The aim of this study was to systematically review and critically appraise the evidence on the effectiveness of hypnosis for procedure-related pain and distress in pediatric cancer patients. A comprehensive search of major biomedical and specialist complementary and alternative medicine databases was conducted. Citations were included from the databases' inception to March 2005. Efforts were made to identify unpublished and ongoing research. Controlled trials were appraised using predefined criteria. Clinical commentaries were obtained for each study. Seven randomized controlled clinical trials and one controlled clinical trial were found. Studies report positive results, including statistically significant reductions in pain and anxiety/distress, but a number of methodological limitations were identified. Systematic searching and appraisal has demonstrated that hypnosis has potential as a clinically valuable intervention for procedure-related pain and distress in pediatric cancer patients. Further research into the effectiveness and acceptability of hypnosis for pediatric cancer patients is recommended.

Faculty of Health and Social Work, Portland Square, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA, United Kingdom. janet.richardson@plymouth.ac.uk

J Pain Symptom Manage. 2006 Jan;31(1):70-84.Click here to read

Hypnotherapy has increasingly been included in the management of burn patients, particularly in the area of acute pain. To better understand such issues as (1) overall efficacy of hypnotherapy to alleviate acute burn pain, (2) instances in which hypnotherapy is contraindicated, (3) interaction of hypnotherapy with medication, (4) standard induction techniques to use with various age groups, (5) role of nursing and other staff in facilitating hypnotic effects, and (6) future methodological directions, we examined the clinical and methodological merits of recent studies of hypnoanalgesia. Through a computer search of the medical literature and cross-referencing recent bibliographies, we were able to find 17 studies in which hypnotherapy was applied to the management of burns. The literature generally supports the efficacy of this approach to reduce burn pain; however, little else can be concluded from these studies. Several recent studies have applied hypnotherapy to aspects of burn care other than pain using excellent experimental designs. It is suggested that future studies of acute pain management follow suit.

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.

J Burn Care Rehabil. 1987 Jul-Aug;8(4):263-8.

Clinical hypnosis in cancer settings provides symptom reduction (pain and anxiety) and empowers patients to take an active role in their treatments and procedures. The goal of this paper is to systematically and critically review evidence on the effectiveness of hypnotherapy for emesis, analgesia, and anxiolysis in acute pain, specifically in procedures with an emphasis on the period from 1999 to 2006. Further, it aims to provide a theoretical rationale for the use of hypnosis with cancer populations in the whole spectrum of illness/treatment trajectory in several clinical contexts. Finally, a treatment protocol for management of overt anxiety and phobic reactions in the radiotherapy suite is presented, with the intent of having such a protocol empirically validated in the future.

Jewish General Hospital. Montréal, Quebec. Canada.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2007 Jul;55(3):336-54.

Conceptually, hypnotizability has always been associated with the increase in suggestibility produced by hypnosis. In practice, hypnotizability is measured as suggestibility following a hypnotic induction. Our understanding of hypnosis and suggestion has been hampered by this discordance between the conceptual and operational definitions of hypnotizability. For example, despite hundreds of studies purporting to use standardized scales to assess hypnotizability, we know next to nothing about that construct, as it has been defined conceptually. Neither the hypothesis that it is a stable trait nor the hypothesis that it is modifiable have been tested in any study, and correlations between hypnotizability and other psychological or physiological variables have not yet been assessed. Conversely, we have learned much about hypnosis, suggestion, and suggestibility. Suggestibility has been measured on reliable and valid instruments, and we have abundant data on its stability, modifiability, and correlates. Hypnosis enhances suggestibility to a modest degree and increases the effectiveness of psychotherapy.

Department of Psychology, University of CT, Storrs 06269-1020, USA. Irvingk@uconnvm.uconn.edu

Am J Clin Hypn. 1997 Apr;39(4):271-7; discussion 277-81.

Conceptually, hypnotizability has always been defined as the increase in suggestibility produced by hypnosis. In practice, hypnotizability is measured as suggestibility following a hypnotic induction. The data indicate that these are different constructs. Although the induction of hypnosis increases suggestibility to a substantial degree, the correlation between hypnotic and nonhypnotic suggestibility approximates the reliability coefficients of so-called hypnotizability scales. This indicates that hypnotic susceptibility scales are better measures of waking suggestibility than they are of hypnotizability. The discordance between conceptual and operational definitions of hypnotizability can be resolved either by changing the conceptual definitions of hypnosis and hypnotizability or by reinterpreting hypnotizability scores as indexes of nonhypnotic, imaginative suggestibility.

Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs 06269-1020, USA. irvingk@uconnvm.uconn.edu

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 1997 Jul;45(3):212-25.

We compared participants' responsiveness to a standard administration of a hypnotic suggestibility scale (CURSS; Spanos, Radtke, Hodgins, Bertrand, Stam, & Moretti, 1983) that defined the ability to experience hypnosis in terms of cooperation (SI; standard induction, N = 27) with a version of the same scale administered with all references to cooperation removed (CR; cooperation removed, N = 34) and with a version of the scale with the "induction" removed (NI; no induction, N = 35). In a fourth condition, participants were informed that the ability to experience hypnosis depended on their ability to achieve an altered state of consciousness or "trance" (AS; altered state, N = 33). Removing instructions for cooperation had an effect on objective (CR < SI) but not on subjective hypnotic responding. Removing the hypnotic induction had no appreciable effect on any dimension of hypnotic responsivity. Consistent with predictions derived from performance standards theory (Lynn & Rhue, 1991), participants who received the altered state set responded to fewer suggestions than did participants who received the standard induction (SI). Estimates of suggestions passed that were assessed before and after test suggestions were administered were, respectively, weakly to moderately correlated with objective and subjective measures of hypnotic suggestibility.

Psychology Department, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2002 Jan-Apr;44(3-4):231-40.

OBJECTIVE: Hypnosis is an adjunctive, noninvasive treatment with few side effects that can be useful in the management of chronic pain. However, it has fallen into disfavor in recent years and is often perceived by physicians as simple charlatanism. We evaluated the efficacy of this treatment as used clinically in a large, mostly rural, pain management center. METHODS: We conducted a chart review of 300 pain patients from the Pain Treatment Center of the Bluegrass who had undergone hypnosis for their pain concerns. A chart audit tool was developed consisting of basic demographics, pre- and posthypnosis pain ratings, a rating of relaxation achieved posthypnosis, and scores on the Beck Depression Inventory, Perceived Disability Scale, and the Pain Anxiety Symptom Scale. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 79 men (26.3%) and 221 women (73.7%) with a mean age of 46.3 years (SD = 9.9, range = 19-78). Pain levels recorded pre- and posthypnosis revealed significant improvement as a result of the intervention (mean difference = 2.5, t (1,298) = 25.9, p < .001). Patients reported an average of 49.8% improvement in relaxation level posthypnosis (SD = 24.2%) and had a mean score of 19.0 on the Beck Depression Inventory (SD = 9.9), indicating moderate levels of depression. Also, patients saw themselves as severely disabled regarding their ability to engage in physical (8.3/10) or job-related (7.7/10) activities. Attempts to identify predictors of hypnosis success were not fruitful with one exception. "Poor" responders to hypnosis reported greater levels of perceived dysfunction in their sexual functioning compared to the "good" responders, F(1,187) = 7.2, p < .01. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Hypnosis appears to be a viable adjunct for pain management patients, including those from rural and relatively disadvantaged backgrounds. Prospective trials are needed to examine the utility of this modality in end-of-life and palliative care patients.

The Pain Treatment Center of the Bluegrass, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.

Palliat Support Care. 2007 Jun;5(2):147-52.

This article reviews the evidence for the use of hypnosis in the treatment of posttraumatic conditions including posttraumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder. The review focuses on empirically supported principles and practices and suggests that hypnosis can be a useful adjunctive procedure in the treatment of posttraumatic conditions. Cognitive-behavioral and exposure-based interventions, which have the greatest empirical support, are highlighted, and an illustrative case study is presented.

Psychology Department, Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York 13902, USA. slynn@binghamton.edu

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2007 Apr;55(2):167-88.

