Wednesday, June 23, 2010

History of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy

Hypnotism has been employed in one form or another for centuries and in many parts of the world. According to William Edmonston, trance states and the beginnings of hypnosis began with the ancient Hindus. In the 5th century BC, ancient Greeks used sleep temples to cure people of their ailments. The Romans also were noted for their use of words to create spells.

Modern hypnotism starts with Franz Mesmer 1765 who used magnets in treating and curing patients by putting magnets on afflicted parts of their bodies. He postulated that a fluid circulating in the body was influenced by magnetic forces originating from the astral bodies. The theory sounded scientific at that time as it coincided with the discovery of electricity and advances in astronomy. In 1784 Louis XVI set up a commission to investigate Mesmer who was later discredited. However interest in Mesmerism was revived by Dr. Elliotson, the physician who introduced the stethoscope to England.

In 1841, James Braid, another physician became interested in Mesmerism and he believed that it was not animal magnetism but suggestion that was the basis for the effect. He developed the eye-fixation method of inducing relaxation and called it "hypnosis", a Greek word for sleep.

In 1845, James Esdaile, a surgeon working in India performed hundreds of minor surgical procedures under Mesmeric anaesthesia. In his book, Mesmerism in India he accurately described many of the phenomena of hypnosis as we know it today.

Concurrently in Nancy, France, Dr. Ambroise-Auguste Liebault and Dr. Hippolyte Bernheim, a neurologist worked together and treated thousands of patients with hypnosis. Bernheim wrote the first scientific treatise on hypnosis in 1886: Suggestive Therapeutics. Sigmund Freud heard of their work and in 1890 came to Nancy. However, he personally found the cures too superficial and abandoned the method. This unfortunately set back the development of hypnosis for fifty years.

World War I came along and tremendous incidence of shell shock was noted. Ernst Simmel, a German psychoanalyst used hypnosis for the treatment of war neurosis. The treatment allowed soldiers to return to the trench almost immediately. The merger of hypnosis with psychoanalysis was an important developmental milestone. During World War II, hypnosis played a prominent part in the treatment of combat fatigue.

After World War II, Milton Erickson had a major impact on the understanding of hypnosis and the mind. He theorized that hypnosis is a state of the mind that we all enter into spontaneously and frequently. This has enormous implications for therapists to influence people through their words. On the heels of his work, hypnosis soon evolved into a well respected practice used by doctors, psychologists and even people in sales and marketing today.

Gradually medical and dental professionals became more accepting in embracing hypnosis in their clinical practice. In 1955 the British Medical Association issued a report stating that hypnosis was a valuable medical tool. In 1958 the American Medical Association recognized hypnosis as a viable scientific modality. In 1962 the American Psychiatric Association recognised hypnosis as a viable and valuable modality to treat certain psychological disorders.

Conditions treatable with Past-Life Regression Therapy

Woolger gave a list of conditions which responded to past life therapy in his practice. It is to be noted that one individual may have several themes and related past-life stories that will need to be worked through in a regression process.

(1) Insecurity and fear of abandonment - this is often related to past life abandoment as a child, separation during a war, being orphaned, sold to slavery, left to die in a famine, etc.
(2) Depression - Past life memories of loss of a loved, unfinished grieving, suicide, despair, massacre, etc.
(3) Phobias - Traumas in past life: death by fire, drowning, suffocation, animals, insects, natural disasters, etc.
(4) Sadomasochistic behaviour - Past life memory of torture, often with loss of consciousness, usually with sexual overtones; associated with pain, rage, hatred and a desire to revenge oneself in some way.
(5) Guilt and martyr complexes - Past life memory of having killed loved ones or directly responsible for the death of others.
(6) Material insecurity and eating disorders - Past life memory of starvation, poverty
(7) Accidents, violence, physical brutality - Repetition of old battlefield memories; unfulfilled quests for power
(8) Family struggles - Past life scores to settle with parents, children, siblings: e.g. betrayal, abuse of power
(9) Sexual difficulties - Past life memories of rape, abuse, torture.
(10) Marital difficulties - Past life experience with the same mate in a different power, class or sexual constellation, e.g. mistress, slave, prostitute, where sex roles were reversed.
(11) Chronic physical ailments - Headaches may be related to past life intolerable mental choices, ulcers to memories of terror, neckaches to hanging or strangling.

Of course, this list is far from being exhaustive.

(Source: Roger Wolger: "Other Lives, Other Selves." 1988.)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Uses of Hypnosis in Healing

Hypnosis works in many clinical conditions and effective in many people. The key to success in hypnotherapy is really the therapist-client relationship.

