The philosopher and psychotherapist Paul Watzlawick once said: “One cannot not communicate.” This statement is universally true and should be borne in mind, particularly when speaking with patients.

Patient education is a multifaceted, targeted psychological and pedagogical approach designed to provide a patient with a clear model explaining why and how certain processes take place in the body.

Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. habil. Rüdiger Schellenberg has been applying this concept in his practice for many years and has witnessed the positive impact that such ‘patient education’ can have on subsequent therapies.

In this podcast episode, we discussed the mechanisms of patient education and drew parallels with the use of positive suggestions in hypnotherapy. It is important to bear in mind that it is impossible not to communicate; consequently, a conversation with a patient or patient education almost always takes place (even subconsciously), and this can be both positive and negative.