Hypnotic suggestibility is a trait-like, individual difference variable reflecting the general tendency to respond to hypnosis and hypnotic suggestions. Research with standardized measures of hypnotic suggestibility has demonstrated that there are substantial individual differences in this variable. Higher suggestibility has been found to be associated with greater relief from hypnotic pain interventions. Although individuals in the high suggestibility range show the strongest response to hypnotic analgesia, people of medium suggestibility, who represent approximately one third of the population, also have been found to obtain significant relief from hypnosis. Thus, high hypnotic suggestibility is not necessary for successful hypnotic pain intervention. However, the available evidence does not support the efficacy of hypnotic pain interventions for people who fall in the low hypnotic suggestibility range. However, some studies suggest that these individuals may benefit from imaginative analgesia suggestions, or suggestions for pain reduction that are delivered while the person is not in hypnosis.

Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2008 Apr;12(2):98-102.Related Articles, Links Milling LS.

University of Hartford, Department of Psychology, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117, USA. milling@hartford.edu

PURPOSE: To determine how hypnosis and empathic attention during percutaneous tumor treatments affect pain, anxiety, drug use, and adverse events. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For their tumor embolization or radiofrequency ablation, 201 patients were randomized to receive standard care, empathic attention with defined behaviors displayed by an additional provider, or self-hypnotic relaxation including the defined empathic attention behaviors. All had local anesthesia and access to intravenous medication. Main outcome measures were pain and anxiety assessed every 15 minutes by patient self-report, medication use (with 50 mug fentanyl or 1 mg midazolam counted as one unit), and adverse events, defined as occurrences requiring extra medical attention, including systolic blood pressure fluctuations (>/=50 mm Hg change to >180 mm Hg or <105 mm Hg), vasovagal episodes, cardiac events, and respiratory impairment. RESULTS: Patients treated with hypnosis experienced significantly less pain and anxiety than those in the standard care and empathy groups at several time intervals and received significantly fewer median drug units (mean, 2.0; interquartile range [IQR], 1-4) than patients in the standard (mean, 3.0; IQR, 1.5-5.0; P = .0147) and empathy groups (mean, 3.50; IQR, 2.0-5.9; P = .0026). Thirty-one of 65 patients (48%) in the empathy group had adverse events, which was significantly more than in the hypnosis group (eight of 66; 12%; P = .0001) and standard care group (18 of 70; 26%; P = .0118). CONCLUSIONS: Procedural hypnosis including empathic attention reduces pain, anxiety, and medication use. Conversely, empathic approaches without hypnosis that provide an external focus of attention and do not enhance patients' self-coping can result in more adverse events. These findings should have major implications in the education of procedural personnel.

J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2008 Jun;19(6):897-905. Epub 2008 Mar 17. Lang EV, Berbaum KS, Pauker SG, Faintuch S, Salazar GM, Lutgendorf S, Laser E, Logan H, Spiegel D. Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

Santwani is Certified in Classical Homeopathy (CCH) by the Council for Homeopathic

Certification (CHC) after rigorous tests, and has practiced the Classical Homeopathy since 1968. He has authored several books on Homeopathy, sold worldwide, and has earned the registered membership and RSHom(NA) of the North American Society of Homeopaths (NASH) for having met the highest standards of competency in Classical Homeopathy; is a member of the California Homeopathic Medical Society; and is the recipient of awards for his contribution to the art and the science of Homeopathy.

