The European Society of Hypnosis with Mike Gow

The European Society of Hypnosis congress in Manchester is now about 4 months away and the committee have been working hard to organise an outstanding event. It’s a huge task and can tell you that they are doing a great job! The academic and social programmes are shaping up nicely with some really interesting and exciting things planned.

It always amazes me just how much I take away from big hypnosis conferences like this. I remember when I attended my first one, having only very basic hypnosis training under my belt. It was 2001 and I was in Melbourne, Australia at the ASH conference. Being new to hypnosis, I wasn’t really sure which workshops I should attend, and I worried that they might be too advanced for me. As a dentist, I obviously made a beeline to all of the dental workshops and I soaked the m up! If you regularly attend hypnosis conferences, you already know that presenters usually accommodate and cater for the wide range of experience in the room, and I learned an enormous amount.

Prof. Dr. Ulrike Halsband will give a keynote presentation based on some fascinating work carried out alongside Dr Thomas Wolf: “Functional changes in brain activity after hypnosis in patients with dental phobia”.

Dentist, Dr Veit Messmer will also give a keynote on ‘Hypnosis in Dental Treatment: why, when and how?’ Some of the dental workshops are the ‘’Tooth sleeping pearl’ method’ with Allan Krupka, ‘Nonverbal Trance Induction’ with Albrecht Schmierer, ‘ Working with Personality parts in dentistry’ with Veit Messmer and ‘Jediatrics and Jediodontics - the art of rapport, language and communication for health and healing in medicine and dentistry’ by myself. There will also be a Dental panel headed up by Thomas Wolf.

What surprised me at that first conference I went to in Australia however was just how much I learned from some of the other (non-dentally specific) workshops that I could apply to my day to day work.
I can vividly recall sitting in on a lecture on ‘nocturnal enuresis’ thinking - ‘Wow, I could slightly change and use that technique for other issues with my dental hypnosis patients!’

I still really enjoy the mix of attending workshops, lectures and seminars that are specific to dentistry (such as phobia, bruxism, pain, smoking cessation and gagging etc), attending workshops that are relevant to anyone using hypnosis (eg rapid induction techniques, rapport, communication and language skills, etc) and also attending those seemingly unrelated to dentistry (such as depression, addiction, childbirth etc). Attending this mix challenges me, gives me new knowledge and ideas and broadens my way of thinking.

While there are plenty of general and profession specific options, I encourage you to also dip into other topics in the presentations you attend this August!

Over the years I have attended and presented at many various hypnosis conferences all over the world and have to admit that there is always something special about the ESH ones! While it is a European Society, the conference attracts delegates and phenomenal presenters from all over the world.

Going to congresses gives an excellent opportunity to meet like-minded practitioners to share ideas, and exchange advice and techniques.

The congresses are an opportunity to not only share professional experiences, but to also share some personal social experiences! I now have literally dozens of friends, who I first met at a hypnosis congress somewhere in the world.

I also think that there is often an assumption that to go to a hypnosis conference, you must already have a strong knowledge of the topic matter.

While it is true that there will be some advanced lectures, seminars and workshops that will present new research and ideas to even the most experienced, the ESH conference will have plenty on offer for those with moderate, a little, or even no previous experience. You will be surprised by just how much you take away that you can use straight away regardless of your previous experience.

The ESH conference in Manchester is going to be outstanding, and will likely be the most valuable conference you have attended in some time!

See you there!
Mike Gow
(Member of the scientific programming committee ESH 2017)