The neuroscience of observing consciousness & mirror neurons in therapeutic hypnosis

Exploring hypnotist trance: the experiences of skilled practitioners

Milton Erickson first conceptualized the hypnotist trance (HT) as a unique psychological state developed in clinicians during hypnosis sessions. This qualitative study aimed to investigates HT through the experiences of 12 skilled Clinician Hypnosis Specialists (CHS). Data were collected via semi-structured face-to-face interviews, exploring participants' attitudes toward HT, its impact on their practice, and their strategies for developing and regulating it. Thematic analysis revealed that most CHS view HT as enhancing empathy, communication, and therapeutic effectiveness. However, challenges such as time distortion, hypnotic regression, and countertransference issues were also noted. The study highlights HT's dual nature - offering significant therapeutic benefits while presenting challenges that need careful management. These findings emphasize the importance of comprehensive HT training in hypnotherapy education and advocate for further research to explore HT across diverse contexts and expertise levels to deepen understanding of this complex phenomenon.

A Psychosocial Genomics Pilot Study in Oncology for Verifying Clinical, Inflammatory and Psychological Effects of Mind-Body Transformations-Therapy (MBT-T) in Breast Cancer Patients: Preliminary Results

Several studies have highlighted the key role of chronic inflammation in breast cancer development, progression, metastasis, and therapeutic outcome. These processes are mediated through a variety of cytokines and hormones that exert their biological actions either locally or distantly via systemic circulation. Recent findings suggest that positive psychosocial experiences, including psychotherapeutic interventions and therapeutic mind-body protocols, can modulate the inflammatory response by reducing the expression of genes/proteins associated with inflammation and stress-related pathways. Our preliminary results indicate that a specific mind-body therapy (MBT-T) could induce a significant reduction of the release of different cytokines and chemokines, such as SCGFβ, SDF-1α, MCP3, GROα, LIF, and IL-18, in the sera of breast cancer patients compared to a control group, suggesting that MBT-T could represent a promising approach to improve the wellness and outcome of breast cancer patients.

Analgesic hypnotic treatment in a post-stroke patient

In recent years, hypnotic suggestions have been used in several clinical conditions. This treatment is often used for anxiety treatment, somatization, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Hypnotic analgesia is one of the most clinically useful phenomena of hypnosis. The article describes the case of a patient who underwent hypnotic treatments for hypersensitivity and chronic pain. Results showed an improvement of pain control and a decrease of pain hypersensibility. In addition, during rehabilitative treatments, the patient reported a high level of compliance with the multidisciplinary team. These findings suggest that hypnosis could be a useful treatment for post-stroke pain management.

Dancing in the In-Between: Hypnosis, Transitional Space, and Therapeutic Action

This article develops the idea that hypnosis is an interactive phenomenon occurring in a relational matrix. A tripartite model for explicating this relational matrix is presented, which includes a discussion of transference, contemporary relationship factors, and the interaction of these to produce a sense of therapeutic alliance. These relationship factors are central to the therapeutic action of hypnosis as a vehicle to potentiate change and growth. The unique and specific contribution of each of these factors to the process of hypnotherapy and to therapeutic action is examined. Phenomenologically, this relational interaction is conceptualized as occurring in transitional space, shaped by processes of regression and attunement. From this perspective, the hypnotherapist is viewed as a kind of transitional object whose empathic presence contains and facilitates those interactive phenomena which evoke and balance the transferential and contemporary aspects of the relationship and which allow for uniquely evocative developmentally focused interventions in trance work. Several examples are presented from an ongoing case that demonstrate how these relational variables shape the hypnotherapeutic process and how they can be used for uncovering and self-examination, for structural maturation, for affect regulation, and for emerging ego mastery. The therapeutic action demonstrated relies on hypnotic interventions rooted in the various components of the relational matrix made possible by the clinician's awareness of and attunement to these and by hisor her informed and sensitive management of them and of his or her own intersubjectivity. Specific strategies are presented via these examples to effectively utilize this experience in the service of treatment goals.

