This qualitative study shows the results of workshops held with health workers and public health users (raped women), aimed at raising these women's self-esteem and creating awareness among health workers who attend them. Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques were used to bring back life experiences, which contributed to a re-reading and to minimize causal factors of low self-esteem. Themes like repugnance, fear and the fruit of rape; image and place; death; revenge; support and solidarity; domestic violence and bad care delivery to victims were addressed during the meetings. The stories were transcribed and analyzed, preserving content fidelity. Experiences lived at home and with loved and admired people, and mainly experiences resulting from the rape were responsible for the low self-esteem. The evaluations indicated the workshops as an opportunity to reflect, to return to normal life and to reconstruct self-esteem, for the raped women as well for the health workers who deliver care to them.

Rev Lat Am Enfermagem. 2006 Sep-Oct;14(5):695-701. Vianna LA, Bomfim GF, Chicone G. Paulista Medical School, Brasil. lvianna@reitoria.epm.br

A Book Review by Tim Brunson DCH

Unstuff Yourself: Finding Joy on the Road to Wellness is a brilliant, from-the-heart book by a clinician who can give frank, common sense advice based upon her own personal journey. Suffering from the ravages of muscular dystrophy for 44 years, Dr. Nancie Barwick gives a concise view of how someone can seek freedom from the ravages of any physical malady.

The core concept of here book is found in her discussion about "stuff." She says that each of us may have unresolved mental issues that are manifested in either "Replay", "Critical Mass", or "Free Floating" stuff. This stuff, in turn, can be released by several Western/Allopathic medical techniques or by a plethora of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) techniques. She provides an objective discussion of each of the major conventional and CAM modalities.

One of the particular pluses of this book is her discussion of primary and secondary gains. Add to this her sound advice on how to deal with difficulties of living a joyful life once achieves a true healing. Of course, the loss of any gains is an issue. However, I have never seen such a clear coverage of the problems that family members and other care givers go through.

Dr. Nancie Barwick writes speaks directly to those who are seeking help and words of encouragement. She more than adequately bridges the gap between being an accomplished clinician and giving a personal testimony. Her credibility is unquestionable. I would highly recommend this book for either professionals who truly want to understand physical suffering as well as individuals who are looking for answers.

The aim of the present study was to assess the efficiency of conscious hypnosis on patient cooperation. The subjects were 30 patients (14 females and 16 males) with a skeletal Class II division 1 malocclusion, divided into two equal groups, a control and a study group. The mean age was 10.78 +/- 1.06 years for the hypnosis, and 10.07 +/- 1.09 years for the control group. Both groups were treated with cervical headgear containing a timer module. The patients were also asked to record their actual wear time on timetables. The hypnosis group patients were motivated with conscious hypnosis while the control group were given verbal motivation by their orthodontist. The timer modules were read at every visit and compared with the timetables. Analysis of variance was used to determine the differences in measurements at each time point. For comparison of the groups, an independent t-test was used. A statistically significant decrease (P < 0.05) in headgear wear was observed in the control group from the first to the sixth month; however, the difference in the hypnosis group was not significant. This result indicates that conscious hypnosis is an effective method for improving orthodontic patient cooperation. There was a low correlation between actual headgear wear indicated by the patient and that recorded by the timing modules, which showed that, timetables are not consistent tools for measuring patient cooperation.

Eur J Orthod. 2008 Feb 8 Trakyai G, Sayinsu K, Esref Müezzinoglu A, Arun T. Department of Orthodontics.

Provide an orientation to psychoneuroimmunology, a rationale for including assessments of immune function in intervention studies of pediatric chronic illness, review the current literature, and provide recommendations for future research. METHODS: Using electronic searches and previous reviews, selected and reviewed published studies in which immunological changes related to psychological interventions were assessed in pediatric samples. RESULTS: Eight studies were identified and included in the review. These utilized a range of interventions (e.g., disclosure and hypnosis) and included a variety of pediatric samples (e.g., those with asthma, HIV infection, or lupus). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that psychological intervention can influence immune function in pediatric samples. Recommendations for advancing our knowledge by studying populations for whom the immune system plays an active role in disease pathophysiology, measuring disease-relevant immune mediators, studying pediatric patients under times of stress, and focusing on interventions aimed at altering the stress system are provided.

