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Hypnosis

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Hypnosis is popularly understood to be a psychological condition in which an individual may be induced to exhibit apparent changes in behaviour or thought patterns - in particular an increase in suggestibility and subjective feelings of relaxation. The procedure by which this is achieved is called hypnotism.

Intense debate surrounds the topic of hypnosis. Many scientists dispute its very existence, while many therapists insist upon its value. One of the problems that creates controversy is the wide variety of theories of hypnosis. The definitions of hypnosis are as varied as the definers. Dr. William S. Kroger states:

"Like the nature of human behavior, there will be different theories about hypnosis since all hypnotic phenomena have their counterpart in the various aspects of human behavior." (1977)

The applications of hypnosis vary widely. Currently, two distinct applications of hypnosis include its use in entertainment and in health applications. The popular perception of the hypnotic experience is that of the entertainment version. The stage hypnotist uses a variety of methods to relax and focus the subjects eventually making it appear to the audience that the subject is asleep or, popularly termed, in trance. During the performance, the subjects seem to obey the commands of the hypnotist to engage in behaviors they might not normally choose to perform.

On the other hand, hypnosis applications in the medical and health-related fields are often experienced very differently. Clinical hypnosis is used in attempts to increase the ability to recall memories, assist with dieting, smoking cessation, pain reduction or elimination, eliminating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as well as resolving mental disorders such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression.

Definitions

The following definitions are based on the theories presented later in this article.

American Psychological Association

In 1993, the American Psychological Association defined hypnosis as "a procedure during which a health professional or researcher suggests that a client, patient, or experimental participant experience changes in sensations, perceptions, thoughts, or behavior."[1]

This definition was revised and expanded March 2005. It begins, "Hypnosis typically involves an introduction to the procedure during which the subject is told that suggestions for imaginative experiences will be presented." (see Complete definition and description.)



History

For the history on this topic, please see History of hypnosis

Theories

Hypnosis as a symptom of hysteria

The French neurologist, Charcot, postulated that hypnosis was a symptom of hysteria and that only those people experiencing hysteria were believed to be hypnotizable.[2] Although he was expressing knowledge appropriate to his time, countless clinical observations and laboratory investigations conducted in the subsequent century, have demonstrated that Charcot was completely mistaken in his belief. No psychological symptom and no mental disorder is associated with hypnotic response. On the contrary, many healthy individuals are able to fully experience a wide range of hypnotic phenomena.

Hypnosis as a conditioned process leading to sleep

Ivan Pavlov believed that hypnosis was a "partial sleep". He observed that the various degrees of hypnosis didn't significantly differ physiologically from the waking state and hypnosis depended on insignificant changes of environmental stimuli. Pavlov also suggested that lower brain stem mechanisms were involved in hypnotic conditioning.[3] Pavlov's conclusion was appropriate to the limited knowledge of his time. It has been subsequently demonstgrated, however, that the hypnotic state is distinctly different from sleep. There is no condition known as "partial sleep."

Although no sane researcher still subscribes to this theory, Kroger states "during deep sleep, conditioned reflexes and physiological responses to a repeatedly given stimulus cannot be established, whereas in hypnosis the learning of conditioned reflexes is enhanced over and above that of the nonhypnotic state." Kroger may well have been kidding. (He was known as a great kidder.) In any case, kidding or not, his statement is totally bone-headed.

In hypnosis, the subject typically appears to be asleep only of eye closure. There is no relationship between hypnosis and sleep. The altered state of consciousness that is called "hypnosis" differs from both sleep and waking.

Dissociation and neodissociation theories

The Dissociative Theory of hypnosis, postulated by Pierre Janet, states that while in hypnosis, areas of an individual's awareness are split off from ordinary awareness. In this case, hypnosis can systematically remove such awareness from the conscious mind and the individual will respond with automatic, nonvolitional behavior. Weitzenhoffer describes hypnosis via this theory as "dissociation of awareness from the majority of sensory and even strictly neural events taking place."[4]

Ernest Hilgard extended this theory to create the Neodissociation Theory, which postulates that although there exists a normal executive function that controls awareness and behavior, there are other processes that occur outside of such awareness.

