Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Hypnotherapy-BBC.co.uk 18th March 2010

Hypnotherapy 'can help' irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome causes abdominal pain and bloating
Greater use of hypnotherapy to ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome would help sufferers and might save money, says a gastroenterologist.

Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology, said of the first 100 of his patients treated, symptoms improved significantly for nine in 10.

He said that although previous research has shown hypnotherapy is effective for IBS sufferers, it is not widely used.

This may be because doctors simply do not believe it works.

Widely ignored

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gut problem which can cause abdominal pain, bloating, and sometimes diarrhoea or constipation.

Dr Valori, of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, said the research evidence which shows that hypnotherapy could help sufferers of IBS was first published in the 1980s.

He thinks it has been widely ignored because many doctors find it hard to believe that it does work, or to comprehend how it could work.

It is pretty clear to me that it has an amazing effect

Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology
He began referring IBS patients for hypnotherapy in the early 1990s and has found it to be highly effective.

"To be frank, I have never looked back," he said.

He audited the first 100 cases he referred for hypnotherapy and found that the symptoms stopped completely in four in ten cases with typical IBS.

He says in a further five in 10 cases patients reported feeling more in control of their symptoms and were therefore much less troubled by them.

"It is pretty clear to me that it has an amazing effect," he said.

"It seems to work particularly well on younger female patients with typical symptoms, and those who have only had IBS for a relatively short time."

Powerful effect

He believes that it could work partly by helping to relax patients.

"Of the relaxation therapies available, hypnotherapy is the most powerful," he said.

He also says that IBS patients often face difficult situations in their lives, and hypnotherapy can help them respond to these stresses in a less harmful way.

NHS guidelines allow doctors to refer IBS patients for hypnotherapy or other psychological therapies if medication is unsuccessful and the problem persists.

Dr Valori thinks that if hypnotherapy were used more widely it could possibly save the NHS money while improving patient care.

Dr Charlie Murray, Secretary of the British Gastroenterology Society, said: "There is no doubt that hypnotherapy is helpful for some patients, but it depends on the skill and experience of those practising it.

"But the degree to which it is effective is not well defined.

"I would support using it as one therapy, but it is no panacea."




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SEE ALSO
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We are in The London Evening Standard 3rd March 2010

The Great Escape: a spring break without travel




Technically speaking March is spring but in most other ways it still feels decidedly wintry and, for many people, their main summer holiday is a long way off.

But don't panic because the secret is to recreate the escape-it-all experience without leaving the country. New treatments on offer in London include the Two-Hour Holiday, the brainchild of wellbeing expert Patrick Lucocq. It is a mix of visualisation techniques and hypnotherapy, which provide the health benefits of time off abroad without the stress of airport travel. Here, we preview what is on offer to recharge your mind and body.

The Two-Hour Holiday
What is it? A mixture of meditation, relaxation and hypnotherapy
What is involved? It's a bone-chilling evening and I'm sitting in a London basement sniffing lemons surrounded by strangers. There's a rug on the floor spread with travel guides and souvenir pebbles. Guitar music plays in the background. A key part of this therapy is to stimulate the senses through touch and smell. Hence the lemons. It also includes storytelling by sharing your memories of a perfect holiday experience. Most of my group just want more space to think and a good night's sleep. And lots of sunshine.
Next, Patrick asks us to select an object we like from the rug. I pick out a pebble with a lizard motif and am transported back to an Australian trip. As I talk, the tension in my shoulders lifts. Then it's meditation time. The lights are switched off, candles lit and we all lie down on cushions with our eyes shut. Wave sounds play in the background as Patrick asks us to imagine ourselves in a tranquil place and focus on our breathing. It's clear from the noises that some people have already fallen asleep.
Holiday factor? It's hard to explain how two hours in a basement chatting and meditating can recreate the holiday experience. But it does. I leave uplifted and inspired.
Contact: Venues include Neal's Yard in Covent Garden and Regent's Park. (07789713876, www.calmhorizon.co.uk)
Cost: £10 a session.
Sophie Goodchild

The Two Hour Holiday is an event run through Happening Weekends www.happening-weekends.co.uk.

More soon

Best wishes

Patrick