An Interview with Brenda Pedrosa

This month, we’re talking with MyMind psychotherapist Brenda Pedrosa about her work at MyMind and hypnotherapy.

Could you tell me about yourself and your work at MyMind?

I’ve been living in Ireland since February 2011. I had decided to live abroad to study English and seek an opportunity to develop my career in my professional area. Fortunately I fell in love with Ireland and met lovely people which helped me to make my dream come true.
I am licensed Psychologist in Brazil since 2008, specialized in Trauma Psychotherapy and Ericksonian Hypnotherapy. I’m a member of PSI – The Psychological Society of Ireland and have been working with MyMind since March 2012, offering psychological treatment in Portuguese and English for people who are suffering from depression, anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, addictions and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

What is hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is in general the use of trance for therapeutic purposes. I work with Ericksonian hypnosis, also known as Ericksonian Hypnotherapy. During this therapeutic process is used indirect suggestions and tones of voice to help the patient become more aware of his thought patterns. The patient is conscious during the induction but in median trance state where new ideas are more accepted as the person become less resistant, and will experience different emotions and sensations, helping to relax, release stress and access inner resources. The inductions are done by a combination of coached breathing, muscle relaxation, visualizations and strategic use of language that will be chosen differently for each patient.
Hypnosis can help someone to rediscover themselves, understanding better their mind and body. They can improve the relationship with themselves, which is the most important one. Also it can help to strengthen their resilience to experience life more positively.

When is hypnotherapy effective?

During my 8 years of experience I’ve met people with many different symptoms and different issues as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, relationship issues, self-esteem issues, addictions and childhood traumas. I would say that for all these mentioned, hypnotherapy can be effective. But it will really depend on the efforts of the patient, as in any other treatment.

What drew you to this approach to therapy?

This type of therapy is focused on the solution of the problem. It aims to be brief and bring relief for the patient as soon as possible. When I started practicing it in Brazil I was volunteering for a project that was created with the intention to give psychological help for underprivileged children and their families to overcome their traumas. It was only the beginning of my career, I was still a student and I could already experience the techniques of hypnotherapy being successful. The children were doing better in school, happier, and the parents attending therapy were also giving a positive feedback from themselves. After it I never had any doubt that if I kept working with hypnosis I would help people to change their lives… and this is my passion.