When talking about hypnotherapy, many people think of stage hypnosis and get a little worried that the hypnotherapist might make them cluck like a chicken. However, stage hypnosis is not hypnotherapy.
The sort of hypnosis seen on television or on stage is different; it is a form of entertainment. It is not therapy; it is not designed to help you overcome a problem or issue such as weight gain, smoking, stress, lack of confidence or phobias.
Those who get up on stage for stage hypnosis are generally those people who deep down are willing to do the silly things they are asked to do by the stage hypnotist, either because they are an extrovert or simply because they know they can do the silly things requested of them and blame the hypnotist for what they did.
Many hypnotherapists are really against stage hypnosis because it damages the reputation of the good that hypnosis can do for many people. It remains an area of great debate.
One thing is for sure though, a hypnotherapist cannot and will not make you do anything you do not want to do. Even if they were to try, you are aware of everything being said whilst in hypnosis and any such suggestion would simply cause you to wake immediately anyway.
Hypnotherapy is a completely separate thing entirely and is perfectly safe.
When people think of mediation, they tend to think of it in extremes. They either think of it as being for families or couples going through a divorce, or they think of it as being political mediation between countries. However, mediation can take place at all levels, even in the everyday workplace.
Mediation is both confidential and without prejudice, avoiding publicity and is cost effective too, so a mediator can work to tailor the mediation process to the situation. A mediator is a third party that is not involved in the situation at all and takes neither side, but simply facilitates the way to negotiation and discussion with the aim of finding an agreeable situation for both parties.
In April 2009, the new Employment Act comes into force and within this legislation mediation is being highlighted as a powerful way to manage employment and workforce disputes. Many employers will be looking to use mediation as a way to avoid the cost, stress and stigma associated with industrial tribunals.
In the current economic climate, mediation is a great way for employees and employers to work together to identify underlying issues and cost cutting measures, including redundancies and in many areas it has highlighted wider areas for improvement within a business.
Psychotherapy for many people is a scary word, possibly because it starts with the word ‘psycho’ and anything to do with the mind scares people, so for the nervous or the intrigued, here is a brief description of what happens during a psychotherapy session.
Usually, a psychotherapy session is scheduled each week or each fortnight and the same time and place and the session will normally last from 50 – 60 minutes.
Everything said during these sessions is confidential. Group therapy is possible, but most sessions are individuals as the session is tailored specifically to one person and results are generally achieved quicker and are more effective.
The client and therapist normally sit in normal chairs – the chaise longue generally used in films or TV shows is really a thing of the past.
Psychotherapy, like any other therapy, is not a magical cure-all. Like many therapies, the cure lies within the client. The therapist is merely there to help the individual find themselves. Different therapists used different techniques but no matter what they are, they are there to help clients to develop an understanding of their own thoughts, feelings and behaviour in a variety of situations and thus feel better equipped to cope with life.
According to newspaper reports, hypnosis is being used in Tyneside to help control the symptoms of motor neurone disease (MND) in sufferers.
At Newcastle’s St Oswald’s Hospice, hypnotherapists have been conducting a study into how hypnosis can help control symptoms in those with the condition.
A common symptom of MND is uncontrollable saliva secretion. Although sufferers produce saliva in normal quantities, their ability to swallow if often impaired and hence the saliva spills from their mouth instead of being swallowed.
Those who use clinical hypnosis in dentistry have long used hypnotherapy to dry out a patient’s mouth before dentistry is carried out. From past research, it is known that hypnosis can influence the mind and hence the nervous system, which controls the body, such as saliva production and so why should it not work in the case of MND?
Hypnosis has helped several MND patients in the Tyneside area to control their saliva secretion and this gives them confidence as well as relieving the embarrassment and anxiety that it causes them, enabling them to enjoy their life.
Of course, the best news about using hypnotherapy is that unlike some medication, there are no side effects. Hypnosis is generally a quick therapy and after just a few sessions the control should gradually begin to show and for some patients, they are able to learn self-hypnosis so that they can use the hypnosis techniques themselves every day.
As you ask this question, it might sound a little silly, however, this is actually a very common question.
If you were to speak to a counsellor, a psychotherapist or a hypnotherapist, they would all tell you that they often see people who do not know what the problem is. A client might be a little depressed, upset or under the weather and be unable to pinpoint what is troubling them, but they know they are not happy with their life.
A good therapist can still help you. They will be able to ask you questions or use relaxation techniques, such as hypnosis, to help you find the specifics yourself.
If it helps, try asking yourself the following questions before you visit a therapist for your first session:
1.   If you were to briefly describe your life, how would you describe it?
2.   How do these feelings affect your life and in particular, your home / work / social life?
3.   What thoughts stay with you? Occasionally, small niggles stay with us throughout our life and hold us back, preventing us from meeting our true potential
4.   How long have you felt like this, do you remember when it started and what was happening in your life at that time?
5.   What are you proud of in your life and what makes you feel good? This question is important too as it is necessary to remember the positive aspects as well
By thinking about these questions first, it might help you and your therapist find the root of your issue quicker and give you something to start with.
Whether you would prefer psychotherapy or hypnotherapy may depend on your preference firstly, or you can take advice on which to use.
Christmas is approaching fast and hopefully most of our Christmas shopping is done, however, no doubt in the final week’s run up to Christmas there will be plenty of people rushing round for a last minute present.
