International Hypnosis Research Institute - Mental Disorders

Non-pharmacological interventions for adult ADHD: a systematic review.

Mon, 16 Aug 2021 16:36:00 -0500

BACKGROUND: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common developmental disorder, often persisting into adulthood. Whilst medication is first-line treatment for ADHD, there is a need for evidence-based non-pharmacological treatment options for adults with ADHD who are either still experiencing significant symptoms or for those who have made the informed choice not to start medication. METHODS: We systematically searched PsycINFO, MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, CINAHL and CENTRAL for randomised controlled trials of non-pharmacological treatments for ADHD in adults. After screening of titles and abstracts, full text articles were reviewed, data extracted and bias assessed using a study proforma. RESULTS: There were 32 eligible studies with the largest number of studies assessing cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT consisted of either group, internet or individual therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The majority found an improvement in ADHD symptoms with CBT treatment. Additionally, mindfulness and cognitive remediation have evidence as effective interventions for the core symptoms of ADHD and there is evidence for the use of group dialectical behavioural therapy and hypnotherapy. However, evidence for these is weaker due to small numbers of participants and limitations due to the lack of suitable control conditions, and a high risk of bias. Psychol Med. 2020 Mar;50(4):529-541. doi: 10.1017/S0033291720000069. Epub 2020 Feb 10.

Clinical Hypnotherapy in Grief Resolution - A Case Report.

Sun, 15 Aug 2021 16:36:00 -0500

Grief is one's reaction to any loss, and the coping mechanisms during grief either deplete or become maladaptive. One of the common ways to cope with grief is alcohol or substance intake. The course and resolution of grief vary depending upon many factors. Hypnotherapy has been useful and effective in addressing grief reactions as well as associated manifestation, such as sleep problems, depressive features, or post-traumatic stress disorder. It might be a good choice of treatment while dealing with patients having underlying issues or maladaptive coping mechanisms. This is a single case study design hypothesized to indicate maladaptive coping of increased alcohol consumption to deal with the death of a young son. The case had been treated as alcohol dependent syndrome with multiple hospitalizations without addressing underlying grief. The treatment approach was changed, and grief was addressed using hypnotherapy. Clinical hypnotherapy helped address grief and facilitated the index case to accept the loss. This resulted in minimizing hospitalizations, abstinence and improved day-to-day functioning along with the use of adaptive mechanisms to cope with the loss. Clinical hypnotherapy is an effective intervention to deal with underlying conflicts or issues that may not be addressed directly in a therapy setting. Indian J Psychol Med. 2020 Mar 9;42(2):193-197. doi: 10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_476_19. eCollection 2020 Mar-Apr.

The Effectiveness of Group-based Cognitive Hypnotherapy on the Psychological Well-being of Patients

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 16:35:00 -0500

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, demyelinating disease of the central nervous system mainly affecting young adults. In addition to physical problems, the patients suffer from many psychological problems affecting their psychological well-being. The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of group-based cognitive hypnotherapy on the psychological well-being of patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. This study was designed as a clinical trial with a pretest-posttest control group. From 60 patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis referred to Beheshti hospital in Yasuj, Iran, 45 patients who met the inclusion criteria were selected by the convenience sampling method. The patients were randomly assigned to intervention (23 individuals) and control (22 individuals) groups through stratified random allocation. After completing the Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being, the intervention group attended eight sessions of group-based cognitive hypnotherapy on a weekly basis. The control group did not attend any intervention sessions. At the end of the eight intervention sessions, both groups completed the Ryff's Scale of Psychological Well-being again. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS software (Version 23). Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and two-way Analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were used in order to compare the groups. The results indicated that cognitive hypnotherapy had a significant effect on the total score of psychological well-being (F (45, 1) = 6.07, p = .018, ?2 = 0.12) and the dimension of environmental mastery (p < .05). Therefore, it is recommended to use hypnotherapy to promote the psychological well-being of patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. Am J Clin Hypn. 2020 Apr;62(4):364-379. doi: 10.1080/00029157.2019.1709149.

Toward a Relational Theory of Hypnosis.

