David M. Wark

Teaching College Students Better Learning Skills Using Self-Hypnosis

This paper reports the effects of self-hypnosis used by 51 college students enrolled in a 10-week course on efficient learning skills. All students were administered the Creative Imagination Scale. Subsequently, they learned to enter and deepen alert self-hypnosis. They gave themselves personal suggestions and then studied in hypnosis. They reported their depth of hypnosis and satisfaction with each session. Grades were collected the quarter before, during and after the course. Satisfaction and depth data indicated the students were involved all through the course. Statistical testing showed that students who scored highest on the CIS had the lowest initial GPA, improved most during the course, and significantly increased their GPA in the quarter after.

Alert Hypnosis: A Review and Case Report

Abstract This review summarizes the use of hypnotic inductions while the subject is physically active, open-eyed and focused on the external environment. Research cited from several sources documents that traditional and alert inductions produce similar hypnotic susceptibility scores, but after an alert induction, subjects may report feeling more alert and in control. A case is reported of a client who was able to use such an induction to stay in alert hypnosis for an extended time, and reduce the long-standing anxiety effects of past failure. Finally, a systematic way is discussed to generate inductions that may expand the use of hypnosis to new applications.

A Spiral Curriuculm for Hypnosis Training

Abstract Although hypnosis has been used for centuries, there are few reports of systematic, professional training. The most thorough codification of instructional content is the Standards of Training in Clinical Hypnosis (SOTCH) (Elkins & Hammond, 1994), endorsed by The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH), and The Society of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (SCEH) for annual workshops. This curriculum is organized around two assumptions: training is presented to adult professionals who know their own objectives; and each participant has a favorite learning style that should be accommodated. The workshop follows the content and time recommendations of the SOTCH. Some content is scheduled with spaced opportunity for practice. Concepts are organized in a spiral pattern, then presented and reviewed several times, each time in more detail, and in ways that accommodate different learning styles.

Traditional and Alert Hypnosis for Education: A Literature Review

In laboratory research, hypnotic suggestions have increased simple learning performance. There is also evidence that hypnosis may be used to increase higher level cognitive processes such as reading speed and listening comprehension. But using a traditional, relaxed, eyes-closed induction made it difficult to read and take tests and do other activities involved in independent academic performance. The subsequent development and refinement of an alert, eyes-open induction and appropriate suggestions made it possible for students to significantly increase reading comprehension and academic performance.

WHAT WE CAN DO WITH HYPNOSIS : A BRIEF NOTE

Abstract This article summarizes the search for efficacious hypnotic treatments. Eighteen major meta analyses were reviewed and the results evaluated using the criteria of Chambless & Hollon, (1998). The analysis identified 32 disorders for which hypnosis can be considered a possible treatment, 5 for which it seems effective, and 2 for which it appears specific. If clinicians use hypnosis in the situations where it seems to be efficacious, and systematically expand the list of conditions where it will be helpful, the results will be even more impressive for the 100th anniversary of this Journal.

Alert Hypnotic Inductions: Use in Treating Combat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Alert hypnosis can be a valuable part of the treatment protocol for the resolution of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research indicates that combat veterans with PTSD are more hypnotically susceptible than the general population. For that reason, it is hypothesized that they should be better able to use hypnosis in treatment. As opposed to the traditional modality, eyes-open alert hypnosis allows the patient to take advantage of hypnotic phenomena while participating responsibly in work, social life, and recreation. Three case studies are reported on combat veterans with PTSD who learned to overcome their symptoms using alert hypnosis.

The Measurement of Test Anxiety in a Reading Class.

Abstract Recent research demonstrates a negative correlation between test anxiety and reading comprehension by college students. Seemingly, high anxious students get lower comprehension because they ignore or do not integrate cues from different parts of the text. For the clinician, the problem is how to diagnose test anxiety. The Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) is shown to be a reliable and valid instrument for separating test anxious readers in a population of students. A cutting score is proposed that seems to work in the reading program. Suggestions for reducing reading anxiety are presented. The 16 item TAS is included in the article.

Commentary: The Ghosts of Research Past

Kirsch at al (in press this issue) argue that phenomena produced by suggestions in hypnosis can be produced almost as well by suggestion without the induction of hypnosis. They base their conclusion in part on a research paradigm using imaginative suggestions (Braffman & Kirsch, 1999; Braffman & Kirsch, 2001). Subjects are asked to imagine that their arm is rising, or that their arms are moving apart, or their arms are immobile, items all taken from the Carleton University Responsiveness to Suggestion Scale (Spanos et. al., 1983a, 1983b). In that situation, and with those suggestions, there is no significant or practical difference between a response following a “waking suggestion” and one following a hypnotic induction. The responses of interest are relatively simple, observable and for the most part highly practiced. Consider now an alternative suggestion paradigm. A middle aged male has habitually over used tobacco for many years. On the evening of a certain January 1, in a condition that could be called “waking,” he suggests to himself: “That was my last cigarette.” On January 2, he is seen to be smoking. He repeats this process every year for five more consecutive years. On the next January 3 he hires a therapist to teach him self hypnosis. After the session, the client relaxes, remembers that the therapist told him that smoking brings poison to his body, he needs his body to live, that he owes his body respect. He repeats to himself some instructions designed to produce hypnosis, and then suggests “I’m never going to smoke again”. He follows that hypnotic suggestion, stops smoking, and lives a longer, healthier life, consistent with the clinical literature (Green and Lynn 2000). In this imagined case, the suggestion following hypnotic induction is considerably more effective. Does that trump Kirsch’s generalized, reductionistic argument? Clearly, no. It may simply be that the situation that Kirsch describes, while real, is limited. It may be that hypnotic suggestions are not very impactfull on certain imaginative suggestions; suggestions that are highly practiced, involve simple

An inexpensive apparatus for desensitization by recorded tape

Abstract The use of a pair of portable cassette tape recorders for desensitization is described.

Alert Hypnosis With Tai Chi Movement for Trauma Resolution

Alert hypnosis has a growing body of evidence to support its use in resolving trauma symptoms. There is also research to support the use of tai chi in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Integrating alert hypnosis with tai chi movements offers the potential to further the benefits of both approaches. Patients have an opportunity to work toward their desired goals using hypnotic techniques to embody targeted changes both in session and outside the office. Providers get behavioral information about the physical and emotional states in the patient. This overlap provides an advanced platform for integrated clinical work, supporting a closer integration of curative processes.