The decline in physical activity (PA) across adolescence is well established but influence of biological maturity on the process has been largely overlooked. This paper reviews the limited number of studies which examine the relationship between timing of biological maturity and PA. Results are generally inconsistent among studies. Other health-related behaviors are also considered in an effort to highlight the complexity of relationships between biological maturation and behavior and to provide future research directions.

Sherar LB, Cumming SP, Eisenmann JC, Baxter-Jones A DG, Malina RM. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2010 Aug;22(3):332-49. College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Full Title Use of complementary therapies by mothers in their children: study at an university hospital Article in Portuguese

The objective of this article is to evaluate the use of complementary therapies by mothers in their children. A cross-sectional and descriptive study with 202 mothers of children that attended an University Hospital were interviewed. The variables analyzed were: use of complementary therapies/reasons, therapies used its purpose, effects, doctor's revelation/reasons and doctor's reaction. The prevalence of complementary therapies use was of 87.6%. Among the 177 mothers that used complementary therapies, many mentioned more than one kind, as follow: teas (72.8%), blessings (41%), sympathies (12.9%), homemade remedies/syrups (8.4%), prayer/promises (7.4%), homeopathy (4.0%), spiritual/parapsychological treatment (4.0%), mixture of unknown substances/"garrafada" (bottled) (3%), massage (2%) and reiki/floral (1.5%). The most used herbs were anise (16.7%), chamomile (14.8%) and mint (10.9%); 57.6% of the mothers did not inform its use to the doctor. Out of 499 treatments employed, there was a perception of improvement in 429 (86%) and 2 reports of adverse effects. The prevalence of complementary therapies utilization was high, being teas the most utilized therapy and anise, chamomile and mint the most used herbs. There was perception of improvement in most of the used therapies.

Gentil LB, Robles AC, Grosseman S. Cien Saude Colet. 2010 Jun;15 Suppl 1:1293-9. Prefeitura Municipal de Santo Amaro da Imperatriz, SC, Brazil. luizagentil@gmail.com

Hypnotizability is a cognitive trait measured by standard scales and associated with peculiar physiological responses to cognitive and physical stimulations. Hypnotizability-related differences can also be observed in non-hypnotic state and in the absence of specific suggestions. In the normal bipedal stance subjects with high hypnotizability (Highs) exhibit a higher tolerance of alteration of the visual and leg/neck proprioceptive input with respect to low hypnotizable individuals (Lows). Aim of the study was to investigate whether this characteristic represents a disadvantage during highly demanding postural tasks. Sixteen Highs and 16 Lows of both genders participated in an experimental session consisting of maintaining balance while standing with open or closed eyes on a seesaw platform allowing roll movements. The results did not show significant differences between Highs and Lows in inclination area and time, with the exception of a greater ability of Highs with respect to Lows when they began the task displacing the body weight from the left to the right leg. Thus, high hypnotizability does not represent a disadvantage for balance control during highly demanding postural tasks. Together with previous studies, the present findings suggest that the Highs' postural control might shift from a very "economic", preeminently centrally driven functioning mode, characteristic of easy postural tasks, to an efficaciously periphery-controlled mode, required by difficult postural tasks.

Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010 Jan;108(1):201-6. Caratelli E, Menzocchi M, Carli G, Fontani G, Santarcangelo E. Department of Physiology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

Full Title: Give a person power and he or she will show interpersonal sensitivity: the phenomenon and its why and when.

The goal of the present research was to investigate whether high or low power leads to more interpersonal sensitivity and what potentially mediates and moderates this effect. In Study 1, 76 participants in either a high- or low-power position interacted; in Study 2, 134 participants were implicitly primed with either high- or low-power or neutral words; and in Study 3, 96 participants were asked to remember a situation in which they felt high or low power (plus a control condition). In Study 4, 157 participants were told to identify with either an egoistic, empathic, or neutral leadership style. In all studies, interpersonal sensitivity, defined as correctly assessing other people, was then measured using different instruments in each study. Consistently, high power resulted in more interpersonal sensitivity than low power. Feeling respected and proud was partially responsible for this effect. Empathic power as a personality trait was related to more interpersonal sensitivity, and high-power individuals who adopted an empathic instead of an egoistic leadership style were more interpersonally sensitive.

