Few mental pathologies have as much potential to create anguish and an experiential threat as eating disorders. 8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder: Effective Strategies from Therapeutic Practice and Personal Experience by Carolyn Costin, MA, Med, MFT, and Gwen Schubert Grabb, MA, MFT, is an excellent self-help book intended to help those suffering from this problem by increasing their understanding and giving them hope that recovery is possible.

One of the most striking aspects of this book is the fact that it was written by two therapists who were themselves afflicted by eating disorders. This helps the authors connect with potential readers as they lead them through their personal journeys. They share how they initially developed eating disorders, came to recognize its seriousness, and how they navigated through various stages of recovery.

This book is part of a series of "8 Keys" self-help books published by W.W. Norton & Company. As eating disorders are a very complex problem, which almost always warrants both medical and psychotherapeutic treatment, I was initially concerned as to whether this book could do the subject justice. However, I found that this simplification was extremely effective and most likely just what the average therapy client needs to help them understand the major tenets of the healing process.

The one major theme found throughout this book is a story of hope that recovery is highly probable once a person recognizes and accepts that they have an eating disorder, and that professional assistance is warranted. Again, the personal stories of the authors help give the feeling that recovery is indeed very possible.

This is a book, which I highly recommend. For a person who suspects that this book may apply to them or for those who have been diagnosed as having a eating disorder, it will help them understand what they are going through and address major treatment issues. For family members or friends of the eating disorder sufferer, it will be equally enlightening both regarding their role in inadvertently facilitating the onset of an eating disorder as well as how they can be supportive during the recovery period.

Hypnotherapists and other care-givers can also benefit from reading this book. Even though it is not written in a format, which will specify exact treatment protocols and procedures, it is useful in helping recognize the disorder and know when a client should be referred to another more qualified colleague. Indeed, on several occasions I have been contacted by a person who wanted hypnotherapy assistance in managing their weight and quickly realized that the problem was much more serious than the client realized.

As an eating disorder is predominantly a situation in which many of the auto-regulatory functions of the brain's limbic system have been disrupted and need to be re-balanced, I was somewhat surprised that the authors did not spend more time discussing guided imagery and/or formal hypnotherapeutic treatment. They only addressed this briefly – albeit while omitting the words hypnosis and hypnotherapy. I trust that a more professional treatment manual would correct this concern. Qualified hypnotherapists – to include lay practitioners who possess both the requisite skills in hypnotherapy and psychotherapy – could accelerate a client's progress through the various stages of healing and recovery.

If hypnosis is viewed as a process, which enhances selective thinking, and mindfulness regarded as a here-and-now space/time orientation, then their relationship needs little further intellectual consideration. However, if you follow the line of reasoning that hypnosis is a state characterized by focused awareness, dissociation, or trance while keeping the opinion that mindfulness is also a state, there is indeed an obvious opportunity to contrast the two. Contrary to my frequent comments maintaining that the initial view is the more scientifically supported and the most operational, 30 year veteran psychologist Michael D. Yapko, PhD, uses his new book Hypnosis and Mindfulness: The Power of Suggestion to Transform Experience as an exhaustive exercise to accomplish the latter. In his introduction he sets forth that his purpose is to "show the relevance of hypnosis to the effective utilization" of what he calls guided mindfulness meditation – for which he creates the acronym "GMM." After carefully reading this book, I don't feel that his objective was met. Somehow I was left with the impression that this book serves little productive purpose.

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By Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D.

Roy Hunter is a well-known author and sought-after speaker who diligently continues the work of the late Charles Tebbetts, often regarded as a grand master of hypnotherapy. Hunter is also a practicing hypnotherapist who, from 1987 to 2010, taught Diversified Client-Centered Hypnosis at Tacoma Community College, in Washington. He is a Life Fellow in the International Medical & Dental Hypnotherapy Association (IMDHA).

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Seemingly forever medical science has been searching for a magical cure for cancer. This non-communicable, often deadly disease is indeed one of the most feared in modern times. Furthermore, traditional treatment, which is designed to remove cancerous cells, leaves the patient less capable of warding off future recurrences. Add to this the fact that approaches to many childhood diseases may in fact greatly increase the probability of cancer occurring later in life.

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Reviewed by Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D.

