Dr. Yalom is an American existential psychiatrist who is emeritus professor of psychiatry at Stanford University. He is also an author of fiction and nonfiction. His writing on existential psychology centers on what he refers to as the four "givens" of the human condition: isolation, meaningless, mortality, and freedom.

The conversion phenomena of hysteria were the subject of intense study in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, after which work on the subject went into decline. The patients are still with us, however, and I cite an epidemic of hysterical blindness among Cambodian refugees living in the U.S. as a poignant example. Since the advent of brain imaging technology, conversion hysteria has been receiving renewed attention. In this paper, I suggest that examining the ideas about hysteria from the past, especially those of Charcot and Janet are fertile areas of study, including the illness and its relation to hypnosis, shock, suggestion, and dissociation theory. I also address the role of the imaginary and the imagination in the illness and critique the implicit dualist model used in most brain imaging studies that distorts the integration of psyche and soma. I summon Merleau-Ponty's body-subject, infant research on intersubjectivity, and Vittorio Gallese's "embodied simulation" as possible windows onto the problem of hysterical conversion, and finally I suggest that along with imaging studies, more dynamic narrative strategies should be used if we hope to understand the metamorphoses, mimesis, and powerful emotions that all play a part in this mysterious disease.

Neurophysiol Clin. 2014 Oct;44(4):305-13. doi: 10.1016/j.neucli.2013.11.001. Epub 2013 Dec 8.

Hustvedt S. Author information: 544, Second Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215, United States. Electronic address: sirihustvedt55@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

by Tim Brunson, PhD

Many hypnotic techniques depend in great part on the confidence of the operator. I always teach that the hypnotist's absolute belief in their ability to achieve successful results is vital when using waking hypnosis or any rapid trance inductions. Indeed, as we are in the business of using suggestion and imagination to obtain mental and physical results, there is little room for doubt and second guessing. However, there are situations when a demonstration of a high level of confidence may create a situation where the clinician may appear to be crossing an ethical line.

Clinical hypnotherapists are not alone in this dilemma. In fact, this is a constant problem within the medical profession where instilling hope in a patient has to be weighed against legal advice, which says that it is prudent to provide warnings regarding any possible risk. For instance, when my father had his second heart bypass surgery, the talented young surgeon dramatically informed him that he had less than a 5% chance of surviving the operation. Even though this bothered my father deeply, luckily the procedure was a complete success. On the other hand, unlike medicine, which absolutely must consider the negative effects of such communication, installing doubt in a hypnosis subject is even more contrary to nature of our art.

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Beverly Martin is a skilled practitioner and teacher of NLP, having both studied and taught NLP in her native homeland of South Africa, and here in the Northwest for several years. Her background is in adult learning and video production for corporate communication and management training in financial institutions. She used NLP extensively in her work with executives in corporate South Africa. From 1991, she also began to assist individuals with their personal growth, change and health work In 1993 Beverly made Oregon, USA, her home where she continued to be associated with those who are dedicated to teaching high quality NLP worldwide. Beverly shares her sense of humor and many of her unusual life experiences along with her skill, to make learning interesting and enjoyable. Her particular passion is in teaching health professionals advanced NLP Communication skills which in her opinion forms the basis of the "Patient Practitioner Connection.

Beverly's enthusiasm for her work often has her invited to speak to groups to inspire, motivate and instruct others in the private and business sectors. Her private practice is in Hillsboro, where she enjoys working with individuals and couples to meet their outcomes for improving health, relationships, productivity, and Spiritual growth.

Dr. Sheperis' professional life has spanned more than 20 years. He is published in various textbooks, academic journals, and reference volumes. Carl Sheperis has contributed articles and entries. Dr. Sheperis is author of numerous books. He is a frequent speaker and presenter at professional conferences and workshops. He is a professor at Lamar University.

Full Title: Hypnosis-induced mental training improves performance on the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) simulator.

