The Cognitive Hypnotherapy Review http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/ The Home of Cognitive Hypnotherapy en Serendipity 1.1 - http://www.s9y.org/ Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:31:58 GMT http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/images/qi_logo144.jpgThe Quest Institute 721264http://www.feedburner.com The Power of Appreciation http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/472622324/44-The-Power-of-Appreciation.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/44-The-Power-of-Appreciation.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=44 2 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=44 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester)
When we moved home 4 years ago we joined a gym in Newmarket. We like to train early and, every morning as regular as clockwork, one of the people through the door with us would be a man called Bill. He’s 76, and always buzzed with life and energy. To be honest he was an inspiration, because when I’m that age I hope to still be training as well as he was – and to look as fit.



Continue reading "The Power of Appreciation"
]]> Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:21:13 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/44-guid.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/44-The-Power-of-Appreciation.html Schrodinger's cat - an explanation for the pub http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/401677786/43-Schrodingers-cat-an-explanation-for-the-pub.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/43-Schrodingers-cat-an-explanation-for-the-pub.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=43 0 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=43 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester)
We thought it was too good to deprive the wider world of:


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]]> Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:04:16 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/43-guid.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/43-Schrodingers-cat-an-explanation-for-the-pub.html Einstein and my Nan http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/390612127/42-Einstein-and-my-Nan.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/42-Einstein-and-my-Nan.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=42 0 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=42 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester)
“Reality is the most persistent illusion.”

That’s been rattling round in my head ever since. Then, on Springwatch (I don’t watch that much TV really, honest) the host, Bill Oddie, said how many people who say they’ve seen a ghost when walking down a twilight country lane have actually seen a Barn Owl. By coincidence we saw a Barn Owl near our house a few days later, and his words came back to me. We did sight it in broad daylight, but still it seemed amazing that a Barn Owl could be construed as being anything else; particularly something as unlikely as a ghost.

My Nan went to her grave swearing she’d seen a ghost, down a country lane, funnily enough. Did she really see a Barn Owl? I’d say ‘probably’ because I’ll take something that exists over something we haven’t proven exists most times, but that wouldn’t matter to my Nan. Her reality that ghosts exist remained a persistent belief, steadfast in the face of my scepticism.

Now, I fully accept I could be wrong, and my belief that ghosts don’t exist is actually the illusion here, but I’d like to leave that argument for another day. What I’m more interested in is the Barn Owl effect on our daily lives.
Continue reading "Einstein and my Nan"
]]> Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:14:36 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/42-guid.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/42-Einstein-and-my-Nan.html Remembering a quiet life http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/314637492/41-Remembering-a-quiet-life.html Articles http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/41-Remembering-a-quiet-life.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=41 4 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=41 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester)
It was my Uncle Bill‘s funeral yesterday and I know this steps outside the bounds of my usual postings but I felt I wanted to share something, and hopefully why will become clearer to me as I write.

Uncle Bill was a wonderfully warm part of my childhood. He was always looking for the humour in situations and seemed, I don’t know.. ‘light’ about things, nothing mattered to much; so different to most other adults I knew. Like my Grandfather he was an encouraging influence on me, and, although a small man, he always filled a room with the joy he took from life. If you’re British and I say the person he most reminds me of is Del Trotter from Only Fools and Horses, you’ll know what I mean.

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]]> Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:57:47 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/41-guid.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/41-Remembering-a-quiet-life.html Trevor Speaking on Radio 4 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/314551408/40-Trevor-Speaking-on-Radio-4.html Podcasts http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/40-Trevor-Speaking-on-Radio-4.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=40 0 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=40 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester) ]]> Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:05:07 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/40-guid.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/40-Trevor-Speaking-on-Radio-4.htmlhttp://blogs.questinstitute.co.ukhttp://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/uploads/podcasts/BBC4.m4a Fake it so you can make it (or, why Chelsea should hire me) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/309541089/34-Fake-it-so-you-can-make-it-or,-why-Chelsea-should-hire-me.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/34-Fake-it-so-you-can-make-it-or,-why-Chelsea-should-hire-me.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=34 2 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=34 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester)
What I'd like you to consider is the power of the flip side of this equation (did I just mangle a metaphor?), how the body affects the mind.


Continue reading "Fake it so you can make it (or, why Chelsea should hire me)"
]]> Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:37:38 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/34-guid.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/34-Fake-it-so-you-can-make-it-or,-why-Chelsea-should-hire-me.html Welcome to my blog http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/94402651/5-Welcome-to-my-blog.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/5-Welcome-to-my-blog.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=5 0 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=5 nospam@example.com (Quest Admin)
This blog represents another such leap of belief. We believe there’s a great interest among many therapists to move therapy forward; to translate what science is showing us about the brain into more effective ways of working with our clients and to make us all more effective human beings.

My goal is to make the practice of therapy more about the science of self-improvement. I believe there are many who share that goal, and not just those in the therapy professions. In this blog I’ll be sharing with you what I learn along the way, and hoping that you join me in the journey.

My intention is never to represent anything as being true, my yardstick is only that it's useful. Cognitive Hypnotherapy itself is not intended to be seen as 'the way to do things', merely as a flexible model that provides a way of thinking about how to do therapy, and within which you can fit anything that works from any other approach. Feel free to join in its evolution.
]]> Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:05:00 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/5-guid.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/5-Welcome-to-my-blog.html What is Cognitive Hypnotherapy? http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/91741057/3-What-is-Cognitive-Hypnotherapy.html Articles http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/3-What-is-Cognitive-Hypnotherapy.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=3 2 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=3 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester)
Please note, I've made this post sticky so it always stays at the top of the blog, as it's one of the first questions that readers want answered. The most recent blogs will appear beneath.

