Tuesday 29 November 2016

My Diploma Weekend 4: Insomnia and Smoking Cessation

The two main interesting topic that I enjoyed in my Diploma Weekend 4 was Insomnia and Smoking Cessation.

According to SLEEPMED, in the course of any year, 20-40% of adults suffer from insomnia which is the most common sleep disorder, while 1 out of 3 people will have insomnia over their lifespan. We are taught thoroughly on how to take down a patient’s history. 

There are scripts provided to us which can be easily modified in order to suit our patient’s individual needs. We are also taught about the different strategies which will help our patient to form healthy habits which will reduce the number of sleepless nights and also improve sleep quality.
 Smoking is one of the leading threats to our physical well-being. 

According to WHO, tobacco has caused an estimated 6 million deaths per year, of which 90% of this is due to direct tobacco use while an estimated 10% is due to inhaling second-hand smoke. Smokers have tried other methods to be rid of this habit. However, the relapse rate is quite high and smokers have been looking for alternative methods to quit this habit and this provides a huge potential for the use of hypnotherapy. 

We are taught about this topic in detail. There is a step-by-step guide provided to us on how to take a patient’s history. We will go through all the reasons as to why they picked up the smoking habit and also question the patient’s motivation to quit the habit.

There is also discussion about the ethics when accepting patients. There are clear guidelines for us to follow on whether or not to take on the patient. Personally, I feel it is very important for therapists to have ethical practices as clear guidelines to guide them during their therapy practice.  


                                                                                                                            ~by Alex Chin

Thursday 17 November 2016

MY STUDY EXPERIENCE by Alex Chin (current Diploma Student)


My first weekend into the Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy course brought a few surprises. The venue of the class was at NOCERAL UM and it was spacious and comfortable. It has the usual lecture hall setting where we can sit comfortably throughout the whole day. 

While the size of the class is just optimal, everyone can get undivided attention from the lecturer who is very open to any question from the floor. It is a very structured course where we are taught step-by-step on how to build a rapport with the patient and to take down the history of the patient in order for us to build a tailored therapy plan. 

Moreover, we are also being taught how to help the patient to identify their issues and set a realistic, workable goal for the patient to work on. It is very easy to follow even for those who have no experience in doing therapy work. They even stress the importance of ethical practice when doing therapy work as it is very important for patients to feel safe and comfortable to share the difficulties or issues they are facing and try to solve them in a very professional way. 

 As someone with a background in psychology, I feel that it is easy for those even with limited knowledge of psychology to follow through the course as all the important psychology principles are explained in great detail.


During the first weekend, we have been taught a very powerful script, which is the ‘Healing White Light’. It is specifically designed to stimulate the body’s own natural ability to heal. It is very useful in therapeutic work as it allows the therapist to install a very powerful suggestion to the patient that the body can find its own resources to speed up the healing process. 

It also helps the client to strengthen their own beliefs that they can face their issues confidently and solve them eventually. Self-hypnosis which is a very important tool in helping the patient is also being taught. It is very important for the patient to practice this on their own. This will speed up the healing process and reduce the sessions needed for therapy.


After learning each new technique, we practice it with our fellow course mates. I think it is very helpful that we can do some hands-on as it will enhance our learning while also allowing to us experience how is it like while doing our therapy work. Besides, we have the chance to clarify any difficulties we faced while we practice and get some valuable and useful feedback from the lecturer.

Overall, it is a very informative and fulfilling first class and I am looking forward to learning more in the coming months.