J Pediatr Psychol. 2008 Mar;33(2):195-207. Epub 2007 Sep 10. Nassau JH, Tien K, Fritz GK. Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center, CORO Center West - Suite 204, 1 Hoppin Street, Providence, RI 02903, USA. jack_nassau@brown.edu

Dr. Eifert obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Frankfurt in Germany, where he was also born. He joined Chapman University as Chair in 2002 after serving for 9 years as the Eberly Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology at West Virginia University in Morgantown. Previously he was Chief of Psychology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Head of Psychology at James Cook University of North Queensland, Australia.

Data from 26 participants in a case series of hypnotic analgesia for chronic pain were examined to determine the long-term effects of hypnosis treatment. Statistically significant decreases in average daily pain intensity, relative to pretreatment values, were observed at posttreatment and at 3- and 9-month follow-up but not at 6- or 12-month follow-up. The percent of participants who reported clinically meaningful decreases in pain were 27%, 19%, 19%, and 23%, at the 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-up points, respectively. Moreover, at 12-months posttreatment, 81% of the sample reported that they still used the self-hypnosis skills learned in treatment. Overall, the results indicate that about 20% of the sample obtained substantial and lasting long-term reductions in average daily pain following hypnosis treatment and that many more continue to use self-hypnosis up to 12 months following treatment.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Apr;56(2):156-69. Jensen MP, Barber J, Hanley MA, Engel JM, Romano JM, Cardenas DD, Kraft GH, Hoffman AJ, Patterson DR. University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.

Participants were administered a standard tape-recorded version of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A) and then a modified version of the HGSHS:A response booklet that asked each participant to report which suggested behaviors they performed during the procedures. These response booklets were altered to include 3 additional suggestions not offered during the hypnotic procedures. Half the participants were administered the questions in the response booklet in the standard format ("I performed the suggested behavior" versus "I did not perform the suggested behavior"). The remaining participants were offered a third alternative to each question ("I do not remember this occurring"). As predicted, participants offered the 3rd alternative were significantly less likely to report performing actions that were never suggested during the procedures. Further, these participants reported performing fewer suggested behaviors (i.e., reported passing fewer of the true Harvard items) than participants in the standard 2-alternative condition.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Apr;56(2):198-213. Eisen ML, Oustinovskaya M, Kistorian R, Morgan DY, Mickes L. California State University, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Prior clinical trials suggest that the Transcendental Meditation technique may decrease blood pressure of normotensive and hypertensive individuals but study-quality issues have been raised. This study was designed to assess effects of Transcendental Meditation on blood pressure using objective quality assessments and meta-analyses.MethodsPubMed and Cochrane databases through December 2006 and collected publications on Transcendental Meditation were searched. Randomized, controlled trials comparing blood pressure responses to the Transcendental Meditation technique with a control group were evaluated. Primary outcome measures were changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure after practicing Transcendental Meditation or following control procedures. A specific rating system (0-20 points) was used to evaluate studies and random-effects models were used for meta-analyses.ResultsNine randomized, controlled trials met eligibility criteria. Study-quality scores ranged from low (score, 7) to high (16) with three studies of high quality (15 or 16) and three of acceptable quality (11 or 12). The random-effects meta-analysis model for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively, indicated that Transcendental Meditation, compared to control, was associated with the following changes: -4.7 mm Hg (95% confidence interval (CI), -7.4 to -1.9 mm Hg) and -3.2 mm Hg (95% CI, -5.4 to -1.3 mm Hg). Subgroup analyses of hypertensive groups and high-quality studies showed similar reductions.ConclusionsThe regular practice of Transcendental Meditation may have the potential to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure by approximately 4.7 and 3.2 mm Hg, respectively. These are clinically meaningful changes.

