International Hypnosis Research Institute

Affirmed yet unaware: exploring the role of awareness in the process of self-affirmation.

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:47:00 -0500

Three studies investigated whether self-affirmation can proceed without awareness, whether people are aware of the influence of experimental self-affirmations, and whether such awareness facilitates or undermines the self-affirmation process. The authors found that self-affirmation effects could proceed without awareness, as implicit self-affirming primes (utilizing sentence-unscrambling procedures) produced standard self-affirmation effects (Studies 1 and 3). People were generally unaware of self-affirmation's influence, and self-reported awareness was associated with decreased impact of the affirmation (Studies 1 and 2). Finally, affirmation effects were attenuated when people learned that self-affirmation was designed to boost self-esteem (Study 2) or told of a potential link between self-affirmation and evaluations of threatening information (Study 3). Together, these studies suggest not only that affirmation processes can proceed without awareness but also that increased awareness of the affirmation may diminish its impact. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2009 Nov;97(5):745-64. Sherman DK, Cohen GL, Nelson LD, Nussbaum AD, Bunyan DP, Garcia J. Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9660, USA. david.sherman@psych.ucsb.edu

Realizing Your Inner Savant

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:06:00 -0500

by Tim Brunson, PhD One thing that I have learned from theoretical physicists is that we filter an unlimited universe in order to create our perception of reality. This restricts our concept of self, which is very obviously a product of more than just our genetics and the accidental circumstances to which we are born. It seems that since our birth environmental influences began shaping our bodies and minds into what we mistakenly understand as our self-identity. However, if those learned filters are questioned, just maybe we can discover that we are much, much more than we ever imagined. Indeed, within each of us there are endless possibilities. Once we realize this perhaps we can start writing our own story rather than having it done for us. [More]

Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy for Healing Past Injuries, Pain and Mind-body Conditions. No. 1.

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:50:00 -0500

by Brian Green, CCHT There is a question on my intake form, "Do you have any residual pain from work, automobile, or surgery related injuries." This can lead me to aspects of pain and healing I have encountered, but not seen mentioned in the general hypnosis literature. That blocked unfelt emotions, created at the time of a physical trauma, may remain locked in, preventing full physiological healing. And unexpressed feelings of physical hurt may produce a similar result. Some medical research studies show that persons who do not take pain medications heal faster. It figures. For those clients who can use hypnotic processes well, a simple resolution can be obtained with regressive and other techniques. [More]

The astrological roots of mesmerism.

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:27:00 -0500

Franz Anton Mesmer's 1766 thesis on the influence of the planets on the human body, in which he first publicly presented his account of the harmonic forces at work in the microcosm, was substantially copied from the London physician Richard Mead's early eighteenth century tract on solar and lunar effects on the body. The relation between the two texts poses intriguing problems for the historiography of medical astrology: Mesmer's use of Mead has been taken as a sign of the Vienna physician's enlightened modernity while Mead's use of astro-meteorology has been seen as evidence of the survival of antiquated astral medicine in the eighteenth century. Two aspects of this problem are discussed. First, French critics of mesmerism in the 1780s found precedents for animal magnetism in the work of Paracelsus, Fludd and other early modern writers; in so doing, they began to develop a sophisticated history for astrology and astro-meteorology. Second, the close relations between astro-meteorology and Mead's project illustrate how the environmental medical programmes emerged. The making of a history for astrology accompanied the construction of various models of the relation between occult knowledge and its contexts in the enlightenment. Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci. 2010 Jun;41(2):158-68. Schaffer S. Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RH, UK. sjs16@cam.ac.uk

A randomised controlled single-blind trial of the effects of Reiki and positive imagery...

