Lennis G. Echterling

Impact of Stage Hypnosis

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a performance by a stage hypnotist on a university campus. We used two approaches to evaluate the effects: a random telephone survey of the student population, and face-to-face interviews with individuals who were in trance during the performance. These two approaches gave us the opportunity to study and to compare the characteristics and reactions of both the hypnotic subjects on the stage and the members of the audience. We found that about half of the individuals who had a trance experience generally enjoyed it and had some positive aftereffects. About one-fifth of the trance subjects had both a negative experience during the trance and some negative aftereffects. Stage hypnosis, although it is presented as mere entertainment, appears to have both positive and negative effects on a significant number of people. A number of factors contribute to its potential dangers. Stage hypnosis poses risks that are unacceptable and outweigh its potential enterta...

Situational factors related to rural adolescent alcohol use.

Factors and situations associated with alcohol use in a sample of rural junior and senior high school students are examined. Much research has shown that age, gender, grade in school, religiosity, socioeconomic status, and involvement in extracurricular activities are all related to adolescent alcohol use. The present paper looks at the relationship between these factors and situations which might be conducive to drinking (e.g., driving around in a car, before going to a party, etc.) to determine whether the factors make it more likely that an adolescent will drink in such situations. The amount of time spent in social activities was positively related to alcohol use in all situations examined except drinking at home or at dinner. The amount of time spent studying and the frequency of attending religious services were negatively related to alcohol use in the various situations. Females were also less likely to drink in the situations discussed. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

After the Flood: The Response of Ministers to a Natural Disaster

In this paper, we describe the roles and stresses of ministers in responding to the November, 1985, floods in West Virginia. We present the results of follow-up interviews with ministers covering such issues as work overload, frustrations, role conflict, and stress symptoms. In particular, we explore the unique challenges ministers face in helping people to integrate the traumatic and tragic events of the disaster into the theological context of their religious beliefs. Ministers often play an important role in offering emotional support to individuals suffering a personal tragedy. When people are confronted with losses, such as death or divorce, they frequently turn to the clergy for guidance and counseling. In rural areas where mental health resources are generally scarce and underused, ministers serve a particularly vital function in helping those who have had traumatic experiences. Although they are often well-trained or experienced in dealing with people coping with personal tragedies, the clergy, like other professionals, are rarely prepared for large-scale natural disasters.

Neuroscience, Magic, and Counseling

Recent findings in neuroscience have identified principles, such as attention management and change blindness, which stage magicians exploit to create illusions. Neuroscientists have also revealed how mirror neurons and oxytocin enhance the impact of magic. In other words, magicians are just as much practitioners of sleight of mind as they are of sleight of hand. We explore how magicians take advantage of these neurological processes to trick audiences and how counselors can use the same processes to enhance neuroplasticity. Magicians use techniques to narrow or misdirect attention, but counselors help expand awareness and illuminate what a client previously has dissociated, denied, or inhibited. Consequently, although a magic performance can leave a spectator mystified, counseling can leave a client transformed.

Phases of helping in successful crisis telephone calls

This study tested whether specific phases of helping occur during successful crisis telephone calls. Helper statements made in sampled calls were coded, and the outcomes of the calls were assessed. Systematic changes in assessment, affect integration, and problem-solving behaviors through the beginning, middle, and final thirds of calls were found to predict a successful outcome. A fourth helper category, establishment of a helping relationship, was negatively related to successful outcome. A three-phase model of telephone crisis intervention is offered, and the action orientation of crisis intervention is emphasized.

Contrasting Stage and Clinical Hypnosis

Abstract Although both are labeled hypnosis, the experience, behaviors, and effects of hypnosis in stage and clinical settings differ dramatically. These differences can be conceptualized within the framework of nonvolitional response expectancy. Two methods were used to gather information for this study: observation of the contrasting styles, strategies and situations in both stage and clinical hypnosis; and interviews with individuals who had experienced trance in both clinical and stage settings. There are significant differences in hypnotist style, subject attribution of causality, trance depth, trance behavior, and outcome. Situation, subjects role, and subjects perception of hypnotizability are used to contrast the differing response expectancies of stage and clinical hypnosis.

A training program in communication skills for receptionists

As integral members of the mental health or human service team, receptionists and secretaries can do a great deal to facilitate the helping process. This paper evaluates a training program designed to increase the communication skills of receptionists and secretaries. Participants in the full-day workshop gave the training experience high ratings, demonstrated significantly higher levels of communication skills than a comparison group, and reported using the skills in their actual work settings.

The Elements: A Model of Mindful Supervision.

Mindfulness, based on an ancient spiritual practice, is a core quality and way of being that can deepen and enrich the supervision of counselors. This model of mindful supervision incorporates Buddhist and Hindu conceptualizations of the roles of the five elements—space, earth, water, fire, air—as they relate to adhikara or studentship, the ongoing experience of a beginners mind. By extending the invitation to studentship and outlining a flow through the elements, this model cultivates a stance of “not knowing,” wonder, curiosity, and openness. We explore the contributions and dynamic interplay of each of these elements in promoting mindful supervision.

Evolution of PTSD Diagnosis in the DSM

This chapter summarizes the historical developments in the conceptualization of PTSD, discusses the significant current issues regarding the diagnosis of PTSD, and describes the changes that are in the DSM-5. The themes running through this narrative include war as a catalyst for understanding the impact of trauma, psychological and physiological conceptualizations of the syndrome, the pendulum of internal and external causality, application of PTSD to civilian traumas, and developmental perspectives in the diagnosis of PTSD.