Articles: Index
Relieving Pain with Hypnotherapy
Kevin Hogan
Page Two of Two
Back Pain
On my quest for discovering evidence to validate the mindbody connection I came across the work of Dr. John Sarno. Sarno specialized in working with people who suffered from back pain using conventional methodologies. Sarno now treats his patients with cognitive therapies and achieves better results for the vast majority of his clients than when he used conventional methods of treating back pain. Part of Sarno’s message is that of having the client recognizing that stress and emotions play a significant role in the experience of back pain. They also play a significant role in the reduction of pain.
Phrases like “bulging disks” or “spine out of alignment” have become equated with the word “pain.” This however is another example of cultural influence. Pain does not necessarily flow from a herniated disk, a bulging disk or a spine that is out of alignment. In fact, one recent study revealed that thousands of individuals with bulging disks suffer absolutely no pain.
These facts do not mean that bulging or herniated disks can’t cause pain. A bulging disk can cause excruciating pain and it may need to be surgically repaired.
Relieving Chronic Pain
It is truly a miracle when someone experiences a remission from pain after decades of bitter suffering. The documented reports of complete remission from multi-decade chronic pain are few and far between. However, you can rest assured that miracles do sometimes happen and when they don’t reducing chronic pain is often not only possible, it is likely.
You will likely find that people who suffer from disorders as diverse as fibromyalgia, headaches and foot pain can almost all can experience improvement with hypnotherapy.
Regression therapy allows a client a couple of key benefits. First, the client comes to understand why they suffer thereby taking the mystery out of the illness. Second, the client will become desensitized (in many cases) to the disorder and therefore reduce their negative emotional response to the pain. This allows the persons emotional state of mind to lift and the pain to reduce. These improvements rarely happen quickly and they are rarely complete as far as remission, but the changes are normally significant enough that a client can return to work and lead a normal life.
The Power of Suggestion
In previous articles we have discussed the power of the placebo (and it’s opposite, the nocebo) effect. A placebo is not just a sugar pill. A placebo is generally considered to be an inert substance given to someone presenting a specific symptom. All placebos are not the same however. The authority of the person administering the placebo changes the results of whether the person will improve or not. The medical doctor (or hypnotherapist) is a assigned an unconscious mental value, so to speak. If the patient/client perceives the practitioner to be “excellent” or “best doctor in town” then the person is more likely to respond positively to the inert substance (placebo). If the practitioner has no credibility or very little prestige, the placebo effect is not as great.
In addition to these elements of the placebo effect is the practitioner’s expectation about the client’s improvement. A low prestige practitioner stating with certainty that a person is likely to be cured because of the use of a placebo or a bogus therapy will not likely get the results hoped for. On the other hand, a practitioner with high prestige will be more likely to get positive results if they are certain in their prognosis (Always remember that a prognosis is only to be given by a medical doctor, unless state law requires otherwise. If you are a hypnotherapist and you tell your client that they will get well because of your therapeutic intervention, you are practicing medicine without a license.)
People who suffer from chronic pain are not going to want to hear that, “your pain is all in your mind.” You will need to articulate to the client that their pain is very real and what they experience is very real. If you validate the client’s experience they are more likely to accept suggestions from you.
Your prestige in a local community or field is also important to helping someone work through the difficulties of chronic pain. The more prestige that you develop (appearances on television and in media, additional trainings, competence and command of a niche market, etc.) the more powerful your suggestive therapeutics are likely to be.
Concluding Remarks
Working with client’s who suffer from chronic pain is not for the person who is unwilling to work in conjunction with the medical community. Each client you see must see a medical practitioner for a complete diagnosis of what specifically the client is experiencing. You must never attempt to work with any client who has not first been to a medical practitioner for the same reason they are seeing you.
Hypnotherapy is certainly a useful modality in helping most clients reduce their intensity and suffering of pain. However, it certainly is not likely to be the only modality needed. Always recommend your client seek out treatment for related symptoms of depression, anxiety and other emotional problems.
Finally, remember that all pain is not psychosomatic in nature. Just because you can reduce a person’s pain with hypnosis doesn’t mean you addressed the physical and emotional causes of that pain. If their headache comes from brain tumor and you successfully mask the pain, the person will still die. Pain is a signal. Remember that a medical doctor is the person to decide what that signal is.
Our role as a hypnotherapist is an exciting one. The skills we learn to help others heal give us great reward and those we help, very often, a new life.
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