Family therapist: how hypnosis can make your practice even better

Starting a family is so much fun. You have your partner, your child(ren), maybe a sweet pet, and everything seems perfect. But then, sometimes, things come to a head, and for a moment, you’re not sure how to move forward together. In cases like these, a family therapist can help get things back on track.

Family therapy techniques.

Not every family is the same, but problems can be similar. There are a variety of techniques for families that a family therapist can use.

For example, if your child is going through puberty, this can sometimes be incredibly confusing for the parents and even for the child themselves. That's when you can get Functional Family Therapy. This helps to gain insight into the thoughts that precede problematic behavior in the adolescent. Therefore, the intervention focuses on the thoughts that everyone in the family has and the behaviors they have as a result[1].

Parents, too, are then given a chance to reflect on their thoughts, their behavior, and how this affects their child.

Then you have structural family therapy, which focuses on how interactions within the family cause certain behaviors. The relational context in which something happens is then important. For example, if a father yells at the son, the therapist wants to know why this is happening[2].

There is also such a thing as brief solution-focused family therapy. In this case, collaborative language is important and giving meaning to certain things you want to work toward as a family. Co-creation, changing meanings or creating meanings is important.

In addition, clients are also asked to visualize some sort of ideal image of the future. This is then based on past successes, their strengths and the tools they have in their daily lives [3].

Hypnosis and family therapy

In all of these techniques, hypnosis can play a role in making it easier for people to imagine getting out of trouble. Gaining insight into thoughts, for example, is something that can be done in combination with hypnosis and with cognitive behavioral therapy. This is also done for other problems, such as when someone suffers from depression and then goes to a hypnotherapist[4].

In a relational context, you can also use the social panorama or family constellation. If you find that something is too close to you—preventing you from letting go of control—or too far away—causing you to show little interest—this technique can go a long way toward changing your mindset about certain family members.

Visualizing and giving meaning to certain things is also something hypnosis can help with. Through specific hypnotic suggestions, hypnotherapy can help you, for example, begin visualizing your ideal image and even learn how to use that ideal image.

What is also nice to know is that founders of today's hypnotherapy, such as Milton H. Erickson, also had a lot of influence on family therapy[5].

Individual hypnosis for the family therapist

In family therapy, individual attention is also important from the outset. This is because, in hypnosis, it’s crucial to feel a connection with the person you’ll be treating. The same applies to family therapy with hypnosis. It’s also important not to be seen as some kind of authoritarian figure by the family. Otherwise, the only thing you’ll have accomplished is creating a common enemy for them.

What can happen is that you go around the group to briefly clarify the ritual, behavior, thoughts, and patterns for each person. In other words, the story they’ve told themselves about the problem or about the situation when the problem arises. This can foster mutual understanding. And this can be done under hypnosis, so that people don’t feel inhibited from expressing themselves. In addition, you can ask follow-up questions about the potential advantages and disadvantages of the problem in order to resolve it. Paradoxically, this can actually help move toward a solution more quickly[6].

In addition, reframing problems can also be beneficial in helping family members look at the problem or a family member differently than before[7].

Acceptance is also important. For example, many people find it difficult to accept that they cannot change someone else, but only themselves. The other person they want them to adapt to can only do so themselves and will do so at their own pace and with the insights they have themselves. Often you are also not ready for certain information until you are really ready yourself. Good advice then arrives only when you are ready to hear that advice.

In addition, it is important to accept the emotions and consequences of those emotions in order to move forward together.

Accepting this is also something a family therapist helps with (source 7).

Another technique that’s always fun to use is the paradox. For example, you can have people imagine what it would be like to try as hard as possible to make the problem even worse. Or, if you suffer from a fear of failure, for instance, to do your best to fail as spectacularly as possible.

This can make the problem very lighthearted, allowing you to look at it with less tension. That more relaxed state can allow you to think more freely into the solutions that are out there.

Something else that can be done is an exercise where you allow other processes in your brain to function. For example, instead of language, you can think of the problem as arithmetic. This also allows you to look at the problem a little more rationally.

It’s no one’s fault. When you have an argument or disagreement with someone, people often find it comforting to be able to say that it’s someone else’s fault. But pointing the finger at someone doesn’t solve anything. That’s why it’s important to first make it clear that the current situation is simply acceptable, so that you can then work toward a solution. That solution isn’t something just one family member has to work on—the entire family has to do it (source 7).

Group hypnosis for the family therapist

A family is a group and group hypnosis can therefore be a part of family therapy.

One of the main benefits that group hypnosis can give to a family is that they then have a shared positive experience[8]. A guided visualization for the whole family can provide a sense of belonging.

This can create a sense of relaxation. This, in turn, can rebuild trust and help dissolve defensive mental states, which can make the rest of the therapy easier. With group hypnosis, you can create an atmosphere in which everyone wants to help find a solution.

In addition, the family also learns directly through this that it is indeed possible to experience good feelings with each other as a family. This increases the likelihood of good communication and good cooperation. It can even make them more sensitive to their own thoughts and feelings and those of their family members. They then pick up on them more quickly (source 8).

Hypnosis can be an incredibly useful addition for family therapists. You can use it to help families feel like they can function as a group, and in the process, many hypnosis techniques can be used to give people new insights.

You can use these techniques both in group sessions and at times when working individually with family members.

Would you like to learn more about hypnosis and whether it could be a valuable addition to your practice? Then join us for the free online masterclass on hypnosis.

Or sign up for one of the seminars and training courses offered by the Hypnosis Institute of the Netherlands. You’ll immediately learn techniques that can help people feel better.

The training is delivered both online and in class. You can specify in advance whether you want to take the online or classroom version of the training.

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