Hypnosis as Sole Anesthesia for Dental Removal in a Patient with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Despite a number of studies on hypnosis as analgesia and anesthesia in several medical conditions, case studies on patients with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) are still relatively few. This case study is about a female patient with MCS who underwent dental removal using hypnosis as the sole anesthesia. The paradigm in which we work is psychosocial genomics of clinical hypnosis. We used the mind-body transformations therapy, one of the clinical methods of the psychosocial genomics paradigm. In order to induce not only effective analgesia and anesthesia but also a condition of well-being, problem-solving, effective coping and self-empowerment in our patient, 3 different hypnotic protocols were used in a multidimensional approach. Although further research is needed, our work might open up new scenarios for the application of hypnosis as sole anesthesia in conditions such as MCS.

Artificial Intelligence and brain

From the start, Kurt Godel observed that computer and brain paradigms were considered on a par by researchers and that researchers had misunderstood his theorems. He hailed with displeasure that the brain transcends computers. In this brief article, we point out that Artificial Intelligence (AI) comprises multitudes of human-made methodologies, systems, and languages, and implemented with computer technology. These advances enhance development in the electron and quantum realms. In the biological realm, animal neurons function, also utilizing electron flow, and are products of evolution. Mirror neurons are an important paradigm in neuroscience research. Moreover, the paradigm shift proposed here - 'hall of mirror neurons' - is a potentially further productive research tactic. These concepts further expand AI and brain research.

Treating Panic Disorder Hypnotically

A hypnosis protocol for treating panic disorder is provided. The implementation of this protocol is demonstrated through a case example involving the successful treatment of a 28-year-old firefighter presenting with a 4-month history of near-daily panic attacks. Core principles associated with this protocol include: (1) Elementary education about the physiology of panic; (2) A review of primary factors contributing to the evolution and manifestation of panic; (3) Encouragement of physical activity; (4) Utilization of hypnosis applications; and (5) Monitoring and measuring progress evidenced by a reduction in the frequency and intensity of panic attacks. Six years after his last hypnosis session, "Jason," the once panicked firefighter returned to my office for concerns unrelated to panic, and reported that he remained panic-free, retained his job, and was twice promoted.

Psychological Features of Hypnotizability: A First Step Towards Its Empirical Definition

This study examined the relationship between the Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP) and several psychological tests: Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS), Spontaneity Assessment Inventory-Revised (SAI-R), Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), Short-Form Boundary Questionnaire (SFBQ), Mini Locus of Control (MLOC), Testoni Death Representation Scale (TDRS), and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Two hundred and forty volunteers were administered the above tests; 78 of them were also administered the HIP, and its scores were compared to those on the other tests. A significant correlation was found among the TAS, DES, SFBQ, and IRI. The HIP was significantly correlated to the DES (r = .19 p_1tail = .045), and the IRI-ec subscale (r = .19 p_1tail = .044); 14 test items from DES, IRI, TAS, SAIR, and SFBQ were also significantly related to the HIP. The findings suggest that hypnotizability may relate to stronger perception of the inner world, decreased aptitude for managing memory processing, and increased sensitivity and empathy.

Attachment-Focused Hypnosis in Psychotherapy for Complex Trauma: Attunement, Representation, and Mentalization

The relational and psychological functions of attunement, representation, and mentalization are essential components of a secure attachment experience. Psychotherapeutic approaches informed by attachment theory have gained significant empirical and clinical support, particularly in the area of complex trauma. Despite these advances, attachment-informed trauma treatment could benefit greatly from the experiential wealth that clinical hypnosis has to offer. In its utilization of shared attention, tone of voice, pacing, representational imagery, and hypnotic language, clinical hypnosis as a state, relationship, and technique offers psychotherapists a way of introducing a healthy attachment experience and renewing appropriate developmental functioning in patients who are survivors of complex trauma. In this article, attunement, representation, and mentalization are reviewed from a hypnotherapeutic perspective.

'You are here': locating 'spirituality' on the map of the current medical world

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Clinical works at the intersection of 'spirituality, religion, theology and medicine' are studied to identify various aspects of what constitutes spirituality, what contributes to spiritual health and how to provide spiritual-healers for our current health-care system.

