It’s been called revolutionary, life-changing and the long term solution to your weight problems. Hypno-Band therapy was created by John MacLean, a man who qualified as a hypno-psychotherapist rather late in his career but who has used many ‘alternative’ techniques, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, to help those with problems such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, phobias and fears.
Just a few years ago, he turned his interest to the modern problem of increasing obesity in the community and now has 350 highly qualified practitioners in 14 countries using his system, which he describes simply as creating a state of mind where the client will believe they actually have a Gastric Band fitted, but without surgery and the risks involved. After therapy, the clients eat smaller portions and feel full and, as a direct result, lose weight and keep it off.
Physical Gastric Band surgery has many drawbacks, not least the cost – £4,000 to £6,000 – and the extensive surgical invasion under general anaesthetic – always a risk – whereby the size of the stomach is reduced to about that of a golf-ball. Hypno-Band therapy achieves the same ends without the risks and the expense, MacLean claims.
Clients for the therapy ideally should have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 30 (normal range is between 18 and 25); between 25 and 30 is classed as Overweight and a BMI between 30 and 40 is in the Obese range, with over 40 classified as Morbidly Obese. Obesity radically affects life expectancy and can be responsible for cardiovascular disease, diabetes Type II, stroke, cancer, joint problems such as osteoarthritis and high blood pressure.
MacLean asserts: “Most people who are in the obese range are overweight because of a simple fact: they eat too much. Many have tried diets, clubs and pills but fail to maintain weight loss because the underlying emotional and psychological reasons for their eating behaviours have never been addressed.”
Hypno-Band therapy is not a quick-fix answer to this; it takes four dedicated sessions starting with analysis of eating behaviours and making the changes necessary to lose weight permanently, using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques and Hypnotherapy. When the therapist believes all barriers to achieving a successful treatment are overcome and the underlying condition is stabilised, the client is then expected to complete homework sessions that include reinforcing the message using the CDs supplied, keeping a food diary and measuring their bodies.
Session 2 is preparation under hypnotherapy for the virtual operation, a session which replicates almost identically the preparations for Gastric Band surgery; in all but the surgery, this therapy follows the procedures absolutely. Sound effects, smells and other stimuli may be used. Session 3 is the virtual surgery under hypnosis. Session 4 is aftercare including adjustment if necessary; relearning how to live life in the ‘portion aware, getting slimmer’ lane. Ideally, sessions may be taken twice a week, or over a series of four weeks.
Each time, the underlying condition continues to be stabilised and, after session 4, clients – using the CDs and their own innate powers to accept under hypnosis only those things that are their true wish – are working on the basis that their stomach size is reduced to that of a golf ball, allowing them to eat less but feel full at the same time.
Licensed Hypno-Band therapists believe that it is in every client’s power to change his or her own life and that they exist to support and help them achieve their goals. Hypnotherapy is now recognised as one of the best drug-free treatments for many everyday problems from anxiety to addiction, from sexual problems to weight loss.
There are, of course, some people for whom Hypno-Band therapy is not appropriate, particularly when suffering from other uncontrolled illnesses or addictions; this is ascertained at the start and such people are precluded from the programme. Depending on how quickly the first underlying food issues are overcome, the 4-session treatment costs €200.
There is now a Licensed Hypno-Band Practitioner on the island, since late last year when Lorna Firth passed all requirements, being a highly and professionally qualified hypno-psychotherapist, which is essential. If you use the internet to research the procedure, you will find there are other VGB systems but, beware, these are not as tightly monitored and rigorously controlled as MacLean’s original programme.
Lorna Firth: www.hypno-krhem.co.uk/hypno-band.php. This website answers all the questions and gives full details. Lorna practices from Anarita (Paphos), Tel: 99 479426 or [email protected]