OBJECTIVES: Hypnotherapy is effective in several diseases with a psychosomatic component. Our aim was to study the effects of one session of hypnosis on the systemic and rectal mucosal inflammatory responses in patients with active ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS: In total, 17 patients with active UC underwent a 50-min session of gut-focused hypnotherapy. Before and after each procedure, the systemic inflammatory response was assessed by serum interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-13 concentrations, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and IL-6 production by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated whole blood, leukocyte count, natural killer (NK) cell number, platelet activation, and platelet-leukocyte aggregate formation. Rectal inflammation was assessed by mucosal release of substance P (SP), histamine, IL-13 and TNF-alpha, reactive oxygen metabolite production, and mucosal blood flow. Eight patients with active UC underwent a control procedure. RESULTS: Hypnosis decreased pulse by a median 7 beats per minute (bpm) (P= 0.0008); it also reduced the median serum IL-6 concentration by 53% (P= 0.001), but had no effect on the other systemic variables assessed. Hypnosis reduced rectal mucosal release of SP by a median 81% (P= 0.001), histamine by 35% (P= 0.002) and IL-13 by 53% (P= 0.003), and also, blood flow by 18% (P= 0.0004). The control protocol had no effect on any of the variables assessed. CONCLUSIONS: Hypnosis reduced several components of the systemic and mucosal inflammatory response in active ulcerative colitis toward levels found previously in the inactive disease. Some of these effects may contribute to the anecdotally reported benefits of hypnotherapy and provide a rationale for controlled trials of hypnotherapy in UC.

Am J Gastroenterol. 2008 May 28. Mawdsley JE, Jenkins DG, Macey MG, Langmead L, Rampton DS. Centre for Gastroenterology, Institute of Cell and Molecular Science, Barts and the London, Queen Mary School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, United Kingdom.

Are memories ever accurate? If not, does this mean that our legal system can never rely upon eye witness testimony? This is a very important question as many convictions and even capital punishments have been meted out based upon such.

All sensory observations are filtered through our brain maps, which develop rapidly during the first year and a half and the first six years of life and steadily for the rest of life. As only 20% of our sight actually an ocular function, what we see is basically a matter of past experiences. This means that each and everyone of us is actually living in some type of "parallel universe". Okay. So this means that two eye witnesses will actually "see" two different accounts of the same event. Furthermore, if what we believe that we "see" is contrary to habituated memories then our experience may have absolutely nothing to do with reality. Magicians call this an illusion. THEREFORE, I pray that I never have to take my chances in a court of law.

The International Hypnosis Research Institute is a member supported project involving integrative health care specialists from around the world. We provide information and educational resources to clinicians. Dr. Brunson is the author of over 150 self-help and clinical CD's and MP3's.

A driving force in an eating disorder like anorexia nervosa has been a distorted body image. The psychobiological dynamics of eating disorders have demonstrated significant hypnotic phenomena such as forms of dissociation, hallucination, time distortion and catalepsy, and therefore, pose hypnosis as a good fit for particular parts of treatment. Presented here are four hypnotic approaches designed to inspire the establishment of a reality based body image in the eating disordered individual. Conditional prerequisites for application of these interventions are described and case examples illustrate each approach. A discussion on some of the rationale for formulating these strategies is offered.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2008 Apr;50(4):301-10. Walsh BJ. affinity@bigplanet.com

Rebecca Darling presents and facilitates the training programs for corporate clients and one-on-one coaching clients.

Rebecca Darling SWC(c),CH is a certified Stress & Wellness Consultant/Coach (certified by the Canadian Institute of Stress/Hans Selye Foundation). She is a consulting hypnotist certified by the Ontario Hypnosis Centre in Toronto and certified by the UK Academy of Therapeutic Arts & Sciences/Stress Management. With an Associate Degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta, she began her business career in the fashion cosmetic industry. Based in New York City and Los Angeles she worked with Halston Fragrances, Max Factor, Christian Dior, Jean Patou and the Doral Corporation spa care line, Terme di Saturnia building extensive experience in marketing management, sales, corporate training and product development.

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Reiki touch therapy is a complementary biofield energy therapy that involves the use of hands to help strengthen the body's ability to heal. There is growing interest among nurses to use Reiki in patient care and as a self-care treatment, however, with little supportive empirical research and evidence to substantiate these practices. The purpose of this integrative review is to begin the systematic process of evaluating the findings of published Reiki research. Selected investigations using Reiki for effects on stress, relaxation, depression, pain, and wound healing management, among others is reviewed and summarized. A summary of Reiki studies table illustrates the study descriptions and Reiki treatment protocols specified in the investigations. Synthesis of findings for clinical practice and implications for future research are explored.

