I recently met a women in her early 40s. She is diagnosed with fibromyalgia and suffers intense chronic pain that, at moments, confine her to a wheelchair. She's scoring fairly high on the fibromyalgia symptom intensity scale. Upon doctor's consultations, root cause is never clear for her pain so it always comes back to fibromyalgia by elimination.
I'd rather avoid the never-ending debate of "it's all in your head or not" since it is obviously not that simple. Straight to the point: Is anyone being aware of any work on hypnotic suggestion beign considered as a treatment for chronic pain related to Fibromyalgia?
A good example of that would be Milton Erickson's work "The interspersal hypnotic technique for symptom correction and pain control" (1966, avail on pubmed). Some things never get old.
I would be really enthusiastic to hear anything serious and structured.
Chronic pain, diagnosed with fibromyalgia
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- jurplesman
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by oldjon » Sat Oct 15, 2011 1:04 am
Hi Klinical,
not sure how, or why, the last post would be that helpful to be honest.
Fibromyalgia and hypnosis has been found to be extremely helpful.
PM me for the journal/research articles - i cant give out the passwords or i'd lose my position at the university!!!
in short, a useful approach would be
1) to ask the client how Fibromyalgia affects them. dont accept the answer, "in every area of my life". ask them specifically to derscribe how it affects them in specific situations - how they notice this to be true - and how they manage to cope despite this.
if they say "i dont know" then ask them, "give me a clue" or "tell me the smallest sign that lets you know..." (if you're unsure about how to ellicit deeper responses them PM me and i'll give you some pointers)
2) then ask for submodalities ... e.g. "and what does this look like inside", "wot color is it when it happens", "what sound does it make?", "what other submodality is created when it happens/u think about it" etc
2b) get them to change *their* submodalities and ask the question again (PM me if you're unsure re submodalities)
3) once they have understood the issue they want resolving you can ask them, "when dont you feel it?" or, "when is Fibromyalgia not a problem?". You can be quite powerful with this and ask, "When dont you have Fibromyalgia in your experience/life?" this suggests sometimes they dont have it. again dont settle for "i dont know". keep using explorative and open questions to find out when they dont. be confident, because there are times when they wont experience it. whether they realise it or not.
4) ask them, "what are the times/areas you dont *want* to feel the sensations of Fibromyalgia?". get at least 10. dont be afraid to ask them "list me ten reasons" - and when they say they cant tell them, "yes you can, i need at least ten". this helps them minimise their condition because they really struggle to see how it affects them. but dont minimise their experience. rather, empathise with it. e.g. "wow, it must be hard for you to go for a coffee when you find it easy to do the washing up" etc
5) once you've got your 10 reasons RESIST the temptation to ask them to list 10 ways they experience the problem. remember, they came to you for a cure, not to be reminded how bad things were. so dont keep focusing on the problem, they have told their story hundreds of times!
6) ask them how they would *like* to be when they experience (dont use the word "feel" its too linked to emotions) Fibromyalgia the most (this keeps it fairly abstract and objective). is it when they buy groceries? is it when they play with their kids? is it watching TV? is it 1st thing in the morning? is it during sex? is it when they play sports? etc. then ask them to tell you how they would **like** to feel and ow they would *know* they were feelin ghow they wanted to.
6b)this is a clincher. then get them to feel/see/hear how they are feeling it in that situation. imaginatin is the key. be patient - some people take longer to imagine ... even if they ay they have not imagination - tell them to give you a clue etc
7)develop the feelings they would like to feel. elaborate on those feeling in each individual situation. pick a situation e.g. 1st this in the morning and ask them, "how would you know Fibromyalgia didnt affect them anymore - wot would they notice/what would their partner notice/ cat notice". expound on each situation.
8 ) put them 'in trance' and let them make that a reality in their mind. then ask them to come back and explain how it has helped as opposed to "did it work?". this helps them to look for ways it has worked, instead of how it didnt work.
