The hypnotic state has long been recognized as a significant catalyst for psychotherapeutic change, yet few individuals have been as committed, as M. Erik Wright, to exploring and perfecting the clinical art of hypnotherapy. At the time of his death, Erik Wright had been assembling a volume that would convey the importance as well as the specific techniques of using hypnosis in a therapeutic context. This unfinished work was taken up by the author's wife, Beatrice A. Wright, a psychologist well acquainted with the field of hypnosis, who compiled and organized the wealth of material designated for this volume. The result of their combined efforts is an outstanding hypnotherapy text that both retains Erik Wright's unique orientation and captures the essence of values that guided his work. Presenting a cogent conceptual framework along with actual protocols demonstrating a wide variety of clinically effective hypnotherapeutic procedures, CLINICAL PRACTICE OF HYPNOTHERAPY is divided into three parts. The first section introduces the underlying principles of hypnotherapy. Defining the relationship of hypnotherapy to psychotherapy, and the theoretical basis upon which the book was founded, it describes the various methods and preparations for inducing trance experiences. Topics include: common misconceptions about hypnosis; procedures for introducing clients to the trance state; the hypnotherapy of language usage; and non-verbal ways of signaling thoughts and feelings. Closing the section are lucid demonstrations of induction and enhancement procedures, including progressive relaxation, eye fixation, number progression, guided imagery, and autohypnosis, among others. The second section elaborates and illustrates a variety of hypnotherapeutic procedures using actual cases. One chapter, for example, presents guided imagery as applied to cases of phobic-anxiety, skin rash, and peptic ulcer. Another chapter is devoted to a variety of projective techniques, showing how they may be used to assuage grief and relieve stress. Other chapters describe approaches involving time, re-orientation, dissociation, and client-therapist role reversal. Part three focuses on special clinical problems such as pain control, cessation of smoking, and the management of sleep disorders. Each is addressed in a separate chapter that provides detailed therapeutic procedures for ameliorating the problem. In understanding the nature of the problems covered, the historical and cultural contexts, biological aspects, and current theories are brought to bear. For example, a chapter on the management of overeating opens by reviewing the psycho-social meanings of food, and offers guidelines for evaluating a client's weight management needs. After exploring these issues, specific hypnotherapeutic strategies--such as negative accentuation and alternative means of gratification-- are vividly demonstrated. This comprehensive text offers a penetrating and integrated discussion of the principles and practices of hypnosis in psychotherapy. An invaluable clinical tool for those concerned with both the theoretical and practical workings of hypnotherapy, it will be of particular interest to professionals and advanced students in the fields of psychology, medicine, and social work.

This book is aimed at helping both newly trained and experienced mental health professionals become comfortable and adept in using hypnosis in their clinical practice. Despite dramatic evidence of the effectiveness of hypnosis and its growing acceptance, only a small percentage of psychotherapists employ their hypnotherapy training in their practices. This under-use of hypnosis is due to exaggerated misconceptions about its power and the resultant performance anxiety therapists experience after their training. This text is designed to address therapist performance anxiety surrounding the use of hypnosis by exploring the myths surrounding its power and therapeutic potential. The integration of a straightforward systematic hypnotic approach into therapeutic practice has value both in assessment and treatment. Using clinical anecdotes and personal experience, the authors of Hypnosis in Clinical Practice explain induction style and trance work in a way that is fundamental and highly accessible.

This is a comprehensive guide to the basics of Mindful Hypnotherapy (MH), a new modality that delivers a mindfulness-based intervention within a hypnotic context. The book encompasses everything a clinician needs to know to fully understand and apply the approach in clinical practice. The result of a collaboration between a leader in the field of hypnosis and a mindfulness meditation expert, the book elucidates step-by-step clinical strategies and provides verbatim transcripts that professionals can put to use immediately. The resource first introduces the foundations of mindful hypnotherapy, supported by research evidence. Using a session-by-session approach, it describes how to structure sessions, evaluate a patient’s hypnotic ability, deal with resistance, and create individualized clinical applications. Key Features: Embodies an innovation collaboration between a leader in hypnosis and a mindfulness expert Delivers verbatim transcripts of mindful hypnotherapy for immediate use Provides guidance on structuring sessions, setting goals, assessing hypnotic ability, dealing with resistance, and creating individualized treatment Guides the clinician in addressing specific psychological issues such as stress, anxiety, and well-being A Mindful Self-Hypnosis Daily Practice Log enables therapists to track progress Abundant case examples illuminate the process of mindful hypnotherapy and present real-life treatment interventions for a range of problems Includes guidelines for formulation of hypnotic suggestions and therapeutic metaphors related to mindfulness Provides an overview of training and personal growth as a mindful hypnotherapist

"This book is essentially clinical in nature. But it is a clinical book with a research base. The clinical strategies and techniques that are presented are ones that the authors have used in their practice and that they have taught their graduate students to use. They are procedures with an evidential base. Many of the specific techniques they describe have been validated in clinical trials and outcome studies, and their approach to most strategic issues has been shaped by their understanding of the research literature in hypnosis, psychotherapy, and psychopathology. If there is a fundamental difference between this book and the many other guides that have been published on clinical applications of hypnosis, it is the degree to which the principles and practices the authors describe are evidencebased. Hence, the subtitle of this book. The authors aim to bring their enthusiasm for integrating hypnosis with empirically supported methods to a wide readership and to move hypnosis more securely into the mainstream of established clinical practice." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)

