CANADIAN FEDERATION OF CLINICAL HYPNOSIS
FÉDÉRATION CANADIEN D’HYPNOSE CLINIQUE
Hypnosis Canada
S i x t h
E d i t i o n
F a l l
2 0 1 2
Unexpected Ending
By Ian Simpson, MA, MB, BChir., FCFP
Early this year, I was asked to see a
patient with a chronic pain who was
worried about the amount of codeine that
he was taking. His story was that four
years previously he had gone to a
Photo by Stuart Edgar
chiropractor with back pain, and as part
of the treatment had a neck manipulation
(or adjustment). Within minutes of the manipulation he experienced pain in his head
and neck, ringing in his left ear, dizziness, and balance problems. These symptoms
persisted without remitting over the years. Later he noticed also that he was deaf in the
left ear. The ringing persisted and worsened, or at least it bothered him more.
Patients suffering from chronic pain almost always have other issues, so I started
asking and probing a little. I asked him if he was angry about the chiropractor causing
this. He thought carefully for a few minutes and then said, “I’m not really angry with
her. I am still upset that she refuses to recognize that the manipulation caused this and
denies the relationship, but my God I was in trouble almost immediately after she
finished with me! But I know she was practicing as she was taught. I am angry that
her professional association and the lawyers keep denying any liability. And the law
case keeps dragging on in spite of my specialist’s opinion …(Continued...pg.5) …
Focus on Medical Settings: Reaction to
Two Exceptional Workshops
By Marta Edgar
The latest two CFCH May conferences in
Banff (2011 and 2012) included workshops focused on using hypnosis in medical settings. I would like to share my
reactions to two of these workshops. The
first one, “No Fears, No Tears During
Diagnostic and Medical Procedures”, was
taught during the 2011 conference by
Dr. Elvira Lang, a physician and a
professor at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Lang addressed the use of hypnosis in challenging situations that
involved time pressure, distractions,
and patients who are ill, scared and in
pain. It was a far cry from a typical
psychotherapy or (Continued...pg.3)
Page 2
Hypnosis is My Passion
Hypnosis tends to attract that kind of
professional, because it isn’t “main
What got me started? I took my
stream.” Deciding to try it demands
introductory hypnosis training in
a certain willingness to take risks -to
November of 2001 - only 11 years ago -so be less “textbook driven” and more
I’m not one of the Grand Masters. But, at personally creative in the provision
the time, I was so exhilarated by the
of treatment. It certainly suited my
training that I volunteered to be on a start- style. So I became a kind of hypnosis
up committee being organized in Ontario. “junkie”: I took all the training I
To my surprise, I ended up as founding
could get both here and in the U.S. President of Ontario Division -certainly
over 300 hours and counting-and I
not because of my hypnosis expertise -but worked hard to promote Ontario and
because of my “passion” for using
the fledgling Canadian Federation.
hypnosis and because of the people I met It’s hard to believe that eleven years
in the hypnosis community.
have passed since those early days,
and even after all the work I have
Hypnosis people didn’t feel like the
done, I am still deeply committed to
professionals in other groups in which I
had interacted. They were warm,
Canadian hypnosis.
clinically generous, creative thinkers, with Why? Actually, I sometimes wonder
whom I felt instantly “at home.”
myself. It hasn’t (Continued...pg.7)
By Judy Coldoff, Ph.D.
Integrating Cognitive Behavioural
Therapy, Hypnosis, and Mindfulness in
the Management of Depression
By Veronica Dixon, R. Psych.
At the 2012 Annual Spring Hypnosis
Conference and Workshop in Banff, Dr.
Assen Alladin presented a workshop
entitled Integrating Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Hypnosis, and Mindfulness in the Management of Depression.
During the two-day training, Dr. Alladin
reviewed his multimodal assimilative
model of psychotherapy, entitled
Cognitive Hypnotherapy (CH), which is
an evidence-based approach to therapy
integrating CBT and Hypnosis. Dr.
Alladin outlined many ways Hypnosis
can be systematically integrated to
Hypnosis Canada
enhance therapeutic effectiveness,
decrease relapse rates, and decrease
treatment time. Hypnosis, when
integrated into therapy at different
junctures, can help to reduce
resistance, induce relaxation, interject
an early experience of hopefulness,
build emotional regulation, and
strengthen the ego. This reviewer has
been regularly practicing hypnosis
since 2008, and have used hypnosis
in the treatment of OCD, PTSD,
GAD, MDD, Binge Eating, Insomnia, Self Esteem, Chronic Pain, etc.
In an effort to (Continued...pg.8)
Sixth edition
Page 3
Making a Difference in Medical Hypnosis (Cont’d)
the Workplace by
Introducing Hypnosis to
School Employees
By Pascal Vettraino, M.S.W., R.S.W.
It may not be too surprising to learn that hypnosis is
making a difference in workplaces around the world, and
perhaps less so, that hypnosis is helping employees of a
public school board to become more resilient, and
proactively deal with the inevitable stressors of work and
life.
