Monthly Archives: March 2014

Clinical Hypnosis

My colleague Dr. Carolyn Hines and I just participated in a seminar in which we were asked to discuss, among other topics, the possibilities of healing through hypnotherapy. Since this is a question I frequently receive in my inbox, I’m going to briefly recount some of the points we covered in the seminar.

First we talked about the basic difference between stage hypnosis and hypnotherapy. Stage hypnotists are entertainers. As such, their focus is on providing entertainment to the  audience. The welfare of the participant is secondary to the task.

In clinical hypnosis, the aim of the procedure is to help the client heal. Therefore, the well-being of the client is first and foremost.

Forms of hypnotism as a part of healing have been used for thousands of years. In recent centuries, it was re-introduced in the 1800s by a physician named Mesmer, who thought that disease was caused by a misalignment of our body’s electromagnetic fluids. He created an elaborate series of movements to re-align the “animal magnetism.” It appeared to work. Of course, what he was doing without realizing it was hypnotizing his clients. Since then, scientists have researched the phenomenon, which is a natural mental process, and are just beginning to acknowledge the array of potential benefits.

Disorders that respond beneficially to hypnotherapy include depression, anxiety, panic attacks, chronic pain, Reynaud’s Syndrome, high blood pressure, migraines, gastrointestinal symptoms, and PTSD. There are also benefits to those undergoing treatment for cancer, obesity, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases, among many other diagnoses.

The success of hypnotherapy (which is really self-hypnosis by the client) is just another evidence of the power of our minds to heal our bodies.

 

True Wealth

During a recent session with a client, we covered an array of topics from changes in scientific thinking about consciousness, to global disease, to what it takes to be content in life. The discussion took me back to my days as an intern.

It was a financial struggle to provide for myself and my daughter on an intern’s salary, but we had found a small cottage to rent for a very reasonable price. It sat on a dead end street at the edge of the woods on a two acre field. I would often take my cup of coffee to my lounge chair on the porch and enjoy the songs of birds and the dance of the sun on the grass through the leaves of the large maple. Each morning the thought would occur to me that the richest person in the world could not feel more content than I did at that very moment.

Eventually, my client and I proposed that a rich person who wants even more than he has will never feel rich enough, and a person who has contentment will feel wealthy regardless of the size of his bank account. These ideas are not new or profound, perhaps, but I am grateful to my wonderful client for helping me recall that sometimes a good cup of coffee and a lounge chair on the porch are all you need to feel wealthy.

 

 

Changes

I have started a sister blog to this site (pen-and-inkblot.com) that combines my interests in psychology with creative writing. Since many, if not most, novels and memoirs contain elements of psychology, I think this will be a good marriage. Check out the new blog and see if you agree.

My post there on the nature of change was inspired by the leaps made by some of the clients I’ve worked with. I recall one young woman who seemed to have everything against her. She had severe health problems that kept her confined to her home, she was very obese, she was depressed and highly anxious, and she smoked heavily. And she despised all those things about herself.

I suggested we tackle one problem at a time, but she wanted to change everything. By the third session, we had found the perfect strategy to help her focus her efforts. By the fourth session, two weeks later, she had stopped smoking, she was walking 2 1/2 miles a day, her physical symptoms had abated, she had started attending church, and she had begun losing weight.  She hated her situation so much that, when she found the right cognitive strategies, she used them as a springboard toward change.

One important strategy she used was seeing each healthy choice as a gift to herself rather than a punishment or deprivation. It isn’t a magic bullet. It won’t work for everyone, but it was great for her. Each of us will have to find the tool that fits us well.

Any feedback on this blog or the new one will be appreciated.