American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis最新文献

The hypnosis literature emphasizes features of suggestion, induction, and communication that are described as evoking heightened responsiveness on the part of the subject or client. This article explores what is often overlooked: to have an effect, the subject must not only hear the suggestion but listen to it. The process of listening is described across multiple levels ranging from the acoustic signal to its transduction into a meaning-filled and motivationally enriched message that spurs action. That journey traverses challenging terrain, with numerous obstacles that serve to maintain past habits and response patterns, despite a client's stated desire for adaptive change. The article highlights those obstacles and then provides descriptions of five language structures that can reach the client consciously or non-consciously, but always in ways that increase the odds that the therapeutic messaging is packaged in a manner that optimizes it being "heard," absorbed, and enacted. Applications of each language structure are provided using relevant clinical case examples.

Chronic tinnitus, also known as phantom sound perception, is a pervasive and often debilitating condition, affecting 15 to 20% of the population. Due to its idiopathic and persistent nature, chronic tinnitus is frequently associated with co-occurring psychiatric disorders as well as decreased sleep and quality of life. Additionally, heterogeneous presentations of tinnitus create challenges for treatment. In this paper, we present a case study of a 70-year-old female patient who presented with severe bilateral tinnitus over a period of 5 years. After failing multiple treatment trials such as transtympanic electric stimulation, acupuncture, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, and medication, the patient found relief only through hypnotherapy. Results may be explained by alterations in interoceptive processing, increased cognitive flexibility, or somatosensory changes, with corresponding changes in functional neural structures. Given the results of this case study, we recommend hypnosis as an alternative or adjunct to current treatment modalities for tinnitus and further investigation in this area.

Therapies, including those incorporating clinical hypnosis, occur in the context of consciously mediated interpersonal interactions. While the presence of the non-conscious and its content is often acknowledged, how non-conscious content is accessed and utilized in the training curricula to which clinical hypnosis students are exposed is under-emphasized. This article explores two phenomena - priming and the innate tendency of the human brain to engage in associative learning - that, when incorporated into the interpersonal process that constitutes clinical hypnosis, could expand and enrich outcomes for clients. The processes by which non-conscious processing shapes conscious experience, the role of the social environment in prioritizing and predisposing certain content that later makes its way into consciousness, and examples of how that content can be used to enhance clients' adaptive flexibility are discussed.

This article provides an edited transcript of a moderated discussion between depression experts Irving Kirsch and Michael Yapko regarding the role of antidepressants in the treatment of major depression. It includes references to the role of expectancy and the merits of hypnosis in treatment. This presentation was sponsored by MindsetHealth, an Australian-based digital therapeutics company (mindsethealth.com) and took place online on March 28, 2023. As a webinar offered at no cost, it was open to anyone with an interest in the subject. Dr. Kirsch described his landmark research on the placebo effect and its curious relationship to the presumed merits of antidepressant medications. Dr. Yapko discussed the limitations of drug treatment based on the substantial evidence indicating that depression is much more a social problem than a medical one. The moderator for this discussion is Claire Davidson, who serves as the Research Lead at MindsetHealth. Drs. Kirsch and Yapko both serve on the MindsetHealth Scientific Advisory Board.

Depressive disorders are common conditions associated with high personal and economic burdens. The best treatment outcomes occur in patients receiving both psychotherapy and antidepressant medications. Behavioral activation is one approach within the most widely available and studied psychotherapy frameworks (cognitive behavioral therapy, CBT) utilized for depression, and is effective in treating depression even in isolation from the rest of the CBT approach. Many hypnosis treatments for depression have been developed to incorporate various CBT techniques, including behavioral activation. However, research regarding the applications of hypnosis to facilitate behavioral activation has been slow to emerge. Addressing this relative gap in the literature may be possible through a broader review of the relevant literature. There is quality evidence speaking to the efficacy of diverse clinician-guided visualization or imagery exercises in the treatment of depression by means of behavioral activation. While not explicitly hypnosis, the similarities of these interventions to more typical hypnosis interventions are highly salient. Clinicians and researchers interested in hypnosis's applications to treating depression would benefit from adopting a more comprehensive consideration of the relevant literature.