Intelligent Medicine

"Changing Children’s Lives with Hypnosis: A Journey to the Center," a new book exploring how kids’ emotional and physical problems can be alleviated with hypnotherapy. The author, Ran Anbar MD, is a board-certified pediatric pulmonologist. Treating kids with asthma, he realized there was a significant emotional component to their symptoms. He began to employ techniques of hypnotherapy to reduce stress, and his young patients obtained significant relief. He has successfully treated over 7,000 children with an array of problems, including seizure disorders, phobias, headaches, irritable bowel, enuresis, and even eating disorders. Hypnotherapy can help reduce the need for sedation during surgeries, and hasten post-op recovery. It can also alleviate grief reactions. Dr. Anbar shares tips on how parents can leverage the principles of hypnotherapy at home. He dispels popular misconceptions about what hypnosis entails, and believes children are uniquely amenable to its benefits. He discusses how hypnotherapy can hel