Tim Brunson DCH

Welcome to The International Hypnosis Research Institute Web site. Our intention is to support and promote the further worldwide integration of comprehensive evidence-based research and clinical hypnotherapy with mainstream mental health, medicine, and coaching. We do so by disseminating, supporting, and conducting research, providing professional level education, advocating increased level of practitioner competency, and supporting the viability and success of clinical practitioners. Although currently over 80% of our membership is comprised of mental health practitioners, we fully recognize the role, support, involvement, and needs of those in the medical and coaching fields. This site is not intended as a source of medical or psychological advice. Tim Brunson, PhD

Genetics and neuroimaging of attention and hypnotizability may elucidate placebo.



Attention binds psychology to the techniques of neuroscience and exemplifies the links between brain and behavior. Associated with attentional networks, at least 3 brain modules govern control processes by drawing on disparate functional neuroanatomy, neuromodulators, and psychological substrates. Guided by data-driven brain theories, researchers have related specific genetic polymorphisms to well-defined phenotypes, including those associated with different attentional efficiencies and hypnosis. Because attention can modulate both cognitive and affective processes, genetic assays together with neuroimaging data have begun to elucidate individual differences. Findings from genetic assays of both attention and hypnotizability pave the way to answering questions such as how high hypnotizable individuals may differ from less-hypnotizable persons. These exploratory findings may extend to the identification of placebo responders.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Jan;56(1):99-116.

Raz A.

Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA.

Relationships between musical structure and psychophysiological measures of emotion.



Psychophysiological studies with music have not examined what exactly in the music might be responsible for the observed physiological phenomena. The authors explored the relationships between 11 structural features of 16 musical excerpts and both self-reports of felt pleasantness and arousal and different physiological measures (respiration, skin conductance, heart rate). Overall, the relationships between musical features and experienced emotions corresponded well with those known between musical structure and perceived emotions. This suggests that the internal structure of the music played a primary role in the induction of the emotions in comparison to extramusical factors. Mode, harmonic complexity, and rhythmic articulation best differentiated between negative and positive valence, whereas tempo, accentuation, and rhythmic articulation best discriminated high arousal from low arousal. Tempo, accentuation, and rhythmic articulation were the features that most strongly correlated with physiological measures. Music that induced faster breathing and higher minute ventilation, skin conductance, and heart rate was fast, accentuated, and staccato. This finding corroborates the contention that rhythmic aspects are the major determinants of physiological responses to music.

Emotion. 2007 May;7(2):377-87. Gomez P, Danuser B. Institut Universtitaire Romand de Sante au Travail, Lausanne, Switzerland. patrick.gomez@hospvd.ch

Julie Silverthorn, M.S



Julie graduated from college with a degree in Psychology at age 19. While in her Master's program, at the age of twenty, she was hired as a Drug and Alcohol Case Manager. The following year she obtained a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology and began working as a family therapist. She studied with Salvador Minuchin and Carl Whitaker (world renowned family therapists) in her search for techniques which would really help people change. She was a family therapist for five years before experiencing, what is commonly referred to in the field as "burnout." She left therapy and became self-employed in the real estate industry. She had an extremely successful real estate career, which included positions on the Board of Directors of the 1300 member real estate association in her area. By age 29, she was ready to return to something that was more personally meaningful. Her interest in NLP and Hypnosis had continued to flourish while away from psychology on a full-time basis. By utilizing the techniques of NLP and Hypnosis, she healed and rejuvenated herself and returned to the field of psychology in 1989, at the age of 30. She was in private practice until 1997, specializing in working with cancer survivors and their recovery. She is also a certified PhotoReading instructor and loves creating a learning environment which promotes fun and students' belief in themselves.

For more information visit: www.NLPtrainings.com.

Failed Tinnitus Case



by Mary Llewellyn, BSc(Hons),FHRS(UK),FRSA

In 2002 Guy was referred to me by a chest consultant for stress management following severe chest pains, panic attacks, high blood pressure and tinnitus. We used EFT effectively with some of the underlying causes of his blood pressure and gained improvements in this and his stress levels. He was sleeping better at night but we still made little lasting headway with his tinnitus.

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