My first exposure working
with colleagues who
regularly practised hypnosis
in a Metro Toronto general
hospital setting was in the
early 1980s. It was fascinating to hear the type of issues
they were treating and the
amazing results attained by their patients. Through my
readings, I became fascinated with hypnosis as a tool of
psychological healing for patients coming to the
emergency department with burns, pain, stress, anxiety
and depression, and family members grieving the loss of
loved ones. And so, I promptly asked one of my
psychology colleagues where I could get the training in
hypnosis, and was told that my Master of Social Work
was not good enough, as I required a PhD in Psychology.
It was disappointing to hear that and I moved forward to
work in the mental health and addictions field in middle
and senior management positions in Ontario and across
the Western provinces.
My interest in hypnosis resurfaced while working as a
Clinical Supervisor at the Calgary Board of Education.
Over the past six years, more and more employees asked
if we offered hypnosis for smoking cessation, weigh loss
and mental health conditions. Initially, I referred them to
local hypnotherapists. As the request for hypnosis
continued, I took intro-intermediate and advanced
training with the Canadian (Continued...pg.9)
counselling setting of gathering a thorough
history, planning the treatment, and going at
client’s pace. Yet Dr. Lang demonstrated that
even in chaotic emergency situations it was
possible to rapidly develop rapport, help the
patients calm down, and reduce their suffering
while making it easier for medical staff to help
the person. The many impressive case studies
were supported by research demonstrating the
usefulness of hypnosis in reducing
“Dr. Lang
subjective discomfort as well as
demonstrated that even
reducing the amount of anaesthetic
needed during medical interventions. in chaotic emergency
situations it was
The second workshop “Healing
possible to rapidly
Words” was taught in 2012 by Alex
develop rapport, help
Chisholm, a physiotherapist from
patients calm down,
Calgary specializing in care of burn
and reduce their
injuries. It was a fascinating consuffering while making
tinuation of the medical topic, as it
it easier for medical
covered a broad background of
staff to help the
research evidence for the usefulness
of hypnosis in medical settings, with
person.”
evidence that hypnosis can reduce
pain and speed up patients’ recovery. The
changes effected with the help of hypnosis were
also related to the recent research in neuroplasticity. The workshop included several memorable
participatory exercises, such as developing an
illusory sensation in a fake hand, temporarily
attached to the body of a volunteering participant.
Another exercise helped the participants to develop a deeper understanding of the roles usually
assumed by patients and medical staff.
Although I work in an educational institution
rather than a medical setting, I found both workshops fascinating as well as very useful. My
clients report a great variety of hardships, among
them physical illnesses, chronic pain, and anxiety
-provoking medical procedures. Both workshops
made it easier for me to address these challenges
with my clients. I also benefitted personally from
attending these workshops: an improved selfhypnosis practice now prepares me very well for
my own medical and dental appointments.
Page 4
Letter from the Editor, Marta Edgar
I hope you will enjoy this newsletter. In this issue you will find a variety of items,
including case studies, reactions to workshops and conferences, letters from some of
the CFCH branch presidents, and a book review. Warm thanks to all who contributed their thoughts. This issue would not be what it is without a major input of time
and creativity from Veronica Dixon, who contributed an article and formatted the
whole issue in such an attractive way. I believe she deserves at least the title of
Assistant Editor.
The Alberta Fall 2012 conference, which was to have a focus on sexual
issues and was originally scheduled for October 26-27, had to be cancelled
because of very low registration numbers. Instead, the Alberta chapter
board attended a strategic meeting led by a professional facilitator from
Alberta Culture. Mr. Victor Moisan helped us to formulate vision and
mission statements, outline long term goals, and specify individual shortterm goals for each member. The new vision and mission state is the
following:
CFCH – Alberta Society is the recognized leader in the development,
promotion and ongoing education in the discipline of Clinical Hypnosis
for registered Health Care Professionals.
CFCH- Alberta Society exists to serve Registered Health Care Professionals by:
 Providing educational opportunities for members in the practice of
Clinical Hypnosis via local conferences, workshops, consultation and
media resources
 Promoting awareness of Clinical Hypnosis to the general public
Advocating for the sanctioning of Clinical Hypnosis by the Governing
Bodies of Health Care organizations
The next conference is scheduled for May 24-26, 2013 in Banff. Reserve
this time, and keep warm throughout the Canadian winter.
Photo by Stuart
Edgar
Hypnosis Canada
Sixth edition
Page 5
Unexpected Ending (Cont’d)
that it is quite definite that the manipulation caused all this.”
Now I began to get a little anxious, as patients in litigation bring so many secondary problems with them. But I
agreed that we would together see if he could be helped with hypnosis and particularly help himself by
learning and using self-hypnosis.
I told him that my practice was to induce and show him a hypnotic trance and we would assess
each time whether he felt this was helpful. He had a very good response to the initial session, so I
agreed to continue treatment weekly with him and told him that I would tape the next session for
him to start practicing at home.