RECENT FINDINGS

Spiritual care in the current medical world can be classed grossly into two departments: complementary and alternative medicine, considered as proxy variable for spirituality, and physician-initiated clinical Chaplaincy, informed by theology. The large body of research on 'self' as a therapeutic tool, though, falls into subtle categories: phenomenological studies, empathy, embodied care, and mindfulness-based therapies. Development in the field of 'spiritual medicine' has focused on spirituality-related curricula.

SUMMARY

As mindfulness-based meditation programs help build deep listening skills needed to stay aware of the 'self', Clinical Pastoral Education trains the chaplain to transcend the 'self' to provide embodied care. Clinical chaplaincy is the destination for health-care professionals as well as theological/religious scholars who have patients' spiritual health as their primary focus. Medical education curricula that train students in chaplain's model of transpersonal-mindfulness/empathy founded on neuro-physiological principles would help them gain skills in embodied care. Such education would seamlessly integrate evidence-based clinical practice and spiritual-theological concepts.

Theory and practice of chaplain's spiritual care process: A psychiatrist's experiences of chaplaincy and conceptualizing trans-personal model of mindfulness

BACKGROUND

Of various spiritual care methods, mindfulness meditation has found consistent application in clinical intervention and research. "Listening presence," a chaplain's model of mindfulness and its trans-personal application in spiritual care is least understood and studied.

AIM

The aim was to develop a conceptualized understanding of chaplain's spiritual care process based on neuro-physiological principles of mindfulness and interpersonal empathy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Current understandings on neuro-physiological mechanisms of mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) and interpersonal empathy such as theory of mind and mirror neuron system are used to build a theoretical framework for chaplain's spiritual care process. Practical application of this theoretical model is illustrated using a carefully recorded clinical interaction, in verbatim, between chaplain and his patient. Qualitative findings from this verbatim are systematically analyzed using neuro-physiological principles.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Chaplain's deep listening skills to experience patient's pain and suffering, awareness of his emotions/memories triggered by patient's story and ability to set aside personal emotions, and judgmental thoughts formed intra-personal mindfulness. Chaplain's insights on and ability to remain mindfully aware of possible emotions/thoughts in the patient, and facilitating patient to return and re-return to become aware of internal emotions/thoughts helps the patient develop own intra-personal mindfulness leading to self-healing. This form of care involving chaplain's mindfulness of emotions/thoughts of another individual, that is, patient, may be conceptualized as trans-personal model of MBI.

CONCLUSION

Chaplain's approach may be a legitimate form of psychological therapy that includes inter and intra-personal mindfulness. Neuro-physiological mechanisms of empathy that underlie Chaplain's spiritual care process may establish it as an evidence-based clinical method of care.

Mysteries of hypnosis and the self are revealed by the psychology and neuroscience of empathy

This article reviews a growing body of research and theory in hypnosis and neuroscience that supports the empathic involvement theory (EIT) of hypnosis (Wickramasekera II, 2001; Wickramasekera II & Szlyk, 2003; Wickramasekera II, 2007c). The EIT is a unified transpersonal theory of hypnosis and the self, which weaves together empathic elements of Dzogchen, neodissociative, neuroscience, psychoanalytic, sociocognitive, and other theories by proposing that hypnotic phenomena are inherently characterized by their deep involvement with processes of empathy and the self. The EIT proposes that the experience of hypnosis is embodied in a system of neural networks in the brain that utilizes empathy-related processes, adaptive resonance between perceptual input and top-down expectancies, and connectionist learning algorithms to (a) empathically enact the affect, cognition, body language, response expectancies, social roles, sensations, etc. that are presented to them during hypnosis in accordance with socio-cognitive theories of hypnosis; (b) engage in a convergent psychophysiological relationship with another person in accordance with psychoanalytic, Ericksonian, and polyvagal/social engagement system theories; (c) alter the empathic self/other (theory of mind) coding of phenomenological experiences during hypnosis in accordance with aspects of the neo-dissociative and socio-cognitive traditions; and (d) develop an experiential understanding of the illusion of self that may lead, in some people, to its transcendence in accordance with Bon-Buddhist, Dzogchen, and transpersonal scholars. A unified definition of hypnosis is proposed based on findings in the empathic neuroscience of hypnosis as well as a working model of the neuromatrix of the self.

