Psychotherapy & Hypnotherapy for Treating Depression

What is the value of using Hypnotherapy in addition to Psychotherapy for treating Depression?

I have been working with people who suffer from depression since 2002. I know from experience, not just in my practice but also from my own past experience of having depression that not only is it a very complex emotional and psychological form of suffering but also that no two people experience it in exactly the same way and there is no ‘one size fits all’ for helping people to overcome it.

 

Help Me to Understand it…

If you have never suffered from depression you could be forgiven for assuming that this overwhelming illness is an extreme version of feeling down or just being sad all the time. The reality is that the experience of depression profoundly influences every aspect of living, emotionally, psychologically and physically. The emotional range of depression varies from sadness, loneliness, emptiness, guilt, remorse and self-loathing to agitation, frustration, high anxiety and feeling out of control – just to name some.

 

It’s not just the feelings…

Psychologically, the thought processes feel as though they are being held hostage to those emotions and they get caught in a never ending and extremely tiring loop of suffering.  Before long, the body becomes fatigued in an endless cycle of thinking, worrying, dreaming, sleep disruption and exhaustion.

 

To Do & Not to Do

To assume that if you could encourage your loved one to get out in the sun and look at nature, or tell them things to help them ‘look on the bright side’, is understandable but it’s like asking someone to drink from an empty well. Your words are landing in a void. Carers and loved ones are undoubtedly doing their best but sometimes these tactics can lead to tension and frustration.

The best thing you can do as a starting point is to listen and empathise without offering a solution. However, although listening and empathy have great value, they are not enough. In fact, too much of it can sometimes make the depression worse.

 

Neurons That Fire Together, Wire Together

Any talking therapy that focuses solely on the story of the depression – i.e. your history or all the reasons why you are depressed, without gaining any emotional ease or having a goal centred strategy is likely to make depression worse.  Every time you revisit the story and feelings, you are effectively sealing the bond in the brain structures that fire off the depression. This isn’t to suggest that there is no counselling element to a good depression treatment but more to understand that it’s useful to know when to start thinking ahead and rehearsing for a life that is free of depression.

 

What Works?

Much research shows that there are a number of helpful models of therapy for treating depression which can in some ways add to the confusion when trying to decide which help is right for you.  I will simply refer to my own practice, saying that in my experience of working with depressed clients, a good approach is to have a strategic plan.

 

And Hypnotherapy?

The reason that I consider hypnotherapy to be a very important element in the treatment of depression is that, in well-trained experienced hands, a process of this nature quickly helps to soothe and lift the emotional suffering, which in itself is a very important first step towards hope. The deep relaxation of therapeutic hypnosis is a calming and reassuring tool for helping a person to begin to lift the symptoms of depression; to bypass the entrenched sense of hopelessness to replenish and enable the sufferer to see beyond the void.

 

What to expect.

In the beginning you will be supported in gently moving forward step by step, using helpful and easily achieved strategies. Therapy works well with clearly defined outcomes. In each session we identify and agree on a simple ‘next step’ that you feel will take you in the right direction.

It is important that the treatment has a way of reducing the difficult emotions of depression, (deep relaxation or hypnotherapy).  If a person is not able to escape the difficult emotions, it feels so much harder for them to modify or change any behaviour that is adding to the depression.

 

Will it last?

Good therapy teaches  coping skills and strategies for maintaining the improved emotional balance and keeping you well. It will help to build a mental and emotional vision of a hopeful and resourceful future helping you to stay on the right path.[3]*  Your therapist will support you every step of the way, without judgement, with care and understanding and at whatever pace is right for you.

 

Can I really recover from depression?

As someone who has suffered from depression in the past and as a therapist, I want to tell you that in my experience, depression is treatable. It is possible to live well. With the right help you can feel better and enjoy life. When you are feeling better, you will sleep more soundly, you will start the day feeling more awake and have more energy and motivation for the things that you want to do.

My Preferred Approach to Treating Depression

The Human Givens (HG) therapy model is one approach that I use in treating depression. It is a tried and tested method that can help to lift your mood quickly.* HG is a solid psychotherapy based on up to date information, so that you can feel better quickly.*

 

Would meditation help?

Therapeutic hypnosis shares common ground with guided processes such as meditation or visualisation and as a person begins to move out of the clutches of depression, such practices would be recommended.  However, the beginning of any therapeutic treatment could be likened to a journey; one in which the traveller will benefit from taking a guide – someone who knows the way and can steer them away from pot holes and cliff edges. Once the territory becomes familiar and the traveller notices an enjoyment of the scenery, then they are more likely to have the capacity, understanding and self-motivation to use some of the helpful processes they have learned.

Further reading about Depression and FAQs

Is Depression Serious?

The reason depression can be a serious condition is because the sufferer is living with a strong, ongoing state of difficult emotions. Paradoxically, many sufferers will say that when they are in deep depression, they feel numb.  But the research is clear; depression is a state of high emotional arousal and if this heightened state is sustained over a long period of time it will result in poor physical, emotional and psychological health.

 

Changed Perspectives

When high emotions are dominant, changes in brain function mean that people are less capable of seeing true perspectives of their problems and less able to find solutions. People feel powerless and without a sense of control.  Depression often leads to poor self-image and a sense that even if you were able to lift the depression you would still be unworthy or not capable enough.  This distorted perspective is the thief of of optimism and motivation, so no matter how well-meaning family and friends are in supporting and helping, a depressed person is likely to think “what’s the point?”             It’s not their fault, it’s ‘the depression’ talking.

As well as being an emotional affliction, the strong emotions of depression are damaging to physical and psychological health.  (For more information about this aspect, see my ‘stress’ page).