LCCH Masterclasses

Depression is the most common mood disorder affecting people not only in the U.K., but in the world. It is a disorder that is still growing steadily across all age groups. Depression is also one of the most treatable disorders, as long-term treatment and follow-up studies indicate. Why, then, is depression so prevalent?

This Masterclass breaks new ground, formally bringing together depression as a problem and hypnosis as a solution.

Older conceptions about both depression and hypnosis that are now obsolete previously prevented such a union for a variety of reasons, but here is a new realm in which superstition can be replaced with fact.

Our knowledge of depression has greatly improved in recent years, firmly establishing the essential role of psychotherapy in treatment. Whenever psychotherapy is indicated, so are specific identifiable patterns of hypnotic influence, since the two are fundamentally inseparable.

Drugs alone are not and can never be an entirely adequate reply to the growing rates of depression. "Adjusting" individuals chemically while individuals and families face life challenges they are not adequately prepared to meet means that for every person who gets medicated, many more sink into depression that is untreated. We as health professionals can do a great deal to address this issue much more realistically than leading people to believe "a pill a day will keep the depression away."

In this Masterclass, I will describe the latest depression research and associated clinical implications. I will focus on the relationships between cultural values, parenting styles, family dynamics, individual perceptual and behavioural styles, and depression. I will broaden the simplistic view of depression as only an individual biologically based disorder in order to recognize how depression is often a direct response to interpersonal hurtful life situations that people don't cope with very well.

We will explore specific strategies of hypnotic intervention in the treatment of depressed individuals. Depression has proven to be highly treatable with directive, active, and experiential interventions, like hypnosis. The small-group learning environment of this Masterclass will also provide ample opportunity to do case supervision, group problem-solving, supervised practise sessions, and more in-depth consideration of attendees' interests. Previous experience with hypnosis is essential.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Identify the most and least relevant theoretical models for understanding the disorder of depression
• Understand what we actually know about depression from biological, psychological and sociological perspectives
• Identify key patterns that cause and maintain depression
• List and describe the role of attributional style patterns as depressive risk factors
• Develop specific active hypnotically based intervention strategies for facilitating recovery
• Identify opportunities for implementing preventive strategies

London - 15 February 2004

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