Üsküdar University Continuous Education Application and Research Center (ÜSEM) and Traditional and Complementary Medicine Application and Research Center (GETİPMER) are continuing their Clinical Hypnosis Talks. The guest of the program, moderated by GETİPMER Director Dr. Murat Ulusoy, was ATHD Vice President Psychiatrist Dr. Dilek Türkoğlu. Türkoğlu, speaking about the areas of use and benefits of hypnosis in psychiatry, said; "In my opinion, the most significant advantage of hypnosis is the increased sense of confidence the patient gains in what they can achieve with their own mind. Because when people realize what they can do with their own mind, they can plan much better things for themselves."
"All physicians should graduate having learned hypnosis"
Türkoğlu stated that hypnosis is an action or procedure designed to achieve or resulting in changes in another person's consciousness and awareness, body, sensations, emotions, thoughts, memory, or behavior through suggestion; "Its use in the field of health is called medical hypnosis. When we look at this definition, it refers to a person's consciousness, awareness, and when talking about the body, it refers to bodily sensations. Situations like 'my foot hurts' or 'my stomach hurts' are mentioned. It speaks of sensations, emotions, thoughts, memory, and behaviors. This definition includes diseases that come to mind, as well as everything that is healthy. The definition of hypnosis does not only include illness. It also includes health and a better quality of life. For example, one might say, 'I feel generally well, but I want to perform better.' Hypnosis, when viewed from the perspective of showing one's power to oneself, is a very valuable treasure, so I believe it would be beneficial for all physicians, dentists, and psychologists to learn it before graduating."
"Caution is required with hypnosis for psychotic disorders"
Türkoğlu, speaking about hypnosis in psychiatry, said; "Actually, I said it should be mandatory in medical faculties because its use in psychiatry is much lower compared to all other branches in medical faculties. For example, in psychiatry, there are two general definitions: psychotic disorder and neurotic disorder. When we talk about psychotic disorder, we refer to times when the ability to evaluate reality is impaired. There are hallucinations, disorientation, impaired perception of reality, and thought disorders. It is a disease state where a reality different from the current one is created. For instance, when a person thinks 'they are poisoning me,' they constantly believe they are being poisoned by someone, even if there is no one actually poisoning them at that moment. However, in reality, there is no such thing. Psychotic disorder is a period when the information processing in our mind changes. Sometimes there is a temporary change, and sometimes a permanent one. Caution is required with hypnosis for psychotic disorders. If the person is not very familiar with psychotic disorder, it is best not to use it in that group. Great care must be taken when using hypnosis in a large group of people with psychotic disorders. We need to perform hypnosis by knowing the patient very well and understanding the psychotic disorder very well."
"Body and soul are interconnected"
Türkoğlu, speaking about the patient's trust in their own mind through hypnosis, said; "With hypnosis, the patient can completely trigger and experience all five senses. Hypnosis also allows them to control these. For example, they saw a spider remotely with a simulator and got scared. With hypnosis, you can make them see it, and their body is very relaxed, breathing is easy. You can also give suggestions like 'the whole body is peaceful and calm'. Lots of money is spent creating simulators, and it works, but with hypnosis, we can do all of these things. That's why it's such a beautiful power. Health is not just something trapped between psychiatry and other fields of medicine. Body and soul are very interconnected. When one gains the ability to feel good mentally, and when the patient believes they can have the skill to make themselves feel good, their control over their life also increases significantly. In my opinion, the most significant advantage of hypnosis is the increased sense of confidence the patient gains in what they can achieve with their own mind. Because when people realize what they can do with their own mind, and when they are aware of their ability to create both health and illness, they can plan much better things for themselves. They can make plans not just to recover from illness but also to improve their quality of life. The main goal of medicine should not solely be to recover from or cure illness. Hypnosis also makes very significant contributions in ensuring that a person can live a life they enjoy and feel good about."