Full title: Recurrence quantification analysis of electroencephalograph signals during standard tasks of Waterloo-Stanford group scale of hypnotic susceptibility.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to apply RQA (recurrence quantification analysis) on hypnotic electroencephalograph (EEG) signals recorded after hypnotic induction while subjects were doing standard tasks of the Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale (WSGS) of hypnotic susceptibility. Then recurrence quantifiers were used to analyse the influence of hypnotic depth on EEGs. By the application of this method, the capability of tasks to distinguish subjects of different hypnotizability levels was determined. Besides, medium hypnotizable subjects showed the highest disposition to be inducted by hypnotizer. Similarities between brain governing dynamics during tasks of the same type were also observed. The present study demonstrated two remarkable innovations; investigating the EEGs of the hypnotized as doing mental tasks of Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale (WSGS) and applying RQA on hypnotic EEGs.

J Med Eng Technol. 2014 Nov 4:1-9.

Yargholi E(1), Nasrabadi AM. Author information: (1)School of Biomedical Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch , Tehran , Iran and.

Abstract Hypnotizability influences the development of false memories. In Experiment 1, participants heard a positive or negative suggestion regarding hypnosis and then listened to 8 Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) false memory paradigm lists in a hypnotic state. Neither hypnosis nor prehypnotic suggestion affected memory. Highly hypnotizable participants were more accurate in recall and recognition. In Experiment 2, suggestions were delivered in the form of feedback. Participants heard a positive or negative suggestion about their performance prior to either the encoding or retrieval of 8 DRM lists. Neither accurate nor false memories were affected by the suggestion. Highly hypnotizable individuals recognized fewer critical lures if they received a negative suggestion about their performance. These results highlight the unusual role of hypnotizability in the creation of false memories.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2015;63(1):110-28. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2014.961880.

Dasse MN(1), Elkins GR, Weaver CA 3rd. Author information: (1)a Baylor University , Waco , Texas , USA.

A pioneer in the field of energy psychology, Fred P. Gallo, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, has taught at Pennsylvania State University and is the author of Energy Psychology, the book that first brought serious professional attention to the field. He has also written three other professional books, a popular self-help book, several training manuals, and numerous articles and book chapters. Among his other works are Energy Psychology; Energy Diagnostic and Treatment Methods; The Neurophysics of Human Behavior; Energy Tapping; and Energy Psychology in Psychotherapy. He is the founder of "Energy Diagnostic and Treatment Methods" (EDxTM) and "Energy Consciousness Therapy." He teaches these and related approaches internationally. He maintains a private practice, Gallo & Associates, in Hermitage, PA.

For more information visit: www.InnerSource.net

Abstract Evidence supports the efficacy of hypnotic treatments, but there remain many unresolved questions regarding how hypnosis produces its beneficial effects. Most theoretical models focus more or less on biological, psychological, and social factors. This scoping review summarizes the empirical findings regarding the associations between specific factors in each of these domains and response to hypnosis. The findings indicate that (a) no single factor appears primary, (b) different factors may contribute more or less to outcomes in different subsets of individuals or for different conditions, and (c) comprehensive models of hypnosis that incorporate factors from all 3 domains may ultimately prove to be more useful than more restrictive models that focus on just 1 or a very few factors.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2015;63(1):34-75. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2014.961875.

Jensen MP(1), Adachi T, Tomé-Pires C, Lee J, Osman ZJ, Miró J. Author information: (1)a University of Washington , Seattle , USA.

Abstract This article describes the history, rationale, and guidelines for developing a new definition of hypnosis by the Society of Psychological Hypnosis, Division 30 of the American Psychological Association. The definition was developed with the aim of being concise, heuristic, and allowing for alternative theories of the mechanisms (to be determined in empirical scientific study). The definition of hypnosis is presented as well as definitions of the following related terms: hypnotic induction, hypnotizability, and hypnotherapy. The implications for advancing research and practice are discussed. The definitions are presented within the article.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2015;63(1):1-9. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2014.961870.

Elkins GR(1), Barabasz AF, Council JR, Spiegel D. Author information: (1)a Baylor University , Waco , Texas , USA.

