You may be hypnotizing patients but don’t know it
It’s not exactly rocket science, say the experts, and you’re probably already hypnotizing your patients, even if you’re not consciously aware of it. A University of California-Davis study defines hypnosis as "a procedure that induces an altered state of consciousness, during which the individual develops heightened concentration on a particular idea or image for the purpose of maximizing some potential or achieving a goal." (See story, p. 22.)
There are three key elements to hypnosis:
1. the ability to focus the subject’s attention;
2. a suggestion to turn off things that are happening around him or her;
3. an increased receptiveness to suggestion.
"When someone is having an asthma attack, he’s already totally focused on his breathing, so you’ve already hit one of the criteria," says Marc Oster, PsyD, a clinical psychologist in Arlington Heights, IL, who is also a private practitioner of hypnosis. "And he’s probably not paying any attention to anything around except his difficulty in breathing. That’s the second one. It’s just up to you to offer the suggestions to ward off the panic. They are very open to suggestion of any solution to their dilemma at that time. It’s what most health care professionals do anyway in any emergency."
Panicked patients who enter the emergency department cared for by panicked providers is "like throwing gas on a fire," says Oster. "But when you speak to the child in a calming way, your voice calm and slow, you avert the panic and things will usually begin to ease up."
Health care practitioners have a high level of confidence in the use of language and the role of language in reassuring and calming patients, he says. Words may not even be necessary.
"If you panic, they will panic. If you are calm, they will be, too." It takes some training to actually become a hypnotherapist, says Oster, who regularly teaches workshops for health care professionals in an effort to "demystify" hypnosis. "It’s not magic. It’s practice," he concludes. "It’s a matter of your philosophy of patient care. If your philosophy of patient care is a five-minute office visit, this won’t work for you. But if you have turned your back on the faster brand of patient care, hypnosis can produce some powerful results for your patients."
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