I am thrilled to announce that I am furthering my education and research in assisting patients in learning to take the suffering out of pain through the use of hypnosis. Although I am a Certified Medical Hypnotherapist; have taken classes with Michael Ellner and Daniel McCleary, who are known experts in the field of the pain/brain connection and have worked with clients in this area, I am very excited to be involving myself in another fascinating class being taught by Scott Sandland and Michael Ellner.
The Theory and Practice of Modern Medical and Dental Hypnosis will further my expertise so I may assist in teaching patients and clients how to experience a higher quality of life, minimizing their discomfort or ridding themselves of pain/discomfort all together. I am also in the process of learning how to teach YOU to help yourself or a loved one. In this issue I am going to begin by sharing some information that may be of interest about the success and importance of hypnosis in this arena.
“Since the mid-1900’s, we in the pain fraternity have seen pain as not simply a sensation, which is probably how most of the community thinks of pain, but as being defined by both a sensory and an emotional experience. What travels through the nerves when you get an injury is not pain, it is activity in nerves. We call that “nociception”. It’s only when it gets to the brain, and the brain synthesizes it and incorporates a number of other inputs that it becomes an experience of pain.” – Professor Michael Nicholas, Director of the Pain Management and Research Centre at Sidney’s Royal North Shore Hospital
It’s incredibly important to understand the power that words have on your pain/brain connection. Verbal first aid is another term that is being used to describe hypnotic techniques that can create comfort and actually affect the healing process in the case trauma and injury. There is so much that we, as individuals, can do and say to assist in emergency situations if we happen to be on the scene of a traumatic event, before emergency medical assistance can arrive.
A healthcare professional certainly sets the stage with the way in which he or she communicates with their patients. Patients can be in an extremely suggestible state when interacting with their doctor or nurse practitioner. Being relaxed, warm and friendly can truly set the stage for all that is to follow when meeting with their patients. Our goal as professionals in the field of Hypnotherapy is to teach medical professionals as well as our clients, how to utilize techniques to assist in lessening or completely alleviating discomfort so they may lead a higher quality life. As long as we are housed in this human envelope, the possibilities of pain exist. If you can change your brain, you can change the pain. Isn’t that an incredibly hopeful statement? There is hope for regaining control and changing our perceptions of pain/discomfort in our lives.
