by Tim Brunson, PhD

During my initial hypnotherapy training, my instructor strongly emphasized that we should always inform our subjects that they could not be hypnotized against their will. Yet over the next couple of decades this claim was constantly contradicted by a string of knowledgeable authorities. These hypnotists imparted technique after technique that proved capable of changing a person's internal representations, emotional states, and behavior completely without the knowledge or pre-approval of a hypnosis subject. After years of active clinical practice, teaching, and writing I have witnessed the power that the hypnotic operator has over others. Even though such an admission may run counter to the dogma that is regularly espoused by the major international organizations, all one has to do is to witness an unintended arm catalepsy during a clinical session or observe a negative hallucination occurring during a stage hypnotist's performance to fully accept my conclusions.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

The credibility of any profession or trade relies on a set of generally accepted standards, which lead to a common understanding as to what the public should expect. Educational institutions that train such people, licensure authorities, academic accreditation bodies, and associations and organization of peers generally function to create an aura of officialdom leading to the unquestioned acceptance of those who endeavor to practice any field.

Even though there tends to be a multitude of self-styled authorities proclaiming their right to pontificate the "litmus test" for a given field, their acceptability tends to reside less with their vociferousness and more with their compliance with the methodology normally expected by credibility-giving entities. Unfortunately, the field of hypnotherapy is currently falling short. Competing schools and organizations are proffering their own view of standards while failing to realize that their efforts have little similarity to those employed by other trades and professions. Based upon extensive review and deliberation, The International Hypnosis Research Institute would like to attempt to rectify this.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

The fundamental functioning of the human mind/brain is currently undergoing the most significant shift since the advent of the printing press. Starting with the mid-20th century cultural infection known as the mass media, recent information technology advances are redesigning our plastic brains and affecting how we think, learn, and interact with each other. These profound changes are also redefining our basic nature, creating a plethora of new mental dysfunctions, and necessitating that we relook at just how consultants, trainers, coaches, and therapists ply their transformative efforts. Hypnotherapists who practice their skills as either a profession or a trade must update their methods lest, like the rotary dial telephone, they become an obsolete relic of the past.

We have become technological junkies. My desktop is a prime example. I am writing this article on the left screen of my dual screen display. (I often wish that I had more than two.) I have five Internet browsers currently open with a total of 17 active tabs representing ideas, projects, and concerns that are currently occupying my mind. To the right is my palm-sized multi-media cell phone complete with Web and the ability to perform live syncing with multiple social network systems. Then there is my six line phone which came with a 900 page manual, live tech support, and more features than I will ever master. And then on the edge of my desk I am charging the latest addition, which is an Amazon Kindle DX that is connected wirelessly 24/7 as it continually downloads updates of several newspapers and a couple of my favorite magazines. Add to this cacophony of communication technologies the fact that I actively maintain 12 e-mail profiles, over 40,000 Web pages, a couple of Twitter accounts, a MySpace account, and more Facebook personal pages than they would like me to have – and 26 Facebook "fan" pages.

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by Joyce-Anne Locking

Being unhappy, depressed, lazy, sluggish, joyful, ambitious or exuberant are all examples of habit. Whatever habits you find yourself automatically repeating each day can be changed. Pay attention to the things you are focusing on daily and ask yourself if these things are serving your purpose today.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

In the late 18th century the German Idealist philosopher Friedrich von Schiller said that "It is the union of the unconscious and reflection that makes the poetic artist." That one phrase revolutionized how humanity viewed conscious awareness. He introduced the idea that in addition to our conscious awareness that there was another level that was actively working in the background. While he was merely a philosopher – rather than a scientist – his concept of a below-the-awareness consciousness quickly seeped into the lexicon of the rational researcher as an a priori assumption of the existence of an unconscious mind, which is a term often interchangeable with the idea of a subconscious mind. Nevertheless, while few doubt its existence, few have substantially explored its functioning and how it perceives and processes external perception.

One such researcher is Norman F. Dixon, PhD, of the University College, in London. He has conducted extensive research into how our mind passively processes perception. He concluded that our senses allow our mind and body to rapidly accept and adapt to both internal and external entities and events. Accelerated learning advocates, such as Paul R. Scheele, MA, of Learning Strategies Corporation in Minnesota, have applied Dixon's work to a variety of self-development programs, many of which tend to claim accomplishments that quickly receive the attention of skeptics. Regardless, the preconscious processing concepts proposed by Dixon and adopted by Scheele are based upon the premise that our neurophysiology is capable of perceiving and processing millions of bits of information each and every second. They claim that respecting this natural human ability allows learning to occur much more rapidly than in occasions when a subject should limit learning to their much slower aggregate conscious awareness, which tends to be retarded or throttled by a miniscule ability to processes information.

