I am delighted that the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) has recently endorsed the practice of hypnosis in being able to reduce stress and pain.  Jacky Owens, the president of the RSM’s Hypnosis Section, said “Conditions such as depression, pain and irritable bowel syndrome affect millions of people in the UK and at great cost to the NHS.  But hypnosis can often work where other treatments have been unsuccessful”.    It is really pleasing that the mainstream seems to be waking up to the benefits of hypnosis, and not dismissing the therapy as mystical hocus-pocus, as may have been done in the past.

The RSM suggests that medical professionals should be offered training in hypnosis, in order to be able to use it as ‘another tool in their treatment programme’.  This is an excellent idea, however I am not sure that, in practice ‘bite-size’ hypnosis would really work.   At present GPs are allotted 10 minutes per patient, and this would certainly not give enough time for a proper consultation, as well as conducting the hypnosis session.   In my training and subsequently through experience, I have found that the longer one  takes to induce a hypnotic trance, the more effective the subsequent suggestion therapy seems to be.  Hypnotherapy’s strength is in the way it allows the client time and stillness, in order to combat stresses and anxieties, which in my experience seem to be at the root of most presenting issues.

Ms Owens of the RSM warns that vulnerable people need to be protected from rogue practitioners, and this is absolutely true.   I always advise people to check the qualifications and accreditation of their hypnotherapist, as there are a significant number who are not registered, and should not be practising at all.

However, we are not all rogues, and in the absence of medically-trained hypnotherapists, I believe that it is perfectly acceptable to seek treatment from a hypnotherapist who is properly trained and accredited to one of the main hypnotherapy associations.  I am a member of the NCH (National Council for Hypnotherapy) and the GHR (General Hypnotherapy Register) – these are the two main hypnotherapy bodies in the UK, and they require you to have completed a Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma, in order to become a member.  This entails practical training and assessment with an accredited training school, in my case this took place over 10 weekends.  In addition to this I am a BA (Hons) graduate, and I am also constantly adding to my knowledge with CPD (continual professional development).

Therefore, whilst it is encouraging that the RSM are advocating the use of hypnotherapy, I also think that it is important that they accept that there a number of well-qualified, professional hypnotherapists in the field that they could feel confident in referring their patients to. 

I would welcome comments to this blog – send me an email wendy@wendychalk.co.uk.