Anderson JW, Liu C, Kryscio RJ. 1Division of Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.

Previous studies on the role of hypnotizability in postural control indicate that the body sway of subjects with high or low hypnotizability to hypnosis is differentially modulated by eye closure. The aim of this study was to investigate whether hypnotizability also modulates the postural response to electrical vestibular stimulation and to head rotation in nonhypnotized individuals. The center of pressure (CoP) displacements were monitored in highs and lows standing on a stabilometric platform with closed eyes during basal conditions and electrical vestibular stimulation in 3 different positions of the head. Results showed that the CoP stimulus-locked displacements as well as the CoP mean position, area, and mean velocity were similar in highs and lows, but only in lows did the head position modulate the mean velocity. This finding might reflect a difference in sensory-motor integration between the 2 groups.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Apr;56(2):170-84.

Santarcangelo EL, Scattina E, Orsini P, Bruschini L, Ghelarducci B, Manzoni D. University of Pisa, Italy.

Joe Dispenza, D.C., studied biochemistry at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. He has a Bachelor of Science degreee with an emphasis in neuroscience from Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. Dr. Dispenza also received his Doctor of Chiropractic at Life University in Atlanta, GA, graduating magna cum laude.

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Conventional suggestion-based tests of hypnotizability have been criticized because they confound hypnotic and nonhypnotic suggestibility. One way around this might be to measure hypnotizability in terms of differences in suggestibility before and after hypnotic induction. However, analysis of data from a 1966 classic study by Hilgard and Tart confirms that difference scores are subject to statistical and methodological problems. Simple verbal hypnotic depth scales are presented as a useful alternative. They correlate well with conventional suggestion-based measures and enable the presence of hypnosis to be indexed independently of formal hypnotic induction procedures. Criticisms of depth scales are addressed, and normative data for the Long Stanford Scale of hypnotic depth are presented, along with data lending empirical support for the construct validity of depth reports.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Apr;56(2):119-42. Wagstaff GF, Cole JC, Brunas-Wagstaff J. University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.

The practice of yoga regulates body physiology through control of posture, breathing, and meditation. Effects of yoga on autonomic functions of patients with refractory epilepsy, as quantified by standardized autonomic function tests (AFTs), were determined. The yoga group (n=18) received supervised training in yoga, and the exercise group (n=16) practiced simple routine exercises. AFTs were repeated after 10 weeks of daily sessions. Data were compared with those of healthy volunteers (n=142). The yoga group showed significant improvement in parasympathetic parameters and a decrease in seizure frequency scores. There was no improvement in blood pressure parameters in either group. Two patients in the yoga group achieved normal autonomic functions at the end of 10 weeks of therapy, whereas there were no changes in the exercise group. The data suggest that yoga may have a role as an adjuvant therapy in the management of autonomic dysfunction in patients with refractory epilepsy.

Epilepsy Behav. 2008 Feb;12(2):245-52. Epub 2007 Nov 19. Sathyaprabha TN, Satishchandra P, Pradhan C, Sinha S, Kaveri B, Thennarasu K, Murthy BT, Raju TR. Department of Neurophysiology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.

