Uslu et al. (2012 ) suggested that hypnotic status can modulate cerebral blood flow. The authors investigated the effects of hypnosis on heart rate variability (HRV). In women, HRV decreased during hypnosis. Posthypnotic values were higher compared to prehypnotic and hypnotic values. Women had highest HRV parameters in the posthypnotic condition. It appears that hypnosis can produce cardiac and cognitive activations. Hypnotherapy may be useful in some cardiac clinical conditions characterized by an autonomic imbalance or some cardiac arrhythmias.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2013 Apr;61(2):162-71. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2013.753826. Yüksel R, Ozcan O, Dane S. Fatih University, Ankara, Turkey. ryuksel38@hotmail.com

by Tim Brunson, PhD

What are illness and disease? When a component is entraining to changes in one pattern, it becomes out of harmony with the components of the other patterns with which it normally interacts. A dis-ease is caused within these patterns. This is like the merchants not seeing their regular customer on a Saturday morning, or the office staff having to compensate for the absence of a valuable employee. If you think about it, this is what is happening in any situation in which a person has been diagnosed with an illness or disease. A component of a system has performed a reactive adaptation to one pattern with which it is integrated. Again, what you must understand is that every component plays a critical role in numerous patterns. Once it adapts to changes in one pattern, it will be disharmonious with its other patterns. This is the nature of any illness.

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Placebo effects are widely recognized as having a potent impact upon treatment outcomes in both medical and psychological interventions, including hypnosis. In research utilizing randomized clinical trials, there is usually an effort to minimize or control placebo effects. However, in clinical practice there may be significant benefits in enhancing placebo effects. Prior research from the field of social psychology has identified three factors that may enhance placebo effects, namely: priming, client perceptions, and the theory of planned behavior. These factors are reviewed and illustrated via a case example. The consideration of social-psychological factors to enhance positive expectancies and beliefs has implications for clinical practice as well as future research into hypnotic interventions.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2013 Jan;55(3):236-48. Sliwinski J, Elkins GR. Baylor University, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory, PO Box #97334, Waco, TX 76798, USA. jim_sliwinski@baylor.edu

Dr. Larry Nims, Ph.D. is among the first professionals trained in the Callahan Techniques; (now TFT-Thought Field Therapy). He was trained by Roger Callahan, Ph.D., in early 1990, and has been refining his own BE SET FREE FASTtm programs since 1998. He is now teaching and training professionals in seminars throughout the United States. He is the recipient of the Association of Comprehensive Energy Psychology Lifetime Achievement Award.

Seminar attendees have consistently expressed enthusiasm and positive feedback about Dr. Nims' theory, techniques, and training sessions. He uses his natural wit and humor very effectively and is noted for his practical approach in therapy and in training. He is dedicated to sharing his discoveries to advance the healing of many more hurting human beings.

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Parkinson's disease is a severe neurodegenerative disorder with a prevalence rate of approximately 1.6% in elderly Americans. This case study reports on a 51-year-old male Parkinson's patient who received 3 weekly sessions of a hypnosis intervention, as well as instruction in self-hypnosis. Actigraphy was used to assess rest-tremor severity. Results revealed a 94% reduction in rest tremors following treatment. Self-reported levels of anxiety, depression, sleep quality, pain, stiffness, libido, and quality of life also showed improvements. The patient reported a high level of satisfaction with treatment. These findings suggest clinical hypnosis is potentially feasible and beneficial treatment for some Parkinson's symptoms. Further investigation with diverse samples and an ambulatory monitoring device is warranted.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2013 Apr;61(2):172-82. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2013.753829. Elkins G, Sliwinski J, Bowers J, Encarnacion E. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA. Gary_Elkins@baylor.edu

by Tim Brunson, PhD

There is a portal to our future. It is just above our right eye. It controls our mastery, our mind, and our health. Neuroscientists call it the right orbitofrontal cortex. However, to the rest of us it is home to anticipation, meaning, suggestion, and imagination. Once we tame it, it allows us to control our destiny. It provides us with virtually unlimited possibilities for a wonderful life. But if we allow it roam it can make our existence a living hell. The choice is ours.

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This article examines how beliefs can influence the definition, classification, understanding, and treatment of depression. It is organized in five parts: The first part critically reviews the definition of depression; the second part explores the medicalization of depression; the third part examines the role of the pharmaceutical industry in the promotion and marketing of antidepressant medications; the fourth part surveys the psychological therapies for depression and examines the role of expectancy in outcome; and the last part looks at the mechanisms involved in the placebo effect. A list of evidence-based strategies, including hypnosis, are discussed in the context of cognitive hypnotherapy for depression to illustrate how expectancy effect can be maximized in psychotherapy.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2013 Jan;55(3):249-71. Alladin A. University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. assen.alladin@albertahealthservices.ca

Bryan Bacher is a Mental Health Counselor licensed by the State of Florida and a hypno-therapist certified by the National Board for Clinically Certified Hypnotherapists. Bacher earned his Master's degree in counseling from the University of South Florida. He has worked in clinical and hospital mental health settings since 1981 and has maintained a private counseling practice for over 12 years.

For more information, please go to http://www.center4hypnosis.com

Human learning and memory depend on multiple cognitive systems related to dissociable brain structures. These systems interact not only in cooperative but also sometimes competitive ways in optimizing performance. Previous studies showed that manipulations reducing the engagement of frontal lobe-mediated explicit attentional processes could lead to improved performance in striatum-related procedural learning. In our study, hypnosis was used as a tool to reduce the competition between these 2 systems. We compared learning in hypnosis and in the alert state and found that hypnosis boosted striatum-dependent sequence learning. Since frontal lobe-dependent processes are primarily affected by hypnosis, this finding could be attributed to the disruption of the explicit attentional processes. Our result sheds light not only on the competitive nature of brain systems in cognitive processes but also could have important implications for training and rehabilitation programs, especially for developing new methods to improve human learning and memory performance.

Cereb Cortex. 2013 Apr;23(4):801-5. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhs068. Nemeth D, Janacsek K, Polner B, Kovacs ZA. Institute of Psychology.

by Tim Brunson PhD

Everything around us and inside us is all about patterns. This includes physics, astronomy, biology, cultural relationships, and everything else. For a hypnotherapist this concept is crucial, as it extends to the totality of human experience and transformation. The commonality of all existence is the tendency to move from chaos to order. Order implies the elements of a system are organized in a logical pattern reflecting relationships of interdependency. Chaos means that everything entropies eventually into disorder. Regardless, the next step is always a return to order. Patterns mean order; order means patterns.

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by Tim Brunson PhD

Can you rapidly stop bleeding or eliminate pain using only the sound of your voice? If not, continue reading.

The use of Waking Hypnosis must be included as a required skill for all medical and dental practitioners. The National Institutes of Health public access database of hypnosis-related research is quiet clear that hypnosis is indicated for the treatment of acute and chronic pain and for accelerating healing. Therefore, physicians and dentists need practical and rapid hypnosis methods. However, since 1958 when the American Medical Association approved hypnosis as part of treatment plans, popular techniques have too often consisted of lengthy, cost-prohibitive methods. Seemingly the only solution was to employ the services of a competently trained hypnotherapist or to entirely forego this wonderful alternative. In contrast, Waking Hypnosis is a powerful and natural technique, which almost always gets the same results as other hypnosis protocols, but within seconds or minutes. When used by the non-hypnotherapist clinician, it can be a valuable tool that will enhance their healing abilities.

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