Overview

This four-day course will explore the value and practical application of hypnotherapeutic techniques and communication in dentistry. You'll develop practical skills you can use to reduce patient anxiety and improve the patient experience. 

Course content and structure

The course runs over four days (2 blocks of two days held three weeks apart). Dates are 9 and 10 November 2023, and 23 and 24 November 2023.

Day one

• History
• Understanding everyday hypnoidal states
• Conscious/unconscious
• Mind body communication - power of the mind
• Observable depths of hypnosis
• Common misconceptions
• Important phases - the effective use of the formal induction of hypnosis
• Eye fatigue induction - self and external objects
• Relaxation inductions / deepening
• Awakening the subject
• Rapid re-induction/post hypnotic cue
• Ethical management

Day two

• Biological basis to hypnosis and hypnotherapy
• Tactile induction approaches
• Imagery deepeners
• Factors influencing induction
• Incorporating distractions
• Formulation of suggestions
• Naturalistic inductions
• Ideo-motor responses

Day three

• Dental/ego strengthening
• Understanding fears and phobias
• Assessment / scaling
• Stage and distancing dissociations
• Miscellaneous stage dissociation - tailoring to the patient
• Utilising patient resources - installing positive anchors and re-synthesis
• Future orientation

Day four

• Glove anaesthesia/analgesia
• Priming the patient
• Hand stroke technique with imagery
• Multi modal approach to pain management
• Transferring analgesia
• Teaching self hypnosis

Who this course is for

You should be a practicing dental practitioner, dental hygienist, therapist or nurse.

Structure and teaching

The course runs from approximately 9:30am to 5pm over four days (2 blocks of two days held two weeks apart).

Teaching will be by specialised seminars, followed by practical exercises to help you gain confidence and experience using hypnotherapeutic techniques.

Between course days you'll be invited to develop practical skills and record your observations.

Group discussions and feedback will be encouraged to consolidate the knowledge you're acquiring.

Learning outcomes

On this course you'll learn:

• how to effectively induce hypnosis and use dental hypnosis in a safe and ethical manner
• a range of modern evidence-based hypnotic techniques that can be tailored for your patients, improving both the patient-practitioner relationship and patient experience
• how to develop both direct and indirect hypnotic communication patterns and strategies to reduce patient anxiety
• how to address common anxiety-based issues faced by patients, including dental anxiety and phobic responses
• hypnotic strategies for the managing pain related to oral health care
• how to confidently adapt and employ hypnotherapeutic approaches and tailor them to patient's needs

CPD points and certificate

The course will give you 26 hours of verifiable CPD. You'll also receive a certificate of attendance.

Quality controls

All teachers are experienced professionals. You'll be asked to submit written feedback via a questionnaire at the end of the course, which is used to monitor the course's quality of teaching and value for money.

Refunds

Please read the Eastman Dental Institute's refunds policy before booking.

Course team

Gavin Emerson - course leader

Gavin is a practising clinical hypnotherapist with over 25 years practical experience in clinical and dental hypnosis. He also has considerable experience lecturing and developing courses in clinical hypnosis at universities on a range of BSc and higher educational programmes.

Gavin has developed several specialist programmes in clinical hypnosis and brief therapy that have subsequently also been awarded post-graduate credits for psychiatrists, doctors, dentists and nurses. He's regularly invited to speak at international conferences as a specialist in improving communication in a range of professional and clinical arenas.

Course information last modified: 17 Jul 2023, 17:57