The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
Volume 60, Number 4 - October 2011 - English

Single-Session Manualized Ego State Therapy for Combat Stress Injury, PTSD, and ASD Part 1: The Theory
ARREED BARABASZ, MARIANNE BARABASZ, AND JOHN WATKINS

Abstract: Ego state therapy (EST) evolved from a psychodynamic understanding of personality as a product of an individual's ego states to a conceptualization of how ego-energized and object-energized elements are bound together to cope with a traumatic event. Neurobiological studies now substantiate Watkins's war neuroses conceptualizations. Because of their severity, trauma memories are encoded in the subcortical-subconscious brain regions that are accessed by the single-session manualized EST procedure but not by the popular cognitive-behavioral management therapies. The imprint of the trauma is not accessible or resolvable by such top-down verbal understanding or reframing; EST is a bottom-up therapy. Abreactive hypnosis facilitates ego state expression at physiologically and psychologically intense levels sufficient to activate subcortical processes to release affect in the presence of the therapist, who adds ego strength to the patient. This is followed by interpretation and reintegration. The result is a reconstructed personality that is adaptive and resilient.

Treatment of HPV with hypnosis: psychodynamic considerations of psychoneuroimmunology: A brief communication.
DABNEY M. EWIN

Abstract: There is increasing evidence that the hypnotic cure of warts (infection by the human papilloma virus or HPV) results from activation of an immune response, but whether this is cellular or systemic is unknown. The hypnosis can be by direct suggestion or analytical hypnotherapy when indicated. The evidence is reviewed, and 4 clinical cases suggesting cellular immune response are presented.

Use of Preoperative Hypnosis to Reduce Postoperative Pain and Anesthesia Related Side-Effects
MICHAEL W. LEW, KATHY KRAVITS, CARLOS GARBEROGLIO, AND ANNA CATHY WILLIAMS,

Abstract: The purpose of this pilot project was to test the feasibility of hypnosis as a preoperative intervention. The unique features of this study were: (a) use of a standardized nurse-delivered hypnosis protocol, (b) intervention administration immediately prior to surgery in the preoperative holding area, and (c) provision of hypnosis to breast cancer surgery patients receiving general anesthesia. A mixed-method design was used. Data collected from the intervention group and historical control group included demographics, symptom assessments, medication administration, and surgical, anesthesia, and recovery minutes.  A semi-structured interview was conducted with the intervention group.  A reduction in anxiety, worry, nervousness, sadness, irritability, and distress was found from baseline to postintervention while pain and nausea increased. The results support further exploration of the use of nurse-led preoperative hypnosis.

Hypnosis and Dental Anesthesia in Children: A Prospective Controlled Study
ADELINE HUET, MARIE-MADELEINE LUCAS-POLOMENI, JEAN-CLAUDE ROBERT, JEAN-LOUIS SIXOU, AND ERIC WODEY

Abstract: The authors of this prospective study initially hypothesized that hypnosis would lower the anxiety and pain associated with dental anesthesia. Thirty children aged 5 to 12 were randomly assigned to 2 groups receiving hypnosis (H) or not (NH) at the time of anesthesia. Anxiety was assessed at inclusion in the study, initial consultation, installation in the dentist's chair, and at the time of anesthesia using the modified Yale preoperative anxiety scale (mYPAS). Following anesthesia, a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a modified objective pain score (mOPS) were used to assess the pain experienced. The median mYPAS and mOPS scores were significantly lower in the H group than in the NH group. Significantly more children in the H group had no or mild pain. This study suggests that hypnosis may be effective in reducing anxiety and pain in children receiving dental anesthesia.

Hypnotizability and Sensorimotor Gating a Dopaminergic Mechanism of Hypnosis
RAZ LEVIN, URIEL HERESCO-LEVY, SHANY EDELMAN, HAIM SHAPIRO, RICHARD P. EBSTEIN, AND PESACH LICHTENBERG

Abstract: Dopaminergic mechanisms have been theorized to influence hypnotizability and sensorimotor gating. In this study, the authors investigated an association between sensorimotor gating, as measured by prepulse inhibition (PPI), and hypnotizability, as assessed by the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C (SHSS:C). They found an inverse correlation between the SSHS:C and PPI. This finding, which replicates an earlier study, provides further evidence for a dopaminergic basis for hypnotizability and suggests additional avenues for research, including a method for possibly enhancing hypnotizability through pharmacological interventions.

Waking EEG spectral Power and Coherence Differences Between High and Low Hypnotizable Subjects
ANNA V. KIRENSKAYA, VLADIMIR Y. NOVOTOTSKY-VLASOV, AND VYACHESLAV M. ZVONIKOV

Abstract: EEG spectral power and coherence were analyzed under waking baseline condition in 19 high (HH) and 12 low (LH) hypnotizable subjects. In HH subjects, the theta1 and theta2 spectral power was higher than in LH. The major new finding of this study is that coherence between distributed brain regions was sharply elevated in HH subjects within the theta and alpha frequency bands. In contrast, spectral power and coherence of beta2 and gamma1 bands were higher in LH subjects as compared to HH. However, the long distance coherence between frontal and posterior areas within beta-gamma frequency ranges was higher in HH subjects. It might be supposed that HH subjects are engaged in imaginal mental activity whereas LH ones are mainly engaged in linguistic activity. The neurophysiological basis of the obtained EEG differences is discussed.

Effects of Hypnotic Focused Analgesia on Dental Pain Threshold
ENRICO FACCO, EDOARDO  CASIGLIA, SERENA MASIERO, VALERY TIKHONOFF, MARGHERITA GIACOMELLO, AND GASTONE ZANETTE

Abstract: The rate, intensity, and selectivity of hypnotic focused analgesia (HFA) were tested with dental pulp stimulation. Thirty-one healthy subjects were hypnotized, and hypnotic suggestions were given for anesthesia of the right mandibular arch.  A posthypnotic suggestion of persisting analgesia was also given. The pain threshold of the first premolar was bilaterally measured before, during, and after hypnosis using a pulp tester. During hypnosis, the pain threshold increased significantly (p < .0001) for both sides. The posthypnotic right pain threshold was also significantly (p < .0015) higher than the basal condition.

Salient Findings: Hypnosis in the laboratory creates a window on psychopathology
MICHAEL R. NASH AND ALBERT WONG

Abstract: The authors describe 3 studies in which hypnosis itself is not studied but instead used to create anomalous states in the laboratory that can be studied under controlled conditions.  The 1st article is a comprehensive review of programmatic research using hypnosis to elicit and study clinically relevant delusions. The 2nd article reviews studies comparing the brain activity of hysterical/dissociative patients with nonpatients hypnotized and given suggestions for sensory-motor and cognitive anomalies typical of the clinical syndromes. The authors conclude that the hypnosis analogues are relevant and revealing. The 3rd article describes a single experiment using hypnosis to elicit distressing and intrusive memories, typical of acute anxiety disorders.  Findings with hypnotic subjects are in keeping with those from patients suffering intrusive memories.  Across all 3 papers hypnosis is shown to be a viable and helpful tool for experimental psychopathology.