Roy Hunter is well-known in hypnotherapy circles. He is a widely-read author and sought-after speaker who diligently continues the work and teaching of the late Charles Tebbetts, considered by many to be a grand master of hypnotherapy. Hunter is also a practicing hypnotherapist who, since 1987, has taught Diversified Client-Centered Hypnosis at Tacoma Community College in Washington. His books are required reading at schools of hypnosis around the world. He was inducted into the International Hypnosis Hall of Fame in 2000 and has received honors from national and international hypnotherapy organizations. With Crown House Publishing, he has recently released new editions of The Art of Hypnosis, The Art of Hypnotherapy, and Mastering the Power of Self-Hypnosis. Together, these three volumes form a comprehensive home-study course on hypnosis for both professional hypnotherapists and lay readers.

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Psychological trauma is probably the most prevalent problem currently addressed by mental health practitioners. Unfortunately for many people, trauma often results in a variety of dissociation reactions – many of which go by diagnostic names such Dissociative Identity Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Coping with Trauma-Related Dissociation: Skills Training for Patients and Therapists by Suzette Boon, PhD, Kathy Steele, MN, CS, and Onno Van Der Hart, PhD, is an extremely comprehensive volume. It is intended to provide therapists, patients, and their families considerable insight and numerous effective tools.

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Dabney Ewin, a physician and hypnotherapist, intended 101 Things I Wish I/D Known When I Started Using Hypnosis to be a small, simple book: easy to read and understand. And it is. Ewin is a Clinical Professor of Surgery and Psychiatry at Tulane Medical School in New Orleans, Louisiana. With a strong affinity for psychosomatic medicine, he began teaching and using medical hypnosis in 1970. Today he is a leading expert in medical hypnotherapy. His book is a compilation of observations for practitioners.

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In Forget Diets, Plant Tomatoes: A metaphoric, hypnotic journey to stop emotional eating Joanna Cameron DCH, who labels herself as the "Trance Lady," presents a rather simple and elegant seven-step approach to overcoming obesity. Her tactics come down to reducing biographical emotional blockages using Time Line Therapy, parts therapy, chakra balancing, and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). They are integrated with an effective approach toward goal setting and accomplishment.

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One of the most refreshing things about When the Past is Always Present: Emotional Traumatization, Causes, and Cures by Ronald A. Ruden, MD, PhD, is that is a trauma book written by someone who is both a medical doctor and has a doctorate in neurochemistry. By explaining this often debilitating issue in terms of the chemical communication between the different substrates of the brain, his non-psychotherapeutic perspective presents a fresh approach. His unique treatment protocol is referred to as "havening," which is a mixture of energy tapping, guided imagery, and reassuring touch.

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While reading the first couple of chapters of Anxiety Disorders: The Go-To Guide for Clients and Therapists by Carolyn Daitch, PhD, I was particularly affected by a very short phrase. She wrote that "anxiety is not a character flaw." As I look at this set of very common mental pathologies as the human power of simulation and anticipation gone awry, I concur with her simple yet, extremely profound approach. This is a book that provides both clarity and – more importantly – hope.

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Few books on psychotherapeutic topics have given me as much intellectual and emotional satisfaction as Bill O'Hanlon's new book, Quick Steps to Resolving Trauma. With surprising thoroughness and compelling clarity, he presents a four step process that helps therapists understand this pervasive problem. Unlike many therapist books, it is written in a way, which non-therapists can both easily fathom and benefit. I was pleasantly shocked that the book was only 123 pages and could quickly be consumed in one sitting.

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When I first learned of the upcoming publication of Neuro-Hypnosis: Using Self-Hypnosis to Activate the Brain for Change by C. Alexander Simpkins and Annellen M. Simpkins, I was thrilled. Together the title and a statement in the book's introduction implied that the authors had written about how the mind can be deliberately used to change the brain. As this is a theme of much of my writings, I was encouraged by the fact that others were independently recognizing the power that we humans have in affecting lasting change. However, after an exhaustive reading I have concluded that this is yet another Ericksonian-oriented "what is hypnosis" primer as well as an interesting and entertaining self-help book. My hopes and expectations were not met.

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Thinking Therapeutically, by Tom Barber and Sandra Westland affords a rare look into the minds of two seasoned hypnotherapists, as they relate case studies and comment on one another's work. This book is ideal for beginning hypnotherapists and for those who wonder about a therapist's internal process during the external therapeutic conversation.