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:45:00 -0500

Full Title: A randomised controlled single-blind trial of the effects of Reiki and positive imagery on well-being and salivary cortisol. The study investigated whether participants who received Reiki would show greater health and well-being benefits than a group who received no Reiki. A method of blinding participants to Reiki was also tested, where non-contact Reiki or No-Reiki with random assignment was given to 35 healthy psychology undergraduates whose attention was absorbed in one of three tasks involving self-hypnosis/relaxation. Participants experienced ten 20-min intervention sessions over a period of two and a half to 12 weeks. Reiki was directed by the experimenter who sat behind the participants as they were absorbed in the tasks. Self-report measures of illness symptoms, mood and sleep were assessed pre-post-intervention as was salivary cortisol. While the Reiki group had a tendency towards a reduction in illness symptoms, a substantive increase was seen in the No-Reiki. The Reiki group also had a near-significant comparative reduction in stress, although they also had significantly higher baseline illness symptoms and stress scores. The Reiki blinding was successful - the groups did not differ statistically in their beliefs regarding group membership. The results are suggestive that the Reiki buffered the substantive decline in health in the course of the academic year seen in the No-Reiki group. Brain Res Bull. 2010 Jan 15;81(1):66-72. Bowden D, Goddard L, Gruzelier J. Psychology Department, Goldsmiths, University of London, ITC Building, New Cross, London SE14 6NW, United Kingdom. deborahebowden@hotmail.co.uk

Energy medicine and the unifying concept of information

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:20:00 -0500

Alternative medicine remains alternative because it poses serious challenges to the mainstream biomedical paradigm of mechanical reductionism and because it requires a new framework. This paper explores some of the hypotheses and challenges of energy medicine including healer interventions, electromagnetic therapies, and homeopathy. Together with new findings from the bioelectromagnetic field, they spell out the rudiments of a new paradigm for biology and medicine based on information. Information embraces the complex network of relations in the matter and energy transactions of living systems. It offers a unified view of energy medicine modalities as well as a fresh perspective for biology and medicine and new questions for further research. Altern Ther Health Med. 1995 Mar;1(1):34-9. Rubik B. Center for Frontier Sciences, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa., USA.

Georgia Foster, CSM, DCH

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:11:00 -0500

Georgia Foster is from Melbourne, Australia. She has lived in London since 1994 where she qualified with distinction as a clinical hypnotherapist with the London College of Clinical Hypnosis. She then went on to lecture on the subject of hypnotherapy - training students all over the United Kingdom for a further 2 years. [More]

What is Hypnosis? by hypnotherapy trainer Mark Tyrrell

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 14:04:00 -0500

Professor Allan Snyder

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:10:00 -0500

Allan Snyder is recognised for groundbreaking discoveries covering the fields of visual neurobiology, communications, optical physics and the mind sciences. Dr Snyder received the world's "foremost prize in communication and information technology", the Marconi International Prize, in New York city in December 2001. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and the recipient of its 2001 Clifford Paterson Prize for "contributions which benefit mankind." He is the director of the Centre for the Mind of the University of Sydney (Australia)

Comparison of conventional therapies for dentin hypersensitivity versus medical hypnosis.

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:43:00 -0500

This study compared the efficacy of conventional treatments for dentin hypersensitivity (DHS) and hypnotherapy. During a 1-month period at an urban practice in a service area of approximately 22,000 inhabitants, all patients were examined. A total of 102 individuals were included in the evaluation. Values of 186 teeth were analyzed. The comparison of the different treatment methods (desensitizer, fluoridation, and hypnotherapy) did not show significant differences in success rates. However, a noticeable difference was observed in terms of onset and duration of effect. For both desensitizer and hypnotherapy treatments, onset of effect was very rapid. Compared to the other methods studied, hypnotherapy effects had the longest duration. In conclusion, hypnotherapy was as effective as other methods in the treatment of DHS. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2010 Oct;58(4):457-75. Eitner S, Bittner C, Wichmann M, Nickenig HJ, Sokol B. Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen Nuremberg, Germany.