Holist Nurs Pract. 2007 Jul-Aug;21(4) Vitale A. Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085, USA. annern2@gmail.com

CONTEXT: Spinal cord injury often results in chronic pain syndromes that conventional pain management is unable to resolve. Healing Touch (HT) is a biofield therapy that involves using the hands to promote healing and mediate the perception of pain by affecting the energy field of the person. The practice of HT is based on the premise that the energy field has the ability to provide valuable information about the person's physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual condition and can influence the dense matter of physical form. OBJECTIVE: This secondary analysis using case study reviews describes two different experiences of receiving a HT session for management of chronic neuropathic pain and its sequelae, utilizing energy field data and reports of participants and their HT practitioners. DESIGN: Qualitative case study approach was used. SETTING: Data were obtained from 42 HT sessions that took place within the homes of seven veterans with spinal cord injury. METHOD: Two cases involving the most common patterns of response were selected from seven cases to represent the participants' and practitioners' experiences. A descriptive qualitative approach informed the results. RESULTS: The findings indicate that a variety of experiences can exist in individuals with chronic pain due to spinal cord injury; experiences will also vary with their healing touch practitioners. There are commonalities in the perception of the practitioners in the damage to the energy field and energy centers, with individualized and consistent resolution of the field over time.

Explore (NY). 2008 May-Jun;4(3):187-95. Wardell DW, Rintala D, Tan G. The University of Texas Houston, Health Science Center, School of Nursing, Houston, TX, USA. diane.wardell@uth.tmc.edu

ABSTRACT Objectives: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of studying whole systems of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Naturopathic medicine (NM) in the treatment of temporomandibular disorders (TMD), and to determine whether there is indication to support further research. Design: A pilot study using a randomized controlled clinical trial design of whole system TCM and NM versus state-of-the-art specialty care (SC). Setting/location: Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW), and practitioner offices in Portland, Oregon. Subjects: One hundred and sixty (160) women 25-55 years of age attending a KPNW TMD specialty clinic. Interventions: Whole system TCM and NM, and KPNW TMD clinic SC; the intervention protocols were designed to model the individually tailored type of community care offered in alternative medicine practices in Portland and in the KPNW TMD clinic, using protocols that enhanced similarities among practitioners within each system and permitted full descriptions of the treatments provided. Outcome measures: TMD was ascertained using the Research Diagnostic Criteria/TMD; outcomes were self-reported worst and average facial pain and interference with activities (scaled 0-10 where 10 is worst). Results: Of 948 consecutive eligible patients, 160 were randomized to one of three arms; 128 provided endpoint data. TCM and NM demonstrated significantly greater in-treatment reductions for worst facial pain compared to SC (adjusted regression analysis; higher negative values indicate greater improvement, = -1.11 +/- 0.43, p = 0.010 and -1.02 +/- 0.45, p = 0.025 for TCM and NM, respectively, compared to SC) and at 3 months post-treatment (-1.07 +/- 0.51, p = 0.037 and -1.27 +/- 0.54, p = 0.019 for TCM and NM versus SC, respectively). Additionally, TCM provided significantly greater decreases in average pain than SC; NM provided significantly greater decreases than SC or TCM in TMD-related psychosocial interference. Conclusions: These alternative medicine approaches each resulted in significantly greater reduction of pain and psychosocial interference than SC. Further research on the potential benefits of traditional whole systems of medicine for TMD appears warranted. J Altern Complement Med. 2008 Jun;14(5):475-87.

J Altern Complement Med. 2008 Jun;14(5):475-87. Ritenbaugh C, Hammerschlag R, Calabrese C, Mist S, Aickin M, Sutherland E, Leben J, Debar L, Elder C, Dworkin SF.

Department of Family and Community Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ., Department of Nutritional Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ., Department of Anthropology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.

In this pilot study, we compare the efficacy for fibromyalgia of multimodal cognitive behavioral treatments, with and without hypnosis, with that of a purely pharmacological approach, with a multiple baseline N = 1 design. We randomly assigned six hospital patients to the three experimental conditions. The results suggest that psychological treatment produces greater symptom benefits than the conventional medical treatment only, especially when hypnosis is added. We conclude that hypnosis may be a useful tool to help people with fibromyalgia manage their symptomatology.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2008 Apr;50(4):311-21. Martínez-Valero C, Castel A, Capafons A, Sala J, Espejo B, Cardeña E. Centro de Aplicaciones Psicológicas, Valencia, Spain.

