[img]560|left|Nicholas D. Pollak||no_popup[/img]I made an attempt today to become affiliated with a medical insurer. This insurer provides coverage for hypnotherapy. Much to my dismay, they were not interested in a clinical hypnotherapist. Let me correct that. They were not interested in me unless I had an MA, MFCC, Psychology degree or a Ph.D.
Amazed and dumbfounded, I again understood why our medical costs are skyrocketing.
Any psychologist or psychiatrist has a vested interest in maintaining a client for as long as possible. At least six months to determine how the person became the way he is to offer his insurance provider a DSM manual diagnosis. Then another six months of sessions to help the client be what the psychiatrist thinks he should be rather than what the client wants to be. Too many sessions sometimes can resolve what I know can be done in six sessions or less.
Although minimally trained in the use of hypnosis, they suffer from a lack of practice. They spend too much time trying to determine how their client became the way he or she is through a thorough examination of life history, offering input as to how the client’s life has become what it is. To a large degree, this is valid, in that we become what we are as a result of the decisions we make. What concerns me though is not how you became the way you are, but where you want to go and what you want to be.
Embarrassment of Illness
This is best illustrated by a conversation that I had with a Los Angeles Fire Dept. captain/ chaplain. We were discussing panic-and-anxiety, an illness from which he had suffered. Hypnotherapeutic help had overcome the problem.
Some firemen have the same problem, he said, but are unwilling to talk about it to their peers for fear of being seen as wimps. He has sent some of his firefighters to a psychiatrist and the response from them has been uniform: “He’s a nice guy, but all we do is talk. I still feel the panic and anxiety. He wants me to take drugs which impairs my ability to function.”
Generally these psychiatrists fail to help. These are firemen who don’t need to be talked to but do need to be told what to do, the chaplain said.
Once told, they will do what is asked. I know from the successes with my clients who have had panic and anxiety that within a few short sessions, their problem is resolved. Yet I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to offer the Los Angeles Fire Dept. and the Santa Monica Fire Dept. my services.
It Is up to Each Person
In each case I am told that hypnotherapy is not covered by their medical benefits and no plans to add such coverage. If a fireman wants hypnotherapy, he must pay himself. Should firemen be made aware hypnotherapy is available? If interested, the medical providers’ cost will almost certainly reduce, as the fireman won’t need a year of therapy, thus saving the insurer significant costs.
I find it sad that a proven and effective treatment for these problems is not covered by medical insurers, putting the financial burden on the insured’s shoulders. It is my belief that medical insurers and most importantly, their insureds, would benefit from providing this service using clinical hypnotherapists.
All modalities of treatment have their place. For some reason, hypnotherapy often is set aside by all helping professions as not relevant. I know this thinking needs changing, as proven by the many successes of my clients.
A clinical hypnotherapist, handwriting analyst and expert master hypnotist, Nicholas Pollak may be contacted at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net
