Acupuncture is often used for tension-type headache prophylaxis but its effectiveness is still controversial. This review (along with a companion review on 'Acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis') represents an updated version of a Cochrane review originally published in Issue 1, 2001, of The Cochrane Library. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether acupuncture is a) more effective than no prophylactic treatment/routine care only; b) more effective than 'sham' (placebo) acupuncture; and c) as effective as other interventions in reducing headache frequency in patients with episodic or chronic tension-type headache. SEARCH STRATEGY: The Cochrane Pain, Palliative & Supportive Care Trials Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Complementary Medicine Field Trials Register were searched to January 2008. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomized trials with a post-randomization observation period of at least 8 weeks that compared the clinical effects of an acupuncture intervention with a control (treatment of acute headaches only or routine care), a sham acupuncture intervention or another intervention in patients with episodic or chronic tension-type headache. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers checked eligibility; extracted information on patients, interventions, methods and results; and assessed risk of bias and quality of the acupuncture intervention. Outcomes extracted included response (at least 50% reduction of headache frequency; outcome of primary interest), headache days, pain intensity and analgesic use. MAIN RESULTS: Eleven trials with 2317 participants (median 62, range 10 to 1265) met the inclusion criteria. Two large trials compared acupuncture to treatment of acute headaches or routine care only. Both found statistically significant and clinically relevant short-term (up to 3 months) benefits of acupuncture over control for response, number of headache days and pain intensity. Long-term effects (beyond 3 months) were not investigated. Six trials compared acupuncture with a sham acupuncture intervention, and five of the six provided data for meta-analyses. Small but statistically significant benefits of acupuncture over sham were found for response as well as for several other outcomes. Three of the four trials comparing acupuncture with physiotherapy, massage or relaxation had important methodological or reporting shortcomings. Their findings are difficult to interpret, but collectively suggest slightly better results for some outcomes in the control groups. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: In the previous version of this review, evidence in support of acupuncture for tension-type headache was considered insufficient. Now, with six additional trials, the authors conclude that acupuncture could be a valuable non-pharmacological tool in patients with frequent episodic or chronic tension-type headaches.

Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009 Jan 21;(1):CD007587. Linde K, Allais G, Brinkhaus B, Manheimer E, Vickers A, White AR. Centre for Complementary Medicine Research, Department of Internal Medicine II, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Wolfgangstr. 8, Munich, Germany, 81667. Klaus.Linde@lrz.tu-muenchen.de

Leslie Mcintosh is the director of Coastal Academy of Hypnotherapy is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, who specializes in Regression and Parts Therapies. She has over 25 years of facilitation experience to make her students learning the best it can be. Her graduates are recognized as professional and competent clinical hypnotherapists. She is also certified as an instructor and board certified by the National Guild of Hypnotists.

For more information visit: www.lesliemcintosh.com

Experimental (Price & Barber, 1987) and neuroimaging studies (Rainville, Carrier, Hofbauer, Bushnell, & Duncan, 1999), suggest that it is the affective dimension of pain as processed in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) that is most associated with suffering and autonomic arousal. Conversely, pain related emotions (Rainville, Bao, & Chretien, 2005) and expectations (Koyama, McHaffie, Laurenti, & Coghill, 2005) modulate pain perception and associated pain affect. This paper presents both the scientific background and the general clinical steps involved in a practical hypnotic approach that uses emotion specific wording and the elicitation of prior positive experience to intervene at both the affective and sensory dimensions of pain. Such an approach enables patients to therapeutically use hypnosis to reduce their subjective distress even if they are not able to greatly reduce the sensation of pain. The utilization of positive state dependent learning (Rossi, 1986), following the advice of Milton Erickson to "discover their patterns of happiness" (Parsons-Fein, 2005) is emphasized.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2009 Jan;51(3):235-54. Feldman JB. Wake Forest University School of Medicine, USA. jfeldman@wfubmc.edu