PURPOSE: To assess how patients' underlying anxiety affects their experience of distress, use of resources, and responsiveness toward nonpharmacologic analgesia adjunct therapies during invasive procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred thirty-six patients undergoing vascular and renal interventions, who had been randomized to receive during standard care treatment, structured empathic attention, or self-hypnotic relaxation, were divided into two groups: those with low state anxiety scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, scores < 43; n = 116) and those with high state anxiety scores (> or = 43; n = 120). All had access to patient-controlled analgesia with fentanyl and midazolam. Every 15 minutes during the procedure, patients rated their anxiety and pain on a scale of 0-10 (0, no pain/anxiety at all; 10, worst possible pain/anxiety). Effects were assessed by analysis of variance and repeated-measures analysis. RESULTS: Patients with high state anxiety levels required significantly greater procedure time and medication. Empathic attention as well as hypnosis treatment reduced procedure time and medication use for all patients. These nonpharmacologic analgesia adjunct treatments also provided significantly better pain control than standard care for patients with low anxiety levels. Anxiety decreased over the time of the procedure; patients with high state anxiety levels experienced the most significant decreases in anxiety with nonpharmacologic adjuncts whereas patients with low state anxiety levels coped relatively well under all conditions. CONCLUSION: Patients' state anxiety level is a predictor of trends in procedural pain and anxiety, need for medication, and procedure duration. Low and high state anxiety groups profit from the use of nonpharmacologic analgesia adjuncts but those with high state anxiety levels have the most to gain.

Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Avenue, WCC 308, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.

J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2005 Dec;16(12):1585-92.Click here to read

To highlight the effects of hypnotic focused analgesia (HFA), 20 healthy participants underwent a cold pressor test (CPT) in waking basal conditions (WBC) by keeping the right hand in icy water until tolerable (pain tolerance); subjective pain was quantified by visual scale immediately before extracting the hand from water. The test was then repeated while the participants were under hypnosis and underwent HFA suggestions. Cardiovascular parameters were continuously monitored. Pain tolerance was 121.5+/-96.1 sec in WBC and 411.0+/-186.7 sec during HFA (p < 0.0001), and visual rating score 7.75+/-2.29 and 2.45+/-2.98 (p < 0.0001), respectively. CPT-induced increase of total peripheral resistance was non significant during HFA and +21% (p < 0.01) in WBC. HFA therefore reduced both perception and the reflex cardiovascular consequences of pain as well. This indicates that hypnotic analgesia implies a decrease of sensitivity and/or a block of transmission of painful stimuli, with depression of the nervous reflex arc.

Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani No. 2, Padova, Italy. edoardo.casiglia@unipd.it

Am J Clin Hypn. 2007 Apr;49(4):255-66.

The neuroscience of implicit processing heuristics in therapeutic hypnosis and psychotherapy.

Neuroscience and bioinformatics research on activity-dependent gene expression and brain plasticity in memory and learning are used to reconceptualize a fundamental question of therapeutic hypnosis, "What is a suggestion?" John Kihlstrom's cognitive-behavioral perspective of implicit (unconscious) and explicit (conscious) memory and Eric Kandel's Nobel Prize winning neurobiological research are integrated for a 30-year update of Milton H. Erickson's "neuro-psycho-physiology" of therapeutic hypnosis. Implicit processing heuristics are proposed as a more general framework for Erickson's concept of permissive indirect suggestions in therapeutic hypnosis and psychotherapy. These perspectives are illustrated by utilizing implicit processing heuristics to facilitate the four-stage creative process in converting implicit to explicit memory in a brain-damaged patient.

Ernest@ErnestRossi.com

Am J Clin Hypn. 2007 Apr;49(4):267-81.

We examined the role of reporting bias in hypnotic negative hallucinations by using a paradigm in which reporting bias was assessed independently of perceptual change. In Experiment 1, highly hypnotizable subjects reported significant loudness reductions when tested for hypnotic deafness. Later, however, these subjects biased their reported loudness reductions in the absence of perceptual change, and their reporting bias scores were almost as large as their hypnotic deafness reports. Subjects also biased their ratings of strategy use. In Experiment 2, ratings of blindness given in response to a hypnotic negative visual hallucination suggestion were significantly correlated with reporting bias scores obtained in this paradigm. Although hypnotic blindness and hypnotic deafness correlated significantly, the partial correlation between these variables was nonsignificant when reporting bias scores were statistically controlled. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

J Abnorm Psychol. 1992 Feb;101(1):192-9.

The tendency of highly hypnotizable participants to bias their retrospective perceptual reports in response to instructional demands was reexamined with the addition of low-hypnotizable control participants instructed to simulate hypnosis. Mean scores of high-hypnotizable participants and simulators did not differ, but the responses of simulators to the demand instruction was less variable than those of high-hypnotizable participants, and the shape of the response distribution was different. Unlike simulators, some high-hypnotizable participants who had reported changes in perception that were consistent with a hypnotic suggestion subsequently reported changes opposite to those suggested by a demand instruction. These data were interpreted as suggesting that the responses of high-hypnotizable participants to both the demand instruction and the preceding hypnotic suggestion were not entirely due to compliance.

Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs 06269-1020, USA.

J Abnorm Psychol. 1996 Feb;105(1):142-5

This article summarizes data from three studies (Mare, Lynn, Kvaal, Segal, & Sivec, in press; Lynn, Mare, Kvaal, Segal, & Sivec, 1993) designed to extend research on the "hidden observer" to two phenomena of clinical relevance: hypnotic dreams and suggested age regression. Subjects received suggestions for a hypnotic dream or age regression and then received suggestions for a "hidden observer" (i.e., the subject possesses a part of the self that is aware of images and ideas that the conscious mind is unaware of) with respect to the dream or age-regression experience. Hidden reports contained more personally relevant information than the target suggestions (i.e., dream, age regression). Subjectives were also less likely to recall hidden reports. The high rate of hidden-observer responding (> 80%) was also evident in nonhypnotized simulating and relaxed subjects, although they did not exhibit as much primary process thinking in their dream reports as hypnotized subjects. Case studies of a trauma client and a forensic client are used to illustrate the clinical potential of hidden-observer suggestions.

Psychology Department, Ohio University, Athens 45701.

Am J Clin Hypn. 1994 Oct;37(2):130-42

Previous research indicated that high-hypnotizable participants reported more primary-process mentation in hypnotic dreams than low-hypnotizable participants instructed to simulate hypnosis. Differences in primary process were not evidenced in response to instructions for a "hidden part" of the participant to report on the hypnotic dream. This research replicated and extended these findings by showing that high-hypnotizable participants (n = 20) passing the dream suggestion reported more primary process in their dreams than high-hypnotizable participants instructed to remain alert and think and imagine along with suggestions (n = 20). Differences in primary process were not evidenced in response to hidden-observer suggestions, and the frequency of dream (87% hypnosis vs. 96% imagining) and hidden-observer responses (100% in both groups) was equivalent across hypnotic and nonhypnotic groups. The results provided qualified support for a psychoanalytic model of hypnosis: Differences in primary process were apparent in response to the dream but not the hidden-observer suggestion.

Ohio University, USA.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 1998 Oct;46(4):351-62.

The Absorption Scale, a measure of imaginative involvement, was administered to 64 subjects in the context of a hypnosis experiment and to an additional 64 subjects in a context unrelated to hypnosis. Expectancies of responding to hypnotic suggestions were assessed both before trance induction and after trance induction but before administration of hypnotic test suggestions. Hypnotic depth was assessed on the Long Stanford Scale (LSS) before the administration of test suggestions, and on the Inventory of Hypnotic Depth (IHD) after the hypnosis session. Absorption was correlated with hypnotic responsivity and expectancy, but only when assesed in the hypnotic context. Completing the Absorption Scale in a hypnotic context appeared to affect hypnotic responsiveness by altering subjects' expectancies. Only postinduction expectancies were uniquely predictive of response to hypnotic test suggestions, and all variables except the LSS were predictive of IHD scores. Results of path analysis supported the hypothesis that trance inductions alter expectancies for responding to hypnotic suggestions and that these altered expectancies determine subsequent hypnotic behavior.

J Pers Soc Psychol. 1986 Jan;50(1):182-9

We conducted an initial screening session in which hypnosis was presented as a "test of imagination" and administered with other imagination measures. In a second session, we instructed high- and low-hypnotizable subjects to imagine along with suggestions but to resist responding to motoric suggestions. Subjects received either instructions to use goal-directed fantasies (GDFs) or no facilitative instructions. Sizable individual difference effects were secured. Hypnotizable subjects exhibited more suggestion-related movements and reported greater involuntariness than did low-hypnotizable subjects. With GDF instructions, low- and high-hypnotizable subjects reported equivalent GDF absorption and frequencies. However, hypnotizable subjects exhibited greater responsiveness and reported greater involuntariness than did those low in hypnotizability, even when their GDFs were equivalent. Thus, no support was generated for the hypotheses that sustained, elaborated suggestion-related imagery mediates response to suggestion (Arnold, 1946) or that absorption in suggestions is of particular importance for low-hypnotizable subjects (Zamansky & Clark, 1986). Our finding that measures of response expectancy paralelled responding and reports of nonvolition support the hypothesis that expectancies mediate the relation between imagination, involuntariness, and responding (Kirsch, 1985; Spanos, 1982). Hypnotizable imagining subjects in the study discussed here exhibited greater responsiveness than a comparable sample of subjects did in a previous countersuggestion study (Lynn, Nash, Rhue, Frauman, & Stanley, 1983) in which no attempt was made to foster an association between imagining and involuntary responding in the initial screening session.