OBJECTIVE: Insomnia both as a symptom and as part of chronic insomnia disorder is quite common in menopause. Comorbid conditions, such as restless legs syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea, occur with high prevalence among perimenopausal women with insomnia. Insomnia in this population group is associated with adverse health outcomes, and there are no clear standards on how to treat it. METHODS: Based on extensive literature search, 76 articles were identified. Two authors independently graded evidence according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine Levels of Evidence. RESULTS: Evaluation and treatment of other comorbid sleep disorders are recommended, as is cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia. Hormone therapy, eszopiclone, escitalopram, gabapentin, isoflavones, valerian, exercise, and hypnosis are suggested. Zolpidem, quiteiapine XL, citalopram, mirtazapine followed by long-acting melatonin, ramelteon, Pycnogenol, Phyto-Female Complex, yoga, and massage may be considered. Kampo formulas are not recommended. Acupuncture may not be suggested, and cognitive-behavioral therapy that is not tailored for insomnia probably should not be considered. CONCLUSIONS: Although a variety of interventions are shown to be helpful in improving sleep in menopause, there is a need for well-designed head-to-head trials with uniform outcome measures.

Menopause. 2014 Oct 27.

Attarian H(1), Hachul H, Guttuso T, Phillips B. Author information: (1)From the 1Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL; Departments of Psychobiology and Gynecology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; 3Department of Neurology, University at Buffalo School of Medicine, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY; and Department of Medicine, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY.

by Tim Brunson, PhD

Over the past few years there has been a constant clamor regarding the wonders of a new version of Positive Psychology involving mindfulness. This leaves me to wonder if there is any substance to this or if it is yet another pop psychology mantra waiting to be pushed aside by the next trend. Is this unjustified panacea, merely yet another placebo claiming wondrous results, or a therapeutically significant concept? My intent here is to explore the origin, foundation, and potential value of mindfulness psychotherapy – and its relationship to hypnotherapy.

I first became acquainted with the concept when I attended a three-day workshop jointly conducted by two psychologists at an annual conference held each December in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The presenters were Mark S. Weisberg, PhD, an established authority in mind/body healing who practices in Minnesota, and Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD, who is affiliated with the Harvard Medical School. Since then I have become familiar with the work of Richard J. Davidson, PhD, a Harvard-educated scientist working at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Tenzin Nagi, PhD, at Emory University in Atlanta.

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David Feinstein, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, is director of the non-profit Energy Medicine Institute in Ashland, Oregon. He has taught at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Antioch College, and the California School of Professional Psychology. He has written four popular self-help books and has contributed over 50 papers to the professional literature in psychology. Among his works are The Mythic Path, Rituals for Living and Dying, Energy Medicine (written with his wife, Donna Eden), and Energy Psychology Interactive, an award-winning multi-media program.

For more information visit: www.InnerSource.net

Full title: Perceptually-oriented hypnosis: removing a socially learned pathology and developing adequacy: the case of invisible girl.

This is the first case review to explicate perceptual hypnotic principles such as differentiation, characteristics of an adequate personality, and the need for adequacy, as utilized in clinical hypnosis in a complex case that altered the distorted perceptions and personal meanings of an eleven-year-old girl who believed that she had Bipolar Disorder and her body and mind were damaged. This qualitative case study examines aspects of hypnosis during therapy from a perceptual point of view to illustrate frustrations in difficult cases and identify some of the causes and origins of alleged clinical pathology in adverse environments. Some moments of effective self-healing through supporting internally controlled changes in perception during hypnotic experiencing are highlighted rather than externally focusing on observed thoughts and behavior. Factors relevant to social psychological research, such as family dynamics, poverty, and interactions with social service agencies and institutions, creating learned pathology, are pointed out for future research.

Psychol Rep. 2014 Oct;115(2):545-64. doi: 10.2466/02.PR0.115c24z9. Epub 2014 Oct 13.

Woodard FJ. Author information: 1 Woodard Hypnosis and Research, Inc., Milford, New Hampshire.

