Chamber and committees

Petitioner submission of 7 December 2021

PE1873/G - Provide hypnotherapy for the treatment of mental health, psychosomatic disorders and chronic pain

Hypnosis in various forms has been in use for thousands of years. There is hieroglyphic evidence found in Egyptian tombs dating back to 3000 BC. It was in use in the ancient "Sleep" clinics of both Egypt and Greece.  Hippocrates was a practitioner in the Sleep Clinic on the island of Kos around 400 BC. His Oath regularly taken by medics clearly states "I will do no harm". However the full wording is "I will do no harm, I will not administer poison nor shall I cut, especially those suffering stone but will refer to those that do"

The term Hypnosis came into being in the early 1800's espoused by a number of practitioners including the Scots Surgeon James Braid. In 1899 the British Medical Association set up a committee of eleven doctors to investigate hypnotherapy and concluded it was both scientifically and medically proven as a sound healing modality.

Hypnosis was used by many doctors until 1949 when the House of Lords decided "It is not envisaged that the NHS will be dealing with Mental Health Issues therefor Hypnotherapy, acupuncture and other holistic remedies should remain in the Private Sector" Clearly this is no longer the case. When the NHS became involved with Mental Health they inherited Psychiatry and Psychology, both of which are heavily reliant on medication as was indicated in the previous response from the Scottish Government. There appears to have been little research done regarding hypnotherapy, had that been done many hundreds of research papers could have been found on the internet emanating from medical establishments and universities around the world.

Interesting to note that NICE are now advocating the use of Mindfulness and Meditation, I believe this is due to concerns about the massive over prescription of anti depressants. Both modalities are not new and have been part of hypnotherapy from the beginning. Recommended reading regarding medication in this area is "Cracked" by James Davies (ISBN 978-1848316546).