Below is a list of legitimate uses of hypnotherapy, as defined by the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis:
  • Allergies
  • Anxiety and stress management
  • Asthma
  • Bedwetting
  • Bowel Syndrome
  • Colitis, Crohn's disease
  • Concentration
  • Depression
  • Dermatological disorders (eczema, herpes, neurodermatitis, pruritus, psoriasis, warts)
  • Hypertension
  • Learning disorders
  • Obesity and Weight control
  • Pain (back pain, cancer pain, dental anaesthesia, headaches, migraines, arthritis, rheumatism)
  • Sleep disorders
  • Sports, athletic performance
  • Smoking cessation
  • Raynaud's disease
  • Test anxiety
(Source: Richard K Nongard, "Clinical Hypnosis - a Primer)

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Hypnosis and Brain Activity

Our brain activity is normally classified into four levels by electroencephalogram (EEG) waveforms in terms of cycles per second.

BETA (18-40 cycles/sec) - This is the state when we are awake and experience in normal daytime consciousness. In this state we are at a critical thought level.

ALPHA (8-17 cycles/sec) - With relaxation and meditation we reach the alpha state. This is also the state we lapse into when we awaken in the morning from sleep and at night when we cross over to sleep. It is believed to be associated with imaginative thinking. It corresponds to light and medium levels of hypnosis.

THETA (4-7 cycles/sec) - This corresponds to a day-dreaming state or the early stages of sleep. It is associated with creative and innovative thinking and it corresponds to medium and deep levels of hypnosis.

DELTA (1-3 cycles/sec) - This is the state that corresponds to deep sleep and a dream state. The brain waves are slow and high in amplitude.

For most people hypnosis is in the alpha-theta range. Because of inherent hypersuggestibility in the alpha and theta levels, positive programming during hypnosis is an effective approach to creating changes in one's life.

Phenomena in Clinical Hypnosis

The use of hypnosis for treatment of clinical problems dates back to the middle ages, but modern use began with the work of Franz Mesmer, a Viennese physician. the term "hypnosis" was coined in 1841 by James Braid, a surgeon who believes that a psychological state similar to sleep accounted for many of the phenomena observed with the process.

A variety of phenomena does indeed accompany the hypnotic state and the extent to which they are experienced depends on the depth of the hypnotic state reached by the subject. Hypnotically responsive patients common report profound relaxation and alterations in perception following a hypnotic induction.

1. Under hypnosis the focus of attention is narrowed and shifted towards and internal cognitive focus. Through this narrowed focus, the subject would suspend thoughts of future actions or events.
2. A second phenomenon is the heightened vividness of the imagery or the generation of fantasy under hypnosis.
3. Alterations in voluntary muscle activity is often encountered in the hypnotic state. This includes relaxation, catalepsy, paralysis and automatic movements in response to suggestions.
4. Several types of alterations in perception occurs - Patients may either experience distortions of time, space and sensations in some combination.
5. Distortions of memory are common - Post-hypnotic amnesia, whether suggested or spontaneous, commonly accompanies the hypnotic process.
6. Heightening of expectations and motivations - Public expectations of the "magic" of hypnosis may be used by the therapist to maintain patient motivation to the highest possible level to maintain therapeutic resistance.
7. Lastly, under a trance state, the patient may more readily respond to the imagery and fantasy as reality, and this may be utilized by the clinician to facilitate the process of change in the patient.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Stress-related Illness

Most of the disorders that responds well to hypnotherapy are related to stress. Stressors are numerous and varied in our environment. Some are current while others are related to experiences earlier in an individual's life. These experiences vary from major life events such as death of a spouse or family member, a divorce, relocation and retirement to low-severity situations such as a holiday, change in eating habits, or change in sleep pattern. Not all stressors come from major life events. Many daily hassles can be stressful to the individual, e.g. health of a family member, concerns about body weight and shape, rising prices of everyday goods, misplacing objects, busy work schedules etc.

Many individuals cope with stress by using strategies such as overeating and smoking but these are not necessarily effective measures. If the stress continues serious psychosomatic problems evolve and are often accompanied by increased cardiovascular morbidity.

Stress-related illness can be a result of behavioural or physiological change. Often health behaviours that are affected include smoking, alcoholism, changes in diet, unsafe sexual practices and drug abuse. Illness may also be caused by stress through physiological pathways. Examples are: (i) increase in gastric acid secretion resulting in peptic ulcers (ii) increased catecholamines production and clotting tendencies with increased risk of heart attack, kidney disease and stroke (iii) increase in corticosteroids leading to arthritis and a lowering of the immune system.

When individuals experience stress, there is an initial tendency to become stoic, because a stoical approach is often considered a constructive approach to personal stress management. Hypnosis as a clinical intervention may come in useful because it assists the patient to realistically appraise his daily hassles and help him to deal with the stress by techniques such as relaxation, ego-strengthening, reframing or cognitive restructuring. Hypnosis can also help the patient to identify the stressors deal with the longer-term effects of chronic stress e.g. psychosomatic problems, alcoholism, obesity, smoking, etc.

In general the hypnotherapist makes the assumption that the patient has inner resources for change and transformation. These resources include creativity and a potential for healing. Hypnosis is required for these resources to be accessed. The most common hypnotherapeutic methods used for stress management are those of relaxation, ego-strengthening, suggestion and reframing. In particular relaxation is very easily taught to patients and very useful for a variety of anxiety and stress disorders.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

What is Hypnosis?

Here are two definitions:

British Medical Association, 1955:
"A temporary condition of altered attention in the subject which may be induced by another person and in which a variety of phenomenon may appear spontaneously or in response to other stimuli. These phenomena include alterations in consciousness and memory, increased susceptibility to suggestion, and the production in the subject of responses and ideas unfamiliar to him in his usual state of mind. Furthermore, phenomena such as anesthesia, paralysis and rigidity of muscles, and vasomotor changes can be produced and removed in the hypnotic state."

American Psychological Association
The Official Division 30 Definition and Description of Hypnosis:

"Hypnosis typically involves an introduction to the procedure during which the subject is told that suggestions for imaginative experiences will be presented. The hypnotic induction is an extended initial suggestion for using one's imagination, and may contain further elaborations of the introduction. A hypnotic procedure is used to encourage and evaluate responses to suggestions. When using hypnosis, one person (the subject) is guided by another (the hypnotist) to respond to suggestions for changes in the subjective experience, alterations in perception, sensation, emotion, thought or behavior. Persons can also learn self-hypnosis, which is the act of administering hypnotic procedures on one's own. If the subject responds to hypnotic suggestions, it is generally inferred that hypnosis has been induced. Many believe that hypnotic responses and experiences are characteristic of a hypnotic state. While some think that it is not necessary to use the word "hypnosis" as part of a hypnotic induction, others view it as essential.

Details of hypnotic procedures and suggestions will differ depending on the goals of the practitioner and the purposes of the clinical or research endeavor. Procedures traditionally involve suggestions to relax, though relaxation is not necessary for hypnosis and a wide variety of suggestions can be used including those to become more alert. Suggestions that permit the extent of hypnosis to be assessed by comparing responses to standardized scales can be used in both clinical and research settings. While the majority of individuals are responsive to at least some suggestions, scores on standardized scales range from high to negligible. Traditionally, scores are grouped into low, medium, and high categories. As is the case with other positively-scaled measures of psychological constructs such as attention and awareness, the salience of evidence for having achieved hypnosis increases with the individual's score."
(http://www.apa.org/divisions/div30/define_hypnosis.html)

What do we understanding by "Healing"?

Benefits and Indications for Past Life Therapy

Regression therapy is known to be effective in putting the individual in touch with his unique self and unravelling the tangled threads of his past. It seems to be particularly useful for promoting insight, changing attitudes, removing guilt, building self-esteem and freeing the patient from stress, fear and irrational behaviour. It also helps the patient to get rid of rage that is the result of past injustices. It is of particular value in the patient who has lost his sense of self-worth or who has strong personality clashes in his relationships. It can at times alleviate symptoms such as migraine headaches, allergies, arthritis, and in fact, many stress symptoms.

It must be understood that the primary goal of regression therapy is to help the individual live more fully and realize increasingly his connection to the universe. Hence it is particularly beneficial primarily to patients who understand this goal and wish to deepen his understanding of basic life patterns so that e may participate more fully in the creative process of living.

There are however, contraindications for use. If the individual is unwilling to be honest or tends to block attempts at self-revelation, the result of the therapy will be poor. Also, if there is fear of exposure, religious conflicts, lack of readiness to assume responsibility for oneself and his actions and feelings, then past-life therapy is unlikely t work. In general past-life therapy is contraindicated for individuals who exhibit poor ego structure, unable to integrate symbolic material and create change in their lives.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

How Regression Therapy differs from Psychotherapy

Past lives were originally recovered out of curiosity and interest, but accidentally it was discovered that it has therapeutic value. In the early development of the past-life regression technique therapists have found it difficult to explain how the intervention brought about changes in the patient's life. Today, our understanding of the process has progressed.

In psychotherapy, the process assists the patient in bringing his energy field into a state of harmony and balance. Past life regression differs from psychotherapy in that the former is conducted in an altered state of consciousness, or in other words, a trance state. In this altered state, the patient retrieves the experience of another personality in a different life time. It is an autonomous personality that has its own history and makes its own decisions. All the patient needs to do to watch the drama of this personality unfold, but he cannot determine what the script will be. However, since he himself is in someways part of this autonomous personality, he is often drawn into its strivings and sufferings. Simply living out a regression with its physical and emotional aspects has been noted to lead to remission of the presenting symptom or problem. Examples of problems being treated include phobias, compulsions, allergies, headaches, fears, and emotional and mental problems of all kinds, just to name a few.

