Almost the moment a therapist agrees to help clients with fears and phobias, it seems that a constant stream of clients come in for help. There are various methods that can be used. One popular technique is exposure therapy, where those with fears are taken through experiences wherein the fears they have are not realized. 
 
This example, featured on Psyche.com, describes how a group was treated for fear of flying with a success rate of 70%. The experience of exposure therapy allows clients to develop new neural pathways that do not associate a certain substance or experience with fear and anxiety. 
 
Exposure therapy works well, to be sure, but hypnosis and hypnotherapy are equally popular ways of treating fears and phobias, and for good reasons. When a client is in a hypnosis or hypnotherapy session, communication between the subconscious and conscious parts of the mind is facilitated. The subconscious mind, where the fearful memories are stored, can be brought forth where the issues can be processed by the conscious mind. 

 
There are two ways that clients can be treated in the hypnotic state. 

1. Hypnosis This technique enables the client to accept suggestions through unconscious awareness, and install a  “program” that would help alleviate fears or phobias when they arise. After this type of treatment, the conscious response would be guided by the new way of perceiving the situation.  
Clients can also be shown how to modulate their fear or anxiety, with physical gestures or verbal affirmations that bring them back to the memory of the session where the new behavior was installed. Hypnotic suggestions are effective, but they often need to be reinforced either through client practice, listening to recordings of the original hypnotic suggestions, or with additional sessions. 
 

2. Hypnotherapy While there are similarities between hypnotherapy and hypnosis, the two techniques differ widely. The identifying characteristic of hypnotherapy is age regression. Hypnotherapy works with fear and phobia by leading the client through a process that gets to the source of the issue(s).  
 
Age regression allows the client to notice current feelings, including fears and phobias, and connect them to past experiences where the same and similar feelings were present. They then express the emotions they felt at the time, allowing repressed memories to emerge and be processed, in many cases, for the first time.  
 
After the emotions are fully expressed, the client discovers what the experience made them believe about themselves, and how it influenced the way the client chose to behave. This process lets a client’s fear of heights, for instance, be traced back to a fall from a high chair, and a sense that the client was “always going to fall.” The behavior the client chose might have been to avoid being in high places, and to be fearful when encountering them. 
 
Once these insights are achieved, the therapist encourages the client to assert new beliefs and behaviors that are not based on that old experience. This, too, achieves the task of building new neural pathways. It is extremely powerful, because it identifies the source of the undesirable behavior and gives the client the power and the opportunity to change it, consciously. 
 
Once this portion of the session is complete, the therapist can add post-hypnotic suggestions, provide tools for modulating fears, and allow the client to work with the inner child. Hypnosis helps clients to see better ways of doing things, and hypnotherapy helps clients to understand why the fear or phobia developed, so they can differentiate between an old experience from current reality. 

These two powerful modalities can help your practice. If you’re a mental health or medical professional, you can qualify to participate in the Wellness Institute’s Six Day Hypnotherapy Training and Certification Program. Because Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy®, which is presented in this program, involves administering therapy to clients while they are in a hypnotic state, you must have certain credentials. Please contact our Operations Support Manager for more information. 
 
An added bonus is that Six Day Program participants will receive, once they complete the requirements, two certifications. In addition to Certified Hypnotherapist, Six Day graduates will receive the title of Certified Age Regression Therapist. These certifications will allow you to stand out from the rest of the field as you attract new clients to benefit from this new skill you have acquired. 
 
Anyone with an interest in learning hypnosis is eligible to take our 2-day Introduction to Hypnosis program. This program is especially beneficial to practitioners of all kinds who wish to help their clients to learn how to relax, perform better at work or school, ameliorate physical pain, or overcome an unwanted habit. If you qualify for the Six Day Program, but would like to try hypnosis before you delve into hypnotherapy, you’re welcome to attend the 2-day program. If you do choose to enroll in the Six Day program after that, you will receive a substantial discount. 
 
All classes are taught online, from the comfort of your home or office. Live teachers enable you to interact in real time and gain hands-on experience with the techniques. You will also get several chances to see what it’s like to be a client, which is a bonus our program participants deeply appreciate. 
 
Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy are increasing in popularity, and their effectiveness as ways to help clients heal fears and phobias is rarely questioned. Isn’t it time that you learn how to use these powerful techniques?