A Better Way

Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapy is effective in assisting patients with pain. One must first understand that not all pain is bad, however. Pain normally serves as a warning that there are problems and usually helps to direct the body’s resources to the area of greatest need. There are times, however, when the message of pain has served its usefulness and begins to become a detriment to the normal health and welfare of the client. So, when the pain is useful and keeping one from hurting themselves further, it is important to allow the warning to continue. During those times when the pain is no longer a benefit and actually becomes a hindrance to daily function, that is when hypnosis and other pain management modalities can play a vital role.

The pain cycle above is representative of how pain is used to protect the body from further injury. This cycle is best thought of in terms of musculoskeletal pain, but could be applicable to other types of pain with only slight modifications. Various modalities found in allopathic and holistic care attempt to stop the cyclic pattern by addressing one or more of the areas within the cycle. For example, muscle relaxers will break the cycle at the muscle spasm component, with hopes of stopping the cycle of pain.

Hypnotherapy addresses the cycle of pain by encouraging the client to relax and to acknowledge the pain for its purpose and then allow the subconscious mind to let it go. Suggestions provided under hypnosis can also motivate the client toward healthy lifestyle habits, such as eating healthy (anti-inflammatory producing foods), exercising, stress management and the like. The individual will also be introduced to pain relieve measures for those times when the pain may become more intense. Hypnotic regression helps to reawaken the cause of the problem which can lead to understanding and relief.

To address pain management with hypnosis in our office, we will require communication with the patient's primary care provider, for the simple reason that pain is more of a symptom than a condition. Pain indicates that something is wrong, somewhere, and that is true whether the pain is physical or mental.  It would be the height of folly to treat a migraine headache only to have it turn out to have been a brain cancer.

During the initial visit to our office the hypnotherapist will discuss the importance of the client’s pain and the reason why it is there. We will then explore the benefits of telling the subconscious mind that it is OK to turn off the “warning bells.” The ideas is that we have to assure the subconscious mind that the conscious mind has heard the warning message and is dealing with the pain appropriately. Additionally, the subconscious mind, being interested in preservation of the body’s health and welfare, must be assured that the individual will not attempt to do something which will reinjure the body. Once the conscious and subconscious minds are in agreement, the pain (warning sign) may be let go and hypnosis will be effective.

As a result of the pain management hypnosis session, the client should report decreased sensations of pain almost immediately. The degree or magnitude is very much dependent on the type and duration of the pain, however. Also, it should be noted that the effects and duration of benefits are hard to guarantee given each individual’s unique physiology; this is much like trying to determine the effectiveness of a pain medication for each person prior to administration. Follow-up visits will be discussed based upon the initial intake interview and the post-hypnosis session status.