocates the 12-step programs.
In addition to addictions, Wilson said hypnotherapy can be affective in overcoming phobias.
Jackie Nguyen, a Colorado State University senior counselor defines phobias as fear of specific objects or a situation where exposure to that fear creates a severe amount of anxiety. Though phobias are more common in children, 19.2 million American adults are affected by specific phobias, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
“With phobias, very little medication can be used,” Nguyen said. “Most of the time the phobia is not necessarily a common everyday occurrence. Because they can be avoided, most people don’t seek treatment.”
Some of the more common phobias are fears of enclosed spaces, flying, heights and getting blood drawn.
“I worked with a woman who would cringe at the very thought of a needle,” Nguyen said. The woman sought treatment because she was going to have a baby and would soon be in a situation where needles couldn’t be avoided.
Nguyen said hypnotherapy can be helpful for phobias, but the most effective research-based therapy is cognitive therapy.
Marilu Peterson, a doctor at Heritage Family Medicine in Fort Collins believes a combination of methods is the best approach.
“Phobias are very common problems and very challenging issues that a lot of times conventional medicine does not have effective treatment.”
In her traditional doctor’s office, Peterson encourages open lines of communication with her patients. She has had instances where her patients have sought forms of alternative medicine. The American Medical Association has recognized hypnotherapy as a valid treatment since 1958.
Peterson’s office does not practice hypnotherapy, but she said for the right person, it can work.
“It’s not intended to cure a disease, but it can relieve symptoms,” she said. “Hypnotherapy can be used as an adjunct.”
Hypnotherapy, cognitive therapy and medication can compliment each other, Peterson said.
When Suzanne Cronin, 36, of Fort Collins was suffering from a bleeding cyst on her ovary, her doctor assured her it would go away on its own. She visited Dr. Joel Ehrlich, a clinical psychologist, who she had seen before. Ehrlich has worked as a clinical psychologist for more than 30 years. Hypnotherapy is one of many techniques he uses in his line of work.
“There are many tools,” he said. “The more things you can do, given the complexity of people, the more ways you can reach people and help them. Different people respond to different things.”
He suggested hypnotherapy to Cronin and walked her through the relaxation and visualization process.
“I felt very relaxed when I left the office,” she said. “Right after that, it stopped bleeding. Some might say it was timing, but I think you have to really believe what you are doing.”
She did have a follow-up appointment with her doctor as a precaution.
“As far as healing, it helped me with that, but it all has to blend together,” she said. “You need both for the whole picture.”
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|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
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| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
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