This was a question that I was asked on Quora, and this is how I answered it:
Anyone who says that hypnotism can fix a person with schizophrenia needs their certification revoked! Schizophrenics experience psychotic events that bring them into their minds in very different ways than those who do not experience these phenomena.
Hypnotism relies on one being able to fully attend to what is being said and interacting accordingly. This would be very difficult for most schizophrenics to accomplish.
I have worked with one schizophrenic using hypnotism but I was not working on ‘fixing’ his schizophrenia. Rather, I was working with him regarding his use of marijuana, something that his parents with whom he was living at the time wanted him to stop using.
However, what I found was that in his case the use of marijuana was helping him to focus on his $40,000 a year job which he had for the last year or so, being able to successfully take online college courses, and kept him working out at the gym on a regular basis.
In his case, his schizophrenia was not harming his capacity to live a fairly normal life given that he was able to calm himself with the marijuana by his own admission.
Now, the only reason that I even took on that case was because I have worked in mental health with adults with schizophrenia some with other mental illnesses added to it such as one of my first clients back in 1994 who was diagnosed correctly as best I could tell with paranoid psycho-affective disorder. In my work with him as his one-on-one counselor at the supported housing program in which he lived and I was employed, I learned a lot about how to best help people like him thanks to his psychologist with whom I worked closely to finally be able to help this client exit a program that was a terrible fit for him given the lack of structure which this particular client needed to function. I found out about 17 years after I stopped working at that program that this same client had moved into an apartment on his own with a roommate and was doing very well in life which of course made the hell I went through with my then program director well worth the hassle to get this client out of that program and into a much more structured program that was able to give him the structure he needed to finally move out on his own.
This is how one learns what can and cannot be accomplished with various types of clients. This client is still dealing with his psych issues but is living a fairly normal life which is the best news I heard in a long time from the person that was one of his apartment mates while I worked at that program all those years ago.
We do need to be realistic with what we can and cannot do with the tools and techniques we have along with our understanding of the mental health and physical health issues that people are dealing with. Luckily in my case, I have worked both in allopathic mental health and have taken courses in nursing and went as far as the first nursing rotation before dropping out of nursing. I have been a CNA at a previous time in my life as well so have been exposed to the physical ailments that people, especially elders are dealing with. So, I am not the garden variety hypnotist and neuro-linguistic practitioner, bringing decades of practical experience with me into the work I do with my clients with a basis in psychology, psychiatry, anatomy and physiology, and basic nursing knowledge and skills.
I never oversell what I can do for anyone. I have been known to refer potential clients to others because I would not be able to help them in the way in which that prospect would have wanted. Reality checks are a real thing, and unfortunately, too many people in the world of hypnotism and other alternative methods of healing are unwilling to do the right thing by their prospects in being realistic in regards to how far we can go in helping them. That is not something I am happy about, but it is a truth that needs to be spoken.
Thank you for this question as it is an important one and one that the public has a right to understand in terms of how far we can actually help those with psychotic features.
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About Suzanne
Suzanne Kellner-Zinck founded Dawning Visions Hypnosis in 2002, She has become an innovator in the use of hypnotism and neuro-linguistic programming in the areas of obsessive compulsive disorders such as: eating disorders, sexual addiction and substance abuse as well as working with those with anxiety and mood disorders.
Her clients have come to work with her from across the United States and as far away as Africa to help them to finally be freed from these emotional issues that once ruled their lives. Today she is in the process of bringing her work to many more in the form of ebooks and other downloadable formats.
She is a member of American Holistic Medical Association and the American College for Advancement in Medicine.
Prior to founding Dawning Visions Hypnosis, Kellner-Zinck worked within vendor programs for the mentally ill working to help them to live up to their fullest potential. Many of her previous clients were able to move out on their own and find fulfilling work.
Kellner-Zinck is a Certified Trainer of Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic programing through Tad James Company, Inc. and a Master Hypnotist and Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming through Advanced Neuro Dynamics. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education and political studies from Curry College.
Dawning Visions Hypnosis is teaching people that they can indeed leave their unwanted behaviors behind as they move forward to living fulfilling and joy filled lives.