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 16:34:00 -0500

Despite ongoing efforts by clinicians, researchers, and theorists to resolve fundamental disagreements about what hypnosis is and how it works, a diversity of theories and approaches remains. For example, experts still disagree about whether hypnosis constitutes a special or altered state, whether hypnotizability is best conceived of as a stable trait, and whether the clinical application of hypnosis is appropriately conceptualized as hypnotherapy. Drawing on the ideas of Gregory Bateson, Daniel Siegel, and others, the author articulates a relational characterization of mind and self as a vantage from which to reexamine common assumptions about hypnosis and to reconsider several questions still animating the field. Am J Clin Hypn. 2020 Apr;62(4):344-363. doi: 10.1080/00029157.2019.1666700.

Early Hypnotic Intervention After Traumatic Events in Children.

Fri, 13 Aug 2021 16:33:00 -0500

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a debilitating condition that can develop after exposure to any potentially traumatic event (natural disaster, physical assault, and car accident). This study focused on four pediatric patients presenting with an early stress response after a motor vehicle accident who were offered early therapeutic and a preventive management by hypnotherapy shortly after exposure to the traumatic event. All patients improved after one or several sessions of hypnosis. The results indicate that hypnotherapy can immediately help patients during the early period following a traumatic event. Am J Clin Hypn. 2020 Apr;62(4):380-391. doi: 10.1080/00029157.2019.1659128.

Mindful Hypnotherapy to Reduce Stress and Increase Mindfulness: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 16:32:00 -0500

The feasibility of mindful hypnotherapy (MH) intervention for stress reduction was investigated in a randomized trial. Forty-two college-age participants with elevated stress were randomized into MH intervention or wait-list control condition. MH participants completed an 8-week intervention with 1-hour individual sessions and self-hypnosis audio recordings for daily mindfulness. Results indicated excellent feasibility, determined by participant satisfaction, treatment adherence (84% compliance rate), and low rate of adverse events (4.5%). There were significant differences between the MH and control groups postintervention, with the mindful hypnotherapy intervention resulting in significant and large decrease in perceived distress, p < .001, 15.35 (1.54), Hedge's g = - 1.14, and increase in mindfulness, p < .001, 50.07 (2.04), Hedge's g = 1.36. This study indicates that MH is a feasible intervention for stress reduction and increasing mindfulness. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2020 Apr-Jun;68(2):151-166. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2020.1722028.

Hypnosis and The Therapeutic Relationship: Relational Factors of Hypnosis in Psychotherapy.

Wed, 04 Aug 2021 16:25:00 -0500

Over the years, the field of hypnosis has often given more attention to the state and procedural factors of hypnosis than the relational ones. In an attempt to address this imbalance, the 60th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) had as its theme "Hypnosis and the Treatment Relationship." A centerpiece of this meeting was a collegial discussion among a panel of psychologists with expertise in relational hypnotherapy. The panel addressed several pertinent questions: (1) What are the healing qualities of relationship in psychotherapy? (2) What makes hypnosis relational in nature? (3) How do relational factors of hypnosis resemble healthy attachment processes and recapitulate stalled developmental maturation? (4) How does relationally informed hypnotherapy influence and strengthen the relationship, process, and outcome of psychotherapy? This article summarizes the factors that led to the creation of this panel; provides an edited transcript of this panel discussion, along with additional commentary on several key points raised; and concludes with a summary of the main themes and recommendations for further clinical practice and study. Am J Clin Hypn. 2020 Jul-Oct;62(1-2):118-137. doi: 10.1080/00029157.2019.1599319.

Gazing Back, Playing Forward: Contemporary Psychoanalytic Musings...

Wed, 04 Aug 2021 16:25:00 -0500

Full title: Gazing Back, Playing Forward: Contemporary Psychoanalytic Musings on the Relational Essence of Hypnotherapeutic Action. To build bridges between hypnosis and contemporary psychoanalysis, this article addresses how hypnosis, when used in psychotherapy, facilitates curative action through its relational essence. The author's extensive experience with hypnosis, psychotherapy, and psychoanalysis orient the narrative toward the unconscious patient-therapist interaction, with particular attention paid to the ethics of the inherent hypnotic seduction. Whether used primarily in relief-oriented ways or geared toward more transformative therapeutic aims, powerful unconscious factors are in play for both patient and therapist and are explicated to illustrate the interactive and frequently unformulated, intersubjective factors that facilitate effective, psychotherapeutic hypnosis. Consequently, therapists attuned to such intersubjective dynamics can make use of their own internal mental activities to understand a patient's current state of mind and level of developmental functioning, and thereby subsequently formulate mutative interventions. For instance, because hypnotizability reflects the ability to play in imaginative space, the regression promoted in hypnotherapy may activate both an illusion of omnipotence and its optimal disillusionment through the relational context. This requires going beyond more traditional, procedural ways of bifurcating hypnotic interventions as being either direct or indirect and instead further distinguish hypnotic interventions in accordance with their maternal and paternal relational dimensions. Arguably, then, the skillful hypnotherapist needs to maintain a coupling interplay between the maternal, maximally receptive and the paternal, more active modes of functioning within hypnotic play space. Am J Clin Hypn. 2020 Jul-Oct;62(1-2):12-30. doi: 10.1080/00029157.2019.1580558.