J Pers Soc Psychol. 2009 Nov;97(5):835-50. Schmid Mast M, Jonas K, Hall JA. Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland. marianne.schmid@unine.ch

Full Title: Impact of a lecture about empirical bases of hypnosis on beliefs and attitudes toward hypnosis among Cuban health professionals.

The aim of this study was to examine whether a lecture on hypnosis can modify attitudes and misconceptions about hypnosis. The sample consisted of 97 health professionals from institutions in Havana City, Cuba. Group 1 consisted of 46 participants who received a lecture on hypnosis. Group 2 consisted of 51 participants who received a lecture about urology. and Beliefs toward Hypnosis-Therapist was applied before and after the lecture. Results indicated that there were significant differences between the groups: Group 1 showed more positive attitudes toward hypnosis. However, both groups showed similar misconceptions about hypnosis and memory, which changed significantly in Group 1 after receiving the lecture about hypnosis but not in Group 2. Therefore, the lecture about hypnosis had a significant impact in correcting participants' misconceptions about memory and hypnosis.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2010 Oct;58(4):476-96. Martin M, Capafons A, Espejo B, Mendoza ME, Guerra M, Enriquez Santos JA, Diaz-Puron S, Guirado IG, Castilla CD. University of Havana, Cuba.

Three studies investigated whether self-affirmation can proceed without awareness, whether people are aware of the influence of experimental self-affirmations, and whether such awareness facilitates or undermines the self-affirmation process. The authors found that self-affirmation effects could proceed without awareness, as implicit self-affirming primes (utilizing sentence-unscrambling procedures) produced standard self-affirmation effects (Studies 1 and 3). People were generally unaware of self-affirmation's influence, and self-reported awareness was associated with decreased impact of the affirmation (Studies 1 and 2). Finally, affirmation effects were attenuated when people learned that self-affirmation was designed to boost self-esteem (Study 2) or told of a potential link between self-affirmation and evaluations of threatening information (Study 3). Together, these studies suggest not only that affirmation processes can proceed without awareness but also that increased awareness of the affirmation may diminish its impact.

J Pers Soc Psychol. 2009 Nov;97(5):745-64. Sherman DK, Cohen GL, Nelson LD, Nussbaum AD, Bunyan DP, Garcia J. Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9660, USA. david.sherman@psych.ucsb.edu

This study compared the efficacy of conventional treatments for dentin hypersensitivity (DHS) and hypnotherapy. During a 1-month period at an urban practice in a service area of approximately 22,000 inhabitants, all patients were examined. A total of 102 individuals were included in the evaluation. Values of 186 teeth were analyzed. The comparison of the different treatment methods (desensitizer, fluoridation, and hypnotherapy) did not show significant differences in success rates. However, a noticeable difference was observed in terms of onset and duration of effect. For both desensitizer and hypnotherapy treatments, onset of effect was very rapid. Compared to the other methods studied, hypnotherapy effects had the longest duration. In conclusion, hypnotherapy was as effective as other methods in the treatment of DHS.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2010 Oct;58(4):457-75. Eitner S, Bittner C, Wichmann M, Nickenig HJ, Sokol B. Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen Nuremberg, Germany.

by Joyce-Anne Locking

Being unhappy, depressed, lazy, sluggish, joyful, ambitious or exuberant are all examples of habit. Whatever habits you find yourself automatically repeating each day can be changed. Pay attention to the things you are focusing on daily and ask yourself if these things are serving your purpose today.

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Pruritus, or generalized itch, is a source of serious discomfort and distress in a significant minority of people living with AIDS. Anecdotal reports suggest hypnosis might be a useful treatment, leading to reductions in distress and improvements in the condition. But empirical examination of the question is notably lacking. This time-series study reports results of a 6-session self-hypnosis treatment (relaxation, deepening, imagery, and home practice) for 3 HIV-positive men suffering from pruritus, related to disease progression and/or HIV medications. Posttreatment, all 3 patients reported significant reductions in daily itch severity and extent of sleep disturbance due to itch. One patient also evidenced significantly less itch distress. Another also experienced significantly less time bothered by itch. For the 2 patients on which 4-month follow-up data were available, treatment benefit across variables was stable or further improved.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2002 Apr;50(2):149-69. Rucklidge JJ, Saunders D. The Toronto Hospital, Canada. j.rucklidge@psyc.canterbury.ac.nz

by Alfred A Barrios, PhD

The question of whether man does or does not have free will has been debated down through the centuries by some of the greatest minds but has never been fully answered. There are those, call them idealists, who say that of course we have free will; we can control our own destiny; we can choose between misery and happiness. Then there are the realists who point to all the miserable people in the world and ask did all these people freely choose to be miserable?

