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Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome is a major source of discomfort and health anxiety in the general population, despite the fact that only a small proportion of patients visit their family doctor this still results in a large number of referrals to specialist services, then resulting in similarly large numbers who are left with little assistance, or ineffective prescribed medication. Hypnotherapy has been a widely practiced form of treatment over the past 20 years, but trials have been criticized for having unsatisfactory controls given the recognized strong placebo effect. A trial into a novel therapy using HRV biofeedback comparing this with gut focused hypnotherapy in a randomized controlled trial of patients with refractory irritable bowel referred to secondary care in Edinburgh was conducted. Our findings showed that both groups showed a significant improvement in IBS symptomatology, and in anxiety and depression ratings. However, because HRV biofeedback does not require extensive training and knowledge in the clinician, and is perceived more by the patient as a physical therapy, it is likely such treatment engages patients more easily, requires less staff training and is cheaper to administer. The author will discuss the neurobiology of irritable bowel particularly with reference to the current advances in the understanding of autonomic feedback and mind/body integration in the anterior insula and cingulated, and how this relates to both hypnotherapy and HRV biofeedback.. He will demonstrate the techniques employed in the study and discuss the approach adopted with patients. He will also discuss new research he has been engaged in with McGill University in positive emotions.. The relationship of sypathovagal balance and irritable bowel will be highlighted.

Biography

Alastair Dobbin worked as a Doctor in Family Medicine in the UK National Health Service for 30 years. He developed an interest in hypnotherapy and became President of the Scottish Society for Medical and Dental hypnosis. He is Director of a charity, the foundation for positive mental health, and has developed a programme called positive mental training which is in widespread use across the UK, and is based on an Olympic sports development programme, and raises positive emotions in depression. He has been involved in research with the University of Edinburgh, Kings College London, NHS occupational medicine services, and recently Mcgill University Montreal. He runs workshops on mind body medicine all over the UK for Doctors and professions allied to medicine.