Experimental (Price & Barber, 1987) and neuroimaging studies (Rainville, Carrier, Hofbauer, Bushnell, & Duncan, 1999), suggest that it is the affective dimension of pain as processed in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) that is most associated with suffering and autonomic arousal. Conversely, pain related emotions (Rainville, Bao, & Chretien, 2005) and expectations (Koyama, McHaffie, Laurenti, & Coghill, 2005) modulate pain perception and associated pain affect. This paper presents both the scientific background and the general clinical steps involved in a practical hypnotic approach that uses emotion specific wording and the elicitation of prior positive experience to intervene at both the affective and sensory dimensions of pain. Such an approach enables patients to therapeutically use hypnosis to reduce their subjective distress even if they are not able to greatly reduce the sensation of pain. The utilization of positive state dependent learning (Rossi, 1986), following the advice of Milton Erickson to "discover their patterns of happiness" (Parsons-Fein, 2005) is emphasized.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2009 Jan;51(3):235-54. Feldman JB. Wake Forest University School of Medicine, USA. jfeldman@wfubmc.edu

Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medical system, is receivingincreasing attention worldwide. OBJECTIVE: A retrospective study was conducted to determine the effectiveness ofAyurvedic constitution-based diets on weight loss patterns of obese adults. DESIGN, SETTING, SUBJECTS, AND INTERVENTION: Records of 200 obese adults, both male and female, who had completed 3 months of the diet therapy at Ayurvedic clinics, were examined and data collated. Techniques used included a checklist of personality traits, physical signs, and food likes and dislikes to determine the dosha. Based on the predominant doshas, diets were prescribed and closely monitored for a period of 3 months. OUTCOME MEASURES: Records of height and weight and chest, abdominal, waist, arm, and thigh circumferences noted initially and after each month for the period of 3 months were obtained. RESULTS: Among the 200 subjects, 55 (27.5%) were vatta-, 83 (41.5%) were pitta-, and 62 (31.0%) were kapha-predominant. At the beginning, kapha and pitta people were heavier than vatta people. After the 3 months of therapy, the pitta group lost the most weight (9.84%). The decrease in all the anthropometric measurements was higher in pitta and kapha people than in vatta individuals. Hence, diets based on Ayurvedic constitution may prove useful in promoting weight loss. Though these promising findings support traditional Indian Ayurvedic scriptures, more closely controlled trials are needed to substantiate these findings.

Altern Ther Health Med. 2009 Jan-Feb;15(1):44-7. Sharma S, Puri S, Agarwal T, Sharma V. NutriHealth Systems, New Delhi, India.

The Self-Regulatory Executive Function model [S-REF; Wells, A., & Matthews, G. (1996). Modelling cognition in emotional disorder: the S-REF model. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 881-888] proposes that metacognitive beliefs, inflexible self-focused attention, and perseverative thinking (rumination and worry) play an important role in maintaining emotional dysfunction. Attention training [ATT; Wells, A. (1990). Panic disorder in association with relaxation induced anxiety: an attentional training approach to treatment. Behavior Therapy, 21, 273-280] is a technique designed to increase attentional control and flexibility, and thereby lessen the impact of these maintaining factors. The main aim of this study was to determine whether or not supplementing cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) with ATT could potentiate greater changes in social anxiety, depression, attentional control, metacognitive beliefs, and anticipatory and post-event processing in a clinical sample with social phobia. Patients (N=81) were allocated to CBGT with ATT or relaxation training (RT). ATT did not potentiate greater change on any outcome variable, with both groups achieving significant improvements on all measures. Exploratory correlational analyses (pre-treatment and changes scores) showed that some metacognitive beliefs were associated with attentional control, anticipatory processing, and symptoms of social anxiety and depression. However, attentional control was more consistently associated with anticipatory processing, post-event processing, and symptoms of social anxiety and depression, than with metacognitive beliefs. Results are discussed with reference to cognitive behavioral models of social phobia. It is tentatively concluded that while supplementing CBGT with ATT does not improve outcomes, increasing attentional control during CBGT is associated with symptom relief.

J Anxiety Disord. 2009 May;23(4):519-28. McEvoy PM, Perini SJ. Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression, University of New South Wales at St Vincent's Hospital, 299 Forbes Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney, 2010, Australia. peter.mcevoy@health.wa.gov.au