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by Joyce-Anne Locking B.Mus.

Music is abstract sound expressing emotion which is subjective not concrete. Music is deep rather than horizontal in thought. It reminds me of a saying about happiness. Happiness, as poet Robert Frost put it, makes up in height what it lacks in length. Music is a kind of happiness too and it can describe happiness, or the lack of it, beyond words.

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Full Title: Understanding dissociation and insight in the treatment of shortness of breath

Training in hypnosis is particularly valuable for the physician seeking to better appreciate the interplay between mind and body. Through such experiences the physician can learn that presentation of symptoms often is affected by patients' psychological states, and that symptoms sometimes serve as solutions for patients' psychological dilemmas. The presented case study demonstrates how an 11-year-old's complaint of shortness of breath becomes an opportunity for an appropriately trained physician to provide treatment by helping the patient to engage his inner resources. The case illustrates the strength of hypnosis for accessing resources outside of conscious awareness and use of dissociative language to both support and alter the patient's defenses. We discuss the role of hypnosis when working psychodynamically with a patient, and whether and when insight is important or necessary for change of behavior.

Am J Clin Hypn. 2010 Apr;52(4):263-73. Anbar RD, Linden JH. SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA. anbarr@upstate.edu

by Shealy Healy

Poor health often is a byproduct of stress. When you accumulate too much stress within your mind and body you are left depleted of healthy rejuvenating every. Your mind becomes ill. Anxiety takes over your body. You get sick.

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OBJECTIVE:: This case series examines the practicality of using a standardized method of training children in self-hypnosis (SH) methods to explore its efficiency and short-term efficacy in treating tics in patients with Tourette syndrome. METHODS:: The files of 37 children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome referred for SH training were reviewed, yielding 33 patients for analysis. As part of a protocol for SH training, all viewed a videotape series of a boy undergoing SH training for tic control. Improvement in tic control was abstracted from subjective patient report. RESULTS:: Seventy-nine percent of the patients trained in this technique experienced short-term clinical response, defined as control over the average 6-week follow-up period. Of the responders, 46% achieved tic control with SH after only 2 sessions and 96% after 3 visits. One patient required 4 visits. CONCLUSIONS:: Instruction in SH, aided by the use of videotape training, augments a protocol and probably shortens the time of training in this technique. If SH is made more accessible in this way, it will be a valuable addition to multi-disciplinary management of tic disorders in Tourette syndrome.

J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2010 Jun 25. Lazarus JE, Klein SK. From the *Department of Pediatrics, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital; daggerCase Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.

by Dr. Linda Berry

Through my life experience, education, clinical practice, and Eastern transformative techniques I've reversed a lifetime of sadness to enjoy a present with glimmers of bliss. This article reveals an outline of my path to bliss that came to me one night as I sat writing on my bedside. It's a simple path that can help anyone achieve moments of connection to the divine. That's always good for building happiness.

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by Bonnie M. Morét, CCHt

In today's hectic world, we continually search for ways to bring about positive change. Hypnotherapy is a natural and effective process that utilizes the strength of your subconscious mind to improve your life by changing unwanted habits, enabling you to accomplish your goals. Hypnotherapy enables one to overcome stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, eating disorders, phobias and pain.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

Few words in the English language garner the level of mystic, misunderstanding, and misuse as the word imagination. Used by bards, song writers, and self-help gurus to represent an expansion of the mind beyond the limits created by perception and programming, it is bantered around both as a complement and criticism. While Albert Einstein proclaimed that it is more important than knowledge, still scientists – to include those of a medical ilk – continue to cast suspicion on the value of a vivid imagination. Yet, as it is in many ways the centerpiece of the clinical hypnotherapy, it deserves a serious explanation and exploration.

All animals are capable of misperceiving a threat. However, it is the primate who seems to be the most capable of using the frontal lobes' ability to anticipate and simulate. This faculty of imagining helps us form mental visual, auditory, and kinesthetic illusions that are the direct creation of our abilities to convert perceptions into understanding. Our greatly enhanced capability to create an imagined "reality" merely by our thoughts is indeed a unique human characteristic.

