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Hypnotherapy is therapy that is undertaken with a subject in hypnosis.
The word "hypnosis" (from the Greek hypnos, "sleep")is an abbreviation of James Braid\'s (1843) term "neuro-hypnotism", meaning "sleep of the nervous system".
A person who is hypnotized displays certain unusual characteristics and propensities, compared with a non-hypnotized subject, most notably hyper-suggestibility, which some authorities have considered a sine qua non of hypnosis. For example, Clark L. Hull, probably the first major empirical researcher in the field, wrote,
Hypnotherapy is often applied in order to modify a subject\'s behavior, emotional content, and attitudes, as well as a wide range of conditions including dysfunctional habits, anxiety, stress-related illness, pain management, and personal development.
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Hypnosis is often confused with Mesmerism, its historical precursor. As Hans Eysenck writes,
Franz Anton Mesmer held that trance and healing were the result of the channelling of a mysterious "occult" force called "animal magnetism." In the mid-Eighteenth Century, this became the basis of a very large and popular school of thought termed Mesmerism. However, in 1843, James Braid proposed the theory of hypnotism as a radical alternative, in opposition to Mesmerism. Braid argued that the occult qualities of Mesmerism were illusory and that its effects were due to a combination of "nervous fatigue" and verbal suggestion. A bitter war of words developed between Braid and the leading exponents of Mesmerism.
In their original committee report on hypnotherapy, the British Medical Association (BMA), likewise, made a point of condemning the occult theories of Mesmerism and sharply distinguishing them from hypnotism.
Nevertheless, as Eysenck complains, the confusion of Mesmerism and hypnotism continued to be perpetuated by popular fiction, the media, and its portrayal in comedy stage hypnosis shows. Basically, whereas Mesmerism is a supernatural theory, hypnotism attempted to explain the same phenomena in more established scientific terms, by reference to psychology and physiology. As Braid puts it, it is a scientific and \'psycho-physiological\' (mind-body) discipline.
In 1892, the British Medical Association (BMA) commissioned a team of doctors to undertake an extensive evaluation of the nature and effects of hypnotherapy, they reported,
Adding,
This report was approved by the general council of the BMA, thereby forming BMA policy and rendering hypnotherapy a form of "orthodox", as opposed to complementary or alternative, medicine.
Subsequent research on hypnotherapy has tended to highlight three main areas in which its efficacy as a treatment has been demonstrated,
Hypnotherapy. has many other applications but efficacy research has tended to focus upon these issues. More mixed results have been obtained for its efficacy in relation to the treatment of addictions, an area where high relapse is common with most treatments.
In 1955, the Psychological Medicine Group of the BMA commissioned a Subcommittee, led by Prof. T. Ferguson Rodger, to deliver a second, and more comprehensive, report on hypnosis. The Subcommittee consulted several experts on hypnosis from various fields, including the eminent neurologist Prof. W. Russell Brain, and the psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion. After two years of study and research, its final report was published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), under the title ‘Medical use of Hypnotism’. The terms of reference were:
This is a much more thorough and extensive report, and constitutes one of the most significant documents in the history of hypnotherapy research. With regard to efficacy, it concludes from a systematic review of available research that,
According to a statement of proceedings published elsewhere in the same edition of the BMJ, the report was officially ‘approved at last week’s Council meeting of the British Medical Association.’ (BMA Council Proceedings, BMJ, April 23, 1955:1019). In other words, it was approved as official BMA policy. This statement goes on to say that,
Soon afterwards, in 1958, the American Medical Association (AMA) commissioned a similar (though more terse) report which endorses the 1955 BMA report and concludes,
Again, the AMA council approved this report rendering hypnotherapy an orthodox treatment,
In 1995, the National Institute for Health (NIH), in the US, established a Technology Assessment Conference that compiled an official statement entitled ‘Integration of Behavioral & Relaxation Approaches into the Treatment of Chronic Pain & Insomnia.’ This is an extensive report that includes a statement on the existing research in relation to hypnotherapy for chronic pain. It concludes that:
In 1999, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a Clinical Review of current medical research on hypnotherapy and relaxation therapies, it concludes,
In 2001, the Professional Affairs Board of the British Psychological Society (BPS) commissioned a working party of expert psychologists to publish a report entitled The Nature of Hypnosis. Its remit was \'to provide a considered statement about hypnosis and important issues concerning its application and practice in a range of contexts, notably for clinical purposes, forensic investigation, academic research, entertainment and training.\' The report provides a concise (c. 20 pages) summary of the current scientific research on hypnosis. It opens with the following introductory remark:
With regard to the therapeutic uses of hypnosis, the BPS arrive at much more positive conclusions.
The working party then provided an overview of some of the most important contemporary research on the efficacy of clinical hypnotherapy, which is summarized as follows (omitting their detailed references).
In 2003, perhaps the most recent meta-analysis of the efficacy of hypnotherapy was published by two researchers from the university of Konstanze in Germany (Flammer & Bongartz). The study examined data on the efficacy of hypnotherapy across the board, though studies included mainly related to psychosomatic illness, test anxiety, smoking cessation and pain control during orthodox medical treatment. Most of the better research studies used traditional-style hypnosis, only a minority (19%) employed Ericksonian hypnosis.
