In their Discussion, the authors note that “The three hypotheses were supported by the results. Several of the absorption group comparisons obtained in previous research (Pekala et al., 1985) involving alterations in subjective experience (body image, perception, meaning); state of awareness; and volitional control were replicated in the present research” (p. 85).
1986
Holroyd, Jean (1986). Hypnosis applications in psychological research. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 5, 103-115.
It is proposed that hypnosis leads to altered cognition, affect, or motivation as reflected by changes in 1) reality orientation, 2) attention and awareness, 3) imagery, 4) dissociation, 5) suggestibility, and 6) mind-body interaction. Hypnosis may be used as an experimental method to effect such cognitive, affective and motivational changes in order to pursue research in learning, personality, physiological, and social psychology. Examples of possible applications of hypnosis are provided. The influence of individual differences in hypnotic responsivity on research also is discussed. NOTES 1:
NOTEST
he author concludes, “Contributions of hypnosis to research in psychology may have been diminished by the confusion inherent in searching for main effects while giving insufficient attention to interaction effects between personality variables and experimental manipulations. As psychology becomes more cognitive in orientation, the phenomena of hypnosis may seem less bizarre and more amenable to inclusion in psychological research. However great care must be taken not to confuse the contributions of hypnosis with the contributions of the hypnotically responsive personality” (p. 109).
1981
Fromm, Erika; Brown, Daniel P.; Hurt, Stephen W.; Oberlander, Joab Z; Boxer, Andrew M.; Pfeifer, Gary (1981). The phenomena and characteristics of self-hypnosis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 29 (3), 189-247.
Self-hypnosis and hetero-hypnosis were compared, and self-hypnosis was studied longitudinally. Results indicated that absorption and the fading of the general reality orientation are characteristics of both hetero-hypnosis and self-hypnosis. The differentiating characteristics lie in the areas of attention and ego receptivity. Expansive, free-floating attention and ego receptivity to stimuli coming from within are state-specific for self-hypnosis, while concentrative attention and receptivity to stimuli coming from one outside source–the hypnotist on whom the subject concentrates his attention–are state- specific for laboratory defined hetero-hypnosis. Attempts to produce age regression and positive or negative hallucinations are markedly more successful in hetero-hypnosis. Imagery is much richer in self-hypnosis than in hetero-hypnosis. Self-hypnosis requires adaptation to the state: in the beginning of self-hypnosis there is a good deal of anxiety and self-doubt. As the subject feels more comfortable in the self-hypnotic state, he spends less time worrying about failures in self-suggestion, his ability to enter trance quickly and easily increases, as does the fading of the general reality orientation, trance depth, and absorption. An attempt was also made in the present study to find personality characteristics related to the ability to experience self-hypnosis.
1970
Shor, Ronald E. (1970). The three-factor theory of hypnosis as applied to the book-reading fantasy and to the concept of suggestion. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 18, 89-98.
Maintained that many of the conflicting viewpoints in theories of hypnosis parallel the descriptive complexity of the phenomena. A 3-factor theory of hypnosis is surveyed in which hypnotic depth is conceived as a complex of 3 separate but complementary processes or dimensions. The theory is used to illuminate the book-reading fantasy and the concept of suggestion. (Spanish & German summaries) (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)
1962
Shor, Ronald E. (1962). Three dimensions of hypnotic depth. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 10, 23-28.
The writer extends his earlier presentation of a dual-factor theory of hypnosis to include archaic involvement. Although interactions occur among these factors, the depth of each may vary independently. The theory is properly seen as a synthesis and elaboration of many prior theories of hypnosis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
1960
Conn, Jacob H. (1960). The psychodynamics of recovery under hypnosis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 8, 3-16.