Altered state of consciousness theory

Hypnosis is commonly viewed by its proponents and practitioners as a natural, altered state of consciousness, where the conscious (analytical) mind is bypassed, and the subconscious (creative) mind is accessed. This allows the subject to use the power of visualization and suggestion, given by oneself or another, to change and improve behavior patterns.

Hypnosis, then, is just a state of mental and physical relaxation, along with a more focused sense of concentration. Hypnosis is not sleep (as is often popularly assumed), and most people find that they are more aware of smells, sounds, and feelings than usual. Some believe that this is a form of trance state, similar to somnambulism, while others believe that hypnosis functions predominantly by focusing and diverting attention. This concentrated awareness is what allows the hypnotherapist to plant positive suggestions and images in the mind of the client to bring about lasting changes.

State theory

Currently a more popular theory, it proposes that hypnosis is a state or, more commonly, a "trance". Hilgard relates this state to an "ability component" or a "trait of hypnotic responsiveness".[5]

Non-state theory

Theodore Barber greatly misunderstood some of the findings reported by Martin Orne. As a resultof his misunderstanding, Barber believed that hypnosis is not a state and is not produced as the the result of suggestions. He suggested that hypnosis is based on a number of overlapping variables, but, primarily, that interpersonal relationships allows the operator to restructure perceptions and conceptions of the subject. He theorizes that this occurs because the subject is relatively inattentive to the environment and, because of this misdirection of attention, the subject is willing to think as the hypnotist wants them to think.[6] Aside from how bizarre this seems, on the face of it, consider: Your dentist is fresh out of local anesthetic and wants you, by "misdirection of attentioon" to think as he wants you to think. To wit, that it doesn't hurt to have your tooth extracted. ("Come on, now, Ted...this won't hurt a bit.")

Role-playing theory

This theory (it such a silly idea can be called a theory) suggests that individuals are playing a role and allowing the hypnotist to create a reality for them. (See Theodore Barber and his dentist, above.)

Hypersuggestibility theory

More a tautology than a meaningful theory, it states the subject's attention is narrowed by certain techniques used by the hypnotist. As attention is narrowed, the hypnotist's words eventually take over the inner voice of the subject. From this theory comes the wholly ridiculous idea that only gullible or weak-minded people are suggestable. Some people, however, find the narrowing of attention to be desirable. Milton Erickson was said to have told his subjects, "... and my voice will go with you." Can you imagine what must've been in his mind to create such a crazy sensation in people? ("Hang on, Ma, I can't hear you. My shrink's voice is speaking to me.")


Hypnotism as a social construct

Generally, under hypnosis people become more receptive to suggestion, causing changes in the way they feel, think, and behave. Some psychologists (Sarbin, Spanos...) have suggested that hypnosis is a social construct, which is another way of saying that the subject is playing a role. Much experimental work has demonstrated that the experiences of hypnotised subjects can be dramatically shaped by expectations and social nuances. This view is often misunderstood: It does not discount the claim that hypnotised individuals are truly experiencing suggested effects, just that the mechanim by which this has taken place has in part been socially constructed. (See Kihlstrom.)

Research on Hypnosis

Much research has been conducted into the nature and effects of hypnosis and suggestion, and hypnosis continues to be a popular (if somewhat peripheral) tool in contemporary Psychological research. A number of different strands of hypnosis research are apparent: that which examines the 'state' of hypnosis itself, that which examines the effects and properties of suggestions in and out of hypnosis, and that which uses hypnotic suggestion as a tool to research other areas of psychological functioning.

