Kids in Hypnosis Part 2, A Systemic Hypnotic Approach – Kids and Families

“Kids in Hypnosis Part 2 A Systemic Hypnotic Approach – Kids and Families”

by Kelley Woods, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist

Children rarely find themselves in trouble all on their own – a complex structure of environment, characters and events all come into play to create problems such as anxiety, unwanted habits, over-eating, etc.
For this reason, it is often ideal and even necessary to include family members and/or caregivers as part of hypnotic interventions. In order to sustain new, desired outcomes for the child, it is important to make sure that those parties are on board and cooperating.

Children are great modelers, in fact, during the first decade of life, kids are deeply imprinted by the people around them, unconsciously taking on many of the traits and attitudes of those people. Examples of this come into play when working with a child’s eating habits or in a case where parents also suffer from anxiety, headaches or fears.

Helping a child get past a problem involves empowering them to take control and responsibility – it’s important to let parents know that the child can be autonomous in this because well-meaning parents can unintentionally interfere with the process. Overly attentive or concerned parents may even end up exacerbating a problem by drawing the child’s attention to it or by inadvertently supporting the problem with all of that attention.

If a child feels that a parent is angry, or worse, rejecting the child, it is difficult to move forward. Engaging a parent in part of the hypnotic process can reassure a child on a deep level and help heal perceptions and past negative interactions. Guilt, shame and low self-worth can all be successfully addressed with hypnosis.

Parents can learn how to use language, verbal and body, to support their child in new ways to reinforce work done in hypnosis. Many parents are interested and excited to learn more about not only how to help their child, but how to improve their own life experiences through mind-body modalities.

Children rarely learn in school about ways to improve their EQ (Emotional Quotient) and a qualified hypnotist can assist them to develop mastery of the way that they think, feel and behave. Families also benefit from the experience and together can heal and move forward as a happier and healthier unit.