Defines hypnosis as primarily a change in reality testing, and considers it as both an altered state of consciousness and a multilevel dynamic relationship in which the S is always aware of the operator. Hypnosynthesis emphasizes the patient””s values and expectations and his freedom to choose what to say and how he should be treated. Preference is given to terms of “more or less” consciousness. The patient does not receive any training in hypnosis and there is no encouragement of acting out in hypnosynthesis. Attention is directed to repetitive patterns, and the hypnotic experience is utilized as a present dynamic experience. Hypnosynthesis demonstrates that symptom removal is possible without symptom substitution when there is an effective working relationship. The common factor in every psychogenic cure, including hypnotherapy, is the fostering of self-esteem and active participation, both of which are achieved by effective collaboration in the therapeutic situation. (Spanish + German abstracts) (50 ref.) (Psycinfo database record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
GENETICS
2000
Lichtenberg, P.; Bachner-Melman, R.; Gritsenko, I.; Ebstein, R. P. (2000). Exploratory association study between catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) high/low enzyme activity polymorphism and hypnotizability. American Journal of Medical Genetics , 96, 771-774.
Only recently have studies of electrocortical activity, event-related potentials, and regional cerebral blood flow begun to shed light on the anatomical and neurobiological underpinnings of hypnosis. Since twin studies
show a significant heritable component for hypnotizability, we were prompted to
examine the role of a common, functional polymorphism in contributing to individual differences in hypnotizability. A group of 109 subjects (51 male, 58 female) were administered three psychological instruments and tested for the high/low enzyme activity COMT val.met polymorphism. We observed
a significant correlation between hypnotizability measured by the Stanford
Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale (SHSS:C), ability to partition attention (Differential Attentional Processes Inventory or DAPI), and absorptive capacities (Tellegen Absorption Scale or TAS). The effect of COMT on the various dependent variables was initially examined by multivariate analysis
that corrects for multiple testing. The dependent variables were SHSS:C hypnotizability scores, four attentional subscales of the DAPI, and TAS total score grouped by the COMT genotype (val/val, val/met, met/met) as the independent variable. Hotelling”s Trace statistic was significant when
scores were grouped by the COMT genotype (Hotelling”s T2 = 1.88, P = 0.04). Post-hoc testing using the Bonferroni correction shows that the only significant difference is between the val/met vs. the val/val COMT
genotypes on hypnotizability. This association was significant for men but not for women. As for all case-control studies, these results need to be interpreted cautiously and require replication.
1990
Gil, Karen M.; Williams, David A.; Keefe, Francis J.; Beckham, Jean C. (1990). The relationship of negative thoughts to pain and psychological distress. Behavior Therapy, 21 (3), 349-362.
Examined the degree to which negative thoughts during flare-ups of pain are related to pain and psychological distress in 3 pain populations: sickle cell disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic pain. 185 adults completed the Inventory of Negative Thoughts in Response to Pain (INTRP), a pain rating scale, the SCL-90 (revised), and a coping strategies questionnaire. Factor analysis of the INTRP revealed 3 factors: Negative Self-Statements, Negative Social Cognitions, and Self-Blame. High scorers on Negative Self-Statement and Negative Social Cognitions reported more severe pain and psychological distress. Ss with chronic daily pain had more frequent negative thoughts during flare-ups than those having intermittent pain secondary to sickle cell disease or rheumatoid arthritis. The INTRP appears to have adequate internal consistency and construct validity.
1989
Wallace, Benjamin; Persanyi, M.W. (1989). Hypnotic susceptibility and familial handedness. Journal of General Psychology, 116 (4), 345-350.
The possible relationship between hypnotic susceptibility and familial handedness was examined. In a mass testing session of students enrolled in introductory psychology, subjects were administered the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility and were also required to complete a questionnaire that ascertained information on their dominant handedness and that of their immediate family relatives. Subjects who had immediate sinistral relatives scored significantly lower in hypnotic susceptibility compared to those who had a history of familial dexterity. When immediate relatives of the original subject pool were tested on hypnotic susceptibility level, sinistral relatives scored lower in susceptibility than dextral relatives. The important implication is that this may indicate the existence of a familial component in hypnotic susceptibility.
1969
Duke, J. D. (1969). Relatedness and waking suggestibility. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 17, 242-250.
Volunteering pairs of Ss took 9 waking tests (WT) of hypnotic susceptibility. Pairs included siblings, friends, and strangers. Concordance correlations from 20 sibling pairs were positive for 7 of the 9 WT, 2 significantly so. For 19 pairs of strangers, correlations were insignificant, 5 positive, 4 negative. Data reopen nature-nurture questions about the origins of individual differences in hypnotic aptitude. For 20 pairs of cross-sex friends, 7 of 9 correlations were negative, 1 significant, and 2 approaching significance. 6 of 9 concordance correlations from 16 spouse pairs were also negative, but none was significant. (Spanish & German summaries) (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
GENITOURINARY/UROLOGY
2002
Ginandes, Carol (2002). Extended, strategic therapy for recalcitrant mind/body healing: An integrative model.. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 45 (2), 91-102.
