Effects of Self-Hypnosis Training and EMG Biofeedback Relaxation Training on Chronic Pain in Persons with Spinal Cord Injury
Mark P. Jensen, Joseph Barber, Joan M. Romano, Marisol A. Hanley, Katherine A. Raichle, Ivan R. Molton, Joyce M. Engel, Travis L. Osborne, Brenda L. Stoelb, Diana D. Cardenas, & David R. Patterson

Abstract: Thirty-seven adults with spinal-cord injury and chronic pain were randomly assigned to receive 10 sessions of self-hypnosis (HYP) or EMG biofeedback relaxation (BIO) training for pain management. Participants in both treatment conditions reported substantial, but similar, decreases in pain intensity from before to after the treatment sessions. However, participants in the HYP condition, but not the BIO condition, reported statistically significant decreases in daily average pain pre- to posttreatment. These pre-to-posttreatment decreases in pain reported by the HYP participants were maintained at 3-month follow-up. Participants in the HYP condition, but not the BIO condition, also reported significant pre-to-posttreatment increases in perceived control over pain, but this change was not maintained at the 3-month follow-up.

Experimental Production of Past-Life Memories in Hypnosis
Young Don Pyun and Yun Joo Kim

Abstract: To explore the nature of past-life memories in hypnosis, 64 normal male adults aged 21 to 23 were selected using the Korean version of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (HGSHS:K) and a simple belief in past-life scale. They all received hypnotic past-life regression 3 times. The influence of HGSHS:K scores on the production rate of past-life memories was statistically significant, however, the influence of belief was not. The percentage of subjects who responded to hypnotic past-life regression increased with hypnotizability. Content analysis showed that cultural background and religious concepts influenced past-life memory production. Animals as past-life identities, for example, were reported whereas all past-life identities were human in a Canadian study.

Hypnotherapy for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: A Review
Vivien Miller and Peter J. Whorwell

Abstract: Patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, and noncardiac chest pain, can suffer from a range of severe symptoms that often substantially erode quality of life. Unfortunately, these conditions are notoriously difficult to treat, with many patients failing to improve despite being prescribed a wide variety of conventional medications. As a consequence, the potential benefits of hypnotherapy have been explored with evidence that this approach not only relieves symptoms but also appears to restore many of the putative psychological and physiological abnormalities associated with these conditions toward normal. These observations suggest that this form of treatment has considerable potential in aiding the management of functional gastrointestinal disorders and should be integrated into the ongoing medical care that these patients are receiving.

A Benchmarked Feasibility Study of a Self-Hypnosis Treatment for Depression in Primary Care
Alastair Dobbin, Margaret Maxwell, and Robert Elton

Abstract: This investigation assessed the effectiveness of a self-help self-hypnosis treatment in a primary-care setting in Edinburgh, UK. Partially randomized preference (PRP) study design with benchmarking results to trials of CBT and counseling was used. Patients seeing their general practitioner for depression were offered randomization or their treatment preference of self-help self- hypnosis or anti-depressant medication. Evaluation measures were Becks Depression Inventory, Brief Symptom Inventory, and SF36. Of the 58 patients recruited, 50 chose self hypnosis, 4 chose antidepressants, and 4 were randomized. The preference groups demonstrated similar demography, baseline measurements, and outcome effects to benchmarked trials. This feasibility study of a self-help self-hypnosis program for depression showed promise in primary care. Benchmarking improved validity and reliability. PRP study design appeared useful in a primary care setting, where there have been problems of recruitment, concordance and compliance.