Children and Hypnotherapy
by Kimmie Rose Zapf
Children Are Often The Best Subjects For Hypnotherapy. Why is this? The answer is that children
spend a vast majority of time in a state that is similiar to the hypnotic state. Up and till the age of
about 8 it has been shown that children spend 82% of thier time generating alpha brain waves. There
a 4 groups of brainwaves which can be used to describe the level of neural activity, Beta, Alpha, Theta
and Delta. Beta is full conscious awarness and at the other end is Delta which is when we are in the
deepest part of our sleep cycle.
Alpha brain waves are like those we experience when we daydream. A good example is when we are
driving somewhere and pass where we are going without even realizing it. It is during these periods
that we are open to absorb more information.
Children can pick up new words and phrases instantly. (have you ever said a bad word and heard a
child repeat it a few days later ). Children learn a whole new language from scratch with seeming ease
compared to adults who can struggle for years to grasp a "foreign" language.
Children can benefit from hypnotherapy in so many different ways The research and clinical literature
on hypnosis with children suggests that they are good hypnotic subjects and typically more easily
hypnotizable than an adult. Children generally have very active imaginations, which will enable easy
access to the imagination, making change work possible. Hypnotherapists often use the phrase, "If in
your mind you can imagine it, you can make it happen!"
Using Imagination:
Children usually have heroes whether it be Buffy the Vampire slayer, Buzz light year, their own teddy
or a parental figure they admire, and their super heroes can be enlisted to help them to deal with a
particular situation. A child may not know how to cope with being picked on at school but they may
know how Buffy would deal with it. Teddy might be able to wake them up to go to the toilet in the
night, and superman can be a secret invisible friend when they start a new school. Children are very
good at finding their own solutions, they just need to be given ideas or thoughts to guide them on
the right path. Another problem suffered by children, and allergic reactions are often associated with
stress. There can be a whole host of stressful events in a child's life such as relations with siblings,
school, dependency on a parent, fear of interaction with peer groups, and aggression towards one or
both parents sometimes arising from a past
traumatic event.
Another way I have seen hypnosis help children is fear of a dentist. A professional hypnotherapist is
able to use post hypnotic suggestions with the child before the visit to the dentist. In extreme cases
the therapist can accompany the child to the dentist, and
immediately bring about a deep hypnotic trace state by a simple cued induction. These are just a few
ways hypnosis can help children. Below are a few more that are listed.
Hypnotherapy can help to eliminate habits such as:
o Bed-wetting
o Nail biting
o Hair-pulling (trichotillomania)
o Depression
o ADD
o ADHD
o Stuttering
o Anger
o Thumb sucking
o Sleep-walking
o Phobias
o Fears
o Asthma
o Dyslexia
o Swearing
o Pain management
o Tourette's Disorder
o Childhood insomnia
o Weight management
o Obsessive compulsive behaviors
Hypnotherapy can benefit children by making improvements in areas such as:
o Sleep disorders
o Social skills
o Sports
o Learning
o Self-esteem
o Confidence
o Memory
o Test anxiety
Many people seek help through hypnosis to understand memories in childhood. It is amazing how
much damage can be done by a well-meaning, but misunderstood remark especially when it comes
from a trusted source, like a parent or a teacher. Children all have individual personalities, just as
adults do. They each respond to comments by authority figures in their own way. For instance, a
parent might see a poor report card and try to use reverse psychology to motivate the child. The
parent might say something like: "I can't believe any kid of mine is this dumb." If the child has enough
self-confidence, it might cause him to try harder; but if the child has low self esteem, a statement like
that could make him believe that he really is dumb, or worse, their parent does not love them.
Hypnotherapy is about empowering the child to help themselves, so that they can deal effectively not
only with the present but also with any problems in the future.
Teenagers can also benefit from hypnotherapy. It can be effective in improving concentration,
memory and learning ability. Hypnotherapy is a wonderful tool for redirecting energy and negativity.
It can also be helpful in dealing with behavior problems such as peer pressure, anger and drug
addiction. With teenagers, however, motivation plays a much larger roll. It is important that they
decide that they want to make the changes.
Hypnotherapy can help children to understand what was really meant, and prevent the
misunderstanding from becoming an emotional scar that would limit their personal growth or
performance throughout their life.
Hypnosis is a wonderful tool to help children transform their lives. It can also help adults transform
negative past childhood memories and create more positive patterns in their adult lives.
BIO: Kimmie Rose Zapf is an internationally renowned intuitive, medium, author, speaker and radio
host. She is a regular guest on several radio stations across the country and is the host of her own
radio program, "InnerViews with Kimmie & Steve" heard worldwide on www.psychiconair.com and
available through 120 CBS radio markets around the country. Kimmie is also the author of several
books including her most recent book, Wake Up Your Intuition: A Clairvoyant Reveals The Psychic
Process. For more information on Kimmie Rose Zapf, please visit her website at www.kimmierose.com.