Doctors say they have witnessed an increasing number of people opting for the therapy to control pre-surgery stress.

Pic for representational purpose Patients in the city are increasingly turning to hypnotherapy to help them control pre-surgery stress and fear. The technique is being used by psychologists and psychiatrists to bring down stress levels in patients prior to surgery and in some cases, to help with reducing labour pains as well. Hypnotherapy is not just used for major surgeries like kidney transplantation, but even for simple dental procedures.

Dr Prashant Bhimani, a psychologist, who has used hypnotherapy to help several transplant patients manage their pre-surgery stress at the Institute of Kidney Disease and Research Centre (IKDRC), said, that it also aids in better and faster recovery of patients.

“Many patients undergo severe stress before surgery. And this need not be a major surgery. We use hypnotherapy on patients to calm them as well,” said Dr Bhimani. He further said that the length of the therapy sessions is different for each case.

 “At times, patients come to us on their own, while in some cases, the doctors recommend them to undergo such sessions to manage their stress levels,” said Dr Bhimani.

Dr Mrugesh Vaishnav, a psychiatrist, who too has been practising hypnotherapy, said that he gets patients who make use of the therapy for minor dental procedures as well.

“Patients do come for such therapy before major and minor surgeries. But I have had patients, who make use of the therapy to manage their stress levels before undergoing minor dental procedures,” said Vaishnav.

He said that it is also increasingly sought by pregnant women to help them manage their labour pain.

However, Dr Hemang Desai, another psychiatrist, believes that mind relaxation techniques like hypnotherapy have been around for many years.

“It is just that now people are getting aware about it. Earlier, patients were a bit hesitant about the use of drug-less therapies. However, now, its acceptance has gone up and this could be the reason for more patients opting for it. Although, there has not been a drastic rise in number of patients opting for such therapies,” said Dr Desai.

Dr JM Jadeja, head of the physiology department at Civil Hospital, said that similar therapies are being offered to patients at the hospital too.

 “It started almost a month ago and we have seen patients benefit from it,” said Dr Jadeja.

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Student nurses at a Scottish university are to be offered training in self-hypnotherapy to help them alleviate the stress of exams and course work.

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The UK’s first ever visiting professor in clinical hypnosis has been appointed by the school of nursing and midwifery at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.

Ursula James will help develop new support strategies for students, including hypnotherapy, to alleviate the stress of exams and course work.

The work will be incorporated into the induction process for students in the nursing school and across the rest of the university.

She was approached about the post after delivering a workshop on self-hypnosis for childbirth at the university last year.

Professor James said she was looking forward to “working with students and staff on a number of exciting projects designed to reduce stress, improve personal abilities and enhance skills”.

While at the university, she will also continue her research into the effect of altered states on cognition and help develop full- and part-time MSc courses in clinical hypnosis.

The MSc course, which will be developed throughout next year, will contain modules on smoking cessation, childbirth and weight loss.

Head of nursing school professor Ian Murray said: “Clinical Hypnosis is an exciting area of medical practice and we are delighted Professor James has joined our team.

“We look forward to working with her to develop new courses for the university as well as innovative ways of alleviating stress and improving student performance.”


An expert in her field, Professor James has authored a number of textbooks and currently teaches clinical hypnosis at 11 medical schools.

She also had her own TV series on Channel 5 called “Sex, Lies and Hypnosis”, which used hypnotherapy for relationships and is a patron of the charity Anxiety UK.



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Putting patients into a hypnotic trance can be a boon to treating phobias, depression, stuttering, anxiety and many other conditions.

Hypnotism has been practiced for thousands of years, and for most of that time it was associated with magic, witchcraft, meditation, charlatans and entertainment.

Only in the past century have the medical and psychological benefits of hypnotherapy been documented, scientifically proven and significantly utilized to treat a gamut of problems from stuttering, bruxism (teeth grinding) and phobias to painful childbirth, anxieties and psychiatric diseases.

But the layman retains many misunderstandings and myths about hypnotism, and large numbers of people who could benefit have no access because the treatment is not included in the basket of health services.

There are 250 active members in the Israel Society of Hypnosis, chaired by clinical psychologist Dr. Udi Bonstein. Nearly 50 percent of licensed hypnotherapists are clinical psychologists like him, about 30% psychoanalysts/psychiatrists and the rest dentists. All of them have to take and pass a special hypnotism course to be licensed.

The society would like to see other professionals, such as nurses, clinical social workers, midwives and physiotherapists join, but the law would have to be changed – a very complex process.

