Copyright © 2006, Stephen LaFevers
Published by Whiskey Creek Press LLC

Reviews For HYPNOSIS IN HEALTHCARE by Stephen LaFevers

"Mr. LaFevers takes the mystery out of hypnotism and shows it to be an effective alternative and or supplement to more traditional methods of health care."
4 cups by Meme from Coffeetime reviews


S ample Chapter For HYPNOSIS IN HEALTHCARE by Stephen LaFevers

Foreword

For over thirty years I have been a practitioner in the art and science of hypnotherapy. I have personally trained over 10,000 men and women in the professional use of hypnosis. I taught my first university course on the subject back in the 1970s and in all those years, out of the dozens and dozens of books I’ve read on hypnosis and its applications, I have only been able to give high recommendations to two of them. With the arrival of Hypnosis in Healthcare, I can now recommend a third.

There are quite a few good specialty texts out there: Ormond McGill’s Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism and books about NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) come to mind, but Hypnosis in Healthcare is an all around good, solid, eclectic, basic text. I hesitate to call it a primer for fear of trivializing so important a work. Perhaps, if I may be permitted, I will coin a new definition for the word and call this book a prime, because Hypnosis in Healthcare may well become your cornerstone, your prime from which all further study in the field will radiate. It will become your Rosetta stone, which will enable you to quickly and easily interpret other texts of similar nature.

Hypnosis in Healthcare is incredibly brief when one stops to consider how complete it is. The book is chock full of insight, ideas, scripts, techniques, hypnotic suggestions, and metaphors for various syndromes. I believe I can say, without fear of contradiction, that never before has so much practical, useful information about the practice of hypnosis gone into so few pages. This is a teaching text for someone who wants to enter the remarkable world of hypnosis but has previously been distanced from it by time constraints. I personally read the entire manuscript in one sitting on my computer screen. It was easy! The language, the concise thinking, the ordered presentations all conspire to move one inexorably forward. You want to keep reading because it is like catching a momentary glimpse of the secrets of a master of the craft and wondering what you’ll miss if you stop!

In short, you will undoubtedly read a lot of books about hypnosis as you continue your studies, but once you have read this little treasure, it will become your standard of excellence against which you will measure all the others.

Steven A. LaVelle
President
Hypnodyne Foundation

Note: Steven A. LaVelle is an internationally known researcher, lecturer, author, and instructor in the field of hypnotherapy. He is one of the founders of the Hypnosis International Board of Registration and a charter member of the International Association of Counselors and Therapists.


Contents

Preface
Introduction
Definitions

Chapter 1: A Kiss Will Make It Better
What is Suggestion?
Post-Hypnotic Suggestion
Cheating Can Be Good
What Is Hypnosis?

Chapter 2: Myths and Misconceptions
Top Ten Misconceptions

Chapter 3: Top Ten Truths

Chapter 4: Let Me Count The Ways
Scripts
Classic Relaxation
LaVelle Flashing Light
Ten Count
Just Imagine

Chapter 5: Hypnosis and Children
Eye Closure
Hand Levitation
Falling Asleep

Chapter 6: Tests and Conversions
Eye Catalepsy
Red Handed
Hand Clasp
Arm Levitation
Book/Balloon
Pendulum

Chapter 7: Rapid or Instantaneous Hypnosis
Post-Hypnotic Suggestion
Hand Pull
Hand Shake
Confusion
Is It Really Working?
After the Session

Chapter 8: Disguised Hypnosis
Disguise It
Pressure Point
Christian Hypnosis

Chapter 9: Deepening Techniques
The Warm Pool
Relaxation
Staircase Method
Stiff Arm Method
Arm Drop Method
Q & A Method
Assessing Depth of Hypnosis
Does Depth Matter?

Chapter 10: What In The World Is It Good For
Healing Stories and Scripts
The Rainbow Princess
Controlling Pain With Glove Anesthesia
Help Arthritis by Greasing Rusty Joints
Stop Nail Biting
Relieve Migraine Headaches
No More Insomnia
Bust Development
Alleviate Bed Wetting
Help for Asthma
Control Pimples and Warts
Relieve Chronic Back Pain and Arthritis
Help for Joint and Arm Pain

Chapter 11: The Pre-Induction Interview
Subject
Hypnotherapist
Rapport
Sample Handout

Chapter 12: Formulating Effective Suggestions

Chapter 13: Self-Hypnosis

Chapter 14: Let’s Put It All Together

Chapter 15: Random Tips

Chapter 16: Using Waking Suggestions
Painless Shots
Painless Sutures
Easy To Swallow NG Tube
Scanning A Closterphobic Patient
A Comfortable Pregnancy and Labor
Working with CPAP and Oxygen Masks

Chapter 17: Learn By Doing

Suggested Reading


Introduction

This text has many functions. It will reveal to the interested novice a history of hypnosis, its therapeutic uses, and the ease with which it can be put to use. The novice or lay hypnotist is provided with various methods of induction as well as scripts for specific therapeutic purposes. Another function of this book is to help the healthcare professional integrate the use of hypnotic techniques into an existing practice. Also, those who have taken a hypnotherapy certification course will find here new insights, additional information, and scripts to supplement their training. This book is also intended to help the beginner understand what is necessary to establish a therapeutic practice. Here the reader will find the origins of hypnosis, its limitations and value. The beginner will find myths, fallacies and misconceptions about hypnosis dispelled. Classic fixation devices are introduced and each step of the classic induction is explored, including fixation, relaxation, visualization, suggestion and post-hypnotic suggestion.

Students will learn how hypnotic suggestions can be individualized to meet client/patient needs and how to write their own scripts as well as where to find scripts already written and used by others.

For the healthcare professional who wishes to begin using hypnotherapy, or techniques of hypnosis, in his/her current practice or in a totally new practice, this text will familiarize the reader not only with ways to establish himself as a hypnotherapist, but with methods of induction, alternative induction techniques for use with recalcitrant subjects, scripts and techniques for use with common problems, and most notably, an explanation of how to utilize hypnotic techniques without performing an induction. The reader may be surprised to learn that induction is not always necessary or desirable.

In every area of healthcare, record keeping is not only useful but also necessary. Here the reader will learn of various types of records that are useful in the discipline of hypnotherapy.

This text explores the manner in which techniques can be adapted for use with resistant clients, methods that are effective with children, and methods for identifying or writing a script that will be effective for a group induction. Methods of rapid induction are explored as well as tests of suggestibility, waking hypnosis, and disguised hypnosis. Pain control techniques, assisting clients with addictions, phobias, anxiety, stress reduction, weight management, and more are also addressed.

The interested reader will become familiar with issues relating to certification/registration, the need for continuing education, ethics of the profession, patient confidentiality, and legal aspects. The lay hypnotist or person simply interested in helping himself and his family overcome obstacles or maintain good health will learn how to do so safely and effectively.

This text does not teach everything the seasoned hypnotherapist needs to know in order to perform at the top of his profession, but it does provide the beginner with the basics needed to pass the certification exam, begin a practice, and start a learning process that will last a lifetime. There are many other books on hypnosis and hypnotherapy, and the beginner is encouraged to read widely. A great deal can be learned from experience, and even more from the experience of others. For this reason, it is recommended also that every hypnotherapist join a local organization of hypnotherapists. If there is not one nearby, form one. Sharing one another’s experiences, successes, and challenges can be invaluable.

CLOSE WINDOW