Hypnofacts 12

This book contains various articles for hypnotherapists covering practical issues such as working with clients experiencing derealization, or a leg that twitches, and helping clients with imposter syndrome. There is technical information about the vagus nerve, working with trauma, and how the cerebral cortex works. There's a look at ChatGPT and what is meant by intelligence in the days of AI. And there's a brief look at Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT). The articles assume a model of the brain in which core activities (such as telling the heart to beat) are handled by the brainstem; more protective functions (such as fighting, fleeing, feeding, and reproductive behaviour) are handled by the emotional brain; and higher functions (such as problem solving, maintaining attention, and controlling emotional impulses from the emotional brain) are handled by the rational brain. In terms of physical parts of the brain, the last two more or less match up to the limbic area and the cerebral cortex. And the importance of neural networks is recognized. It also assumes that the emotional brain is very fast, and the rational brain is much slower and tends to be used less. In addition, the book assumes that the mind and body make up a single functioning system that affect each other, and are affected by the environment they are in. And it assumes a solution-focused model for hypnotherapy - moving clients towards their desired outcomes rather than worrying about the problem itself and its origin.