Frank McDonald Psychologist Consultation-Liaison Service TTH November 2009

You wont make me take my clothes off & make me cluck like a chicken will you?

Overview Intro What can hypnosis do? Areas of application What is hypnosis? How is hypnotherapy done? How does it work? Why do it? Recent & past hospital applications severe (hospitalisable) hyperemesis gravidarum (Acute) Pain Disorder (non-cardiac chest pain) sleep onset problems anxiety management breakthrough pancreatic cancer pain chronic musculoskeletal and neuropathic pain needle phobia childrens burns debridement dysphonia

Intro As surrounding mythology gradually dispelled, hypnosis seen now as an increasingly well-understood, ubiquitous (e.g. highway hypnosis) & useful method for studying & influencing common psychological phenomena e.g. memory, perceptual processes, affective states & dissociative mechanisms Whilst not the magic bullet some pts expect it to be, hypnotherapy has well-grounded evidence base in several conditions seen in medical settings

Areas of application Medical Asthma Burns Enuresis Hypertension Childbirth Migraine Minor Surgical Procedures Obesity Pain Control Gastro-intestinal Disorders (especially IBS) Warts Source: Australian Society of Hypnosis

Areas of application Psychological Practice & Psychiatry Anxieties Apathy and lack of Motivation Confidence Problems Eating Disorders Depression Nail-biting Fears and Phobias Psychosomatic Syndromes Panic Attacks Sleep Disorders Sexual Dysfunction Thumb-sucking Stuttering Source: Australian Society of Hypnosis

Areas of application Dentistry Anaesthesia Anxiety / Apprehension Bleeding Control Bruxism Dental Phobia Denture Problems Gagging Nausea Pain-control Restlessness Salivation-control Tempro-mandibular Joint Dysfunction Source: Australian Society of Hypnosis

What is it? Hypnosis: oldest (cognitive) psychological strategy – predates written history – Egyptian records go back years. Aboriginal Australians & Africans amongst earliest users A phenomenon of heightened attention in which brain suspends authentication of raw sensory input. Focus is on internal representation of input. Working with that to change Ss experience Often described as an altered state of consciousness; as resting arousal that contrasts with waking state on various continua (arousal, anxiety, attention, behavl inertia, thinking, percd control of psychl fn)

What is it? Results in heightened suggestibility (a cognitive flexibility resulting in reduced critical analysis) In turn, increased openness to suggestion allows access to therapeutically- & experimentally- useful psychological & physical abilities termed hypnotic phenomena

What is it? Principle Hypnotic Phenomena Suggestions for these can be used to test or deepen hypnosis or for therapeutic /experimental purposes Dissociation Disconnection of thoughts, feelings, memories, physical sensation or knowledge/awareness from usual conscious experience of reality. Essence of trance. Reality testing suspended Hallucinations can be positive (something is there that is not real) or negative (something is not there that actually is) in any given representational system (sight, sound, touch etc.) Subjectively reported as more real & absorbing than ordinary imagination Anaesthesia Insensitivity to pain. Loss of feeling Analgesia Reduction of sensitivity to pain Catalepsy Unable to consciously move but have a waxy flexibility if repositioned

What is it? Principle Hypnotic Phenomena Ideomotor behavior As someone thinks about a movement or response it actually happens. Allows access to involuntary nervous system functions e.g. vasomotor centres (blood flow, blood pressure, heart rate) & other motor centres (peristalsis of digestive tract) Ideosensory behavior As someone thinks about a sensory response they experience it Automatic behavior Automatic writing or drawing. Just happens, no volition Post hypnotic suggestion This is a suggestion that happens after hypnotic experience on a particular cue Time distortion Time can be experienced as longer or shorter (slower or faster)

What is it? Amnesia Forgets something that actually happened Hyperamnesia Remembers very vividly something they hadn't realized that they remembered Age regression Ss actually get so absorbed in an experience that they begin reliving the experience Attentional narrowing Ss appear to be processing less information from the environment & report focus on Hs voice and being unaware of other people

How is it done? (Procedural stages of traditional direct hypnotherapy) 1. Preparation (e.g. removing misconceptions, assess interests that may be incorporated in procedure) 2. Assessment of hypnotisability. Often not done psychometrically in clinical practice. One reason: not selecting highs; want to use whats available (however, some in/formal ax of capacity for concentration, imagery & suggestibility may be helpful to discover pt talents) 3. Induction procedure 4. Deepening stage 5. Trance ratification e.g. via arm levitation test 6. Utilisation of trance/heightened suggestibility & direct suggestions for therapeutic purposes 7. Post-hypnotic suggestions including self-hypnosis instructions 8. Termination of the trance. Can take a few minutes. Further ratification: How long under? Typically, significant time distortion e.g. 40 mins = 10(reflects R parietal cortical changes) 9. Discussion of the experience. Problems?

