Stomach pain in children is diagnosed as Functional Abdominal Pain (FAP) when the pain is chronic and no other symptoms can be found. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is when people have a sensitive intestine resulting in cramps or spasms caused by food and sometimes stress.
Hypnotherapy sessions have been shown to help adults suffering from IBS, however, recent research has shown that hypnosis can help children who suffer from either IBS or FAP. This study tested 53 children from the age of 8 to 18, 31 of whom were diagnosed with FAP and 22 with IBS.
These children were placed into two separate groups, one of which had six hypnosis sessions over three months and the other group had six therapy sessions and the usual medical care. Every child kept a weekly diary before during and after the therapy up to 12 months afterwards.
The hypnotherapy group showed a higher pain decrease than the control group at the one year follow up session. The study concluded that the hypnotherapy did result in an improved pain intensity and frequency, with the one year follow up showing 85 per cent of the hypnosis group had successful treatment compared with 25 per cent of the children from the control group.
A Blackpool man was featured in the Blackpool Gazette recently as he told the paper how he had suffered suicidal thoughts after he had been prescribed a controversial weight loss diet drug, Acomplia, otherwise known as rimonabant.
Gordon Pothecary came off the medication two months ago and after reading of the worrying side effects in the papers this week, he was shocked to discover the drug had been linked to suicide. The drug has now been banned in the UK.
Mr Pothecary, of Hornsey Avenue, said: “It did make me have suicidal thoughts. I would never have acted on them but it did make me think I would be better off not being here anymore. I felt I couldn’t see a way out. I’d been taking another drug called Oralstat for about two-and-a-half months and I lost about 1.5lbs to 2lbs a month, but didn’t suffer any side-effects. I went to see the nurse and she said they were changing my medication on to this new one. I lost about 12 or 13lbs in the first few months. It gradually got worse and worse, my stomach felt all tensed up, I was short-tempered. My moods were terrible. I would fly off the handle at the smallest things. All those side-effects I read about sounded very familiar: low mood, depression, anxiety, irritability, nervousness and I couldn’t sleep.”
Mr Pothercary is now have hypnotherapy to help him to ease the symptoms and to get back to his old self and will shortly be starting counselling.
He commented: “After I came off it and started having hypnotherapy, I did feel better. Now I am gradually getting back to normal.”
Hypnosis can help to ease both physical and mental symptoms and many people use it for weight loss.
Mark Owen of Take That stardom is having hypnotherapy to help him to quit smoking, as he is desperate to give up his smoking habit before his second child is born.
Mark, aged 36, has smoked since his teenage years, but now wants to stop smoking for his two year old son Elwood and his unborn child, due next month, with his fiancée Emma Ferguson.
After twenty years of smoking, Mark has found trying to give up smoking difficult. Mark said:
“I was on 15 a day, more when I was working. The first two days were the hardest [but] I keep getting angry and snapping for no reason. I keep eating too, anything, just so I can put something in my mouth.”
Take That’s 2009 tour has recently become the fastest selling tour in UK history last Friday.
Hypnosis is one of the best ways to give up smoking as it can help you to stop smoking at a subconscious level and many stars have turned to hypnosis for help with phobias, weight loss and to quit their smoking habits. For the change to work, you must really want it and sometimes a life-changing event such as the birth of a new child can give you that incentive.
It is human nature to want everything now; we have so little patience in this world of modern technology where everything is real time and instant, and thus we expect to achieve our goals instantly too.
Hypnotherapy can be used to achieve our goals and two most common goals for many people are weight loss and quitting smoking, however, it is not magic and results are not instantaneous.
For example, if it took you five years to put on five stone, how could you possibly expect to lose all that weight in just a couple of months? Yet clients do think it is possible.
Hypnosis for weight loss is not a diet program, but rather a permanent way to alter how you think about food and consequently manage your weight, without you putting unnecessary stress on your body or your mind.
Similarly, if you want to stop smoking, many clients think they can visit a hypnotherapist and come out as a non-smoker immediately after just a two hour session. For some people, it is actually that easy, but it is not the same for everyone and setting impossible goals for yourself is setting yourself up for failure. Your hypnotherapist will help you to tap into your inner potential and make the changes you need. Expect to take small steps though, and you will not be disappointed as you will achieve your goals.
Swindon Town’s manager, Maurice Malpas, recently tried to change things around for his side, to stop them from sliding down the League One table.
Malpas turned to a sports hypnotherapist to stop the Robins’ from losing again at the County Ground.
The fully qualified hypnotherapist held sessions with the players as the former Scotland defender was determined to stop the five-game run on their home soil.
Players were given both group and individual hypnotherapy sessions.
To stop the usual routine, Malpas also changed their usual pre-match dressing room music to try and stop the poor run.
Midfielder Michael Timlin admitted: “We have ditched the R&B for some music from the 70s and 80s like Billy Ocean and Spandau Ballet.”
It seemed the efforts may have worked midweek, as Swindon finally got a home win against Northampton, 2 – 1.
Hypnotherapy for sports is not a new tactic and many athletes and teams have used hypnosis in the past to help motivate the players. Naturally, Swindon was bound to get a home win sooner or later, so cynics are bound to say it had nothing to do with hypnosis, and who knows, maybe this particular win would have happened anyway, but many athletes swear by it.