BACKGROUND: Mental training (MT) is used extensively by musicians and athletes to improve their performance. Recently, it has been suggested as a training method for surgical trainees. We assessed the influence of MT, induced by hypnosis, on the performance of simulated tasks on a laparoscopic simulator, as compared to a non-specific relaxing intervention. METHODS: 11 surgeons completed a proficiency-based training program on the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) simulator, until they reached performance plateau of the peg transfer task. Thereafter, they received a single music session, as a relaxing intervention, followed by repeating of the peg transfer task. Then they went through a hypnosis session guided by an experienced psychologist, with suggestions of smooth flow of pegs from one position on the board to another, and re-performed the task. RESULTS: Plateau performance was 51.1 ± 6.9 s. After the music session performance improved by 6.3 % to 47.9 ± 5.4 s (p = 0.86). After the MT session performance further improved by 15.3 % to 40.1 ± 5.8 s (p = 0.009), which was a 21.6 % improvement from baseline (p < 0.001). Subject's satisfaction from their performance, without knowledge of the task scores, was 6.0 ± 2.9 on 0-10 VAS after the music and reached as high as 8.5 ± 1.7 after the hypnotic session (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Hypnosis-induced MT significantly improves performance on the FLS simulator, which cannot be attributed to its relaxing qualities alone. This study contributes evidence to the effectiveness of MT in surgical skills acquisition and suggests that hypnotic techniques should be used in mental preparation processes. There is a need to further study these effects on operating room performance.

Surg Endosc. 2014 Oct 11.

Sroka G(1), Arnon Z, Laniado M, Schiff E, Matter I. Author information: (1)Department of General Surgery, Bnai-Zion Medical Center, 47 Golomb Street, Haifa, Israel, gideon.sroka@gmail.com.

Bruce Eimer is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. Dr. Eimer is a Fellow and Approved Consultant with the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and a life member of the American Psychological Association. He also holds Board Certifications in Pain Management, Medical Psychotherapy, and Vocational Neuropsychology. Dr. Eimer is a life member of the American Psychological Association which he joined in 1981.

Dr. Eimer has a private practice of Clinical Psychology, Clinical Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy in Abington, Pennsylvania. He has written several books on hypnosis including Brief Cognitive Hypnosis: Facilitating the Change of Dysfunctional Behavior and Hypnotize Yourself Out Of Pain Now!

For more information, visit his website at: http://www.hypnosishelpcenter.net/

Cancer-related fatigue is a common yet underappreciated problem with a significant impact on functional ability and quality of life. Practice guidelines mandate that all cancer patients and survivors be screened for cancer-related fatigue (CRF) at regular intervals. Comorbidities that could contribute to fatigue should be treated, and patients with moderate to severe fatigue should undergo a comprehensive evaluation. Nonpharmacologic interventions are important tools to combat CRF and should be incorporated into routine practice. Physical activity, educational interventions, and cognitive-behavioral therapy have the most supportive data and can be recommended to patients with confidence. From a practical standpoint, general education on CRF is something that most care providers can readily offer patients as part of routine care. Other interventions that appear promising but are as yet lacking convincing evidence include mindfulness-based stress reduction, yoga, and acupuncture. Reiki, Qigong, hypnosis, and music therapy may be worthy of further investigation.

Cancer J. 2014 Sep-Oct;20(5):313-8. doi: 10.1097/PPO.0000000000000064.

Pachman DR(1), Price KA, Carey EC. Author information: (1)From the *Division of Medical Oncology, and †Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

Dr. Henderson is a professor at Wake Forest University. She is an expert on the everyday issues confonting children and their parents. She has co-authored several books. Dr. Henderson's comments and advice for parents have been featured in the Associated Press, the Washington Post, the Toronto Globe & Mail, and many other media outlets.

