Anyone who has taken medication and felt better almost immediately realizes that this result most likely was too soon to be caused by the medication. This effect is known in the medical field as the “placebo effect”. Doctors are taught that 30% of the people who are treated with placebos will show signs of improvement. However they are also taught that this improvement is subjective and temporary because the illness will continue to take its course.

In 1993 a study was published in Clinical Psychology Review proving that 70% of the time placebos were effective in treating Herpes, stomach ulcers and angina pectoris. Placebos have also been noted to reduce cancerous tumors as well as regenerating the immune cells of AIDS patients.

Pharmacologist Candace Pert, author of Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine was able to demonstrate that neuropeptides which transmit the messages in the brain’s neurons influence the behavior of almost all the body’s cells proving that our mind is actually located through out our body, not just in the brain.

The placebo effect accounts for everything that we do not yet know about the body, explaining the healing of shamans, and other healers, such as hypnotists. Scientific medicine has replaced this ancient knowledge with the mechanics of how the body works, never taking into the account the patient’s spiritual aspect. If you are requiring medical interventions do yourself a favor by locating a doctor that is willing to consider every part of you: body, mind and spirit in the healing process, willing to work with complementary medical professionals in order to offer the most well rounded care you can receive. It will definitely shorten the length of the illness while allowing you to have more control over your healing process creating the best results for you.

When you are seeking a hypnotist to work with the medical professionals make sure that they have appropriate certification by one or more of the professional associations for hypnotists. Check out their website to note if they have any testimonials from past clients that have had a similar situation to yours and that they were able to effectively work with your issue. It would also be a great idea to interview them to make sure that you feel comfortable with them before making an appointment to work with them.

One other very important thing that you may not realize is that one need not have a medical license to do hypnotism. Hypnotism is a separate profession from psychology, psychiatry and the medical profession requiring knowledge about how one needs to speak to the unconscious mind. You would be best served to work with someone who is competent as a hypnotist is working in the field full-time as true professionals are dedicated to constantly learning their craft by actually practicing and continuously upgrading their education as new and better techniques come along. If you are really lucky you may find someone who has truly added to the field based on the work that they have been doing in their practices.

Certainly for any medical intervention you always need to get a referral from your doctor before seeing the hypnotist to make sure that they are both working in concert on your behalf. Any hypnotist who is willing to work with you on a medical basis without a referral is someone with whom you should stay away from. The reason for this is two fold. First it is against the law in the state of Massachusetts and many other states to work with a patient when they are presently working with a licensed professional. Second, there are many tests and much knowledge the doctor has that a hypnotist would never have which needs to be taken under consideration when ever you are under going a medical treatment of any sort. The doctors are able to use scanning equipment like MRIs, Pet Scans and x-rays along with blood test to find out what is wrong with you. Once the doctor knows what is wrong with you, or has ruled out the obvious problems, maybe finding out that the issue is of the mind, instead of the body, then it is time to work with a hypnotist to work in conjunction with your doctor.

When one is using hypnosis for pain control, it is doubly important to have a medical referral for the pain is there to make you aware that there is a problem. It is up to the doctor to diagnose what the problem is and that what ever can be done medically is being done. Only after that has been done do you go to a hypnotist to have the pain relieved. You wouldn’t want to have a horrible situation happen because the hypnotist relieved you of a pain that could be indicating a very serious or even life threatening event, would you? So be aware of the treatments that are available and use your best judgment to take care of your issues in a manner that will get you back to health with all the professionals on board with consistent care with your interest at the heart of that care.

I have most recently been working with a woman who has been battling alcoholism for the better part of 30 years. She is a very bright woman who at times feels as if she is not so bright, because in her own mind, if she were she would be able to live a normal life without this particular problem and all the other problems it creates.

I would gather that most of you realize that most people who drink to excess would prefer not to, however they are uncertain as to how to stop. Also, it clear that once a person goes over their tolerance level their body is in fact “addicted” to the substance, meaning that without it, they will suffer withdrawal symptoms which commonly begin six to eight hours after sudden withdrawal with the greatest intensity after ten to thirty hours, subsiding in a few days. The most common symptoms are tremors, nausea, dry mouth, sweating, weakness and depression. In about 5% of cases the high fever accelerated heart rate, agitation, and hallucinations of delirium tremens, DT‘s, begin after about the second day after withdrawal.(Harvard Medical School, Mental Health Review, Alcohol Abuse and Dependence by Grispoon, M.D. and Bakalar, J.D, No. 2 Rev.)

Most of us realize that alcoholism can create many problems with the physical health of the person with it, as well as putting others at risk should they involve themselves in risky behavior such as driving drunk, or having unprotected sex with several partners.

However, from my point of view, as horrendous as the disease of alcoholism is, it is only the presenting problem. Abusing alcohol is the method of choice to self-medicate the individual thus releasing them of the self-depreciating thoughts they experience usually as a symptom of depression. The alcohol will create a decrease in impulse control that can lead to risky behavior.