When I saw him a few days later, he told me he felt a fair bit more optimistic and that he was
using a bit less codeine. I continued to question him about whether he really was angry with what
had happened. He immediately said, “ Yes, I’ve thought about what you said about anger and
other things often being the reason chronic pain won’t go away even with treatment. After all the
investigations and visits to doctors, I went back to the mill and asked for an office type job. I knew
I couldn’t go back on heavy machinery to my old job as a heavy equipment operator. My balance
is shot. I’m partially deaf, and have this ringing noise in my ear. The manager said there would
probably be a job I could do in the office. I said, “I assume I will keep my seniority of thirty years
in the paper mill.” He said “Oh no! You will go back to the bottom of the seniority list in your
new job.” I was so angry. That is so unfair. I didn’t go back to the paper mill!
“At his next visit, he
stated he was really
enjoying the
practice: during the
time of self hypnosis
and for a short time
after he was pain
free, and the head
and neck pain were
improved a bit
during the rest of the
day.”
Now it so happened that the mill closed down during these four years he had been sick, and his sick benefits
continued. I said, “Aren’t you lucky! If you had gone into the office, you would have lost the job, and with it
your long term disability when the mill went down! Instead, you’ve been financially OK.” We had another
session in which I tried to reframe this anger towards his previous employers, showing him that he had
financial stability and was still home seeing his children through secondary education etc. I encouraged him to
continue his homework by listening to the audiotape and practicing his own self-hypnosis.
At his next visit he stated he was really enjoying the practice: during the time of self hypnosis and for a short
time after he was pain free, and the head and neck pain were improved a bit during the rest of the day. I asked
him whether he kept up with his buddies from work. “Yes and no“, he said. “Most of them are over in the
Alberta oil patch. They mostly commute, spending
several weeks in camp, and then some time back
home. I do see them when they are home but I feel
sort of funny around them. We don’t seem to have
the same things to talk about.” As I enquired further,
it seemed to me that he was feeling guilty that he
was still home and almost all his workmates had to
go away. So at this session we worked on this feeling
of “survivor guilt”.
When he returned again, he was obviously doing
much better, in all respects, except for the tinnitus,
which was much the same. I had done a literature
search; there wasn’t much on hypnosis and tinnitus. I
had informed him that I could find nothing in the
literature to suggest a cure for (Continued...pg.11)
Page 6
Forgive For Good: A Proven
Prescription for Health and Happiness
Book Review: Forgive For Good: A
Proven Prescription for Health and
Happiness, Luskin, Fred. HarperOne,
New York, N.Y.:2002.
“Luskin is a master
teacher who
summarizes his
methods throughout
the book in such a
clear and concise
manner that it is easy
to incorporate them
into any standard
hypnotic induction”
This absolute ‘gem’ of a book is the
culmination of Dr. Luskin’s doctoral
dissertation and his initiative in
establishing the Stanford University
Forgiveness Project. Grounded in
careful research, rich in practical
methodology, effective metaphors and
case illustrations; outcome studies have
shown the work to be effective in
individual and group applications. The
model has been used successfully with
people who suffered from the violence
in Northern Ireland and Sierra Leone as
well as the attacks on the World Trade
Center on 9/11. Luskin has described
his approach as a combination of
guided imagery, cognitive strategies,
journal writing and discussion all
presented in a safe and nurturing
environment.
The reviewer uses hypnosis frequently
when counselling and approached
Luskin’s work in the spirit of
Photo by Stuart Edgar
Hypnosis Canada
Aladdin’s Cognitive Hypnotherapy *,
a combined or integrated approach to
therapy. Luskin is a master teacher
who summarizes his methods
throughout the book in such a clear
and concise manner that it is easy to
incorporate them into any standard
hypnotic induction whenever the
therapist senses that the client is
carrying a grievance toward self or
other, past or present, and would
benefit from letting go of the
‘unfinished business’. The results of
this multi-disciplinary approach have
been very gratifying, and the reviewer
hopes that the Canadian Federation of
Clinical Hypnosis – Alberta Society
will consider inviting Dr. Luskin to
present his very effective methods to
our membership at some time in the
very near future. By Tom Brown,
Ph.D., R.Psych.
*Alladin, Assen. Cognitive Hypnotherapy: An Integrated Approach to
the Treatment of Emotional Disorders. Wiley, Chichester, West Sussex,
England,:2008
Sixth edition
Page 7
Hypnosis is My Passion (Cont’d)
manuscripts to MBR for publication and build the
momentum of MBR.
been easy, and certainly not always fun: there were
political problems I didn’t anticipate; I misjudged some
situations and made some mistakes. But I also learned a
lot, worked very hard and made some great friends. In
the early years, Mark Dimirsky and I wrote the Ontario
and Alberta websites and developed bylaws for OD and
for CFCH; I was the Canadian Rep to ASCH for 6 years;
I founded and edited both Hypnosis Ontario and later
Hypnosis Canada; and I served as Secretary of CFCH
from 2003 until two years ago when I became President.