Full Title: The effectiveness of suggestive techniques in reducing postoperative side effects: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Suggestive interventions such as hypnosis and therapeutic suggestions are frequently used to alleviate surgical side effects; however, the effectiveness of therapeutic suggestion intervention has not yet been systematically evaluated. In the present study, we tested the hypotheses that (1) suggestive interventions are useful for reducing postoperative side effects; (2) therapeutic suggestions are comparable in effectiveness to hypnosis; (3) live presentation is more effective than recordings; and (4) suggestive interventions would be equally effective used in minor and major surgeries. METHODS: We performed random effect meta-analysis with meta-regression and sensitivity analysis by moderating factors on a pool of 26 studies meeting the inclusion criteria (N = 1890). Outcome variables were postoperative anxiety, pain intensity, pain medication requirement, and nausea. RESULTS: Suggestive interventions reduced postoperative anxiety (g = 0.40; 99% confidence interval [CI] = 0.13-0.66; P < 0.001) and pain intensity (g = 0.25; 99% CI = 0.00-0.50; P = 0.010), but did not significantly affect postoperative analgesic drug consumption (g = 0.16; 99% CI = -0.16 to 0.47; P = 0.202) and nausea (g = 0.38; 99% CI = -0.06 to 0.81; P = 0.026). No significant differences were found for intervention type, presentation method, and severity of surgery; however, sensitivity analysis only supported the effectiveness of hypnosis (g =0.62; 99% CI = 0.31-0.92; P < 0.001) and live presentation (g = 0.55; 99% CI =0.23-0.88; P < 0.001) for decreasing postoperative anxiety, and that of live presentation for alleviating postoperative pain (g = 0.44; 99% CI = 0.07-0.82; P = 0.002). Sensitivity analyses also suggested that suggestive interventions are only effective for decreasing pain intensity during minor surgical procedures (g = 0.39; 99% CI = 0.00-0.78; P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Suggestive techniques might be useful tools to alleviate postoperative anxiety and pain; however, strength of the evidence is weak because of possible bias in the reviewed articles. The lack of access to within-subjects data and the overlap between moderator conditions also limit the scope of the analysis. More methodologically correct studies are required with sensitivity to moderating factors and to within-subjects changes. For clinical purposes, we advise the use of hypnosis with live presentation to reduce postoperative anxiety and pain, until convincing evidence is uncovered for the effectiveness of therapeutic suggestions and recorded presentation. Pain management with adjunct suggestive interventions is mostly encouraged in minor rather than major surgeries.

Anesth Analg. 2014 Dec;119(6):1407-19. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000000466.

Kekecs Z(1), Nagy T, Varga K. Author information: (1)From the *Department of Affective Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary; and †Faculty of Psychology and Education, Doctoral School of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.

by Tim Brunson, PhD

Religion, self-help theories, and mainstream healing modalities share one common objective. They all seek to alleviate human suffering and move individuals and society toward a more desirable state in which a perception of happiness is achieved. Nevertheless, they differ in their basic approaches. Religion focuses on belief and faith; mainstream healing, on evidence-based scientific research, and self-help, on a combination of both – albeit with a focus on wishful thinking and the charisma of the author or presenter. All claim to be effective. Yet, considering their exclusive characteristics all tend to be rather short-sited and limited in their approaches. In actuality, each of them simultaneously contain partial truths while being devoid of others.

It is odd how an effective theoretical concept originates. Almost a decade ago I was confronted by a series of medical doctors who were fascinated by my abilities as a clinical hypnotherapist. However, as hard-nosed scientists they were accustomed to questioning the validity of any accomplishments or claims that lacked sufficient peer-reviewed literature describing supporting systematic investigations. This led me to quickly discover over 10,000 of such studies, which openly supported the efficacy of hypnosis in medical and mental health interventions. This detection and the ubiquitous lack of hypnosis-related knowledge among clinicians inspired me to create The International Hypnosis Research Institute.

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Roberta Temes, Ph.D., delivers a genuine warmth and passion to everything she does. “Dr. Roberta,” as she is known throughout the world, brings a wealth of experience to The Hypnosis Network. Author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hypnosis, Dr. Roberta has the unique ability to communicate the complexities of hypnosis in a way that is easily understandable as well as highly effective.

Dr. Roberta has helped thousands of people resolve sleep and weight-loss issues through education and hypnotic suggestion. She has worked with some of the world's most prestigious sleep labs and weight-loss professionals to ensure that her work is always on the cutting edge. She currently lectures at medical schools, graduate programs, and health spas around the world.