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by Mark Tyrrell

3 tips you can use to help your new client get the most from hypnosis

"Am I doing this right? I can still hear him. For that matter, I can still hear the cars outside. My ear itches. Should I be thinking this much? This isn't what I was expecting!"

A client's first encounter with hypnotherapy can raise all manner of questions. They might have seen a hypnosis stage show or a film featuring hypnosis and come into their first session with any number of misconceptions regarding what they 'should' be doing, feeling, experiencing. When there's a disparity between those expectations and the actual experience, they can begin to wonder if they're 'doing it right'.

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During hypnosis, the authors tested repeated weight-related, literal and metaphorical suggestions about the heaviness of the subjects' arms. The purpose was to determine if linguistically varied hypnotic suggestions produced significantly different motor reactions--involuntary pressure forces of the forearms--as assessed by a linguistic biomechanical system. Classic, literal (L) suggestions such as "your right arm is heavy" were used, as well as metaphorical (M) suggestions, such as "your right arm is made of lead." A specific effect on the progressive increase of pressure forces only in the temporal sequence L-M for each forearm (literal suggestions followed by metaphorical suggestions) was found. This effect, termed crescendo image metaphor effect, conceptualized within context-limited simulation theory, explains the findings.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2010 Jul;58(3):350-65. Santarpia A, Blanchet A, Mininni G, Andrasik F, Kwiatkowski F, Lambert JF. Laboratoire de psychopathologie et de neuropsychologie (EA 2027), University of Paris 8, Saint-Denis, Cedex, France. asantarpia@yahoo.it

by Tim Brunson, PhD

In response to one of my recent articles, an esteemed colleague asked if I had previously read one of his articles. As I had not, upon doing so I discovered a phrase in which he stated that suggestions are what cause beliefs. Although the topic of suggestion was not the focus of his article and thus he refrained from expounding further, his statement led me to ponder the depth of meaning associated with the term "suggestion" and led to a realization that I had been using it purposefully but without much clarification. This needs to be rectified.

Clinicians frequently either use this word or skirt around it by referring to "expectancy bias", "placebo", or saying that some pathology is "all in the mind" of a client or patient. Yet, when use of any word by anyone with a self-perception as being educated is done so with imprecision and vulgarity, it most certainly becomes robbed of its utility and potential. As like imagination, suggestion is at the core of the hypnotherapeutic field, it is incumbent that among clinicians we must take the lead in clarifying the concept. Otherwise, we would be like a skilled surgeon who attempts to use a blunt screwdriver as a replacement for a scalpel.

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This meta-analysis evaluates the effect of hypnosis in reducing emotional distress associated with medical procedures. PsycINFO and PubMed were searched from their inception through February 2008. Randomized controlled trials of hypnosis interventions, administered in the context of clinical medical procedures, with a distress outcome, were included in the meta-analysis (26 of 61 papers initially reviewed). Information on sample size, study methodology, participant age and outcomes were abstracted independently by 2 authors using a standardized form. Disagreements were resolved by consensus. Effects from the 26 trials were based on 2342 participants. Results indicated an overall large effect size (ES) of 0.88 (95% CI = 0.57-1.19) in favour of hypnosis. Effect sizes differed significantly (p < 0.01) according to age (children benefitted to a greater extent than adults) and method of hypnosis delivery, but did not differ based on the control condition used (standard care vs. attention control).

Contemp Hypn. 2008 Aug 21;25(3-4):114-128. Schnur JB, Kafer I, Marcus C, Montgomery GH. Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA.

The real mystery about hypnosis is the simplicity of induction and the ease with which a willing participant will accept and work within the trance state. Something so natural must involve neural systems that make trance a normal phenomenon. Presented is the language for emotion developed by Silvan Tomkins between 1960 and his death in 1991, brought into contemporary science by the author. Tomkins focused on the facial displays of affect, programmed reactions to specific patterns of stimulation. Each of these 9 innate mechanisms initiates a reaction pattern people experience as an emotion that brings its trigger into conscious awareness. How people think about or understand anything is controlled by the affect with which it has become linked. Cognitions locked to unpleasant emotions can become disturbingly resistant to change until trance work alters the affective environment of the participant.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2009 Oct;57(4):319-42.Nathanson DL. Silvan S. Tomkins Institute and Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania19103-6224, USA. nathanson@tomkins.org

by Nadine Aurel

The CognitiveOS Hypnosis, a mind therapy developed by Luca Bosurgi during 20 years of clinical experience, is a healing strategy based on working with the spirit to control and troubleshoot the mind. This may sound far from clinical to many, suggesting philosophy over science; a notion hardly accepted by most scientists and physicians.