Hypnosis has always captured the attention of some of the most creative thinkers in the field of psychology. Today, hypnosis and hypnotic phenomena are studied with state-of-the-science neuroimaging techniques, and hypnosis has informed cognitive science (and vice-versa) in meaningful ways. In this second edition of the landmark Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis, editors Steven Jay Lynn, Judith Rhue, and Irving Kirsch have undertaken a significant revision and update to their classic text, first published over ten years ago. It is divided into six sections: Foundations and General Considerations, which includes chapters on the history of hypnosis and measures of hypnotizability; Theories of Hypnosis, in which hypnosis is examined within the context of various therapeutic constructs; Hypnotic Techniques, which includes a how-to primer for trained therapists to conduct hypnotic inductions, as well as chapters about the integration of hypnosis with mindfulness strategies; Treating Psychological Problems and Populations, which discusses the use of hypnosis in treatment for depression, PTSD and Anxiety; Health and Sport Psychology, which examines hypnotic treatments for pain control and surgery as well as for maximizing athletic performance; and finally Further Issues and Extensions, which addresses, among other things, popular and cross-cultural conceptions of hypnosis. Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis, Second Edition is the comprehensive resource for clinicians, researchers, and anyone interested in the theory and practice of clinical hypnosis.

This book is an instructional manual for physicians, nurses, workers, emergency medical technicians, dentists, counselors and hypnotherapists seeking to use the resources of the mind to control or eliminate pain and accelerate healing from disease and illness.

Covering theory and practice, The Handbook of Contemporary Clinical Hypnosis is an up-to-date, authoritative resource to support health professionals in their use of hypnosis in clinical settings. Provides an authoritative reference for practitioners and trainees on the diverse applications of hypnosis, published under the auspices of the British Society for Clinical and Academic Hypnosis (BSCAH) Combines a theoretical framework with material on a wide range of specific disorders including anxiety, stress phobias, eczema, oncology, eating disorders and infertility Shows how to adjust hypnotic techniques for different contexts e.g. when working with children, in emergencies and via a translator Features a variety of case studies that illustrate hypnosis techniques in action

This comprehensive volume is certain to become an invaluable textbook in the burgeoning field of clinical hypnosis. In it Dr. Yager covers everything there is to know about how to translate theory into practice across the range of clinical settings. His clear and thoughtful perspective will inform those who are new to the field and expand the understanding of those who have more experience. The level of depth and detail is unparalleled, providing readers with a full education on the subject.

What is hypnosis? Despite widespread misconceptions, hypnosis is not a treatment in itself; instead, it is a facilitator -- a useful diagnostic tool that can help the practitioner choose an appropriate treatment modality and accelerate various primary treatment strategies. The second edition of this remarkable work (first published 25 years ago) is written to provide both beginning and seasoned practitioners with a brief, disciplined technique for mobilizing and learning from an individual's capacity to concentrate. Putting to rest both exaggerated fears about hypnosis and overblown statements of its efficacy, this compelling volume brings scientific discipline to a systematic exploration of the clinical uses and limitations of hypnosis. The challenge was to develop a clinical measurement that could transform a fascinating amalgam of anecdotes, speculations, clinical intuitions and observations, and laboratory advances into a more fruitful and systematic body of information. Thus was born the authors' Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP), a crucial 10-minute clinical assessment procedure that relates the spectrum of hypnotizability to personality style, psychopathology, and treatment outcome. Structured to reflect the flow of a typical evaluation and treatment session and highlighted by case examples throughout, this remarkable synthesis describes how to use the HIP, reviews relevant literature, and details principles and short- and long-term treatment strategies for smoking control; eating disorders; anxiety, concentration, and insomnia; phobias; pain control; psychosomatic disorders and conversion symptoms; trichotillomania; stuttering; and acute and posttraumatic stress disorders and dissociation. Meticulously referenced and indexed, this in-depth work concludes with an appendix on the interpretation and standardization of the HIP.This unique work stands out in the literature because It is written both as an introduction for practitioners new to hypnosis and as an in-depth guide for practitioners with wide experience in hypnosis. Unlike current clinical works, it emphasizes the importance of performing a systematic assessment of hypnotizability to identify, measure, and utilize a given patient's optimal therapeutic potential -- a process that, until now, has been relegated to clinical intuition. It describes human behavior phenomenologically as it relates to hypnosis in a probable rather than an absolute fashion. It reviews only specific portions of the literature that are particularly relevant to the important themes presented by the authors. Wherever possible, the authors apply statistical methods to test their hypotheses. The realm of scientific investigation encompassing hypnosis and psychological dysfunction is comparatively new. This exceptional volume, with its profusion of systematic data, will spark controversy and interest among scientific students of hypnosis everywhere, from psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychoanalysts to physicians, dentists, and other interested clinicians.

Clinical Hypnosis has proved successful in a variety of clinical situations. This handbook, with its practical approach, covers both the scientific and clinical aspects of hypnosis providing information on a range of available psychological and physical treatments. * Explains how to learn and apply hypnosis in clinical situations * World renowned editors * Comprehensive coverage of relevant issues This title will be invaluable to practising psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, medical hypnotists and mental health care workers.