Scribd
Upload
22 views7 pages

Behaviour Modification

behavior modification

Uploaded by

Vidhi Dwivedi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
22 views7 pages

Behaviour Modification

behavior modification

Uploaded by

Vidhi Dwivedi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 7

What is behavioural hypnotherapy?

Behavioural hypnotherapy is the application of hypnotherapy to modify


unhelpful behaviours and problematic habits. The main goal of behavioural
hypnotherapy is to create and reinforce more helpful, desirable behaviours,
whilst removing the unwanted ones.

Behavioural hypnotherapy utilises the long-standing principles of behavioural


psychology and behaviourism, which suggest that we learn from our
environment and also, that our actions (behaviours) can be adapted to create
new ways of responding. Behavioural therapy appeared during the early
20th century and has been an integral therapeutic approach for many talking
therapists and hypnotherapists ever since.

In simple terms, unhelpful behaviours are ‘learned responses’ that used to be


beneficial to the client in some way. Over time, that response has become less
beneficial, or even problematic. Learning a new response behaviour can fix the
problem, often a lot faster than working on the beliefs relating to the problem,
and especially faster than taking a more analytical approach to gain insight
about the problem.

Many hypnotherapists, rely on cognitive approaches, as well as analytical,


insight-generation techniques and subconscious change work. However, many
problems and goals can be more quickly and easily addressed by having the
client take immediate action. This is where behavioural hypnotherapy is the
perfect tool. In many client cases, the ‘behaviour’ is the problem. The
behavioural hypnotherapist will direct the client to a new, healthier way of
responding, developing new and helpful behaviours, in order to reduce or
eliminate the issue.
Behavioural hypnotherapy techniques
Behavioural hypnotherapy draws from a range of behavioural psychotherapy
modalities. The choice of approach will depend on the condition that the client
requires help with, as well as how ‘severe’ or deep-seated the issue is. The
majority of approaches that the behavioural hypnotherapist will use fall into two
categories. Those categories relate to the two key types of behavioural
conditioning, ‘classical conditioning’ and ‘operant conditioning’.

Classical conditioning in hypnotherapy

To use classical conditioning, the hypnotherapist creates an association between


a behaviour and a ‘stimulus’. The stimulus will usually be something that
creates a behavioural, cognitive or emotional response in the client. For
example, linking the behaviour of beginning to light a cigarette with the
response of feeling nauseous and disposing of the cigarette before it is even lit.
After this stimulus and response is created and repeated, a ‘conditioned
response’ is created. This association between the stimulus and the response
will then naturally occur, outside of the hypnotherapy session. In fact, as well as
working fantastically with humans, it’s also a great way to train animals too – it
was discovered by Russian psychologist, Ivan Pavlov, who taught dogs that they
would get fed when he rang a bell. After a while, even just the bell sound would
start the dogs salivating!

Classical conditioning is a tried-and-tested way to change the behaviour of


therapy clients. There are many therapeutic approaches that rely on classical
conditioning, such as:
 Aversion therapy: The hypnotherapist creates a state of ‘aversion’
(disgust) in the client, and pairs the negative state to the unwanted
behaviour. So, with the cigarette example above, the hypnotherapist
might have the client imagine smoking a cigarette, and to experience a
foul taste and smell at the same time. Aversion therapy is widely used
outside of hypnosis, for example, giving an alcohol abuser a drug that
interacts with alcohol in such a way that it causes vomiting and other
unpleasant symptoms. Installing a conditioned aversion response with
hypnotherapy is often a lot safer, physiologically, for the client.
 Flooding: Commonly used out of hypnosis to help with fears and phobias,
the flooding process requires that a client is exposed to an intense fear-
provoking situation/object, and is prevented from stopping or avoiding the
situation. There are few hypnotherapy techniques that incorporate
flooding, as it can be very disturbing for clients, especially those without
sufficient ego strength and internal resources to deal with the flooding
process. However, flooding can be more commonly used as a ‘homework
task’ for clients, where clients opt to experience the previous fear trigger
after having set the client up to be able to cope in that situation with
other hypnotherapy approaches, such as the following:
 Systematic desensitisation: Gradual and systematic desensitisation is
a fantastic way for hypnotherapy clients to learn to accept and tolerate
anxiety provoking situations/stimuli. With hypno-desensitisation, a client is
taken into a deep state of relaxation, and then concentrates on imaginary
scenes relating to their anxiety, starting with the least bothersome, and
gradually progressing to the more anxiety invoking scenes that relate to
their issue.
Operant conditioning in hypnotherapy

