The American journal of clinical hypnosis
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Review
Operationalizing "trance". I: Rationale and research using a psychophenomenological approach.
Despite the popularity of the term "trance" among clinicians to describe the subjective effects associated with being hypnotized, heretofore there has been no means to operationalize that definition. The authors present a rationale and psychophenomenological method to operationalize the term "trance" in terms of (a) hypnotic depth, a quantitative measure of subjective trance assessed via a pHGS (predicted Harvard Group Scale) score, derived from regression analysis, and (b) "trance typology profiles," a qualitative differentiation of empirically derived (via cluster and discriminant analyses) categories of subjective trance experiences. The authors then discuss theoretical and clinical implications of this psychophenomenological approach for developing an operational definition of the concept of trance.
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Review Case Reports
Hypnosis in the treatment of patients with severe burns.
Burn injuries are a frequent form of trauma, the care for which typically involves repeated, intrusive procedures and acute, excruciating levels of pain. Although research in the use of hypnosis with burn patients is largely anecdotal there is emerging evidence that the burn unit may be one of the most useful arenas for the clinical application of this technique. The acute, identifiable nature of burn care procedures and the emotional state of patients in trauma care both provide an often receptive setting for the use of this intervention.
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This is a review of the systematic studies conducted since 1980 in the area of hypnotic interventions for anxiety, pain, and emesis control in child and adolescent cancer patients. The focus of the present paper is on how the problems encountered in studying the use of hypnosis with this population influence the results. The review is divided between studies focused on controlling anxiety and pain and those focused on controlling nausea and vomiting. Consistent findings are identified, and suggestions for future research are made.
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In this paper I examine the clinical use of hypnosis for pain management from a cognitive-behavioral perspective. This perspective emphasizes the multifaceted nature of hypnotic interventions and the importance of patients' attitudes, expectations, and beliefs in modulating the pain experience. ⋯ Since this approach does not pivot around the concept of a hypnotic trance state, we look elsewhere in our quest to understand the nature of pain modulation in the hypnotic context. Freedom from a theoretical commitment to the hypnotic trance state is seen as opening new avenues for the development of effective clinical interventions.
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Ego-state therapy is a psychodynamic approach in which techniques of group and family therapy are employed to resolve conflicts between the various "ego states" that constitute a "family of self" within a single individual. Although covert ego states do not normally become overt except in true multiple personality, they are hypnotically activated and made accessible for contact and communication with the therapist. Any of the behavioral, cognitive, analytic, or humanistic techniques may then be employed in a kind of internal diplomacy. Some 20 years experience with this approach has demonstrated that complex psychodynamic problems can often be resolved in a relatively short time compared to more traditional analytic therapies.