Effect of biofeedback-assisted autogenic training on headache activity and mood states in Korean fem

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:44:00 -0500

Biofeedback with or without combined autogenic training is known to be effective for the treatment of migraine. This study aimed to examine the effect of biofeedback treatment on headache activity, anxiety, and depression in Korean female patients with migraine headache. Patients were randomized into the treatment group (n=17) and monitoring group (n=15). Mood states including anxiety and depression, and psychophysiological variables such as mean skin temperature of the patients were compared with those of the normal controls (n=21). We found greater treatment response rate (defined as > or =50% reduction in headache index) in patients with biofeedback-assisted autogenic training than in monitoring group. The scores on the anxiety and depression scales in the patients receiving biofeedback-assisted autogenic training decreased after the biofeedback treatment. Moreover, the decrease in their anxiety levels was significantly related to the treatment outcome. This result suggests that the biofeedback-assisted autogenic training is effective for the treatment of migraine and its therapeutic effect is closely related to the improvement of the anxiety level. J Korean Med Sci. 2009 Oct;24(5):936-40. Kang EH, Park JE, Chung CS, Yu BH. Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Healing Treatments for Creativity

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:12:00 -0500

Massage, hypnotherapy, and many other forms of alternative healing enhances creativity. There are no ifs, and, or buts about it. The relaxation that occurs stimulates inspiration, because a relaxed mind in a relaxed body are more receptive to the impulses of creativity than their tense counterparts. Is there any surprise that so many of the world's great scientific insights and artistic conceptions occur in a restful state rather than a restless one? The famed "a ha" experience of eureka that can make you laugh in delightful "ha-ha," happens when you're most relaxed, not when you're most worried or irritable. While receiving an Indonesian massage on a luxury yacht off the coast of Thailand (I know...that sounds good to me while I read it, too, even a year after the fact), I gained inspiration for this column, as well as for one on tuning in to what your healing clients experience from your treatments. During other massages and coaching sessions that I've received in the past, I've gained ideas for other columns, for new workshops that I would eventually give, and for new books and mini-books that I would write. [More]

Preferences for hypnotic imagery for hot-flash reduction: a brief communication.

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:27:00 -0500

The purpose of this brief report is to identify imagery preferences of women receiving hypnotherapy to alleviate hot flashes. As part of a larger study, 51 breast cancer survivors were asked to identify their own personal preferences for imagery for reducing hot flashes. Most of the participants identified personal imagery associated with coolness; none of the participants selected imagery for warmth or heat. The most widely used was imagery involving water associated with coolness (27.0%). It is recommended that clinicians using hypnosis for reduction of hot flashes attend to patients' preferences as specific imagery may moderate the effectiveness of hypnosis for hot flashes. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2010 Jul;58(3):345-9. Elkins G, Marcus J, Bunn J, Perfect M, Palamara L, Stearns V, Dove J. Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798, USA. Gary_Elkins@baylor.edu

See clearly: suggestion, hypnosis, attention, and visual acuity

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:12:00 -0500

Some reports claim that positive suggestion (e.g., using hypnosis) can significantly improve visual acuity (e.g., in myopes). Based on behavioral, neurocognitive, and ophthalmological findings, the authors provide a critical account to review and challenge some of these data. While acknowledging the relative merits of hypnosis for investigating visual phenomena, an array of arguments converges to propose caveats to the apparent influence suggestion can exert on visual acuity. The authors argue that neither suggestion nor hypnotic phenomena are likely to significantly improve myopic vision and contend that a responsible scientific attitude should carefully outline what hypnosis and suggestion cannot do in addition to what they can. It seems likely that the small apparent influence of suggestion on visual acuity is mediated by changes in attention. The authors outline how attention can affect visual acuity. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2004 Apr;52(2):159-87. Raz A, Marinoff GP, Zephrani ZR, Schweizer HR, Posner MI. Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, New York 10032, USA. ar2241@columbia.edu

Energy medicine for long-term disabilities

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:19:00 -0500

Energy medicine techniques derive from traditional Chinese medicine and are based upon the concept that health and healing are dependent upon a balance of vital energy, a still mind, and controlled emotions. Physical dysfunctions result from disordered patterns of energy of long standing and reversal of the physical problem requires a return to balanced and ordered energy. Qi Gong (Chi Kung) is a system which teaches an individual to live in a state of energy balance. Shen Qi is a sophisticated form of Qi Gong which relies on no external physical interventions but rather relies on mind control to prevent illness, heal existing physical and emotional problems, and promote health and happiness. This paper will describe the use of these techniques with people who have long-term physical disabilities. Disabil Rehabil. 1999 May-Jun;21(5-6):269-76. Trieschmann RB.