Dr. Shaul Livnay , a Swiss-born, France-raised and American- and Israeli-trained senior clinical psychologist, licensed supervisor and trainer of hypnosis who has integrated hypnotherapy into his practice for the past 30 years, recalled its background and explained its uses.

In an interview last week with The Jerusalem Post, he said: “I have used it on many hundreds of patients for matters of parental guidance, treatment of children and adolescents, help for adults in their 20s through 50s and through retirement.”

IT CAN be used for hypnotic preparation toward birth; emotional adjustment and behavioral problems in the young; bed wetting; training children with serious illness to hypnotize themselves to reduce pain and anxiety; lack of concentration on studies; conflicts with parents; trichotillomania [hair pulling], fear of heights, flying and other phobias; difficulties with military service; relationships; stress; coping as grandparents; adjustment to aging and much more. However, Livnay admits that there are limitations: getting people to kick the smoking habit using hypnosis, for example, is “very complicated and can easily not succeed,” he says.

Hypnosis, derived from hypnos, the Greek word for sleep, is defined as a “special psychological state with certain physiological attributes, resembling sleep only superficially and marked by a functioning of the individual at a level of awareness other than the ordinary conscious state.” A leading founder was Franz Anton Mesmer, an 18th-century German doctor who suggested that there was a “natural energetic transference” that occurred between all animated and inanimate objects that he called “animal magnetism.” His theory was later called “mesmerism,” and “mesmerized” has long been accepted in the English language.

“He believed in ‘magnetic fluid’ that people had to balance against their illness,” said Livnay. “Mesmer made a special bathtub with rods immersed in it to treat mass hysteria.

He was thrown out of Vienna and went to France, where five investigative committees were set up, one of them headed by the American statesman and inventor Benjamin Franklin. But none of them found the device made any difference. They realized that hypnotism was connected to imagination and the power of suggestion.”

Performers claiming to hypnotize subjects, often “stooges,” gave hypnotism “a bad name” for centuries.

The great psychiatrist Sigmund Freud went to study hypnosis in France, said Livnay. “He was very rigid and saw that after hysterical blindness was ‘cured’ in a patient, the condition returned. He didn’t know what to do after the trance ended. Freud had a flirtation with hypnosis, and turned it eventually into free association, but sometimes disliked it because he thought he was not good at it. He also felt uncomfortable when patients stared at him, so he always sat behind the patient, whom he put on a couch. He always preferred that arrangement when dealing with patients.”

ONE OF the most veteran licensed hypnotherapists in Israel, Livnay attended his first hypnosis conference in Jerusalem in 1988. “I felt freed, much more open to patients when I learned it. I began to use it with other techniques, and today I am an integrative therapist.” Asked whether all patients can be “inducted” (urged) into a trance, Livnay said about 10% are not susceptible to it at all, 10% are “always in a trance,” while the rest have to be inducted. “We conduct tests and use scales to determine who can do it. There is no correlation to age, sex, culture, religiosity or other factors.”

Hypnosis, which is a kind of psychotherapy, was in 1892 recognized by a committee of the British Medical Association, the body of experts evaluated the nature and effects of hypnotherapy and decided that it is “frequently effective in relieving pain, procuring sleep, and alleviating many functional ailments.”

Only in 1955 did the BMA officially approve hypnotherapy, and stated that in the previous century that it could be “of great service in the treatment of patients.” The American Medical Association followed with a commission in 1958 that decided “hypnosis has a recognized place in the medical armamentarium and is a useful technique in the treatment of certain illnesses when employed by qualified medical and dental personnel.”

There is no such thing, said Livnay, as doing only hypnosis. “It is a tool to use within your specific specialty.

For example, it can be used on pregnant women to affect the fetus. Babies emerge very calm. Most courses for childbirth include hypnosis without saying so.

“Even though hypnosis has a strong influence on many patients, it doesn’t mean that I use it on everyone.

Some come only for hypnosis, for anxiety or psychosomatic problems, for example. It then takes six to 12 sessions. I tell them it’s part of therapy, even a major part, but never the whole treatment.”

But many people have “more complex problems.

Hypnosis for these conditions usually shortens the number of psychotherapy sessions they need,” he says.

However, he continued, if a person is very unstable “and an untrained therapist opens him up with hypnosis, he could go into psychosis. Untrained people have been sued for harming patients. There was a famous case a few years ago of a Florida high-school principal who tried to help pupils suffering from test anxiety, and a suicide was the result.”

The left brain hemisphere, he explained, controls reasoning and language. The right brain deals with imagery and imagination. “Inducing a hypnotic trance means that the patient leaves the generalized reality orientation and begins to drift, using free associations. He closes his eyes, concentrates and uses his imagination.”