I consider one of the highlights of my work to be the
recruitment of renowned neuroscientist, Amir Raz, to
help us start up what is now the Journal of Mind-Body
Regulation (MBR) and become our Editor-in-Chief. I
cannot tell you how difficult it is to mount a brand new
journal and get the word out about it. Amir and his team
at McGill (especially Noémie Aubert-Bonn and Michael
Lifshitz) have worked tirelessly to produce an online
journal of which we can be very proud. Heartfelt thanks
to you, Amir, and all of your team; and kudos on your
magnificent product!
One of the fringe benefits of this database is that
we can use it for a number of purposes: to
promote the workshops of our member societies,
(as well as those of other professional hypnosis
societies); AND to promote products of interest to
our members and to those in the broader community. This is good for our societies and
for the Federation. Money is always the “It is my fervent hope
that hypnosis takes its
bottom line in trying to manage a
volunteer organization: we never have place in becoming the
indispensable,
enough money to do all the work we
mainstream
tool it
would like to do - mount conferences;
deserves to be - a
advertise; pay wages and expenses of
those who give their time and energy to remarkable asset to
one’s clinical repertoire:
our society. So finding ways of
one that well-trained and
promoting revenue sources is extremely
talented health
important to us.
professionals can use to
Raising money is what is critical for us
address the daunting
now. Your Board and Finance
health problems we face
Committee have been working at
in our world today.”
developing ways of doing this. Some of
us are planning to create videos for sale on line.
We are always looking for good people to help us
with the work, which is enjoyable and not too
strenuous. Please do get in touch with me or any
member of your executive, if you have any ideas
or are willing to let your voice be heard on our
Board or on one of our committees. We’ll
welcome you warmly. ....(Continued...pg.10)
Since MBR’s launch in 2011, I have been working at
developing an online database to promote MBR. At last
count, I have collected well over 200,000 academics and
health professionals both in North America and around
the world for our database. As a result, MBR’s circulation is growing steadily and it is becoming better-known.
A few months ago, we were invited to sign a contract
with EBSCO - a large indexing service that will allow
MBR’s articles to be accessed by search engines around
the world - both in academic and popular media. This
means that they can be viewed and cited by researchers,
clinicians and students seeking information. We are
hoping that this will prompt more authors to submit their
Photo by Stuart Edgar
Page 8
Hypnosis, CBT, and Mindfulness in
Treating Depression (Cont’d)
customize the hypnotic approach to the
client, I have used an array of induction,
deepening, and imagery techniques with
good success. With that said, the writer was
exposed to many intriguing ideas during
Dr. Alladin’s workshop. This psychologist
truly appreciated his systematic approach,
which seamlessly wove hypnosis into a
comprehensive CBT treatment plan with
the utmost importance placed on taking a
pragmatic approach to therapy.
“Dr. Alladin
suggested that all
hypnotherapists
could learn from
the skilled stage
hypnotists, who
regularly
demonstrate the
validity of the
hypnotic
experience to their
patrons.”
Dr. Alladin emphasized the use of an
evidence based pragmatic approach to
treatment and stressed the importance of
integrating trance ratification procedures,
such as eyelid catalepsy into the hypnotic
experience to demonstrate and affirm for
clients the believability of their hypnotic
experience, thus enhancing the efficacy of
the procedure. Dr. Alladin suggested that
all hypnotherapists could learn from the
skilled stage hypnotists, who regularly
demonstrate the validity of the hypnotic
experience to their patrons and thus
enhance their believability in the experience. In a clinical setting, convincing the
client they have been hypnotized is of great
importance.
The writer feels her clinical skills have
improved since attending Dr. Alladin’s
workshop. This Psychologist uses hypnosis
in therapy at many more treatment points,
and now always use a trance ratification
procedure. The benefits reported by clients
have been substantial. Anecdotally, it
appears as though their treatment time and
thus distress has been shortened. This
Psychologist was already using hypnosis
regularly, and from a CBT perspective, but
now I am more skilfully using it.
depression. The dropout rates remain
high, and even though it is lower than
treatment with medication-alone,
symptoms of depression do not resolve
for an unsatisfactorily high number of
clients. The goal of CBT is to teach
clients to recognize and examine their
negative beliefs and maladaptive
perceptions. This goal is achieved
through a structured collaborative
process, engaging the client to explore
and examine their thoughts, feelings,
and behaviours and encourage the client
to engage in experimentation to
challenge their thoughts, feelings, and
beliefs. The idea is that if you can
restructure the thoughts, you can alter
the emotional reaction and the resulting
behaviour that together sustains the
depressed mood and consistently
undermine client’s hopefulness,
worthiness, and integrity.