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Pruritus, or generalized itch, is a source of serious discomfort and distress in a significant minority of people living with AIDS. Anecdotal reports suggest hypnosis might be a useful treatment, leading to reductions in distress and improvements in the condition. But empirical examination of the question is notably lacking. This time-series study reports results of a 6-session self-hypnosis treatment (relaxation, deepening, imagery, and home practice) for 3 HIV-positive men suffering from pruritus, related to disease progression and/or HIV medications. Posttreatment, all 3 patients reported significant reductions in daily itch severity and extent of sleep disturbance due to itch. One patient also evidenced significantly less itch distress. Another also experienced significantly less time bothered by itch. For the 2 patients on which 4-month follow-up data were available, treatment benefit across variables was stable or further improved.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2002 Apr;50(2):149-69. Rucklidge JJ, Saunders D. The Toronto Hospital, Canada. j.rucklidge@psyc.canterbury.ac.nz

by Alfred A Barrios, PhD

The question of whether man does or does not have free will has been debated down through the centuries by some of the greatest minds but has never been fully answered. There are those, call them idealists, who say that of course we have free will; we can control our own destiny; we can choose between misery and happiness. Then there are the realists who point to all the miserable people in the world and ask did all these people freely choose to be miserable?

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

The enemy to learning, health, and other human transformation is an inelastic and fixed sense of ego. Hypnosis is a primary tool designed to promote change through the seeking to dissolve the prison in which many subjects have incased their egos. The sense of self that is indoctrinated into most of humanity is also related to the maintenance of disharmonious states, which can also be termed as pathologies and illnesses.

Any cursory review of human history will disclose a ubiquitous effort to establish a firm, unchanging sense of self. Writers and thinkers such as Joseph Campbell have even implied that mythology and even the "invention" of religion may serve to satisfy this need. While this article will not question the validity of spirituality or cosmological beliefs, I will recognize that there has always been an urge for individuals to "find themselves." Likewise, communities and organizations also display a tendency to rapidly develop a culture and identity – to which they jealously cling.

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by Joyce-Anne Locking B.Mus.

Music is abstract sound expressing emotion which is subjective not concrete. Music is deep rather than horizontal in thought. It reminds me of a saying about happiness. Happiness, as poet Robert Frost put it, makes up in height what it lacks in length. Music is a kind of happiness too and it can describe happiness, or the lack of it, beyond words.

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Full Title: Understanding dissociation and insight in the treatment of shortness of breath

Training in hypnosis is particularly valuable for the physician seeking to better appreciate the interplay between mind and body. Through such experiences the physician can learn that presentation of symptoms often is affected by patients' psychological states, and that symptoms sometimes serve as solutions for patients' psychological dilemmas. The presented case study demonstrates how an 11-year-old's complaint of shortness of breath becomes an opportunity for an appropriately trained physician to provide treatment by helping the patient to engage his inner resources. The case illustrates the strength of hypnosis for accessing resources outside of conscious awareness and use of dissociative language to both support and alter the patient's defenses. We discuss the role of hypnosis when working psychodynamically with a patient, and whether and when insight is important or necessary for change of behavior.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2010 Apr;52(4):263-73. Anbar RD, Linden JH. SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA. anbarr@upstate.edu

by Shealy Healy

Poor health often is a byproduct of stress. When you accumulate too much stress within your mind and body you are left depleted of healthy rejuvenating every. Your mind becomes ill. Anxiety takes over your body. You get sick.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

Within the arenas of genius, mastery, and brilliance lay the seeds of evil and destruction. Understanding this is vital to the practice of any healing or helping profession. Consider two medical doctors who could easily be considered extremely capable and effective in their chosen endeavors. One was Albert Schweitzer, who won the 1953 Nobel Prize for his "Reverence of Life" philosophy; the other, Josef Mengele, the Nazi SS physician, who was called the "Angel of Death." Despite the good achieved by the former and the despair caused by the latter, it is very easy to recognize that both had a high level of competency. What I wish to explore is whether the achievement of mastery facilitates the simultaneous probability of significant good and bad outcomes and what we can do to influence the results. Hopefully, the recognition of dichotomy will increase the likelihood that transformation will benefit an individual and mankind as a whole.