Hypnotists used to use crystals as a pendulum to wave in front of the patient’s face. “We may use it to test the person’s ability to go under or do some investigative work. But today we often use individual colorful marbles; patients choose one and smile, because they have a warm feeling as they associate it with their childhood. When they touch it, it’s so relaxing. Induction can also be verbal. It can take a few seconds to a few hours to get there.”

There are several myths about hypnosis. “One,” says Livnay, “is that the therapist is in control. In fact, the patient is always in control. He might decide to give up conscious control of his left brain and open up the right hemisphere, but the therapist cannot control him like a puppet. A trance can not be used to force a patient to abandon his morals and principles.”

Another myth is that if a patient is inducted, there is a danger that he won’t be able to wake up. Most people close their eyes and become immobile, so they look asleep. But they are still conscious. Some patients fear they will lose their memory, said Livnay, “but they always remember what happened and remain in control during the induction, hearing the therapist and being de-hypnotized.

“If a stage is skipped, and the therapist claps his hands but all stages have not been performed, the patient may go out a bit mixed up and return to reality by themselves. Yet they may be frightened. The hypnotist must make sure to test the patient to ensure that he has ‘come back’ properly. Unless I’m working on a person suffering from insomnia, in which case I put them on a couch or they sit on a lounge chair with their feet up, I have people sit on a regular chair in front of me.”

Although he is not observant himself, he has ultra- Orthodox patients, who he says learn about his service by word of mouth. “I recently treated some yeshiva students who had all kinds of problems caused by their intensive study. I used hypnosis to get them to relax.

Teenagers are complicated, but I got a whole slew of problems yeshiva students who came to get relaxed.”

Phobias are very common. “People are afraid of small or large places [claustrophobia and agoraphobia] or of getting into a plane. There are some people, mostly women, who drive perfectly well in the city and never had an accident but are petrified by the idea of driving on intercity roads.”

Hypnotherapy is very useful for pure medical purposes, including preparing and calming patients before surgery so they are more cooperative with their doctors, Livnay said. For this purpose, many surgeons have learned to do hypnosis themselves.

Some hospitals are strong advocates of hypnosis; Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem, for example, has a hypnosis unit headed by Dr.

Eitan Abramovich.

“With hypnosis, recovery takes less time,” said Abramovich, “and there is less bleeding and less need for anesthesia and pain killers. There was a Scottish surgeon back in the 19th century who performed over 5,000 operations using hypnosis; 500 of them involved major surgery, all without anesthesia. But this use was largely replaced by modern anesthesia.

“I have a colleague in Turkey who performed a hysterectomy on a highly motivated woman. He put her into a trance, and a curtain was placed in front of her.

Fully conscious but with no pain, she talked to the surgeons about a recipe she had made.”

Hypnotherapy can help patients with skin conditions; psoriasis has a major psychosomatic element. So does irritable bowel syndrome; hypnosis is almost the treatment of choice. It can give cancer patients getting chemotherapy some relief from nausea. For pain, hypnosis can help no less and probably more than medical marijuana, Livnay said. “But the technique cannot be used on psychotic or other severely disturbed patients.”

Stroke patients, people with tinnitus (chronic ringing in the ears), hypertension, or those with kidney failure who are on dialysis also can benefit from hypnotherapy.

Many dentists use it to pull teeth, make fillings, treat bruxism and a gag reflex in their patients – or a complete dental phobia. One health fund, he concludes, “has had a hypnosis unit in its dental service for many years.”

DR. UDI Bonstein, a physician who studied hypnotherapy at Tel Aviv University Medical School and has practiced it for 15 years, said he would like to have a day at the Israel Society of Hypnosis national conference next May opened to physicians and other professionals who are interested. But some doctors are “still leery, especially as the therapy is not provided by the health funds free, so they don’t want to take the risk and establish a hypnosis institute. If it were included in the basket of health services, many more would do it. And it should be taught to medical students in their final years of studies.”

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STUDENTS at Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University are set to benefit from the use of modern hypnosis techniques to help reduce examination stress and improve their grades.
• Visiting Professor Ursula James is introducing the use of clinical hypnosis at RGU
• James recently accepted the position of Visiting Professor in Clinical Hypnosis at the university

The use of clinical hypnosis is being introduced at the university by new Visiting Professor Ursula James who is an internationally renowned expert in the field and the presenter of the Channel 5 show “Sex, Lies and Hypnosis.”

