Recent news

Much like eczema scratching will worsen the symptoms and can often leave embarrassing marks on the skin. Treatment will usually involve ointments and moisturiser’s but a new study has now shown that it is possible to mentally treat the disease.

Researchers at the Barnsley District General Hospital in the United Kingdom have undertaken a study which shows the affects of hypnotherapy on patients with dermatitis. 18 adults and 20 children all suffering from severe dermatitis participated in the study and started to show improvements even from the very early stages.

Over the next 18 months the improvements remained constant throughout all clinical testing appointments. Out of the children, 10 experience immediate relief from side effects such as itching and scratching, 9 had improved sleeping patterns and 7 showed improvements in...

The study “Effects of supportive-expressive group therapy on pain in women with metastatic breast cancer” was published recently in Psychology Health. The aim of the study was to examine the effects that group hypnosis sessions and advice on pain control had on women suffering with metastatic breast cancer.

124 women participated in the 12 month study. They were spilt into two groups, one of which received hypnotherapy and pain management sessions and another which received only clinical advice. Each group had interviews every four months to analyse the effect the treatments had on their pain levels.

The hypnotherapy group reported that treatment helped to manage their levels of pain, reporting...

Melissa Lacy had aspirations of becoming a model ever since hearing glamorous industry stories as a child. However, after experiencing rejection from nine different agencies due to her “puppy fat” a 13 year old Melissa took their word as gospel and went away to loose some weight.

After another rejection Melissa begun to develop a very serious eating disorder, cutting down her daily calorie intake to below half what she should have been eating.

At the age of 16, Melissa was a size 4 weighing only 7 stone. Her hip bones and ribcage jutting through her skin would make even lying down a painful and uncomfortable task. She then began to loose her and even stopped getting her period.

When at College Melissa was able to see that she didn’t look like other girls. After realising something was seriously wrong she eventually confided...

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a fairly common issue which causes pain in the abdomen as well as bloating, diarrhoea and constipation.

Dr Valori, of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital has said she believes greater use of hypnotherapy could ease symptoms for sufferers and could save money in the long run. However, much of the research was first published in the 1980’s causing doctors to question its current credibility.

Dr Valori started referring patients for hypnotherapy in 1990 and has found it consistently effective. After auditing his first 100 referrals he found that symptoms stopped completely for four in ten cases and five out of ten reported feeling more in control of their symptoms.

Hypnotherapy’s success in treating...

UK medical journal, The Lancent, published a study looking into whether hypnotherapy could help to prevent relapses in the ulcers. The study consisted of 30 people, 14 female and 16 males, all who had suffered from duodenal ulcers and all who had experienced a relapse within the past six months.

All participants were asked to take a common and successful drug for treating ulcers (rantidine) and were given sufficient time for the drug to work and for the ulcer to heal. After this the group was then split into two. One group received seven hypnosis session and were given a recording to listen to on their own, the others did not receive...

A recent study in the Archives of General Psychiatry looked into the risks of having in binge eating disorder in comparison to those with no health disorders. The study looked at 52 women with a binge eating disorder, 102 women with bulimia nervosa, 102 women with a psychiatric disorder and 104 without any disorder . It was found that those suffering with a binge eating disorder were the most likely to have weight vulnerabilities, parental depression, and frequently received criticism for their weight from others. Those with bulimia were found to have a negative body image, perfectionistic tendencies, and were vulnerable to obesity.

Due to the fact bulimia nervosa has many psychological factors involved,...

A professor from Oxford has scientific findings which may suggest we are wrongly treating patients who suffer from chronic pain.

Professor Irene Tracey believes part of the problem is due to people perceiving pain as a symptom, when actually it is a disease itself. Tracey is just one of a growing number of specialists using hi-tech image scanners to reveal how medicine often approaches pain from the wrong perspective.

Chronic pain affects almost eight millions brits, that’s more than one in ten of the entire population. It is defined as an issue which persists for longer than six months after surgery or injury and is an issue which costs the economy £12 billion a year.

Professor Tracey explains how our beliefs can be powerful and over riding. She gave the example of an...

After watching her father die of lung cancer and still wanting to smoke, it was no wonder Charlotte believed nothing could shift her smoking habit, but in a last ditched attempt to quit she decided to visit a hypnotherapist who had been recommended by a friend.

The first step of the session was for the hypnotherapist to find out as much about Charlottes relationship with smoking as possible, questioning her on what she liked about smoking and why she felt it made her life...