Contemporary hypnosis : the journal of the British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis最新文献

This meta-analysis evaluates the effect of hypnosis in reducing emotional distress associated with medical procedures. PsycINFO and PubMed were searched from their inception through February 2008. Randomized controlled trials of hypnosis interventions, administered in the context of clinical medical procedures, with a distress outcome, were included in the meta-analysis (26 of 61 papers initially reviewed). Information on sample size, study methodology, participant age and outcomes were abstracted independently by 2 authors using a standardized form. Disagreements were resolved by consensus. Effects from the 26 trials were based on 2342 participants. Results indicated an overall large effect size (ES) of 0.88 (95% CI = 0.57–1.19) in favour of hypnosis. Effect sizes differed significantly (p < 0.01) according to age (children benefitted to a greater extent than adults) and method of hypnosis delivery, but did not differ based on the control condition used (standard care vs. attention control). Copyright © 2008 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

It has long been theorized that individuals who spend a great deal of time engaged in fantasy and report profound imaginative involvements are highly hypnotizable (see Wilson and Barber, 1981, 1983a). To test this hypothesized link, we administered the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings (ICMI), the Short Imaginal Processes Inventory (SIPI), a measure of daydreaming frequency and the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A) to 506 undergraduate students in Study 1. In Study 2, a separate sample of 534 college students completed the ICMI and the HGSHS:A. Across the studies, we obtained a small positive correlation between our measures of fantasy proneness and hypnotizability. Results showed that highly hypnotizable individuals, compared with those who are less hypnotizable, do not spend a great deal of their waking lives engaged in fantasy or daydreaming. Copyright © 2008 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Historically and continuing into the present, the field of hypnosis has been divided into proponents of ‘state’ or ‘special-state’ and ‘non-state’ or ‘sociocognitive’ accounts of hypnosis. Although many investigators now dispute this distinction, it can still be used as a rough guide to views of the phenomenon. The sociocognitive view, at least in the last 20 years, has emphasized social and cognitive processes in the explanation of hypnosis and its effects, but increasingly – and consistent with social cognition in general – the social too has been theorized in cognitive terms. This paper reviews these theoretical developments with the aim of exploring the implications of the loss of the social in ‘non-state’ accounts. As a historical, cultural and ultimately social phenomenon, at what cost is hypnosis reduced to its strictly cognitive dimensions? Copyright © 2008 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Background: The primary objective of this study was to examine the differential impact of catastrophic thinking on response to placebo and active treatment in the context of a clinical trial for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Secondary objectives included examination of specific dimensions of catastrophic thinking that influence response to placebo and active treatment.

Methods: A sample of 46 patients (26 men, 20 women) with neuropathic pain were randomly assigned to a placebo (n = 24) or treatment (amitriptyline + ketamine) condition (n = 22). All patients completed the Pain Catastrophizing Scale prior to treatment.

Results: There were no significant differences between placebo and active treatment on pain reduction. In the placebo condition, high scores on the PCS were associated with greater pain reduction (r = 0.42, p < 0.05), while in the treatment condition, higher PCS scores were associated with less pain reduction (r = −0.51, p < 0.01). Additional analyses revealed that individuals in the active treatment condition reported slightly more side effects than individuals in the placebo condition, and that catastrophizing was significantly correlated with the report of side effects (r = 0.29, p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Catastrophizing appears to have a differential impact on treatment response to placebo and active treatment. Given that side effects are more likely with active treatments than placebos, high levels of catastrophizing might impact negatively on active treatment effects but not necessarily on placebo effects. Discussion addresses how pain catastrophizing may contribute to null findings in clinical trials of interventions for pain disorders. Copyright © 2008 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of having personal experience and information about hypnosis over the beliefs and attitudes toward hypnosis, using a sample of students from Spain, United States, Portugal and Romania. The factor structure of the Revised Valencia Scale of Attitudes and Beliefs toward Hypnosis-Client Version, as well as its psychometric properties are also analyzed. An exploratory factor analysis of the scale was conducted and an 8-factor model solution similar to the one found in other versions of this scale was obtained: Help, Personal Control, Magical Solution, Interest, Collaboration, Fear, Memory/Trance and Marginal. Results also indicated that participants who had previously experienced hypnosis and/or based their knowledge of hypnosis on scientific sources scored, in general, higher in factors indicating positive attitudes and correct beliefs about hypnosis. Copyright © 2008 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This article presents a selective review of recent developments in research on hypnotic pain reduction. A profusion of well-controlled studies of hypnotic analgesia in children suggests that hypnosis ranks among the more effective psychological tools for managing the distress experienced by youngsters undergoing invasive medical procedures. This literature also draws attention to the importance of matching interventions to natural pain coping strategies. Virtual reality hypnosis shows much promise as a treatment and may offer hope to people who might otherwise be unable to experience hypnotic analgesia. Response expectancies appear to be a key psychological mechanism of hypnotic pain reduction. Neuroimaging studies point to activity in the midcingulate cortex as a possible biological mechanism of hypnotic analgesia. More generally, based upon the findings of a sound empirical literature, important meta-analytic and qualitative reviews have concluded that hypnosis is effective for reducing both experimental and clinical pain. Indeed, the study of hypnotic pain reduction is vigorous, innovative, and may well have entered a golden era of research. Copyright © 2008 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In an extensive review of more than 400 hypnotic treatment outcome studies, Flammer and Bongartz (2003) presented meta-analytic evidence supporting the efficacy of hypnosis as a therapeutic tool. Meta-analyses, however, are prone to the problem of selective publication of studies reporting positive outcomes. In the present investigation, we therefore employed a variety of methods to test for the presence of publication bias in the data analysed by Flammer and Bongartz (2003). The results suggest that publication bias may have contributed to the effect size estimate by about one third. However, our analysis also shows that the efficacy of hypnosis is of a substantive nature, and may not be explained on the basis of publication bias alone. Copyright © 2008 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We discuss the role of hypnotizability in the development and treatment of chronic pain, and in the prognosis of its possible cardiovascular consequences. Data indicate that high hypnotic susceptibility is not necessary for the relief of chronic pain obtained through hypnotic treatment. Moreover, and at variance with an earlier hypothesis, being highly susceptible to hypnosis does not represent a higher risk for developing chronic pain; in addition, high hypnotizability may be a favourable protective factor against the possible cardiovascular consequences of chronic pain. However, we cannot exclude that psychological factors such as mindfulness, well-being and pain-catastrophizing differ in ‘Highs’ versus ‘Lows’, and these may represent the real agents of the differences between the two groups in pain experience, the development of chronic pain, and possible vascular consequences of chronic pain. Copyright © 2008 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

First, some analytic characterizations of suggestibility as well as a brief summary of recent developments of tests and scales for suggestibility without hypnosis are provided. Following that summary, an empirical study on the development of a relaxation tool both for induction and measurement is described that does not make use of the terms ‘suggestion’ and ‘hypnosis’. The objective was to measure suggestibility and relaxation that may correlate to these two approaches. This instrument consists of indirect motor items which are supposed to induce relaxation in an implicit manner and mental items inducing relaxation in an explicit way. In order to assess its psychometric quality this scale was administered to 177 school children (aged between 10 and 21 years). Item difficulties, item-total-correlations and reliability had satisfactory psychometric qualities. The correlation between these scales was moderate (r = 0.37). Finally, the strategy for further development of the scales is outlined. Copyright © 2008 British Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.