Book Reviews by Lyn Macintosh
Books reviewed are available mail order from Footprint Books, 1/6a Prosperity Parade, Warriewood NSW 2102. Phone 02 9997 3973 www.footprint.com.au. Check out their catalogue and remember, PCHA members receive 15% discount..
I’m filled with praise for this book. It is so refreshing to find a book that is easy to read, has just the right amount of useful and valuable information, speaks the same ‘language’ and supplies the ‘how to’ so often missing in other tomes.
Lynda Hudson has produced a book that is a valuable addition to any clinician’s library. She has covered a wide range of topics such as Self Esteem, Enuresis, Anxiety, Being Bullied, etc.
Each topic explores the definition of the condition, possible signs and suitable aims for hypnotherapy treatment. And then there are the scripts. Really usable scripts that carry direct suggestions, guided visualisation, embedded commands, reframing and ego strengthening.
Scripts & Strategies in Hypnotherapy with children – for Young People Aged 5 to 15 by Lynda Hudson, Crown House Publishing, UK 2009, ISBN 978-184590139-4
I used one of the scripts with a 17 year old ADD client who had difficulty understanding and absorbing information and she found it most beneficial. Eg “And just listening and relaxing right now this minute…you are drawn like an amazing magnet to the ideas I give you to help you listen…to help you focus…and to help you learn more easily now…” “Notice how it feels when you are listening so intently…Now let yourself double that intense listening experience as you take a deep breath…yes, that’s it…and strengthen that feeling right now and let it spread all over you…Wonderful…I wonder how it would be if you were to just double that again right now…Great…”
There are some NLP techniques such as the rewind procedure of the film/movie and anchoring and hypno-desensitisation with the ‘development of a hierarchy of fearful situations (subjective units of disturbance scale (SUDS))….. where a visual is presented of a ladder or a mountain’ and the child is asked to indicate where their anxieties lie.
The inductions scripted are varied and wouldn’t you like to ‘relax and catch the numbers’ or ‘hop onto a passing cloud’ or ‘find the right place’? The author has covered so much in a thoughtful way eg “Always take care before selecting sky/cloud inductions that the child doesn’t have any associations with dying and going to heaven, a place in the sky. If you feel the child would prefer it, you can add in safety belts and harnesses, but most children I have come across seem perfectly happy just to hold onto the balloon string and float!”
“The Weight, Hypnotherapy and YOU Weight Reduction Program” An NLP and Hypnotherapy Practitioner’s Manual by Judith E. Pearson, PhD, Crown House Publishing Wales 2006. ISBN 1845900316
Here is a ‘how to’ book that those who are interested in the subject of obesity will appreciate. It is designed to help a therapist conduct an eight session program with a client and comes complete with a series of handouts in the book, session by session, and replicated on a CD for ease of printing. Innovative and practical.
Judith Pearson has provided a complete package that starts with the client interview through to reframing, self-hypnosis, stress management, motivation and exercise. A sample of a Consent Agreement is provided along with Self-Hypnosis templates for the client to use.
Hypnotherapy scripts are provided for motivation, making sensible food choices, ‘pulling it all together’ and self-hypnosis and the sections on NLP provide a range of techniques that are easy to understand and utilise.
The book provides a wealth of information that will be most useful for the practitioner and is one I’d highly recommend.
“Treating Stress and Anxiety. A Practitioner’s Guide to Evidence-Based Approaches” Lillian Nejad PhD and Katerina Volny BSc. Crown House Publishing, Wales, 2008. ISBN 978-184590077-9
Lillian Nejad PhD and Katerina Volny BSc. Crown House Publishing, Wales, 2008. ISBN 978-184590077-9
This is a wonderfully practical book that the authors have provided on a subject that we, as therapists, encounter frequently. As such, it is not a book of hypnotherapeutic techniques but is a book of useful techniques that we all need to know and can incorporate into our ‘grab bag of skills’. The CD accompanying the book enables the printing of the handouts to be simple and accurate.
The initial overview covers the discussion of confidentiality with the client, the assessment and setting of realistic treatment goals and risk assessment regarding suicidal thoughts, mood disorders and coping mechanisms. Extensive handouts and worksheets are excellent.
The chapters covering the treatment for anxiety disorders provide a wealth of useful information and strategies for maintaining emotional health, the impact of thoughts on stress and anxiety and a range of relaxation exercises including using the breath to ease away the discomfort. Communication styles are discussed , substance abuse and much more.
A group programme over eight weeks, complete with the handouts and worksheets, is set out clearly and there are helpful tips regarding the group structure that a therapist would find most useful.