When the allopathic world, otherwise known as Western medicine is only focused on the need to release the alcohol, they are neglecting the more important aspect to the recovery. Unless it is understood why the behavior of drinking alcohol was created, it will be very difficult to release it for good. One can only release a behavior if there is something else that fits that need is put in its place. This is true of any behavior that needs to be changed. For the alcoholic, it is more important to get them in touch with letting go of the feelings of guilt that are manifested as a result of anything hurtful they may have done either to themselves or others. Second, they need to figure out what they can do to that is productive and fun for them to do instead. Once they are feeling better about themselves, it becomes much easier for them to be able to focus on the positive that life can offer as they get reconnected with those who love and care for them.

Hypnosis is a wonderful way to get to “the cause” of the problem as well as to figure out what other behaviors would do well to replace that of drinking alcohol. I have found interestingly enough that my clients do not go through any of the demerits tremens that is common because of the ability of the unconscious mind to be told to release the need for the alcohol without any feelings of withdrawal. This is similar to how the smoking cessations clients become non-smokers without any of their withdrawal symptoms either.

My client was able to beat alcohol for several months, but as can be the case with this particular problem, she has relapsed. I believe we understand better now what needs to be cleared for her to leave it alone for good, and with those answers I look forward to the day when she will be able to say quite honestly that there is never a reason that would be good enough for her to go back to abusing alcohol, for the damage it creates in her life is not ever worth going back. In the mean time we will continue our journey together to get her where she has decided she would like to be. Healthy and enjoying her family, the most important purpose that she has found in her own life as she gets back in touch with her painting, bicycling and kayaking with her husband.

If you are looking to get help for yourself or another please find a person who has proven experience working in this specialization. It is best if they have a back round working in mental health, though from my point of view they need not be licensed, but they need to be certified in advanced hypnotic techniques in order to be a safe bet.

According to a study conducted by Peter Jensen, Director of the Center for Children’s Mental Health at Columbia University, there has been an increase in the number of children aged 6 to 18 years taking anti-psychotic medication- from 50,000 children 1990 to 532,000 nationwide in 2000; and that excludes those who take stimulants for ADD and antidepressants, which are the most commonly used psychiatric drugs!  In 1996, the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs estimated that eighty percent of all medication use in children is off-label. When one considers that the efficacy of these drugs nor their long term side effects is not known, especially given the number of years the drugs are taken, we must ask ourselves, “Why we are allowing this to happen?” There are cases of children who have definite psychiatric problems for which medication is indeed required, however for too many children, medication seems to be the easiest way to get them to behave in a manner more conducive for the adults around them.  Continue »

Suzanne helped me get through one of the most difficult experiences of my life. I had endometriosis, a condition which can cause extreme abdominal pain in women. My symptoms came to a peak one day in September 2004; the pain was so bad, I could hardly walk. I could not sit, stand or curl up comfortably. The pain was so bad I was on the verge of vomiting from it. Continue »

I wonder how many of you have sought medical treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia or irritable bowel syndrome. I bet there are many of you suffering from these disorders that traditional therapies are just unable to help.

If you feel that this applies to you, ask yourself: Am I the type of person who is always doing good for other people and always leaving myself for last? If you answered “yes,” you could be one of the types of people who suffer from one of these three illnesses and for whom hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming could possibly be a great help. Continue »

Suzanne’s pre and post- operative tapes completely changed my surgical experience. I had been in critical, chronic pain for years and was now scheduled for a major operation. I was placing my life on the outcome of this operation so much that I was scheduled to recuperate in the secure mental ward, due to real fears by my doctors that I might commit suicide if the outcome of the operation was not positive. Continue »

Looking at the front page of the newspaper today, Boston Globe, July 2, 2003, I saw the headline “Kraft looks to trim fats, sugar from its products”. There is a color picture of six stacked Oreos and a caption explaining that there are 20 grams of sugar (5 teaspoons) and 10 grams of fat (16% of the federally recommended fat intake for a day) in those six cookies. Apparently Kraft is feeling that the food industry must take responsibility to help fight obesity in this country. The article continues by explaining that the food industry could see itself being blamed for the increasing obesity, as the tobacco companies were held responsible for the illness that it created with its products. Adult rates of obesity have climbed from 13.4% in 1960 to 30.9 percent in 1999-2000. Continue »

I am amazed by the amount of people I have run into lately who say that they either have attention deficit disorder or think that they may have it. Usually when we think of this particular disorder we think of children being placed on medication to keep them quietly in their school chairs. However, there are many adults who are telling me that they too are plagued by the many symptoms that this disorder can have associated with it.All of the people that have told me of their problems with ADD have spoken of an inability to focus on tasks that need to be accomplished either at school or at work. They also complain of going to stores to purchase something only to return the item finding that it was not what they really wanted, indecision being one of the characteristics. Continue »

“In our work together, Suzanne was creative, innovative, and intuitive. She was the prime mover in getting me out of being stuck. She has high energy. She drew from her own personal experiences to enable me to find my own options. She was not reluctant to let me know where she thought I was headed. Continue »