A shrink at the end of the screen

Article Emilie Veillon published in LeTemps on the Telehypnosis platform set up by mhp | centrum and Marta Hegyaljai Python which brought together some fifty Hypnosis practitioners from all over French-speaking Switzerland. The surprising benefits of remote HypnoMeditation in times of pandemic. A natural method that combines the benefits of two mental relaxation techniques: hypnosis and meditation. Thanks to hypnosis, you quickly enter a state of peaceful tranquility, enabling you to fully integrate the suggestions of mindfulness meditation. A natural and highly effective technique for restoring well-being and morale!

FROM HYPNOSIS SESSIONS TO CHAT AND TELEPHONE CONSULTATIONS, PSYCHOTHERAPISTS AND PSYCHIATRISTS IN FRENCH-SPEAKING SWITZERLAND ARE MULTIPLYING THEIR REMOTE SUPPORT STRATEGIES. AND FEAR A WAVE OF POST-CONFINEMENT PSYCHIC DISORDERS.

Just over 400 people helped in three weeks. These are the impressive results achieved by the thirty or so volunteer psychologists who run a free online support platform in French-speaking Switzerland. Since its creation last month, the platform has been operating every day, from morning to night, via chat or videoconferencing. In addition to the worries associated with Covid-19, the uncertainty that affects so many aspects of daily life is very destabilizing," says Florine Oury, the psychologist behind the Covid19-Soutien project. The feeling of losing control over the future is strong, knowing that no one can say what will happen, not even the authorities."

The service enables those who often consult for the first time to put down their anxieties, accept their feelings and have their worries legitimized. "They are not the result of depressive disorders. On the contrary, it's only logical that they should arise in the unprecedented circumstances we face together. The form of the chat ensures the discretion of exchanges, which is a plus knowing that the current promiscuity doesn't make the approach obvious to everyone."

SOMATIC SYMPTOMS AND ADDICTION RISKS

A similar observation is made by Coaching Corona, a network of some 50 coaches, mediators and psychologists from all over the country who offer free consultations, also by telephone or messaging. "Nearly half the calls come from French-speaking Switzerland. They concern people who are afraid of illness, on edge or experiencing family conflicts. In principle, one call is enough, but we remain a reference support. Hearing the voice of a serene therapist, even an unknown one, giving simple relaxation tools to deal with the crisis apparently helps a lot," observes coach Andrea Flück von Planta.

While confinement is beneficial for those who see it as an opportunity to slow down, refocus on the family and reflect on their relationship with the world, this collective crisis and its consequences on daily life can threaten psychological balance. "Somatic symptoms such as stomach ache, insomnia, anxiety disorders or aggression towards oneself or others often appear in this case. People with depressive tendencies, paranoia or behavioral disorders are particularly vulnerable. Confinement also increases the risk of addictive tendencies, whether to online games, drugs or alcohol," points out Raphaël Berrut, a psychotherapist in Nyon and Morges, who, like most professionals in his field in Switzerland, now treats his patients by videoconference.

As the EMDR psychotherapy method he uses is effective in managing stress and anxiety, he has opened new consultations via social networks for people looking for quick help, without necessarily committing to introspective work.

COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES TO THE RESCUE

Hypnosis is another effective tool. This is what prompted hypnotherapist Marta Hegyaljai Python, founder of the Lausanne-based complementary therapies center mhp | centrum, to form a collective of 50 independent therapists available for the duration of the pandemic. We felt a surge of anxiety when the restrictions were announced on March 13," confirms Florence Noël, spokesperson for the operation. As this technique is scientifically recognized for its effectiveness in reducing stress and calming the mind, we felt it essential to adapt it for remote consultations. The idea is to mobilize the person's resources, such as feelings of self-esteem and self-confidence, not to engage in therapy where the aim is to remove emotional blocks or traumas."

See also: The psychological challenge of confinement

Many of the new calls she receives are from Covid-19 patients fearing serious complications, from professionals mobilized in the field who need to regain their strength, or from the elderly. Many of the requests are related to spirituality," explains the therapist, who practices spiritual hypnosis. Those who are confined feel alone, faced with their fragility. They want to regain their inner balance, to take advantage of this moment to anchor themselves in less material values." In practical terms, the sessions - the cost of which has been halved to make them accessible to as many people as possible - are held by videoconference. They consist of deep breathing exercises, visualizations and then positive suggestions to mobilize all forces.

"The expected return to normality will not be like the festive liberation that follows a war".

Sandrine Ghilardi

POST-CONFINEMENT STRESSES

While these various support initiatives are supposed to come to an end when the confinement measures are lifted, there is no guarantee that tensions will disappear. Several examples of cases abroad point to the possibility of an epidemic wave of psychological disorders in the future. According to Sandrine Ghilardi, President of the Geneva Group of Psychiatrists and Psychotherapists (AMG), the risk of post-confinement decompensation is real. It mainly concerns cases of post-intubation traumatic stress in recovered patients, caregivers at risk of burnout symptoms, people weakened by bereavement, post-partum depression and dysfunctional families for whom confinement will have been an aggravating factor. But there are also elderly people still deprived of contact, adults with difficult childhoods who risk seeing traumas resurface, people affected by the economic consequences, and patients in psychiatric institutions whose support will have been adversely affected by social distancing measures.

See also: Confinement: five psychological stages to get through as well as possible

"What we're experiencing is the stuff of collective trauma. The deepest fears, the stuff of disaster movies, have become real. This universal psychic disruption has led us to develop coping strategies during the confinement," she analyzes. The problem is that the expected return to normality will not be like the festive liberation that follows a war. It won't be the life before, nor the life after that people had hoped for. It's all going to remain very destabilizing."

RETURN TO NEGLECTED VALUES

To cope with this, Raphaël Berrut advises his patients to focus on the positive aspects they may have experienced during confinement: the return to the family unit, nature, the sensations of living in the present moment... "There will be a beneficial return to values that we often tend to put forward in terms of ideals, but which we don't put into practice in our fast-paced consumer society. Perhaps we'll realize that these self-stabilizing resources are within each of us, and that they can be mobilized at any time," he hopes.

The "safe place" relaxation technique is one of the bridges we can easily build to stay in touch with the little inner joys that will have blossomed this spring. Close your eyes, concentrate on your breathing and imagine yourself in a peaceful place. Ideally barefoot, listening to the birds sing... beauties of everyday life that many people didn't perceive before, and which can divert their attention to a world that's much less oppressive than it seems.