Psychology Department, Ohio University, Athens 45701.

J Pers Soc Psychol. 1987 Nov;53(5):933-8.

by Richard Kuhns, B.S.Ch.E.

This could well be the most important part of this article because it's about putting it all together and hopefully my personal experience with anxiety will give you a better understanding of how to do it and how the brain works.

Summary of previous parts of this article: Whenever you notice (observe) your body activating, your subconscious is telling you that there is something or someone from which you need to run--the fight/flight of the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). Of course if you look 360 degrees (all around you), you will not find anything or anyone that is threatening your life physically. But, remember, that the GAS will activate any time your financial, social, or family status is threatened or if your ego (how you identify yourself) is threatened. For instance, you bought a Chevrolet, drive it, and like it. You're at a party and someone says, "Chevy's are ugly cars." Now if you own a Ford, you would feel nothing, but because you own a Chevrolet, if would normal for you to sense a bit of defensiveness and even anger. This is your subconscious preparing you to fight or run from the person who offended you. Yet, to punch this person in the nose is inappropriate--even silly--and to run away from the person is likewise silly, but that's exactly what your subconscious is preparing you to do.

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3 types of "posthypnotic suggestion," based upon factor analytic studies, were administered to high hypnotizable Ss (reals) and to low hypnotizable Ss instructed to simulate hypnosis (simulators) (N = 12 high and 6 low hypnotizable Ss per suggestion). The "posthypnotic suggestions" consisted of instructions given to Ss following a hypnotic induction that, when the posthypnotic cue was later given, they would re-enter the hypnotic state and perform a certain task at that time. Ss were then tested 6 times for durability of "posthypnotic response" during an 8-week period. Responses to the "suggestions" were rated by research assistants (objective scores) and by Ss themselves (subjective scores). There was a significant Trials x Type of "Suggestion" interaction for both types of scores for the reals but not for the simulators, indicating different rates of decline with time for the different "suggestions" for the hypnotic Ss. Depth of reported hypnotic trance during the assessment sessions was found to be strongly related to performance of the "posthypnotic suggestion" for both real and simulating Ss.

Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 1991 Jan;39(1):24-38.

2 experiments were carried out to assess the relative contributions of dissociation and absorption as cognitive strategies employed by high and low hypnotizable Ss in responding successfully to hypnotic suggestions. Of special interest was the manner in which Ss deal with conflicting information typically inherent in hypnotic suggestions. In the first experiment, Ss rated their attentional focus and the involuntariness of their experience after responding to a number of hypnotic suggestions administered in the usual manner. In the second experiment, the level of conflict was varied by instructing some Ss to imagine a circumstance that was congruent and other Ss to imagine a circumstance that was incongruent with the suggested behavioral response. The results of the 2 experiments were consistent in suggesting that, depending upon the nature of the hypnotic suggestion, high hypnotizable Ss are able to employ dissociation or absorption in order to respond successfully. Low hypnotizable Ss, on the other hand, seem to be relatively ineffective dissociators. When the structure of the hypnotic suggestion precludes the use of absorption, the performance of low hypnotizables deteriorates.

Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 1990 Jul;38(3):168-82

Dr Hodzic has been practising in the UK for the last ten years as Senior Therapist at the Integrated Medical Centre in central London.

A medical doctor, Mirella has practised in many countries combining psychotherapy, clinical hypnosis and NLP to treat a variety of conditions from depression to infertility problems, anxieties and phobias. She specialises in ego strengthening, inner-child therapy, and stress management.

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by Paul G. Durbin, Ph.D.
A few years ago, I read an article in Family Weekly titled, "Boom Days For Devil Hypnosis" Hearing that title: what ideas, images, thoughts come to you? Thought the article had what I considered a very negative title, it was a very positive article on hypnosis in the health care field. The only reference to the devil was in the last paragraph, "Some conservative religious groups consider hypnosis to be the work of the devil."

