Cooper Hypnosis

Educational Opportunities for Nurses

There are extensive opportunities for nurses to both benefit from and use hypnosis. We all have been hypnotized at sometime in our lives and didn’t even know it! Have you ever been driving home from work, and almost missed your street? That’s called “highway hypnosis.” Another example is being so involved in a good movie that when the villain jumps out from the shadows, and you startle in your seat?

Hypnosis can alleviate the pain and suffering associated with burns, cancer, labor and delivery, emergent care situations, surgical preparation, and recovery from procedures and surgeries. Hypnosis can lessen the discomfort of chronic pain and life-threatening illnesses. Hypnosis can be used for health promotion for adults and children by fostering active participation and cooperation with medical regimens.

Nurses can easily integrate the principles of therapeutic suggestions (waking hypnosis) into daily conversations with patients, families, and groups. In addition, hypnosis can facilitate staff cohesiveness, stress management, and conflict resolution.

Dr. Milton Erickson, a noted physician and hypnotherapist, defined hypnosis as “…essentially a communication of ideas to a patient. Hypnosis is done in such a fashion that the patient is most receptive to the presented ideas. The person then becomes motivated to explore his own body potentials for the control of his psychological and physiological responses and behavior.” In addition, Erickson claimed that during a trance, “…. learning and openness to change are most likely to occur.”

Modern hypnosis is defined as a heightened state of suggestibility. It is simply an “opened minded” state. Hypnosis often occurs when we are in a relaxed and focused condition. We often experience spontaneous states of hypnosis while day dreaming, reading a good book or watching a sad movie.

Relaxation techniques and hypnosis are health strategies that can enhance an individual’s buy-in to a healthy daily lifestyle. Even a simple intervention as progressive relaxation can have profound health promoting benefits to adults in today’s stressed work and family environments.

A self-care hypnosis workshop can benefit nurses in helping them to cope with their daily work and home responsibilities and subsequently, those benefits will flow down to their families, work environment and patients. When used as a daily practice, 7th Path Self-Hypnosis® spreads a calm and healing presence in the practitioner’s life. Their personal feelings of anger and frustration are self-identified and self-neutralized. Healthier eating and sleeping patterns are initiated and subsequently, the nurses’ patience, health, ego and resilience are strengthened.

Hypnosis is a powerful tool that can promote health and healing. I believe that employers and nurses need to recognize the importance of nurses’ self-care.

I have developed a stress management workshop and have received approval from the New York State Nurses Association. This workshop is multi-purpose; self-care for nurses, a potential for a kinder work and home environment for the nurse, and the bonus of professional education of 10 continuing education hours.

Use these links for more information about the courses, workshops and classes offered through Cooper Hypnosis.