Researchers in the United States are investigating virtual reality hypnosis to help manage depression and anxiety in chronic pain.
Clinical trials began this summer at Arlington Heights in Illinois with patients using a head-mounted display to immerse themselves in a 3-dimensional world of sights and sounds. The technology guides patients through the same steps clinicians or hypnotherapists would use during hypnosis.
The annual meeting of the American Pain Society was told that patients with chronic pain often find it difficult to visualise the images necessary for deepening trance states, so it is hoped the computer-simulated environment will overcome the problem.
Clinical care consultant Lynda Wargolet explained: "The approach has already shown significant efficacy in case studies."
The overlap between pain and psychiatric conditions is particularly evident in chronic syndromes such as headache, low back pain, nerve pain, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome.
Studies investigating the neural substrates of chronic pain reveal shared biological mechanisms with anxiety and depression.
HELP YOURSELF! with tips, tricks, techniques and information from The Therapy Partnership.
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Hypnotherapy helps speed surgery recovery – Belgian study
The health and financial benefits of combing hypnotherapy and local anaesthesia in some surgical operations has been highlighted in recent research in Belgian.
Details of how hypnotherapy when used with normal local anaesthesia were delivered to the European Anaesthesiology Congress in Amsterdam.
The congress heard healing times were speeded up, drug needs reduced and time in hospital cut.
The evidence was gathered by Fabienne Roelants and Dr. Christine Watremez of Cliniques Universitaires St. Luc in Brussels who explained the study involved women who underwent breast cancer surgery – partial mastectomy, examination of lymph nodes and opening the armpit to examine or remove some or all of the lymph nodes.
Out of the study groups 78 women, 18 of them were given hypnotherapy – the rest had general anaesthesia.
Although the hypnotised patients spent a few minutes longer in the operating room, there was a substantial reduction in the need for opioid drug and they needed less time in the recovery room and in the hospital. The outcome of the surgery between the two groups were similar.
Fabienne Roelants told the conference: "In addition to reducing drug use and hospital stay time, being able to avoid general anaesthesia in breast cancer surgery is important because we know that local anaesthesia can block the body's stress response to surgery and could therefore reduce the possible spread of metastases."
Details of how hypnotherapy when used with normal local anaesthesia were delivered to the European Anaesthesiology Congress in Amsterdam.
The congress heard healing times were speeded up, drug needs reduced and time in hospital cut.
The evidence was gathered by Fabienne Roelants and Dr. Christine Watremez of Cliniques Universitaires St. Luc in Brussels who explained the study involved women who underwent breast cancer surgery – partial mastectomy, examination of lymph nodes and opening the armpit to examine or remove some or all of the lymph nodes.
Out of the study groups 78 women, 18 of them were given hypnotherapy – the rest had general anaesthesia.
Although the hypnotised patients spent a few minutes longer in the operating room, there was a substantial reduction in the need for opioid drug and they needed less time in the recovery room and in the hospital. The outcome of the surgery between the two groups were similar.
Fabienne Roelants told the conference: "In addition to reducing drug use and hospital stay time, being able to avoid general anaesthesia in breast cancer surgery is important because we know that local anaesthesia can block the body's stress response to surgery and could therefore reduce the possible spread of metastases."
Monday, 27 June 2011
It's Good to Talk...
Thank you to everyone who has shown an interest in the column - and please remember that all feedback is welcome. I'd really like to hear from you. Anyway! On to this week’s letter:
Dear Kate,
I moved to Europe over a year ago as I hoped to become more aware of who I am and to accept myself. I have had issues all my life when it comes to insecurities and I am starting to think I may have made the wrong choice to come here. All I am hoping to get from you is some advice to at least be a little content with my new life here and to eventually accept my choices and to accept myself. Thank you.
The letter arrived anonymously, so I replied in my column:
Firstly thank you for your letter, it takes courage and openness to be able to acknowledge you are not as happy as you’d like to be and then to be able to ask for help. It seems from what you have written that you are a very insightful person and are beginning to become self aware and confident in who you are. That may seem like an obvious thing but knowing yourself well is something that takes time and can be hard work, asking yourself questions and giving honest and truthful answers can be a struggle at times but you seem to be doing well at understanding yourself and though you may not always like the answers your honesty puts you in a position to think about change if you choose.
