“I Nudge, I don’t Bulldoze”- Dr Shivani Khetan, Hypnotherapist

Dr Shivani Khetan is a clinical hypnotherapist, mental wellness coach, NLP K Expert, UNESCO-CID (28012) Certified Expressive Arts Therapist, TED Speaker & Autogenic Metaphor Practitioner. She prefers to gently nudge her clients, rather than push or bulldoze them. To know more about her, visit https://www.drshivanikhetan.com/

Q-Hypnotherapy is often misunderstood by general public. Could you explain what hypnotherapy is and how it can help an individual?

Dr Shivani: Hypnotherapy is a tool that facilitates the delivery of treatment in clinical practice of hypnosis. Hypnosis is a trance like state in which the mind becomes more receptive to suggestions. It is considered a complementary form of therapy. Clinical hypnotherapy has been used to treat a wide variety of mental and physical conditions. Some of the common ones are depression, smoking, weight loss, stress, pain management, anxiety, pre surgery, dental procedures. Hypnotherapy has been successful in reducing symptoms where other treatments have failed. When patients choose hypnosis, it is believed the body fight or flight response may be reduced.

Q-In your experience what are some of the common misconceptions or fears people have about hypnotherapy and how do you address them?

Dr Shivani : Some of the common myths and misconceptions are :

-One of the risks of hypnosis is getting stuck in trance.

-Hypnosis is a form of therapy

-I won’t remember anything

-It is impossible to be hypnotised against patient will

-The hypnotist can make you do things against your will

-The hypnotist will have total control over the patient

Before a session is actually conducted, a consultation addressing all the questions including details about the procedure of the hypnosis session is discussed with the patient. Only when they are fully confident to proceed the session is scheduled. The person most likely to benefit is the person who is highly motivated to overcome an issue. Like any other treatment, one needs to know hypnosis may be helpful for certain conditions, but it can also be unhelpful.

Q- Could you share your perspective on how hypnotherapy can contribute to managing stress, anxiety and other mental issues that have been exacerbated in recent years due to societal changes and the pandemic?

Dr Shivani : The world we live in today is of a thousand distractions. Many people are having a hard time with social pressure. Social pressure may impact our choices in various ways. It can become a problem in our lives if we too frequently feel compelled to do what others want rather than making our own decisions. It leads to lot of mental health and physical dis-ease in the body. Much of the work being accomplished in hypnotherapy involves changes in mindset that are themselves healing. It helps clients to alter their unwanted behaviours, and recognise the triggers which are not giving them growth. Thus they enter a mental space where they can uncover deep beliefs, understand where they originated from and rewrite those beliefs that no longer serve their growth and happiness.

In todays world we live in stress/ anxiety and they have become a part of our everyday vocabulary. Hypnotherapy aims to break negative thought patterns and responses to stress and instead provide one with a more healthy response.

-The process promotes calmness and restful sleep.

-It increases focus on positive goals.

-It promotes healing from injuries and illnesses

-The technique improves sleep quality

-It reduces feelings of anger and frustration

-It reduces anxiety

-It helps one increase confidence, build self-esteem, making one feel comfortable setting up boundaries and saying ‘No’ to people.

-It helps to build the power of visualisation.

-Self hypnosis is also a great way to reduce stress.

Imagine yourself in a calm place, focusing on a sense of clarity, and feel the shackles of anxiety melt away. This is done via the subconscious- the part of our mind that works automatically and without us realising. Hypnotherapist helps the client to enter a state of deep relaxation known as hypnosis. When one is in this state, subconscious mind is open to suggestion of responding to stress. These are essential tools for turning down the negative noise of the modern society.

Q- In your view, how can hypnotherapy complement other forms of therapy, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy or psychotherapy?

Dr Shivani :Hypnotherapy complements with other forms of therapy to help manage depression and anxiety disorders, cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy can assist in overcoming unwanted habits such as smoking, and dealing with emotional issues such as low self-esteem. All these treatments help towards a personal treatment program, tailored to you and your individual experience. These therapies help the client with the knowledge and skills needed to take back control of their own feelings, thoughts and behaviour. These therapies aim to update the subconscious with the conscious mind and its understanding of reality, increase self-efficacy, build positive expectations and amplify & work with emotion laden memories.

Although there are some exceptions, I personally believe that almost anything that CBT or psychotherapy can achieve, hypnotherapy can achieve much quicker. You can talk about something at length and still not reach anywhere. The advantage of hypnotherapy is that we can go straight to the source- the subconscious mind.

Q- Can you tell us about any significant breakthroughs or developments in the field of hypnotherapy that you are excited about?

Dr Shivani : Interest in clinical hypnosis is growing and more psychologists, coaches and therapists are learning how hypnosis can help their patients. It may be the career of the future. In past it has helped me reprogram the mind of many clients. It has helped them to become more competent and empowered to live in alignment with their true purpose. I am practicing clinical hypnotherapy for last four years and have had good success in reducing anxiety, depression, stress, dementia, fear, height phobia, smoking, self-confidence and building self-esteem. It has been very effective in changing peoples evaluation, beliefs, attitudes and motivation. I am very excited to work with my clients building a life without any fears, anxiety, being healthier and more confident. I believe clinical hypnosis can help clients cope with stress. I believe it will be a part of new approach to medicine and health care known as integrative medicine. I hope there will be more research into the application of hypnosis in varied medical conditions as it has huge promise to be an excellent treatment. It is extremely rewarding as it helps people overcome many issues. One of the best advantages is its a natural treatment that does not involve use of medication. It’s a great option for individuals who are sensitive to medication or are looking for complementary alternative medicine or a more holistic approach to therapy. I believe you can make a difference in this world with one person at a time. When you help someone become a better person, you automatically help the world become a better place.

— — — — — — — — — — —