9) then ask them to go back into trance and find out how they could apply it to all regions of their life. give this a bit of time before bringing them back
As an aside, If the client comes with a specific physical area then perform Anesthesia on that area and help them anchor that when the pain is too much. If you're unsure about how to do Anesthesia then let me .... or any other experienced practitioner know ... and we would be more than happy to help.
great question by the way - sounds like you really understand fibromyalgia.
Hope this doesnt sound patronising - just what i have found helpful with pain relief
thanks
not sure how, or why, the last post would be that helpful to be honest.
Fibromyalgia and hypnosis has been found to be extremely helpful.
PM me for the journal/research articles - i cant give out the passwords or i'd lose my position at the university!!!
in short, a useful approach would be
1) to ask the client how Fibromyalgia affects them. dont accept the answer, "in every area of my life". ask them specifically to derscribe how it affects them in specific situations - how they notice this to be true - and how they manage to cope despite this.
if they say "i dont know" then ask them, "give me a clue" or "tell me the smallest sign that lets you know..." (if you're unsure about how to ellicit deeper responses them PM me and i'll give you some pointers)
2) then ask for submodalities ... e.g. "and what does this look like inside", "wot color is it when it happens", "what sound does it make?", "what other submodality is created when it happens/u think about it" etc
2b) get them to change *their* submodalities and ask the question again (PM me if you're unsure re submodalities)
3) once they have understood the issue they want resolving you can ask them, "when dont you feel it?" or, "when is Fibromyalgia not a problem?". You can be quite powerful with this and ask, "When dont you have Fibromyalgia in your experience/life?" this suggests sometimes they dont have it. again dont settle for "i dont know". keep using explorative and open questions to find out when they dont. be confident, because there are times when they wont experience it. whether they realise it or not.
4) ask them, "what are the times/areas you dont *want* to feel the sensations of Fibromyalgia?". get at least 10. dont be afraid to ask them "list me ten reasons" - and when they say they cant tell them, "yes you can, i need at least ten". this helps them minimise their condition because they really struggle to see how it affects them. but dont minimise their experience. rather, empathise with it. e.g. "wow, it must be hard for you to go for a coffee when you find it easy to do the washing up" etc
5) once you've got your 10 reasons RESIST the temptation to ask them to list 10 ways they experience the problem. remember, they came to you for a cure, not to be reminded how bad things were. so dont keep focusing on the problem, they have told their story hundreds of times!
6) ask them how they would *like* to be when they experience (dont use the word "feel" its too linked to emotions) Fibromyalgia the most (this keeps it fairly abstract and objective). is it when they buy groceries? is it when they play with their kids? is it watching TV? is it 1st thing in the morning? is it during sex? is it when they play sports? etc. then ask them to tell you how they would **like** to feel and ow they would *know* they were feelin ghow they wanted to.
6b)this is a clincher. then get them to feel/see/hear how they are feeling it in that situation. imaginatin is the key. be patient - some people take longer to imagine ... even if they ay they have not imagination - tell them to give you a clue etc
7)develop the feelings they would like to feel. elaborate on those feeling in each individual situation. pick a situation e.g. 1st this in the morning and ask them, "how would you know Fibromyalgia didnt affect them anymore - wot would they notice/what would their partner notice/ cat notice". expound on each situation.
8 ) put them 'in trance' and let them make that a reality in their mind. then ask them to come back and explain how it has helped as opposed to "did it work?". this helps them to look for ways it has worked, instead of how it didnt work.
9) then ask them to go back into trance and find out how they could apply it to all regions of their life. give this a bit of time before bringing them back
As an aside, If the client comes with a specific physical area then perform Anesthesia on that area and help them anchor that when the pain is too much. If you're unsure about how to do Anesthesia then let me .... or any other experienced practitioner know ... and we would be more than happy to help.
great question by the way - sounds like you really understand fibromyalgia.