Many clinicians have likely had times
when clients struggled to identify their
thought processes. Dr. Alladin suggests
this is another juncture that Hypnosis
can be quite effective. Hypnosis permits
clinicians and clients to access
unconscious thought processes,
enabling cognitive restructuring. In
demonstrating this point, he referred to
a client whose therapy was progressing
well until she experienced a setback.
The client was unable to identify the
trigger without the use of hypnosis
regressing her to the event and
exploration of her thoughts, feelings,
and beliefs.
Clients struggling with depression
habitually ruminate. Such perpetual
recycling of negative thoughts leads to
Dr. Alladin discussed the many benefits and
negative affect, negatively biased
limitations of CBT in the treatment of
thinking, impaired (Continued...pg.13)
Hypnosis Canada
Sixth edition
Page 9
Hypnosis with School Employees (Cont’d)
Federation of Clinical Hypnosis (CFCH-AB) in 2009, and recruited two more hypnotherapists.
The training literally changed the course of my life by opening up an unlimited number of doors. My clients’
success motivated me to learn and continue to refine my hypnosis technique as a fascinating healing tool. I
continue to attend many professional hypnosis workshops as I become more and more comfortable using a
wide variety of techniques and recording tools with individual clients and groups. It became very clear that
hypnosis fast-tracked the therapeutic process by empowering clients to heal faster and develop the ability to
proactively deal with inevitable stressors.
Purpose and direction of the Employee Counselling Services
As an integral part of the Employee Health Resource Centre (EHRC), the Employee Counselling Services
provides counselling services of the highest professional standards to approximately 13,000 employees. Our in
-depth knowledge of workplace dynamics, and collaboration with the EHRC and other departments, enables us
to provide the highest standards of counselling
services. We are dedicated to improving and
maintaining the well-being of our employees by
proactively anticipating needs and developing
accessible, high-quality services.
The top four reasons Calgary Board of Education
employees access the Employee Counselling Services
include stress, depression, anxiety and work-related
conflict.
It is important to note that the above-noted findings
are not school-based , but mental health in the
workplace. They appear to be consistent with research
in mental health in the workplace, both nationally and
internationally. In the professions and in business,
Ottawa River, Simone Brosig
"Stress is the leading priority for employee assistance
programs" (Murphy, 1991). According to a 2007 Ipsos
Reid survey, employers in Canada are aware of the prevalence and impact of mental illness, but many don’t
know how to deal with this problem.
Developing a Strategy Based on Presenting Issue
In 2008, we targeted the above-noted top four issues by introducing Healing Rhythms Biofeedback (recently
renamed Relaxing Rhythms) for stress and anxiety reduction. A Stress & Anxiety Scale was developed to
monitor improvement before and after each session. Prior to the biofeedback session, clients were also asked
to access the Georgia Southern University-Stress Workshop and Online Relaxation Training.
Clients learned a variety of relaxation exercises in the form of Quick Time and MP3 audio files that they could
play on their computer or download on their ipod/iphone. The survey results proved that over 90% of clients
using biofeedback reported feeling considerably less stressed and anxious. Clients were able to complete the
program in five one-hour sessions. In addition to individual sessions, we had several stress reduction/change
management/Work-Life Balance workshops at several schools at the beginning and end of the school year.
This proved to be an easy and effective way to engage employees in taking personal responsibility for their
health in a gradual and non-threatening way. (Continued...pg.12)
Page 10
President’s Letter, Quebec Division.
By Stan Blicker
The Québec division has been active in teaching introductory courses in the past
few years. A number of our former students are now taking an active role on the
executive of the division.
This year we have started a program of membership meetings at which we expect
to have good presenters as well as a panel of experts to which our members can
bring their problem cases for discussion. At our 1st meeting in May our speaker
was Dr. Amir Raz.
After having taught a number of introductory courses, we are planning to have an
intermediate course in the Fall 2012, largely for many of our former introductory
level students. This will be followed by another introductory course in the new
year.
Photo by Stuart Edgar
Hypnosis is My Passion (Cont’d)
For me, the continuing driving force is clinical: using hypnosis hugely empowers
my practice; it gives me a sense of heightened possibility for my clients -most
especially, the increased speed at which they recover-and it is a healthy, inexpensive method without side-effects when skilfully used. For these reasons, hypnosis is
a technique very much worth learning; worth becoming more expert at; worth
promoting to as many health professionals as possible, because of its powerful
healing potential. It is my fervent hope that hypnosis takes its place in becoming
the indispensable, mainstream tool it deserves to be - a remarkable asset to one’s
clinical repertoire: one that well-trained and talented health professionals can use to
address the daunting health problems we face in our world today. Judy Coldoff,
Ph.D., Psychologist, President of the Canadian Federation of Clinical Hypnosis
drcoldoff@bellnet.ca
Hypnosis Canada
Sixth edition
Page 11
Unexpected Ending (Cont’d)
the tinnitus but that it would bother him a lot less, although still present.
And this is what occurred. I thought that now we had uncovered and
helped him deal with his anger and guilt, helped him significantly with the
neck and head pain, and significantly reduced his codeine use. I felt that
my job was finished.