With the advent of recent brain imaging techniques (fMRI, although also EEG and PET) there has been a resurgence of interest in the relationship between hypnosis and brain function. Any human experience is reflected in some way in the brain - seeing colours or motion is underscored by activity in the visual cortex, feeling fear is mediated by activity in the amygdala - and so hypnosis and suggestion are expected to have observable effects upon brain function. An important issue for researchers conducting brain imaging is to separate the effects of hypnosis and suggestion - knowing that a suggestion given during hypnosis affects brain area X does not just tell us about hypnosis, it tells us about the effects of the suggestion too. To account for this experiments need to include a non-hypnotic-response-to-suggestion condition - only this way can the specific effects of hypnosis be examined.

A number of brain-imaging studies have been conducted which have used hypnosis, a selection are given below:

For example, one controlled scientific experiment postulates that hypnosis may change conscious experience in a way not possible when people are not "hypnotized", at least in "highly hypnotizable" people. In this experiment, color perception was changed by hypnosis in "highly hypnotizable" people as determined by positron emission tomography (PET) scans (Kosslyn et al., 2000). (This research does not compare the effects of hypnosis on less hypnotizable people and could therefore show little causal effect due to the lack of a control group.)

Another research example, employing event-related fMRI and EEG coherence measures, compared certain specific neural activity "during Stroop task performance between participants of low and high hypnotic susceptibility, at baseline and after hypnotic induction". According to its authors, "the fMRI data revealed that conflict-related ACC activity interacted with hypnosis and hypnotic susceptibility, in that highly susceptible participants displayed increased conflict-related neural activity in the hypnosis condition compared to baseline, as well as with respect to subjects with low susceptibility." (Egner et al., 2005). Skeptics dispute the significance of such findings, claiming that such changes cannot be shown to be particular to the hypnotised state, and that any other action such as daydreaming is also likely to alter brain activity in some manner. The subject is still a matter of current research and scientific debate.

There is a long tradition (over a century) of hypnosis research (the majority of which does not use brain imaging techniques!) which has allowed scientists to test key ideas in the debate. Hypnosis has been shown to be an effective tool for pain relief, and when combined adjunctively with other therapeutic techniques it has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool (it is effective for weight loss, IBS, anxiety conditions and many more). (For example, see the work of Joseph Barber, Amanda Barnier, Kenneth Bowers, Richard Bryant, Fred Frankel, Ernest Hilgard, Josephine Hilgard, John Kihlstrom, Samuel LeBaron, Kevin McConkey, Michael Nash, Martin Orne, Campbell Perry, Donald Price, Lonnie Zeltzer.)

Hypnosis Methodologies and Effects

General methods

The act of inducing a hypnotic state is referred to as an induction procedure. There is an extensive literature outlining the many ways an induction may proceed. The astute reader will discern a difference between inductions described in the professional literature (written by and for health professionals) and those described in the popular or "lay hypnosis" literature (written by well-meaning but clinically untrained people for a gullible public).

In general, a hypnotic induction is meant to be a benign introduction to the hypnotic experience. The clinician offers suggestions intended to gradually intensify the patient's focus on an internal, pleasant experience, simultaneously removing the subject's focus on external reality. (See the work of Ronald Shor.) As the patient's mind becomes more and more internally focused and less and less focused on external reality, a shift occurs, producing the altered state called hypnosis.

General effects

Focused attention

Hypnosis as a state is very similar to other states of extreme concentration, where a person becomes lost in thought, oblivious to his or her surroundings.

The difference between ordinary concentration and the hypnotic state is primarily one of degree, perhaps not of kind. The hypnotized person is able to be dissociated—unaware, even when trying to be—of certain features of reality. The most dramatic example is analgesia: The patient is unaware of a painful sensation even when trying to consciously attend to it. (See Ernest Hilgard's work on the "hidden observer.")

Suggestibility

Main article: Suggestibility

Psychologists have reported numerous studies that reveal a strong correlation between the ease of someone experiencing a state of hypnosis and their level of suggestibility (see Stanford scales).

A hypnotized person may comfortably accept a fact or condition that would be fraught with emotion when not hypnotized. For example, when told "you have forgotten your name," the subject in a normal state would react with disbelief, but under hypnosis people are usually sanguine to realize that they have, indeed, forgotten their own name.