Professor James recently accepted the position of Visiting Professor in Clinical Hypnosis at RGU, the first appointment of its kind in the UK.

A university spokesman explained that Prof James, who is also a visiting teaching fellow at Oxford University Medical School, had been been approached by university authorities to take on her new role after delivering a workshop on self hypnosis for childbirth at the university’s Faculty of Health and Social Care in November last year.

He said: “Staff at RGU’s School of Nursing and Midwifery will work with Professor James to develop new support strategies for students, including hypnotherapy, to alleviate the stress of exams and course work which will also be incorporated into the induction process.

“Whilst at RGU, Professor James will continue her research into the effect of altered states on cognition and the bio-medical markers of stress.”

‘Exciting projects’

Prof James said: “I am honoured to accept the position of Visiting Professor at Robert Gordon University and look forward to working with students and staff on a number of exciting projects designed to reduce stress, improve personal abilities and enhance skills.”

She continued: “There is a fantastic ‘can-do’ attitude at RGU and as part of my appointment I aim to improve the professional standards in hypnosis and develop further research in this field. RGU is the perfect place to do this.”

Experts at the university will also be working with Professor James to develop an MSc in Clinical Hypnosis which will include specific modules on smoking cessation, weight loss and child birth. The course, which will be developed over the next year, will be taught both full-time and part-time, utilising a blended learning approach.

‘Great addition’

Professor Ian Murray, RGU’s Head of School of Nursing and Midwifery, welcomed Professor James’ appointment which he described as a “great addition to the school’s depth of talent and expertise.”

He said: “Clinical Hypnosis is an exciting area of medical practice and we are delighted Professor James has joined our team. We look forward to working with her to develop new courses for the university as well as innovative ways of alleviating stress and improving student performance.”

Professor James currently heads a team which teaches clinical hypnosis at eleven medical schools in Britain, including Oxford and Cambridge. She also had her own TV series on Channel 5 called “Sex, Lies and Hypnosis” which used hypnotherapy for relationships

She is also the Patron of Anxiety UK and the National Centre for Domestic Violence and is actively engaged in research into the applications of altered states of awareness for enhancing performance and reducing anxiety.

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Imagine a slimmer, healthier you that kicks unhealthy food cravings to the curb and fights her way past all the bad carbohydrates, starches, and trans fats. Wishful shrinking? Or a diet fad? Hypnosis weight loss programs can help a person lose weight when they are under hypnosis — a state of inner absorption and concentration — where a person is highly focused and more responsive to ideas about behavioral changes, in their eating habits for instance, says Mayo Clinic. With more than one-third of adults in the United States classified as obese, this diet fad provides a natural and quick-and-easy way for many weight loss hopefuls to shed the pounds.

Approximately $33 billion is spent on weight loss products in the U.S. by 45 million Americans who diet each year, reports Boston Medical Center (BMC). The fight for a fit, trimmer body is never-ending as Americans go on the alkaline diet, the baby food diet, the French woman diet, or even the Clean Program to lose the weight for good. What makes the hypnosis weight loss diet different from any other diet? Most importantly, is it effective and how can you think your way thin without the pills, diuretics, and cleansers?

Nancy B. Irwin, PsyD, C.Ht., speaker and author, uses hypnosis to help people become aware, first and foremost, of why they overeat. "My premise is that there is positive intent behind every bit of human behavior," she said to Medical Daily. "No one ever does anything to deliberately be bad or wrong, or even evil...similarly, no one chooses to be obese." Based on Irwin's clinical experiences, she believes the positive intent behind overeating is:

1) Numbing emotional pain

2) Thwarting unwanted sexual advances

3) To literally stand out/be seen.

Hypnosis weight loss programs are seen as a means to provide a healthy way to address these needs without damaging the body. In a study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, researchers from the University of Connecticut (UConn) did a meta-analysis of the effect of adding hypnosis to cognitive-behavioral treatments for weight reduction. Additional data was obtained from two studies previously done where UConn researchers corrected the data for computational inaccuracies. The average weight loss of post treatment and follow-up assessment periods from all the studies was 6 lbs. without hypnosis and approximately 12 lbs. with hypnosis — double the weight loss. This study shows that hypnosis in addition to behavioral programs is effective in reinforcing a person's weight loss. This diet fad can be a psychological reinforcement for dieters to adapt positive eating habits and patterns for long-term results.