Depression is a highly prevalent disorder associated with reduced social functioning, impaired quality of life, and increased mortality. Music therapy has been used in the treatment of a variety of mental disorders, but its impact on those with depression is unclear. OBJECTIVES: To examine the efficacy of music therapy with standard care compared to standard care alone among people with depression and to compare the effects of music therapy for people with depression against other psychological or pharmacological therapies. SEARCH STRATEGY: CCDANCTR-Studies and CCDANCTR-References were searched on 7/11/2007, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, PsycLit, PSYindex, and other relevant sites were searched in November 2006. Reference lists of retrieved articles were hand searched, as well as specialist music and arts therapies journals. SELECTION CRITERIA: All randomised controlled trials comparing music therapy with standard care or other interventions for depression. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data on participants, interventions and outcomes were extracted and entered onto a database independently by two review authors. The methodological quality of each study was also assessed independently by two review authors. The primary outcome was reduction in symptoms of depression, based on a continuous scale. MAIN RESULTS: Five studies met the inclusion criteria of the review. Marked variations in the interventions offered and the populations studied meant that meta-analysis was not appropriate. Four of the five studies individually reported greater reduction in symptoms of depression among those randomised to music therapy than to those in standard care conditions. The fifth study, in which music therapy was used as an active control treatment, reported no significant change in mental state for music therapy compared with standard care. Dropout rates from music therapy conditions appeared to be low in all studies. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Findings from individual randomised trials suggest that music therapy is accepted by people with depression and is associated with improvements in mood. However, the small number and low methodological quality of studies mean that it is not possible to be confident about its effectiveness. High quality trials evaluating the effects of music therapy on depression are required.

Maratos AS, Gold C, Wang X, Crawford MJ. Central and Northwest London Foundation NHS Trust, Arts Therapies, Greater London House, Hampstead Road, London, UK, NW1 7QY. anna.maratos@nhs.net

Limited effective strategies exist to alleviate or treat disruptive behaviors in people with Alzheimer's disease. Fifty-one residents of a long-term care facility with Alzheimer's disease were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups. A multiple time series, blinded, experimental design was used to compare the effectiveness of therapeutic touch, simulated therapeutic touch, and usual care on disruptive behavior. Three forms of disruptive behavior comprised the dependent variables: physical aggression, physical nonaggression, and verbal agitation. Physical nonaggressive behaviors decreased significantly in those residents who received therapeutic touch compared with those who received the simulated version and the usual care. No significant differences in physically aggressive and verbally agitated behaviors were observed across the three study groups. The study provided preliminary evidence for the potential for therapeutic touch in dealing with agitated behaviors by people with dementia. Researchers and practitioners must consider a broad array of strategies to deal with these behaviors.

West J Nurs Res. 2008 Feb 13 Hawranik P, Johnston P, Deatrich J. University of Manitoba.

Several papers of interest for researchers and clinicians have recently appeared in scientific medical literature evaluating hypnosis' efficacy in managing patients' distress and pain during surgical procedures. In this article, following a pilot study, the authors describe the context and standardized induction procedures that they are using in an ongoing clinical trial evaluating the effect of hypnosis on acute pain and anxiety during termination of pregnancy.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2008 Apr;56(2):214-28. Marc I, Rainville P, Dodin S. Laval University, Québec City, Canada.

The management of chronic low back pain (CLBP) has proven very challenging in North America, as evidenced by its mounting socioeconomic burden. Choosing amongst available nonsurgical therapies can be overwhelming for many stakeholders, including patients, health providers, policy makers, and third-party payers. Although all parties share a common goal and wish to use limited health-care resources to support interventions most likely to result in clinically meaningful improvements, there is often uncertainty about the most appropriate intervention for a particular patient. To help understand and evaluate the various commonly used nonsurgical approaches to CLBP, the North American Spine Society has sponsored this special focus issue of The Spine Journal, titled Evidence-Informed Management of Chronic Low Back Pain Without Surgery. Articles in this special focus issue were contributed by leading spine practitioners and researchers, who were invited to summarize the best available evidence for a particular intervention and encouraged to make this information accessible to nonexperts. Each of the articles contains five sections (description, theory, evidence of efficacy, harms, and summary) with common subheadings to facilitate comparison across the 24 different interventions profiled in this special focus issue, blending narrative and systematic review methodology as deemed appropriate by the authors. It is hoped that articles in this special focus issue will be informative and aid in decision making for the many stakeholders evaluating nonsurgical interventions for CLBP.

