The conscious critical faculty
If you read around the topic of hypnosis you will frequently hear about the bypassing of the conscious critical faculty and it’s importance within the therapy.
The conscious critical faculty is the internal filter we use to interpret of how the world works based on all we have learnt rightly or wrongly since we were born. It is the part of us that helps us get through life by having us automatically understand water will be wet and that a lion would be dangerous. It is a great survival tool for humans and has helped us become the world most dominant species. We interpret the world through this filter and we accept information that conforms to our beliefs, and quickly reject or dismiss any information that opposes our view of the world.
The conscious critical faculty unfortunately is not without it’s faults in the modern world. Comments from adults when we are children may teach us that we are unattractive or lacking intelligence. Once these ideas have taken hold it is very difficult to remove them from the subconscious mind. This can have a terrible impact on our confidence and opportunities in adult life. These negative ideas we learn when we are young can effect our exam, sexual and general levels of confidence and happiness. An adult holding onto these negative beliefs will struggle to accept themselves even if they are presented with evidence to the contrary (such as a member of the opposite sex finding them attractive). This is why it’s so easy to give advice but so difficult to take it even when you know it to be correct.
Traditional talking therapies try to rationalize with the conscious mind to resolve the issues but this can be hugely time intensive as it is difficult for the client to resolve these issues locked in their subconscious.
Hypnosis allows a hypnotherapist to bypass this conscious critical faculty and remove the fears, beliefs and phobias of the past directly from the clients subconscious mind. Once the initial sensitizing event has been resolved the client is then able to see the world from a completely new direction. The filters of the before have been removed and the client can enjoy an improved life without the haunting negativity of the past.