Regression Therapy in Hypnosis

It is common in hypnotherapy to have a client tell you that he or she just feels stuck. They explain that they are not motivated to do anything, they don't complete tasks, and they procrastinate all the time. When you ask what is causing this, they shrug and say they wish they knew. So, what does the hypnotherapist do?

A common approach is to get the client into a hypnotic state and then ask them if was there an event, events, or a person that is the root cause of this condition. This is often where Regression spontaneously kicks in. The client could respond that there was an event or a person that is at the root of the problem, and interestingly, most of the time, we find ourselves back to a childhood situation, before age six. Sometimes, we have the client report that the cause originated in what seems to be a past lifetime.

Going back to early childhood is known as Age Regression, and going back to what seems like a previous lifetime, is called Past Life Regression. Here is an example of each:

In hypnosis, it is disclosed that at age five, a teacher yelled at a client and said something that the little five-year-old interpreted as "I'm not good enough". When asked to look at that event now, as a mature adult, the client is asked to consider any possible alternative conclusions, such as "Teacher was having a bad day", Teacher was also angry at some of the other kids, "Teacher just had a fight with her husband", etc. The client is then asked if it is reasonable to embrace "I'm not good enough" when there are so many other possible interpretations. Usually, the client will conclude that "I'm not good enough" is not a reasonable interpretation and will agree to drop that idea. Interestingly, the subconscious is capable of immediately dropping the idea and all of the negative emotions associated with it, and the problem is resolved.

Dr. Brian Weiss, a well known Psychiatrist, wrote among others, the best sellers: "Many Lives, Many Masters;" "Through Time Into Healing" and "Same Soul, Many Bodies;" all of which chronicle case histories from his psychiatry practice in Miami, Florida. One that illustrates the idea of Past Life Regression is the case of a woman who was obese and could not reduce weight no matter what she tried. Under hypnosis, she disclosed, that in what seemed like a former life, she was very beautiful. She was captured in a war by enemy soldiers and was badly abused. In that life, she vowed that she would never be beautiful again, and so, in this life she ensured that she wasn't. Once she realized that the negative experience was in what seemed to be a past life and was of no relevance today, in her current life, the pounds began to melt away.

Both Age Regression and Past Life Regression have a prominent place in hypnotherapy, and in many instances, can resolve a troublesome condition in a matter of minutes, saving years of more conventional therapy.