Coming home to another war - Hypnosis May Help Heal Mental Wounds

This article was posted to Military.com, October 26, 2009

---

The Soldier was crossing a bridge when an improvised explosive device planted underneath it detonated.
He was hurt in the explosion, but not badly. It was when he returned to Hampton Roads that the problems really started: He had a crippling fear of bridges and couldn't bring himself to cross them.
Eventually, he turned to hypnosis, said James Scott, the certified hypnotist who treated the Soldier. Scott says he helped the Soldier to subconsciously recognize that the bridges back home were different, that they held no danger.
Scott was part of a group of hypnotists in Virginia Beach this weekend as part of the second meeting of the Virginia Veterans Hypnosis Project.
About three dozen certified hypnotists spent Saturday and Sunday in a conference room at the Best Western, talking about the ways their profession could help veterans and their families. The goal, Scott said, is to conduct studies to figure out what treatments best help veterans deal with the trauma of combat, then to use those studies to gain recognition for hypnosis as a viable treatment option.
When most people think of hypnosis, they think of quitting smoking or losing weight, said Andy Leon, a founder of the project.
The same techniques that help people stop overeating and stop lighting up, he said, can also help the subconscious detach itself from feelings about events that took place in combat and are now preventing a veteran from leading a full life.
"We have the ability to help people release emotional energy or hidden feelings that can otherwise lead to problems in their relationships, job performance or overall quality of life," Scott said. "These therapies, they're not voodoo. These are all things that work."

Comments

[Confidence hypnosis]

I recently came across your blog and have been reading about confidence hypnosis. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.