The development of the power therapies, behavioral medicine, and short term interventions have reported such success even with trauma cases that it is relevant to question the justification for lengthy psychotherapy. Yet some patients with complex mind/body conditions impervious to medical treatment/hypnosis may require extended, multi-modal, integrative therapy. This paper details a single complex case of paruresis as a prototype for illustrating a holographic treatment model for recalcitrant conditions: Component features of the proposed model presented include: 1) the sequential utilization of hypnobehavioral and analytic approaches; 2) uncovering work providing access to the somatic ego state associated with the illness condition; 3) the extended treatment time frame required for deep psycho-physiological change; and 4) the stages of counter-transference expectably evoked by such patients (e.g. urgency, exuberant optimism, frustration, discouragement), and the transformation of such reactions to achieve maximum therapeutic efficacy. NOTES 1:
Paruresis is a social phobia involving urinary retention and “thought to affect some 17 million or 7% of the American population” (p. 92). Also known as “bashful bladder.”
1965
Barber, Theodore Xenophon (1965). Physiological effects of ‘hypnotic suggestions’: A critical review of recent research (1960-64). Psychological Bulletin, 201-222.
Recent studies are reviewed which were concerned with the effectiveness of suggestions given under “hypnosis” and “waking” experimental treatments in alleviating allergies, ichthyosis, myopia, and other conditions and in eliciting deafness, blindness, hallucinations, analgesia, cardiac acceleration and deceleration, emotional responses, urine secretion to sham water ingestion, narcotic-like drug effects, and other phenomena. The review indicates that a wide variety of physiological functions can be influenced by suggestions administered under either hypnosis or waking experimental treatments, and direct and indirect suggestions to show the particular physiological manifestations are crucial variables in producing the effects.
1958 GENETICS
2000
Lichtenberg, P.; Bachner-Melman, R.; Gritsenko, I.; Ebstein, R. P. (2000). Exploratory association study between catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) high/low enzyme activity polymorphism and hypnotizability. American Journal of Medical Genetics , 96, 771-774.
Only recently have studies of electrocortical activity, event-related potentials, and regional cerebral blood flow begun to shed light on the anatomical and neurobiological underpinnings of hypnosis. Since twin studies
show a significant heritable component for hypnotizability, we were prompted to
examine the role of a common, functional polymorphism in contributing to individual differences in hypnotizability. A group of 109 subjects (51 male, 58 female) were administered three psychological instruments and tested for the high/low enzyme activity COMT val.met polymorphism. We observed
a significant correlation between hypnotizability measured by the Stanford
Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale (SHSS:C), ability to partition attention (Differential Attentional Processes Inventory or DAPI), and absorptive capacities (Tellegen Absorption Scale or TAS). The effect of COMT on the various dependent variables was initially examined by multivariate analysis
that corrects for multiple testing. The dependent variables were SHSS:C hypnotizability scores, four attentional subscales of the DAPI, and TAS total score grouped by the COMT genotype (val/val, val/met, met/met) as the independent variable. Hotelling”s Trace statistic was significant when
scores were grouped by the COMT genotype (Hotelling”s T2 = 1.88, P = 0.04). Post-hoc testing using the Bonferroni correction shows that the only significant difference is between the val/met vs. the val/val COMT
genotypes on hypnotizability. This association was significant for men but not for women. As for all case-control studies, these results need to be interpreted cautiously and require replication.
1990
Gil, Karen M.; Williams, David A.; Keefe, Francis J.; Beckham, Jean C. (1990). The relationship of negative thoughts to pain and psychological distress. Behavior Therapy, 21 (3), 349-362.
