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

A review of the effects of hypnosis on the immune system in breast cancer patients.

Posted At : May 7, 2008 9:12 AM | Posted By : Tim Brunson, PhD
Related Categories: Cancer


In order to make a recommendation about the use of hypnosis as adjuvant therapy in the treatment of breast cancer, 2 studies assessing the immunological effects of hypnosis in patients with early stage breast cancer were evaluated: (a) an experiment that taught hypnotic guided-imagery therapy to patients and (b) one that provided participants with home visits and autogenic training. Both investigations demonstrated improvement in depression and increased natural killer (NK) cell counts after 2 months of hypnosis treatment. However, neither study determined the clinical significance of hypnosis in the setting of cancer, and therefore future experiments are needed to relate the immune-mediated effects of hypnosis to hard clinical outcomes like survival rates.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2007 Oct;55(4):411-25. Hudacek KD. University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. hudacek@mail.med.upenn.edu

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Taking the feeling out of emotional memories.

Posted At : May 7, 2008 9:11 AM | Posted By : Tim Brunson, PhD
Related Categories: Learning and Memory


This study investigated the influence of hypnotic emotional inhibition on emotional response to and recall of emotional features of autobiographical memories. Twenty-nine high hypnotizable participants were administered a hypnotic induction and either emotional suppression or control instructions and then were asked to recall a personal distressing or neutral autobiographical memory. Dependent variables included self-reported emotion, EMG corrugator muscle activity, and use of affective descriptors in autobiographical memories. Participants in the suppression condition displayed less emotional responsivity on self-report and EMG corrugator muscle activity than other participants during recall of the distressing memory. In contrast, emotional suppression did not influence the use of affective descriptors in the content of personal memories. These findings point to the capacity for hypnotic emotional inhibition to differentially influence affective and semantic components of the emotional response.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2007 Oct;55(4):426-34. Bryant RA, Fearns S. School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. r.bryant@unsw.edu.au

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Effectiveness of complementary and self-help treatments for anxiety in children and adolescents.

Posted At : May 7, 2008 3:11 AM | Posted By : Tim Brunson, PhD
Related Categories: Mental Disorders


To review the evidence for the effectiveness of complementary and self-help treatments for anxiety disorders and situational anxiety in children and adolescents. DATA SOURCES: Systematic literature search using PubMed, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Library for 111 treatments up to February 2006. STUDY SELECTION: There were 11 treatments for which intervention studies had been undertaken and reported. DATA EXTRACTION: Studies on each treatment were reviewed by one author and checked by a second. A consensus was reached for level of evidence. DATA SYNTHESIS: Relevant evidence was available for bibliotherapy, dance and movement therapy, distraction techniques, humour, massage, melatonin, relaxation training, autogenic training, avoiding marijuana, a mineral-vitamin supplement (EMPower +) and music therapy. Findings from case-control studies, individual cohort studies or low quality randomised controlled trials indicated that several treatments may have potential to reduce anxiety, including bibliotherapy, massage, melatonin, and relaxation training. CONCLUSIONS: Although some complementary and self-help treatments might be useful for children and adolescents with anxiety, they need to be tested adequately through randomised controlled trials before they could be recommended.

Med J Aust. 2008 Mar 17;188(6):355-9. Parslow R, Morgan AJ, Allen NB, Jorm AF, O'Donnell CP, Purcell R. Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. rparslow@unimelb.edu.au.

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