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When a person experiences a problem integrating one or more disturbing or life-threatening events, clinicians have a wide range of tools with which to assist their recovery. The phenomena, which is called a trauma, is the topic covered by a new book by psychologist Robin Shapiro, PhD. In The Trauma Treatment Handbook: Protocols Across the Spectrum, she addresses practically all protocols currently available – to include pharmacology. I tend to agree with the charge made in the preface by trauma authority Daniel Siegel, MD as to the lack of scientific research regarding many of the presented modalities. However, I also concur that due to the complexity of traumas the various approaches warrant significant discussion. In this volume Shapiro has done so brilliantly.

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Few fields have the same level of misconception as hypnosis. In Understanding Hypnosis: Theory, Scope and Potential, California clinical psychologist, Albert A. Barrios, PhD, attempts to rectify this. In his short, fact-filled book he provides the reader with voluminous information and references to studies involving the use of clinical hypnotherapy for a wide range of applications.

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Harvard-trained neurosurgeon and founder of the American Holistic Medical Association, C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D. has created a documentary film, "Medical Renaissance Series: The Secret Code." It is well worth a viewing.

Norm Shealy, often called Dr. Wizard by his colleagues given his 10 inventions and inventive strategies, is man who likes to solve problems and understand why. Shealy brings his all-things-are-possible thinking to this 92 minute DVD as he explores alternative healing methodologies through case studies, successful patient interviews, and conversations with some of his cutting edge colleagues, including Carl Hammerschlag, M.D., Gladys McGarey, M.D., Caroline Myss, Ph.D., Belleruth Naparstek, Ph.D., Morris Netherton, Ph.D., John Sewell, D.D. and others.

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Reviewed by Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D.

As a hypnotherapist, I was intrigued by this small book focusing solely on hypnotic inductions. In Techniques of Hypnotic Induction, psychotherapist George Gafner, brings over 30 years of experience to bear, teaching hypnotherapists how to communicate with the unconscious mind skillfully, through story-telling inductions.

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A Review by Tim Brunson, PhD

Over the years mental health clinicians develop unique ideas and procedures, which the find to be extremely effective with their clients. For those who are always on the lookout for new methods Clinical Pearls of Wisdom: 21 Leading Therapists Offer Their Key Insights offers the reader a treasure chest of time-tested concepts. Immediately upon reading this anthology I felt that I had benefitted from the collective experience of many of the professions most competent practitioners. Edited by Michael Kerman, MSW, the founder of Leading Edge Seminars, this volume presents a concise series of chapters in which each therapist shares a few well-chosen pearls, a relevant case history, and a summary.

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Handbook of Ericksonian and Solution-Oriented Hypnosis continues that accomplishment by presenting an enjoyable and practical guide to permissive hypnosis. I highly recommend this to the serious clinician. However, this is a book that would benefit just about anyone interested in personal change. I will definitely encourage my students to add this new book to their library.

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2009, Crown House Publishing, Ltd., Wales

Reviewed by Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D.

For mental health practitioners trained in hypnotherapeutic approaches to addictions, compulsions, and habit control, Joseph Tramontana's new book will make an excellent library addition. Hypnotically Enhanced Treatment for Addictions provides strategies and scripts for alcohol abuse, drug addiction, gambling addiction, smoking cessation, and weight loss. The methods in this book can be extended to other compulsions and impulse control disorders as well.

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A review by Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D

Crown House Publishing Co. LLC, Wales

Copyright, 2009

Followers of Bill O'Hanlon will delight in the recent release of his six new CDs, all influenced by the work of Milton H. Erickson. If you don't know much about Milton Erickson, this set of CDs will serve as a good introduction to Ericksonian hypnosis.

The recordings demonstrate O'Hanlon's versatility with hypnosis, rapport, and story-telling. In each 40- to 60-minute presentation, his voice is friendly and comforting to listen to, with excellent inflection and pacing. Bill tells his stories in such a relaxed and casual manner that they seem spontaneous and fresh, as though you were hearing them over a mug of beer or a cup of coffee. Here is a brief review on each CD.

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To see the nine affects (or emotions) displayed on the faces of infants alone may make purchasing Affect & Hypnosis: On paying friendly attention to disturbing thoughts worthwhile. This DVD is a recording of the keynote that Donald L. Nathanson, MD, gave at the 2008 annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. This world-renowned expert on affect (i.e. emotions and feelings) gave a brilliant presentation concerning the two positive, one neutral, and six negative affects displayed in clients and patients.

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by Fred P. Gallo, Ph.D.