Examined the degree to which negative thoughts during flare-ups of pain are related to pain and psychological distress in 3 pain populations: sickle cell disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic pain. 185 adults completed the Inventory of Negative Thoughts in Response to Pain (INTRP), a pain rating scale, the SCL-90 (revised), and a coping strategies questionnaire. Factor analysis of the INTRP revealed 3 factors: Negative Self-Statements, Negative Social Cognitions, and Self-Blame. High scorers on Negative Self-Statement and Negative Social Cognitions reported more severe pain and psychological distress. Ss with chronic daily pain had more frequent negative thoughts during flare-ups than those having intermittent pain secondary to sickle cell disease or rheumatoid arthritis. The INTRP appears to have adequate internal consistency and construct validity.
1989
Wallace, Benjamin; Persanyi, M.W. (1989). Hypnotic susceptibility and familial handedness. Journal of General Psychology, 116 (4), 345-350.
The possible relationship between hypnotic susceptibility and familial handedness was examined. In a mass testing session of students enrolled in introductory psychology, subjects were administered the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility and were also required to complete a questionnaire that ascertained information on their dominant handedness and that of their immediate family relatives. Subjects who had immediate sinistral relatives scored significantly lower in hypnotic susceptibility compared to those who had a history of familial dexterity. When immediate relatives of the original subject pool were tested on hypnotic susceptibility level, sinistral relatives scored lower in susceptibility than dextral relatives. The important implication is that this may indicate the existence of a familial component in hypnotic susceptibility.
1969
Duke, J. D. (1969). Relatedness and waking suggestibility. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 17, 242-250.
Volunteering pairs of Ss took 9 waking tests (WT) of hypnotic susceptibility. Pairs included siblings, friends, and strangers. Concordance correlations from 20 sibling pairs were positive for 7 of the 9 WT, 2 significantly so. For 19 pairs of strangers, correlations were insignificant, 5 positive, 4 negative. Data reopen nature-nurture questions about the origins of individual differences in hypnotic aptitude. For 20 pairs of cross-sex friends, 7 of 9 correlations were negative, 1 significant, and 2 approaching significance. 6 of 9 concordance correlations from 16 spouse pairs were also negative, but none was significant. (Spanish & German summaries) (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
Duncan, Irma W.; Dressler, Robert L.; Lyon-James, Sara; Sears, Alden B. (1958). The search for an index of hypnosis. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 6 (2), 95-108.
Summary
“Blood and urine samples were obtained from 18 university students at the beginning and end of two experimental sessions, one with and one without hypnosis. Some of the subjects relaxed during the sessions; others imagined or hallucinated a traumatic experience.
“Of a variety of measurements made, urinary volumes and 17-ketosteroids, the eosinophil count and psychogalvanometer recordings appear to give useful information about any changes due to the hypnosis. The biochemical changes caused by the experimentally produced emotions seem to depend on the individual and his past experience rather than the hypnosis. The data suggest that if the experience hallucinated is known to the subject, the biochemical changes indicate a relaxed state during the hypnosis. The psycho-galvanometer recordings may indicate an agitated state while the biochemical indices suggest a relaxed state” (pp. 106-107).
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
2002
Green, Joseph P.; Rasekhy, Rouhangiz; Johnson, Lissa; Bernhardt, Sarah E. (2002). Cultural views, attitudes, and beliefs about hypnosis. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Chicago.
“The present investigation surveyed attitudes and beliefs about hypnosis across four samples of students attending university at the University of New South Wales, Australia; Dortman University, Germany; The Ohio State University, United States; and Shaheed Behesti University of Medical Sciences, Iran. A total of 280 undergraduate students, ranging in age from 18 to 25 years old, completed three different questionnaires assessing their opinions and beliefs about hypnosis. Our findings show that myths and misconceptions about hypnosis abound and that such beliefs are not culture specific” (Bulletin of Division 30, Psychological Hypnosis, Fall 2002, Vol. 11, No. 3, p. 14).
1999
Kallio, Sakari P.; Ihamuotila, Mikko J. (1999). Finnish norms for the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 47 (3), 227-235.
Finnish norms of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A) are presented. The aggregate sample of 285 subjects consisted of 3 groups (n = 129, n = 116, and n = 40) that were tested during 1996 and 1997. Comparisons are made with the original normative American sample, an Australian sample, and 3 translated adaptations of HGSHS:A in Danish, German, and Spanish. In the Finnish sample, Items 2 (eye closure), 11 (posthypnotic suggestion), and 12 (amnesia) received high passing percentage in comparison with the reference data, but generally the Finnish normative data were congruent with these index studies.
