IBS AND HYPNOTHERAPY – THE EVIDENCE.
Thanks largely to the pioneering work by Professor P J Whorwell and his team at The University of Manchester, the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Hypnotherapy has been researched in depth and is considered to be a valid approach to aiding sufferers. As early as the 1980’s Prof. Whorwell published research which showed clear evidence that IBS could be managed by helping sufferers manage their symptoms successfully (1). More recent research shows that the beneficial effects last for up to five years (2). Due to these successes, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which advises the NHS on best practice, recommends Hypnotherapy in cases of IBS which has not responded to medication and has lasted for 12 months or more. It is, I believe, a great pity that more individuals either do not know about the efficacy of this intervention or are not being referred by their GPs to qualified Hypnotherapists. I am not alone in this as Dr Roland Valori, editor of Frontline Gastroenterology, stated as much in an article on the BBC website (3). I feel privileged to be in a position where I have had training at post graduate level with which I can support this progress to improved health.