As a somewhat arm-chair-neurologist, I equate mastery as a physical state in which the requisite areas of the brain are enhanced with thicker neural networks. This increased capability allows violinists to play at the expert level, golfers to improve their handicaps, languages to be mastered quickly, and culinary delights to be produced on a regular basis. On the other hand, when these substrates are enhanced, all of the capabilities related to that substrate become available at an increased level. These capabilities are functional tools. There is no assurance that the end result will always be desirable. The problem is that the increased level of functioning provides the potential for both positive and negative results.

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OBJECTIVE:: This case series examines the practicality of using a standardized method of training children in self-hypnosis (SH) methods to explore its efficiency and short-term efficacy in treating tics in patients with Tourette syndrome. METHODS:: The files of 37 children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome referred for SH training were reviewed, yielding 33 patients for analysis. As part of a protocol for SH training, all viewed a videotape series of a boy undergoing SH training for tic control. Improvement in tic control was abstracted from subjective patient report. RESULTS:: Seventy-nine percent of the patients trained in this technique experienced short-term clinical response, defined as control over the average 6-week follow-up period. Of the responders, 46% achieved tic control with SH after only 2 sessions and 96% after 3 visits. One patient required 4 visits. CONCLUSIONS:: Instruction in SH, aided by the use of videotape training, augments a protocol and probably shortens the time of training in this technique. If SH is made more accessible in this way, it will be a valuable addition to multi-disciplinary management of tic disorders in Tourette syndrome.

J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2010 Jun 25. Lazarus JE, Klein SK. From the *Department of Pediatrics, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital; daggerCase Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.

by Dr. Linda Berry

Through my life experience, education, clinical practice, and Eastern transformative techniques I've reversed a lifetime of sadness to enjoy a present with glimmers of bliss. This article reveals an outline of my path to bliss that came to me one night as I sat writing on my bedside. It's a simple path that can help anyone achieve moments of connection to the divine. That's always good for building happiness.

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by Bonnie M. Morét, CCHt

In today's hectic world, we continually search for ways to bring about positive change. Hypnotherapy is a natural and effective process that utilizes the strength of your subconscious mind to improve your life by changing unwanted habits, enabling you to accomplish your goals. Hypnotherapy enables one to overcome stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, eating disorders, phobias and pain.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

Few words in the English language garner the level of mystic, misunderstanding, and misuse as the word imagination. Used by bards, song writers, and self-help gurus to represent an expansion of the mind beyond the limits created by perception and programming, it is bantered around both as a complement and criticism. While Albert Einstein proclaimed that it is more important than knowledge, still scientists – to include those of a medical ilk – continue to cast suspicion on the value of a vivid imagination. Yet, as it is in many ways the centerpiece of the clinical hypnotherapy, it deserves a serious explanation and exploration.

All animals are capable of misperceiving a threat. However, it is the primate who seems to be the most capable of using the frontal lobes' ability to anticipate and simulate. This faculty of imagining helps us form mental visual, auditory, and kinesthetic illusions that are the direct creation of our abilities to convert perceptions into understanding. Our greatly enhanced capability to create an imagined "reality" merely by our thoughts is indeed a unique human characteristic.

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by Mark Tyrrell

3 tips you can use to help your new client get the most from hypnosis

"Am I doing this right? I can still hear him. For that matter, I can still hear the cars outside. My ear itches. Should I be thinking this much? This isn't what I was expecting!"

A client's first encounter with hypnotherapy can raise all manner of questions. They might have seen a hypnosis stage show or a film featuring hypnosis and come into their first session with any number of misconceptions regarding what they 'should' be doing, feeling, experiencing. When there's a disparity between those expectations and the actual experience, they can begin to wonder if they're 'doing it right'.

