Livingston Post 1980

THE EYES HAVE IT

Hypnotherapy - and how it helps

By Catriona Watt and Ian Dow

JIM is 19 years old and is still suffering badly from the effects of a motor bike crash a year ago. He visits Ted Aylward regularly for treatment to relieve pain and to help him walk without crutches.

When he is feeling very bad and isn't able to go to Aylward's house, he phones and can be hypnotised over the phone just by listening to his voice. It has helped him so much that his physiotherapist at Bangour Hospital has been taught to hypnotise him to help in his progress with exercises.

I hypnotised Jim and he told me that after I had put him to sleep and told him that he would be rid of any pain he had that night, his ankle was feeling far better than it was previously.

Aylward proved that he hadn't primed Jim about our visit and to make sure it wasn't a con, he hypnotised Jim again.

I took Jim's pulse rate before he was sent back to sleep and it was normal. After Aylward spoke to him, and told him to relax and go into a deep sleep and let his pulse slow down it had halved.

When Aylward put him through the motions of his motor cycle accident, his pulse rate had doubled. I was more than convinced then.

The hypnotherapy has helped Jim through a bad phase. He has made such good progress, that he can go down to the pub for a game of pool. Any time he is in pain, or needs help, he just has to get in touch with Aylward who is now more of a friend.

Another of his patients is a teenager called Gloria. She had trouble sleeping at night and was a very tense person. Aylward's hypnotherapy treatment has helped her a great deal. Through hypnotism, she has a trigger system which means if she has a glass of water before going to bed it sends her to sleep.

Aylward spoke to Gloria telling her that no matter what happened she would feel no pain. After he had spoken to her I pinched her hand hard but she didn't even flinch.

Aylward says that he knows he has done someone good when it is not the person himself; or close relatives- who notice the difference in the subject, but when strangers notice.

He said, "Then I know that I have helped that person. Hypnotherapy can help people through pain and troubled times. I can help people relax completely."

He played a special tape to me to help me relax totally and it sent me into a deep sleep. While listening to his voice and the very soft music in the background I felt as if I was suspended in mid-air. The feeling going through me was relaxing and very therapeutic.

The hypnotherapy can range from simple relaxation to light trance into deep trance, depending upon the person and the problem.

Deep trance is necessary in only a few cases. Naturotherapy, Aylward describes as somewhat like the "laying on of bands" but doesn't require any "faith" in the therapist. It entails Aylward making passes with his hand over the subject without touching them.

The "confro" counselling involves making a person confront his problem and find the solution. "Although this seems a simple technique," says Aylward, "skilfully applied, it is most potent. This counselling forms the basis for most psycho-therapeutic techniques."

Aylward will use group clinics in some cases to reduce the cost of the therapy.

"The techniques of most early therapy sessions are very similar, and in some cases they can be carried out as efficiently in a group as on a one-to-one basis. Sometimes early treatment within a group can substantially help later individual therapy."

And finally .... about the meaning of his stage name, "Ki Vinca". Aylward is not saying what it means but he is offering £5 to anyone who comes up with the answer!