Hypnotherapy and the Core Conditions
In a recent article I wrote about integrative hypnotherapy and how this is an overarching approach to the work that I do. I would like today to make this a bit more specific, in addition to being brief solution orientated (which basically means my therapy tends to be conducted in a brief rather than long term manner and I tend to focus primarily on solutions rather than problems), I also consider myself humanistic. What I mean by humanistic is that I endeavour in my therapy to look at the whole person rather than simply symptoms.
One of the key people to promote this type of therapy was Carl Rogers, the founder of person centred therapy. Rogers came up with what we call the core conditions. These are conditions that are necessary for therapy to take place in an effective way. They are unconditional positive regard, empathy and congruence. The first of these is fairly self explanatory, as a therapist I have unconditional positive regard for my clients. This does not mean I agree with them all or even like them, but I acknowledge that they are doing their best at this moment and time and I will help them on that basis. The second is empathy. It should be note that empathy is not the same as sympathy in any way sympathy tends to be dis-empowering for the person receiving it whilst empathy is my attempt to “walk a mile in their moccasins” as it were. It’s about trying to understand where a person is coming from. Finally congruence, this simply put is about being real. Being real sometimes causes a little friction between me and my client, but in the end that friction can light the fire which effects change.