Rodriguez Sanchez, Rodriguez Rodriguez, Santana Mariqo, Piqueras Hernandez, Alvarez Ramirez (1999). Current tendencies and future directions of hypnosis in Cuba. Newsletter of the Erickson Foundation, Vol 2, 6.
Reviews the history of hypnosis in Cuba and the main tendencies and trends. There were no influences from Ericksonian hypnosis till recently when the first group of Ericksonians came to teach for the first time in Manzanillo, Granma Medicine University. The main approach is still the so called traditional hypnosis in which there is a development mainly in surgery and in some medical conditions. There are some strong places: Santiago de Cuba, where HipnoSantiago Hypnosis Workshop is held regularly, Manzanillo, where there is a Hypnosis Research group with publications in the country and abroad and experience in teaching hypnosis. The Hypnosis Society is located in Habana.
The group from Manzanillo is working in a Clinic Project with such themes as hypnoanesthesia in major surgery, models of groups learning under hypnosis, and some other therapies.
NOTES
List of Manzanillo’s Research group main papers:
Learning under very deep hypnosis. In Neurology Magazine, Spain
Current tendencies of Hypnosis in Cuba. In Newsletter of Erickson Foundation USA
Breaking hypnosis myths. Communication at the University Forum.
Main Philosophical, Physiological and Methodological Problems in Hypnosis Research. In University Forum
States of consciousness and hypnosis. In Multimed Magazine, Cuba.
Memory tests and hypnosis. Psychology Thesis.
Autonomic System and Hypnosis. Psychology Thesis (Master degree)
Hypnosis as the only anaesthetic procedure in major surgery. (Thesis)
1997
Jana, Hrishikesh (1997). The development of hypnosis in India. [Unpublished manuscript
NOTES
“Yoga (specially Meditative Yoga or Savasana) and Transcendental Meditation are integral parts of the cultural heritage of Indians. These and the state of hypnosis possess some of the characteristics in common and all these have been grouped under the heading ‘Altered States of Consciousness’ by the modern psycho-physiological and biological researchers. Hindu saints used to clothe sparsely even in the midst of extreme environmental conditions and the lying down of some yogis on the nail-bed are examples of their super-human tolerance to cold, pain, etc.” (p. 2). Author cites the pioneering work of Dr. James Esdaile using hypnosis for surgical anaesthesia at Hooghly Hospital (1845-1850). Despite India’s culture and the record of Dr. Esdaile, hypnosis often was regarded with suspicion in India. In the early and mid-20th century, physicians (e.g. Dr. N.V. Mody, an obstetrician) had difficulty having their work accepted, but since the early 1970s Dr. Jana and others have contributed to a renaissance in the use of medical, dental, and psychological hypnosis. This paper chronicles the history of hypnosis in the late 20th century in India.
Perry, Campbell (1997). Admissibility and per se exclusion of hypnotically elicited recall in American courts of law. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 45 (3), 266-279.
State v. Mack (1980) ruled that hypnotically elicited testimony is per se excluded from Minnesota law courts; this court also ruled that police could employ hypnosis in an attempt to construct an independently corroborated case. In recent years, there have been moves to rescind this exclusion; this raises a question of the probative value of such additional information when it is uncorroborated. This situation is compared with that of the polygraph as an index of deception: Like hypnosis, it is excluded per se in most American jurisdictions. Some legal decisions in Wisconsin are used to illustrate one alternative to the per se exclusion approach. Admissibility of scientific evidence in American courts of law has been based on a criterion of “general acceptability within the relevant scientific community,” as first elucidated in Frye v. United States (1923). Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Frye decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (1993), by making general acceptability but one of several admissibility criteria. Three Daubert-based decisions, one involving hypnosis and all concerned with “recovered repressed memories,” indicate some problems in law posed by Daubert. – Journal Abstract.
1996
Cardena, Etzel (1996). “Just floating on the sky:” A comparison of hypnotic and shamanic phenomena. In Quekelberghe, R. V.; Eigner, D. (Ed.), Yearbook of cross-cultural medicine and psychotherapy 1994 (pp. 85-98).
