{"id":12041,"date":"2024-05-15T18:02:56","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T17:02:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/?p=12041"},"modified":"2024-12-18T20:07:45","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T20:07:45","slug":"medical-hypnosis-engaged-presentness-managing-expectations-and-utilising-sensory-distractions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/medical-hypnosis-engaged-presentness-managing-expectations-and-utilising-sensory-distractions\/","title":{"rendered":"Medical Hypnosis &#8211; Engaged Presentness, Managing Expectations and Utilising Sensory Distractions"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 ez-toc-wrap-right counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Blog Contents (Jump to Section)<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a0a968faba36\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a0a968faba36\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/medical-hypnosis-engaged-presentness-managing-expectations-and-utilising-sensory-distractions\/#medical-hypnosis-engaged-presentness-managing-expectations-and-utilising-sensory-distractions\" >Medical Hypnosis: Engaged Presentness, Managing Expectations and Utilising Sensory Distractions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/medical-hypnosis-engaged-presentness-managing-expectations-and-utilising-sensory-distractions\/#engaged-presentness-as-a-learning-tool-in-medical-hypnosis\" >'Engaged Presentness' - as a learning tool in medical hypnosis<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/medical-hypnosis-engaged-presentness-managing-expectations-and-utilising-sensory-distractions\/#medical-hypnosis-managing-expectations-briefing-patients-clients-and-those-with-them\" >Medical hypnosis: Managing expectations -Briefing patients\/ clients and those with them<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/medical-hypnosis-engaged-presentness-managing-expectations-and-utilising-sensory-distractions\/#utilising-sensory-distractions-distracting-anxiety-with-multiple-sensory-inputs\" >Utilising sensory distractions - Distracting anxiety with multiple sensory inputs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/medical-hypnosis-engaged-presentness-managing-expectations-and-utilising-sensory-distractions\/#conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/medical-hypnosis-engaged-presentness-managing-expectations-and-utilising-sensory-distractions\/#our-hypnotherapy-course\" >Our hypnotherapy course<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"medical-hypnosis-engaged-presentness-managing-expectations-and-utilising-sensory-distractions\"><\/span>Medical Hypnosis: Engaged Presentness, Managing Expectations and Utilising Sensory Distractions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I regularly teach NHS staff how to use hypnotherapy, both conversationally and with formal hypnosis. Each time I am on site teaching, I find myself impressed with how thoroughly the medical staff (nurses, doctors, surgeons) engage with what I am teaching them. Recently I was on site to observe and support some of my recent medical hypnosis students and I am taking this opportunity to share those observations with you in this brief blog. A quick point to note, is that during this blog I will generally use the term \u2018client\u2019 in relation to regular hypnotherapy and \u2018patient\u2019 when in the context of working in hospital.<\/p>\n<p>At HypnoTC we are passionate about helping people to become the best hypnotherapist they can be, whether that involves great initial training or awesome upskill\/ refresher training. To find out more about training with HypnoTC and becoming a professional hypnotherapist, click the button below.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"border-radius:90px\" href=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/hypnotherapy-training-diploma-course\/\" text=\"Find out more about our Hypnotherapy Diploma course\" class=\"elementor-button-link elementor-button elementor-size-md elementor-animation-grow\"><span>Find out more about our Hypnotherapy Diploma course<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;Engaged Presentness&#8217; &#8211; as a learning tool in medical hypnosis<\/h2>\n<p>Something I have noticed with medical hypnosis training, that seems to be a trait amongst all the clinical and surgical staff I teach, is that they are truly present in the moment and engaged when I am directly teaching them.<\/p>\n<p>This is more than just paying attention, it is the quality of engagement as well. They seem to be able to dial in or zone in their focus and ignore both internal (e.g. thoughts) and external distractions (e.g. surroundings).<\/p>\n<p>Have you ever noticed how people can be listening, and seem like they are working on what to say next; waiting for a point to then start talking themselves?<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Engaged presentness&#8217; means that someone is totally focused on what is being said and absorbing the information being conveyed. This gives the recipient a greater level of detail than they might otherwise notice (if distracted by their thoughts).<\/p>\n<p>How does this work in practice? Yesterday I outlined a possible treatment approach, including induction and a range of suggestions for during a procedure. The member of staff had &#8216;engaged presentness&#8217; throughout and asked a couple of relevant questions. I then observed an excellent reproduction of what had been discussed. That \u2018zoned-in\u2019 focus enabled them to rapidly grasp the key concepts and then recall them in an accurate way.<\/p>\n<p>How does this help hypnotherapists? The next time you are learning something, whether an online seminar, a conference, or even simply watching a YouTube video (hyperlink), then &#8216;engaged presentness&#8217; helps you get more!<\/p>\n<p>By the way, as a side note, if you would like to meet me at a conference or other event, have a look at my <a href=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/dr-kate-in-action\/\">Dr Kate In Action<\/a> page. If you are more about YouTube, then do visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCRHcwyDK8SecR3Zu10piYCA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">HypnoTC YouTube channel<\/a>. We update new content regularly. If you have a special request, do let us know.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"border-radius:90px\" href=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/contact-hypnotc-the-hypnotherapy-training-company\/\" text=\"Suggest a YouTube video topic\" class=\"elementor-button-link elementor-button elementor-size-md elementor-animation-grow\"><span>Suggest a YouTube video topic<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"medical-hypnosis-managing-expectations-briefing-patients-clients-and-those-with-them\"><\/span>Medical hypnosis: Managing expectations -Briefing patients\/ clients and those with them<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Any hypnotist or hypnotherapist is likely to recognise the value of a great pre-talk, including dispelling myths and managing expectations, so the clients know what hypnosis is, and isn\u2019t!<\/p>\n<p>Where hypnosis is not the key approach, such as being used to assist with the patient\u2019s comfort during a medical or surgical procedure, there will be a lot going on. A briefing about what to expect gives the patient an opportunity to ask any questions and have a client idea of what their role will be as well as what staff will do. By briefing in advance, that information can be absorbed in a calm state.