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This study hypothesized that highly hypnotizable Ss who remained amnesic for posthypnotic suggestions to improve body attitude would show greater changes than Ss who were not amnesic. Ss given simulating instructions were used as a comparison group to assess experimental demands. 48 females were screened with the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (Shor & E. Orne, 1962) and assigned to one of 4 conditions: (a) high hypnotizable with amnesia suggestions, (b) high hypnotizable without suggested amnesia, (c) low hypnotizable simulators with amnesia, and (d) low hypnotizable simulators without suggested amnesia. A fifth group was formed of those high hypnotizable Ss who remembered the suggestion despite instructions to the contrary. The Body Attitude Scale (Kurtz, 1966) was administered prior to and 3 days after the experimental suggestions. Results generally demonstrated that high hypnotizable amnesic Ss manifested the greatest attitudinal and phenomenological changes as a result of the posthypnotic suggestion, although conclusions were tempered by performance of simulating Ss. The implications for hypnosis research and clinical practice are discussed.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 1989 Jan;37(1):15-30.

Assigned hypnotizable (N = 56) and simulating Ss (N = 44) to 1 of 4 conditions: heard a phone ring and conversation, received a suggestion to hear a phone ring and conversation, received a suggestion and heard a phone ring and conversation, or neither heard a phone nor received a suggestion. Hypnotizable Ss successfully discriminated objective events from suggested sources of input. When Ss received a suggestion to hear a phone ring, only 11.5% indicated it actually rang in their open-ended reports; in response to a forced-choice question, none did so. In spontaneous reports, none of the hypnotizable Ss who heard a phone ring indicated it was suggested; only one did so in response to a forced-choice item (vs. 2 simulators). In the no-phone/no-suggestion condition, more simulators than hypnotizable Ss indicated that a phone rang or was suggested.

J Abnorm Psychol. 1989 May;98(2):137-44

High hypnotizable (n = 23) and low hypnotizable simulating (n = 13) subjects received pseudomemory suggestions. High hypnotizable and low hypnotizable simulating subjects were equally likely to pass the target noise suggestion during hypnosis and were also equally likely (high hypnotizables, 47.83%; low hypnotizable simulators, 64.29%) to report pseudomemories when tested for pseudomemory after instructions to awaken. As in previous research with task-motivated subjects, pseudomemory rate (high hypnotizables, 47.48%; low hypnotizable simulators, 46.15%) was not reduced by informing subjects that they could distinguish fantasy and reality in a nonhypnotic state of deep concentration. At final inquiry, after deep concentration, high hypnotizable and low hypnotizable simulating subjects' pseudomemories remained comparable (43.48% and 38.46%, respectively). Unlike previous research, high hypnotizable subjects did not report more unsuggested noises and more pseudomemories of novel sounds than did awake low hypnotizable simulating subjects. Pseudomemory reports were generally consistent with subjects' ratings of whether the hypnotist expected them to believe the sounds were real or imagined.

Psychology Department, Ohio University, Athens 45701.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 1994 Apr;42(2):118-29.

Contrary to predictions, the pseudomemory rate of subjects who received prehypnotic information that hypnosis increased recall was indistinguishable from the pseudomemory rates of subjects who received information that hypnosis did not increase recall and of subjects who received no specific prehypnotic information. Indeed, by the last recall trial, none of the 47 subjects exhibited pseudomemory. Subjects exhibited faulty memory of events that actually occurred (i.e., pencils spilling), and were as uncertain of events that actually occurred, as they were of suggested events that did not occur during the session (telephone ringing). Subjects were generally consistent in their certainty, or lack of it, across events. Finally, subjects led to believe that hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness were less aware of external events, and had the lowest rate of recall of target suggestions compared with subjects in the comparison groups.

Psychology Department, Ohio University, Athens 45701.

J Pers Soc Psychol. 1991 Feb;60(2):318-26

by Richard Kuhns, B.S.Ch.E.

Jane's homework was to practice observing various objects we chose at random--pen, drinking glass, table... At the beginning of the next session, I asked her to read me her written observations. Even with the focus on observation, she noticed how easy it was to still come to conclusions--table legs, clip... She was totally fascinated with the new world of "Observation" and found it relaxing to do.

I had her "on the path," to recovery and now I wanted to shift to the cause of the "alarm" reaction of the GAS. The goal was to refocus--have her unequivocally understand that anytime she experienced what in the past she called "anxiety" her subconscious merely wanted to "run away" from a disappointment or a reminder of a disappointment. To "take it home," I asked her to make a list of her disappointments. She told me I didn't have enough paper. She started describing the disappointing symptoms and how disappointing it is to always be in situations where she might feel them. I guided her away from these situational disappointments and onto her life's disappointments. She wrote and wrote and then started listing disappointments of which she was fearful in the future. She knew her husband loved her, yet she was fearful that he'd get fed up with her antics and divorce her.