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During hypnosis, the authors tested repeated weight-related, literal and metaphorical suggestions about the heaviness of the subjects' arms. The purpose was to determine if linguistically varied hypnotic suggestions produced significantly different motor reactions--involuntary pressure forces of the forearms--as assessed by a linguistic biomechanical system. Classic, literal (L) suggestions such as "your right arm is heavy" were used, as well as metaphorical (M) suggestions, such as "your right arm is made of lead." A specific effect on the progressive increase of pressure forces only in the temporal sequence L-M for each forearm (literal suggestions followed by metaphorical suggestions) was found. This effect, termed crescendo image metaphor effect, conceptualized within context-limited simulation theory, explains the findings.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2010 Jul;58(3):350-65. Santarpia A, Blanchet A, Mininni G, Andrasik F, Kwiatkowski F, Lambert JF. Laboratoire de psychopathologie et de neuropsychologie (EA 2027), University of Paris 8, Saint-Denis, Cedex, France. asantarpia@yahoo.it

by Tim Brunson, PhD

In response to one of my recent articles, an esteemed colleague asked if I had previously read one of his articles. As I had not, upon doing so I discovered a phrase in which he stated that suggestions are what cause beliefs. Although the topic of suggestion was not the focus of his article and thus he refrained from expounding further, his statement led me to ponder the depth of meaning associated with the term "suggestion" and led to a realization that I had been using it purposefully but without much clarification. This needs to be rectified.

Clinicians frequently either use this word or skirt around it by referring to "expectancy bias", "placebo", or saying that some pathology is "all in the mind" of a client or patient. Yet, when use of any word by anyone with a self-perception as being educated is done so with imprecision and vulgarity, it most certainly becomes robbed of its utility and potential. As like imagination, suggestion is at the core of the hypnotherapeutic field, it is incumbent that among clinicians we must take the lead in clarifying the concept. Otherwise, we would be like a skilled surgeon who attempts to use a blunt screwdriver as a replacement for a scalpel.

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This meta-analysis evaluates the effect of hypnosis in reducing emotional distress associated with medical procedures. PsycINFO and PubMed were searched from their inception through February 2008. Randomized controlled trials of hypnosis interventions, administered in the context of clinical medical procedures, with a distress outcome, were included in the meta-analysis (26 of 61 papers initially reviewed). Information on sample size, study methodology, participant age and outcomes were abstracted independently by 2 authors using a standardized form. Disagreements were resolved by consensus. Effects from the 26 trials were based on 2342 participants. Results indicated an overall large effect size (ES) of 0.88 (95% CI = 0.57-1.19) in favour of hypnosis. Effect sizes differed significantly (p < 0.01) according to age (children benefitted to a greater extent than adults) and method of hypnosis delivery, but did not differ based on the control condition used (standard care vs. attention control).

Contemp Hypn. 2008 Aug 21;25(3-4):114-128. Schnur JB, Kafer I, Marcus C, Montgomery GH. Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA.

The real mystery about hypnosis is the simplicity of induction and the ease with which a willing participant will accept and work within the trance state. Something so natural must involve neural systems that make trance a normal phenomenon. Presented is the language for emotion developed by Silvan Tomkins between 1960 and his death in 1991, brought into contemporary science by the author. Tomkins focused on the facial displays of affect, programmed reactions to specific patterns of stimulation. Each of these 9 innate mechanisms initiates a reaction pattern people experience as an emotion that brings its trigger into conscious awareness. How people think about or understand anything is controlled by the affect with which it has become linked. Cognitions locked to unpleasant emotions can become disturbingly resistant to change until trance work alters the affective environment of the participant.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2009 Oct;57(4):319-42.Nathanson DL. Silvan S. Tomkins Institute and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania19103-6224, USA. nathanson@tomkins.org

by Nadine Aurel

The CognitiveOS Hypnosis, a mind therapy developed by Luca Bosurgi during 20 years of clinical experience, is a healing strategy based on working with the spirit to control and troubleshoot the mind. This may sound far from clinical to many, suggesting philosophy over science; a notion hardly accepted by most scientists and physicians.

Well, the question is simple, do you feel that your spirit it is just a philosophical notion or is it your real-self incarnated in your body and mind as your tools for living on earth? And, if you agree that your spirit is your real-self, doesn't it make sense that the driver takes control over its vehicle?

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by Cheryl Janecky

Summer Solstice is the season Mother Nature is at the peak of abundance, and you too can join this natural cycle, align with the abundance, and accomplish miracles. If you are in the Southern hemisphere, then you are entering the season of Winter Solstice. The energy time of the season is the opposite of Summer. New Year planning will soon be underway. Plant the seeds now - of the future you want to harvest in the Fall.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

When the Esalen Institute's Michael Murphy wrote his classic The Future of the Body: Explorations into the Further Evolutions of Human Nature, he boldly stated that mankind can easily move in either the direction of Enlightenment or rapidly devolve into the dark morass of ignorance and evil. This should not have surprised anyone who has even a layman's appreciation of world history. Indeed, every Dark Age is preceded by a Renaissance. The opposite is also true. This applies not only to society as a whole. The state of an individual's happiness and fulfillment can easily move toward a better life or despair. This article explores the question of choice and the role that hypnotherapy may play.