So, you have been in Europe a year, I am not sure where you have come from or what caused you to leave home but no matter what the circumstances it is always hard to leave home and settle into a new way of life. I wonder why you feel you have possibly made the wrong choice? Maybe part of the journey that you hoped to take in accepting yourself and becoming more aware is about having exactly these kinds of doubts. The journey of self discovery is often not a smooth one but a rocky path and sometimes to get to that clearer place you have some dips and lows along the way, and this is where the real learning and understanding of yourself begins to take place.
I would like to know more about you and then maybe we can go into things in a little more detail, you say you have had issues all your life when it comes to insecurities, I wonder what you think these maybe. I have a sense that you are a very strong and confident person who at times has very natural doubts and concerns over their choices. I suppose one of the things to always keep at the forefront of your mind is that choices are exactly that and there are always choices available for you to make, a year ago you made the choice to come to Europe and it seems that you are now at a cross roads again, where you are making the choice to stay or not. It is completely understandable to have a natural pull to home, its what you know, its comfortable and familiar, but it will always be there for you and maybe staying in Europe for a little while longer will teach you more about yourself and how you want to spend the rest of your life then you would be able to discover at home. The end result may well be that home is where you decided to settle but giving yourself the opportunity to explore other options is not only brave but also such an amazing opportunity and one that you might want to consider taking full advantage of whilst you can.
I hope this has helped in some way and please feel free to contact me again should you feel like writing more.
Kate - http://www.ibizacounselling.com
Dear Kate,
I moved to Europe over a year ago as I hoped to become more aware of who I am and to accept myself. I have had issues all my life when it comes to insecurities and I am starting to think I may have made the wrong choice to come here. All I am hoping to get from you is some advice to at least be a little content with my new life here and to eventually accept my choices and to accept myself. Thank you.
The letter arrived anonymously, so I replied in my column:
Firstly thank you for your letter, it takes courage and openness to be able to acknowledge you are not as happy as you’d like to be and then to be able to ask for help. It seems from what you have written that you are a very insightful person and are beginning to become self aware and confident in who you are. That may seem like an obvious thing but knowing yourself well is something that takes time and can be hard work, asking yourself questions and giving honest and truthful answers can be a struggle at times but you seem to be doing well at understanding yourself and though you may not always like the answers your honesty puts you in a position to think about change if you choose.
So, you have been in Europe a year, I am not sure where you have come from or what caused you to leave home but no matter what the circumstances it is always hard to leave home and settle into a new way of life. I wonder why you feel you have possibly made the wrong choice? Maybe part of the journey that you hoped to take in accepting yourself and becoming more aware is about having exactly these kinds of doubts. The journey of self discovery is often not a smooth one but a rocky path and sometimes to get to that clearer place you have some dips and lows along the way, and this is where the real learning and understanding of yourself begins to take place.
I would like to know more about you and then maybe we can go into things in a little more detail, you say you have had issues all your life when it comes to insecurities, I wonder what you think these maybe. I have a sense that you are a very strong and confident person who at times has very natural doubts and concerns over their choices. I suppose one of the things to always keep at the forefront of your mind is that choices are exactly that and there are always choices available for you to make, a year ago you made the choice to come to Europe and it seems that you are now at a cross roads again, where you are making the choice to stay or not. It is completely understandable to have a natural pull to home, its what you know, its comfortable and familiar, but it will always be there for you and maybe staying in Europe for a little while longer will teach you more about yourself and how you want to spend the rest of your life then you would be able to discover at home. The end result may well be that home is where you decided to settle but giving yourself the opportunity to explore other options is not only brave but also such an amazing opportunity and one that you might want to consider taking full advantage of whilst you can.
I hope this has helped in some way and please feel free to contact me again should you feel like writing more.
Kate - http://www.ibizacounselling.com
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