Well, the question is simple, do you feel that your spirit it is just a philosophical notion or is it your real-self incarnated in your body and mind as your tools for living on earth? And, if you agree that your spirit is your real-self, doesn't it make sense that the driver takes control over its vehicle?

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by Cheryl Janecky

Summer Solstice is the season Mother Nature is at the peak of abundance, and you too can join this natural cycle, align with the abundance, and accomplish miracles. If you are in the Southern hemisphere, then you are entering the season of Winter Solstice. The energy time of the season is the opposite of Summer. New Year planning will soon be underway. Plant the seeds now - of the future you want to harvest in the Fall.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

When the Esalen Institute's Michael Murphy wrote his classic The Future of the Body: Explorations into the Further Evolutions of Human Nature, he boldly stated that mankind can easily move in either the direction of Enlightenment or rapidly devolve into the dark morass of ignorance and evil. This should not have surprised anyone who has even a layman's appreciation of world history. Indeed, every Dark Age is preceded by a Renaissance. The opposite is also true. This applies not only to society as a whole. The state of an individual's happiness and fulfillment can easily move toward a better life or despair. This article explores the question of choice and the role that hypnotherapy may play.

What immediately comes to mind is the hierarchy of needs model first proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation. In it he states that we concern ourselves with five basic levels: physiological needs, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. He believed that we are only motivated to seek achievement at higher levels once we are fully satisfied that our needs are met regarding the subordinate ones.

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Full Title: Clinical research on the utility of hypnosis in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical and psychiatric disorders

The authors summarize 4 articles of special interest to the hypnosis community in the general scientific and medical literatures. All are empirical studies testing the clinical utility of hypnosis, and together address the role of hypnosis in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical and psychiatric disorders/conditions. The first is a randomized controlled study of smoking cessation treatments comparing a hypnosis-based protocol to an established behavioral counseling protocol. Hypnosis quit rates are superior to those of the accepted behavioral counseling protocol. A second study with pediatric patients finds hypnosis critically helpful in differentiating nonepileptic seizure-like behaviors (pseudoseizures) from epilepsy. The remaining 2 papers are randomized controlled trials testing whether hypnosis is effective in helping patients manage the emotional distress of medical procedures associated with cancer treatment. Among female survivors of breast cancer, hypnosis reduces perceived hot flashes and associated emotional and sleep disruptions. Among pediatric cancer patients, a brief hypnotic intervention helps control venepuncture-related pain.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2009 Oct;57(4):443-50. Nash MR, Perez N, Tasso A, Levy JJ. Psychology Department, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-0900, USA. mnash@utk.edu

by Joyce-Anne Locking

"On the black dog" is an expression used by writers. It represents a period of time when a writer is unable to find inspiration and soon becomes unable to write. I once heard the term mentioned by famous Canadian writer,Pierre Berton, as a writing disorder that afflicts writers from time to time. When a writer is "on the black dog," black becomes the colour of everything: black mood, black thoughts. Even the blank page seems black as one is unable to shed light on its blankness. And black is the colour of our power to change this dreaded affliction, although writing about it definitely helps a little.

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by Tim Brunson, PhD

Living in the southern United States frequently I am asked by compassionate neighbors to which church I "belong" and what is my political persuasion. Despite their being driven by a strong sense of community, a factor that makes living here so enjoyable, over the years I have become increasingly uncomfortable answering them. By doing so, I feel that I have been summarily boxed into a one-dimensional identification. Frankly, I would like to believe that I am just a tad more complex.

Over the years I have come to examine my beliefs, especially those that seem to refer to concepts and ideas that are clearly beyond my control. For instance, although as a pilot many times I found opportunities to appreciate the existence of God and the effects of gravity, spending time arguing about either is simply a waste of time that prevents me pursuing more relevant opportunities. Let's face it. My strongly held opinions in these matters will never change the truth. Therefore, I would like to spend my time pursuing more relevant activities such as working for the benefit of others or striving for my own self-actualization.

