Suggestion therapy at Oxfordshire Hypnotherapy, Oxford

Suggestion therapy is a combination of using hypnosis and the use of words to form suggestions. At Oxfordshire Hypnotherapy I use suggestion therapy as an extremely effective way of treating simpler problems such as smoking, overeating, nailbiting, exam nerves and lack of confidence – this form of therapy utilises the power of hypnosis in combination with suggestions to the subconscious mind.

It is accepted here that there are two parts to the mind. The Conscious Mind thinks, feels and acts in the present. The Sub Conscious Mind, of which we are generally unaware, is sometimes thought of as a vast filing cabinet where we keep our past experiences, memories and all that we have learned in our lifetime. It is this part of the mind which we access during the process of hypnosis.

The process of hypnosis also bypasses the ultra critical faculty of the conscious mind which is likely, in normal circumstances, to reject any suggestions made to it. By accessing the sub conscious mind we suspend this critical faculty so that positive suggestions for the better can be presented to it.

The hypnotic state is a naturally induced, relaxed state of mind somewhere between full wakefulness and sleep. We often go through this process during the day without being aware of it. How many times have you found yourself to be sitting in front of the television in the evening after a tiring day and watching the adverts in between programmes? Advertisers are very well aware that at this time people will be in a relaxed, tired state and will therefore be in a more than receptive condition to take on board suggestions for buying a particular brand of car, shampoo or insurance – suggestions repeated several times during the evening – to an uncritical audience.

Suggestions are constantly made to us through newspapers, shops, radio, television, billboards, cinema and even sides of buses and lorries. Suggestions as to what to buy, what to wear, how to think, where to go on holiday, what to hear, see, taste, feel and smell. Most of the time we are consciously unaware of all of this but we are none the less influenced by this advertising all the time.

Sound Solutions

An interesting example of the use of suggestion whilst in a semi-altered state of consciousness for commercial purposes is the use of music in supermarkets. The sounds are designed to slow shoppers down and induce a feeling of relaxation and hopefully to spend more time and more money in the shop. People are wholly unconscious of this process – easy listening or baroque music is played in the store, usually at a speed of sixty beats per minute which equates to a slower heart rate and pulse and which relaxes the whole physical system. At this point shoppers are unconsciously ready to take on suggestions made through the loudspeakers as to the best offers currently available.

At the opposite end of the scale, so to speak, we have fast-food restaurants which pipe in music that tends to be bright, loud and briskly-paced to encourage customers to consume food as quickly as possible!

During a suggestion therapy session music will often be used to assist in the relaxing process. This is because music contains within it such direct and profound properties which have an immediate effect upon both body and mind.

Sound, and in particular, musical sound has been used therapeutically for healing purposes throughout the centuries. From the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks through to modern times people having been singing and playing instruments to soothe or to excite the emotions and to calm patients through illness and depression. In connection with hypnosis – music has the unique ability to connect with altered states of consciousness and to create a secure, familiar framework within it.

It is worth noting some examples of the beneficial effects of hearing certain kinds of music to illustrate this point. One eminent researcher and exponent of the transformative power of music, Don Campbell, has written extensively on what he calls “the Mozart Effect”. The most famous proponent of this is the French physician, Alfred Tomatis who discovered that Mozart’s music in particular had quite extraordinary benefits for his patients. At one hospital in Baltimore USA, half an hour of Mozart, according to the director of Coronary Care, Dr. Raymond Barr, produced the same effect as ten milligrams of Valium. A programme which used Mozart in a controlled way over a lengthy period of time in special schools for children with emotional problems in Birmingham reported clear and distinct long term changes in behaviour and mood.

Campbell found that in his work with corporate groups, including IBM and Microsoft, activities which involved specific sorts of classical music could synchronise the hemispheres of the brain to such a degree that the output of participants increased enormously. The music activated the creative right brain and the more logical left brain, enabling those taking part to find more creative solutions in unexpected and dramatic ways!

In my own work as a music therapist many years ago with cardiac patients at Charing Cross Hospital, I discovered that slow movements of baroque works, particularly Vivaldi violin concertos, could have a profoundly relaxing and therapeutic effect.

Because of the nature of the timbre of the instruments, the simple, beautiful construction of the melodies and the slow, gentle insistence of the pulse – this music has a synthesising effect upon the heart beat and an exceptional influence on the whole metabolism.

GIM

As we shall see, music for suggestion therapy is comprised of several components. One important and significant contribution to the use of music in “altered states of consciousness” is Guided Imagery and Music” (GIM). This began as a research project in the 1960s as a therapeutic intervention at Maryland Psychiatric Research Centre, USA. The music therapist, Helen Bonny, used programmes of carefully selected classical music with patients in what was known as Psychedelic Peak Psychotherapy.

At first the music was used as part of a relaxation induction in combination with a protracted drug programme. Eventually the drugs were made illegal and withdrawn and Bonny discovered the remarkable fact that the classical music, when judiciously chosen, could produce more effective results when used on its’ own. Bonny now became aware of the full power of music to enter the deeper recesses of the mind and to be able to change behaviour. GIM has now become so successful that it is used as a legitimate stream of Receptive Music Therapy all over the world. It seems that classical  music is so uniquely effective in this type of therapy because of the elicited mood, structure, pitch and dynamics which doesn’t exist in the same combination as other types of music.

Music used in the Suggestion Therapy Session

There is no doubt that music of all types has the power to stimulate people’s imagination and memory in an extraordinary way. Just think of how the music of the film “Jaws” can strike terror in the audience’s imagination during the shark scenes. A sense of expectation and growing horror is built up as we listen out for those unmistakable sounds of the double basses. Now try to imagine these same scenes accompanied by an “oom cha cha” waltz rhythm played by a brass band with whistles, triangles, cymbals and a big bass drum. There would be much more of a carnival atmosphere and a totally different picture would come into your mind. Maybe the shark has turned into a playful dolphin about to balance a ball on the end of his nose –everyone is about to have a party! The sense of dreadful anticipation has now been completely reversed simply by the sound track. This is the power that music possesses to enhance our imaginations and stir our emotions.

Music also stimulates the memory in a unique way. We associate particular pieces or songs with an event or person in our lives. In this way, for instance, long term memory can be improved in elderly people where the short term memory has perhaps deteriorated. Someone who finds it difficult to recall what they have just eaten for lunch will remember every single word of a complicated song learnt long ago as well as the details of the circumstances and people involved at the time. Everyone will have some piece of music or song with which they associate someone special or a happy or sad event in their lives.

So given that music has all these powerful qualities to stimulate memory, association and imagination, careful consideration has to be used in selecting sounds for a suggestion therapy session. The music will be fairly soft and neutral with repetitive motifs which are easy to listen to and non invasive. Original compositions or improvisations will very often be used with rather predictable melodies with no obvious association. Sometimes there may be a subliminal message which will reinforce the positive healing benefits and you will be informed about this in addition to the content of the message before the session begins.

In conclusion, the music used in the Suggestion Therapy Session will be of a nature which enhances the relaxing and deepening process of hypnosis.