International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis - E-Lib FK UWKS

2
Training in Hypnosis
PETER B. BLOOM
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA
INTRODUCTION
International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis. Edited by G. D. Burrows, R. O. Stanley, P. B. Bloom
Copyright # 2001 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
ISBNs: 0-471-97009-3 Hardback); 0-470-84640-2 Electronic)
Training adult health care professionals to use hypnosis in their clinical practices or
in their research laboratories is a complex undertaking. Well-trained dentists, nonpsychiatric
physicians, nurse specialists, psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social
workers, all seek training in hypnosis to provide an ef®cient adjunct to their healing
disciplines. These clinicians insist that hypnotic interventions `make sense'and be
consistent with their basic training in their respective ®elds or they will not use
them in their work. The principles of adult education become the foundation of all
training in hypnosis to adult professionals Bloom, 1993; Carmichael, Small &
Regan 1972; Coggeshall, 1965; Dryer, 1962; Hawkins & Kapelis, 1993; Knowles,
1980; Rodolfa, Kraft, Reilly & Blackmore, 1983; Wright, 1991).
Training in hypnosis generates a wider view on how therapy works for most
clinicians Orne, Dinges & Bloom, 1995). Respect for the symptom and its treatment,
willingness to delay obtaining insight into the `deeper causes'of the illness, creating
measurable outcomes as the goals for therapy, and understanding patients as
evolving, self-generating `open systems'are new perspectives available to the practitioner
who studies hypnosis Von Bertalanffy, 1968; Bloom, 1994a; Haley, 1963).
Training programs in using hypnosis differ markedly around the world. Some
programs are designed to train unquali®ed `therapists'who, without licensure,
formal training, or accreditation in any primary discipline, use hypnosis as a
therapy in of itself, which it is not. Other programs are created for highly quali®ed
professionals who wish to add hypnosis to their therapeutic armamentarium. This
chapter will discuss only the latter programs.
The purpose of this chapter is to present an `ideal'training program in hypnosis
which integrates the principles of adult education into teaching the methods of
clinical hypnosis. Integration and applications of hypnotic principles into the core
fabric of psychotherapy will `make sense'to the experienced clinician who is
willing to think creatively with each new individual patient. In such a training
program, the clinician will broaden and enhance his or her own experience of being
an effective healing agent in the lives of those who seek his or her care.
International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis. Edited by G. D. Burrows, R. O. Stanley and P. B. Bloom
# 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd