GPSCH HypNewsNewsletter of The Greater Philadelphia Society of Clinical Hypnosis Volume 5 Number 4 Fall 2009 FROM THE PRESIDENT –Adrienne Mendell, M.A. |
|
| How often do you talk about hypnosis to someone who knows nothing about
it? My own answer to this surprised me – not very often. So
I began making an effort to learn what other professionals knew about hypnosis. I
was not pleased with what I learned. People’s perception of
hypnosis varied from vague ideas that hypnosis could be helpful in some
way to vague ideas that centered on swinging watches, Svengali-like stage
hypnotists, Mandrake the Magician, and very little benefit to patients
at all. Just a glance at the journals of ASCH, SCEH and ISH makes it clear that clinical hypnosis is a solid, much researched and very effective treatment modality. Surprisingly, in the present healthcare environment so focused on “evidenced-based treatment,” clinical hypnosis is a valuable evidenced-based technique that hardly anyone knows about. Let’s change that. On a personal level, take some time to talk to colleagues abut hypnosis. Find out what they know and if you care to, teach them a bit about what they don’t know. Perhaps your experience will be different from mine. But, if it isn’t, be prepared to debunk some myths. On an organizational level, GPSCH has a responsibility to become more visible outside the hypnosis community. To that end, I ask your help. The GPSCH Board of Governors ( BOG ) will be proposing a bylaw amendment changing one of the standing committee – the Speaker’s Committee – to the Communication Committee. This change reflects how important and varied communicating about hypnosis in general and GPSCH in particular has become. Not only does this broaden the mission of the committee, it invites many more members to participate. Let’s brainstorm together. Are you interested in speaking to groups about hypnosis? What about writing? Would you like to help improve our website? Would you be interested in helping GPSCH develop a Facebook presence? How about LinkedIn? Want to put GPSCH on Twitter? Do you have any other creative, outlandish, productive or just plain interesting ideas? Please let us know. GPSCH is a wonderful organization. Hypnosis is a tremendously valuable modality. Please share your thoughts and any interests you may have in improving communication both inside and outside of the organization with me or with any other members of the BOG. The more we hear from you, the more you are willing to help, the sooner clinical hypnosis will receive the understanding and respect it deserves, the greater the benefit to all. Adrienne Mendell, M.A., President |
|
MEMBER NEWS |
|
| Congratulations to Scott M. Fried,
D.O. on the publication of his most recent
book, A Surgeon’s Self-Hypnosis Healing Solution – My
Father’s Secret. Dr.
Fried’s book is available on Amazon and at bookstores as of September
15, 2009. For more information: www.myfatherssecret.com. This section is for you. Let us know what you are doing or have written, presented, taught, or if you have been honored in some way. Share the good news! Please submit Member News and items of interest for You’ve Got Mail to Stephen.Glass@crozer.org | |
"You've Got Mail" |
|
| October 21 – 25, 2009: Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis – 60th Annual Workshops and Scientific Program Conference at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, Reno, Nevada. Conference details: www.sceh.us. | |
A Few Thoughts on Hynosis | |
| One of the missions of the GPSCH board is to promote hypnosis as a clinical
tool in the healing arts. The difficulty with this noble quest is
most of the lay public do not understand that doctors, nurses, clinical
psychologists, social workers and healers have always used
hypnosis in the treatment of disease and injury. Hypnosis, in its finest form, is a result of a set of beliefs; the belief of the healer in her ability to impart healing, but equally as important, the ability of the healer to share and imprint that belief on her patient’s subconscious mind. So, hypnosis is actually a shared experience – between patient and healer. I discovered this many years ago when I realized that though I am not the most skilled and talented surgeon in the world, my patients do far better than many of my colleagues. I came to understand that it was not always the scalpel that healed, but rather my patients’ belief in me. I soon enough realized that many would heal without the operations, and using hypnosis could heal them with me just as well, even better, with longer lasting results. This is even more impressive with pain syndromes such as RSD, where hypnosis can calm down the sympathetic system and yield healing and pain relief. I see our mission as medical clinicians as helping the world understand that healing occurs from within. And there is no better tool to attain this healing than hypnosis. It is the most underutilized and misunderstood healing tool in western society. The mission of the GPSCH is noble and well founded and I commend and compel each of us to pursue education of the public and medical professionals with the utmost vigor, for it is truly the way to healing as western medical science is beginning to understand. The time is right for us to promote and teach this most cost effective, clinically proven, healing tool. Dr. Scott Fried |
|
GPSCH ACADEMIC CALENDAR
FROM THE EDITOR - Stephen G. Glass, ED.M. FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION Hello. Good-Bye. I’m Back. See You Soon.This past summer I gave myself the benefit of time out of the office having greater frequency and duration than usual. My psychotherapy practice is quite diverse in its patient population reflecting varying needs and intensity of intervention both in the outpatient psychiatric clinic and my private practice office. Knowing my vacation plans, I informed patients well in advance that I would be out of the office in serial fashion. I provided both verbal and written instructions regarding my coverage, ensuring that everyone knew who to call in my absence prior to each departure as well as identifying my return date occurring in advance of the next scheduled office visit. I also titrated pre-vacation treatments accordingly. I received an interesting array of patient responses including, in part: “You deserve it, have a wonderful time” … “Don’t think about any of your patients when you’re away” … “Bring me back something” … “I’ll hear your voice in my head telling me things” and “You’re going away again?! You just came back!” Each of the aforementioned as well as other verbal and behavioral offerings may be, and have been analyzed for their patient-specific meaning and instructions to the psychotherapist for appropriate follow-up. “Listen to the patient. They’re telling you the diagnosis.” ( Osler ). And how to treat them. As we enter the academic year filled with enticing continuing professional education program announcements, it may be helpful to be mindful of how we handle what may be called planned perfunctory treatment interruptions, before and after their occurrence. No doubt, senior clinicians have acquired and developed interventions they use frequently in response to these situations. I have found the following comfortable and comforting: “Think about how good it is that the person who is helping you take care of you is taking care of himself” and “My voice will go with you” ( Erickson ). What interventions have been effective for you? See you soon. SGG |