Spine J. 2008 Jan-Feb;8(1):70-9. Gagnier JJ. Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. j.gagnier@utoronto.ca

To assess the effects of age on responsiveness to self-hypnotic relaxation as an analgesic adjunct in patients undergoing invasive medical procedures. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Secondary data analysis from a prospective trial with 241 patients randomized to receive hypnosis, attention, and standard care treatment during interventional radiological procedures. Growth curve analyses, hierarchical linear regressions, and logistic regressions using orthogonal contrasts were used for analysis. Outcome measures were Hypnotic Induction Profile scores, self-reported pain and anxiety, medication use, oxygen desaturation < or =89%, and procedure time. RESULTS: Hypnotizability did not vary with age (p = .19). Patients receiving attention and hypnosis had greater pain reduction during the procedure (p = .02), with trends toward lower pain with hypnosis (p = .07); this did not differ by age. As age increased, patients experienced more rapid pain control with hypnosis (p = .03). There was more rapid anxiety reduction with attention and hypnosis (p = .03). Trends toward lower final anxiety were also observed with attention and hypnosis versus standard care (p = .08), and with hypnosis versus attention (p = .059); these relationships did not differ by age. Patients requested and received less medication and had less oxygen desaturation < or =89% with attention and hypnosis (p < .001); this did not differ by age. However, as age increased, oxygen desaturation was greater in standard care (p = .03). Procedure time was reduced in the attention and hypnosis groups (p = .007); this did not vary by age. CONCLUSIONS: Older patients are hypnotizable and increasing age does not appear to mitigate the usefulness of hypnotic analgesia during invasive medical procedures.

Psychosom Med. 2007 Feb-Mar;69(2):191-9. Lutgendorf SK, Lang EV, Berbaum KS, Russell D, Berbaum ML, Logan H, Benotsch EG, Schulz-Stubner S, Turesky D, Spiegel D. Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. susan-lutgendorf@uiowa.edu

Dawson Church has edited or authored over 200 books in the fields of health, psychology, and spirituality. He has collaborated on articles with many of the leading voices of our time, including Larry Dossey, Bernie Siegel, Caroline Myss, Jeanne Achterberg, Neale Donald Walsch, Gay Hendricks, Joan Borysenko, Mary Catherine Bateson, Andrew Harvey, Huston Smith, Barry Sears, and John Gray. He has been quoted in USA Today, CNN, the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Parenting, and many other national media. In undergraduate and graduate work at Baylor University, he distinguished himself by being the very first student to complete the academically rigorous University Scholar's program. He earned his doctorate in Integrative Healthcare at Holos University under the mentorship of distinguished neurosurgeon Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D., founder of the American Holistic Medical Association. He went on to receive a postgraduate Ph.D. in Natural Medicine, as well as clinical certification in Energy Psychology (C.EHP).

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Numerous innocent people have been sent to jail based directly or indirectly on normal, but flawed, human perception, memory and decision making. Current cognitive-science research addresses the issues that are directly relevant to the connection between normal cognitive functioning and such judicial errors, and suggests means by which the false-conviction rate could be reduced. Here, we illustrate how this can be achieved by reviewing recent work in two related areas: eyewitness testimony and fingerprint analysis. We articulate problems in these areas with reference to specific legal cases and demonstrate how recent findings can be used to address them. We also discuss how researchers can translate their conclusions into language and ideas that can influence and improve the legal system.

Trends Cogn Sci. 2007 Mar;11(3):111-7. Busey TA, Loftus GR. Department of Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. busey@indiana.edu

Older adults' susceptibility to misinformation in an eyewitness memory paradigm was examined in two experiments. Experiment 1 showed that older adults are more susceptible to interfering misinformation than are younger adults on two different tests (old-new recognition and source monitoring). Experiment 2 examined the extent to which processes associated with frontal lobe functioning underlie older adults' source-monitoring difficulties. Older adults with lower frontal-lobe-functioning scores on neuropsychological tests were particularly susceptible to false memories in the misinformation paradigm. The authors' results agree with data from other false memory paradigms that show greater false recollections in older adults, especially in those who scored poorly on frontal tests. The results support a source-monitoring account of aging and illusory recollection.

J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2007 Mar;33(2):321-34. Roediger HL 3rd, Geraci L. Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899, USA. roediger@wustl.edu