<\/p>\n<p>However, whilst briefing the patient about what they can expect helps them prepare themselves, in the moment, procedural anxiety can interfere with rational thought. Some patients may already know that they experience this and would benefit from additional support, such as a friend or family member, whose only role in the process is to support the patient.<\/p>\n<p>If a patient is bringing a support person, it helps to brief that support person in advance as well. This helps them understand the environment that they will be in, the staff members they are likely to meet, and their roles, as well as what the procedure will be. There can be a discussion about what form that support can take, and even times when they might be asked to increase support, or be quiet.<\/p>\n<p>That additional person can be a superb advocate for the patient. They can discuss in advance with the patient what their wishes, needs and fears are, so that they can communicate these for the patient if needed.<\/p>\n<p>During the briefing, the briefer, whether medic, practitioner or support staff, can also use this time to assess the supporter, and get an idea of the optimal communication strategy for them.<\/p>\n<p>How does this relate to hypnotherapy? Where you have clients who are accompanied, you might consider briefing the supporter as well as the client. This is particularly helpful when working with children and briefing parents about their role.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Utilising sensory distractions &#8211; Distracting anxiety with multiple sensory inputs<\/h2>\n<p>When an anxious patient is experiencing a medical or surgical procedure, they may experience heightened awareness of body sensations. So, for example, with a dental procedure, every tiny movement, sensation or taste can be magnified.<\/p>\n<p>By giving the patient different sensory experiences, at a distance from the part of the body having the treatment (e.g. hands and feet for oral treatment), the patient has multiple \u2018feeds\u2019 of information and that can reduce the perception of the sensory information of the area being worked on.<\/p>\n<p>One example, from a recent observation and training event, was to create two different stress balls, one for each hand (see pic). Why different? The first one (penguin example) has more sensory information due to its shape than a simple round ball would have.<\/p>\n<p>The other stress ball was transformed from a round ball into an unusual oblong with different textures (due to the creative use of a dressing). With time to prepare, there could be a range of stress ball shapes and textures (e.g. spiky ball, firm squishy, super soft) for the patient to choose from.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/HypnoTC-Blog-Medical-Hypnosis-Stress-Ball-scaled.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-12047\" src=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/HypnoTC-Blog-Medical-Hypnosis-Stress-Ball-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Medical hypnosis blog two styles of stress ball\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/HypnoTC-Blog-Medical-Hypnosis-Stress-Ball-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/HypnoTC-Blog-Medical-Hypnosis-Stress-Ball-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/HypnoTC-Blog-Medical-Hypnosis-Stress-Ball-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/HypnoTC-Blog-Medical-Hypnosis-Stress-Ball-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/HypnoTC-Blog-Medical-Hypnosis-Stress-Ball-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In addition to using the stress balls, the patient can also scrunch and release their toes on the opposite foot to the squeezing hand. So alternating hand squeezes and having the opposite foot toes scrunching. This takes up cognitive power as well as providing multiple sensory inputs and can help reduce a patient\u2019s over-focus on the procedure. This can reduce any negative thinking or catastrophising, as well as distract from any pain or discomfort.<\/p>\n<p>How does this relate to hypnotherapy? You can encourage a client with procedural anxiety to get their own stress balls and then anchor a desired emotion to the action of holding or using the stress balls and foot movements.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Medical hypnosis or hypnotherapy in a medical or surgical setting is very different to that of a hypnotherapy consulting room (or online Zoom presence). Rather than being the star of the show (in a hypnotherapy session) it is a supporting actor, yet one of significant influence. It can make a huge difference to both the patient&#8217;s experience and that of the staff. Much of what is taught to hypnotherapists can be either directly applied in a medical or surgical setting, or applied with an informed adaption.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"our-hypnotherapy-course\"><\/span>Our hypnotherapy course<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you would like to help others make positive enhancements to their lives and become a professional hypnotherapist,\u00a0\u00a0we recommend you check our awesome Professional<a href=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/hypnotherapy-training-diploma-course\/\">\u00a0Hypnotherapy Diploma course<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Finally, if you would like to find out more about the awesome Professional Hypnotherapy Diploma that HypnoTC , do please visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/hypnotherapy-training-diploma-course\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Diploma page<\/a> and have a browse through the information about our world-class, award-winning training.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\"><a style=\"border-radius:90px\" href=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/hypnotherapy-training-diploma-course\/\" text=\"Find out more about our Hypnotherapy Diploma course\" class=\"elementor-button-link elementor-button elementor-size-md elementor-animation-grow\"><span>Find out more about our Hypnotherapy Diploma course<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8211; written by Dr Kate Beaven-Marks<br \/>\n(HypnoTC Director)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Kate-Circle-for-Blogs-Small-New-2018.png\" alt=\"Dr Kate Beaven-Marks HypnoTC the Hypnotherapy Training Company\" width=\"120\" height=\"120\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Medical Hypnosis: Engaged Presentness, Managing Expectations and Utilising Sensory Distractions I regularly teach NHS staff how to use hypnotherapy, both conversationally and with formal hypnosis. Each time I am on site teaching, I find myself impressed with how thoroughly the medical staff (nurses, doctors, surgeons) engage with what I am teaching them. Recently I was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":12776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-12041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hypnotherapy-training","tag-dr-kate-beaven-marks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12041"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12058,"href":"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12041\/revisions\/12058"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hypnotc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}