>> Working With Children

As youngsters we have an ability that many of us lose on the way to adulthood. It is the ability to know the world and our responses to the world, by internal pictures

Adults call this inner world, a fantasy world; to children it is their reality. We, as grown ups, do our best (worst) to reduce childhood imagery by commands such as “Don’t daydream”, “Come to your senses”, “Stop imagining things!”

It is important to note that this internal world of pictures is as real to the child as the concrete material world outside and the feelings created by these pictures as real as feelings resulting from external events.

We can make use of this knowledge to help children on a deep level by a technique called “Creative Visualisation” which enables the child to be in touch with his inner (real) world by way of pictures. As we do so we help him to explore and understand his feelings, attitudes and behaviours on this deep level and change them if necessary.

The basic aim is to explore feelings (problems) and follow them by careful guidance to their representation, of which the child may or may not be aware.

In this way we encourage (in a positive and supportive way) the child to explore the pictures and gain confidence in the process.

Robert Shacter of New York’s Mount Sinai School of medicine talked about children and hypnosis on the Saturday early show. He said children tend to respond to hypnotic suggestion better than adults because they are more in touch with their imaginations.

Children can be hypnotised as early as age 3, “but in my personal experience, I have found that children ages 5 or older respond best to the treatment”.

What role, if any, does the parent play during a hypnotherapy session?

As in any therapy, it is important for parents to know what is going on. In the actual session the parent is there or in the background. They really don’t play any part in the actual therapy. They are encouraged to observe and understand the therapeutic process that is being administered.

How Many times does a typical child visit a hypnotherapist?

Children are often better candidates for hypnosis than adults, and the process can help resolve such problems as pain, anxiety, bed-wetting and asthma.

Most children attend 4 to 8 sessions with a qualified hypnotherapist. During that time, the hypnotherapist can teach a child how to hypnotise himself.

How do I know if my child is a candidate for hypnotherapy?

Most children are good candidates. It just depends on whether the problems they are having can be helped by hypnosis. If not, at Inner Solutions we recommend alternative Therapy.

Here are some of the problems that might be helped by hypnotherapy.

Pain

Hypnosis is very effective in alleviating the pain of children undergoing cancer treatments. What we do is help the child go somewhere else, away from the pain. By accessing the subconscious, the child creates images that force them to focus on something other than the pain they are feeling. For example, if you squeezed your hand very tightly to the point that it hurt and then someone asked you to focus on something else, you would not be aware of the pain in your hand.

Anxiety / Anger

a child who is anxious often breathes more quickly and has a higher heart rate. With hypnosis, we can teach them to breathe more slowly, lower their heart rate and take them away from whatever is making them anxious.

Bed-Wetting

Many doctors prescribe medicine for children who have a bed-wetting problem. But now more physicians are turning to hypnosis, which has very positive results. Part of the reason that it works so well is that kids play an active role in their treatment rather than just taking a pill.

Asthma

When children with asthma feel their throats constricting, they begin to feel anxious and breathe more heavily. With hypnosis, you teach the child to calm down and bring them to another place.

How effective is hypnosis in children?

In the right child, hypnotherapy can be very successful. Remember, there is some children who have a harder time letting go. But for those who can, the results can be very positive. Another plus of hypnotherapy is that unlike drugs, the risk of harm is practically zero.

Why aren’t more doctors using hypnotherapy?

It is just not taught that much in colleges, and some people still don’t want to recognise it as a viable alternative. However it is becoming increasingly popular. In Australia, hypnotherapy forms part of medical training.

Hypnotherapy for Children

Children have a great hypnotic talent, as they use imagination, visualisation and fantasy. The child must possess at least some form of motivation for change. We in Inner Solutions Clinic work with this strategy along with the medical and psychological needs as well as developmental levels to shift the child’s thought process.

In Inner Solutions we specialise in imagery and visualisation for issues such as bed-wetting, phobias, sleep disturbances etc……..

Parents are encouraged to observe the hypnotherapeutic session, as well as encourage the child between sessions.