The authors considered a total of 444 studies on hypnotherapy published prior to 2002. By selecting the best quality and most suitable research designs for meta-analysis they narrowed their focus down to 57 controlled trials. These showed that on average hypnotherapy achieved at least 64% success compared to 37% improvement among untreated control groups. (Based on the figures produced by binomial effect size display or BESD.)
According to the authors, however, this was meant as a deliberate underestimate. Their professed aim was to discover whether, even under the most skeptical weighing of the evidence, hypnotherapy was still proven effective. They showed conclusively that it was. In fact, their analysis of treatment designs concluded that expansion of the meta-analysis to include non-randomized trials for this data base would also produce reliable results. When all 133 studies deemed suitable in light of this consideration were re-analyzed, providing data for over 6,000 patients, the findings suggest an average improvement in 27% of untreated patients over the term of the studies compared with a 74% success rate among those receiving hypnotherapy. This is a high success rate given the fact that many of the studies measured included the treatment of addictions and medical conditions. The outcome rates for anxiety disorders alone, traditionally hypnotherapy\'s strongest application, were higher still (though a precise figure is not cited). (Flammer & Bongartz, \'On the efficacy of hypnosis: a meta-analytic study\', Contemporary Hypnosis (2003), 179 – 197.)
Precursors of hypnotherapy have been seen in the sleep temples and mystery religions of ancient Graeco-Roman society, though analogies are often tenuous. Indeed, some parallels can be drawn between hypnotism and the trance-inducing rituals common to most pre-literate societies.
In the mid eighteenth century Franz Anton Mesmer introduced the concepts and techniques of animal magnetism. Mesmerism became an influential school of esoteric therapy and important Mesmerists like James Esdaile and John Elliotson helped maintain its popularity in medicine until the end of the nineteenth century when it experienced a kind of resurgence in the work of Jean-Martin Charcot, the father of modern neurology.
However, in the 1840s, Scottish physician James Braid, had already pioneered the concept of hypnotism as an opposing tradition to Mesmerism, based upon basic psychological and physiological mechanisms rather than the occult theories of animal magnetism. Braid\'s work was of limited influence in the UK but in France his ideas were developed into a more sophisticated psychological treatment. Hippolyte Bernheim began as a sceptic but became converted to the importance of hypnotism by observing the work of the celebrated country doctor Ambroise-Auguste Liébeault who rejected the theory of Mesmer and followed Abbe Faria. Emile Coué, a former clinical assistant to Liébeault, proposed a more collaborative and educational alternative to hypnosis called "conscious autosuggestion" which became very popular as a form of self-help in the 1920s.
An important rivalry and debate developed between the Salpetriere school of Charcot, which focused on physiological phenomena induced by Mesmeric practices, and the Nancy School of Bernheim which placed more emphasis upon psychology and verbal suggestion, following the later writings of Braid. However, Charcot\'s ideas on hypnosis were almost entirely discredited and Bernheim\'s school effectively won the debate, becoming the most significant precursor of modern psychological hypnotism.
Sigmund Freud was originally a proponent of hypnotherapy. He traveled to France to study hypnosis with the two great teachers of his day, Charcot at the Sapetriere and Bernheim\'s Nancy School. Freud wrote several articles on hypnotherapy and translated two of Bernheim\'s books on the subject from French into German. He originally employed hypnotherapy with a small number of clients in the 1890s. By about 1905, he had largely abandoned the procedure in favor of his newly-developed free association technique. However, Freud\'s description of the basic rule of free association still bears a striking resemblance to certain modern methods of hypnotic induction. Struggling with the great expense of time required for psychoanalysis to be successful, Freud later suggested that it might be combined with hypnotic suggestion once more in an attempt to hasten the outcome of treatment,
However, only a handful of Freud\'s followers were sufficiently qualified in hypnosis to attempt the synthesis, which resulted in a gradual resurgence in popularity of "hypno-analysis" or "hypnotic regression" methods of hypnotherapy.
Milton H. Erickson, M.D. is considered one of the most influential modern hypnotherapists. He has written many books, journals and articles on the subject, and his accomplishments are well-documented.
During the 1960s, Erickson was responsible for popularizing an entirely new branch of hypnotherapy, which we now call Ericksonian hypnotherapy, characterized by, amongst other things, indirect suggestion, confusion techniques, and double binds.
The popularity of Erickson\'s techniques has since led to the development of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), which has in turn found use in modern-day sales, advertising, and corporate training. However, NLP has been criticized by many eminent hypnotists as a distortion of Erickson\'s work. For example, Andre Weitzenhoffer, a leading Stanford researcher and former colleague of Erickson, complained,
Training requirements vary greatly worldwide with the key determining factor being whether the use of hypnotherapy is state-recognized in a given area. In many parts of the world there are no requirements and, in theory, anyone can name themselves a hypnotherapist and begin practicing. Other districts, however, to define and legislate for hypnotherapy and these qualifications vary greatly. In the most extreme cases, hypnotherapy is only allowed to be practiced by a qualified medical professional of another area of expertise such as psychology, psychotherapy or psychiatry. This in effect rules out hypnotherapy as a stand-alone profession in the affected areas. Generally this strict approach is rare and in most parts of the world it\'s up to the individual to ensure their training is to a suitable standard.
Suitable training will generally require a minimum of 300 hours of education. Some hypnotherapists are trained in a specialty such as smoking, and receive much less training. Hypnotherapy is about working with people - in a proper learning environment the trainee has the opportunity to practice on their fellow classmates and teachers, with full support from the staff while they learn. Errors can be picked up while being observed. This can iron out any bad habits before they develop. This experiential approach to hypnotherapeutic training is essential in order to be able to work effectively with clients in a real therapeutic setting. Some hypnotherapy schools do offer distance learning courses in the form of video DVDs or audio CDs, but the value of learning in-person for an art form as subtle as hypnotherapy cannot be understated.
As the use and public understanding of hypnotherapy increases, more and more people are becoming attracted to the profession. Three main categories of hypnotist can be considered:
Having a career as a hypnotherapist can be lucrative however the extent of a hypnotherapist\'s fees are often due to the very high overheads in running a practise. Pricing can vary greatly and some of the key factors that drive up pricing are as follows:
Being a hypnotherapist generally requires good business skills as most hypnotherapists are self-employed and are reliant on their own actions to generate new clients.
When it comes to becoming a hypnotherapist, training requirements and state registration requirements vary greatly around the world, ranging from no qualifications being required to practise right up to needing to be a state-certified professional in the field of mental health. Those interested in becoming a hypnotherapist should first research the laws in their district and then consider joining a professional organisation that can guide them in proper training and offer a central code of ethics and disciplinary procedure that they can commit to. This provides assurance to clients and a good ethical framework for the therapist in question.
Professional organisations usually have their own set of guidelines and code of ethics to abide by, and require a number of hours of professional development every year to ensure the highest quality in treatment. Many hypnotherapists undertake this kind of professional development and will continue to do it until they stop practicing.
The U.S. (Department of Labor) Directory of Occupational Titles (D.O.T. 079.157.010) supplies the following definition:
The Department of Health in the state of Washington regulates hypnotherapists
In 2002 UK Department for Education and Skills developed The National Occupational Standards for hypnotherapy linked to National Vocational Qualification based on National Qualifications Framework under The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. And thus hypnotherapy was approved as a stand-alone therapy in UK.
The REGULATION of the Hypnotherapy Profession in the UK is at present the main focus of UKCHO, a non-profit making umbrella body for hypnotherapy organisations, recognised as such by the Prince\'s Foundation for Integrated Health which is the body tasked by the Government to oversee the regulation of the Complimentary and Alternative Medicines (CAM\'s) in the UK. Founded in 1998 to provide a non-political arena to discuss and implement changes to the profession of Hypnotherapy, UKCHO has grown to represent 28 of the UK\'s professional hypnotherapy organisations and has long developed standards of training for hypnotherapists, along with codes of conduct and practice that all UKCHO registered hypnotherapists are governed by. As a step towards the regulation of the hypnotherapy profession UKCHO\'s website now includes a National Public Register of Hypnotherapists who have been registered by UKCHO\'s Member Organisations and are therefore subject to UKCHO\'s professional standards. Further steps to full regulation of the hypnotherapy profession will be taken in consultation with the Prince\'s Foundation for Integrated Health.
Moves toward Voluntary Self Regulation in the UK hypnotherapy field have led to the formation of a unitary national register which is a one stop resource for members of the public and the National Health Service. The Register currently holds approximately 4,100 entries and is known as the National Regulatory Register for Hypnotherapy. The Working Group for Hypnotherapy Regulation is formed of more than 20 professional organisations that have chosen to work together to progress Voluntary Self Regulation in hypnotherapy and to create agreed standards in all aspects of the profession.
The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, vide its letter no. R.14015/25/96-U&H(R) (Pt.) dated 25 November 2003, has very categorically stated that hypnotherapy is a recognized mode of therapy in India to be practiced by only appropriately trained Personnel.
Clinical hypnosis is included in the syllabus of Master of Philosophy (Clinical Psychology), a pre-doctorate course conducted by The Rehabilitation Council of India which is followed by all universities in India. http://rehabcouncil.nic.in/programmes/ano/M.PHIL_Clesy.pdf
Hypnotherapy is the part of syllabus in M. Sc. Psychology degree course,University of Rajastan, Jaipur (http://www.uniraj.ernet.in/syllabi/Psychology/psychology(final).html) and M. Sc. Yoga degree course of Bharathidassan University. (http://www.bdu.ac.in/msc-yoga.pdf) And B. Sc. Nursing course syllabus of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik (http://www.muhsnashik.com/syllabus/Revised_Nursing/PBBSC_Nursing/Revised_Syllabus_PCBSC_II_Year_190907.pdf)
Code for commercial advertising on Doordarshan and All India Radio states that “No advertisement should contain any offer to diagnose or treat complaints or conditions by hypnosis"
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