Hypnosis for Children
Imagine if someone understood your needs and helped you already when you were a child.
I love working with children because they change so easily and because their whole life becomes more favorable, happier, and more successful.
And in this post, I will share with you some of my knowledge and experience of working with children.
Why children may need therapy?
Every child grows up under the influence of their environment and their parents in the first place. And every child forms certain beliefs and automatic behaviors in order to adapt to that environment.
Every parent knows that it is often not easy to understand the personal needs of the child and to behave or act adequately. Children themselves have neither a good understanding of their emotions and feelings nor the proper language to explain them. So, all kinds of misunderstandings and misinterpretations can happen.
Also, every parent even with the best intentions and knowledge can make mistakes in bringing up their own child. But those misunderstandings and errors can lead to child behavioral adaptations which may sooner or later cause problems.
Furthermore, we cannot prevent certain happenings in our lives that will definitely negatively influence the child like a divorce, illness or death of a close one, accidents, or something else. Unfortunately, child abuse happens too often too.
If any issues occur, it is important to work with children as early as possible.
Does hypnosis work on children?
Children are amazing hypnotic subjects and there are a couple of reasons for that.
Their rational mind is less critical and less dominant than the mind of adults. And thus it is far more open to new, positive suggestions.
At the same time, children possess a rich and vivid imagination which is one of the main healing aspects of hypnotherapy.
One more reason why hypnotherapy works especially effectively for children is the incredible ability of a child’s brain to change (neural plasticity). You are probably aware that children learn fast and develop skills effortlessly, like learning languages and others. This same ability makes it possible for a child to change and heal fast when applying hypnotherapy.
How do you hypnotize a child?
Hypnosis is a resourceful and suggestible state of mind used by a hypnotist for therapeutic purposes. A hypnotist directs the process while the client creates a hypnotic state of mind.
When working with adults, a hypnotist needs to disarm their rational mind in order to engage the powers of their unconscious mind. And it is very helpful also to use their power of imagination.
Since children a far less critical and have a limitless imagination, it is often sufficient to simply begin by saying: “Let’s pretend…” or “Once upon a time…” – that simple and easy!
“Mammy, daddy, I have belly ouch”
When my daughter started going to school she often had stomachaches at night. It became a routine to prepare a hot water bottle for her.
When I learned hypnotherapy I learned also a significant amount of psychology in order to understand and deal with clients accordingly. This included child psychology. So, I learned that regular stomachaches are an expression of tension in children.
The feedback from the teachers was confirming this. They had told me that my daughter was anxious about doing everything correctly but doubted herself.
When I realized this I changed our approach. One evening, my daughter said again that she has a belly-ouch.
When she was in bed I asked her to imagine a beautiful walk so that she could calm down. And when she was calm I asked her to imagine that her belly was warm and relaxed, and also that it was full of smileys. That was absolutely easy for her to imagine all the colorful, soft, happy, and friendly smileys inside.
And after this evening she has never again complained about the belly-ouch. Simple, fast, and easy!
What issues can be treated
Hypnotherapy can help children with such issues like
- anxiety, including test anxiety
- fears, phobias
- depression
- eating disorders and more
Testimonials from Parents
We contacted Olga as our son Tim (11) was facing problems as:
- Afraid about noise, especially loud motorbikes/traffic situation
- Afraid to master new situations
- Lack of self-confidence
After informing her about the above issues, Olga invited Tim to a 1-hour therapy appointment.
He was a bit excited about this appointment. When they were ready, Tim was very calm and in balance.Olga recommended, to listen frequently to her records. Tim listened to her records daily. Furthermore, Olga coached Tim every 2 weeks, this was helpful as well.
After 4 weeks we recognized Tim’s behavior changed. What changed after the therapy?
- Tim is not afraid of motorbikes anymore; he is now relaxed in the traffic situation
- He is mastering new situations; he changed schools recently and is open-minded
It was amazing, how Tim changed his behavior within a few weeks. This method works and helps to change behavior.
Renate, Netherlands
Before we turned to Olga, my daughter (15 years old) had orthorexia – a clinical picture that not even all doctors recognize. The food has been carefully sorted into healthy and unhealthy. Meat, fish, and eggs disappeared from the menu for ethical reasons. White flour and sugar are taboo. Out of respect for nature and the environment, she stopped eating food that was transported by air…
Of course, weight loss, abdominal pain, and depressive state followed. Due to the bad mood, the appetite for “healthy” food worsened and my daughter continued to decline – a vicious circle.
After Rapid Transformational Therapy, the mood slowly returned and the certainty that one could integrate the love of the environment and health into everyday life. With increased self-confidence, the appetite got better and better and soon she was back to her normal weight.
I am very impressed with how fast and effective the therapy is and I can only recommend it! Many thanks to Olga!
Dina, Germany
Hypnosis for Children Q&A
Is it safe to hypnotize a child?
Hypnotherapy is completely safe.
While hypnosis cannot make your child do anything against their will, hypnotherapy is an effective option to get to the root cause of a problem a child might have and resolve it.
The hypnotherapist acts solely in the interests of the child.
Is there an age limit for hypnosis?
Hypnotherapy uses language for the change work. So, it is important that the language skills of the child are already developed. Whereby a hypnotherapist adjusts his/ her own language to the language and understanding level of the child. Generally, hypnotherapy is suitable for children from the age of 5.
Is hypnosis good for childhood trauma?
Hypnotherapy is particularly useful in helping survivors to restructure their actual memories of trauma or abuse as well as to give them a greater sense of control, and in addressing painful feelings such as self-blame.
Can hypnotherapy change a child’s personality?
Hypnotherapy changes beliefs and automatic behaviors when you choose to, but it cannot change who you are. Because hypnosis works with your mind – your thoughts, feelings, and emotions – it can only help you to change those and to bring up the best of your personality.
Conclusions
- Hypnotherapy works amazingly on children because they are less rational than adults, but have almost limitless imagination and easily changing and adapting brains.
- When having issues, children can profit greatly from hypnotherapy. Their whole life will be happier and more successful if their issues get solved early in their life.
References
- Klemfuss JZ, Olaguez AP. Individual Differences in Children’s Suggestibility: An Updated Review. J Child Sex Abus. 2020 Feb-Mar;29(2):158-182. doi: 10.1080/10538712.2018.1508108. Epub 2018 Aug 24. PMID: 30142291.
- Rapoport, J., Gogtay, N. Brain Neuroplasticity in Healthy, Hyperactive and Psychotic Children: Insights from Neuroimaging. Neuropsychopharmacol 33, 181–197 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.npp.1301553
