Hypnotherapy!

I'm on almost 5 weeks of 5mg lexapro and have been in CBT therapy for severe anxiety and mild depression, and I've found a new tool to add to my treatment: hypnosis!

A friend of mine who lives in LA told me that several people she knows used hypnotherapy for anxiety with great results, and so I looked for a psychologist in my area who uses hypnosis in treatment. Many people I looked at worked out of alternative wellness centers or also do stage hypnosis, and that turned me off. But I found a psychologist who holds a PhD and taught for two decades at a very reputable university (and also can bill insurance!) who uses hypnosis, and he's been wonderful.

I've only met with the hypnotherapist twice now, and of course it's hard to tell for sure if the medication or the therapy is helping, but since I've been getting hypnosis treatment I find that I'm fighting with myself so much less. My work lately has been on breaking negative thought cycles and negative beliefs about myself. I still have anxious/negative thoughts, and the CBT and Lexapro had helped me gain more control over them, but since I started getting hypnosis they seem to stop almost on their own. Before the hypnotherapy, I used CBT techniques to will the thoughts away and it helped, but I still felt like I was constantly battling myself. But now, the thought will intrude and without me having to consciously address it my mind will dismiss it quickly, if that makes sense. I am continuing to see the hypnotherapist along with my CBT therapist weekly.

Anyways, I just wanted to share my experience! And I'm curious about other people's experience with hypnosis. I'm also happy to answer any questions based on my personal experience.

Post Edited (lumpycomforter) : 8/7/2015 7:22:10 AM (GMT-6)

The therapist did not tell me a goal number of sessions. I know that he encourages his clients to have at least 6 sessions. Luckily, this practitioner is fully covered by my insurance since he's licensed to bill our sessions as 'psychotherapy'.

I've never been diagnosed with OCD, but my anxiety is based around obsessive illogical thoughts and I believe hypnotherapy is helpful for this aspect of my anxiety since now I feel more able to 'stop' those thoughts and push them aside before they overwhelm me. My therapist also said I am a good candidate because my anxiety often manifests itself as derealization, and apparently people who experience DR are very responsive to hypnosis because DR and hypnosis are states that access a similar part of the brain, or something like that.

Another value of this therapy is that it is working on tackling negative beliefs about myself that are holding me back. I have core negative ideas about myself that developed in my childhood, and hypnosis is helping me actually bring those to the surface and question them.

Hi

I am pleased it is working well for you I also suffer with derealisation due to high anxiety levels so hypnotherapy is definitely something I am going to look into for myself.

Hibee

WantToBe, I'm sorry if my post was misleading; I live in central Virginia. I mentioned LA more for narrative reasons (alternative approaches to therapy is much more accepted in LA than in Virginia). I'd still be happy to PM you the name of my provider, but since he works out of Virginia I don't think it'd be very helpful for you. Based on my experience, when searching for a provider I'd look for someone with a strong background in psychology and psychoanalysis, not just hypnotherapy alone. As a former psychology professor and excellent psychoanalyst, my therapist has been able to tease out specific beliefs/ideas/stressors I have that need to be targeted in treatment. And like I said, finding a more qualified hypnotherapist might be cheaper in the long run because he/she could bill insurance.