For more information on Roberta Temes, PhD, please visit her website: http://www.drroberta.com/

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to examine the associations between baseline electroencephalogram (EEG)-assessed brain oscillations and subsequent response to four neuromodulatory treatments. Based on available research, we hypothesized that baseline theta oscillations would prospectively predict response to hypnotic analgesia. Analyses involving other oscillations and the other treatments (meditation, neurofeedback, and both active and sham transcranial direct current stimulation) were viewed as exploratory, given the lack of previous research examining brain oscillations as predictors of response to these other treatments. DESIGN: Randomized controlled study of single sessions of four neuromodulatory pain treatments and a control procedure. METHODS: Thirty individuals with spinal cord injury and chronic pain had their EEG recorded before each session of four active treatments (hypnosis, meditation,EEG biofeedback, transcranial direct current stimulation) and a control procedure (sham transcranial direct stimulation). RESULTS: As hypothesized, more presession theta power was associated with greater response to hypnotic analgesia. In exploratory analyses, we found that less baseline alpha power predicted pain reduction with meditation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the idea that different patients respond to different pain treatments and that between-person treatment response differences are related to brain states as measured by EEG. The results have implications for the possibility of enhancing pain treatment response by either 1) better patient/treatment matching or 2) influencing brain activity before treatment is initiated in order to prepare patients to respond. Research is needed to replicate and confirm the findings in additional samples of individuals with chronic pain.

Pain Med. 2014 Oct 7. doi: 10.1111/pme.12546.

Jensen MP(1), Sherlin LH, Fregni F, Gianas A, Howe JD, Hakimian S. Author information: (1)Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Howard Rosenthal is an American psychotherapist, Professor and Program Coordinator of Human Services and Addiction Studies at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley in Missouri. .

This historical review presents the advances made mostly during the last 200 years on the description, concepts, theories, and (more specifically) cure of patients suffering from hysteria, a still obscure entity. The denomination of the syndrome has changed over time, from hysteria (reinvestigated by Paul Briquet and Jean-Martin Charcot) to pithiatism (Joseph Babinski), then to conversion neurosis (Sigmund Freud), and today functional neurological disorders according to the 2013 American Neurological Association DSM-5 classification. The treatment was renewed in the second half of the 19th century in Paris by Paul Briquet and then by Jean-Martin Charcot. Hysterical women, who represented the great majority of cases, were cured by physical therapy (notably physio-, hydro-, and electrotherapy, and in some cases ovary compression) and 'moral' therapies (general, causal therapy, rest, isolation, hypnosis, and suggestion).

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and persuasion were established respectively by Pierre Janet, Sigmund Freud, and Joseph Babinski. During World War I, military forces faced a large number of posttrauma neurosis cases among soldiers (named the 'Babinski-Froment war neurosis' and Myers 'shell shock', in the French and English literature, respectively). This led to the use of more brutal therapies in military hospitals, combining electrical shock and persuasion, particularly in France with Clovis Vincent and Gustave Roussy, but also in Great Britain and Germany. After World War I, this method was abandoned and there was a marked decrease in interest in hysteria for a long period of time. Today, the current treatment comprises (if possible intensive) physiotherapy, together with psychotherapy, and in some cases psychoanalysis. antidepressants and anxiolytics may be required, and more recently cognitive and behavioral therapy. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a new technique under investigation which may be promising in patients presenting with motor conversion syndrome (motor deficit or movement disorder). Functional neurological disorders remain a difficult problem to manage with frequent failures and chronic handicapping evolution. This emphasizes the need for therapeutic innovations in the future.

Front Neurol Neurosci. 2014;35:181-97. doi: 10.1159/000360242. Epub 2014 Jun 26.

Broussolle E(1), Gobert F, Danaila T, Thobois S, Walusinski O, Bogousslavsky J. Author information: (1)Centre de Neurosciences Cognitives, Service de Neurologie C, Hôpital Neurologique Pierre Wertheimer, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, Lyon, France.

Dr. Pita is the Program Director of the Online Addictions Counselor Education Program (ACEP), a instructor, internship supervisor, and author. Other than having over 25 years specializing in the treatment of co-occuring disorders, she created four courses on the self-directed Digital Chalk platform.

by Tim Brunson, PhD

In my last article I explained that I conceived of the ideas related to Advanced Neuro-Noetic Hypnosis^TM subsequent to my exhaustive review of the scientific literature supporting the clinical use of hypnotherapy, my investigation into mind/body integration, and my study of neurology and quantum physics. In this article I want to explain the five guiding principles that I used to further the logical development of ANNH.