Georgina Block is an accredited Advanced member of the International Association of Pure Hypno-Analysts, one of Europe's largest groups of hypnotherapists. Georgina is also a fully qualified Advanced member of the National Register of Advanced Hypnotherapists, and as a Senior Member of this organisation she is also a Regional Co-ordinator, so you can be assured that a high quality of care is guaranteed.

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by Manohar Santwani, M.S., MHM, CCH, RSHom(NA), CCH(US)

In a recent international seminar – Homeopathy: a Hoax or the Medicine for the Twenty-first Century - organized by the Connecticut University, several interesting and new facts about homeopathy were brought out by a couple of Homeopathic scientists which brought out the efficacy and superiority of this holistic system of medicine. The data presented revealed that during the eighteenth and nineteenth century epidemics, Homeopathy had the most effective cures of the diseases without any side effects, had the least mortality rate, and the recovery period was more prompt than the other systems of medicine. It was an eye-opening session that was televised.

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Musical interventions have been used in health care settings to reduce patient pain, anxiety, and stress, although the exact mechanism of these therapies is not well understood. This article provides a systematic review of 42 randomized controlled trials of the effects of music interventions in perioperative settings. Music intervention had positive effects on reducing patients' anxiety and pain in approximately half of the reviewed studies. Further research into music therapy is warranted in light of the low cost of implementation and the potential ability of music to reduce perioperative patient distress. (c) AORN, Inc, 2008.

AORN J. 2008 Apr;87(4):780-807 Nilsson U. Centre for Health Care Sciences and Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Orebro University Hospital, Orebro, Sweden.

Two adolescents were hospitalized with incapacitating symptoms: one with headache, back pain, and an inability to walk, while the other had headache, musculoskeletal pain, nausea, and emesis. Medical evaluation did not reveal an etiology for the symptoms of either patient. Consultation with child psychiatry services yielded recommendations that both patients might benefit from counseling. Both demonstrated an immediate improvement of their symptoms with instruction in self-hypnosis-induced relaxation techniques that included favorite place imagery and progressive relaxation. The patients were told that while in hypnosis their "subconscious" might be able to characterize psychological issues that underlay their symptoms through the medium of automatic word processing (AWP). The information identified through AWP helped guide their subsequent therapy. Thus, instruction in self-hypnosis, as well as helping adolescents develop awareness about the cause of their debilitating symptoms can be associated with rapid improvement of their symptoms.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2008 Apr;50(4):323-34. Anbar RD. Department of Pediatrics State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse 13210, USA. anbarr@upstate.edu

We explore a new distinction between the future, prospective memory system being investigated in current neuroscience and the past, retrospective memory system, which was the original theoretical foundation of therapeutic hypnosis, classical psychoanalysis, and psychotherapy. We then generalize a current evolutionary theory of sleep and dreaming, which focuses on the future, prospective memory system, to conceptualize a new evolutionary perspective on therapeutic hypnosis and brief psychotherapy. The implication of current neuroscience research is that activity-dependent gene expression and brain plasticity are the psychobiological basis of adaptive behavior, consciousness, and creativity in everyday life as well as psychotherapy. We summarize a case illustrating how this evolutionary perspective can be used to quickly resolve problems with past obstructive procrastination in school to facilitate current and future academic success.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2008 Apr;50(4):343-50. Rossi E, Erickson-Klein R, Rossi K. Ernest@ErnestRossi.com

Author of the book Stop Smoking for the Last Time, George Wissing, is a Hypnosis/NLP Professional , Inter-faith Counselor, Life Coach and developer of the holistic Quit Struggle-Free System. He is very focused on getting results for his clients and helping each individual smoker find the right solution for success. He has helped hundreds of people in their quest to stop smoking, lose weight , manage pain, relieve fears and to live more relaxed and fulfilling lives.

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