Final Countdown

© Helen Lesser 2014

I am often asked why I favour a ‘countdown’ at the end of the session to terminate the hypnotic state, rather than allowing the patient to gradually reawaken in their own time.

Many hypnotherapy texts  suggest ending the treatment by telling the patient to “come back to the here and now” or “gradually reawaken” in their own time.  The theory behind this is that, particularly at their first experience of hypnosis, the patient can then know that they are the ones in control, rather than the therapist and they will therefore feel happier about returning to begin actual treatment.

My personal opinion is that, while there is nothing wrong with allowing the patient to reawaken in their own time, there are several reasons why providing a countdown is more beneficial.  The reasons, and the explanations behind them are given below:-