An interview with Dr Andrea Sodaro

It is always a joy when Andrea Sodaro and I get in touch or meet. We have known each other for many years, since after he got his high school diploma and shortly after went to study medicine, following in his father’s footsteps, who was a well-known Roman surgeon.

Today Andrea Sodaro is a doctor who divides himself between Rome and Narni, in the green Umbria, a region he cherishes.

Many times, he told me that he dreamed of a house in the countryside where he could walk his dog. We have always made jokes about this since I also love dogs.

He started his family in Narni, another reason why he chose to live there.

Andrea and I share an aspect of our professional path. In addition to being a doctor, he is a specialist who applies clinical hypnosis with his patients, while I am a psychologist-psychotherapist but a hypnologist, too.

– “Andrea, can you explain in a few words what hypnosis is and its purposes?” I ask him.

“Hypnosis in the collective imagination is associated with sleeping and unconsciousness, but these are inaccuracies. In reality, hypnosis is a physiological phenomenon that has always been part of our life. For example, when we watch TV and are concentrated, we do not notice the surrounding noises; when focused while working on one’s computer, it can occur that we do not see what is happening around us. In these cases, the person is “disconnected” from the surrounding world. In reality, he or she is only very concentrated, in a state that in technical terms we call monoideism, that is when a single idea leads to excluding another.

When you are in a hypnotic state, you never sleep nor lose consciousness or, as some erroneously believe, you are not at the mercy of the therapist. Our brain takes advantage of a very important physiological form of relaxation, during which there is an increase in some neuro-transmitters (chemicals produced by our brain) such as, for example, the endorphins that help us feel better.”

– “Today, scientifically, we affirm that hypnosis is the “plastic manifestation of creative imagination, properly oriented”.

“Exactly. It is possible to modify the sensory experience, the experience of our bodies under hypnosis. In particular, it is possible to control pain: think about its use in surgery, in odontostomatology or think of hypnobirthing. Did you know that Kate Middleton has always given birth under hypnosis and speaks enthusiastically about it?

The hypnotized subjects can easily direct their introspection in the different sectors of their organisms. They can expand or reduce the sensations coming from inside their bodies. They can modify the physiological parameters such as heartbeat, breath, and body temperature.

Just to give an example, the sensation of cold and heat can lead, respectively, to vasoconstriction and vasodilatation, and thus to a greater or lesser frequency of both heartbeat and breath, including the increase or decrease of the arterial tension. Similarly, reduce muscle tension and lower anxiety, or intensify tranquillity.

Today, we know that the hypnotic process produces important neurophysiological modifications thanks to sophisticated investigation techniques such as the functional magnetic resonance imaging or the positron emission tomography. Nonetheless, as a psychologist, you know exactly how important hypnosis is in the psychotherapeutic field for all psychosomatic symptomatologies.”

– “In disorders related to food and nutrition, have you treated interesting cases with hypnosis?”

“Yes, two cases related to weight control come to my mind.

The first is a 50-year-old man who turned to me to undertake a weight loss therapy, with the support of hypnotic therapy. I promptly asked him for his body weight, which was 86kg to a height of 175cm.

I asked what type of diet he followed. He listed carbohydrate-based foods, high in sugar, sweets of various kinds, very little fruit and vegetables, and almost no protein foods.

I reassured him declaring that if he followed my instructions, he would not drastically give up those foods, but simply learn how to manage quantities better, introducing foods he was not eating correctly. Therefore, I set a diet. Because of his addiction to certain foods, we would work together adopting the technique of hypnosis to help him wean off his compulsion. The patient accepted my proposal and actively collaborated throughout the therapy sessions and the diet.

As we do in hypnotic psychotherapy, I used hypnotic metaphors specifically designed for him and his health problem. After a few weeks, the patient responded greatly – this is something subjective, as each person has its reaction times. Together with the correct execution of the diet I gave him, the patient lost 5 kg. At the end of the therapy, which lasted six months, he weighed 69 kg.

In the second case, I dealt with a 46-year-old woman who came to me to attempt to lose weight, not having succeeded in obtaining acceptable results by herself. The patient weighed 80 kg and was 173 cm tall. I asked her what kind of food she ate, and she replied smiling, “Well, doctor, I eat messily: an entire pizza during the day and desserts, little fruit and almost no protein food at all.”

I told her she had a sort of addiction to some foods because they gratified her more. I reassured her that she would reach good results if she listened to me throughout the therapy.

“I will not ask you to avoid specific foods. I will show you how to combine them correctly, adding food not generally present in your diet, and setting a specific regime for you. Besides, I will try to strengthen your motivation working with the hypnosis technique”, I said.

The woman cooperated perfectly. After a short time from the start of our therapy sessions, she had already lost weight, eventually reaching 72kg.

As I remind all my patients, clinical hypnosis is not a magic wand. It is a real therapeutic instrument, an extra string to the bow both doctors and psychologists can manage.”

NICOLETTA ARBUSTI