Dark Shadows and Hypnotherapy

Tim Burton+ Johnny Depp never fail me , since  Edward Scissorhands to Sleepy Hollow to this campy remake of Dark Shadows- The duo keep churning out what they do best- a huge combination of humor, satire, action all under a pretense of a thriller.

But Dark Shadows has gotten my goat this time- the hypnosis scenes  sprinkled throughout the movie have the potential of reinforcing the misconceptions on my profession-not good especially I am spending considerable time explaining what Hypnosis is NOT.

DEBUNKING : 

First , contrast to what you seen in the movies , YOU DO NOT LOSE CONTROL OF YOURSELF while in session, in fact, one still has the ability to decide what kind of messages to receive and the suggestions which they are advised to act upon.

Second, in a hypnotherapy session, it takes MUCH LONGER FOR CLIENTS TO ENTER HYPNOTIC STATE, because relaxation and induction is absolutely necessary to bring upon hypnosis. Swinging a watch , while quick , is not the usual method we employ or prefer as the clients are not hypnotized deep enough to carry any meaningful work.

The screen in which Helena Bonham Carter essentially interrogated Johnny Depp while the latter was hypnotized. Again, this does not happen in real life, you never surrender your own will and consciousness while in session , instead you will repel on the questions asked and woke up . So Johnny confessed for hours and hours has no connection to reality.

 Don't take it seriously , Please ! 

The original UK series has hypnosis as a vehicle to bring forth plot developments while never claimed to be an accurate representation of real situations. This movie adaptation preserves such a device, but having reached a much wider audience, especially to countries where the understanding of hypnosis or hypnotherapy is NON EXISTENT, only adds to my challenge to dispel any of that garbage mentioned in that movie.

As an audience, I enjoyed the movie as a Friday Evening should; but as a hypnotherapist practicing in Asia, even in Hong Kong, I see as an obstacle to my professional development.