Clinical Hypnotherapy

Today, clinical hypnotherapy is used for acute pain in the cases of burn or trauma victims and women going through childbirth. Clinical hypnosis is also used for chronic pain conditions like cancer and fibromyalgia. Children with migraines and adults with bladder problems are also being treated by this method.

Hypnotic suggestion may help you lose weight, quit smoking, think more positively, open yourself to the possibility of fostering healthy relationships and deal with anger or fear more effectively. While little is understood about the mind's inner workings, many studies are illuminating the way.

The mechanisms behind clinical hypnotherapy and pain reduction are yet to be scientifically proven, although there are a number of viable theories. One school of thought is that the brain shifts its attention to increase its pain threshold. It is possible that the brain can train itself to disassociate from the pain and focus on other things to circumvent the feelings of discomfort. Another theory suggests that the deep state of trance and relaxation induced by clinical hypnosis actually triggers the brain to release neurotransmitters, acetylcholine and dopamine, which is similar to what happens as we fall asleep.

An additional form of clinical hypnotherapy is known as hypnoanesthesia, which is a practice that dates back to the 1800s, before modern day anesthesia was developed.

In 1990, researcher Eron Grant Manusov found that hypnoanesthesia, which is anesthesia without chemical induction, is only possible in around fifteen percent of the population. However, if the patient is suggestible, that number increases considerably.

Different studies discovered that patients who were given chemical anesthesia were able to receive hypnotic suggestions while in a state of trance. This resulted in those folks having reduced hospital stays, requiring less medication and needing less anesthesia in future procedures.

A 2005 clinical hypnotherapy study done at the University of Iowa found similar findings using magnetic resonance imaging, that there is reduced activity in areas of the pain network and increased activity in other areas of the brain.

The primary sensory cortex, the brain's pain center, showed limited functioning. On the other hand, the left anterior cingulate cortex and the basal ganglia lit up with overwhelming activity. The left anterior cingulate cortex is the area of the brain associated with heart rate, blood pressure, reward anticipation and decision making processes. The basal ganglia, which are a group of nuclei in the brain, comprise the motor control, cognition and learning center of the brain. No wonder clinical hypnotherapy can change a person's beliefs and behaviors!

The researchers concluded that these regions maybe an inhibition pathway to block pain signals from reaching higher cortical areas responsible for pain perception. The limitation of hypnosis techniques is that it is believed only ten percent of the population is highly hypnotizable, while eighty percent may be hypnotizable and the remaining ten percent cannot be hypnotized at all.