I seem to be chasing the news this week… I am a day behind everyone and everywhere else… Maybe in more ways than one! Ha.
Many of my peers are citing it… Many websites and newspapers are writing about it… This is some majorly exciting news in the hypnosis world…
The Mail Online reports on a study by University of Liverpool forensic psychologist, Dr Simon Duff.
In that study, hypnosis is shown to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life for dementia sufferers… Now this has a lot of knock-on effects as well as the obvious benefits…
So, in a nutshell; this hypnosis study cited in the Mail Online shows that people living with dementia who received hypnosis therapy showed a notable improvement in concentration, memory and socialisation compared to mainstream health-care methods and a type of group therapy… Heck, if it showed those results for dementia sufferers, imagine what it could do for everyone else… Enough of that, “there’s a time and a place for wise-cracks Adam…”
The hypnosis therapy group showed improvement across every measurement the study covered. The group therapy gang stayed the same and measurements in the group receiving standard medical treatment, they showed small declines in functioning…! I hope the research winds up on the desk of someone important at the NHS!
Relaxation, motivation and daily living activities also improved with the use of hypnosis.
Does that mean that hypnosis should be standard protocol for dementia?
You know what I think… However, it is likely to receive a wide berth from authorities, isn’t it? We are likely to keep on battling for proof, as the very nature of hypnosis tends to diminish medical institutions belief in it’s efficacy.
… And this despite the research indicating that hypnosis should become a standard treatment for those suffering from dementia… What’s more, hypnosis is incredibly safe and without the risk of side-effects some drug interventions carry.
Anyway, the article states:
They found that people living with dementia who had received hypnosis therapy showed an improvement in concentration, memory and socialisation compared to the other two treatment groups. Relaxation, motivation and daily living activities also improved with the use of hypnosis. Dr Duff said: ‘Over a nine month period of weekly sessions, it became clear that the participants attending the discussion group remained the same throughout. The group who received ‘treatment as usual’ showed a small decline over the assessment period, yet those having regular hypnosis sessions showed real improvement across all of the areas that we looked at. ‘Participants who are aware of the onset of dementia may become depressed and anxious at their gradual loss of cognitive ability and so hypnosis which is a tool for relaxation can really help the mind concentrate on positive activity like socialisation.’
Apparently, there is ongoing follow-up research looking at the longer-term effectiveness and boy am I excited at the prospect of those results…
With more and more prevalence and proliferation of these pieces of research and more and more evidence available as to the efficacy of hypnosis in a medical environment, I really do think that one of these years we are going to see much more hypnosis working its way within conventional healthcare… I mean, how can it be ignored with these kinds of results?