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BACKGROUND: There has been a breakthrough in the understanding of anaesthetic drug effects during the last two decades, and new monitors aimed at quantifying such effects have been developed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This review is based on publications from the last 15 years, oral presentations, and rewritten parts of the author's PhD thesis. RESULTS: General anaesthesia can be regarded as a combination of hypnosis (sleep), analgesia and muscle relaxation. Modern anaesthetic drugs aim at each of these effects separately. Pharmacological variation makes it impossible to find one dose suitable for all, so tools for measuring drug effects in the individual patient are warranted. Monitors for measuring depth-of-hypnosis and partly analgesic effect are commercially available. Among these, BIS (bispectral index), based on EEG, is by far the best documented. BIS is proven useful for preventing undesired awareness and overdosing, but there are major limitations. Use of such technology in clinical practice is under constant debate. INTERPRETATION: Even though the BIS technology is promising and used widely, no health authorities have so far recommended that such monitors should be compulsory during general anaesthesia, but rather that it should be considered on an individual basis. So far, it seems like this is a sensible approach in Norway as well.

Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 2010 Mar 25;130(6):633-7. Høymork SC. Anestesi- og intensivavdelingen, Vestre Viken, Sykehuset Asker og Baerum 1309 Rud, Norway. s.c.hoymork@medisin.uio.no

by Bonnie M. Morét, CCHt

At any given moment in our lives, we are making choices. We can choose to live fully in the moment, to live our dreams, to be whom we dream of being or to ignore the still small voice inside of us that is begging to be heard -- to live life with everything we've got. Have you chosen to reach for the stars, living a life full of passion and possibilities? Or have you chosen to get really comfortable with watching your dreams pass you by and thinking about what might have been if not for those postponed and unfulfilled dreams?

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by Mark Gorkin, LICSW

Ten Personal-Psychological Factors that May Impede Early Cardio/Health Prevention, Detection, and Intervention

Why are we often reluctant to know the state of our medical health, let alone whether we have a medical condition? For example, why don't we more frequently avail ourselves of the advances in cardiovascular health testing to foster disease prevention or early disease detection? The evidence is compelling: did you know that as many as 90,000 lives could be saved each year if cardio health screenings were conducted on all asymptomatic men between the ages of 45-75 and women between the ages of 55-75 (American Journal of Cardiology, July 2006)? (And while these questions are of universal import, I suspect they have particular relevance for men, a species known for ignoring health issues.)

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By Nadine Aurel

Luca Bosurgi, a defining voice in the emerging field of mind-spirit therapy, transforms psychoanalysis to spiritual evolution. He has developed an original mind coaching technique: The CognitiveOS Hypnosis. For the first time he has agreed to talk about the power of the CognitiveOS Hypnosis and why it's the next step in psychoanalytical therapy.

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by Alfred A Barrios, PhD

My commentary will cover the following key areas:

I. Contrasting my theory with other major perspectives in the field including the Socio-cognitive, the Dissociation/Neo-Dissociation, and the Response-Expectancy perspectives, pointing out some of the key similarities and differences between these approaches and my theory.

II. Presenting some of the research and work subsequent to the first publication of my theory (Barrios, 1969) that I feel presents further support for it; and

III. Pointing out some of the subsequent benefits of the theory which will include:

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by Joyce-Anne Locking

This is the time of year we usually concentrate on getting in shape. We start a walking program or take up golf or tennis, canoeing, boating or other outdoor activities. We want to get fit and fit into our summer wardrobe once again. We strive to get ourselves ready to enjoy the summer by toning our muscles and shaping our plans. One thing we ought to include in this preparing for summer fitness program is our mind. Is the mind a muscle too? I just watched a television interview that suggested the mind is indeed a muscle, a muscle that can be programmed much in the same way as a computer! A mind can be set, somewhat like a clock, to begin routine tasks daily or to begin to change old habits into new ones. New habits, experts suggest, take twenty one days to form. Once we continue to practice a new activity each day for twenty one days, we have started a new habit.