How does it work? How hypnosis works is not clear – absence of a clear scientific explanation has limited its acceptance. Age-old debates e.g. Charcot its unconscious intrapsychic process &/or physiological (below) vs. Bernheim (its all suggestion) & current state v. non-state have made it controversial

How does it work? How? Answer results in a division into two academic camps (& theres heterogeneity within those) Some say hypnotic behaviour reflects unique changes in brain function (Bowers, 1976; Evans, 2000; Hilgard, 1986) Special state theorists explain hypnotic responsiveness as effects of partly autonomous cognitive control systems in the brain creating discontinuities in experience caused by dissociation or altered states of consciousness

How does it work? One theory is Hilgards (1986) neo-dissociation theory Experimental evidence has supported his concept of a hidden observer – a second stream of consciousness that remains the most viable explanation for H phenomena like hypnoanalgesia

How does it work? Others (Barber,1999; Spanos,1989) say social-psychological & ordinary cognitive-behavioural factors like role playing, social pressure & placebo explain it - albeit hypnosis more effective than sham pills Whilst it has been polarising, debate has helped theorists & practitioners to appreciate its complex multifactorial nature

How does it work? Assuaging the non-acceptance effect of controversies somewhat, EEG, PET scan & fMRI studies showing modulations of activity in specific & relevant areas are starting to allay prejudices against its application in certain fields, such as pain mx The images differ from those of well-instructed, well- motivated role-players Evidence that hypnosis different from normal waking state comes from studies into neural mechanisms underlying specific experiences, since neural mechanisms are less prone than reported experiences to deliberate distortion

How does it work? View Graham Jamieson UNE ABC- TV Catalyst Hypnosis (2005) 700 to 945 One example of many recent neurophysiological studies supporting state theory Anterior cingulate cortex (1 role: detect & monitor errors) in highs in H, shows conflict awareness heightened but link to pre-frontal cortex that produces full awareness de-couples So other-wise rejectable suggestions may go elsewhere, e.g. to motor centres, after bypassing verification or reality check by pre-frontal cortex

How does it work? So, not just imagination, faking, play-acting, stage- show gimmickery. For high & moderate hypnotisables (roughly 2 in 3 people), hypnosis can bring benefits beyond those of imagination, willing or placebo Different from CBT strategy of (guided) imagery. Main distinction is hypnosiss use of suggestion. Hypnosis may or may not use visual imagery (Syrjala & Abrams, 1996). But utilisation of enhanced suggestibility a constant feature of hypnosis (Kroger, 2007)

Why do it? Major value: It can capitalise on the power of increased openness to suggestion e.g. greatest effect sizes of all CBT strategies for pain are imagery based (Gatchel and Turk, 1996). Hypnosis can, thru suggestion, create an as if experience indistinguishable from real stimulus exposure Its a safe, side-effect free modality if practiced with basic safeguards, e.g. remembering to cancel temporary suggestions; not getting enmeshed in psychotic thought processes It has the capacity to enhance standard therapy by virtue of the psychological tunnel vision /attention-narrowing on to core aspects of your therapy It can have appeal to those pts w. higher self-efficacy/more internal locus of control who seek some degree of involvement in their management

Why do it? Can raise sense of self-efficacy – learn a skill based on something internal and personally administered rather sole dependency on meds or professionals In children (peaking at ages 9-12) it provides a structure that capitalises on their capacity for imaginative involvement

Case applications Authors recent & past hospital applications severe (hospitalisable) hyperemesis gravidarum (Acute) Pain Disorder (non-cardiac chest pain) sleep onset problems anxiety management breakthrough pancreatic cancer pain chronic musculoskeletal and neuropathic pain needle phobia childrens burns debridement dysphonia

Resources Download recording & self instructions. Other PowerPoints on hypnosis e.g. for pain, its value in mx substance dependence Australian Society of Hypnosis Google Dabney Ewin Burns youtube