From Jogging Memory to Solving Crimes: Forensic Hypnosis - How Investigative Hypnosis Can Work for the Average Person

It may all sound mysterious or the stuff that crime dramas are made of, but forensic or investigative hypnosis is just a formal way of describing how hypnosis is used to bring suppressed memories or subconscious thoughts to the forefront. It has, in fact been used to solve crimes much like a composite sketch could be used to visualize a suspect. But there are other everyday ways in which hypnosis can be used to recreate a distant memory or connect the dots of a vague picture captured only by the subconscious mind.

The mind absorbs much more of what goes on around you than the brain actually registers at the moment. There are millions of signals or messages that enter the brain, even though we don’t always focus on them. Sometimes that which happens, but that we don’t recognize or focus on can help to solve everyday problems and not just crimes.

Whether used in recognizing the unrealized image of a get-away car or the reasons behind a compulsive behavior, hypnosis works the same. It is all about reaching a complete state of relaxation and then using that relaxed time to tap into the subconscious memory. It is at this time of total relaxation that everyday problems, stresses, or even the good demands on your thoughts and time are pushed aside so that other thoughts can take center stage.

Here is short list of problems related to suppressed memories which can be helped by hypnosis:

- Fear of Dogs
- Binge Drinking
- Migraine Headaches
- Fear of Intimacy
- Anorexia or Bulimia
- Low Self-Esteem
- Compulsive Lying
- Night Terrors
- Grief

Most phobias, fears, socially unacceptable behaviors, and even physical conditions without an apparent medical cause can be traced back to a trauma or event that in some way impacted a person. For example a fear of intimacy could be traced to being abandoned either physically or emotionally by a parent or a symptom of unrecognized sexual abuse. Until the event is remembered for what it really was, it cannot be properly dealt with. That is where investigative or forensic hypnosis can help.

In the beginning stages of hypnosis, you are directed by the hypnotherapist to imagine a serene situation. This is coupled with imagery that further relaxes and deepens the effect of the hypnosis. At this point, a script that would direct you to recall situations that could have happened in the past and be leading you toward a specific behavior would be introduced. This, which is the heart of the hypnosis session, can reveal memories and details never fully recognized or long forgotten. It is also the beginning to using these memories to move forward and make changes.

Steve G. Jones, Clinical Hypnotherapist
http://www.betterlivingwithhypnosis.com/