Medical Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy

Medical doctors or specific allied healthcare professionals who have existing knowledge of hypnosis may request to APEL into the Medical Diploma.  APEL or Accreditation of Prior Experience or Learning will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Visit Prior Learning or LCCH APEL for more information.

Teaching Structure 

The classic (classroom) course is taught across twelve lecture weekends spaced generally by about one month. Each weekend you are introduced to new treatment protocols, techniques and skills for how clinical hypnosis can manage or treat conditions and symptoms.

The course is extremely practical. Each technique is demonstrated and participants are provided ample time to practise techniques and discuss their experiences and clinical cases.

To meet your lecturers, visit the Faculty.

Personal Tutors

Each participant is assigned a personal tutor who is also in clinical practice. Your clinical tutor will help you integrate the skills and techniques learned into your own specific area(s) of specialisation or practice.

Sessions are carried out via Skype or at face-to-face meetings. 

• This is a practical and hands-on programme.
• Providing tools for pain management, behavioural medicine and functional disease
• New techniques for mood disorders and anxiety.
• Designed to make comfort and care part of your routine practice.
• Teaching soft skills and clinical communication tools.
• Reducing risks of medical litigation through effective clinical communication.
• Integrating clinical hypnotherapy into your practice.
• Bringing enjoyment back to medical practice and the heart back to medicine.
  

Provides hands-on experience of clinical hypnosis techniques including:

• Specialised techniques for pain management and chronic pain.
• Hypno-behavioural techniques for lifestyle illnesses, anxiety disorders, phobic responses, functional problems and stress management.
• Hypno-analytical techniques for psychosomatic disorders, functional stress-related problems and burnout.
• Regression, dissociation techniques, pseudo-orientation, time distortion, glove anesthesia (pain management), amnesia and memory substitution.
• Advanced direct and indirect suggestions, compound suggestions, use of metaphors, Ericksonian hypnosis.
• Hypnosis techniques and NLP methodology.
• Therapeutic use of hallucination, symptom manipulation, IMR therapy.
• Gut-directed hypnosis – specific protocols for IBS, Crohn’s Disease and gut-related symptoms.
• Clinical communications designed to enhance rapport, compliance and adherence.

Develop treatment plans using clinical hypnosis to manage a wide range of conditions and symptoms including:

• Chronic Conditions and Pain management.
• Anxiety Disorders – generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorders, anxiety and stress.
• Lifestyle diseases – including obesity, weight management and smoking cessation.
• Sleep disorders – insomnia, night terrors.
• Management of symptoms and side-effects.
• Functional Disorders-IBS, fatigue, fibromyalgia, dermatological conditions, menstrual irregularities.
• Pediatrics hypnosis – nocturnal enuresis, separation anxiety, pain.
• Hypnodontics - bruxism.
• Hypnosis and Childbirth.
• Anxiety behaviours – public speaking, nail biting, stuttering, performance anxiety.
• Safe Ethical Practice – Recognition of contra-indications, abreaction, symptom manipulation.

Acquire skills to use clinical hypnotherapy to bring comfort and care to their patients and to recognize that each patient has a unique set of criteria which may influence their response(s) to treatment.

• Psychological problems and to provide a holistic approach to patient care.
• Behavioural Psychology - Locus of control and its implication in health management.
• Behavioural and cognitive psychology and hypno-behavioural models.
• Paradoxical Approaches.
• Psychodynamic approaches and the hypno-anlaytical model including metaphorical communications; use of dreams and lucid dreaming, regression therapy and secondary gains.
• Counselling techniques including information-gathering skills, interpretation of body language and minimal cues; observation and calibration, creating rapport, case history taking specific to hypnotherapy, treatment planning, homework and discharge.

Shared decision-making encourages patients to take an active role in their treatment and managed care. This is particularly relevant for patients with life-style or chronic illness and symptoms.

Integrative medicine approaches work well for patients who are able or want to be involved in their well-being by addressing the effects of lifestyle, emotions, and social interactions on health.

People with conditions such as:

• Fibromyalgia.
• Peri-menopausal symptoms.
• Chronic fatigue syndrome.
• Depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorders.
• Chronic health problems such as diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease.
• Those looking for natural ways to optimally prepare for elective surgery.

The World Health Organisation and other agencies caution that stress is reaching epidemic proportions within society. Integrative psychotherapy encourages the medical / healthcare practitioner to include hypnotherapeutic and psychotherapeutic tools and skills to assist patients to cope with the impact of modern lifestyle on mental and physical health.

This section includes helping the participant to:

• Develop personalised treatment plans to suit each person's lifestyle and strengthen self-awareness and resources for self-care.
• Assist patients who want to take responsibility for their well-being by addressing the effects of health on lifestyle, emotions, and social interactions.
• Support individuals who have not tolerated or responded optimally to traditional psychiatric treatments.
• Help individuals with depression, anxiety, peri-menopausal symptoms, and phobias.

It should be noted that individuals with active suicidal tendencies or psychosis may require a more intensive level of psychiatric care.