What immediately comes to mind is the hierarchy of needs model first proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation. In it he states that we concern ourselves with five basic levels: physiological needs, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. He believed that we are only motivated to seek achievement at higher levels once we are fully satisfied that our needs are met regarding the subordinate ones.

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Full Title: Clinical research on the utility of hypnosis in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical and psychiatric disorders

The authors summarize 4 articles of special interest to the hypnosis community in the general scientific and medical literatures. All are empirical studies testing the clinical utility of hypnosis, and together address the role of hypnosis in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical and psychiatric disorders/conditions. The first is a randomized controlled study of smoking cessation treatments comparing a hypnosis-based protocol to an established behavioral counseling protocol. Hypnosis quit rates are superior to those of the accepted behavioral counseling protocol. A second study with pediatric patients finds hypnosis critically helpful in differentiating nonepileptic seizure-like behaviors (pseudoseizures) from epilepsy. The remaining 2 papers are randomized controlled trials testing whether hypnosis is effective in helping patients manage the emotional distress of medical procedures associated with cancer treatment. Among female survivors of breast cancer, hypnosis reduces perceived hot flashes and associated emotional and sleep disruptions. Among pediatric cancer patients, a brief hypnotic intervention helps control venepuncture-related pain.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2009 Oct;57(4):443-50. Nash MR, Perez N, Tasso A, Levy JJ. Psychology Department, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-0900, USA. mnash@utk.edu

by Joyce-Anne Locking

"On the black dog" is an expression used by writers. It represents a period of time when a writer is unable to find inspiration and soon becomes unable to write. I once heard the term mentioned by famous Canadian writer,Pierre Berton, as a writing disorder that afflicts writers from time to time. When a writer is "on the black dog," black becomes the colour of everything: black mood, black thoughts. Even the blank page seems black as one is unable to shed light on its blankness. And black is the colour of our power to change this dreaded affliction, although writing about it definitely helps a little.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

Living in the southern United States frequently I am asked by compassionate neighbors to which church I "belong" and what is my political persuasion. Despite their being driven by a strong sense of community, a factor that makes living here so enjoyable, over the years I have become increasingly uncomfortable answering them. By doing so, I feel that I have been summarily boxed into a one-dimensional identification. Frankly, I would like to believe that I am just a tad more complex.

Over the years I have come to examine my beliefs, especially those that seem to refer to concepts and ideas that are clearly beyond my control. For instance, although as a pilot many times I found opportunities to appreciate the existence of God and the effects of gravity, spending time arguing about either is simply a waste of time that prevents me pursuing more relevant opportunities. Let's face it. My strongly held opinions in these matters will never change the truth. Therefore, I would like to spend my time pursuing more relevant activities such as working for the benefit of others or striving for my own self-actualization.

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BACKGROUND: There has been a breakthrough in the understanding of anaesthetic drug effects during the last two decades, and new monitors aimed at quantifying such effects have been developed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This review is based on publications from the last 15 years, oral presentations, and rewritten parts of the author's PhD thesis. RESULTS: General anaesthesia can be regarded as a combination of hypnosis (sleep), analgesia and muscle relaxation. Modern anaesthetic drugs aim at each of these effects separately. Pharmacological variation makes it impossible to find one dose suitable for all, so tools for measuring drug effects in the individual patient are warranted. Monitors for measuring depth-of-hypnosis and partly analgesic effect are commercially available. Among these, BIS (bispectral index), based on EEG, is by far the best documented. BIS is proven useful for preventing undesired awareness and overdosing, but there are major limitations. Use of such technology in clinical practice is under constant debate. INTERPRETATION: Even though the BIS technology is promising and used widely, no health authorities have so far recommended that such monitors should be compulsory during general anaesthesia, but rather that it should be considered on an individual basis. So far, it seems like this is a sensible approach in Norway as well.

Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 2010 Mar 25;130(6):633-7. Høymork SC. Anestesi- og intensivavdelingen, Vestre Viken, Sykehuset Asker og Baerum 1309 Rud, Norway. s.c.hoymork@medisin.uio.no

by Bonnie M. Morét, CCHt

At any given moment in our lives, we are making choices. We can choose to live fully in the moment, to live our dreams, to be whom we dream of being or to ignore the still small voice inside of us that is begging to be heard -- to live life with everything we've got. Have you chosen to reach for the stars, living a life full of passion and possibilities? Or have you chosen to get really comfortable with watching your dreams pass you by and thinking about what might have been if not for those postponed and unfulfilled dreams?

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by Mark Gorkin, LICSW

Ten Personal-Psychological Factors that May Impede Early Cardio/Health Prevention, Detection, and Intervention

Why are we often reluctant to know the state of our medical health, let alone whether we have a medical condition? For example, why don't we more frequently avail ourselves of the advances in cardiovascular health testing to foster disease prevention or early disease detection? The evidence is compelling: did you know that as many as 90,000 lives could be saved each year if cardio health screenings were conducted on all asymptomatic men between the ages of 45-75 and women between the ages of 55-75 (American Journal of Cardiology, July 2006)? (And while these questions are of universal import, I suspect they have particular relevance for men, a species known for ignoring health issues.)

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

Behind where I am sitting now is a framed poster showing a photograph of Albert Einstein. Underneath his picture is one of my favorite quotes, which says that "Imagination is more important than knowledge." When it comes to human transformation, too much press is given to the power of the subconscious mind and totally ignores the critical role of the conscious mind, which serves as the true captain of neurophysiology. As such, the most capable tool available for guiding us in the direction of our choosing is our ability to use our imagination. Yet, as a resource it is too often subordinated and not given the credit it is due. As a valuable asset our ability to imagine is not just a baseless cliché bantered around by idealistic self-help gurus and inadequately trained practitioners. Rather it is something that has a clear scientific and physiological basis. By understanding that, we can better develop processes and procedures designed to enhance our potential to shape our future.

The existence of imagination as a mental process is a characteristic of the evolution of developed human frontal lobes, which makes possible our highly advanced conscious mind. Therefore, humans have both a capability to be self-aware and can alter at will how they interpret their perception of past, present, and future reality. Nevertheless, despite our superiority the vast majority of our consciousness remains reactive no different than that of the lower life forms and matter. When we sense cold, we shiver. When we perceive safety or danger, we react accordingly down to the sub-cellular level. On the other hand, there is a special human quality that provides us with the amazing ability to anticipate. It is that factor that is the key to our ability to understand the wonderful value of imagination.

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By Nadine Aurel

Luca Bosurgi, a defining voice in the emerging field of mind-spirit therapy, transforms psychoanalysis to spiritual evolution. He has developed an original mind coaching technique: The CognitiveOS Hypnosis. For the first time he has agreed to talk about the power of the CognitiveOS Hypnosis and why it's the next step in psychoanalytical therapy.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

Many hypnotic techniques depend in great part on the confidence of the operator. I always teach that the hypnotist's absolute belief in their ability to achieve successful results is vital when using waking hypnosis or any rapid trance inductions. Indeed, as we are in the business of using suggestion and imagination to obtain mental and physical results, there is little room for doubt and second guessing. However, there are situations when a demonstration of a high level of confidence may create a situation where the clinician may appear to be crossing an ethical line.

Clinical hypnotherapists are not alone in this dilemma. In fact, this is a constant problem within the medical profession where instilling hope in a patient has to be weighed against legal advice, which says that it is prudent to provide warnings regarding any possible risk. For instance, when my father had his second heart bypass surgery, the talented young surgeon dramatically informed him that he had less than a 5% chance of surviving the operation. Even though this bothered my father deeply, luckily the procedure was a complete success. On the other hand, unlike medicine, which absolutely must consider the negative effects of such communication, installing doubt in a hypnosis subject is even more contrary to nature of our art.

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by Alfred A Barrios, PhD

My commentary will cover the following key areas:

I. Contrasting my theory with other major perspectives in the field including the Socio-cognitive, the Dissociation/Neo-Dissociation, and the Response-Expectancy perspectives, pointing out some of the key similarities and differences between these approaches and my theory.