Dieters who participate in a hypnosis weight loss program are "reprogrammed" by hypnotherapists to follow proper nutritional habits so they can commit to an "appropriate exercise regime, and most importantly to manage their thoughts, which are self-hypnotic suggestions 24/7," said Irwin. Healthy eating and an exercise plan is supported by hypnosis — no magic pill included. The combination of hypnosis with coaching increases the effective of the diet fad, said fitness trainer and author of Mind Your Own Fitness Bob Choat to Medical Daily. "What I've discovered regarding weight loss is that simply using hypnosis alone is not enough."

"Immediate action after a hypnosis session is important. Also, special suggestions, such as eating healthy veggies or increasing walking is part of the solution," he added.

Bottom line — does a hypnosis weight loss diet work? Yes, with proper diet and exercise.

Hypnosis Weight Loss Program
In order for hypnosis to work effectively, a weekly consultation with a hypnotist for eight weeks or more is required, in addition to self-hypnosis, says Vanderbilt University Department of Psychology in Nashville, Tenn. It is a time intensive program that will require a considerable amount of effort and should be tailored to each individual.

The average cost of hypnosis per session is between $110 to $150 but the cost often varies between hypnotherapists, says Hypochix.net.

At-Home Self-Hypnosis Tips
If you want to try this diet fad without breaking the bank, you can with these at-home self-hypnosis tips to help you think thin. Self-hypnosis, similar to regular hypnosis, involves the use of books, videos, or audio recordings and the use of your own voice to form a close connection between your body and mind for a specific reason. Below you will find some helpful tips from Your Holistic Healthcare and Medical Daily to help you reach your goal.

1. Find a quiet place to practice self-hypnosis to minimize the amount of distractions for a minimum of five to 30 minutes.

2. Relaxation is essential in order to achieve an effective self-hypnosis.

3. If the body is tense, try to imagine the tension escaping your body starting with the head, the shoulders, arms, legs, and feet.

4. Inhale and exhale deeply to release any negative energy in the body and mind.

5. Picture what the intended goal is and imagine overcoming it slowly as your voice will be your guide.

6. Repeat the statement to reaffirm your confidence in accomplishing your goal.

7. Self-affirmation will allow you to get to the mountain top of your goal.

8. Slowly locate your body and mind back to reality and open your eyes.



Read more at http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/16718/20130620/hypnosis-weight-loss-self-hypnosis-weight-loss-strategies-obesity.htm#yCglKkgvrbTypuor.99 

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According to The Telegraph in an article published on the 26 June 2013, anxiety and stress are the most popular reasons for missing time off work. An official major nationwide study looked at tens of thousands of sick notes issued by GP’s and found that 35 per cent were for reasons associated with mild to moderate mental health disorders. A spokesperson from the Department for Work and Pensions said:

“Sickness absence is a burden to business, to the taxpayer and to the thousands of people who end up trapped on benefits when they could actually work. Supporting people with mental health problems to return to work more quickly will be an important part of the new independent health and work advisory service.”

One way to help people deal with mild mental health disorders is by using complementary therapies such as hypnotherapy. The National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) gives members of the general public access to local hypnotherapist’s details from all over the UK which can be used to arrange hypnotism sessions. This can help a variety of issues including weight loss, phobias, habits like smoking and anxiety or stress. In this case, hypnotherapy could help the client reduce levels of anxiety and stress through discussing the issue and using hypnotic techniques to control and alleviate symptoms.

“This could help those who are absent from work due to anxiety and stress and reduce symptoms with the goal of returning the client back to the workplace ASAP,” added a spokesperson from the NCH.

The National Council for Hypnotherapy aims to highlight the variety of uses for hypnotherapy.

NCH represents over 1800 hypnotherapy professionals within the UK and is committed to ensuring the highest possible professional standards amongst our members. Those looking for help with smoking, weight, anxiety, panic attacks, habits and phobias may be helped by local NCH accredited therapists, look for the NCH seal of approval on their websites. As one of the largest registers of independent Hypnotherapists, the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) is actively involved with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) and strives to develop standards for the benefit of the profession, now and into the future.



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Every so often I meet some people who tell me they have tried hypnotherapy but it hasn't really worked for them.

This is because unfortunately there are some so called hypnotherapist who are after making some quick money and don't really care about people. Some of these  "therapist" start there own hypnotherapy school and offer weekend hypnotherapy training or like this one we recently found out on the web which you can study to become a hypnotherapist by just watching a DVD. Unfortunately some clients go to see these poorly trained therapist with no success which stops them from seeking help and getting better as they believe hypnotherapy has not worked for them.

So if you are looking for a hypnotherapist make sure that they are properly qualified. You should always ensure that your therapist is a member of CNHC which only accepts properly qualified hypnotherapists.

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