A Husband's Depression

Question
My husband suffers severely from depression. There are other issues like insomnia, low self-esteem and anxiety. Medications have been of no help, and counselors haven't been able to help him break the pattern. Can hypnosis help him with healing?

Answer
This is tricky, because not every hypnotherapist can handle such issues. Few are trained in working with depression, especially. Personally, I feel that a counselor/psychotherapist who is also trained in hypnosis is the best therapist for this, especially one who is skilled at getting at the source of the depression, and helping the client release it. I work with this not only because I have counseling and hypnotic skills, but because I've been through it myself and understand it well enough to be helpful to someone else. When depressed clients come to me with their many symptoms, I do thorough intakes before proceeding with any method, whether counseling or hypnosis. The intake includes information about medical health, history and current care. I make sure a medical doctor has been involved, ruling out any physical reasons for the depression, and check on what other types of therapeutic care they've had. Also, it helps to find out about what counseling they've gone through, and in what ways it was helpful or unhelpful. I cover family history, childhood and puberty, as well as their journey through life as an adult. I don't assume "psychological" diagnoses unless there has been more than one doctor or therapist in agreement on that diagnosis. This is to avoid being trapped by any diagnostic "label" that, by itself, can become like a hypnotic "spell". I mark down any "self-stories" the person is trapped in, and any other data that will help me discern how best to shift the directions in which the person is travelling. Most of all, I try to encourage my clients, help them see themselves in a different light, and assist them in healing themselves.