II. Presenting some of the research and work subsequent to the first publication of my theory (Barrios, 1969) that I feel presents further support for it; and

III. Pointing out some of the subsequent benefits of the theory which will include:

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by Joyce-Anne Locking

This is the time of year we usually concentrate on getting in shape. We start a walking program or take up golf or tennis, canoeing, boating or other outdoor activities. We want to get fit and fit into our summer wardrobe once again. We strive to get ourselves ready to enjoy the summer by toning our muscles and shaping our plans. One thing we ought to include in this preparing for summer fitness program is our mind. Is the mind a muscle too? I just watched a television interview that suggested the mind is indeed a muscle, a muscle that can be programmed much in the same way as a computer! A mind can be set, somewhat like a clock, to begin routine tasks daily or to begin to change old habits into new ones. New habits, experts suggest, take twenty one days to form. Once we continue to practice a new activity each day for twenty one days, we have started a new habit.

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BACKGROUND: There are few published examples of research examining the effect of massage, aromatherapy, and reflexology in clinic settings. In addition to measuring treatment outcomes, it may also be important to measure the quality of the relationship between the client and therapist and assess its contribution to outcomes. AIMS: To evaluate perceived changes in client quality of life following treatment; to determine whether the relationship between the client and therapist predicts the outcome of treatment; to assess the usefulness of the measures used. METHOD: The Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile (MYMOP2) and the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) were used to collect data from 66 clients and 13 therapists in a complementary therapies clinic in South Wales. RESULTS: The MYMOP2 data showed significant improvements for client symptoms and activity but not for well-being. A low correlation was found between MYMOP2 profile scores and WAI scores suggesting that symptoms, activity and well-being were associated with a positive working alliance but this narrowly failed to achieve statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Further research is necessary to confirm improvements in client quality of life and to establish causes. More research is needed to examine the client-therapist relationship and treatment outcome. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2010 Feb;16(1):31-5. Epub 2009 Jul 4. Harris P, Atkins RC, Alwyn T. Centre for Complementary Therapies, Cardiff School of Health Sciences, University of Wales Institute Cardiff, Western Avenue, Cardiff, Wales, UK. peharris@uwic.ac.uk

by Bernie Siegel, MD

The key to life in all its forms is its ability to communicate. This includes the ability of complex organisms like ourselves to communicate with each other but more importantly within ourselves, our individual organs and cells. How do animals communicate without words? Studies show they can count and make intelligent choices when given options yet we do not know how they are able to reason and communicate without using words.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

Nothing is more symbolic to the field of hypnotherapy than the art of script writing. This documentation of the process and structure of an intervention represents the intent and thoughts of the clinical practitioner. While it may only imply some of the nuances of how it is ultimately delivered to a subject, it clearly reflects the essence of the theory and concepts and justifies the use of hypnosis for achieving a therapeutic goal.

I recently transmitted an Institute e-course in which I mentioned my assessment, hopes, and even disappointments regarding the current state of script writing within the realm hypnotherapy. In the article I used the terms "clichés" and "myths" to refer to the current prevailing state of script writing education offered by national and international associations of hypnotists. This has caused some puzzlement and calls for further explanation. Although I would think that my comments in the nearly 100 articles that I have written and made freely available through Internet would preclude the necessity for further clarification, perhaps for those who have not followed my writings closely I need to expound further.

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by Katherine Zimmerman, PhD, CHT

Renee's session starts in a huge, white sanctuary. She's feeling relaxed. I mention the anger, frustration and depression that we discussed prior to trance. I invite the part with these feelings to step forward so that we can let her know that she's done an extremely effective job– especially this last eighteen months– of keeping Renee angry and frustrated, without even knowing why... and depressed.

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Full Title: Differential patterns of spontaneous experiential response to a hypnotic induction: A latent profile analysis

A hypnotic induction produces different patterns of spontaneous experiences across individuals. The magnitude and characteristics of these responses covary moderately with hypnotic suggestibility, but also differ within levels of hypnotic suggestibility. This study sought to identify discrete phenomenological profiles in response to a hypnotic induction and assess whether experiential variability among highly suggestible individuals matches the phenomenological profiles predicted by dissociative typological models of high hypnotic suggestibility. Phenomenological state scores indexed in reference to a resting epoch during hypnosis were submitted to a latent profile analysis. The profiles in the derived four-class solution differed in multiple experiential dimensions and hypnotic suggestibility. Highly suggestible individuals were distributed across two classes that exhibited response patterns suggesting an inward attention subtype and a dissociative subtype. These results provide support for dissociative typological models of high hypnotic suggestibility and indicate that highly suggestible individuals do not display a uniform response to a hypnotic induction. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conscious Cogn. 2010 Apr 13. Terhune DB, Cardeña E. Department of Psychology, Lund University, 22100 Lund, Sweden.