Evidence suggests that comorbid depression influences the outcome of cognitive-behavioral treatment for patients presenting with social phobia. Little is known, however, about the influence of comorbid social phobia on the response to cognitive therapy (CT) for depression among adults presenting with recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD). These analyses seek to clarify this relationship. METHODS: Patients (N=156) with recurrent DSM-IV MDD entered CT (20% also met DSM-IV criteria for social phobia). Every week during the course of CT, clinicians assessed depressive symptoms and patients completed self-report instruments measuring severity of depression and anxiety. RESULTS: At presentation, outpatients with comorbid social phobia reported greater levels of depressive symptoms and clinicians rated their impairment as more severe, compared to their counterparts without social phobia. Patients with or without comorbid social phobia did not differ significantly in (1) attrition rates; (2) response or sustained remission rates; (3) time to response or sustained remission; or (4) rate of improvement in symptoms of depression or anxiety. LIMITATIONS: The lack of domain-specific measures limits inference with respect to the improvements in social anxiety that occur with CT of depression. CONCLUSIONS: These findings introduce the hypothesis that CT for depression may be flexible enough to treat the depressive symptoms of patients presenting with MDD who also suffer from social phobia.

J Affect Disord. 2009 Apr;114(1-3):271-8. Smits JA, Minhajuddin A, Jarrett RB. Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dedman College, P.O. Box 750442, Dallas, TX 75275, United States. jsmits@smu.edu

Retha Martin is the founder of the Retha J. Martin School of Hypnotherapy, North Coast Hypnosis Society. In private practice, she also is an instructor in Ohio's continuing education programs. She specializes in the practice of hypnotherapy for positive behavioral changes in children. She has received awards including the Pebble in the Pond, honors, and Congressional Recognition. Retha is a Diplomate of the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association.

People falsely endorse semantic associates and morpheme rearrangements of studied words at high rates in recognition testing. The coexistence of these results is paradoxical: Models of reading that presume automatic extraction of meaning cannot account for elevated false memory for foils that are related to studied stimuli only by their visual form; models without such a process cannot account for false memory for semantic foils. Here we show how sentence and list study contexts encourage different encoding modes and consequently lead to different patterns of memory errors. Participants studied compound words, such as tailspin and floodgate, as single words or embedded in sentences. We show that sentence contexts led subjects to be better able to discriminate conjunction lures (e.g., tailgate) from old words than did list contexts. Conversely, list contexts led to superior discrimination of semantic lures (e.g., nosedive) from old words than did sentence contexts.

Mem Cognit. 2009 Jan;37(1):52-64. Matzen LE, Benjamin AS. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA. lematze@sandia.gov

To address the difficulty of assessing and managing multiple anxiety disorders in the primary care setting, this article provides a simple, easy-to-learn, unified approach to the diagnosis, care management, and pharmacotherapy of the 4 most common anxiety disorders found in primary care: panic, generalized anxiety disorders, social anxiety disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder. This evidence-based approach was developed for an ongoing National Institute of Mental Health-funded study designed to improve the delivery of evidence-based medication and psychotherapy treatment to primary care patients with these anxiety disorders. We present a simple, validated method to screen for the 4 major disorders that emphasizes identifying other medical or psychiatric comorbidities that can complicate treatment; an approach for initial education of the patient and discussion about treatment, including provision of some simple cognitive behavioral therapy skills, based on motivational interviewing/brief intervention approaches previously used for substance use disorders; a validated method for monitoring treatment outcome; and an algorithmic approach for the selection of initial medication treatment, the selection of alternative or adjunctive treatments when the initial approach has not produced optimal results, and indications for mental health referral.

J Am Board Fam Med. 2009 Mar-Apr;22(2):175-86. Roy-Byrne P, Veitengruber JP, Bystritsky A, Edlund MJ, Sullivan G, Craske MG, Welch SS, Rose R, Stein MB. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Harborview Center for Healthcare Improvement for Addictions, Mental Illness and Medically Vulnerable Populations, Seattle, USA. roybyrne@u.washington.edu

To address the difficulty of assessing and managing multiple anxiety disorders in the primary care setting, this article provides a simple, easy-to-learn, unified approach to the diagnosis, care management, and pharmacotherapy of the 4 most common anxiety disorders found in primary care: panic, generalized anxiety disorders, social anxiety disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder. This evidence-based approach was developed for an ongoing National Institute of Mental Health-funded study designed to improve the delivery of evidence-based medication and psychotherapy treatment to primary care patients with these anxiety disorders. We present a simple, validated method to screen for the 4 major disorders that emphasizes identifying other medical or psychiatric comorbidities that can complicate treatment; an approach for initial education of the patient and discussion about treatment, including provision of some simple cognitive behavioral therapy skills, based on motivational interviewing/brief intervention approaches previously used for substance use disorders; a validated method for monitoring treatment outcome; and an algorithmic approach for the selection of initial medication treatment, the selection of alternative or adjunctive treatments when the initial approach has not produced optimal results, and indications for mental health referral.

