Historically, therapeutic hypnosis has been met with skepticism within some fields, although acceptance has expanded in recent decades. Development and application of ethical standards and principles has contributed to increased acceptance of hypnosis with children. The Ethics Code of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2002) and the Code of Conduct of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH, 2000) serve as guides to ethical considerations when treating children. From a developmental and practical perspective, children have limited decision-making capacities, therefore special attention should be paid to their rights and welfare. Important ethical considerations relevant to children and hypnosis have emerged, including competence, supervision, informed consent, confidentiality, and boundaries. Considerations are reviewed from a normal and abnormal child development perspective.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2013 Apr;55(4):370-7. Etzrodt CM. Immaculata University, Malvern, Pennsylvania, USA. cetzrodt@gmail.com

Rémi Etienne is a nurse. Since 2007, he has been working in a cancer centre. Having taken a training course in hypnosis, he offers, in addition to his nursing practice, hypnosis as a form of pain relief.

Rev Infirm. 2013 May;(191):30. Etienne R. Infirmier en oncologie médicale, service de soins de support, Institut de cancérologie de Lorraine, 6, avenue de Bourgogne, 54500 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France. r.etienne@nancy.unicancer.fr

Labour pain is one of the most important factors in shaping women's experiences of birth. Choice around pharmacological relief can be complex. Clinical hypnosis is a non-pharmacological option which a number of women have chosen to use, often paying privately to do so. Self hypnosis allows women the opportunity to take control of this technique. Research findings relating to the therapy vary; some trials have found positive effects by way of a reduction in use of pharmacological pain relief, oxytocin use and shortened first stage of labour. Inclusion of the therapy as a means to invoke relaxation and counter the effects of stress and anxiety alone may be valid reasons for consideration of its use. This article outlines the framework used in clinical hypnosis and discusses some of the issues relating to the evidence base for it.

Pract Midwife. 2013 May;16(5):10-3. Kenyon C. University of Huddersfield.

Full Title: Management of refractory irritable bowel syndrome and comorbid mental ill-health: challenges, reflections and patient's perspective of life on the body-mind

This complex case illustrates how blurred the divide between body and mind can be. In a patient with refractory irritable bowel symptoms, the emergence of new social problems exacerbate both psychiatric (anxiety and depression) and physical symptoms. Treatment of the physical symptomatology consisted of acute hospital treatments initially and subsequent primary care consultations. Psychiatric treatment consists of psychopharmacological (venlafaxine and mirtazapine) and psychotherapeutic approaches (cognitive behavioural therapy initially, and clinical hypnosis). The objectives of psychiatric treatment were to stabilise symptoms, reduce hospital admissions and foster self-management. The gains of management are presented. Social difficulties encountered over the period of treatment were legal processes to gain custody of son, bereavement, financial difficulties occasioned by stoppage of welfare benefits and legal processes involved in welfare appeal. Importantly, the patient's perceptive of treatment and care is presented. Detrimental effects that current welfare reforms in the UK may have on health are highlighted.

BMJ Case Rep. 2013 Jun 27;2013. pii: bcr2013009545. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2013-009545. Udo I, Gash A. Department of Liaison Psychiatry, Roseberry Park Hospital, Tees Esk Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, Middlesbrough, UK. dr_itoro@yahoo.com

Full Title: The Efficacy and Methodological Challenges of Psychotherapy for Adults with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Review.

Adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at a greater risk of anxiety and depression and impaired quality of life (QoL) compared with healthy controls and other chronic physical illness groups. Consequently, the development and evaluation of well-defined and theoretically robust psychotherapeutic interventions for adults with IBD are desirable. To date, interventions have, for the most part, used multiple cross-theoretical approaches. Published reviews are heterogeneous in terms both of categorization of psychotherapeutic approaches and also of conclusions relating to efficacy. A recent Cochrane meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found no evidence for the efficacy of these interventions in adults, as in a number of previous reviews, ideologically disparate interventions (e.g., psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral) were grouped together. We aimed to extend the currently available literature on psychological intervention in IBD by: evaluating the efficacy of specific strategies (i.e., stress management, psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral therapy, or hypnosis) in improving psychological symptoms and QoL, including all controlled and noncontrolled studies, and explicating the methodological problems in published trials. Sixteen studies (5 stress management, 4 psychodynamic, 5 cognitive behavioral therapy, and 2 hypnosis) were evaluated. Interventions predominantly based on stress management showed only modest benefits for IBD or mental health symptoms or QoL. Cognitive behavioral therapy studies showed generally consistent benefits in terms of anxiety and depression symptoms, but inconsistent outcomes regarding IBD symptoms. Psychodynamically informed interventions reduced depressive and anxiety symptoms, but not IBD severity. Both hypnosis studies, albeit using different methods, seemed to have a more positive impact on disease severity than mental health symptoms or QoL. Our results suggest that while further well-designed and evaluated interventions are needed, psychological input can make a positive contribution to best practice multidisciplinary treatment of adults with IBD.

Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2013 Jul 10. Knowles SR, Monshat K, Castle DJ. *Department of Psychological Sciences and Statistics, Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia; †Department of Psychiatry, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; and ‡Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.

The trance states in yoga and hypnosis are associated with similar phenomena like relaxation, disinclination to talk, unreality, misrepresentation, alterations in perception, increased concentration, suspension of normal reality testing, and the temporary nature of the phenomena. While some researchers consider yoga to be a form of hypnosis, others note that there are many similarities between the trance in yoga and the hypnotic trance. The present study aimed to find similarities between the trance states of hypnosis and Patanjali's yoga sutras. The trance states were compared with the understanding of the phenomena of trance, and the therapeutic techniques and benefits of both. An understanding of the concept of trance in Patanjali's yoga sutras was gained through a thematic analysis of the book Four Chapters on Freedom by Swami Satyananda Saraswati. This led to an understanding of the concept of trance in the yoga sutras. The obtained concepts were compared to the concepts of trance in hypnosis (obtained through the literature on hypnosis) to investigate whether or not there exist similarities. The findings of the study show that there are similarities between the trance in hypnosis and the trance in Patanjali's yoga sutras in the induction and deepening of the trance states in hypnosis and that of Samadhi, the phenomena present in hypnosis and the kinds of siddhis that are obtained through Samadhi, and the therapeutic techniques and the therapeutic process in Patanjali's yoga sutra and hypnosis.

Indian J Psychiatry. 2013 Jan;55(Suppl 2):S157-64. doi: 10.4103/0019-5545.105516. Chowdhary S, Gopinath JK. Department of Psychology, Christ University, Bangalore, India.