HYPNOSIS & STRESS     

         A Guide for Clinicians

           Peter J. Hawkins

           2006

           John Wiley

Hypnosis and Stress provides a practical approach to using hypnosis with patients suffering from a wide range of stress related problems. This innovative book and thinking in hypnosis integrates traditional methods with Ericksonian and Rossi’s approach to hypnotherapy.

The most up-to-date research is discussed and a flexible ‘hands-on’ framework is provided for practicing hypnotherapy, including:

    * Detailed guidelines on conducting clinical interviews

    * Examples of preparing the patient for hypnosis

    * Templates of clinical ‘scripts’ for use in sessions

    * Solutions for dealing with catharsis

    * Discussion of inter-professional collaboration

Interventions are suggested for a wide range of stress problems in both adults and children, including anxiety, sexual dysfunctions, sleeping problems, pain, and other psychosomatic conditions.

This practical guide provides a useful introduction to hypnotherapy for professionals such as counsellors, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and physicians. The breadth of information included ensures it will also appeal to the more experienced clinician.

Foreword

   Although this book is intended for the practicing clinician and especially for those with a professional interest in psychotherapy, it may be useful and enlightening to the sophisticated reader and especially to the client who is interested in knowing more about the process of healing.

   With this book Dr. Hawkins skillfully presents both to the neophyte as well as to the experienced clinician an integration of traditional approaches based on suggestion and the more facilitative approaches of Erickson and Rossi, which lead to new learnings and understandings. He presents sophisticated and useful hypnotic techniques for the induction and the management of a variety of stress-related problems. Dr. Hawkins points out the importance of metaphors and storytelling in therapy, as they can facilitate rapport, stimulate unconscious activity and allow the individual to develop a greater sense of self-esteem and comfort.

   The six case studies and the wealth of scripts included in this book are of special interest as they represent different therapeutic approaches to specific problems and offer many useful ideas to the clinician for ego-strengthening, managing and encouraging catharsis, finding inner resources, stress management, pain control, sexual and sleeping problems, enuresis, post traumatic stress disorder, and so on. The author’s main emphasis throughout the book is on the value of hypnotherapy in stress management as it relates to a wide range of problems. In fact all the problems discussed are stress related and all are carefully selected to demonstrate appropriate psychotherapeutic approaches. His reference to psychoneuroimmunology is very interesting as he presents ample evidence of contemporary research relating stress to immune system functioning.

   The author doesn’t avoid but focuses and addresses important issues which are usually overlooked or ignored in most books on hypnosis such as the management of catharsis and the curative factors in psychotherapy.

   Although the author refers extensively to quantitative research studies in order to support the application of effective hypnosis interventions, he raises serious questions when such unilateral approaches are deified and used exclusively, especially in psychotherapeutic research. He emphasizes the benefits from the application of more qualitative models of research, which are predominantly hermeneutic or interpretative in style, as they involve the actions, and subjective experiences of the patient in a collaborative context with the therapist. However he recognizes the complementary role of the two approaches and encourages clinicians to utilize both qualitative and quantitative research methods to evaluate their therapeutic work.

   Many of us have witnessed and were impressed by the author’s effective use of hypnosis with psychodynamic and cathartic procedures in helping patients uncover and illuminate the origin of traumatic events and experiences. In his therapeutic work Dr. Hawkins also demonstrates the effective use of a technically integrative approach for the treatment of a wide variety of stress related problems. I believe that the reader of this book will get a flavour of the author’s ingenuity and will gain a better understanding of the important role that modern hypnosis can play in the hands of the trained clinician.

Nikitas Polemikos, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology

University of the Aegean

Greece

                                            *****

The book was recently reviewed in American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 49. 2, 2006; Journal of Mental Health. Vol 15(5) Oct 2006, 609-610 (below)

The author has written a good overview of the current state of hypnosis, integrating both academic and clinical material in the context of stress research. He challenges the dominance of randomized controlled trials, while acknowledging the need for evaluation and for methodological rigour. This approach of critically reviewing dominant perspectives occurs throughout the book and ensures that this is not just another lightweight overview. Interspersed throughout the book are case studies dealing with, among other things: lift phobia, dental phobia; male erectile disorder and psoriasis. Throughout the book, research and theory arising from generic psychotherapy is utilized, highlighting the need for therapists to be aware of the literature on good psychotherapeutic outcomes. There are few criticisms to make of this book. One could argue that the notion of stress remains rather uncontested or that public speaking, probably the single most common source of stress, remains undiscussed, but these are minor points. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)

Available from Amazon and all good bookshops.

Preface: Hypnosis & Stress HYPNOSIS and STRESS.Preface.pdf

The book has recently been published in Spanish, Greek and Romanian.

Hipnosis y Estrés: Guía para profesionales (2007),  Bilbao: Desclée De Brouwer

Hipnoza şi Stresul: Ghid pentru clinicieni (2009), Polirom (ISBN: 978-973-46-1326-7)