The principle of past life regression therapy by which patient changes are implemented is the same as that of psychotherapy or psychoanalysis. It is to make the unconscious conscious. The idea is to restore choice to the patient. However the technique does it with the patient in a trance state and involves viewing a sequence of lifetimes to bring about an understanding of problems. The process of viewing and participating in the past life story augments self-acceptance and facilitates the alleviation of the symptom.

The object of past life therapy is to unravel distortions and guide the patientto a clear perception and experiential understanding of the truth of what actually happened in a past life trauma. This brings about healing because knowing the truth leads to freedom.

Clarifying Life Purpose with Past Life Regression.

Existence and consciousness are the two basic ingredients in our life and these two basic qualities are interdependent. Our existence provides us with a location in time and space whereas our consciousness makes us aware of our existence. It is the continuation of existence and consciousness that constitutes the fundamental purpose of our life. Everything that we do as an individual is based on our ability to survive, both as a physical human during a lifetime and a spirit throughout etermity. The consciousness of our spirit, at its origin, determines and shape a personal purpose.

However, our misconceptions about our personal purpose and the reality within our personal philosophy can produce self-sabotaging behaviours. Such behaviours can perpetuate one's lifetime or many life times, and by investigating our past lives, we can gain greater clarity about our life purpose. This process can be greatly assisted through hypnotherapy techniques through a past life regression process.

Past life regression is the deliberate use of a variety of methods to retrieve memories of experiences that occurred in other life times. Memories of past lives may reveal why we have a natural talent for certain skills, such as art, music, poetry, sports, etc. Past lives can also explain relationships, hobbies, phobias, habits, etc. When we reconnect with the talents and skills we accrued in former lifetimes, we can bring the same ability, focus and knowledge into our present lives. By doing so, we can generate ideas about new directions in our lives and acquire greater confidence in using our talents. After we experience a number of past lives we often fee more connected to our greater life plan and a stronger connection to our personal values. When we look at our lives from the perspective of the evolution of our human society and history rather than in the context of our personal issues, our individual hardships appear less overwhelming and our struggles acquire greater meaning.

In essence, the pursuit of past life memories comes from the desire to put our character, personality and present-life experiences into context within the full progression of our soul. What is remarkable is the fact that during the process of re-experiencing past life events we often also experience healing and change.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

History of Past Life Regression Therapy

The innovative idea of making the unconscious mind conscious about restoring choices and healing was the conceptual foundation for regression therapy. The idea came from Freud and his theory was that early childhood experience determined later behaviour. He believed that memories of early childhood could be recovered hypnotically and used for therapy. However this concept did not gain acceptance until the late 60's and early 70's.

A process of moving backwards chronologically to tap early childhood memories was developed by hypnotherapists. Soon it was realised by the therapists themselves that they could regress patients not only back to early childhood but also to uncover memories of birth and pre-natal experience. Hence it was concluded that an element capable of functioning and recording events existed in human beings, even in the absence of a physical body. Denys Kelsey, a British psychiatrist worked with Joan Grant and published their exploratory work on past lives in a book, Many Lifetimes, in 1967.

In 1978, four further books on past life regression were published: Reliving Past Lives by Helen Wambach; You have been Here Before by Edith Fiore, Past Lives Therapy by Morris Netherton, and Voices from Other Lives by Thorwald Dethlefsen. These four books had one thing in common in that they concerned themselves with symptoms and do not stress spiritual implications.

Over the next decade, a paradigm shift occurred among past-life therapists and caused a growing impulse to explore the nature of existence and the meaning of life. With this paradigm shift, the Association for Past-Life Research was born. This association gradually developed training workshops and established criteria of who should practice regression therapy. With the development of research, Woolger contributed far-reaching theoretical concepts that helped us to understand past lives and provided a structure for effective therapeutic techniques. The Journal of Regression Therapy was developed in 1986. The Psychology Dept of Colorado State University proposed a research project in 1987 on the association of post-traumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans with past-life therapy.

In the meanwhile the focus of regression therapy was shifting. Through the 70's the objective was the remission of symptoms. This focus shifted towards the concept of the soul's journey through the 80's. It is becoming clear that where regression therapy supersedes other therapies in terms of effectiveness, it is in the more profound perspective on the meaning of life. The intense concern about whether or not past lives exist is finally winding down. Today, it is widely held that "Reincarnation is not a belief; it is a philosophy of life." (Dethlefsen).