The American journal of clinical hypnosis
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Case Reports
Focused suggestion with somatic anchoring technique: rapid self-hypnosis for pain management.
This article details a self-hypnosis technique designed to teach patients how to manage acute or chronic pain through directed focus. The focused suggestion with somatic anchoring technique has been used with various types of pain, including somatic pain (arthritis, post-injury pain from bone breaks, or muscle tears), visceral pain (related to irritable bowel disease), and neuropathic pain (related to multiple sclerosis). This technique combines cognitive restructuring and mindfulness meditation with indirect and direct suggestions during hypnosis. The case examples demonstrate how the focused suggestion with somatic anchoring technique is used with both acute and chronic pain conditions when use of long-term medication has been relatively ineffective.
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Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of identifying and addressing failures of realerting or dehypnosis. In parallel with the exploration of the adverse consequences of hypnosis in workshop settings, a number of techniques for effecting realerting subjects from hypnosis were collected. ⋯ This article reports 15 techniques, three of which are foundational and designed to orient the subject to becoming realerted, and 12 more specific approaches to achieving dehypnosis. When appropriate, the particular opportunities of and the potential difficulties and relative contraindications for each technique are discussed.
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Research on the efficacy of hypnosis in the treatment of bulimia nervosa has produced mixed findings. This is due in part to the interplay between the characteristics of people with bulimia and the wide variety of hypnosis interventions that have been employed. ⋯ Such limitations preclude replication and clinical implementation. This article reviews the literature with replicable methodologies and discusses the implications for evaluating treatment efficacy.
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Case Reports
Virtual reality hypnosis pain control in the treatment of multiple fractures: a case series.
This case series evaluated the use of virtual reality hypnosis (VRH) for the treatment of pain associated with multiple fractures from traumatic injuries. VRH treatment was administered on 2 consecutive days, and pain and anxiety were assessed each day before and after VRH treatment as well as on Day 3, which was 24 hours after the second treatment session. Pain reduction from baseline to Day 3 was from 70% to 30%, despite opioid analgesic use remaining stable. The subjective pain reduction reported by patients was encouraging, and the results of this case series suggest the importance of further study of VRH with larger samples using randomized controlled trials.
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The authors present empirical data on therapeutic hypnosis and brief psychotherapy as a 4-Stage Creative Process of focused attention and positive expectancy in professional training workshops of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, the National Institute for the Clinical Applications of Behavioral Medicine, and the Milton H. Erickson Foundation. ⋯ The theory, research, and practice of private problem solving, stress reduction, and mind-body symptom resolution in professional and public settings is discussed. Immediate knowledge of results, positive peer support, and the development of new psychosocial skills in learning how to appropriately communicate live here-and-now novel and numinous experiences is an exhilarating exercise in creating new consciousness that facilitates the confidence and maturation of psychotherapists.