Self –hypnosis could be the key to overcoming anxiety

Self-hypnosis could be the way for young people to overcome their problems with anxiety and depression.

David Byron, the senior specialist educational psychologist for Hampshire County Council, revealed the success of an innovative hypnotherapy project on Thursday 4 January 2007, at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Educational and Child Psychology Annual Conference.

The Hampshire Hypnotherapy Project, which combines applied psychology with hypnotherapy, has been the focus of doctoral research at UCL and been operating for six years for secondary school pupils who have anxiety related problems. These problems are affecting their social-emotional well-being and educational progress and frequently disrupt school attendance and home life.

Mr Byron studied ten pupils who had undergone the hypnotherapy and ten pupils who were being taught more traditional relaxation techniques. He found that both approaches helped to reduce anxiety but that the hypnotherapy seemed to produce greater gains, with additional reductions in hopelessness and an improvement in self-esteem.

Things also seemed to improve in subsequent months and there was also a high level of parent satisfaction, with one parent observing "thank you for giving me my son back."

The sessions work by seeing the student and the parent together. The student sets a number of things they would like to change to make their lives better. Each student then receives about four sessions where they are taught how to self hypnotise and work on these targets. The students then receive three follow up visits for six months.

Mr Byron said: "It seems to empower the students’ to change their lives and it’s not me doing it, it’s them. I’m just showing them how to do it."

Interestingly, when the students’ teachers were asked for their observations on the students after the intervention they said they saw more change with the students using the relaxation techniques. But Mr Byron speculates this may be because these changes are more physical, while the hypnotherapy produces cognitive and emotional changes. He added: "I think there was a direct contrast between the pupils and parents observations with those of the teachers because the teachers have less time to become aware of the changes going on inside the pupils minds, especially in the teenage years."

Ref: PR1169