Hypnotherapy

Lisa Cairns has worked as an Occupational Therapist at St Oswald’s for many years. In 2002, she added another string to her bow, by completing a Diploma in Clinical Hypnosis. Since then, Lisa has been able to help a growing number of inpatients and day services patients on an ad hoc basis. In response to this demand, Lisa has recently set up a bi-weekly clinic.

Lisa said:
“Most people have only heard of hypnosis on television so when a patient is first referred they often have many misconceptions and worries about losing control. They soon realise however, that clinical hypnosis actually helps them to take control and has many benefits.

“I can help our patients to control anxiety and panic attacks. This is particularly helpful to someone who is feeling nervous about certain procedures, such as chemotherapy or MRI scans. The therapy can also help with sleep difficulties, nausea and pain control, amongst other things.”
Lisa also works with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) patients to help them to control their saliva secretions, which in turn can help with their self esteem and improve their quality of life.

A hypnotherapy patient said:
“I always thought hypnosis involved losing control but I now feel much more in control of my symptoms. It’s incredibly relaxing and for me the biggest bonus was being able to use self hypnosis to cope with my MRI scan.”

Lisa’s clinic is available to St Oswald’s patients, please download our hypnosis leaflet for further details. For more information about clinical hypnosis, please visit the British Society of Clinical Hypnosis website: www.bsch.org.uk.

You can also view our online video, via You Tube, to find out more about all of our services.