Clinical Hypnosis encompasses a wide range of techniques that speed up the effectiveness of the psychological intervention, complementing other techniques, without which, in turn, hypnosis would not be as efficient when applied. That is, hypnosis is a procedure that is integrated into therapy along with other procedures, it is not a type of therapy in itself.
A LITTLE HISTORY…
If we make a brief historical summary, we observe that over time, hypnosis as a therapeutic procedure is one of the oldest techniques used since time immemorial (by healers, shamans, priests, etc...) to cause cognitive, affective, psychophysiological, perceptual, and behavioral through suggestion. And this is the key, the central point of all these changes revolves around the suggestion. All of us, to one extent or another, have “ suggested ”, that is, we have been carried away by “something” that has fostered some kind of imaginative response. For example, we are eating a steak in a restaurant that is apparently normal in appearance, taste, and smell, it is good and we like it. But unexpectedly, at the next table, we hear a comment, about someone who eats the same as us but complains that he thinks his steak tastes funny. We continue eating but… it's not the same anymore. The steak suddenly seems to taste strange, perhaps sour. Our stomach starts to churn and we stop eating, maybe the steak is bad, it's not doing us any good (since we heard the comment and let ourselves be influenced by it) and we stop eating. we have suggested. And it is that suggestion is a natural part of our lives much more than we think because it is part of ourselves, the degree to which we are capable of suggesting ourselves is a personal characteristic. In clinical hypnosis, it is a question of using that ability to suggest to ourselves that in one way or another we can all have, with a structured purpose, aimed at obtaining an adaptive objective agreed with the therapist.
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Returning to the subject of the history and scientific evolution of hypnosis, we must point out that it has always been studied as a discipline of Psychology by practically all the "great fathers" of Psychology, such as Charcot, Hall, James, Pavlov, Hull ... In Spain, as Curiously, it should be noted that Ramón y Cajal, in 1889, wrote a brief article for the Catalan Medical Gazette, on the usefulness of hypnotic suggestion to alleviate labor pain. But it is from the 50s, when it is systematized and research is carried out in the laboratory, obtaining greater recognition of its therapeutic possibilities by health professionals (doctors, dentists, psychologists...). In 1958, The American Medical Association recognizes hypnosis as a therapeutic tool suitable for use by properly trained physicians and psychologists. Later, in 1962, the British Medical Association recommended its application in surgery and obstetrics, and in chronic pain processes. So much so, that in 1973, the American Psychological Association (APA) created the Division30, dedicated to clinical hypnosis. Likewise, the British Psychological Society presents a definition of hypnosis elaborated by a group of experts.
HYPNOSIS CONCEPT
We will address the conception of Division30 of the APA, which in 2005 proposed a definition agreed upon and accepted by the main hypnosis associations around the world, noting that:
Hypnosis is not a type of therapy, like psychoanalysis or behavior therapy. Rather, it is a procedure that can be used to facilitate therapy. Clinical hypnosis should only be applied by suitably qualified and accredited health professionals who have received training in the clinical use of hypnosis and who are working in areas of their professional competence.
Hypnosis involves a process during which the subject is administered suggestions that encourage imaginative experiences. During hypnosis the subject is directed by the hypnotist to respond to suggestions that produce changes in subjective experience, alterations in perception (for example, a visual hallucination), sensation (for example, pain relief), emotion (for example, calmness), thought (for example, expectations), or behavior (for example, raising the arm). People can also learn self-hypnosis, which would be the act of administering hypnotic procedures to oneself. If the subject responds to hypnotic suggestions, it is inferred that he has been hypnotized.
In addition, from an essentially operational point of view, Kihlstrom, in 1985, pointed out that hypnosis supposes a communication relationship between the hypnotist and the hypnotized that aims to generate certain behaviors based on changes in subjective experience, somatic responses, and motor execution based on some preliminary suggestions.
In conclusion, hypnosis is a natural state of focused, active and attentive concentration coupled with a state of relative disconnection of peripheral attention to irrelevant environmental stimuli, which allows the hypnotized person to fully use their innate abilities to control perception, memory, and somatic functions, increasing self-control over their behavior, their perceptions and their cognition.
