Sometimes, we suggest that the patient be evaluated for physical conditions which can mimic or complicate psychiatric illnesses. We try to look at the biological mental illness in the context of the whole person and his surroundings. If the individual is in therapy, we like to keep in close communication with the therapist. If a prospective patient is seeing an outside clinician for psychotherapy, we prefer to keep active communication with the therapist so that we can gain a greater understanding of how internal and external events affect each individual. Otto Learns About his Medicine by Matthew Gavin, Magination Press, New York, 1988.
Medical hypnosis requires advanced studies during or after medical or mental health training.
We can use hypnosis to help treat phobias, psychosomatic disorders, and anxiety. We also use hypnosis and visualization to augment psychotherapy in certain situations. We prefer not to use hypnosis for memory retrieval or legal cases. Many people suffer from varying degrees of fall and winter depression. This type of depression is often accompanied by sleep changes and weight gain.