Imagine visiting a therapist and coming away completely relieved of the trauma, depression, phobia, anxiety, or whatever your malady may be. Imagine if that could be accomplished within one or a very few sessions--or even possibly within a few minutes. Wouldn't that efficiency be more to most people's liking? No doubt!

Over the past seventeen years, I have found that usually I can assist clients in achieving this ideal. People enter my office with a psychological problem and leave without it. Frequently similar results can be achieved with some physical problems such as headaches, back pain, and even jaw pain. While a certain amount of talking is involved, the curative aspect of the therapy is not the talking at all, but rather through the activation or correction of an increasingly coming-to-be-known bodily energy system. This is the same system that brought you acupuncture and that makes regeneration and physical healing possible. But more on that later--first a few brief cases to consider.

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It is hard to summarize the flood of self-help technologies of the past 20 years. Either you can view them as a literal smorgasbord of intriguing opportunities or a cacophony of methodologies just waiting for organization. Unleashing Your Brilliance: Tools & Techniques to Achieve Personal, Professional & Academic Success by Brian E. Walsh, PhD, is probably the layman's best summary for the wide range of effective tools available for transformation. In a brilliantly composed, easy-to-read volume Dr. Walsh provides a clear and comprehensive explanation of the multitude of ideas that were popularized in the 1990s and early years of this decade.

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Randal Churchill's Catharsis in Regression Hypnotherapy focuses on two controversial issues in hypnotherapy. The first issue, regression, is fraught with the possibility of bringing about false memories. The second issue, catharsis, holds the possibility of re-traumatizing a client through abreaction. In spite of my doubts about the therapeutic value of the author's approach, I found the book well-written and worthwhile to read.

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When I first picked up Foundations of Clinical Hypnosis, by Edwin Yager, I did not feel enthusiastic. First, the title sounds like the dry, dull textbooks I waded through as an undergrad. Second, as a hypnotherapist of 20 years, I thought I'd find the subject matter too basic. I am happy to say I was wrong on both counts. Yager's book provides stimulating reading. It is written in a straightforward way and holds basic information for beginners, as well as innovative methods for seasoned practitioners.

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Despite the fact that many medical practitioners have been trained in clinical hypnotherapy, this discipline still has a distance to go to achieve full acceptance as an adjunctive therapy in medicine. Advances in the use of Hypnosis for Medicine, Dentistry, and Pain Prevention/Management, edited by Donald C. Brown, MD, could help that effort considerably. This book is compilation of papers on hypnotherapy in medicine, all written by established practitioners who use hypnosis in their medical specialties. The book is the outgrowth of the 6th Frontiers in Hypnosis Assembly in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2003.

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Discover Your Learning Genius: Enhance Your Concentration, Memory, and Test-Taking Skills, is the new dual induction CD by Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D. and Oscar Rodriguez, CHt. As I have previously reviewed Dr. Pearson's book The Weight, Hypnotherapy and You, Weight Reduction Program, I expected a first class production. I was not disappointed. Everything from the packaging to the production is definitely top notch.

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During this period of economic crises and turbulence - while many Americans and others throughout the world are focusing on survival - Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success, is a welcome respite. In this refreshing volume he presents numerous anecdotes which weave an enlightening, paradigm-breaking view of why some people are successful and others are not.

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I clearly remember my college psychology professors introducing me to the "nature versus nurture" dilemma. Can experience alter the essential traits of human beings? Are we doomed to the limits of our genetics (as Watson and Crick's "Central Dogma" would have us believe)? Newsweek's science editor Sharon Begley's book, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves dares to take a look this controversy from two very interesting perspectives. Inspired by the annual Mind & Life Institute meetings between His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, other senior Buddhist monks, and top Western neurologists, philosophers, and psychologists, this book's central theme is that the human mind can change. And, it postulates that once changed, the mind can change the biological organ we know as the human brain.

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While many teachers and therapists have explored the realm of past lives, rarely have I found anyone in the clinical community who has endeavored to discuss the impact of the period between death and reincarnation. This is just what you will find in Dr. Georgina Cannon's book Discovering the Interlife: Your Journey Between Lifetimes, Your Life Between Lives. Whether you refer to that in between period as purgatory, bardo or use her term "Interlife", she feels that regression back to the "in between period" could give you lessons that may lead to personal awakening and transformation.