When we're approached by someone interested in hypnotherapy training this is the question that we have to answer most often. And it's not surprising; the term clinical hypnotherapy is used by many hypnotherapy courses which teach very different syllabuses, and which operate from many different organising beliefs. We wanted people to be able to recognise what they're getting from our hypnotherapy course that they couldn't get from someone else's, and so we called our approach Cognitive Hypnotherapy, because it borrows many of its principles from Cognitive theory, neuroscience and evolutionary psychology, and uses a very different idea about the nature of hypnosis and trance than the traditional approaches that commonly fall within the labels of clinical hypnotherapy or clinical hypnosis. But, because Cognitive Hypnotherapy is a synthesis of many ideas, describing that difference isn't easy with just a brief phase.

I could say "Cognitive Hypnotherapy is a brief approach which uses a modern understanding of trance to enable the client to let go of what restricts them, and create what would empower them." But that doesn't help that much, it needs more detail. So if you're really interested in knowing what it is that makes this approach so different, read on...

Continue reading "What is Cognitive Hypnotherapy?"
]]> Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:04:00 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/3-guid.html cognitive hypnotherapy featured http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/3-What-is-Cognitive-Hypnotherapy.html Genetic memory: A Scientific Basis for Past Life Regression? http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/185867737/33-Genetic-memory-A-Scientific-Basis-for-Past-Life-Regression.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/33-Genetic-memory-A-Scientific-Basis-for-Past-Life-Regression.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=33 3 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=33 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester) Continue reading "Genetic memory: A Scientific Basis for Past Life Regression?"
]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:06:08 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/33-guid.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/33-Genetic-memory-A-Scientific-Basis-for-Past-Life-Regression.html Cognitive Hypnotherapy as part of CBT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/184196241/32-Cognitive-Hypnotherapy-as-part-of-CBT.html Articles http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/32-Cognitive-Hypnotherapy-as-part-of-CBT.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=32 1 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=32 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is an umbrella term that covers a number of different therapies that share common elements, such as Cognitive Therapy, Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy and Motivational Enhancement Therapy. Cognitive Hypnotherapy is another approach that fits under this umbrella, which is pleasing having heard the news that the Government is going to spend £170 million on making this approach more available to the public. At the same time our approach has several things that differentiate it from most other forms of CBT, which we think offer useful alternatives. Let’s begin with the similarities:


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]]> Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:27:48 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/32-guid.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/32-Cognitive-Hypnotherapy-as-part-of-CBT.html Watch Yourself! http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/178246840/31-Watch-Yourself!.html Articles http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/31-Watch-Yourself!.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=31 2 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=31 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester)
When we visualise, the same parts of the visual cortex become active as when we’re processing something we’re seeing in front of us. Our eyes and our mind’s eye share the same equipment. One of the consequences of this is that the brain often can’t tell the difference between what we’re experiencing and what we’re imagining. This is why we can awake sweating and breathing heavily from a nightmare – the brain has kicked the body into its fight-or-flight response because you were being chased by the Easter Bunny (sorry, is that just me?).

The same applies when we imagine our future. We’re coming to appreciate more and more how important the brain’s ability to construct anticipated futures is. Every situation that arises for us causes the brain to work out probable outcomes based on our past experiences.
Continue reading "Watch Yourself!"
]]> Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:27:01 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/31-guid.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/31-Watch-Yourself!.html The Assumptions that drive our therapy http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/167924872/25-The-Assumptions-that-drive-our-therapy.html Articles http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/25-The-Assumptions-that-drive-our-therapy.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=25 0 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=25 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester) Continue reading "The Assumptions that drive our therapy"
]]> Wed, 10 Oct 2007 13:12:45 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/25-guid.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/25-The-Assumptions-that-drive-our-therapy.html Using Polya Patterns in your Suggestions http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/164736604/23-Using-Polya-Patterns-in-your-Suggestions.html Articles http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/23-Using-Polya-Patterns-in-your-Suggestions.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=23 5 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=23 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester)
These rules and how we can use them in therapy are going to be the subject of a later blog; what I’m planning to describe today seem to me to be strongly related and were first identified half a century ago.
Continue reading "Using Polya Patterns in your Suggestions"
]]> Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:29:45 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/23-guid.html bandler language patterns plausible inference polya http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/23-Using-Polya-Patterns-in-your-Suggestions.html What you're listening for... http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/161059396/22-What-youre-listening-for....html Articles http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/22-What-youre-listening-for....html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=22 3 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=22 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester)

Continue reading "What you're listening for..."
]]> Tue, 25 Sep 2007 12:32:42 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/22-guid.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/22-What-youre-listening-for....html The Bruce Lee Approach to Therapy http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCognitiveHypnotherapyReview/~3/139910104/20-The-Bruce-Lee-Approach-to-Therapy.html Articles http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/20-The-Bruce-Lee-Approach-to-Therapy.html#comments http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/wfwcomment.php?cid=20 4 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=20 nospam@example.com (Trevor Silvester) Everyone knows of Bruce Lee as a kickass martial artist. As a child I was mesmerised by his skill and dreamed of running away to the Shaolin Temple that Kwai Chang Caine waited outside in the TV series Kung Fu. Sadly my Mum wouldn’t give me the bus fare.

Despite that inauspicious start I still have a deep admiration for Lee’s dedication to his craft – and increasingly to the side of him that many know nothing of; his Philosophy. Bruce Lee thought extensively about the deeper aspects of his craft and, as a therapist, I see deep similarities between some of his key principles and those of Cognitive Hypnotherapy. Try these as examples:
Continue reading "The Bruce Lee Approach to Therapy"
]]> Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:13:38 +0000 http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/20-guid.html http://blogs.questinstitute.co.uk/blog/archives/20-The-Bruce-Lee-Approach-to-Therapy.html