It often appears as if the hypnotized participant accepts the authority of the hypnotist over his or her own experience. When asked after the conclusion of such a session, some participants appear to be genuinely unable to recall the incident, while others say that they had known the hypnotist was wrong but at the time it had seemed easier just to go along with his instructions. The Nobel physicist (Richard Feynman describes this in his memoir Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! as his own experience under hypnosis.)

Judgment

Some believe that hypnosis can affect the subject's judgment and therefore could potentially cause them harm. In the hand of a "professional" seeking to promote the subject's welfare, hypnosis can produce profound effects and be a complement to treatment. In most cases, one can resist hypnosis if one is aware of it.


Any meaningful human relationship can have either beneficial or harmful effects, and the clinical hypnotic relationship is no exception. Similarly, any treatment that has the power to heal has the power to harm. Hypnosis is no exception.


The prudent patient who is considering undertaking hypnotic treatment needs to take into account the professional ethics, training and experience of the clinician.


Hypnosis Applications

Hypnotherapy

Main article: Hypnotherapy

"Hypnosis is not a type of therapy, like psychoanalysis or behavior therapy. Instead, it is a procedure that can be used to facilitate therapy.” American Psychological Association , 1993. Hypnotherapy is a misnomer. There is no rational treatment that exclusively involves hypnotic methods. All "hypnotic" treatment involves theory and practice of other methods, with the additional integrationof hypnotic methods. "Hypnotherapy" is a term ordinarily used by "practitioners" who have no training except in hypnotic methods. (Would you consider undertaking treatment by a physician whose only training is in the giving of injections? Wouldn't you prefer to be seen by someone who is also trained in anatomy, physiology and a breadth of understanding that allows for accurate diagnosis? And what if the appropriate treatment doesn't involve an injection?)

Hypnotherapy can either be used as an addition to the work of licensed physicians or psychologists, or it can be used in a stand-alone environment where the "hypnotherapist" in question usually owns his or her own business. The majority of certified hypnotherapists (C.Hts in the US, Diploma.Hyp in the UK) today earn a large portion of their money through the cessation of smoking (often in a single session) and the aid of weight loss (body sculpting). Keep in mind, when seeking treatment, that a "certified hypnotherapist" is trained only in hypnotic induction and suggestion. "He who has only a hammer for a tool sees only nails."


The American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association have both cautioned against the use of repressed memory therapy in dealing with cases of alleged childhood trauma, stating that "it is impossible, without other corroborative evidence, to distinguish a true memory from a false one"[7], and so the procedure is "fraught with problems of potential misapplication"[8]. This is why Forensic Hypnosis is not widely used in many countries' legal systems.

Clinical Hypnosis

Milton Erickson, a psychiatrist and member of the Society for Clinical & Experimental Hypnosis, was challenged when asked to work with others, so, in 1959, he and two colleagues left the Society for Clinical & Experimental Hypnosis to form he American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. Erickson happily installed himself as editor of the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, where, over the course of more than a decade, he published most of his own papers. ASCH is an organization that "promotes greater acceptance of hypnosis as a clinical tool with broad applications".

Self-hypnosis

Main article: Autosuggestion

Self-hypnosis— (or autosuggestion) in which a person hypnotizes himself without the assistance of another person to serve as the hypnotist—is a staple of hypnotherapy-related self-help programs. It is most often used to help the self-hypnotist stay on a diet, overcome smoking or some other addiction, or to generally boost the hypnotized person's self-esteem. It is rarely used for the more complex uses of clinical hypnois, which require the hypnotist to adequately assess the patient's clinical needs and provide treatment. Most people who practice self-hypnosis require a focus for their attention in order to become fully hypnotized; there are many computer programs on the market that can ostensibly help in this area, though, as in every aspect of commerce, buyer beware!