Despite the vastly different cultural contexts of hypnosis and shamanism, a comparison of the phenomenology of the two is warranted.
The author proposes that the two types of very hypnotizable individuals, one exhibiting vivid imagery and the other showing diminished memory and
control, corresponds to the classical distinction between _soul journey_ and _spirit possession_. Other cognitive traits, developmental histories and alternate experiences of hypnotic _virtuosos_ and shamans imply other similarities. The resemblance between hypnotic and shamanic phenomenology strongly suggests a universal disposition that is independent of culture. Western culture should acknowledge, respect and study the potentials and risks of this ability.
Zachariae, Robert; Sommerlund, Bo; Molay, Francine (1996). Danish norms for the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 44 (2), 140-152.
Norms for a Danish adaptation of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A) are presented. Four samples tested from 1988 to 1991 (n = 166, n = 54, n = 95, and n = 61) were pooled, resulting in an aggregate sample of 376 participants. The normative data were generally congruent with earlier normative studies with regard to score distribution, item difficulty levels, and reliability. Studies using the Danish adaptation of the HGSHS:A as a screening instrument have shown the predictive value of the instrument in a Danish context. Data for a comparable American sample of volunteers (n = 170) tested by the same hypnotist were included in the analysis. A comparison revealed a marked difference for the posthypnotic suggestion item, hinting that cultural differences between the Danish and American samples with regard to expectancies and attitudes toward hypnosis may play a role. Further studies comparing attitudes toward hypnosis across different cultural contexts are needed to clarify this issue. – Journal Abstract
1995
Watkins, John G. (1995). Organization and functioning of ISCEH, the International Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 43 (3), 332-341.
The first international society of hypnosis founded in this century, the International Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (ISCEH), was organized in 1958 as a direct result of societal conflicts between The Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (SCEH) and the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH). Initially, it consisted of National Divisions built around key contributors in 30 different countries. This article describes the inception, organization, and development (including controversies and conflicts) of ISCEH up to 1973. At that time, through the cooperation of SCEH, ASCH, and other international groups, under the leadership of Dr. Ernest R Hilgard, ISCEH was reorganized, reconstituted, and renamed The International Society of Hypnosis (ISH). For the purpose of historical study, the society’s voluminous correspondence, directories of officers and committees, awards, photographs, programs of congresses, election records, and other relevant documents have been cataloged and preserved in some 82 files in the Archives of the History of American Psychology at the University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
1993
Cardena, Etzel (1993, October). Trance and possession as dissociative disorders: How exotic are they?. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Arlington Heights, IL.
NOTES
Joke: “What happened to the possessed patient who didn’t pay his exorcist?” Answer: “He got repossessed.”
Began with a quotation of Lagerkvist’s book describing possession of a Sybil in Greek temple. Possession is part of religious experience worldwide, that he is not discussing here.
The revised diagnostic manual, ICD-10, has included “dissociative trance disorders.” To diagnose this one must have either trance (narrowing awareness or focusing and stereotyped movements, behaviors) or possession trance (replacement of sense of personal identity by a new identity, with stereotyped culturally-determined behaviors or movements that are experienced as being controlled by the possessing agent), *and* full or partial amnesia for the event. Cardena emphasizes it doesn’t need to be full amnesia.
To be diagnosed as dissociative trance disorder, the trance or possession state observed cannot be a normal part of a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice, and it must produce distress or maladjustment.
These are the most common type of dissociative disorders in non-Western cultures, e.g. 90% in India. So this diagnosis in India is not “atypical.” “Non-Western” applies to 80% of the World and 1/3 of the USA population. DSM is trying to expand cultural relevance.
Also, even in the Western culture Allison and others have published cases of dissociative trance disorder, and others have described trance disorders:
Spiegel & Spiegel’s Grade 5 personality is vulnerable to dissociative disorder. Hartman’s chronic nightmare patients have “boundary thinness” (i.e. they are not clear if they are awake or asleep, lack separation from themselves and others). Lynn & Rhue’s fantasy prone individuals, 22% of people, are vulnerable to maladjustment.
