Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 10, 1994 TAG: 9404060124
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY EDWARD IWATA ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
They're steamed at the old stereotype of the evil hypnotist swinging a pocket watch back and forth and murmuring, "You are getting sleepy, sleepy."
"Hypnosis has long been associated with the occult or stage entertainment," said Laurie Miller, a clinical hypnotherapist and president of Hypnosis Concepts in Irvine, Calif.
"I still have suspicious businessmen coming in and saying, `What are you going to do to me? You're not gonna make me bark like a dog?' " she said.
While the stereotype lingers, clinical hypnotherapy has gained a lot of respect in recent years, Miller said.
Millions of clients and patients seek treatment from hypnotherapists on everything from phobias to weight gain and smoking. Hypnotherapists also treat pain during childbirth, sexual dysfunction and many other ailments.
Many businesspeople see the benefits of a few hours spent in a deep, restful state.
Miller said her clients are troubled by burnout, lack of concentration, low productivity and many other business-related problems.
Miller tells the tale of a local banker. Although wealthy and highly respected in his field, he was terrified of public speaking. Making presentations at meetings gave him heart palpitations. Talking before large audiences kept him up all night in a pool of sweat.
"I helped him visualize himself speaking comfortably in front of large groups of people," Miller said. "I made him repeat the word `relax' in his subconscious mind."
Miller also taught the banker a relaxation technique in which he imagines himself pinching his tension between his fingers and making it vanish.
After a few one-hour sessions at $60 a crack, the banker gained confidence and became a fine public orator.
"Fear holds people back," Miller said. "Rather than push away those fears, I have people embrace it. They might visualize that fear as a big monster, but if they give it a hug in their mind - poof! - it disappears."
Another client of Miller's was a high-powered stockbroker. After many successful years, he suddenly found his motivation plummeting, and his anger and frustration rising.
During the first session, his jaw was clenched and deep lines creased his eyes and forehead.
Miller hypnotized him by having him lie on a reclining armchair, as she played gentle music and got him to breathe deeply and slowly.
As he floated in a semiconscious, highly suggestible state, Miller taught him how to quiet his anger and express himself in assertive but diplomatic ways at work.
"We can accomplish so much more when we relax," Miller said. "We tend to get so tensed up that it blocks our minds."
Hypnotherapy is not a crutch or the whole answer to problems; it is a tool to help people understand themselves.
"It's a springboard for people to help discover their own personal powers," Miller said.
by CNB