BMA Report on Hypnotherapy

Courtesy of Donald Robertson - hypnosynthesis

   

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Specific details of the report are that

In 1977 the British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis (BSECH) was formed. Membership mainly consists of medical doctors and other health professionals. The Society publishes a journal, which is now called Contemporary Hypnosis. In 1980, the British Society for the Practice of Hypnosis in Speech and Language Therapy was formed, which is mainly open to speech therapists.

In its submission of evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology (2000) the BMA officially stated that ‘Hypnotherapy and counselling may be considered as orthodox treatments.’

With regard to research, in 1999 the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a‘Clinical Review’ of hypnosis and relaxation therapies in which a carefully conducted overview of the best medical evidence on hypnosis confirms its effectiveness in alleviating pain and treating various medical conditions. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is ultimately
derived from hypnotherapy, incidentally, and the CBT techniques used in these kind of studies are often identical to standard hypnotherapy interventions such as goal visualisation. In any case, the study proves that hypnosis is effective in the following cases, There is good evidence from randomised controlled trials that both hypnosis and relaxation techniques can reduce anxiety, particularly that related to stressful situations such as receiving chemotherapy. They are also effective for panic disorders and insomnia, particularly when integrated into a package of cognitive therapy (including,
for example, sleep hygiene). A systematic review has found that hypnosis enhances the effects of cognitive behavioural therapy for conditions such as phobia, obesity, and anxiety.
Randomised controlled trials support the use of various relaxation techniques for treating both acute and chronic pain, […]. Randomised trials have shown hypnosis to be of value in asthma and in irritable bowel syndrome […].
Relaxation and hypnosis are often used in cancer patients. There is strong evidence from randomised trials of the effectiveness of hypnosis and relaxation for cancer related anxiety, pain, nausea, and vomiting, particularly in children. (BMJ, 1999) It is interesting to compare this research overview to the one provided by the British Psychological Society (BPS) below. Together they demonstrate that hypnotherapy has become an established, evidence-based treatment for a number of common conditions.

   
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