Alopecia Areata and Hypnotherapy
Previously I published an article on the Hair Transplant Forum International titled Psychology of Hair Transplant. Our study evaluated the significance of hair loss on men’s psychology. We also discussed the improvements that men experienced after hair restoration surgery.
I just read another article that was just published on the International journal of clinical and experimental hypnosis titled: Hypnotic approaches for alopecia areata. I initially thought they have been able to treat Alopecia Areata (AA) with hypnosis. What they studied though was managing the psychological effects of alopecia areata with hypnotherapy.
Patients with alopecia areata like androgenic alopecia experience increased levels of anxiety and have higher rates of depression. Here are the synapses of what was researched by Willemsen and Vanderlinden from Department of Dermatology of Academic Hospital in Brussel, Belgium and put together as an interesting article:
AA or Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease leading to loss of scalp hairs. The disease is generally triggered by stress. Data on the possibility of using hypnotherapy in the treatment of AA are very limited. In this study, twenty-eight patients with extensive AA, all refractory to previous conventional treatment, were treated with hypnosis at the Academic Hospital UZ Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
The authors‚Äô hypnotherapeutic approach combining symptom-oriented suggestions was discussed in the article they also came up with suggestions to improve self-esteem. They are suggesting that twelve out of 21 patients, including 4 with total loss of scalp hair, presented a significant hair growth. All patients presented a significant decrease in scores for anxiety and depression. Although the exact mechanism of hypnotic interventions has not been elucidated, the authors’ results demonstrate that hypnotic interventions may ameliorate the clinical outcome of patients with AA and may improve their psychological well-being.
This article again is focusing on the significance of hair loss and hair loss treatment on patients psychology as we discussed before in our article titled: psychology of hair transplant that could be found on the website of US Hair Restoration, the Los Angeles hair transplant center.
Tags: AA, alopecia areata, anxiety, Belgium, Brussel, depression, hair loss, hair transplant forum, hypnotherapy, los angeles hair transplant, psychology of hair transplant
July 4th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Read the rest of the post here: Alopecia Areata and Hypnotherapy
July 5th, 2008 at 3:57 am
My sister had alopecia for over a year. She even went to a local wig salon and got fitted with a cranial prosthesis which looked great. She ultimately went through hypnotherapy for anxiety and, shortly after starting, she started to see her hair grow back. As this article suggests, her high anxiety was the primary cause. The wig helped ease her concerns about her looks and the hypnotherapy took care of the rest.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Beautiful post. Very informative article. I enjoy ready your blog very much, Dr. Mohebi.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:47 am
[...] Alopecia Areata and Hypnotherapy [...]
January 31st, 2009 at 12:58 pm
great site is your book available yet?
thanks
December 1st, 2009 at 11:39 am
Hi, I’ve just now found this site while browsing around Google as I am seeking some material on hypnotherapy and phobias. It is an interesting blog so I have bookmarked you and I intend to revisit tomorrow to enjoy a more indepth browse when I can give it more time.
December 4th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
great post!! keep them coming!