Cardena’s recommended change in diagnosis of dissociation is critiqued in Transcultural Psychiatric Research Review (1992). Criticisms of the new diagnosis, published int that journal, are: 1. Culture-bound syndromes cut across Western diagnostic boundaries. 2. The diagnosis may be insensitive to the cultural context in which phenomena occur (e.g. distress may lead a person to participate in a cult of affliction) and it may require anthropological sophistication of diagnosticians or consultation with someone who has that knowledge. 2a. It may disregard considerations such as who has the power to “authorize” the phenomenon, under what circumstances, etc. [That would be true with any diagnosis however.] 3.Dissociative Trance Disorder may assume greater within and across-culture uniformity for the conditions than is warranted. 4. It may give validity to metaphysical explanations for spirit possession. [But in psychiatry we often use terms that don’t take into consideration validating metaphysical explanations, e.g. “phantom limb” pain. 5. The medical model that underlies DSM is inappropriate for ontological considerations on the nature of the self. [But those with this diagnosis give us some understanding, not what the ultimate nature of the self and consciousness are. Diagnoses are pragmatic ways of dealing with problems.}
At the present time, the diagnosis of Dissociative Trance Disorder is included in the Appendix of DSM-IV.
For further elaboration of this material, see Cardena, E. (1992). Trance and possession as dissociative disorders. Transcultural Psychiatric Research Review, 29, 283- 297.
1993
Don, Norman S. (1993, October). Trance surgery in Brazil. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Arlington Heights, IL.
NOTES
Showed a videotape of a Brazilian trance surgeon, who cuts without analgesia or asepsis. Patients later report no pain, infections, etc. The healer/surgeon is believed by everyone to be in a trance state, and the body is believed to be taken over by a spiritual doctor. The people involved deny that the patient is in trance.
Hilgard, Ernest R. (1993). History of research centers and professional hypnosis societies in the United States. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 41 (3), 173-190.
The brief history of hypnosis in America begins with William James’s chapter in his Principles of Psychology that got hypnosis off to a good start as a legitimate part of psychology. In the 20th century, before World War II. the idea of performing scientific investigations of hypnosis took place at Harvard University through William McDougall, at the University of Wisconsin and Yale University under Clark Hull, and, in its clinical aspects particularly, through the personal efforts of Milton H. Erickson. The resurgence after World War II is related to the use of hypnosis with war casualties during the war and with the development of clinnical psychology. The aspects of the history emphasized here are the founding of continuing institutes and research centers, some theoretical cleavages that have persisted to this day, and the establishment of hypnosis societies with their journals, annual meetings, and workshops, including an International Society of Hypnosis. The history of Division 30 within the American Psychological Association brings the story up to date.
1990
Adityanjee (1990). ‘Multiple personality disorder in India’: Reply. American Journal of Psychiatry, 147 (9), 1260-1261.
Replies to comments by J. Downs et al (see PA, Vol 78:4589) concerning the article on multiple personality and possession syndrome in India by Adityanjee et al (see PA, Vol 77:12344). Both syndromes reflect parallel dissociative disorder with similar etiologies. The present diagnostic classification for multiple identity phenomena is in need of revision.
Downs, John M.; Dahmer, Sharon K.; Battle, Allen O. (1990). Multiple personality disorder in India. American Journal of Psychiatry, 147 (9), 1260.
Comments on the article by Adityanjee et al (see PA, Vol 77:12344) on multiple personality vs possession syndrome in India. The history of the trends of these disorders is presented, and the differences between multiple personality and possession are described. The only fundamental difference between the 2 disorders may be in the voluntary type. NOTES 1:
1887, Dragutinovich & Sheehan, 1986
1989
Lamas, Juan R.; del Valle-Inclan, Fernando; Blanco, Manuel J.; Diaz, Antonio Albo (1989). Spanish norms for the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic susceptibility, Form A. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 37 (3), 264-273.
The results of administering the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A) of Shor and E. Orne (1962) to a Spanish sample are on the whole consistent with those results obtained in other normative studies, especially Bongartz’s work with a German sample, and they confirm HGSHS:A’s usefulness in non-Anglophone countries. The Spanish HGSHS:A’s reliability and validity remain within the limits reported for other locales, but there are certain discrepancies with respect to the difficulty of two HGSHS:A items. NOTES 1: