1986
Gibson, Michael; McCue, Peter A. (1986). Discussion commentary On Crowley’s and Mills ‘The nature and construction of therapeutic metaphors for children’. [Comment/Discussion] .
The authors are critical of the methods and conclusions of Crowley & Mills. They also offer an example of Milton Erickson claiming that a subject was hypnotized when it appeared to other experts present that the subject was nonresponsive to inductions by both Erickson and by Weitzenhoffer
the place where things just ‘happen to us.’ Erickson reversed this attribution, emphasizing the unconscious as the agent of active control working for the benefit of the patient while consciousness adopts the attitude of ‘wait and see.’ This leads consciousness into reverie–the state where images and events move of their own accord, animated by emotion, before the ‘passive audience’ of consciousness” (p. 167). So Erickson viewed hypnosis as liberating the unconscious. There was healing potential in helping the ego to relinquish “rigid control over the creative and benevolent processes of the unconscious” (p. 168). From this theoretical position, the patient and therapist are seen as allies and psychotherapy is a collaboration; there is no need for the Freudian concepts of resistance and defense.
“Erickson’s metaphors for hypnotherapy link it with normal processes of learning and imagining. His image of the unconscious as a storehouse of creative potential supports a non-pathologized view of man amid all his troubles and craziness. In contrast to psychiatry’s current preoccupation with nosology, and the emphasis of psychoanalysis on the dimensions of human frailty, Erickson adopted a non-pathologizing attitude. He did not deny his patient’s difficulties but neither was he excessively fascinated by them. He recognized that healing depends not on cataloguing deficiency but on fully mobilizing the person’s intelligence, imagination, and integrity. This message of therapeutic optimism was balanced by his own example of the benefits and limitations of hypnotherapeutic practice” (p. 170).
1983
Eisen, Marlene R.; Fromm, Erika (1983). The clinical use of self-hypnosis in hypnotherapy: Tapping the functions of imagery and adaptive regression. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 31 (4), 243-255.
The authors present a new method of interweaving hetero-hypnotic psychotherapy and self-hypnosis. In the hetero-hypnotic sessions, the hypnotherapist acts as a dependable parent figure who is supporting and available when that is desirable, but who also encourages and fosters the patient’s efforts to develop his/her inner resources and ability to function autonomously. Self-hypnosis is utilized for its rich idiosyncratic imagery. The hypnotherapist uses and elaborates on this rich, affect-loaded imagery. At other times the therapist takes a guiding role in producing therapeutic metaphors of positive valence. The patient uses and enlarges on these during self-hypnosis between the weekly therapeutic hours. In addition, the hypnotist may counteract any negative strong self-hypnotic images during hetero-hypnosis. Self-directed self-hypnosis allows patients to experience openness and receptivity to internal and unconscious processes against which they may defend themselves in the dyadic relationship with the therapist. For patients struggling with issues of control and for patients fighting their own regressive pull towards dependency, this mode of therapy appears to be particularly effective. The emphasis in this paper is on imagery and on the inter-twining of the two modalities, hetero-hypnosis and self-hypnosis.
1961
Moss, C. Scott (1961). Experimental paradigms for the hypnotic investigation of dream symbolism. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 9, 105-117. (Abstracted in Psychological Abstracts, 62: 3 II 05M)
Objectified study of dream phenomenon attempted through employment of Osgood”s Semantic Differential with hypnotically induced dreams. Several innovations in technique outlined. Results are discussed in terms of the principle of congruity, illuminating some aspects of the psychological laws underlying the acquisition and modification of sign significance involved in dream symbol production. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3II05M. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved).
MILITARY
1984
Barabasz, Arreed F. (1984). Antarctic isolation and imaginative involvement – preliminary findings: A brief communication. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 32 (3), 296-300.
Group 1 Ss (N = 9) were interviewed in Antarctica prior to and following 1 year of Antarctic isolation. Group 2 Ss (N = 7) were exposed to 3 weeks of Antarctic field-site isolation and were interviewed upon return to the United States. A control group of 10 Ss was also interviewed on 2 occasions, paralleling Group 1. Group 1 showed a significant increase in imaginative involvement from pre- to post-Antarctic isolation. Group 2 showed a significantly greater level of imaginative involvement than the control Ss. The possibility that Antarctic living may have revived the mental processes available to these Ss as children is considered within both regression and learning explanations.
1974
Bloom, Richard F. (1974). Validation of suggestion-induced stress.
Sixty college men, divided into three equal groups, each attended two induced stress sessions in which their physiological, psychological and performance reactions were measured. Their responses were compared to determine if valid stress reactions could be induced through suggestion in an altered state (in this case, hypnosis), and also to determine the validity of such reactions if the subject had never before experienced that stress situation. It was demonstrated that valid stress reactions can be induced in an individual with the aid of suggestions, especially if the real stress situation has been experienced before. If no previous experience with that real situation exists, the subject still exhibits stressful reactions; however, the closest resemblance to real stress is found in the subjective or psychological measures, less similarity is found in the physiological measures, and the least similarity is found in the performance measures.
1973
Research and Development Technical Report ECOM-0161-F; AD-913 696L; Contract DAAB07-71-C-0161 with Signatron, Inc. (Lexington, MA). Distribution limited to U.S. Government agencies only; Other requests for this document must be referred to Commanding General, U.S. Army Electronics Command, ATTN: AMSEL-PP-CM-CR4, Fort Monmouth, NJ 07703.
This document reports on a U.S. Army research project using hypnosis to collect high fidelity samples of the voice under “combat stress” conditions in the laboratory. Using hypnotic regression, combat veterans “re-experienced” their own, actual high stress combat situations. Besides subjective reports of stress levels by subjects, physiological stress measures were obtained from polygraph recordings of heart, respiration and GSR activity. The voice samples were later analyzed by spectrographic techniques to determine which factors remain invariant to identify and authenticate the speaker in a military communications situation. Hypnotic techniques were shown to be useful in establishing controlled emotional states for laboratory research purposes. (Richard Bloom)
Military
1992
Mittleman, K. D.; Doubt, T. J.; Gravitz, Melvin A. (1992). Influence of self-induced hypnosis on thermal responses during immersion in 25 degrees C water. Aviation, Space & Environmental Medicine, 63, 689-695.
The efficacy of self-induced posthypnotic suggestion to improve thermogenic responses to head-out immersion in 25 degrees C water was evaluated in 12 males. An online computerized system permitted the change in body heat storage to be used as the independent variable and immersion time as the dependent variable. Two one- hour hypnotic training sessions were used. There were no differences in rates of heat production, heat loss, mean skin temperature, or rectal temperature between control and hypnotic immersions. Individual hypnotic susceptibility scores did not correlation with changes in thermal status. Ratings of perceived exertion during exercise were similar for both immersions, but perceived sensation of cold was lower during the second rest period of the hypnotic immersion. Three subjects used images of warm environments during their hypnotic immersion and lost heat at a faster rate than during control immersions. These results indicate that brief hypnotic training did not enhance the thermogenic response to cool water immersion.
1990
Spiegel, David; Cardena, Etzel (1990, October). New uses of hypnosis in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (Supplement), 51, 39-43.
Vietnam veterans with PTSD and those abused as children have above average hypnotizability. Hypnosis provides controlled access to memories that may otherwise be kept out of consciousness. New uses of hypnosis with PTSD victims involve coupling access to the dissociated traumatic memories with positive restructuring of those memories. Hypnosis can be used to help patients face and bear a traumatic experience by embedding it in a new context, acknowledging helplessness during the event, and yet linking that experience with remoralizing memories, such as efforts at self-protection, shared affection with friends who were killed, or the ability to ttheenvironment at other times. In this way, hypnosis can be used to provide controlled access to memories that are then placed into a broader perspective. Patients can be taught self-hypnosis techniques that allow them to work through and thereby reduce spontaneous, unbidden, intrusive recollections.
1989
Cooper, Nancy A.; Clum, George A. (1989). Imaginal flooding as a supplementary treatment for PTSD in combat veterans: A controlled study. Behavior Therapy, 20 (3), 381-391.
14 Vietnam veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were assigned either to standard treatment (control group), or standard treatment plus imaginal flooding (experimental group). The 2 groups were closely matched on medications and combat roles and tours of duty were comparable. Experimental Ss received up to 14 sessions of flooding for a maximum of one and one-half hours per session. Self-report measures were administered at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at 3-mo follow-up. These measures included the Behavioral Avoidance Test, the Beck Depression Inventory, and a Modified Vietnam Experiences Questionnaire. Results indicate that flooding increased the effectiveness of usual treatment, particularly in such areas as re-experiencing symptoms and sleep disturbances. However, flooding had no effect on level of depression, trait anxiety, and violence-proneness.
1958
Moss, C. Scott (1958). Therapeutic suggestion and autosuggestion. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 6 (2), 109-115. (Abstracted in Psychological Abstracts, 62: 3 II 09M)
The author describes the hypnotherapeutic treatment of a 32 year old man with a chronic anxiety reaction dating to the torpedoing of his ship 15 years previous, when only two out of 101 men in his compartment survived. “A frequently expressed objection to the use of hypnosis in psychotherapy is that such treatment is purely symptomatic and temporary. The thesis proposed here is that symptomatic relief is a legitimate therapeutic goal and that hypnosis skillfully applied provides a method of greatly increasing suggestive potency, especially when heterosuggestion is reinforced through the continuous practice of autohypnosis” (p. 109).
1954
Schneck, Jerome M. (1954). The divided personality: A case study aided by hypnosis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2 (3), 220-232.
“Summary. Amnesia as a symptom assumes proportions more complex than would appear on the surface and the role of memory loss with specific reference to hypnotic recovery methods has been presented in several reports. Hypnotherapy would appear to be a preferred technique for resolving the symptom and at times for more extensive investigation of the underlying problems. The case reported now involved an extensive memory loss for past life, including personal identity. This was followed after nearly a year by recall and concurrent amnesia for the intervening time period. The latter amnesia was dispelled by recall at first under hypnosis and then by post-hypnotic extension and elaboration of the nuclear material. The patient’s history was outlined and several facts of apparent importance in relation to the memory loss were revealed. The purposive and motivational features were stressed. Therapy was conducted in a medico-disciplinary setting with limitations based on administrative requirements. Military-legal complications of the patient’s personality disorder and functioning were outlined. The concept of the divided personality was introduced and related to multiple personality and to another type of behavior which is quite similar to the divided personality except that periods of amnesia are not involved. The divided personality involves major cleavages in the continuity of living with amnesia and the establishment of the individual in a setting where he undergoes extensive, significant operations relating to work, general activities, and even courtship and marriage. Unlike the generally accepted attributes of multiple personality involving considerable overt behavior, affect, and attitude alterations, the divided personality continues to function with his accustomed overt attitudes, interests, affect, and method of relating on an interpersonal level. Descriptively and overtly he is not too different if at all, but he seems to begin life anew in terms of setting and personal contacts. Cases of this type should be studied further with care, whenever possible, for further elicidation [sic] of psychodynamics. Hypnosis as a tool in treatment and investigation should prove helpful and is to be considered important.
1953
Conn, Jacob H. (1953). Hypnosynthesis III. Hypnotherapy of chronic war neuroses with a discussion of the value of abreaction, regression and revivication. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 1, 29-43. (Abstracted in Psychological Abstracts, 53: 6687)
Author’s Summary – Three examples of chronic war neuroses which were successfully treated by hypnotherapy are presented. The clinical material would seem to indicate that the patient in the trance state is greatly influenced by the attitude and goal of the therapist and tends to produce the type of material which is expected of him. The protocols reveal that the hypnotized patient responds to a permissive, calm, attitude with relatively little emotional display, and by talking about harrowing war experiences in a matter-of-fact manner.
It would appear that merely to recall the traumatic experience without a personalized, constructive, emotional relation to a supporting, understanding therapist is of little therapeutic value. The crux of the therapeutic problem in every approach, whether it be narcosynthesis, narco-analysis, hypno-synthesis, or the hypnotic intensification of an emotion is to bring about the integration of unbearable experiences which previously had been dissociated and obliterated from memory or which automatically reappear and disrupt smooth ego functioning.
It is postulated that the hypnotic trance state provides a unifying, integrating inter-personal experience which is of value in the treatment of chronic war neuroses.
1947
Kaufman, M. R.; Beaton, L. (1947). A psychiatric treatment in combat. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 11, 1-14.
Describes use of hypnosis in treating “combat fatigue” in field conditions during the Pacific campaigne of WWII. Hypnosis was utilized for sleep and rest in tent hospitals in or near combat to avoid chemical sedation as well as for reliving and mastering traumatic events. The milleau was one of expectant recovery with patients pitching tents, digging foxholes and serving as litter bearers. Psychiatric admissions were 12.8% of the total with return to duty rates varying with intensity of combat and duration of campaign with over half returned to comabt duty. Four detailed cases are reported.
Mind-body
1995
Olness, Karen N.; Lee, Lai (1995, November). Effects of self-induced mental imagery on autonomic reactivity in children. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, San Antonio, TX.
One study that shows an IgA increase with hypnotic suggestion has been replicated and is in press.
The present study emerges from work using hypnosis with biofeedback. Morgan’s work with athletes has suggested the relationship between imagery and physiological activation. This has been observed clinically but not heretofore documented.
We are not using formal hypnosis. Each child was asked to think about being in a quiet place, doing exciting activities, baseline, etc. The children exhibited no neurological disorders, cognitive dysfunction, nor were they on medications at time of the study.
We confirmed our clinical experience: there was an increase in pulse rate when imagery changed to activity. Skin temperature continued to go up during the period (despite imagery of being active like being on roller coaster). Skin conduction went down during baseline. EDA [electrodermal activities] was higher during active imagery.
How do average daily thinking processes impact on autonomic changes over long periods of time? Do these changes affect cardiovascular status?
Clinically we observed that some children are more labile in different modalities, and under stress they react more in that system.
1993
Covino, Nicholas A.; Frankel, F. M. (1993). Hypnosis and relaxation in the medically ill. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 60, 75-90.
Interest in the application of hypnotic techniques for patients with medical disorders seems to rise and fall over the years. Enthusiasm for this work comes both from patients and from clinicians. Often, however, these techniques are offered without regard to the psychological theories that should inform their operation and the limits that clinical and experimental research suggest. This article offers a brief description of the elements of hypnosis and a review of the history of the use of hypnotic techniques with a variety of medical problems, including asthma, habits, pain, cardiology, surgical preparation, irritable bowel syndrome, persistent nausea and vomiting, trichotillomania, and infection and immunity. Special attention is placed on the psychological and physiological principles that help to establish the valid use of hypnotherapy.
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.
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.
Everett, John J.; Patterson, David R.; Burns, G. Leonard; Montgomery, Brenda; Heimbach, David (1993). Adjunctive interventions for burn pain control: Comparison of hypnosis and Ativan. Journal of Burn Care and Rehabilitation, 14, 676-683.
Thirty-two patients hospitalized for the care of major burns were randomly assigned to groups that received hypnosis, lorazepam, hypnosis with lorazepam, or placebo controls as adjuncts to opioids for the control of pain during dressing changes. Analysis of scores on the Visual Analogue Scale indicated that although pain during dressing changes decreased over consecutive days, assignment to the various treatment groups did not have a differential effect. This finding was in contrast to those of earlier studies and is likely attributable to the low baseline pain scores of subjects who participated. A larger number of subjects with low baseline pain ratings will likely be necessary to replicate earlier findings. The results are argued to support the analgesic advantages of early, aggressive opioid use via PCA or through careful staff monitoring and titration of pain drugs.
Hall, Howard R.; Papas, Angela; Tosi, Michael; Olness, Karen (1993, October). Bi-directional changes in neutrophil adherence following hypnosis. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Arlington Heights, IL.
At the last time that I presented a paper, I talked about the neutrophil. The neutrophil is a model of convenience because it responds quickly to psychological interventions, it is important in upper respiratory infections, and it can be measured reliably in vitro.
We had found that Ss with two weeks of relaxation/imagery training showed an increase in stickiness of neutrophils. We wanted to replicate and extend that study. We wanted one group to increase, another group to decrease, stickiness in neutrophils. There were a total of three groups, including a resting control group.
The model of investigation involves two weeks of training in self hypnosis or simply resting.
Session 1
1 week of practice
Session 2
Results. The Control group increased adherence in neutrophils. The imagery- increase group and imagery-decrease group both decreased adherence. (In the first study the controls had no previous experience in relaxation. Also, the experimental group that was tested showed a decrease in first week and increased in the second week.)
Imagery is work, and that may result in less adherence. Pulse rate increased for the group trying to increase stickiness, in Session 1–implying less relaxation for them.
Hypnotizability (measured with the Pennsylvania State University Scale) was not correlated with increase in neutrophil adherence.
Olness, Karen N. (1993, October). Intentional immunomodulation – does it exist?. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Arlington Heights, IL.
Robert Ader coined the term psychoneuroimmunology. The immune system is modulated by feedback mechanisms mediated via neural and endocrine processes, and by feedforward mechanisms, as well (see the second edition of Ader’s book).
Ader, Grota, and Cohen have shown that the immune system of animals also can influence behavior (e.g. genetic influences on preference for chocolate). She thinks this should be considered in designing controlled studies.
In her review of studies, some investigators request Ss to focus on changing an immune parameter; others to “relax.” There is evidence for intentional influence on the immune response. Black in England and Good in the U.S. presented studies (Manteaux, histamine sensitivity, etc.) and all were laboratory studies.
Olness (1986) worked with children: they were given self hypnosis practice with instructions to “increase the immune stuff in your spit.” This suggestion or request resulted in an increase in saliva IgA. [N.B. In giving suggestions to children, don’t’ use the words “I want you to …” because that phrasing may arouse resistance.]
The area of hypnosis and suggestion curing warts has a lot of research papers. We are doing a consortium study on treatment of warts with hypnosis and found that basic agreement on methods, such as “how you define a wart,” don’t exist.
Patterson, David R. (1993, October). Managing burn pain through hypnosis. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Arlington Heights, IL.
Since 1955 there were 13 published reports on managing burn pain through hypnosis, with generally positive results; but almost all were anecdotal, with a lack of standardized measures. Time, location, and duration of the hypnotic interventions were not specified, cost-effectiveness was hard to detect, and medications used were not reported. Publications don’t even report the type of hypnotic intervention used.
Hypnosis is indicated for procedural pain more than for during resting periods. Going through dressing changes is typically more painful than the burn itself. Opioid medications don’t control all the pain. In our research we use J. Barber’s Rapid Induction Analgesia, which entails suggestions for: 1. Slow breathing 2. Going down 20 steps 3. Confusion and amnesia 4. Anchoring post-hypnotic suggestions 5. Touching cue for reinstating the hypnosis 6. Relaxing scenario (Patterson added this to the Barber script) 7. Returning up the steps
This intervention is good because it’s replicable, and it’s easy to train students to use it. The hypnosis is done the morning before the dressing change.
Instructions for nurses are: 1. Read the card 2. Have patient lie down comfortably, etc. 3. Provide post hypnotic cue (usually a touch on the shoulder)
In the first study we used patients refractory to opioids, and also used a historical control group. This was published in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. Our subsequent study was published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (1992). We stabilized administration of opioids; then patients had hypnosis or anxiolytics or were in the control condition. There was significant reduction in pain for hypnosis.
Patterson et al (current study). Compared Benzodiazapines to hypnosis using four groups: Hypnosis plus Lorazepam Hypnosis and placebo Lorazepam Hypnosis attention control and Lorazepam Placebo hypnosis and placebo pills
Analgesia stabilized on 2 days. There was not an effect, no significant drop in pain scores for either hypnosis or Lorazepam. Perhaps we didn’t get a significant drop in pain ratings because in this study we were taking all patients who applied and their initial pain ratings were not as high as in the other study. We have found no relationship or pain reduction with hypnotizability either.
Why did we not get the positive results found previously for hypnosis? There are several possibilities. There is always a trend toward a drop in pain ratings over time. People generally bottom out with a rating of 3 or 4, and it looks like a floor effect. Also, the efficacy of hypnosis may be partly contingent on baseline pain level, and motivation to cooperate with the intervention.
Could there be the same relation to baseline for benzodiazepines?
We have noted that improved application of opioids early on means pain is lower. Marks & Sacher, Annals of Internal Medicine, 1973, indicate physicians under-prescribe opiates. Also Melzack in the Scientific American states this.
We feel that we should not push hypnotherapy so much that we feed in to opioidphobia. Hypnosis is a useful adjunct to opiates. We believe that you should stabilize the patient with opioids, and if they are not responding well, then use hypnosis.
In future research we want to find out which patients do best with hypnosis.
Pekala, Ronald J.; Ersek, Barrett (1993). Firewalking versus hypnosis: A preliminary study concerning consciousness, attention, and fire immunity. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 12, 207-229.
This study assessed the subjective effects associated with firewalking, and compared them with the subjective effects associated with hypnosis and a baseline condition (eyes closed sitting quietly). Twenty-seven subjects, who walked over hot coals during a firewalk ceremony, completed questionnaires about what they subjectively experienced during the firewalk. Their experiences were subsequently compared with those of subjects (n – 246) who experienced hypnosis and a baseline condition. The data suggested that firewalking, as assessed across all subjects, is characterized by high levels of volitional control and rationality, and a very absorbed attentional style wherein the mind is one-pointed, and consciousness is characterized by strong feelings of joy and high levels of internal dialogue. Firewalking was also found to be associated with significantly more joy, one-pointedness of thought, absorption, and internal dialogue than hypnosis or the baseline condition. In addition, a cluster analysis suggested two subgroups of firewalkers based on their subjective experiences of the firewalk. Interestingly, analyzing the attentional experiences among these firewalkers who got slightly burned, versus those who did not, revealed significant differences. A one-pointed and absorbed attentional focus may be the critical variable for the fire immunity observed in firewalking.
About 500 people walked across coals, in 3-4 steps. At end of weekend, 71 said they would complete a questionnaire and it was mailed to them. Of those, 27 responded (25 of 26 in an average of 23 days). Hence, 5% of the population who walked responded to the questionnaire, and it was some time later. Three of 24 reported minor blisters. Those who didn’t get burned reported less detachment, less of a feeling of being out of their bodies, and more thoughts than the firewalkers who got slightly burned
Pekala has defined an altered state of consciousness as associated with the perception of being in an altered state of awareness (the _subjective sense_ of _altered state_ –SSAS [30]), and a change in the patterning or configuration of the subsystems or dimensions of consciousness. A discrete state of consciousness, as defined by Pekala, is associated with a significant pattern
change but no perceived alteration in state of consciousness (no SSAS). An identity state of consciousness, on the other hand, is defined as having neither a significantly perceived alteration in state of awareness nor a perceived pattern change among dimensions of consciousness in reference to another state of consciousness. Since the PCI can measure both intensity and pattern effects, it can be used to assess for altered, discrete, and identity states of consciousness.
Using a cluster analysis they found that one group of 16 subjects reported the firewalk experience to be characterized by a significant alteration in awareness and experience (body image, time sense, etc.), and significant intensities of internal dialogue, positive and negative affect, and arousal, while a second group of six subjects reported little alteration in consciousness or experience, little losses in rationality or control, and less internal dialogue, positive and negative affect or arousal than the larger group.
Whereas hypnosis is usually associated with a loss in control (the classic suggestion effect), firewalking was found to be associated with increased control, a more aroused state, and more fear! Firewalking appears to be a more absorbed and one-pointed state than even hypnosis.
The nature of attentional experience is similar across firewalkers (DAQ results).
Both firewalking and hypnosis meet the criteria for altered states of consciousness (different pattern and different subjective experience), but they are not altered states in reference to each other; they are _discrete states of consciousness_ in reference to each other, because there is a significantly different patterning of PCI dimensions between the two conditions, but no significant SSAS. This suggests that the firewalk state is qualitatively different from the hypnotic state (as induced by the induction procedure to the Harvard Scale) and probably represents a different type of state of consciousness than hypnosis. Firewalkers obtained a lower mean hypnoidal state score than hypnosis subjects, so it does not appear that the fire immunity is due to being in a “hypnotized” state.
The fact that there appears to be two groups of successful firewalkers, one of which did not report much alteration in consciousness, calls into question the theorizing concerning the importance of alteration in state of consciousness as being etiologically related to successful firewalking. Since about 25 percent of the firewalkers clustered into what appears to be a nonaltered state of awareness, this suggests a sizable percentage of subjects who did not report any significant alteration in consciousness and experience.
Hence, what may be important is not an alteration in consciousness, but rather an alteration in attention. The cluster analysis revealed a relatively unitary attentional state across all subjects suggesting that attention was deployed in a rather similar manner across all subjects, that is, with very high absorption and one-pointedness. it was also the DAQ dimensions, and not the PCI dimensions, that successfully discriminated a trend between the blistered and nonblistered firewalkers. Hence, high levels of one-pointedness and absorption, that is, how attention is deployed during firewalking may be more critical (than an alteration in consciousness in general) for the fire immunity observed during firewalking.
1992
Ewin, Dabney M. (1992). Hypnotherapy for warts (verruca vulgaris): 41 consecutive cases with 33 cures. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 35, 1-10.
Published, controlled studies of the use of hypnosis to cure warts are confined to using direct suggestion in hypnosis (DSIH), with cure rates of 27% to 55%. Prepubertal children respond to DSIH almost without exception, but adults often do not.
Clinically, many adults who fail to respond to DSIH will heal with individual hypnoanalytic techniques that cannot be tested against controls. By using hypnoanalysis on those who failed to respond to DSIH, 33 of 41 (80%) consecutive patients were cured, two were lost to follow-up, and six did not respond to treatment. Self-hypnosis was not used. Several illustrative cases are presented.
“I do not consider self-hypnosis necessary, and I believe it may be contraindicated. Once the change in sensation has been acknowledged by an ideomotor signal, I suggest that the subconscious will take care of healing the warts and that the patient should ignore them and get interested in other things. Self-hypnosis would require regularly giving attention to the warts, and a high rate of cure is obtained without it. In their controlled study using DSIH with adults, Johnson and Barber (1978) included daily self-hypnosis and got cures in only 3 of 11 (27%) of the hypnotic group. This is the poorest result in the published literature. Their control group of 11 patients was given waking suggestions to ‘practice imagining that the specified wart(s) were tingling for a few minutes each day until they were gone’ and got no change in 3 months. Hellier (1951) got remission in 27 of 74 (36%) patients just using sham x-ray, (waking suggestion without any self-hypnosis). Spanos et al. (1988) instructed their hypnotic group to ‘count their warts every day, and after each counting to close their eyes and spend 3 to 4 minutes imagining the warts on their target hand disappearing.’ Only 2 of 8 patients (25%) with a single wart cleared, while 9 of 14 (69%) with multiple warts lost one or more warts at 6- weeks’ follow-up. My impression is that conscious daily attention to the lesion is contrary to normal body healing of injuries such as cuts, burns, sprains, in which healing progresses best when ignored while undue attention increases suffering” (pp. 3-4).
All Ss were private patients referred for hypnotherapy; most were diagnosed clinically.
“…I found that there were sexual implications in 7 of the 16 miscellaneous warts in patients over 13, so I separated the cases into pre- and postpuberty to evaluate the results” (p. 4).
“An early success was with a medical student (Case 28) with whom I used suggestions of warmth, with the blood vessels dilating and bringing in antibodies, leukocytes, opsonins, etc. Changes were visible in 3 days. This biased me toward using ‘warm,’ but two of the children (Cases 6 and 9) got no result until I gave them a choice. Using ideomotor signals they chose cold. Only two healed with ‘warm,’ while five did with ‘cold.’ All of them had either had the warts cauterized or frozen previously and had a personal feeling about heat and cold. I’ve learned to give the patient a choice on the first visit” (p. 5).
“Three… were first treated using DSIH without result and later responded to hypnoanalysis. After obtaining an ideomotor signal that there was no more subconscious value to the warts, the suggestion was given that the body’s healing processes would take over without any more conscious attention by the patient. No self-hypnosis was prescribed” (pp 7-8).
Gainer, Michael J. (1992). Hypnotherapy for reflex sympathetic dystrophy. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 34, 227-232.
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) is an unusual, debilitating, chronic pain syndrome thought to be the result of a continuous excessive discharge of regional sympathetic nerves. Supportive and stress-reduction psychotherapies are commonly recommended as adjunctive treatments. Biofeedback is a more direct symptomatic treatment. Although hypnotherapy is effective in altering sympathetic reflex and pain responses, there are no reports of its use for the treatment of RSD. This article reviews some promising results of hypnotherapy with three RSD sufferers. I discuss the role of hypnotherapy as a supportive adjunct to medical treatment. I also explore the possible role of hypnotherapy as a complementary treatment.
discuss the role of hypnotherapy as a supportive adjunct to medical treatment. I also explore the possible role of hypnotherapy as a complementary treatment.
“Hypothetically, RSD represents a continuous excessive discharge of the regional sympathetic nerves. Such discharge normally occurs in response to an injury. In RSD this reflex response is unremitting despite the cessation or absence of an external stimulus” (p. 227).
The psychosomatic aspects of RSD are highly disputed. Some studies suggest a relationship between RSD and various psychopathological conditions. Also proposed is a predisposing character type, sometimes termed ‘Sudeck personality’ … patients who are generally anxious, inactive, and hypertensive. … Others cite chronic pain as the cause, not the result, of certain ‘typical’ behavior patterns and emotional responses (Abram, 1990; Ecker, 1984)” (p. 228).
“Reports of four cases described RSD treatment with temperature biofeedback. These studies suggest that the patients learned to warm the affected limb through increasing cutaneous circulation. The temperature change was associated with decreased regional sympathetic activity and decreased pain. Complete remission of symptoms is reported in three of these cases; significant improvement is reported in the fourth” (p. 228).
“Abram (1990) reported that in two independent studies the incidence of RSD was 6.3% and 10.7% of patients admitted to pain clinics” (p. 228).
“I hypothesized that hypnotic interventions could facilitate a decrease in local sympathetic nervous discharge. This would result in vasodilation and warming of the affected limb, decreased spasticity, and decreased pain. The following is a report of the effective treatment of three RSD cases with hypnotherapy” (p. 228).
Case #1. “The eventual resolution of her RSD symptoms was due, in part, to resolution of psychodynamic conflicts. … She had a grade-four profile on the Hypnotic Induction Profile (Spiegel & Spiegel, 1978). In later sessions she readily demonstrated superior hypnotic capacity, achieving such phenomena as spontaneous amnesia, negative hallucination, and somnambulism” (p. 229).
Case #2. … “She had a grade-three profile on the Hypnotic Induction Profile (Spiegel & Spiegel, 1978) Because of the success with the first patient, I used visualization techniques initially. … She responded more readily to kinesthetic and tactile suggestions. … These interventions produced dramatic improvement in the RSD symptoms” (p. 230).
Case #3. … “He had a grade-three profile on the Hypnotic Induction Profile (Spiegel & Spiegel, 1978). He was readily able to use visualization techniques. He was able to affect dramatic temperature changes (8-10 degrees F) by visualizing ‘warm’ vacation scenes and imagining the feeling of the ‘warm sun’ on the affected limb” (p. 231).
DISCUSSION mentioned, “The patients presented in this report were all highly motivated and demonstrated an above-average to superior hypnotic capacity. Despite the obvious limitations of such a selective sample, the actual treatment results support the initial hypothesis. The treatment results of these three cases indicate that hypnotherapy can be an adjunctive treatment to alleviate pain. Moreover, these results indicate that hypnotherapy can be a complementary treatment in RSD.
Holroyd, Jean (1992). Hypnosis as a methodology in psychological research. In Contemporary hypnosis research (pp. 201-226). New York: Guilford Press.
This chapter deals with how the changes brought about by hypnosis (in cognition, behavior, motivation, etc.) may be used in research in other areas of psychology. “The distinction between experimental effects attributable to a personality trait (i.e. hypnotizability), hypnosis context (i.e. an induction), and interaction between the two is particularly important in using hypnosis as a research strategy.
The author discusses suggestibility, imagery enhancement, and changes in the mind-body relationship (immunology, pain, cognitive neuropsychology, attention, learning and memory, and awareness) as they might be employed in social psychology or psychophysiology research. She reviews problems inherent in using hypnosis as part of the research methodology, while noting that hypnosis nevertheless offers new information when introduced into traditional content areas. “For example, in cognitive psychology it has re-introduced the importance of studying experiential aspects of cognition, i.e. I think, I remember, or self reference (Kihlstrom, 1987)” (p. 223).
She concludes, “Hypnosis as a research method will continue to benefit from contributions of radically different theoretical views of hypnotic phenomena. Social- cognitive psychologists have contributed significantly toward unifying the fields of hypnosis research and general experimental psychology. At the same time, advances in neurophysiology and psychosomatic medicine employing hypnosis indicate that there is a role for hypnosis as a research strategy, solely because of its altered-state characteristics. If theoretical physics can reconcile both wave and particle theories of light, it is conceivable that psychology can accommodate both behavioral and state theories of hypnosis” (p. 224).
Morse, Donald R.; Martin, John; Moshonov, Joshua (1992). Stress induced sudden cardiac death: Can it be prevented?. Stress Medicine, 8, 35-46.
Previously, psychosomatically induced death relative to stress, hypnosis, mind control, and voodoo was discussed. In this article, emphasis is on one aspect of that – stress induced sudden cardiac death (SCD). A brief review is presented of the sympathetic aspects of the acute stress response and stress induced SCD. Findings from previous studies are presented to highlight sympathetic aspects of the acute stress response. This is followed by a presentation of various strategies to prevent of decrease the possibilities for stress induced SCD. These include long-term measures (e.g. diet control, smoking control, hypertension control, stress management strategies) and immediate measures (e.g. calm, controlled approach, elicitation of the relaxation response, selected use of drugs, and heart rate variability monitoring). Relative to prevention strategies, findings are presented both from previous studies and new investigations.
1991
Acosta-Austan, Frank (1991). Tolerance of chronic dyspnea using a hypnoeducational approach: A case report. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 33, 272-277.
A 48-year-old woman with severe, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was instructed in the use of peak-flow feedback and hypnotically induced relaxation to reduce the intensity of dyspnea during periods of anxiety. Peak-flow information provided physiologic feedback as well as a safety feature in the event that subjective improvement did not correspond with objective physiologic improvement. I used a progressive relaxation method for inducing hypnosis and gave her suggestions of well-being and muscle relaxation. Peak-flow feedbackwas useful
in enhancing the patient’s confidence that hypnotic relaxation was successful in improving respiratory function.