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Recently I gave a two hour talk at the Louisiana Hypnotherapy Organization conference in New Orleans. Although part of the talk was about research, during the second hour I dared to venture into the mysterious arena of neuroscience and hypnosis. While there were many in the audience who seemed to be able to understand the significance of my comments, unfortunately about one out of every eight members of the audience were politely lost. Nevertheless, my contention still is that the future of hypnosis must consider the recent innovations in brain and cognitive research. I am glad to say that after my presentation I was pleasantly beset by many of my colleagues who enthusiastically wanted to know where I was going with my ideas.

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Ever since I enjoyed the multi-phonic chants of the Tibetan monks of the Drepung Loseling monastery, I was not aware of any Westerner equally talented in vocal complexities. That was until I had the opportunity to meet and hear the remarkable Wayne Perry. As a key note speaker and workshop leader at the 2004 American Board of Hypnotherapy convention, Mr. Perry awed the audience with his unusual presentation skills and enthralled us with his unique views concerning the use of the human voice as a tool for mental and physical healing.

Wayne Perry is an unparalleled speaker, workshop leader, and healer. Having availed myself of the opportunity of having a private session with the master and as I cross paths with him usually once or twice a year, I have learned to appreciate his many skills. For those of you who have not had this opportunity, I highly recommend that your purchase and read his latest book: Sound Medicine: The Complete Guide to Healing with the Human Voice. This comprehensive how-to-manual not only explains the intriguing world of sound healing, but gives you a great autobiographical picture of the person who is the living embodiment of this innovative theory.

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It's an exciting season for books on Energy Psychology. First of all, Gary Craig's THE EFT MANUAL, published by Energy Psychology Press will be available in August. Long awaited (although available as a free download on the 'emofree' website for years), The EFT Manual is a very user-friendly yet comprehensive introduction to EFT. There are chapters on EP Theory, the Basic Recipe, how to apply EFT, and numerous case histories (including Gary's work with vets at the VA), as well as a section on 'impediments' blocking EFT from working. Both well-written and well-illustrated, this book is the perfect gift to give to friends, family and colleagues whom you wish to introduce to our field. (Gary Craig and Dawson Church, the publisher, have generously donated all profits from advance sales to EP Research).

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Once in a while, I read a book on hypnosis that is to eloquent, so well-organized, so understandable, and written with such clarity and sensitivity that I wish I'd written it myself. That's how I felt about reading Hypnotize Yourself Out of Pain Now (Second Edition) by Bruce Eimer, Ph.D. This is the quintessential book on self-hypnosis for pain management.

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When Les Fehmi, Ph.D., BCIA-EEG, writes a book for general audiences, he does so with the authority of over forty years of experience in the areas of psychology, biofeedback, and neurofeedback. Dr. Fehmi and his co-author, Jim Robins, the award-winning journalist who has written several books found in my rather large library, have produced one of the best contributions that I've seen for a while. This rather short (192 page) work titled The Open-Focus Brain: Harnessing the Power of Attention to Heal Mind and Body (together with a brilliant, included CD) provides the reader with a concise and well explained explanation on how changing one's focus can positively affect multiple aspects of life.

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The Inner Mind Revisited: Researching the Soul by the well-known and respected California hypnotist, A. L. Ward, is essentially a second , expanded version of his earlier book The Inner Mind, which was published almost four decades earlier. His tone and approach reminds me so much of classic hypnotists such as Estabrooks, Bernheim, and Elman. This book is a thought provoking volume that winds through a series of anecdotal case studies to include a continuation of one first discussed in his earlier work.

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There are numerous self-help models that claim that they will most definitely turn your life around. Perfect Enough: Achieving Happiness & Balance with The Discover Process by Laura King, a certified hypnotherapist, NLP practitioner, and Life Coach, is another in the constellation of interesting transformational publications. As a fellow hypnotherapist and a NLP trainer, I immediately resonate with books based on my core skills.

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How big do you want to be? Are you holding yourself back? Why are you hiding your brilliance? These are questions posed by Simon T. Bailey in his absolutely wonderful book Release Your Brilliance: The 4 Steps to Transforming Your Life and Revealing Your Genius to the World.

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Transformation is different than change, says Marilyn Gordon, BCH, CI, in The Wise Mind: The Brilliant Key to Life Transformation. She claims that true transformation is a matter of dynamically altering perspectives. After reading this quite enjoyable and inspirational book, I couldn't help being impressed with its immense wisdom and clarity.

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