What Are The Limits Of Hypnotherapy
Sarah Bluck
CARDIS14
Penny Edwards
2065 Words
‘Choose a medical condition that interests you and research it. Write about the possible uses of hypnosis in the treatment of the condition as you see them.’
In this essay I will be exploring how the use of hypnosis can be beneficial for Cancer patients. I will explain as to why I have chosen to focus on Cancer and the reasons why hypnotherapy may be useful. Alongside this I will be consider of the limits of hypnotherapy in the treatment of Cancer patients and any ethical considerations for the therapist.
Cancer is a genetic disease, caused by changes to genes that control the way our cells function, especially how they grow and divide.
Genetic changes that cause cancer can be inherited …show more content…
Erickson described episodic pain as a construct of past remembered pain, the present pain experience, and future anticipated pain. This means that sudden pain is amplified by past pain and is enhanced by the future possibilities of pain. Hilgard and Hilgard explain that ‘The immediate stimuli are only a central third of the entire experience.’ This anticipatory aspect of pain can also be present in anticipation of sickness or other discomforts based on past experiences. Hypnosis can be used to dull previous memories of pain, and sickness as well as other symptoms, therefore reducing the anticipation of pain that can intensify any immediate pain. Hypnosis can also be used before any harsh treatments so that expectation of pain and other discomforts can be reduced. For example before a session of chemotherapy the client can be induced and given the suggestion to visualise the chemotherapy drug as a ‘healing liquid flowing around the body and the area of cancer’, rather than a poison causing pain and discomfort. Talking through the process of the treatment that the client will undergo may also reduce their anxiety, making them feel prepared for what is ahead. When in trance, the client could be taken through a day in which they have a chemotherapy session at the hospital. The therapist can describe to the client a day where they wake up in the morning, go on through their normal daily routine and then travel to the hospital, arrive in the car park, enter the hospital, all the way through to arriving at the treatment room, meeting the doctors, going through the treatment and then returning home. The hypnotherapist can suggest to the client how calm and relaxed they are and how positive their attitude is towards the treatment before them, knowing that this will cure them of their illness and allow them to return to good
CARDIS14
Penny Edwards
2065 Words
‘Choose a medical condition that interests you and research it. Write about the possible uses of hypnosis in the treatment of the condition as you see them.’
In this essay I will be exploring how the use of hypnosis can be beneficial for Cancer patients. I will explain as to why I have chosen to focus on Cancer and the reasons why hypnotherapy may be useful. Alongside this I will be consider of the limits of hypnotherapy in the treatment of Cancer patients and any ethical considerations for the therapist.
Cancer is a genetic disease, caused by changes to genes that control the way our cells function, especially how they grow and divide.
Genetic changes that cause cancer can be inherited …show more content…
Erickson described episodic pain as a construct of past remembered pain, the present pain experience, and future anticipated pain. This means that sudden pain is amplified by past pain and is enhanced by the future possibilities of pain. Hilgard and Hilgard explain that ‘The immediate stimuli are only a central third of the entire experience.’ This anticipatory aspect of pain can also be present in anticipation of sickness or other discomforts based on past experiences. Hypnosis can be used to dull previous memories of pain, and sickness as well as other symptoms, therefore reducing the anticipation of pain that can intensify any immediate pain. Hypnosis can also be used before any harsh treatments so that expectation of pain and other discomforts can be reduced. For example before a session of chemotherapy the client can be induced and given the suggestion to visualise the chemotherapy drug as a ‘healing liquid flowing around the body and the area of cancer’, rather than a poison causing pain and discomfort. Talking through the process of the treatment that the client will undergo may also reduce their anxiety, making them feel prepared for what is ahead. When in trance, the client could be taken through a day in which they have a chemotherapy session at the hospital. The therapist can describe to the client a day where they wake up in the morning, go on through their normal daily routine and then travel to the hospital, arrive in the car park, enter the hospital, all the way through to arriving at the treatment room, meeting the doctors, going through the treatment and then returning home. The hypnotherapist can suggest to the client how calm and relaxed they are and how positive their attitude is towards the treatment before them, knowing that this will cure them of their illness and allow them to return to good