Operant conditioning is, quite simply, about reward and punishment. When
positive reinforcement is given after a client behaves in a certain way, they are
more likely to replicate that (wanted) behaviour. Conversely, when a client is
‘punished’ for repeating an unwanted behaviour, this negative reinforcement
creates a conditioned response that makes the client less willing to repeat the
troublesome behaviour again in the future.

In hypnosis, the behavioural hypnotherapist will have the client imagine


scenarios relating to their issue, and will incorporate either a punishment or a
reward element into the process. For example, with a weight loss client, the
hypnotherapist may have the client imagine binge eating an unhelpful food, and
then afterwards, imagine feeling physically ill (classical conditioning: aversion),
whilst also reprimanding themselves and experiencing remorse for their actions
(punishment). With that same client, the hypnotherapist might take the client
through some future pacing scenarios where they performed positive
behaviours, and then have them imagine standing in front of a mirror in order to
notice their successful weight loss. The hypnotherapist would then give the
client a great deal of praise for this future success, creating a tangible link
between their success and an emotional reward (praise).

The hypnotherapy ‘contract for action’ is another fantastically useful operant


conditioning tool, whereby the therapist and client enter into a formal contract
that outlines the intended goals, as well as showing potentially rewards for
success and consequences for failure to adhere to the contract for action. This is
something a therapist may both give to the client as ‘homework’, but also to use
and reinforce within the hypnotherapy session itself.
What behavioural therapy can help with
Behavioural hypnotherapy is widely used to treat a number of conditions and
issues, such as:

 Addictions
 Anger management
 Anxiety
 Assertiveness
 Bruxism
 Childhood anxiety disorders
 Confidence
 Depression
 Headaches and migraines
 IBS
 Insomnia
 Memory enhancement
 Nail biting
 Pain management
 Panic attacks/disorder
 Performance anxiety
 Phobias
 Pregnancy
 Psychosexual disorders
 Skin conditions
 Smoking cessation
 Snoring
 Sport hypnosis
 Stress management
 Trauma and PTSD
 Weight management
With some conditions/issues, a behavioural approach will be the main type of
therapy used by the hypnotherapist. With other conditions, the use of
behavioural hypnotherapy can be supported by cognitive, analytical and
regression approaches, and working holistically with a range of therapy
modalities.

Potential limitations of behavioural


hypnotherapy
As mentioned above, behavioural hypnotherapy has a multitude of advantages,
and is a highly effective therapy tool. However, there can be disadvantages too.
These usually occur when a hypnotherapist is using behavioural approaches as
a ‘standalone’ approach, where in some cases, it may not provide a full
resolution.

A key disadvantage with behavioural approaches is that they may not factor in
any underlying influences that are contributing to an issue. Some clients can
have secondary gains, unhelpful beliefs or other ‘non-behavioural’ reasons for
maintaining an unhelpful habit. As such, a broader approach can sometimes be
required. Behavioural hypnotherapy alone may also not take the ‘full picture’
into account. So, it may give a client some behavioural strategies to put into
place, but it may not deal with how situations and interpersonal relationships
might also be contributing to an issue.

As a rule, a professional hypnotherapist will get a good grounding in the four key
therapy modalities (behavioural, cognitive, analytical and regression), in order
that they can work effectively with any client and condition.

You might also like