Hypnotherapy

It may be a bit unexpected to have a clinical hypnotherapist addressing endoscopy nurses and professionals. But back in 1991, as gastroenterologists became more and more frustrated with their severe refractory irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients, they turned to me. They were so discouraged because their many efforts did not seem to provide any improvement for their patients. Through the courage of many IBS patients, and several clinical trials, I had to learn about the condition, and developed gut-specific protocol sessions of clinical hypnotherapy that provided improvement for patients with this and other gastroenterological conditions. Clinical hypnotherapy is also very effective for patient stress reduction, especially during diagnostic and surgical procedures, and specific imagery can help manage and reduce inflammation, reduce pain, reduce steroid usage, cope with symptoms of Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and IBS, and even help patients recover emotionally after surviving colon and other cancers.

These conditions require different types of imagery and suggestions. Sufferers have the need for understanding and an empathetic approach. Sufferers who consider hypnotherapy currently tend to do so as a ‘last resort’ rather than a first approach after diagnosis. Many parents have also found this treatment method useful for their children with IBS or functional gastrointestinal disorders.

For severe refractory IBS sufferers, I found that these patients had a higher failure expectation after years of frustration and unsuccessful treatment resolution, and that they often presented with more comorbid emotional, psychological and physical symptomology and poor quality of life (QOL), in addition to “basic” IBS symptoms. This finding led me to believe that in many cases, if IBS is not initially treated on the psychological level, the condition usually escalates into a multi-faceted condition. Treatment took longer due to the many levels needing to be addressed.

For patents who were referred to me upon initial diagnosis, the opposite was true — newly diagnosed patients had less expectation for either failure or success for therapy outcome, and had a general absence of comorbid psychological, emotional and additional physical symptomology. These patients found relief sooner — yet both refractory and newly diagnosed patients had the same good level of improvement.

These findings may indicate that a holistic approach in treating gastrointestinal disorders upon initial diagnosis may meet with better treatment success.

Medical professionals are becoming more aware of the benefits of hypnotherapy as numerous clinical research studies attest to its success with this patient population. As a medical center-based practitioner, my hypnotherapy practice receives referrals from general practitioners, gastroenterologists and specialist gastroenterology nurses.

For nurses and professionals attending to patients who are presenting with discomfort from their disease or condition, and the invasive diagnostic procedures and surgeries, it may be useful to provide the option of clinical hypnotherapy to them — listening to a recorded session on CD during a sigmoidoscopy or prior to a colonoscopy or surgery may help ease pain as well as common “white coat” nerves. Providing information about treating IBS with clinical hypnotherapy as an adjunct to medical treatment gives your patients more options, and treats them on a holistic level, as patients take ownership of their own healing or symptom alleviation.

The individual has to learn to rebuild internal energy. Many patients feel drained emotionally, as life issues and responsibilities continue to deplete inner emotional strength, leading in some cases to anxiety or even some forms of depression. Before the sufferer even thinks of working through the IBS or other conditions, they invariably need an emotional “top up.” They need their batteries charged, after perhaps years of pain and discomfort, of being told by various medical professionals that there is nothing that can be done, even after intrusive and sometimes painful examinations. Work and family relationships can be eroded and strained, social life and love life can be virtually non-existent, concentration and recall may be almost impossible compared to how it used to be, confidence and self esteem of the individual is often very low, and the ability to see things in perspective is greatly reduced. It is essential that clinical hypnotherapy protocols address these areas first, or failure of treatment is certain.

Hypnotherapy, when conducted correctly, can increase self-esteem and confidence, and allow the sufferer to begin a journey of self improvement and management, by exchanging negative thoughts and feelings for positive ones and thereby equipping the patients emotionally to move away from the symptoms and thoughts of their conditions. It may be something to offer to your patients to provide them with a level of comfort during procedures and for hope of symptom and emotional improvement. Clinical hypnotherapy can provide that one extra modality of treatment that may make all the difference to the patient’s health and quality of life.

Michael Mahoney is a clinical hypnotherapist at Guardian Medical Centre, Warrington, Cheshire, in England. He is a member of the Primary Care Society for Gastroenterology, the Hypnotherapy Association, The British Council of Hypnotist Examiners, the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, the European Association for Cancer Education, and the International Functional Brain-Gut Research Group. He has research and patient trials showing success rates of 85 percent — with 95 percent IBS symptom reduction using his Ongoing Progressive Session Induction Method (OPSIM). His hypnotherapy practice sponsored the United Kingdom’s first IBS Awareness evening at Liverpool University in 1997. For more information, visit www.IBSCDS.com and www.healthyaudio.com.