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BACKGROUND: There are few published examples of research examining the effect of massage, aromatherapy, and reflexology in clinic settings. In addition to measuring treatment outcomes, it may also be important to measure the quality of the relationship between the client and therapist and assess its contribution to outcomes. AIMS: To evaluate perceived changes in client quality of life following treatment; to determine whether the relationship between the client and therapist predicts the outcome of treatment; to assess the usefulness of the measures used. METHOD: The Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile (MYMOP2) and the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) were used to collect data from 66 clients and 13 therapists in a complementary therapies clinic in South Wales. RESULTS: The MYMOP2 data showed significant improvements for client symptoms and activity but not for well-being. A low correlation was found between MYMOP2 profile scores and WAI scores suggesting that symptoms, activity and well-being were associated with a positive working alliance but this narrowly failed to achieve statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Further research is necessary to confirm improvements in client quality of life and to establish causes. More research is needed to examine the client-therapist relationship and treatment outcome. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2010 Feb;16(1):31-5. Epub 2009 Jul 4. Harris P, Atkins RC, Alwyn T. Centre for Complementary Therapies, Cardiff School of Health Sciences, University of Wales Institute Cardiff, Western Avenue, Cardiff, Wales, UK. peharris@uwic.ac.uk

by Bernie Siegel, MD

The key to life in all its forms is its ability to communicate. This includes the ability of complex organisms like ourselves to communicate with each other but more importantly within ourselves, our individual organs and cells. How do animals communicate without words? Studies show they can count and make intelligent choices when given options yet we do not know how they are able to reason and communicate without using words.

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by Katherine Zimmerman, PhD, CHT

Renee's session starts in a huge, white sanctuary. She's feeling relaxed. I mention the anger, frustration and depression that we discussed prior to trance. I invite the part with these feelings to step forward so that we can let her know that she's done an extremely effective job– especially this last eighteen months– of keeping Renee angry and frustrated, without even knowing why... and depressed.

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Full Title: Differential patterns of spontaneous experiential response to a hypnotic induction: A latent profile analysis

A hypnotic induction produces different patterns of spontaneous experiences across individuals. The magnitude and characteristics of these responses covary moderately with hypnotic suggestibility, but also differ within levels of hypnotic suggestibility. This study sought to identify discrete phenomenological profiles in response to a hypnotic induction and assess whether experiential variability among highly suggestible individuals matches the phenomenological profiles predicted by dissociative typological models of high hypnotic suggestibility. Phenomenological state scores indexed in reference to a resting epoch during hypnosis were submitted to a latent profile analysis. The profiles in the derived four-class solution differed in multiple experiential dimensions and hypnotic suggestibility. Highly suggestible individuals were distributed across two classes that exhibited response patterns suggesting an inward attention subtype and a dissociative subtype. These results provide support for dissociative typological models of high hypnotic suggestibility and indicate that highly suggestible individuals do not display a uniform response to a hypnotic induction. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conscious Cogn. 2010 Apr 13. Terhune DB, Cardeña E. Department of Psychology, Lund University, 22100 Lund, Sweden.

Full Title: Differential patterns of spontaneous experiential response to a hypnotic induction: A latent profile analysis

A hypnotic induction produces different patterns of spontaneous experiences across individuals. The magnitude and characteristics of these responses covary moderately with hypnotic suggestibility, but also differ within levels of hypnotic suggestibility. This study sought to identify discrete phenomenological profiles in response to a hypnotic induction and assess whether experiential variability among highly suggestible individuals matches the phenomenological profiles predicted by dissociative typological models of high hypnotic suggestibility. Phenomenological state scores indexed in reference to a resting epoch during hypnosis were submitted to a latent profile analysis. The profiles in the derived four-class solution differed in multiple experiential dimensions and hypnotic suggestibility. Highly suggestible individuals were distributed across two classes that exhibited response patterns suggesting an inward attention subtype and a dissociative subtype. These results provide support for dissociative typological models of high hypnotic suggestibility and indicate that highly suggestible individuals do not display a uniform response to a hypnotic induction.

Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Terhune DB, Cardeña E. Department of Psychology, Lund University, 22100 Lund, Sweden.

by Alfred A Barrios, PhD

Part I of this article may be found here.

Hypnotizability of Patients

Freud abandoned hypnosis because of "the small number of people who could be put into a deep state of hypnosis" at that time and because in the cathartic approach, symptoms would disappear at first, but reappear later if the patient-therapist relationship were disturbed (Freud, 1955, p. 237). In the above studies the only hypnotic induction failures were reported by Chong Tong Mun (eight failures out of 108 patients.) This can mean one of two things: the hypnotic induction procedures have improved since Freud's day, or that the reconditioning approach used in these studies (as opposed to Freud's cathartic approach) does not require very deep levels of hypnosis. There is evidence that both factors may be involved.

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