As the years have progressed, it seems to be getting more and more difficult to find a meaningful and thoughtful present for anybody at the time of year. In this age of gadgets and technology, most people seem to have everything that they actually need and another DVD or CD to add to the collection hardly seems a thoughtful gift.
One rather unusual gift, however, could be the gift of therapy. At this time of year, no doubt your friends and family are complaining about how stressed they are or how they want to lose a little weight and how in the New Year they will give seroius thought to how they will give up smoking or get fit. These are the things that really matter to our friends and family and the things we cannot just buy.
What we can do though is to help them find a way to achieve their goals. It is probably not the first thing that springs to mind when putting together a Christmas list, but a hypnotherapy session to quit smoking, hypnosis for relaxation or stress management or a visit to a hypnotherapist to help with weight loss could be an ideal present and could be presented as a gift voucher at Christmas.
Hypnotherapy is relaxing and yet at the same time can help us to achieve those life long goals and New Year’s resolutions permanantly and easily. If you really want to quit smoking, it can be done in just one or two sessions. Weight loss hypnosis can help motivate you to exercise, stop those cravings for cheese, chocolate or whatever food is your downfall or simply change your attitude to food.
This is the sort of gift that will last a lifetime – and certainly be more memorable than yet another DVD.
According to a new report from British researchers, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) integrated with motivational enhancement psychotherapy might help those with type I diabetes.
Those with type I diabetes have to monitor their diet closely, have injections of insulin and exercise in order to control blood sugar levels. Psychological problems can interfere with diabetes control.
Dr. Khalida Ismail from King’s College London and several colleagues took 344 Type I diabetic patients that had poorly controlled diabetes to one of either CBT, regular treatment, or a combination of CBT and motivation enhancement therapy (psychotherapy counselling focusing on self-motivation).
Over the course of one year, blood sugar levels, depression, self care activities, weight and qualify of life were monitored. Those who received psychological therapy came out the best with a larger decrease in blood sugar levels that those on regular treatment alone. The changes, however, were small and this study could not determine if the results would continue past a one year period.
Nevertheless, the research team concludes that the change was sufficient to be clinically meaningful.
CBT and psychotherapy counselling combined can be very effective in the treatment of all sorts of issues which are deemed to be affected by psychological matters.
According to a study from Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry that has been published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, hypnotherapy is able to reduce inflammation that causes the symptoms of ulcerative colitis to appear.
Ulcerative colitis affects around 1 in 600 people in the USA and gives diarrhoea and severe abdominal pain. Usually, women are more likely to suffer than men and it mainly affects those aged 15 to 25 or in the 50’s.
In the study, seventeen people with active ulcerative colitis were given a hypnotherapy session focusing on their gut to help them relax. Eight others listened to music for the same length of time to relax.
Those who received hypnotherapy shows a marked decrease in blood levels of markers of inflammation.
Researcher Dr David Rampton said:
“This work shows that a single short session of hypnosis can return some of the chemical changes in the bowel associated with inflammation back towards normal in patients with ulcerative colitis.â€
Past research has shown hypnotherapy helps with IBS and ulcer symptons, other digestive disorders where inflammation plays a role. Rampton suggested that this research may indicate that hypnosis might be able to help with other diseases such as Crohn’s disease.
We have not even got to the New Year resolutions yet, where no doubt millions of people will be including ‘to give up smoking’ as one of theirs, and already No Smoking Day 2009 has been announced as Wednesday 11th March 2009.
Those considering giving up smoking in the New Year should not see this as an excuse to wait yet another three months before they try, but maybe they should instead consider No Smoking Day 2009 as their goal, so that by the time it comes around, they have already given up the habit.
Smoking cessation is something that people find very difficult. It is a habit, often inbred over years of use, and can be associated with so many different areas of one’s life.
The Christmas period is a time when people begin to look around at the family and friends and consider their life, and quitting smoking is something we can do to alter our lives for the better, especially if there are children around.
However, you don’t have to try to quit smoking alone. Therapies such as hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help immensely, sometimes in as little as just one or two sessions of hypnosis. The only pre-requisite is that you must really want to give smoking up, as nobody can make you do what you do not want to do.
As Christmas approaches, many of us will be trying to lose a few pounds before the festive period so we can afford to indulge in those chocolates being passed round and the endless rounds of turkey sandwiches. No doubt there will be several pounds added to our weight over Christmas and our New Year’s resolutions will include at least one related to losing a little weight.
Lily Allen fans might remember this time last year when Lily Allen revealed how she had visited a hypnotherapist in London to help her lose weight.
Lily dropped an amazing four dress sizes, going from a size 12 to a size 8, and it was only after several celebrity magazines and newspapers asked for her secret that she revealed that she had been having hypnotherapy to help her lose weight.
Under hypnosis, Lily was able to retrain her mind so that she enjoyed eating healthily more and enjoyed her trips to the gym.
Hypnotherapy is still not as well known for weight loss as it is for quitting smoking or curing phobias, but hypnosis is ideal to help those who want to have a little more motivation to help them lose that weight. Hypnotherapy is not a magical cure-all but by looking at the client’s history and past relationship with food, hypnosis can help in the right way for you, whether that is helping stop cravings for certain foods, increasing motivation for exercise or just generally reframe how a person feels about food.