Hope this doesnt sound patronising - just what i have found helpful with pain relief
thanks
by Klinical » Mon Oct 17, 2011 3:16 am
oldjon,
Thank you so much for sharing this. I still consider myself a beginner as for inducing trance or reframing but I will definately give my best shot. I will be meeting her again in 2-3 weeks. I will post my notes/experience here right after.
Klinical
Thank you so much for sharing this. I still consider myself a beginner as for inducing trance or reframing but I will definately give my best shot. I will be meeting her again in 2-3 weeks. I will post my notes/experience here right after.
Klinical
oldjon wrote:Hi Klinical,
not sure how, or why, the last post would be that helpful to be honest.
Fibromyalgia and hypnosis has been found to be extremely helpful.
PM me for the journal/research articles - i cant give out the passwords or i'd lose my position at the university!!!
in short, a useful approach would be
1) to ask the client how Fibromyalgia affects them. dont accept the answer, "in every area of my life". ask them specifically to derscribe how it affects them in specific situations - how they notice this to be true - and how they manage to cope despite this.
if they say "i dont know" then ask them, "give me a clue" or "tell me the smallest sign that lets you know..." (if you're unsure about how to ellicit deeper responses them PM me and i'll give you some pointers)
2) then ask for submodalities ... e.g. "and what does this look like inside", "wot color is it when it happens", "what sound does it make?", "what other submodality is created when it happens/u think about it" etc
2b) get them to change *their* submodalities and ask the question again (PM me if you're unsure re submodalities)
3) once they have understood the issue they want resolving you can ask them, "when dont you feel it?" or, "when is Fibromyalgia not a problem?". You can be quite powerful with this and ask, "When dont you have Fibromyalgia in your experience/life?" this suggests sometimes they dont have it. again dont settle for "i dont know". keep using explorative and open questions to find out when they dont. be confident, because there are times when they wont experience it. whether they realise it or not.
4) ask them, "what are the times/areas you dont *want* to feel the sensations of Fibromyalgia?". get at least 10. dont be afraid to ask them "list me ten reasons" - and when they say they cant tell them, "yes you can, i need at least ten". this helps them minimise their condition because they really struggle to see how it affects them. but dont minimise their experience. rather, empathise with it. e.g. "wow, it must be hard for you to go for a coffee when you find it easy to do the washing up" etc
5) once you've got your 10 reasons RESIST the temptation to ask them to list 10 ways they experience the problem. remember, they came to you for a cure, not to be reminded how bad things were. so dont keep focusing on the problem, they have told their story hundreds of times!
6) ask them how they would *like* to be when they experience (dont use the word "feel" its too linked to emotions) Fibromyalgia the most (this keeps it fairly abstract and objective). is it when they buy groceries? is it when they play with their kids? is it watching TV? is it 1st thing in the morning? is it during sex? is it when they play sports? etc. then ask them to tell you how they would **like** to feel and ow they would *know* they were feelin ghow they wanted to.
6b)this is a clincher. then get them to feel/see/hear how they are feeling it in that situation. imaginatin is the key. be patient - some people take longer to imagine ... even if they ay they have not imagination - tell them to give you a clue etc
7)develop the feelings they would like to feel. elaborate on those feeling in each individual situation. pick a situation e.g. 1st this in the morning and ask them, "how would you know Fibromyalgia didnt affect them anymore - wot would they notice/what would their partner notice/ cat notice". expound on each situation.
8 ) put them 'in trance' and let them make that a reality in their mind. then ask them to come back and explain how it has helped as opposed to "did it work?". this helps them to look for ways it has worked, instead of how it didnt work.
9) then ask them to go back into trance and find out how they could apply it to all regions of their life. give this a bit of time before bringing them back
As an aside, If the client comes with a specific physical area then perform Anesthesia on that area and help them anchor that when the pain is too much. If you're unsure about how to do Anesthesia then let me .... or any other experienced practitioner know ... and we would be more than happy to help.
great question by the way - sounds like you really understand fibromyalgia.
Hope this doesnt sound patronising - just what i have found helpful with pain relief
thanks
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