Everywhere we look at the moment, people are feeling the strain of everyday life. It may be family troubles, pressures at work or something completely different, but more and more therapists are seeing clients for anxiety or stress related problems.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and hypnotherapy are both useful therapies when it comes to handling stress, but here are a few tips to help you handle stress:
• A healthy lifestyle: there are not many of us who really have the time to fit in hours of exercise every week, but to adopt a healthier lifestyle means making small changes to our diet and our exercise levels, as well as getting enough sleep. This help sour bodies to cope with stress
• Avoid taking on any more: if you are feeling a little anxious or stressed, try to avoid taking on any more. All of us wish to please and do not want to let anyone down, however, this can only add to your stress so learn to say no without offending or upsetting anyone
• Take time out: it is important to find a little time to relax, even if it is only ten minutes to chill with a cup of hot chocolate and a magazine. If you can, find time to meet up with friends for a cuppa. Having a break will mean you are more productive afterwards and make you feel better. Laughing helps boost your immune system, helping you cope with stress and anxiety
These are just a few small tips to help you, but a therapist will be able to help you spot recurring patterns of behaviour and responses, helping you to prioritise things, look at your situation from a different point of view and help you learn how to cope.
Couples therapy is usually viewed as being completely different from psychotherapy, because it is the relationship that is being focused upon, rather than the individual. However, the individuals within the couple cannot be overlooked.
Psychology is often seen as a medical treatment, being used when somebody has a ‘problem’ and so they are ‘sick’ and need assistance.
However, psychology should not be viewed purely as a medical system, because psychology deals with both problems and changes.
Couples counselling or couples therapy focuses on relationship troubles between two individuals, which inevitably involves both individual problems and relationship issues. For instance, when a couple argues constantly, then individually, they will be feeling anxious, depressed or angry, or a combination of these. This sort of behaviour can often be traced back to unconscious family issues.
The process of couples counselling can a combination of counselling, psychology and mediation, making it particularly effective.
With couples counselling, the therapist will help the couple pick out the problems in the relationship, help them to decide how it needs to change and work towards making these changes. The therapist is helping the couple, and not either individual.
Changes could include the interaction within the relationship, personal problems, communication, sharing responsibilities and choosing life goals.
Earlier this month, The Sun newspaper wrote about the importance of children when parents are having personal relationship troubles.
At times like these, children can be scarred, not only in terms of their memories as they get older but they can also carry these problems into adulthood. It can damage them and help prevent them from forming proper relationships with other family members, friends and even from finding the right sort of relationship with partners in the future.
When you are experiencing personal problems, you often feel low in confidence, tired – both physically and emotionally, and the last thing you might feel you can cope with is the additional pressure of coping with your children’s needs. However, how you handle your children now can affect the rest of their lives.
There are many ways that counselling or mediation can help, even with just a few simple and straightforward tips:
• Do not pretend that nothing is wrong. Tell them that you are not getting on but be sure to emphasise that it is you both love them (so long as that is true)
• Re-iterate constantly that it is not their fault
• Ask how they feel
• Tell the school what is going on
• Do not blame your partner
Family or partner counselling or mediation is not there necessarily to try to keep a failed relationship going, but it can also help you negotiate your way through the hurt to make necessary arrangements for dealing with your children and helping them through it too.
Yesterday, we wrote about the importance of the client’s role in therapy and their rapport with their therapist. This view is emphasised in a new book by Professor Mick Cooper of the University of Strathclyde, called Essential Research Findings in Counselling and Psychotherapy: The Facts are Friendly.
His work is also supported by a group of colleagues, including Barry Duncan, a highly regarded American psychologist. In 2004, they stated that
“clients, not therapists, make therapy work”
Professor Cooper’s advice to those who are considering visiting a therapist is summarised below:
• Ask therapists for any thoughts about why you may be facing your difficulties and what they believe may be able to help you. If your own thoughts radically conflict, then you might find it difficult to establish a good rapport
• Consider a therapist to help you concentrate on your own strengths. For instance, if you believe you are good at understanding the reasons behind your own behaviour, then choose a therapist who can help you develop these skills rather than one who prefer to focus on emotions or on the behaviour itself
• Be sure that you work with a therapist that you like and who makes you feel respected. A good working relationship is an important factor in therapy, whether that is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or psychology. After all, the best indicator of the outcome of your treatment is how much you can actively involve yourself and this is more likely with a good working relationship
A new review of research launched last week in Telford at the Annual Conference of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy challenges the idea that it is the therapist that plays the most important part in influencing treatment results.
Professor Mick Cooper, from the University of Strathclyde has written a book, Essential Research Findings in Counselling and Psychotherapy: The Facts are Friendly, which states that the most important factor is in fact a motivated client.
Another indicator is the relationship and rapport between the client and their therapist, according to Professor Cooper.
The government has recently committed £170 million over the next 3 years, which will be used on including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in its Improving Access to Psychological Therapies initiative.
Professor Cooper, of Strathclyde’s Faculty of Education, said:
“Many clients will benefit from CBT but there is a danger in putting too much emphasis on the type of therapy that a therapist provides, rather than the therapist’s ability to relate to his or her client in caring and understanding ways, and the needs and preferences of individual clients. Rather than moving towards a therapeutic ‘monoculture’, we need to be able to provide people with a range of therapies and therapists, so that they can choose the one that best suits them and build on their particular strengths.”