Some people use devices known as mind machines to help them go into self-hypnosis more readily. A mind machine consists of glasses with different colored flashing LEDs on the inside, and headphones. The LEDs stimulate the visual channel while the headphones stimulate the audio channel with similar or slightly different frequencies designed to produce a certain mental state. A common occurance is the use of binaural beats in the audio which is said to produce hypnosis more readily. On the other hand, there is no evidence that these devices are helpful. In fact, for individuals susceptible to epilepsy, such devices may be quite harmful.

Dental Application

The use of hypnosis in dentistry has a long history. Besides smoothing out dental procedures by way of its generalized anti-anxiety effects, hypnotic suggestion can increase patient comfort, decrease resistance to future intervention, and encourage more rapid recovery.

Obstetric Application (Painless Childbirth)

Childbirth is an example of a painful experience that can be made comfortable with either chemical anesthesia or hypnotic suggestion.

Forensic Application

Scientific knowledge of hypnosis applied to Legal problems is called forensic hypnosis. Because the experience of hypnosis can lead to the creation of fantasy and honestly held but false memory, most U.S. Courts apply stringent criteria before admitting testimony that was elicited through hypnotic suggestion. In the U.S., the states of Oregon, Texas, Indiana,Nevada, and California have separate hypnotic investigation acts. Nevada courts accept hypnotically refreshed statements as evidence for judgment. Russia generally uses hypnosis in criminal investigations.

Mass Application

Influencing the crowds of common longings and yearnings by a demagogue is called mass hypnosis. Generally mass hypnosis is applied to religious sessions. The pious mob will easily respond to, monotonously repeating suggestive words. Many forms of music and dance can be used to create religious trance.

Actually, hypnosis probably plays little or no role in these phenomena, which are more likely the result of well-known social pressures.

Stage Application

In the 19th Century, the advent of medical anesthesia was presaged by the use of anesthetics (including nitrous oxide, chloroform and ether as entertainments in theatres and in private homes.

Similarly, hypnosis has been used to entertain. In such a setting, the hypnotist chooses volunteers from the audience, puts the volunteers into a trance using hypnosis, and then has them perform certain silly, funny, or supposedly "amazing" suggestions. These include: having the volunteers believe they are drunk; aliens speaking a strange alien language and having another volunteer translate the language; naked or seeing others naked; 6-year-old children; ballet dancers-and the list goes on. All suggestions are temporary and usually only last during the show. When performed correctly, stage hypnosis is basically having fun with the subconscious mind without any serious detrimental side effects. It's all performed for entertainment and with the welfare of the volunteers in mind. A stage hypnosis can be the most entertaining field because it involves "real" people from the audience responding in a variety of ways which usually makes no two shows the same.

While harm probably rarely befalls volunteers in a stage hypnosis show, the real damage occurs to the reputation of hypnosis in the public mind. Many people are influenced by having seen (or only heard of) the antics of stage hypnotists and are put off or frightened sufficiently to avoid the use of clinical hypnosis, sometimes to their detriment.



Professional associations and governmental authorities

Several types of organizations exist to further the professionalism and regulation of practicing hypnotists. For example, professional associations typically offer opportunities for collegial exchanges and professional development in general and/or specialized areas of hypnosis. They also may establish codes of conduct and standards for various certification programs. They may offer such certification programs directly or approve third-party programs. Organizations not affiliated with any professional association may offer their own certificates as well.

Governmental authorities, such as state licensing agencies, may establish minimum requirements for credentials that must be earned before one may practice hypnosis within their jurisdiction. Such credentials typically are called certificates or licenses. Some noteworthy examples of professional associations and governmental authorities that offer certification, licensure or statutes that regulate hypnosis follow.

Professional associations

(International)

Governmental authorities

Historical sites

The notion of hypnotism has elicited many presentations in popular culture. Intrinsically, the notion that people are succeptible to commands outside their conscious control can be an effective way of representing the notion of the fallible narrator.

