Moshe S. Torem

Patterns of dissociation in clinical and nonclinical samples

Research has consistently found elevated mean dissociation scores in particular diagnostic groups. In this study, we explored whether mean dissociation scores for different diagnostic groups resulted from uniform distributions of scores within the group or were a function of the proportion of highly dissociative patients that the diagnostic group contained. A total of 1566 subjects who were psychiatric patients, neurological patients, normal adolescents, or normal adult subjects completed the Dissociative Experience Scale (DES). An analysis of the percentage of subjects with high DES scores in each diagnostic group indicated that the diagnostic groups mean DES scores were a function of the proportion of subjects within the group who were high dissociators. The results contradict a continuum model of dissociation but are consistent with the existence of distinct dissociative types.

Indications of physical, sexual, and verbal victimization in projective tree drawings

Several facets of the Tree-Scar-Trauma hypothesis were addressed. The first inquiry was whether scars, knotholes, and/or broken branches on a drawn tree are indicative of previous victimization. A statistically significant relationship between these variables was found. The study also examined differences between mental health patients (N = 56) and control subjects (N = 215) with regard to their abuse history and tree drawings. No significant differences between these two populations were found. A modification of Bucks (1948) hypothesis with regard to the relationship between the location of traumatic indicators on projective tree drawings and age of traumatization was tested and not validated. However, the association between the duration of physical abuse and the number of indicators on the tree was statistically significant.

Mind-Body Hypnotic Imagery in the Treatment of Auto-Immune Disorders

Abstract For many years Western Medicine has considered the immune system to be separate and independent from the central nervous system. However, significant scientific advances and research discoveries that occurred during the past 50 years have presented additional facts that the immune system does interact with the central nervous system with mutual influence. This article provides a systematic review of the literature on the connection between the brain and the immune system and its clinical implications. It then provides a rational foundation for the role of using hypnosis and imagery to therapeutically influence the immune system. Five case examples are provided with illustrated instructions for clinicians on how hypnosis and imagery may be utilized in the treatment of patients with auto-immune disorders. Suggestions for future research in this field are included.

A Practical Approach in the Treatment of Self-Inflicted Violence

After a brief review of the literature on self-inflicted violence, a practical approach to the treatment of patients who show self-injurious behavior and self-mutilation is developed. The treatment model uses therapeutic interventions based on a biopsychosocial understanding of the person and applies knowledge from the biological, psychological-behavioral, and social fields. Interventions discussed include ego strengthening, planning for substitute behaviors, therapeutic imagery, ego-state therapy, refraining, cognitive syllogism, behavioral reinforcement and extinction, and use of behavioral contracts. The case examples presented illustrate the importance of the therapist/patient relationship, which is based on trust, respect, and caring but also on patient responsibility for change.

The Central Role of Suggestion in All Clinical Encounters Including Psychoanalysis

The title of the article by Raz & Wolfson implies that the role of suggestion in psychotherapeutic change is described as “copper” while change through psychoanalysis is described as “gold,” implying that suggestion has an inferior role compared to changes achieved by psychoanalysis. Some have stated that Freud himself considered his method of psychoanalysis to be a superior tool for therapeutic change compared to the supposedly unsophisticated method of suggestion. Recent studies of brain imaging have given suggestion a new importance since it has now been validated as a real and powerful phenomenon that has a biological foundation in the human brain. This has not yet happened for psychoanalytic concepts such as ego, id, transference, countertransference, etc. This commentary argues the point that Freud never truly divorced himself from recognizing the important role of suggestion in psychoanalysis. Moreover, I believe that suggestion has a central role in all clinical encounters including the practice of psychoanalysis, as is shown in greater detail in the body of this commentary. It is my opinion that accepting this point of view will benefit practitioners of psychoanalysis as well as their patients.

Spanos, Nicholas A. (1996). Multiple Identities & False Memories: A Sociocognitive Perspective. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, xiii + 371 Pages,

(2000). Spanos, Nicholas A. (1996). Multiple Identities & False Memories: A Sociocognitive Perspective. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, xiii + 371 Pages,

29.95 (Cloth)

29.95 (Cloth) American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis: Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 161-163.

Guided Imagery for Functional Disorders

Therapeutic guided imagery (TGI) is a mind-body medical intervention that has the potential of providing healing benefits to individuals with functional disorders. Moreover, it is a skill that most patients can learn and practice on their own on a regular basis. TGI can promote healing, reduce suffering, and enhance the body’s capacity to prevent and resist illness. TGI is a treatment modality that has no negative side effects and is based on experiencing a desirable positive outcome with one or more of the five senses (visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory).