Resource Tag: HYPNOSIS

This article describes a 39 year-old man suffering from diabetes who had become blind & a double amputee as a result of its complications. The patient was depressed & expressed suicidal ideation. The patient was treated through thermal biofeedback, which teaches patients how to increase their blood flow through machinery & imagery. The patient was […]

This report is on the case of a 50-year-old male who was on trial for the murder of his wife. The defendant had repressed the events surrounding the crime & hypnosis was used to recover those memories. Based on the information gathered, the murder charge was reduced to manslaughter – the wife had been shot […]

Reviews evidence for the hypothesis that hypnosis causes “negative” posthypnotic effects ranging from minor symptoms (headaches, dizziness) to serious reactions (psychosis, depression, suicide). Controlled research has not provided support for the hypothesis. Evidence suggests that hypnosis does not pose special risks over & above those associated with other therapeutic or experimental situations. (39 ref)

Discusses hypnosis research in Hungary including a study which explored the hypnotic susceptibility of suicide attempters. Findings indicated that the susceptibility of the suicide cases was significantly higher than that of matching controls & of students. The role of hypnotic responsiveness in the causation & treatment of attempted suicide is still under investigation. (LH) (15 […]

Briefly describes the use of posthypnotic suggestion as a suicide prevention measure. Suicidal clients are given the hypnotic suggestion that, if ever tempted to suicide, they will sink into a trance & call their psychiatrist/therapist at once. (LH)

Tinnitus aurium, or ringing in the ears, is a vexing problem to both the patient and physician. The pathophysiology of the entity is poorly understood and drug therapy is often ineffectual. At times the symptom may be severe enough to interfere with normal daily activities or to cause insomnia, and on occasion has been productive […]

The author describes the successful hypnotic treatment of a patient with an acute catatonic reaction. Because conversion mechanisms may underlie some presentations of catatonia, hypnosis may assist clinicians in the differential diagnosis of acute catatonic conditions. 15 refs.

This article comments on Milton EriksonÕs use of psychoanalytic hypnosis as therapy for patients who are depressed & considering suicide. EriksonÕs therapeutic approach is compared to art therapy. The author argues that the esthetic experience of creating art is an altered state of consciousness, similar to that experienced during hypnosis. A discussion of the conscious […]

The author states in order to prevent physical death by suicide & mental death by a psychotic break, the stressed patient must be helped to maintain his basic values until his inadequate coping behaviors can be replaced by more adequate ones that the patient will accept & use. He emphasises the importance of giving the […]

The author claims that the secluded, inescapable world of the Guyana compound was a final phase of a calculated plan designed by Jones to achieve “mass hypnosis at a social level”, a process of group regression that led to a full acceptance of the leader’s delusional system. His carefully selected followers were highly dissatisfied with […]

Also reprinted in What We Know About Suicidal Behavior and How to Treat It, ed. by S Lesse (Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson Inc., 1988) p.133-156

A trance state is described as one of heightened awareness, inwardly focussed concentration, heightened suggestibility, suppressed conscious criticism, narrowed attention, & distortion of time. The author suggests that this state is very similar to a crisis state, but differs in goal-directiveness. Trance state techniques may have protective value for the clinician in reducing the stresses […]

The author presents 3 case histories illustrating the effectiveness of hypnosis in patients for whom usual psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy had not been successful. Prerequisites for this type of therapy are: the ability to concentrate; to understand normal speech without difficulty; being agreeable to the use of hypnosis. Institutionalization & further debilitation was prevented in these […]

Based on his own experience, the author suggests the use of a post-hypnotic suggestion as a means of avoiding a suicidal act. The rationale is that: 1) a temporary deterrent is required, 2) hypnosis can act as a temporary deterrent, 3) direct confrontation might fail, & 4) the patient is given an alternative to suicide. […]

Advantages & disadvantages of measuring hypnotic susceptibility in clinical settings are presented. The argument for standardized methods of measurement in the interest of scientific advancement is balanced against clinical considerations & counterindications. The question of identity of hypnotic processes in the laboratory & in the clinical situation is addressed.