PLEASE NOTE: APPOINTMENTS CAN BE HELD FACE TO FACE AT MY OFFICE IN SOUTHSEA OR VIA ZOOM

IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME (IBS)

IBS, although not life threatening or life limiting, is a chronic disorder affecting the gastrointestinal tract and with symptoms that affect your digestive system. IBS affects people in varying ways and can include: bloating, gas, stomach cramps, constipation, diarrhoea, backache, loss of libido, bladder problems, nausea and anxiety. There is no known medical cure for IBS and people experience it in varying degrees of severity.

For some people IBS is a minor inconvenience, with symptoms being mild and experienced only occasionally. However for others it can produce symptoms which last for days or weeks on end and this quite clearly has a devastating effect on their everyday lives, significantly impacting work life, holidays, family life and relationships.

Using gut-focused hypnotherapy, I teach my clients to become more in control of their symptoms. Studies have shown that hypnotherapy is an effective IBS treatment which provides long-lasting results by reducing or completely eliminating symptoms and promoting a healthier gut – brain communication.

How I work with IBS

I rarely ask my clients to commit to more than two sessions – but for IBS I ask you to commit to 5 sessions over the course of 3 months. This is a step by step protocol which targets the overactive nerves in the gut. Each stage is important and contributes to the effective and lasting benefits of hypnosis. There will be techniques for you to practice and recordings for you to listen to between sessions. From day 1 you might be surprised at the changes, and you can expect your symptoms to reduce more and more over the course of the protocol.

It is vital that you have had your symptoms checked by a medical professional and been properly diagnosed with IBS before you contact me.

“I can’t believe the difference in the me before hypnotherapy and the me after my sessions. I am more confident at work, I can plan social occasions in advance and most of all I only need to be close to a toilet as much as anyone else. I recognise my stress triggers and am more able to deal with them without the old anxious feelings, cramps and exhaustion I was experiencing before. I can’t believe my last appointment with you was over a year ago and I’m still symptom free and so happy…….”

Below are some abstracts from research papers evidencing the use of hypnotherapy in the treatment of IBS:

One of the most eminent advocates of hypnotherapy is Professor Peter Whorwell. Director of the South Manchester Neurogastroenterology Service and a gastroenterologist at the University Hospital of South Manchester, he has been researching IBS and treating IBS patients for more than 40 years. He describes IBS as a collection of ‘very real physiological symptoms’ rather than a disease and along with diet and medication he uses hypnotherapy with his patients in his clinic. Professor Whorwell has conducted many studies and produced research papers on the effects of hypnosis on IBS and has a team of many hypnotherapists working with him.

Whorwell, P. J., Prior, A., & Faragher, E. B. (1984). CONTROLLED TRIAL OF HYPNOTHERAPY

IN THE TREATMENT OF SEVERE REFRACTORY IRRITABLE-BOWEL SYNDROME. The

Lancet, 324(8414), 1232–1234.  doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(84)92793-4

30 patients with severe refractory irritable bowel syndrome were randomly allocated to treatment with either hypnotherapy or psychotherapy and placebo. The psychotherapy patients showed a small but significant improvement in abdominal pain, abdominal distension, and general wellbeing but not in bowel habit. The hypnotherapy patients showed a dramatic improvement in all features, the difference between the two groups being highly significant. In the hypnotherapy group no relapses were recorded during the 3-month follow-up period, and no substitution symptoms were observed.

Palsson, O. S., Turner, M. J., Johnson, D. A., Burnett, C. K., & Whitehead, W. E. (2002). Hypnosis

Treatment for Severe Irritable Bowel Syndrome Investigation of Mechanism and Effects on Symptoms. Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 47(11), 2605–2614.  doi:10.1023/a:1020545017390

Hypnosis improves irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but the mechanism is unknown. Possible physiological and psychological mechanisms were investigated in two studies. Patients with severe irritable bowel syndrome received seven biweekly hypnosis sessions and used hypnosis audiotapes at home. Rectal pain thresholds and smooth muscle tone were measured with a barostat before and after treatment in 18 patients (study I), and treatment changes in heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, finger temperature, and forehead electromyographic activity were assessed in 24 patients (study II). Somatization, anxiety, and depression were also measured. All central IBS symptoms improved substantially from treatment in both studies. Rectal pain thresholds, rectal smooth muscle tone, and autonomic functioning (except sweat gland reactivity) were unaffected by hypnosis treatment. However, somatization and psychological distress showed large decreases. In conclusion, hypnosis improves IBS symptoms through reductions in psychological distress and somatization. Improvements were unrelated to changes in the physiological parameters measured.

Whitehead, W. E. (2006). Hypnosis for Irritable Bowel Syndrome:The Empirical Evidence of Therapeutic Effects. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 54(1), 7–20.  doi:10.1080/00207140500328708

Abstract: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a complex and prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorder that is treated with limited effectiveness by standard medical care. Hypnosis treatment is, along with cognitive-behavioral therapy, the psychological therapy best researched as an intervention for IBS. Eleven studies, including 5 controlled studies, have assessed the therapeutic effects of hypnosis for IBS. Although this literature has significant limitations, such as small sample sizes and lack of parallel comparisons with other treatments, this body of research consistently shows hypnosis to have a substantial therapeutic impact on IBS, even for patients unresponsive to standard medical interventions. The median response rate to hypnosis treatment is 87%, bowel symptoms can generally be expected to improve by about half, psychological symptoms and life functioning improve after treatment, and therapeutic gains are well maintained for most patients for years after the end of treatment.