Clinical hypnosis and mind-body medicine

Hypnosis and relaxation training fall into the general category of “Mind-body” healing. This has been around for thousands of years in one form or another. It relies on the fact that the mind and body are not separate, but closely connected, and that connection goes both ways. The mind can cause physical symptoms (think of a headache we might get when we are stressed), and physical problems can affect the mind. What we do in mind-body medicine is use this connection in a very positive way.

Hypnosis can be useful in a variety of medical problems, including any type of chronic pain, auto-immune problems, anxiety or panic attacks, migraines, bedwetting, and even ADHD. While mind-body medicine is effective in treating stress-related problems, it has also been used very successfully in treating more physical-based problems, such as treating patients with severe burns to decrease pain and medication dependence. There has been a good deal of research about hypnosis and it is well accepted as a completely safe and valid medical therapy, even by conventional doctors.

Mind-body treatments are appropriate for both adults and children. Kids are great at hypnosis, and in most cases they pick it up more easily than adults. We can use these techniques with children starting from age 6 or 7. Dr. Sanford Newmark, is certified in clinical hypnosis (among his other outstanding skills) by the only legitimate certifying body for hypnosis in the United States, the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis.

As an example of the successes possible with mind-body treatments, he related the story of Laura:

Jenny was a 10 year old girl who had been having abdominal pain for 2 years, almost every day. She saw her pediatrician, who could find nothing wrong, so she was sent to a GI specialist. He did a number of tests, including an endoscopy, and said everything was “normal”, and that Jenny would get over it eventually. She had also tried Prevacid and some other medications without any improvement. Meanwhile, her pain continued, she was missing a lot of school, and the family was becoming increasingly troubled dealing with the problem.

After talking with Jenny and her family during her first visit with Dr. Newmark, if was evident that stress was a big part of her pain. He suggested teaching her relaxation and self-hypnosis skills. They did a 15 minute session in which Jenny was taught to mentally go to a very relaxing place and to give her body, and especially her stomach, the message that this pain was no longer needed. Jenny was sent home with an audio tape to help her practice her new skills along with some relaxation breathing techniques.

When she came back the following week, her pain was already 50% better. After one more more session, and a total of 2 weeks using the relaxation skills, the pain was completely gone! Jenny continued as a patient with Dr. Newmark for years and the pain never returned.