Posted by bob on March 19, 2000, at 1:58:10
In reply to HYPNOSIS, Does it work?, posted by Oola on March 18, 2000, at 1:15:05
> Anyone tried hypnosis to cure their depression?
Dagnabit ... I was *certain* I had replied to this, but my post seems to have vanished into the ether....
Hi Oola,
I've done some hypnotherapy. My hypnotherapist (HT) was also a MSW with a somewhat psychodynamic background, but definitely not conventional along those lines. She really is a marvel at what she can accomplish -- at least one hospital here in NYC employs her to work with surgery candidates for whom general anesthesia is out of the question for whatever reason.Anyway, I saw her for something fairly specific -- improving my focus and concentration. Only had three sessions, and those included some instruction on self-hypnosis that works well at lowering anxiety. I used to be good enough (self-hypnosis DOES take practice!) that I could put myself into trace for a given period of time and come out within 30 seconds of the time limit I had set, whether it was a 20 minute "R&R" session or putting myself in trance overnight.
So, I can't really say anything about long-term therapy sorts of issues, but I can say that my experience with it was very positive. As michael points out, I don't know how much you can manipulate your brain chemistry with it, but targetting specific behaviors is something you can certainly do.
I *do* know, as well, that my HT did long-term psychotherapy/hypnotherapy as well as the more focused stuff like what I saw her for. It particularly seems to jive with a more psychodynamic point of view, so if you're looking for hypnotherapy as a treatment for depression, you may need to look it that direction.
good luck!
bob
poster:bob
thread:27429
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000312/msgs/27544.html