J Am Board Fam Med. 2009 Mar-Apr;22(2):175-86. Roy-Byrne P, Veitengruber JP, Bystritsky A, Edlund MJ, Sullivan G, Craske MG, Welch SS, Rose R, Stein MB. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Harborview Center for Healthcare Improvement for Addictions, Mental Illness and Medically Vulnerable Populations, Seattle, USA. roybyrne@u.washington.edu

It was hypothesized that participation in a psychosocial intervention incorporating meditation, social support, positive thinking, and a low-fat, vegetarian diet would have beneficial effects on mood, coping, and quality of life (QOL) in cancer patients. This article describes the sociodemographic, medical, and psychological characteristics of participants in a psychosocial intervention designed for cancer patients. It also describes program impact in terms of Profile of Mood States, Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer, and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy. Compliance with program recommendations for 3 months and effects on adjustment were also explored. Improvements in all measures were found at program completion, with spiritual well-being particularly linked to improvement in QOL. The results suggest that the program has significant beneficial effects on adjustment but that these may not be fully maintained at follow-up, possibly because of difficulty in incorporating program recommendations into everyday life, increasing disease severity, and lack of accountability.

Integr Cancer Ther. 2009 Mar;8(1):47-55. Reavley N, Pallant JF, Sali A. Centre for Rheumatic Diseases, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. nreavley@unimelb.edu.au.

The objective of this study was to evaluate resistance training (RES) and RES combined with chiropractic treatment (RES-C) on fibromyalgia (FM) impact and functionality in women with FM. DESIGN: The design of the study was a randomized control trial. SETTING: Testing and training were completed at the university and chiropractic treatment was completed at chiropractic clinics. PARTICIPANTS: Participants (48 +/- 9 years; mean +/- standard deviation) were randomly assigned to RES (n = 10) or RES-C (n = 11). INTERVENTION: Both groups completed 16 weeks of RES consisting of 10 exercises performed two times per week. RES-C received RES plus chiropractic treatment two times per week. OUTCOME MEASURES: Strength was assessed using one repetition maximum for the chest press and leg extension. FM impact was measured using the FM impact questionnaire, myalgic score, and the number of active tender points. Functionality was assessed using the 10-item Continuous Scale Physical Functional Performance test. Analyses of variance with repeated measures compared groups before and after the intervention. RESULTS: Six (6) participants discontinued the study: 5 from RES and 1 from RES-C. Adherence to training was significantly higher in RES-C (92.0 +/- 7.5%) than in RES (82.8 +/- 7.5%). Both groups increased (p < or = 0.05) upper and lower body strength. There were similar improvements in FM impact in both groups. There were no group interactions for the functionality measures. Both groups improved in the strength domains; however, only RES-C significantly improved in the pre- to postfunctional domains of flexibility, balance and coordination, and endurance. CONCLUSIONS: In women with FM, resistance training improves strength, FM impact, and strength domains of functionality. The addition of chiropractic treatment improved adherence and dropout rates to the resistance training and facilitated greater improvements in the domains of functionality.

J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Mar;15(3):321-8. Panton LB, Figueroa A, Kingsley JD, Hornbuckle L, Wilson J, St John N, Abood D, Mathis R, VanTassel J, McMillan V. Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA. lpanton@fsu.edu

Dental fears and phobias trouble patients with and without special needs, and they are a problem for dentists, as well. This article reviews current research and literature related to methods used to alleviate dental fear and concludes that while some important psychological methods are available, much work is left to be done in this area. It is clear that there is an important role for psychological and behavioral input to the dentist-patient interaction. While dental phobia represents a class of special needs itself, patients with other important disabilities (e.g., physical or cognitive impairments) are sometimes comorbidly phobic, a condition often missed or misdiagnosed by treating practitioners. Office-based techniques that focus on relaxation, breathing, imagery, hypnosis, and effective use of operatory language are described. The methods advocated here can be used with patients having mild or moderate cognitive impairments. Readings are recommended for the dentist or auxiliary practitioner interested in learning these techniques.

Spec Care Dentist. 2009 Jan;29(1):51-7. Peltier B. University of the Pacific, San Francisco, California, USA. bpeltier@pacific.edu