Unlock Your Potential with Dynamic Emotional Therapy

My observations through traditional hypnotherapy with standardized templates and solely suggestions and imaginations have shown that I do not reach the root cause of the issues. Simplifying hypnosis methods into manuals has the advantage of making them more accessible and used. However, the downside is that the underlying principle of optimal responsiveness becomes diluted, resulting in techniques with moderate or negligible effects. For clients who are not severely traumatised, this may not be a major issue. But when aiming to help individuals with more severe attachment issues and low mental flexibility, a therapist needs to be attentive and flexible in mutual regulation for a more thorough attachment work. Without a dynamic process, only temporary symptom relief might be achieved, while the underlying problems persist.

Being a hypnotherapist is a process grounded in personal experience. The method largely involves shaping and processing unconscious material in the client to facilitate meaningful change. This includes learning strategies and interventions, as well as theoretical frameworks for the work. However, it also involves immersion, relaxation, daydreaming, and artistic training to develop sensitivity and listening skills. I listen to the client as they convey material to the hypnotherapist through their words, which is then processed to create positive change. It becomes a dance between the client and the therapist, and what I have discovered as a therapist is that it is between the words where sensitivity and creativity play a crucial role. Each session is unique and always exciting as no two are alike. Personal training and experience are prerequisites for translating knowledge into practical application in hypnotherapeutic work.

It is not about learning many different inductions and complex scripts to put people into trance. Practicing and becoming comfortable with basic hypnotherapy techniques is important. I increasingly use Dynamic Emotional Therapy in my sessions, which I find reaches the client on deeper levels by applying the attachment model. Here, the client gains insights into their upbringing, the patterns, and the shaping they have undergone, generation after generation. The results of the therapy are valuable and quick, often achieved in just 2-3 sessions.

I also use the dynamic and emotional induction described in the book, especially with clients who are rational and analytical. I can observe the client’s body language to gauge their receptiveness to internal work in their trance state, which may be expressed through various ideomotor signals such as nodding or finger movements, or even levitating arm movements. The elegance lies in the responsiveness, creating a dance between the client and the therapist. For clients who already show emotional reactions during the introductory phase, it is beneficial to start working from there directly, as they are already in the hypnotic state and no further induction is needed with ideomotor movements.

I strive for optimal responsiveness and dynamically tailor words and metaphors based on the client’s own language to reach even deeper levels in the client’s inner world, in harmony with their own representation system. My role as a therapist is not to give advice but rather to help the person find the skills they need to manage themselves and grow in a dynamic process. I view my therapeutic role as similar to a prompter behind the scenes in a play, inviting play and dance where the therapist’s ability to adapt to the client’s being on all levels, attuning to their emotional state and tension level, facilitates meetings on a non-verbal implicit level through hypnosis and dynamic methods, becoming an entry point to the past where the therapist gains access to the client’s inner stored library of emotions and thoughts in the hypnotic state. This can then guide and be guided in various directions, reminiscent of a parenting role meeting a young child, akin to a regulatory parenting creating a friendly bond. When therapy flows best, I have experienced with my clients a sense of being cradled in another person’s care without needing to communicate back, conveyed on a meta-level that we are together and you can feel safe, opening up to inner exploration and integration.

The goal is to promote a process where the client can take responsibility for their emotions and live in harmony with them. Honesty, openness, and presence are fundamental values in my therapeutic process. There is joy in these methods that I have experienced through personal practice. The potential lies in providing space for the creative and gestalt abilities in our right hemisphere. Hypnosis, with its ability to regulate relationships and use words and metaphors, is an outstanding tool in interpersonal work. This allows for change on many levels and creates a dynamic and unique process for each individual. D.E.T therapy opens doors to other possibilities for learning, restructuring, and change than traditional suggestion therapy, especially when the goal is deep and lasting change.

Jack’s emotional therapy, which he has further developed within hypnotherapy, has been invaluable tools for my personal development in this field. As Jack Johansen aptly puts it, we have only begun to scratch the surface of the fascinating world of hypnotherapy. The tools and insights I have gained through Jack’s emotional therapy have deepened my understanding and readiness to help my clients in a more effective and rewarding way. There is still much more to explore and discover in this field; it feels like learning is lifelong with new insights as no session is the same as the other. I am grateful and look forward to continuing this exciting and evolving journey with curiosity and openness alongside Jack and others who share our passion for hypnotherapy.

Mind Jonna is trained and certified in all of Jack Johansen’s programs and is thus affiliated with the international network National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH) at the Scandinavian Academy for Hypnotists and Hypnotherapists (SAHH). She is committed to adhering to the ethical guidelines established in the statutes.