Group hypnosis for stress reduction and improved stress coping...

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 16:15:00 -0500

Full title: Group hypnosis for stress reduction and improved stress coping: a multicenter randomized controlled trial. BACKGROUND: The aim of the trial was to investigate the effect of a hypnotherapeutic group program in healthy persons with increased levels of perceived stress. METHODS: In a randomized controlled multicenter trial participants with a self-assessed subjective stress level???40?mm on a visual analogue scale (0-100?mm; VAS) for the previous week and a stable state of health were randomized to either 5 weekly sessions of 120-min duration of a hypnotherapeutic group program for stress reduction and improved stress coping plus 5 hypnosis audiorecords for individual practice at home plus an educational booklet for stress coping (hypnosis group) versus an educational booklet only (control group). The primary outcome parameter was the VAS stress level for the previous week after 5?weeks. Secondary outcome parameters included the VAS stress level after 12?weeks, perceived stress (CPSS), depression (ADS-K), self efficacy (SWE) and quality of life (SF 36) after 5?weeks and 12?weeks. Analysis of covariance with a significance level of 5% using the full analysis set was used for analysis; the model included treatment (fixed effect), VAS baseline value (fixed covariate), and center (random effect). RESULTS: A total of 95 participants were randomized; 47 (40 female, 45?±?13.4?years of age) were allocated to the hypnosis group, and 48 (41 female, 46.9?±?14.3?years) were allocated to the control group. Regarding VAS stress level after 5?weeks, the adjusted VAS mean in the hypnosis group was 41.8?mm [95% confidence interval (CI): 35.2; 48.4] compared to 62.9?mm [56.2; 69.7] in the control group, and the group difference was - 21.2?mm [-?30.1; -?12.2] (P

You're Going to Do What? ...

Sat, 17 Jul 2021 16:06:00 -0500

Full title: You're Going to Do What? Patients' Myths Regarding Hypnotherapy as Described by South African Psychologists. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore and describe South African registered psychologists' account of their patients' myths regarding hypnotherapy. A social constructivist approach was employed to explore the descriptions of eight psychologists. This article converges on myths of participants' patients and where they originate from, as described by the participants. Psychologists were selected by means of chain referral sampling and engaged in one semi-structured interview. Data were analyzed by means of thematic analysis (TA), and participants elaborated on their experience of patients' myths and the possible origins thereof. Furthermore, conclusions were drawn across themes, which contributed to the findings. The most important finding indicated that while hypnotherapy is of great value, misconceptions stemming largely from unscientific applications contribute to patients' reluctance in utilizing this mechanism. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications, limitations and strengths of the study, as well as recommendations for future research. Integr Psychol Behav Sci. 2021 Sep;55(3):527-540. doi: 10.1007/s12124-021-09604-0. Epub 2021 Mar 21.

Burnout Syndrome: Therapeutic Approach With Beneficial Effects on Personality and Quality of Life.