What I must remind my readers is that the intricately weaved theories that I am about to introduce you to is not based upon unquestioned blind faith, the habituated myths held by the vast majority of contemporary clinicians, or the charisma of various popular leaders in the field. When I surveyed the mountains of research and theoretical discourses involving a multitude of fields, I started seeing associations that came to startle me. By looking closely at classical, contemporary, and even futuristic material, the patterns which emerged from normally isolated disciplines began addressing both causality and providing clues to the potential direction of clinical efforts. Even though I considered the unscientific, faith-based, wishful thinking ideas – as they may also provide clues of yet untested truths – my focus was on concepts that would be more acceptable to those professions that tend to desire evidence-based findings. What impressed me was that I could readily find such a huge volume of material. But I was also shocked by the lack of interdisciplinary dialog. If that existed, just maybe my conclusions would first have been made by others.

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The theme of hysteria and hypnotism has been attracting the attention of medics, psychologists, writers, and the broad lay public. The role of hypnotism in the context of societal functioning, especially in crime, was a subject of research and significant debates between different neurology and psychology schools. One of these debates was between the Nancy and Salpêtrière schools of neurology at the end of the 19th century, and it was focused around a few cases of crime committed allegedly under hypnosis. In order to understand this particular quarrel, this chapter examines the history of mesmerism, hysteria, hypnosis, and fin-de-siècle neurology represented by both the Nancy and Salpêtrière schools.

Front Neurol Neurosci. 2014;35:56-64. doi: 10.1159/000359992. Epub 2014 Jun 26.

Piechowski-Jozwiak B(1), Bogousslavsky J. Author information: (1)Department of Neurology, King's College Hospital, London, UK.

Dr. Sue is a professor at Teachers COllege, Columbia University. He is a licensed psychologist and a Certified Hypnotherapist. His focus is on multicultural counseling and psychotherapy, the psychology of racism and antiracism, cultural diversity, multicultural organizational development, and mental health law.

Hypnosis is a brief intervention ready for wider dissemination in medical contexts. Overall, hypnosis remains underused despite evidence supporting its beneficial clinical impact. This review will evaluate the evidence supporting hypnosis for dissemination using guidelines formulated by Glasgow and colleagues (1999). Five dissemination dimensions will be considered: Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM).REACH: In medical settings, hypnosis is capable of helping a diverse range of individuals with a wide variety of problems. EFFICACY: There is evidence supporting the use of hypnosis for chronic pain, acute pain and emotional distress arising from medical procedures and conditions, cancer treatment-related side-effects and irritable bowel syndrome. ADOPTION: Although hypnosis is currently not a part of mainstream clinical practices, evidence suggests that patients and healthcare providers are open to trying hypnosis, and may become more so when educated about what hypnosis can do. IMPLEMENTATION: Hypnosis is a brief intervention capable of being administered effectively by healthcare providers. MAINTENANCE: Given the low resource needs of hypnosis, opportunities for reimbursement, and the ability of the intervention to potentially help medical settings reduce costs, the intervention has the qualities necessary to be integrated into routine care in a self-sustaining way in medical settings. In sum, hypnosis is a promising candidate for further dissemination.

Psychol Conscious (Am Psychol Assoc). 2014 Jun;1(2):213-228. Yeh VM, Schnur JB, Montgomery GH. Author information: Integrative Behavioral Medicine Program, Department of Oncology Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Mr. Don L. Price - Coaching Minds To Succeed: Professional Keynote Speaker, Author, Master Hypnotherapist and Sales/Marketing, Positive Change Solutions Provider -- has more than 36 years of high-level corporate experience in marketing, sales training, management, hypnosis and personal success coaching.

As vice president of management development and retail operations for a major retailer of a large international corporation, he was a key motivating factor for increasing sales from $39 million to over $100 million in annual revenue.

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