You can never doubt the benefit of open communication. It was a client who asked if it was possible to be hypnotized to believe she had had a gastric band fitted to lose weight that inspired the development of a program of weight management for life – the Gastric Mind BandTM
The gastric mind band (GmB) therapy is the mental version of gastric band surgery done through hypnosis. The development of this hypnotic version of the gastric band was developed by Martin and Marion Shirran at their Elite Clinic in Spain. Since then other methods have become available such as Hypno-BandTM and the more recent Virtual Gastric Band Hypnosis method.
There are many readers of this blog seeking information about alternatives to weight loss and today I’ll focus on the Shirran’s program and look into other techniques in further posts.
Are you overweight or obese? Have you tried every diet plan and program around only to be disappointed with the results? Have you ever considered trying gastric band surgery? This type of surgery is not right for everyone. However gastric band hypnosis does not involve any surgery. Instead what takes place is a unique therapy that combines cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), deep, hypnotherapy, guided imagery and NLP.
Consider this scenario for a moment. A person who suffers from obesity is contemplating having gastric bypass surgery but has some reservations about the weight loss operation. Instead of heading to the hospital the person visits the Elite Clinic. After sitting down and getting comfortable with the therapist they are then taken through a virtual reality kind of experience which combines the techniques described in the paragraph above.
This virtual reality experience involves the patient being fitted with a gastric band. The individual wakes up and believes they underwent the gastric bypass surgery. They can even recall elements of being in the operating room before they received the general anesthesia. They remember the sights, the sounds and the smells.
Now, sitting in the chair they look down at their stomach and touch it gingerly. They look at the therapist sitting across from them incredulously. Did this really happen or were they dreaming? Or were they hypnotized to believe it happened?
Oh it happened all right in their mind … just not on an operating table in a hospital.
The initial results from gastric band hypnosis, although mostly anecdotal, are promising. It has been touted as a long-term means of losing weight and maintaining the loss.
Both Martin and Marion Shirran possess diplomas in Clinical Hypnosis and are certified and registered with the American Board and British Institute of Hypnotherapy. Marion is a member of the UK IBS Register.
In 2005 Martin received additional training and from it gained a primary certification in R.E.B.T. (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) at the School of Psychology at Birmingham University. He is also a member of the United Kingdom Society for the Behavioural Medicine and the International Hypnosis Research Institute.
The Shirrans were recently profiled in an ABC News video and intend to be offering their services in NYC.
Samantha
Alternative Health for Today 