Bernie Speaks - 1

            Doctors are not trained in how to talk to patients and as I noted in one of my books we are hypnotic in a negative way. If you read the information you get before treatment and it is all negative you have all the side effects even when a placebo is given.

            One of our sons showed me wordswordswords become swordswordswords

            I loved Erickson writing in a patient's chart and then leaving the room and then the patient would peek at the chart and it said doing very well and they did.
I love deceiving people into health like rub the skin with alcohol before injection and tell kids it will numb their skin and it worked in a third of the kids; helped a third and others would say it didn't work, but were much more relaxed during the procedure
I could go on but will finish with kids who fell asleep being wheeled into operating room because I told them they would go to sleep in the OR

            Dr. Sidney Rosen’s book My Voice Will Go With You about Erickson helped me to become a therapeutic story teller with my patients. I also realized the power of the word by talking to people while under anesthesia. People hear whether asleep, in coma or under anesthesia. I could get them to stop bleeding, change heart rates and more. An example was a patient who had a cardiac arrhythmia. The anesthesiologists by this time knew how nuts I was. So he showed me the EKG and said fix it. I started to talk to the patient about being on a swing, nice steady rhythm, up and back and his heart beat returned to a normal rhythm. Not to mention having someone have a cardiac arrest and say, Bill, it's not your time yet. Come on back. And have the heart beat return and the man survives.
            I also used distraction and humor a great deal. They are hypnotic too. Imagine being wheeled into the O.R. and saying to your surgeon, "Thank God all these wonderful people are taking care of me" and the surgeon leans over and says, "I know these people they are not wonderful and everybody laughs!  Or playing music in the operating room and having Frank Sinatra sing, All of me. Why not play All of me or Amazing Grace preceding a serious procedure?
            Last but not least I do a lot of work with dreams, drawings and patient’s images and beliefs. So can give an injection and say your hair will fall out and 30% do and tell people you have a hair growing pill to avoid hair loss from chemotherapy and of course 30% do not lose their hair. If doctors knew how to talk to people they would be far more therapeutic because they would include benefits of treatment rather than side effects and possible problems they could be sued for.

Peace,
Bernie

                           BRIEF BIOGRAPHY of BERNARD S. SIEGEL, MD
   
     Dr. Siegel, who prefers to be called Bernie, not Dr. Siegel, was born in Brooklyn, NY. He attended Colgate University and Cornell University Medical College. He holds membership in two scholastic honor societies, Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha and graduated with honors. His surgical training took place at Yale New Haven Hospital, West Haven Veteran’s Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. He retired from the practice of general and pediatric surgery in 1989 to speak to patients and their caregivers.
     In 1978 he originated Exceptional Cancer Patients, a specific form of individual and group therapy utilizing patients’ drawings, dreams, images and feelings. ECaP is based on “carefrontation,” a safe, loving therapeutic confrontation, which facilitates personal lifestyle changes, personal empowerment and healing of the individual’s life. The physical, spiritual and psychological benefits which followed led to his desire to make everyone aware of his or her healing potential. He realized exceptional behavior is what we are all capable of.
     Bernie and his wife and coworker, Bobbie live in a suburb of New Haven, Connecticut. They have five children and eight grandchildren. Bernie and Bobbie have co-authored their children, books and articles. Their home with its many children, pets and interests resembled a cross between a family art gallery, museum, zoo and automobile repair shop. It still resembles these things, although the children are trying to improve its appearance in order to avoid embarrassment.
     In 1986 his first book, Love. Medicine & Miracles was published. This event redirected his life. In 1989 Peace, Love & Healing and in 1993 How to Live Between Office Visits followed. He is currently working on other books with the goal of humanizing medical education and medical care, as well as, empowering patients and teaching survival behavior to enhance immune system competency. Bernie’s realization that we all need help dealing with the difficulties of life, not just the physical ones, led to Bernie writing his fourth book in 1998 Prescriptions for Living. It helps people to become aware of the eternal truths and wisdom of the sages through Bernie’s stories and insights rather than wait a personal disaster. He wants to help people fix their lives before they are broken, and thus not have to become strong at the broken places. Published in 2003 is Help Me to Heal and 365 Prescriptions for The Soul and in 2004 a children’s book, Smudge Bunny. Others are in the works.
     Woody Allen once said, “If I had one wish it would be to be somebody else.” Bernie’s wish was to be a few inches taller. His work has been such a growth experience that he is now a few inches taller. His prediction is that in the next decade the role of consciousness, spirituality, non-local healing, body memory and heart energy will all be explored as scientific subjects.    
     For many, Bernie needs no introduction. He has touched many lives all over our planet. In 1978 he began talking about patient empowerment and the choice to live fully and die in peace. As a physician, who has cared for and counseled innumerable people whose mortality has been threatened by an illness, Bernie embraces a philosophy of living and dying that stands at the forefront of the medical ethics and spiritual issues our society grapples with today. He continues to assist in the breaking of new ground in the field of healing and personally struggling to live the message of kindness and love. Bernie and Bobbie travel extensively to share his experience and techniques.

Note from Dr. Anne:

            Bernie is part of the Honorary IMDHA Board of Directors and we thank him for all that he has done to promote complimentary care in medicine. He is in my opinion one of the great leaders in changing how we treat patients and ourselves.

            Be sure to visit Bernie’s great web site for books, tapes/CDs and much more. Included on this site which is of interest to Hypnotists are guided imagery hypnotic tapes/CDs to prepare for medical treatments www.ecap-online.org

To order My Voice Will Go With You or CDs by Bernie see www.infinityinst.com  or page 11 of this issue of Subconsciously Speaking.