This was a question from a person on Quora and this is how I answered it.
Therapists all too often jump to conclusions where their patients are concerned in many ways and yes it can be harmful as I have had many clients come to me for healing work as. a direct result of their therapists saying and doing unprofessional and damaging things to them. I even had a client who saw a psychiatric social worker who asked the client if “she ever had suicidal thoughts” and my client said yes having experienced depression – though she was there for drug and alcohol issues.
Well, inside of 5 minutes of that appointment the social worker left the office and got the police to take the client to the hospital for a psych evaluation. She was stuck there till 1 AM and she had to be at work at 6 AM – so this client was a very unhappy person.
The problem here was that the client was NOT asked if she was experiencing suicidal thoughts at the time in which case if she was, getting. psychiatric evaluation would have been appropriate. She was asked if SHE EVER EXPERIENCED SUICIDAL THOUGHTs which are two very distinct questions and needed to be handled differently.
The next day the client was on the internet and saw that I do hypnotism and NLP and decided to give me a call to see if I would be able to help her. She basically begged me to take her on as a client knowing she needed the help and never trusting the conventionally trained mental health professionals again.
By the way, in this client’s case, she didn’t have depression per see, she had a genetic situation from both sides of her family that prevented her body from naturally making GABA for sleep, dopamine, and serotonin – so all the psych meds in the world and therapy would never help her to release the symptoms she was experiencing. Because like pain, depression is merely an indicator that there is something wrong – but till we get to the root cause we will never be able to help the client overcome the symptoms and move on with his or her life.
More often the issues that my clients have with their previous therapists have to do with telling the client what they think or feel – very invasive and inappropriate. One needs to confirm that what they are hearing the client say is what they mean so they are both on the same page.
But, most often the problem is that of going to therapy sometimes for decades as was the case with the client case above without ever getting a resolution – knowing why the problem is it is totally different than releasing it. So, many come to me to get into their subconscious mind to where the content is that needs to be transformed from self-harming to self-fulfilling. And, the great majority of conventionally trained mental health professionals have no idea of how to do this never having been trained in hypnotism and NLP and practicing with it enough to learn how to use it proficiently. I have had some clients come to me with therapists who tried to put them into a trance and do hypnotism but it failed because the therapist did not know which type of induction to use to get them into trance – different personalities need different types of inductions, nor what to do with the client once in trance if they got them into a trance. Like any profession, it takes years to learn how to do this work well – not just a weekend beginning training.
Many thanks for your question because too often the realities from the patient’s perspective is not taken seriously by those who have all those fancy degrees. To do this work well, we must listen to what the patient is saying, not saying, and between the lines of what they are saying AND ALWAYS MAKE SURE, WE UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF WHAT THEY ARE SAYING BY CHECKING IN TO FIND OUT IF WE GOT IT CORRECT.
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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.