However, it is important to point out that in order for a person to benefit from hypnosis, it is necessary to previously evaluate their ability to be suggestible or suggestibility. and the relevance of using hypnosis according to their personal characteristics and the problem they present. Hypnosis is not a suitable technique for absolutely any type of problem, since there are problems in which its use in the therapeutic process is not particularly useful or relevant. Likewise, depending on the suggestibility of each person, there will be subjects with low scores in this characteristic, who will not be able to experience hypnosis or benefit substantially from it, so it would not be useful to apply it in the intervention. Therefore, the decision to use it should be based on the evaluation and opinion of a professional trained in the use and limitations of clinical hypnosis.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HYPNOSIS
But when we hear the word hypnosis, perhaps a part of curiosity and another of distrust moves within us. Popularly, we all think we know what hypnosis is. We have seen it a thousand times on television, or in theater, in some magic show in which incredible things happen and in which the will of the hypnotized person seems to be annulled. Well, what we call hypnosis in this context, in reality, they are nothing more than entertainment shows and have nothing to do with the concept of Clinical Hypnosis to which we are referring. Precisely for this reason, it is recommended that before using the technique, we clarify with the patient some myths about hypnosis that seem to exist in popular culture, in order to demystify this technique and dispel potential fears about hypnosis. This approach is similar to the approach a clinician uses to introduce patients to any therapeutic procedure. The most widespread MYTHS about hypnosis are:
Hypnosis is a type of sleep that involves loss of consciousness. It is not true, the hypnotized individual is not asleep, he is awake and alert, actively participating in the process, being fully aware and master of his self-control.
We can all be hypnotized whether we like it or not. Sensitivity to hypnosis is a characteristic variable between people, not all subjects are hypnotizable, as we have already pointed out. Suggestibility is a stable trait from 12 years of age and susceptible to measurement. One in 4 adults is not hypnotizable and 1 in 10 is highly hypnotizable.
Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness that I can hang on to. Hypnosis is a state of full consciousness, it is not a trance and nothing inherently dangerous occurs in hypnosis. It is not a dangerous procedure, in fact, most patients find it relaxing whether they are more or less suggestible.
Under hypnosis, the subjects do whatever the hypnotist requires of them which involves a loss of behavioral control. Hypnosis is not something that is done to a person, the hypnotist does not have any special power: the psychologist who induces hypnosis does not do "something" to the patient, it is a voluntary process where the patient will never say or do something it doesn't mean or do. The patient has total control of himself at all times and can be influenced by hypnotic suggestions to the limit that he considers permissible. In addition, one of the objectives of the procedure is that the patient learns the technique and can self-hypnotize regardless of the presence of the therapist.
Under hypnosis, you cannot lie. The hypnotized subject has voluntary control over his behavior and can say what he deems most appropriate so that if he wishes to lie about something, he will do so. Experimental studies indicate that hypnosis is not necessarily superior to other techniques in increasing recognition and recall.
Hypnosis helps us remember very early times in our lives. It is false since hypnosis is no more effective in increasing memory than any other technique when it comes to increasing the quantity and accuracy of recall. Memories prior to two years of age should not be true memories, since our neurons are not mature enough to correctly store and retrieve information. In addition, you can perfectly remember events that are actually "false memories", so what is remembered in hypnosis is not a guarantee of truth.
Hypnosis is a type of therapy (hypnotherapy), very useful, fast, and effective, and does not require any effort on the part of the patient to change behavior after its application. There is nothing especially therapeutic in hypnosis, it is one more technique located within a therapy process, by itself, it does not cause changes in the patient. It requires effort, attention, and active collaboration of the subject, it is not a passive technique, rather, it is quite the opposite.
With a single hypnosis session, it is possible to solve any problem. As we have pointed out, hypnosis is nothing more than a technique to improve self-control that is integrated into the therapeutic process in the same way that exposure therapy is integrated, for example. Although hypnosis usually speeds up and facilitates the results of the treatment, it is not usual for the problem to be solved in a single hypnosis session, and even less so without the support of other therapeutic strategies.
PROBLEMS THAT HYPNOSIS CAN HELP US SOLVE
In meta-analytical reviews, Clinical Hypnosis has consistently been shown to be a beneficial technique for patients with a wide variety of physical and psychological problems, such as:
Treatment of anxiety (panic, phobias, obsessions...) and stress
Smoking, weight control, and eating disorders.
Insomnia.
Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. dissociative disorders
Management of acute and chronic pain of various types
Self-esteem issues. grief and depression
Hypnosis can be applied to medical problems such as migraines, headaches, asthma, dermatological disorders, irritable bowel, hemophilia, nausea and vomiting related to chemotherapy, preparation prior to surgery...
Applications in dentistry: anxiety management in stressful dental interventions, reduction of the use of anesthesia and chemical analgesics, bruxism, and chronic facial pain...
Preparation for childbirth, significantly reducing pain during childbirth, and the need for medication and chemical anesthesia.
Clinical hypnosis applied in children seems to be effective in enuresis and in reducing vomiting and nausea caused by chemotherapy, pain during bone marrow aspiration, lumbar punctures, and pain in general.
ADVANTAGES OF THE USE OF HYPNOSIS IN THERAPY
Finally, we must point out that it has been proven that the application of Hypnosis is an adjunct technique to cognitive-behavioral psychological treatments...
Increases patient motivation to carry out therapeutic tasks
Increases the effectiveness and efficiency of treatment
Promotes self-control
Helps generate expectations of self-efficacy.
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