The following article by Caroline Dyson was originally published in issue 49 of SEN Magazine, the UK's leading magazine for special educational need, and is reproduced here with permission from the author.
Say the word ‘hypnosis’ and what do most people think of? Answers usually include Paul McKenna, clucking like a chicken and more recently thanks to programmes like Little Britain, the phrase, “Look into my eyes, look into my eyes!” The stereotypical image of a swinging pocket watch is never far away yet schools/children are probably the furthest thought in people’s minds. However, things may soon change.
Hypnosis involves entering a pleasant, natural state of relaxation referred to as a trance state. Many of us experience this trance state regularly. Have you ever been so absorbed in a film or book that you don’t notice someone enter the room or fail to hear something that someone says to you? This is a trance state, or to put it a different way, an altered state of consciousness. You are not asleep (a common misconception about hypnosis) but neither are you fully alert and awake. In this trance state the mind is more suggestible and the active resistance of the conscious mind can be more easily by-passed making hypnotherapy highly effective and often yielding quick results. If a person is willing to accept the suggestions there is usually no reason why it will not work. The opposite is also true ensuring that no one can be made to do anything against their will, another popular myth that often prevents people from turning to hypnotherapy for help.
Hypnotherapy is still struggling to shake loose its controversial status that has arisen largely through a lack of accurate knowledge and myths that have become accepted ‘facts’. If administered by a properly trained clinical hypnotherapist it is perfectly safe with no adverse side effects. Currently there is still no single regulatory body for clinical hypnotherapy training but plenty of reputable training schools exist and often clinical hypnotherapists voluntarily adhere to a code of conduct associated with other helping professions such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
In the past there has been a distinct lack of well-grounded research into hypnotherapy. This is beginning to change however. People are opening their minds to the possibility that hypnotherapy does not have to be a last resort and has many uses far removed from what can be seen in stage hypnosis shows which bear very little resemblance to clinical hypnotherapy – using hypnosis for clinical benefits and not entertainment. The NHS is now beginning to recognise the potential benefits and some training for doctors now includes information on hypnotherapy as well the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (an independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on promoting good health and preventing and treating ill health) now acknowledging hypnotherapy in their guidelines as a recommended form of treatment for irritable bowel syndrome. The tide is certainly turning in the medical sector but where does that leave education?
Schools are dynamic places continually changing as they are pushed and pulled by new initiatives and policies. Most education professionals would now agree that no child will ever learn effectively and achieve their potential academically if they are not emotionally comfortable and secure. Education has steadily become more holistic and now appreciates the impact of personal/life events on school performance, recognising that emotional competence and good self-esteem underpin the ability to learn, achieve and be happy within school and beyond. Never is this more important than for children with SEN, especially those with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD). So how can hypnotherapy help these incredibly vulnerable pupils?
Hypnotherapy offers something quite different to the usual techniques regularly offered in schools such as stickers, incentive charts and strategies based on operant conditioning principles. That is not to say that such techniques do not have their place and can work extremely well but often pupils with SEN (especially SEBD) can be on incentive charts most of their school life. Pupils often find them un-motivating and teachers often rate them as unsuccessful in establishing long-term behaviour change. Hypnotherapy is a fun and novel approach which makes it accessible for pupils who struggle with motivation or who may be completely disengaged from previous interventions or therapeutic approaches. Whilst it still relies on a willingness to change (as it can’t make someone change against their will), it can be presented formally or informally to suit the needs of the pupil and due to its enjoyable nature, pupils are often willing to practise the techniques between sessions which makes the whole process more efficient and effective. It is an extremely versatile approach meaning that a skilled hypnotherapist can adapt the techniques to suit boys or girls, with any cognitive ability from approximately 5 years upwards, regardless of academic attainment. It can help pupils with other areas of need such as ADHD, learning difficulties, anxiety disorders, speech and language difficulties and ASD although the latter can prove difficult (though not impossible) due to the need to use imagination. The results of hypnotherapy are generally very rapid which is not only an advantage in this current financial climate where everything is being measured for cost-effectiveness, but is also incredibly useful for maintaining motivation and raising self-esteem. One of the fundamental principles behind hypnotherapy is the premise that the client (be that an adult or child) holds all the answers to their own problem and the hypnotherapist works as a facilitator in finding the solution. This is very useful for pupils with SEBD who often suffer from feelings of low self-worth and believe they are helpless to change things in their lives. Hypnotherapy can help them realise that they have control over how they respond to life events even if they can do little to actually control the events themselves. This can be wonderfully empowering and help the pupil accept responsibility for themselves and their actions. Many of the techniques taught are readily transferable to multiple situations meaning that pupils learn valuable skills they can use in diverse ways to help them in their often rapidly changing and turbulent lives. This can increase resiliency and hopefully provides a buffer to potential mental health difficulties later in life, something that is sadly all too frequent in pupils who were labelled as SEBD at school.