He asked for one more session just to reinforce his own self-hypnosis and
relaxation, and also to have a different audiotape to listen to. I knew by
now a lot of what went on in his mind during his hypnotic
sessions, so I asked if he wanted any specific imagery in this relaxation session. “No”, he said.
“This case
“As you usually do when I’m relaxed, ask me to find my own special imaginary place. I usually
demonstrates the
end up back as a boy cod-fishing with my father, but sometimes I am just sitting looking out over
the bay. I think I’m older when that happens. It’s interesting to wait and see which image comes.” importance of the
emotions -often
So for this last hypnosis, I really did not have to think and prepare. We had done the work
together. He had allowed himself to realize what other factors were preventing his healing, and I
buried deep and
knew we were finishing our journey together -- or so I thought.
denied-but still
I was not concentrating and focusing the way I should have been. I often use counting to induce an having such a strong
hypnotic trance, and I counted coherently from one to five, and then my mind not being focused I
influence in
went from five to thirteen. My immediate thought was, “Oh my God, I’ve broken his trance“, but I maintaining the
went on talking to him. “Now thirteen is an interesting number, it’s unlucky for some but lucky
symptoms in patients
for some others. Twenty one: that’s another interesting number, lucky for some card players…”-with chronic pain.”
I went on with my talking. I did not appear to have disturbed his trance, only my own equilibrium
briefly. After the hypnosis I debriefed him. He immediately said “How did you know my lucky
numbers?” I said, “What do you mean, what are you talking about?” He said, “Thirteen and twenty one are
special numbers for me. Thirteen was the number of the house I grew up in, and twenty one is our house
number now. Also, they were both my numbers on my hockey shirts at different times!
This case demonstrates the importance of the emotions –often buried deep and denied—but still having such a
strong influence in maintaining the symptoms in patients with chronic pain. It is the same situation with
patients with PTSD. Often until the
memories and emotions are
recognized, exposed, and talked
through, the symptoms that trouble
them still remain. I have no opinion
to offer about the apparent mind
reading. But the surprise to the
patient seemed to be therapeutic!
Dr. Ian Simpson, MA, MB, BChir.,
FCFP
Photo by Stuart Edgar
Page 12
Hypnosis with School Employees (Cont’d)
In 2009, the author completed IntroIntermediate and Advanced Hypnosis
Training with the CFCH-AB, and two
other colleagues also became members. In
the years that followed, we purchased
software which further expanded our
services.
We use Sound Forge Pro-10 for
recording hypnosis sessions and gather
client feedback through the Outcome
Rating Scale and Session Rating Scale
(Scott & Miller, 2000).
The SHARM 4 software allowed us to
add royalty-free sound tracks to give to
our clients, and the Neuro-Programmer
3 added more tools like brainwave
entrainment to facilitate accessing the
desired brainwave.
Developed the Sleep Well Workshop
and recorded a 20-minute self-hypnosis
CD to give to each group participant.
In the past year, we jointly run smoking
cessation and weigh loss groups with the
Lung Association and Weight Watchers,
respectively. Once we have our portal up
and running, we will record a series of
personalized mindfulness mediation/selfhypnosis sound tracks to enable all CBE
employees to access these self-help tools
whenever they need/want to. Our goal
will be to empower our employees to stay
healthy and enhance their performance by
drawing upon untapped inner resources.
Self-hypnosis has proven to be an
immensely valuable tool.
As a result of requests for tools to help
educators become more resilient and
proactively manage compassion fatigue,
we developed Preventing Compassion
Fatigue-Self-Care Strategies for
Educators. This 2-hour workshop was
successfully delivered to two elementary
schools. A self-hypnosis CD was recorded
to help them relax, melt away stress and
Hypnosis Canada
recharge their internal battery. Many
schools have since requested this
workshop to help educators prepare
and successfully navigate the school
year.
Summary
Mental health is an important
determinant of how employees
function at work and at home. Like
many clinicians working in Employee
Assistance Programs, we relied on
clinically-proven therapeutic
modalities such a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Brief-Solution Focus
therapy for managing stress,
depression and anxiety and other
mental health issues. The introduction
of hypnosis in the workplace
happened primarily as a result of
employees asking for it. Over the past
three years, there has been a gradual
increase in acceptance of hypnosis as
an effective tool to help employees
more effectively manage mental
health issues, enhance work performance, and facilitate successful return
to work. Currently, we use hypnosis
on a daily basis in individual sessions
and plan to expand to a variety of
health and wellness groups. As
always, the feedback from our clients
will help guide our strategic plan. To
quote Emily Cue: “Every Day, in
Every Way, we’re Getting Better and
Better.”
References
Attridge, M. (2008). A Quiet Crisis:
The Business Case for Managing
Employee Mental Health-Human
Solutions Report. Wilson Banwell
ProACT. Human Solutions.
