Hypnotherapy and Stoptober
Well we are more than midway through the month of October, which has historically been a month where there has been a greater focus on people becoming non-smokers. Again, as in previous years, one method of smoking cessation is conspicuously missing. That method is of course hypnotherapy.
This despite the impressive amounts of peer reviewed evidence which shows the efficacy of hypnotherapy in kicking the habit. This without the necessity of using nicotine as a part of the programme. I cannot help but be disappointed by this, but I am also not surprised.
Hypnotherapy within the larger public health context has no voice or any real power base. This is true even of the medical practitioners of hypnosis. There is definitely a place for professional bodies to work together to achieve a higher profile for hypnotherapy in public health.
It is my view that this is the sort of thing that members pay their subscriptions for. Whilst organisations have a responsibility for governance and regulation, they also have an obligation to show the field in the best possible light. This must be supported with a strong research component. It is a great shame that there are not the same research interest for hypnotherapy as there is for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