A book review by Tim Brunson PhD

Whenever I encounter a thoughtful book that positively portrays the field of hypnotherapy, I enthusiastically welcome the hard work and effort that its composition entailed. That was my initial reaction when I picked up The Hypnosis Treatment Option: Proven Solutions for Pain, Insomnia, Stress, Obesity, and Other Common Health Problems by Scott D. Lewis, DC. My enthusiasm for such work almost always results in a hearty appreciation and unquestionable endorsement and recommendation. However, this time I am going to make an exception. Nevertheless, let me begin my review by sharing what I appreciate about this book.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

Worldwide interest in "hypnosis" and "hypnotherapy" has been on a path of steady decline over the past ten years. That is according to trend information that is readily available from Google, Inc. The number of people searching for those two keywords is about half of what it was only ten years ago. This trend is apparently more pronounced in the United States, which has a tremendously large number of Web users. However, it appears that simultaneously interest in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland is rapidly increasing.

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Ted started out as a sculptor after attending Hofstra University and Brooklyn Law School. He won numerous awards and prizes throughout the metropolitan area and was part of the most prestigious art shows in New York City. He had numerous shows in New York City and on Long Island before moving into the field of law to become a trial attorney for the past 31 years.

This all leads to his present involvement in the Ministry and the healing arts of Hypnotism, Emotional Freedom Technique and Reiki. He became a certified Hypnotist in 1999 and is certified by the National Guild of Hypnotist, Inc. While completing his initial certification course in hypnotism, something oddly fortuitous happened. Ted experienced the worst pain he had ever known in his left eye and nothing he did made any difference until the instructor's assistant came up to him and asked if he would like some help with his eye. After saying yes, she proceeded to "tap" on points around his face, body and hand and within two minutes the pain completely subsided. Ted immediately realized that this was a profound healing technique and immediately set off on educating himself so that he could share it with others. He initially took the generalized courses and then took specialized courses from Gary Craig, the founder of EFT, and others in the field who held additional views on how to address problems through the energy system. He continues to gather new information from a multitude of sources in the energy field and elsewhere to assist others in their quest for self healing. He is also a Reiki Master practitioner and a 1st Level Integrated Energy practitioner.

Ted Robinson has a number of interests in life. They vary from being an Interfaith Minister to hypnotism, Emotional Freedom Technique to Reiki, Sculpture, gardening, sailing, to being a lawyer. Probably the most compelling aspect of his life right now is practicing EFT and hypnotism within his ministry and his law practice. These areas of interest allow him to assist others in their own healing and spiritual development within the context of their lives as they exist right now.

For more information visit: www.CenterforInnerHealing.com

by Paul G. Durbin, Ph.D.

HYPNOSIS JOB DESCRIPTION SPECIFICATIONS (Paul G. Durbin, Ph.D. www.DurbinHypnosis.com)
Used at Methodist Hospital New Orleans, closed since Katrina 2005. Now Job Discription for Methodist Health System Foundation, Slidell, LA) JOB TITLE: Clinical Hypnotherapist REPORTS TO: CEO of the Hospital
APPROVED: CEO of the Hospital
DATE:
SUMMARY OF FUNCTIONS: To assist the CEO in providing hypnotherapy for patients of the Hospital and others in the community. To provide hypnotherapy and hypnosis, guided imagery, relaxation education to the community.

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We here review behavioral, neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies of hypnosis as a state, as well as hypnosis as a tool to modulate brain responses to painful stimulations. Studies have shown that hypnotic processes modify internal (self awareness) as well as external (environmental awareness) brain networks. Brain mechanisms underlying the modulation of pain perception under hypnotic conditions involve cortical as well as subcortical areas including anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortices, basal ganglia and thalami. Combined with local anesthesia and conscious sedation in patients undergoing surgery, hypnosis is associated with improved peri- and postoperative comfort of patients and surgeons. Finally, hypnosis can be considered as a useful analogue for simulatingconversion and dissociation symptoms in healthy subjects, permitting better characterization of these challenging disorders by producing clinically similar experiences.

