Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy, as you may have guessed, is any therapy that uses hypnosis as a tool to facilitate communication. It's often possible when using hypnosis to gain access to memories and feelings that are not available to us in our everyday conscious state.
There's nothing mystical about it, in fact it's perfectly normal! What you may have seen on TV or during a stage show is a particular use of hypnosis aimed at entertaining people. When used as a theraputic tool, hypnosis brings about a very different end result, meaning you won't be expected to act like a chicken!
Simply put, hypnosis is something which relaxes us, it relaxes us mentally so that we may feel more able to discuss issues which we find troubling, or to accept suggestions given to us by, in this case, a therapist. It must be stressed that in no way can you be made to do anything that you do not want to do and suggestions will only be taken on board if your mind has no objection to them.
Using hypnosis it's possible to accelerate the healing process, cutting down the time (and money) spent during therapy. This is made possible by by-passing something referred to as the 'conscious critical faculty'; which is nothing more than a filter employed by the mind to constantly sift through information and experiences, all day, everyday. Sometimes this filter goes wrong, it becomes over protective and prevents the mind from accepting new ways of thinking, new ways of seeing things and how we react to them. It also works in reverse, sometimes preventing the things we know inside from being accepted into consciousness and used to our benefit.
We all have the power to heal ourselves, we have the answers. Therapy simply helps you to find them while the therapist guides you along.