Fri, 16 Jul 2021 16:06:00 -0500

CONTEXT: The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined burnout syndrome (BOS) as resulting from chronic workplace stress that hasn't been successfully managed. Until now, BOS has been treated using allopathic drugs and psychotherapy because it has been confused with major depressive syndrome. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to examine the effectiveness of hypnotherapy combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy in changing the personality traits and lifestyles of people in professions vulnerable to stress who have developed BOS. DESIGN: The research team designed a one-group pre-and posttest study. SETTING: The study was conducted in a private-practice office in Targu Mures, Romania. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 30 patients at the private practice who had been diagnosed with BOS and volunteered to participate in the study. INTERVENTION: The study alternated hypnotherapy sessions with psychological-counseling sessions, using a general therapeutic plan for all patients and customizing the plan for each participant. OUTCOME MEASURES: The study measured participants' BOS symptomatology and personality dimensions using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), the DECAS Personality Inventory, the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID5), and the Survey of Work Styles (SWS). RESULTS: Significant changes occurred between baseline an postintervention in the dimensions of extraversion, agreeability, and emotional stability as well as impatience, anger, work involvement, time urgency, job dissatisfaction, and competitiveness. Significant differences existed in almost all personality traits evaluated with the PID-5 (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of hypnotherapy and psychological counseling can treat BOS, increasing patients' quality of life by decreasing negative personality traits. The present study is important because it proposes a new therapeutic approach to BOS. Altern Ther Health Med. 2021 Mar 31:AT6681.

Current neuroscientific research database findings of brain activity changes after hypnosis.

Wed, 14 Jul 2021 16:04:00 -0500

Using multi-modal brain imaging techniques we found pronounced changes in neuronal activity after hypnotic trance induction whereby state changes seem to occur synchronously with the specific induction instructions. In clinical patients, hypnosis proved to be a powerful method in inhibiting the reaction of the fear circuitry structures. The aim of the present paper is to critically discuss the limitations of the current neuroscientific research database in the light of a debate in defining relevant hypnotic constructs and to suggest ideas for future research projects. We discuss the role of hypnotic suggestibility (HS), the impact of hypnotic inductions and the importance of the depth of hypnotic trance. We argue that future research on brain imaging studies on the effects of hypnosis and hypnotherapy should focus on the analysis of individual cross-network activation patterns. A most promising approach is to simultaneously include physiological parameters linked to cognitive, somatic, and behavioral effects. Am J Clin Hypn. 2021 Apr;63(4):372-388. doi: 10.1080/00029157.2020.1863185.

The Question of Commitment

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 17:10:00 -0500

by Tim Brunson, PhD Long before I began pursing my current profession I started noticing that the vast bulk of humanity regularly comes up short when it comes to the goals that they wish to achieve. The attrition rates in our schools and universities are very similar to our failures with patients who desperately seek medical advice, which they fail to follow, or those who never seem to respond as hoped to psychotherapy. [More]

A Theory on the Cause and Possible Cure for Schizophrenia

Mon, 15 Jun 2015 14:15:00 -0500

by Alfred A Barrios, PhD In my book Understanding Hypnosis: Theory, Scope and Potential (Barrios, 2009), I present an explanation for the cause of schizophrenia that derived from my theory of hypnosis (Barrios, 2001). Based on this explanation, I also present a possible cure for schizophrenia using hypnosis. This article will be a presentation of these very same ideas. I would like to begin by giving you a brief overview of my theory of hypnosis, focusing especially on how the theory explains hypnotic phenomena such as hallucinations and delusions. To begin with, I define hypnosis as a state of heightened belief produced by a series of positively-responded-to-suggestions. With each positive response the belief factor is increased (belief in what the hypnotist is suggesting). And I define belief as concentration on a thought to the exclusion of anything that would contradict that thought. Thus, in a state of heightened belief, any stimuli either sensory or cognitive that might contradict the suggestion given by the hypnotist are automatically blocked off. This highly focused state of mind then is capable of amplifying images to the point of becoming hallucinations, and amplifying thoughts to where they can become delusions. [More]

Are hypnosis and dissociation related? New evidence for a connection.

Mon, 30 Mar 2015 12:16:00 -0500

The authors revisit the question of the existence of a relationship between hypnotizability and dissociative capacity. In the present study, the State Scale of Dissociation (SSD) replaced the commonly employed Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) as a measure of dissociation, due to the latter capturing primarily pathological aspects of dissociation. Relationships between the Harvard Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A), the SSD, and the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI) were assessed in the context of hypnosis. Robust results were found when comparing pre- to post-SSD scores, suggesting heightened nonpathological forms of dissociation are indeed related to hypnotizability. The appropriateness of the DES and similar trait-based measures for evaluating hypnotic phenomena is discussed as well as the relationships between PCI and SSD subscales. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2015;63(2):198-214. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2015.1002691. Cleveland JM1, Korman BM, Gold SN.