(Continued...pg.14)
Sixth edition
Page 13
Hypnosis, CBT, Mindfulness in Treating Depression (Cont’d)
motivation, ceased or reduced
involvement in instrumental
behaviour, impaired concentration, and increased stress. It
is a familiar habit that clients
often falsely believe helps
them to solve problems.
Rumination can be automatic
and outside their conscious
awareness, but it can be
interrupted using hypnosis. Another additive benefit of
hypnosis is that it helps clients to access and replace
negative imagery, another form of rumination. Clients do
not only ruminate on negative thoughts and feelings, but
also negative imagery, which is often difficult for the
client to access and articulate in traditional CBT. Dr.
Alladin discussed how habitual rumination might at
times resemble a form of Negative Self-Hypnosis (NSH).
NSH involves noncritical thinking, active negative
imagery, dissociation, and powerful posthypnotic
suggestions of negative self-affirmation (e.g. “I’ll never
get better”).
The other benefit of hypnosis is attention switching.
Clients can experience a rebound effect with conscious
thought stopping, so attention switching is an effective
tool to move clients away from ruminative thoughts.
Hypnosis is very useful in expanding emotional
experiences beyond the negative and retraining the brain
to help clients attend to a greater expanse of emotion and
stimuli in the environment. It is also instrumental in
creating positive expectancy and interjecting posthypnotic suggestions that enhance
motivation and commitment to the
therapeutic process. Together these efforts
expand a client’s emotional awareness and
reactions, creating positive anchors that
help pave new non-depressive neural
pathways, thus potentially decreasing
relapse rates.
Dr. Alladin impressed the
importance of starting the therapeutic
relationship with a thorough intake
interview that also examines the
client’s beliefs and values for later
hypnotic intervention.
Dr.
Alladin pointed out that we validate
our reality based on our feelings not
our thoughts.
“Dr. Alladin
pointed out
that we
validate our
reality based
on our
Dr. Alladin’s Cognitive Hypnotherapy
feelings not
for depression consists of 16 weekly
sessions. Early in the process the
clinician employs first aid techniques our thoughts.”
to temporarily lift depressive
symptoms and instil hope that the client can
experience brief moments of calm until further
along in therapy. Then the focus switches to
bibliotherapy and more typical CBT homework,
which is later reviewed in-depth in therapy and the
disputation process is introduced. Hypnosis is used
to induce relaxation, demonstrate the power of the
mind through trance ratification, strengthen the
ego, reduce distraction, maximize concentration
and mindfulness, decrease rumination, facilitate
divergent thinking, amplify positive feelings and
experiences, and enhance awareness of range of
feelings. Hypnosis can also facilitate access to
psychological processes below conscious
awareness, reduce guilt, and enhance mindfulness
and acceptance.
The workshop was very informative, and most
valuable was the presentation of a comprehensive
treatment plan. Veronica Dixon, M.Sc., R. Psych.,
South Calgary Psychology
Photo by Stuart Edgar
Page 14
Self-Hypnosis for Pain Management
By Jeffrey Bechthold, MaCP
Using hypnotic
suggestion,
I have been able
to mitigate the
pain without
drugs for the past
four months since
the conference.
The May 2012 CFCH hypnosis conference has been a transformative experience for
my professional and personal views of human psychology. Seeing and experiencing
first-hand the power of clinical hypnosis is very different from just learning theory.
In a relatively short period of time (a weekend conference), I was able to learn and
apply hypnosis techniques. I encourage all professionals to visit one of the
upcoming workshops.
For the past five years, I have managed back pain from a work-related injury with
various strengths of painkiller. Using hypnotic suggestion, I have been able to
mitigate that pain without drugs for the past four months since the conference. If
hypnosis can work so amazingly for me, I know that my clients can benefit from
these methods as well. I am planning to increase my proficiency in the use of
hypnosis as I move forward with professional development in clinical psycholgy.
In my own experience with pain reduction, I first visualized the pain in my back
area as a three-dimensional image, with orange and red marking the areas that were
painful and inflamed. I then visualized these areas turning blue and becoming cool.
I practiced holding my thumb and pinky finger together to bring back the sense of
well-being when becoming aware of pain. The connecting of finger and thumb
became a signal for my brain, a reminder to use the hypnotic suggestion. After a
period of time doing this, I think I conditioned myself to automatically control the
pain without conscious awareness. Now I do not need to use the reminder any more;
it seems that my body has learned to self-manage the pain as a response to pain
signals. I believe that my self-hypnosis practice had been helpful in reaching this
point. I am not very sure about how this relates to research on hypnosis, but I know
it has worked for me.
Hypnosis with School Employees (Cont’d)
References (Cont’d)
Georgia Southern University: http://students.georgiasouthern.edu/counselling/
contact.htm
Murphy, L.R. (1991) ‘Organizational stress interventions’, 9, pp8-11
Scott D. Miller aned Barry L: Duncan (2000). Session Rating Scale and Outcome
Rating Scale, Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change, available at:
www.talkingcure.com
Sharm 4: http://www.thesharm.com
Sony Sound Forge Pro 10:http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/soundforge
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Great-West Life Centre for Mental
Health in the Workplace and the World Health Organization; 2009. Government of
Canada-2006. The human face of mental health illness in Canada
Neuro-Programmer 3 (http://www.transparentcorp.com)
By Pascal Vettraino, M.S.W., R.S.W.
