Many years ago, when I was recently a medical assistant- turned- hypnotherapist, I was surprised how often the question came up, “Do you work with Tourette’s?” Back then, I didn’t realize how widespread conditions with various tics and obsessive-compulsive behavior are. In the twenty-plus years since then, I have become an expert in the field, working with great success reducing the symptoms of neurological conditions using hypnosis.
I have amassed hundreds of hours with individual clients over the years. I developed a program for the Learning Annex called “Break Free from OCD”. Some years back I filmed (with the parents’ approval) a 7 year old boy undergoing hypnosis sessions with me for use in my hypnotherapy training program. I have followed up with this young man for several years and he has maintained his release of tics, as well as compulsions.
So, I was happy to read that a study came out last week in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics that indicated that self-hypnosis is extremely effective in treating Tourette’s. The study is called Nonpharmacological treatment of tics in Tourette syndrome adding videotape training to self-hypnosis.
Dr. Jeffrey Lazarus at Case Western Reserve University did a study of 33 patients with Tourette Syndrome between the ages of 6 and 19. Dr. Lazarus reported a whopping 79% of participants experienced improvement quickly. As a matter of fact, 46% developed tic control after only 2 visits and 96% after 3 visits.
This is no small miracle considering that Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder that causes involuntary tics such as facial grimaces, yelling, jerking movements, and blinking, among other things. It isn’t considered something that can just be stopped by thinking about it.
It can run the range from being relatively mild to severely impairing the quality of a person’s life. Children with Tourette’s are typically cruelly teased by classmates because they don’t fit the norm. Tourette’s patients have reported to me they have felt that their symptoms are exacerbated by stress, and the teasing brings on increased tic activity. It’s a terrible self-perpetuating cycle that is reinforced through repetition. A child’s self-esteem can be deeply hurt by not being able to control unwanted behavior.
There are drugs used to treat the symptoms. Unfortunately, children frequently derive less benefit from prescriptions as they grow older. There are, of course, side effects to the drugs used, as well as the financial cost.
In this study, Dr. Lazarus showed these children a video of a child with Tourette’s learning to hypnotize himself. Then, the children were taught self-hypnosis 3 times a day. By end of the second day of training, he had results that any pharmaceutical manufacturer would be thrilled with and be ready to invest thousands of dollars to explore commercial viability if it was a new compound being tested.
Instead, as a low tech alternative, his study may be relegated to the annals of interesting anomalies, which is sad because its dismissal signals denial of help for many children who could easily benefit by utilizing hypnosis or self hypnosis.
In his study, Dr, Lazarus wrote: ” Conclusions: Instruction in SH (self-hypnosis), aided by the use of videotape training, augments a protocol and probably shortens the time of training in this technique. If SH is made more accessible in this way, it will be a valuable addition to multi-disciplinary management of tic disorders in Tourette syndrome.”
My findings over years of field work corroborate Dr. Lazarus’ results. Although I use different hypnotic techniques, I can comfortably state that the children or adults can derive benefit in even one short session and 10 to 15 minutes of homework daily. My work has shown maximum results occur with a treatment plan of 3-4 sessions and passive “homework” spread over a 30 day period. Hypnotherapy for Tourette’s and other neurological conditions involving repetitive behaviors is fast and relatively inexpensive with no negative side effects. It increases self esteem and gives children feelings of being empowered to do something for themselves.
Hypnotherapy sessions with self-hypnosis training can go a long way towards relieving many symptoms of conditions with repetitive behaviors, giving people of all ages a more comfortable life. I hope Dr. Lazarus’ work on Tourette’s and hypnosis receives all the attention it deserves and that more studies are forthcoming.
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