Arguably one of the most important things pupils learn from hypnotherapy is how to relax. So frequently this skill is underestimated yet it is so fundamental to our physical and emotional health. If we cannot relax appropriately we may find less appropriate ways to do so such as drinking alcohol, smoking or taking drugs. So often pupils with SEBD are stressed and anxious and this manifests itself in dangerous or socially unacceptable behaviours that are the reason they are identified as SEBD in the first place. Through hypnotherapy pupils are taught how to relax in a very deep way, physically and mentally. They learn how they can quieten their minds and ‘escape’ from the stress and pressure of their challenging personal circumstances, albeit temporarily, so that when they return they can view things from a different perspective and with a renewed energy.
Hypnotherapy teaches pupils ways to manage themselves - physically, mentally and emotionally, a skill that is all too often lacking from many pupils with SEBD. It can help with a vast range of issues, even anonymous problems that a pupil may choose not to disclose to the hypnotherapist. It can also help with physical problems (e.g. sleeping difficulties, bed wetting/soiling, eating issues, sensory sensitivity and tics) to emotional difficulties (e.g. coping with anger/anxiety/stress/grief/sadness/obsessive behaviours) to psychological issues (e.g. phobias, stammers, dealing with trauma and bad habits). It can also help specific school based issues too such as exam anxiety, school phobia, victims of bullying, public speaking, anxiety over making mistakes, concentration difficulties and low confidence with academic work. The list is almost endless!
Approximately 85% of people can be helped by hypnotherapy but children/young people are the most suitable because they are so open-minded. Suggestibility has been shown to peak between the ages of 7-14 years when children/young people are developmentally less analytical than adults and more inclined to accept things on face value. Younger children are in a trance state most of the time, as anyone who works with infant aged children will probably agree with! Trance for children/young people is anything from daydreaming to making up a story to playing creatively with a toy. They can be guided into trance far more quickly and easily than adults and are often more creative with their ideas to solve their own problems in terms of metaphors and imagery, which are the most frequently used tools when using hypnotherapy with children/young people. As Dr Margot Sunderland (Integrative Child Psychotherapist and Director of Education and Training at the Centre for Child Mental Health, London) states in one of her books, “The natural language of feeling for children is that of image and metaphor, as in stories and dreams”. We need to get into the world of the child and talk to them in their language if we stand any chance of helping to guide them safely through it.
Hypnotherapy is a safe, effective and enjoyable intervention with huge applications and benefits. In the not too distant future there is hope that the terms hypnotherapy and schools/children will be closely linked and the relevance between the two acknowledged, accepted, understood and applied. It may not be the answer for every pupil all of the time but it certainly offers diverse, creative and fun solutions and may provide possibilities for pupils for whom standard interventions have proved unsuccessful. There is nothing to lose and everything to be gained.
Caroline Dyson – Clinical Hypnotherapist and Behaviour Support Teacher - can be contacted at:
(0121) 240 0694
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