Neurophysiol Clin. 2014 Oct;44(4):343-53. doi: 10.1016/j.neucli.2013.09.006. Epub 2013 Oct 29.

Vanhaudenhuyse A(1), Laureys S(2), Faymonville ME(3). Author information: (1)Coma Science Group, Cyclotron Research Centre, University of Liège, Sart Tilman B30, Allée du 6 Août n(o) 8, 4000 Liège, Belgium. Electronic address: avanhaudenhuyse@ulg.ac.be. (2)Coma Science Group, Cyclotron Research Centre, University of Liège, Sart Tilman B30, Allée du 6 Août n(o) 8, 4000 Liège, Belgium. Electronic address: steven.laureys@ulg.ac.be. (3)Department of Algology, University Hospital of Liège, Sart Tilman B35, 4000 Liège, Belgium. Electronic address: mfaymonville@chu.ulg.ac.be.

Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Conversion disorders are defined as neurological symptoms arising without organic damage to the nervous system, presumably in relation to various emotional stress factors, but the exact neural substrates of these symptoms and the mechanisms responsible for their production remain poorly understood. In the past 15 years, novel insights have been gained with the advent of functional neuroimaging studies in patients suffering from conversion disorders in both motor and non-motor (e.g. somatosensory, visual) domains. Several studies have also compared brain activation patterns in conversion to those observed during hypnosis, where similar functional losses can be evoked by suggestion. The current review summarizes these recent results and the main neurobiological hypotheses proposed to account for conversion symptoms, in particular motor deficits. An emerging model points to an important role of ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), precuneus, and perhaps other limbic structures (including amygdala), all frequently found to be hyperactivated in conversion disorders in parallel to impaired recruitment of primary motor and/or sensory pathways at the cortical or subcortical (basal ganglia) level. These findings are only partly shared with hypnosis, where increases in precuneus predominate, together with activation of attentional control systems, but without any activation of VMPFC. Both VMPFC and precuneus are key regions for access to internal representations about the self, integrating information from memory and imagery with affective relevance (in VMPFC) and sensory or agency representations (in precuneus). It is therefore postulated that conversion deficits might result from an alteration of conscious sensorimotor functions and self-awareness under the influence of affective and sensory representations generated in these regions, which might promote certain patterns of behaviors in response to self-relevant emotional states.

Neurophysiol Clin. 2014 Oct;44(4):323-37. doi: 10.1016/j.neucli.2014.01.003. Epub 2014 Jan 28. Vuilleumier P. Author information: Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition (LABNIC), Department of Neuroscience (NEUFO), University Medical Center (CMU), 1, rue Micheli du Crest, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: patrik.vuilleumier@unige.ch.

Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

by Tim Brunson, PhD

Nothing is more symbolic to the field of hypnotherapy than the art of script writing. This documentation of the process and structure of an intervention represents the intent and thoughts of the clinical practitioner. While it may only imply some of the nuances of how it is ultimately delivered to a subject, it clearly reflects the essence of the theory and concepts and justifies the use of hypnosis for achieving a therapeutic goal.

I recently transmitted an Institute e-course in which I mentioned my assessment, hopes, and even disappointments regarding the current state of script writing within the realm hypnotherapy. In the article I used the terms "clichés" and "myths" to refer to the current prevailing state of script writing education offered by national and international associations of hypnotists. This has caused some puzzlement and calls for further explanation. Although I would think that my comments in the nearly 100 articles that I have written and made freely available through Internet would preclude the necessity for further clarification, perhaps for those who have not followed my writings closely I need to expound further.

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In 1980, John Krukowski went to see a Stage Hypnotist perform and was totally amazed at what Hypnosis could do. After reading numerous books on hypnosis and the mind, he committed to getting the formal education in 2001. In late winter 2002, he successfully completed all the requirements and received a certification as Hypnotherapist with the National Guild of Hypnotists. John Krukowski is now recognized and certified by the American Board of Hypnotherapy. Working primarily in Bangkok, Thailand, he specializes in relationship enhancement and pain management.

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Stroke and the effects of hypnotherapy by John Krukowski

For more information, visit his website at: http://home.comcast.net/~hypno-therapy/