Relational hypnosis

This article provides a meta-theoretical framework, which can be applied to hypnosis, based on relational (intersubjective) psychoanalysis. The relationship between hypnosis and psychoanalysis is reviewed by describing three splits: (a) psychoanalysis split off from brain science; (b) psychoanalysis split off from hypnosis; and (c) splits within psychoanalysis itself. Reintegrations of these three splits are discussed from a meta-theoretical point of view--through neuropsychoanalysis and hypnodynamic hypnotherapy (or hypnoanalysis), which combines interpersonal and intrapersonal psychology. Evidence of the mutual adjustments of the hypnotist's style to the needs of the hypnotized is presented, including the unconscious interactional mechanisms that enable these adjustments in the context of relational hypnosis.

A new mind-body approach for a total healing of fibromyalgia: a case report

Fibromyalgia is a severe, chronic and widespread pain syndrome with no definite treatment protocol. Several medications are currently in use to treat this condition. Various pharmacological treatments, as well as alternative mind-body therapies, have been directed towards reducing fatigue and pain, but these treatments have only resulted in a partial relief of symptoms with no long-term or permanent effects. This study shows the results obtained from four female patients suffering from fibromyalgia after undergoing a mind-body treatment in which psychosocial genomic postulates as well as ideodynamic hand movements were the main tools employed in their healing. It is suggested that a mind-body oriented treatment could generate stable and permanent changes that enable patients to experience a total recovery from fibromyalgia.

The psychosocial genomics of therapeutic hypnosis, psychotherapy, and rehabilitation

This paean composed on the occasion of the inaugural Bernauer W. Newton Trust presentation celebrates the personal and professional culture of 50 years of mentorship, teaching, and research by the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH). This review of current neuroscience concepts of therapeutic hypnosis and psychotherapy is made possible by the cooperation and dedication of all members of our society. Emerging pathways of psychosocial genomic research, which will lead to new directions for our society, are highlighted for their impact on our professional practice in the present and future.

Novel activity-dependent approaches to therapeutic hypnosis and psychotherapy: the general waking trance

This paper presents a highly edited version of a videotape made in 1980 by Marion Moore, M.D., showing Milton H. Erickson and Moore demonstrating novel, activity-dependent approaches to hand-levitation and therapeutic hypnosis on their subject, Ernest Rossi. Erickson's naturalistic and utilization approach is described in his very direct and surprising induction in a trance challenged patient. These novel, and surprising inductions are examples of how Erickson was prescient in developing activity-dependent approaches to therapeutic hypnosis and psychotherapy several generations before modern neuroscience documented the activity-dependent molecular-genomic mechanisms of memory, learning, and behavior change. Erickson describes a case where he utilized what he called, "The General Waking Trance" when he "dared" not use an obvious hypnotic induction. It is proposed that the states of intense mental absorption and response attentiveness that are facilitated by the general waking trance are functionally related to the three conditions neuroscientists have identified as novelty, enrichment, and exercise (both mental and physical), which can turn on activity-dependent gene expression and activity-dependent brain plasticity, that are the molecular-genomic and neural basis ofmemory, learning, consciousness, and behavior change. We recommend that the next step in investigating the efficacy of therapeutic hypnosis will be in partnering with neuroscientists to explore the possibilities and limitations of utilizing the activity-dependent approaches to hypnotic induction and the general waking trance in facilitating activity-dependent gene expression and brain plasticity.

Mirror neuron system based therapy for emotional disorders

Mirror neuron system (MNS) represents one of the most important discoveries in the area of neuropsychology of past decades. More than 500 papers have been published in this area (PubMed), and the major functions of MNS include action understanding, imitation, empathy, all of which are critical for an individual to be social. Recent studies suggested that MNS can modulate emotion states possibly through the empathy mechanism. Here we propose that MNS-based therapies provide a non-invasive approach in treatments to emotional disorders that were observed in autism patients, post-stroke patients with depression as well as other mood dysregulation conditions.