This is a big deal . . . a new study by Dr Simon Duff of the University of Liverpool shows that patients who undergo hypnosis as part of their treatment for dementia show a real improvement with lower decline rates while those who undergo more conventional therapies over the same time period show definite decline.  See Hypnosis Shown to Reduce Symptoms and Improve Quality of Life for Dementia Sufferers (web).

They found that people living with dementia who had received
hypnosis therapy showed an improvement in concentration, memory and
socialisation compared to the other two treatment groups. Relaxation,
motivation and daily living activities also improved with the use of
hypnosis.   Dr Duff said: ‘Over a nine month period of weekly sessions,
it became clear that the participants attending the discussion group
remained the same throughout. The group who received ‘treatment as
usual’ showed a small decline over the assessment period, yet those
having regular hypnosis sessions showed real improvement across all of
the areas that we looked at. ‘Participants
who are aware of the onset of dementia may become depressed and anxious
at their gradual loss of cognitive ability and so hypnosis which is a
tool for relaxation can really help the mind concentrate on positive
activity like socialisation.’

This is a big deal and more research is now being done in regards to longitudinal effectiveness.  However, according to study co-author Dr Dan Nightingale, "Evidence to date has shown that we can enhance the quality of life for
people living with dementia through the correct use of hypnosis. We
have now developed a course for clinicians who wish to incorporate
hypnosis into health care plans."

It will be interesting to see how this work helps those working with folks with other disorders and how hypnosis becomes applied in new areas.

All the best,
Brian