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Participants received 1 of 3 instructional sets designed to manipulate their performance standards (i.e., criteria used to evaluate hypnotic performance): (a) stringent set (n = 33), these subjects were told that responsive subjects respond immediately to hypnosis and imagine realistically, (b) lenient set (n = 30), these subjects were told that responsive subjects do not necessarily respond immediately or imagine realistically, and (c) control set (n = 34), standard prehypnotic information. As expected, compared to controls, stringent set participants were less responsive to hypnosis, as indexed by measures of actual and estimated suggestibility, subjective involvement, involuntariness, quickness of responding, satisfaction, and imaginative ability. Stringent set participants estimated they passed fewer suggestions, were less satisfied with their performance, and reported less subjective involvement than individuals in the lenient condition.

Psychology Department, State University of New York at Binghamton, New York 13902, USA. slynn@binghamton.edu

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2003 Jan;51(1):51-65

We compared participants' responsiveness to a standard administration of a hypnotic suggestibility scale (CURSS; Spanos, Radtke, Hodgins, Bertrand, Stam, & Moretti, 1983) that defined the ability to experience hypnosis in terms of cooperation (SI; standard induction, N = 27) with a version of the same scale administered with all references to cooperation removed (CR; cooperation removed, N = 34) and with a version of the scale with the "induction" removed (NI; no induction, N = 35). In a fourth condition, participants were informed that the ability to experience hypnosis depended on their ability to achieve an altered state of consciousness or "trance" (AS; altered state, N = 33). Removing instructions for cooperation had an effect on objective (CR < SI) but not on subjective hypnotic responding. Removing the hypnotic induction had no appreciable effect on any dimension of hypnotic responsivity. Consistent with predictions derived from performance standards theory (Lynn & Rhue, 1991), participants who received the altered state set responded to fewer suggestions than did participants who received the standard induction (SI). Estimates of suggestions passed that were assessed before and after test suggestions were administered were, respectively, weakly to moderately correlated with objective and subjective measures of hypnotic suggestibility.

Psychology Department, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2002 Jan-Apr;44(3-4):231-40.

by Casey Chua, Ph.D.
I am an Ordained Minister of Religion and is a Christian by confession. I served as Christ's ambassador (or some may say, 'servant' which is what I embrace joyfully) as a pastor in Perth, Western Australia. I was also an adjunct bible school/seminary professor in theology, psychology and counseling for many years.

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Five cases are presented wherein hypnosis was used by the emergency physician either as the primary mode of treatment or as an adjuvant to standard medical care. Common hypnotic phenomena (eg, anesthesia, analgesia), as well as novel effects, are reported. The technique used for trance induction and utilization is briefly outlined, and criteria are set forth for the bedside recognition of hypnotic trance.

Emergency Department, Scripps Memorial Hospital, Encinitas, CA.

Am J Emerg Med. 1989 Mar;7(2):238-42.

Her Holiness Sai Maa Lakshmi Devi is a dynamic visionary and spiritual master, who's mission is Global Enlightenment, whose message is Love. An advocate of interfaith dialogue, Sai Maa's profound, yet timely teachings bridge East and West, old and new, traditional and modern. Sai Maa skillfully blends the world's faith and wisdom traditions into a relevant message for today that has deeply touched thousands in America and throughout the world. Said Maa is graced with the accessibility, intimate and compassionate concern for humanity, distinguish her among today's spiritual leaders.

For more information, visit: www.humanityinunity.org/HIU/Home/index.cfm

Myths about hypnosis have interfered with its use in emergency settings. Specifically, included are myths about who induces the hypnotic state, the length of induction time, and the traumatized patient's inability to concentrate on a focal point. It is suggested, however, that altered states of awareness occur rapidly and spontaneously in the patient who has experienced acute trauma and/or pain. Two cases are presented that illustrate spontaneous trancelike states occurring in traumatic situations. The cases also show how the recognition of these altered states can facilitate the patient's care and treatment in an emergency setting.

Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 1986 Jan;8(1):19-22

by Brian Walsh, Ph.D.

Let's spend a few moments identifying things in your life that may hinder your progress. What follows are many of the sources of poor memory and learning. These work against your best interests.

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