Most hypnotherapists offer smoking cessation and weight loss programs as their daily bread and butter. Medical Hypnotherapists also have a bread and butter service – Gut-directed Hypnosis for IBS (irritable bowel sydrome). It has been proven in research of the last 25 years to be effective in over 80% of cases of those diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Surprisingly, the research shows that improvements increase after completing the gut-directed hypnosis protocol and the best results come from the worst cases of IBS. The first course many hypnotherapists and NLP practitioners take when they want to expand their practice to work with disease and disorders is Gut-directed Hypnosis for IBS training. Why?
A Large Part of the Population Has IBS
In the United States alone, more than 40 million people have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and of those 25 million seek treatment every year. As the current standard treatment options are not always effective, both these people and even their health practitioners, are always looking for other options that can give them relief. Would you like to work alongside gastroenterologists and nutritionists?
Gut-Directed Hypnosis for IBS
In Gut-Directed Hypnosis, there are three key areas that the hypnotherapist needs to address –
1. Alter Symptoms – Direct Suggestions and Metaphors to Alter Symptoms, Control Gut Motility, and Reduce Sensitivity.
- Direct suggestions of how food goes through the body steadily until it is deposited into the toilet without strain.
- Metaphors and visualizations to modify motility: Visualizations to change kinked or overactive garden hose or fast or slow caterpillar to a steady pace, or roaring tumultuous river to meandering steady flow river.
- Modify Pain sensation (control room, transform the shape, NLP spin, or other techniques to change pain sensation).
2. Relaxation Response – Activate the Relaxation Response and Regain Sense of Control and Trust in the body.
- Explain what IBS is and isn’t
- Reframe meaning behind bowel movements (“My body hates me.” “It will only get worse.”).
- Ego Strengthening Suggestion
- Warm hand technique (like a hot water bottle) on the belly.
- Anchor relaxation in trance using thumb and finger together to be used in daily life when tense or anxious.
3. Address Emotions and Triggers – Address Underlying Emotions, Triggers, Trauma, Ongoing Stress
- Address trauma (sexual abuse four times greater)
- Shame, guilt, and conflicts.
- Address secondary gain (avoid stressful situations and sympathy).
- Talk to Disease in Trance – discover and modify beliefs, decisions, and triggers (Examples: I always have to give to others. I can’t accept help. I can’t say No. I can’t fail.).
Clients with IBS will usually require 6 to 10 sessions. Sessions are held two weeks apart for the first six sessions at least. 14 days between sessions will allow time to use the tools taught and recordings created in the sessions for a long enough period to assess their effectiveness in the following session. In order to address stressors and create personalized hypnotherapy recordings in each session, it is recommended that sessions be at leat 75 minutes long.