Clinical Hypnotherapy • F.A.Q.

Clinical hypnotherapy can be very usefully and successfully employed in conditions where anxiety, stress and fears play an important role. It can also help improve confidence and self-esteem. With hypnosis a person can learn to improve their motivation and desire to do things, to change unwanted habits, and to relate better to themselves and others.

Hypnosis does not perform miracles. It is not magic and should never be seen as a cure for all problems. It is usually one method among others which the trained professional will use to help a person to sort out their difficulties and worries. While many people can be helped with brief treatments requiring a few sessions, some problems do require more extensive treatment.

Examples of Use: Anxiety, Asthma, Burns, Coping with Cancer, Dentistry, Fears & Phobias, Headaches, Hypertension, Insomnia, Labour & Childbirth, Nail Biting, Obesity, Pain, Sexual Difficulties, Skin Problems, Stop Smoking (& other Habits), Stress Management, Stuttering, etc.

Hypnosis Procedure: The hypnotic state, or trance, is deliberately induced by teaching the person to relax deeply, both mentally and physically, to pay attention and to concentrate carefully, and by accepting and responding to appropriate suggestions. When the hypnotic state has been established, treatment of the problem by the therapist can begin. To end the trance easy-to-follow clear instructions are given. Back

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)

IPT is a short-term highly-structured type of psychotherapy with theoretical roots in attachment theory and a strong focus on areas of interpersonal problems. Whereas Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) may conceptualise painful feelings as symptoms, and expect these to diminish when negative cognitions are challenged, IPT helps patients to identify and deliberately tolerate feelings.

A key feature of ITP is the compiling of an interpersonal inventory that lists and examines all the patient's relationships. This is charted on rating scales or as a ‘spider’ diagram, which becomes a key resource for future therapy. The main idea of this therapy is to look at the social functioning in one of 4 possible areas of life:

• Interpersonal Disputes = conflicts.

  One problem area may be role dispute, in which the individual experiences nonreciprocal expectations about a relationship with someone else. Here, treatment focuses on understanding the nature of the dispute, the current communication difficulties, and works to modify the patient's communication strategies while remaining in accord with their core values.

• Role transitions = marked changes in life.

  Another problem area may be role transition, in which an individual is in the process of giving up an old role and taking on a new one. In this case, treatment attempts to facilitate the patient’s giving up of the old role, expressing emotions about this loss, and acquiring skills and support in the new role they must take on.

• Grief (e.g. loss of a loved person)

  The patient may present with delayed or distorted grief reactions. Treatment aims include facilitating the grieving process, the client's acceptance of difficult emotions, and their replacement of lost relationships.

• Interpersonal deficits.

  Another problem area commonly broached with IPT is interpersonal deficits. Patients presenting interpersonal deficits commonly engage in an analysis of their communication patterns, participate in role playing exercises with the therapist, and work to reduce their overall isolation, if applicable.

In the termination stages of IPT, the therapist works to consolidate the patient's gains, discuss areas which still require work, talk about relapse prevention, and process any emotions related to termination of therapy. Back

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT is a psychotherapeutic approach that aims to influence problematic and dysfunctional emotions, behaviours and cognitions through a goal-oriented, systematic procedure. The term CBT is often used as though it refers to a single psychotherapeutic treatment approach. However, it has evolved from two distinct and initially separate roots, one in the cognitive theories of psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck and colleagues such as Albert Ellis and Martin Seligman, and the other in the behavioural theories of psychologist B. F. Skinner. Beck’s model focuses on a negative cognitive triad that consists of negative views of oneself, one’s environment, and the future. Beck believed that these pessimistic cognitions, which arise from a maladaptive developmental history, lead to hopelessness and depression. The behavioural model of depression, first introduced by Skinner, suggests that sudden environmental changes, punishment and adverse control, and shifts in reinforcement contingencies can all contribute to the reduced rate of behaviour seen in depressives. More recent psychological interventions often combine aspects of both these cognitive and behavioural approaches. Consequently, CBT can be seen as an umbrella term for psychotherapies that share a theoretical basis in behaviouristic learning theory and cognitive psychology, and involve the use of methods of change derived from these theories. The objective is typically to identify and monitor thoughts, assumptions, beliefs and behaviours that are related and accompanied to debilitating negative emotions and to identify those which are dysfunctional, inaccurate, or simply unhelpful. This is done in an effort to replace or transcend them with more realistic and useful ones. Back

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)

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Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

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Health Fund Rebates

Since 1st November 2006, a Medicare rebate is available to patients who have been referred for psychological treatment by their doctors. The patient must ask their doctor about such a referral prior to the psychology consultation.

Patients who have private health insurance, if appropriately covered, will be eligible for a rebate of their fee. Please note that the patient cannot claim both the Medicare rebate and a health insurance rebate.

For patients who have current and accepted ‘Third Party’ claims such as; ComCare, TAC, DVA, Victims of Crime, or WorkCover, it is expected that the authority responsible for their treatment will meet the consultation fees. Back