Fictional treatments

The typical uses of hypnotism in fiction concentrate on one of the major abilities of hypnotism. As mentioned in the introduction, hypnotism can be used to:

  • Recollect knowledge
  • Take command of a subject
  • Implant suggestions that the subject will obey while free of the hypnotic trance.

The recollection of knowledge has inspired use in detective fiction, as a tool for witnesses to examine details (such as license plate numbers) that could not be recalled while fully conscious. This appears in many television series, such as Law & Order or Homicide: Life on the Street. In addition, it has been expanded to the notion of remembering "past lives", that is, previous reincarnations of the subject, in such movies as "DEAD AGAIN."

In real-life cases, recollection of knowledge via hypnosis has been used in many cases, but its effectiveness is disputed. Proponents claim that recovered memories have aided in the solving of many crimes, often corroborating with physical evidence which would have been impossible to obtain otherwise. Skeptics suggest that such successes are a function of simple chance, pointing to cases where its use on victims of rape or attempted murder to help them jog their memory in identifying an accused has caused sentences to be doled out to the wrong person. This is because the hypnotist might make suggestions that are more likely to be remembered as "truth". Most experts recommend that the practice be used at most like a lie detector, to glean more information, and never as the smoking gun.

The notion of implanting suggestions is probably the most thoroughly explored; ranging from comedies such as The Naked Gun trilogy to dramas such as The Manchurian Candidate. These films usually center around the concept of brainwashing or mind control. Several cases have been recorded where the defense argued the accused had committed the murder under hypnosis, though there is little real evidence that such control is possible.


See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ — Executive Committee of the American Psychological Association Division of Psychological Hypnosis [1993, Fall]. Psychological Hypnosis: A Bulletin of Division 30, 2, p. 7; citation culled from hypnosis-research.org.
  2. ^ — Dave Elman, Hypnotherapy, Westwood Publishing Company, 1984 ISBN 0930298047 (page 26).
  3. ^ — Charcot, J. M.: Lectures on Diseases of the Nervous System. London, New Sydenham Society, 1889.
  4. ^ — Pavlov, I. P.: Experimental Psychology. New York, Philosophical Library, 1957.
  5. ^ — Dittborn, J.M., and O'Connell, D.N.: Behavioral sleep, physiological sleep and hypnotizability. The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 15: 181, 1967)
  6. ^ Weitzenhoffer, A.M.: Hypnotism - An Objective Study in Suggestability. New York, Wiley, 1953.
  7. ^ Hilgard, E.R., and Hilgard, J.R.: Hypnosis in the Relief of Pain. Los Altos, CA, William Kaufman, 1975.
  8. ^ Barber, T.X.: The concept of hypnosis. The American Journal of Psychology, 45: 115, 1958.

Books

  • Hypnosis for the Seriously Curious, by Kenneth Bowers. NY: W. W. Norton (1993).
  • Hypnosis and Suggestion in the Treatment of Pain: A Clinical Guide, by Joseph Barber. NY: Norton (1996).
  • Mind control, Research by G. Wagstaff, Dept. of Psychology, University of Liverpool
  • Hypnosis, Compliance and Belief by G. Wagstaff, (1981).
  • The Highly Hypnotizable Person, Michael Heap, Richard J. Brown & David A. Oakley, (2004), Routledge
  • Better and Better Every Day, Emile Coue, (1960).
  • Uncommon Therapy, Jay Haley (about the psychotherapeutic intervention techniques of Milton Erickson)
  • Advanced Self Hypnosis, Melvin Powers, Thorsons Publishers, 1973, ISBN-0-7225-0058-0
  • Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism, Georgia Byng
  • Open to suggestion. The uses and abuses of hypnosis. Robert Temple, 1989, ISBN 1-85030-710-4
  • Hypnosis With Friends and Lovers Freda Morris, 1979, ISBN 0062506005
  • Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis William S. Kroger, M.D., 1977, ISBN 0-397-50377-6
  • EBooks: The Power of Creative Visualization, Personal Transformation in 7 Weeks by Pradeep Aggarwal.

Scientific Hypnosis Home Page [9]

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