First International Summit on Therapeutic Communication & Clinical Hypnosis

Marcello Romei: Hipnólogo Clínico. Diplomado en Hipnosis Dental en AUDHIC.

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Summary

Dr. Marcello Romei describes the success of the First International Summit, highlighting the organization, participation of international speakers, and the overcoming of logistical challenges.

He explains his own presentation on caring for patients with special needs (Autism, ADHD, Down Syndrome), detailing innovative experiences in therapeutic communication and Clinical Hypnosis, including work with colleague Jacqueline Arocena and the incorporation of techniques such as Tapping.

The event fostered international connections and positioned Uruguay in the field of these therapies.

Dr. Romei concludes with the intention of formalizing international collaboration.

It’s still touching and exciting to recount what happened on March 8th and 9th, 2025. It would be easy to only talk about my presentation at this event, which, while not just another presentation, personally represented the culmination of a dream I started almost nine years ago. The meeting of great speakers from different corners of the globe took place in Punta del Este, Uruguay, to crown what was the First International Summit on Therapeutic Communication and Clinical Hypnosis.

The Event

The Summit: A Dream Fulfilled

The First International Summit on Therapeutic Communication and Clinical Hypnosis, held in Punta del Este, Uruguay on March 8th and 9th, 2025, far exceeded my expectations. As the producer and organizer, I am proud of the result of nine months of hard work. Bringing together prominent international speakers in a country with little tradition in these areas presented a considerable challenge, but the collaboration of a diverse and highly professional team made this success possible, both academically and in the creation of networks among professionals.

Empathy, drive, and great camaraderie of a diverse, heterogeneous, and highly professional group made possible what initially seemed an impossible mission. Setbacks and unforeseen circumstances were, of course, commonplace.

But far from hindering our progress or disheartening us, the strong group allowed us to achieve this meeting, which was undoubtedly a great success not only academically but also in its primary objective: to build bridges with the entire community of professionals interested in the topic and to disseminate it. It only remains to thank the great receptivity of the participants and the dedication of each of my colleagues in their respective presentations.

Regarding my presentation, the topic chosen for this occasion was also novel and challenging. It addressed a complex and diverse subject: the care of patients with special needs and abilities. This universe of children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), and Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome) is a clear manifestation of what is happening in our society. It’s vast, complex, and at the same time novel to me, while being commonplace and an everyday reality for many families. The needs of these patients are even more evident in a country like Uruguay, where its size and geography, so centralized in the capital (Montevideo), make management difficult. However, this very lack has been an invitation to creativity; we have integrated approaches and perspectives from therapeutic communication and clinical hypnosis for specific clinical cases in a completely unconventional way.

In this regard, I should mention that some cases were monitored with my colleague who started all this, Jacqueline Arocena. The creation of the clinic stemmed from the confusion and frustration of some parents with existing services. Thus, almost two years ago, on Saturdays, we proposed a therapeutically-designed space for these patients, with a broad focus on allowing free expression and movement, moving away from the confines of a traditional dental chair. These patients, both young and old, along with their families, present various oral pathologies, many stemming from their different personal situations. Needless to say, the parents, siblings, and guardians are the true heroes in this endeavor. Through therapeutic communication and clinical hypnosis, some of the progress we’ve seen has mainly been in the initial relaxation phase of the protocol, where some of them found a new, relaxed space, free from the stress of some hospital and clinic waiting rooms. For others, with more advanced cognitive abilities, the implementation of, for example, arm movement inductions, ideo-dynamics, respiratory loops, and hand games meant not only something playful but also a collective participatory activity with other children who are usually there at the same time.

Finally, to give a concrete example, what I learned from Claudia Reinicke, a fellow psychotherapist from the ISH (International Society of Hypnosis), was most notable in the use of manual Tapping techniques on the face, neck, and body in general, where patients with different special abilities learned to regulate anxiety, control spasms, and manage general localized pain.

In this context, this First International Summit on Therapeutic Communication and Clinical Hypnosis not only attracted people from neighboring countries, but we also had the opportunity to build bridges with organizations and participants who had never interacted on this topic before. The great novelty resulting from these bridges, and something that fills us with pride, is that Uruguay is positioning itself at the forefront of care and confirming that what has been developed here so far is not at all far removed from the leading lines of treatment compared internationally.

It remains then, to continue working constantly and motivated to forge closer ties with the main international associations, but now not on an individual level, but institutionally, to formalize all these years of intense work and give it a more formal framework for ongoing consultation.