Hypnosis Canada
Sixth edition
SCEH CONFERENCE TORONTO,
Oct. 2012
Greetings colleagues!
Well, I have to say that I attended my first SCEH
conference--co-sponsored by CSCH-Ontario Division, and I came back exhilarated! Although the
conference was small (about 120 in attendance,) it
certainly made up for it in enthusiasm. As President of
the Canadian Federation, I am delighted and proud of the
contribution our members made there, and the things we
accomplished.
Presentations:
On Thursday morning, I conducted a half-day Intermediate workshop, entitled "So Now I Can Do Inductions...What Next?"--on how to integrate hypnosis into
your practice. The reviews were even better than I had
hoped for, and were seen to directly assist clinicians of
all disciplines to develop some better tools for putting
their hypnotic skills into practice. Thanks to faculty
group leaders, Rick Kluft, Steve Pauker and Marie
Wilson for their excellent contributions. Although I
could not commit to a full day workshop because of
health problems this year, this workshop would be even
more effective in a full day format.
On Friday, Federation's President-elect, Dr. Marie
Wilson, gave a full day workshop on her own model of
healing trauma to a most enthusiastic group of participants. I attended the morning session, and left reluctantly
because of an intermediate faculty commitment in the
afternoon. Marie's work is her original contribution to
the field, and is an accessible, manageable technique for
mental health professionals to work effectively with the
trauma population. It is cutting-edge stuff, and will
definitely advance the field. Excellent work, Marie!
Scientific meeting:
MBR's illustrious editor-in-chief, Prof. Amir Raz, along
with his graduate student Michael Lifshitz were the
Scientific Co-Chairs of the SCEH meeting, assembling
an excellent roster of hypnosis researchers. Some
highlights: Prof. Eric Woody of Waterloo University
presented research using functional MRI's to show clear
differences in brain functioning between hypnotic states
Page 15
and imagination states, contributing some real
evidence to the neurobiology of hypnosis
(published in MBR, 2011.) Elia Abi-Jaoude of the
Dept of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, gave a
fascinating talk on the role of suggestion and
expectation in the therapeutic relationship. A very
engaging keynote address by Prof. John Vervaeke
opened Sunday morning’s session with his talk on
the science of meditation, setting the stage for the
following symposium presented by Michael
Lifshitz and Steven J. Lynn comparing meditation
with hypnosis. Other engaging speakers included
Donald Moss, Marianne Wetendorff Noergoard of
Denmark, Phil Shenefelt, Slelagh Freedman and
Henry Szechtman.
Michael Lifshitz, Noemie Aubert-Bonn, Ilia
Blinderman and Devin Terhune in different
symposia discussed their research into the use of
suggestion to control automatic processes—work
that contributes to a better understanding of
voluntary control and top-down influence. The
average age of these young researchers is only 26,
and they represent, in the best possible way, the
future of scientific hypnosis research. All in all, the
scientific program did what good scientific
programs are intended to do: help clinicians like
myself find validity, meaning and direction in the
work we do. It was truly enlightening.
Presidential Address:
In his characteristically provocative, but humorous
fashion, SCEH President Dr. Steve Pauker,
knocked the socks off those in attendance. In his
speech entitled, "SCEH and Hypnosis 2012: Do
Hypnosis Societies Have DID?", Steve questioned
many of the attitudes held in the professional
hypnosis community: membership requirements;
hypnosis journals that lack credibility in the
mainstream; elitist attitudes towards "lay"
hypnotists (without knowing how they are actually
trained, and without real evidence of harm); and
the double standard between "who-should-practice
-hypnosis-with-whom" and what is actually done.
As an esteemed cardiologist and chair of the
clinical promotions committee at Tufts University
in Boston, Steve used his considerable credibility
to raise questions about the values many in the
hypnosis community hold dear.(Continued pg. 18)
Page 16
Banff Spring Conference May 24-26, 2013
We are fortunate to have Dr. Michael Heap as our keynote presenter for next year’s
conference. One of the Founding Members of the British Society of Experimental and
Clinical Hypnosis, he is well-known nationally and internationally. Attendees of his
workshops and keynote address will derive a great deal of useful information and wisdom
from Dr. Heap.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
Michael Heap, PhD, is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist with 42 years of experience
assessing and treating people with psychological disorders and patients with neurological
conditions. Since 1992 he has regularly prepared for both civil and criminal courts. From
2000 to 2009, he was half-time Consultant Psychologist at Wathwood Medium Secure
Hospital, Rotherham, England, working with patients compulsorily detained under the
Mental Health Act. From 1990 to 2000, he was half-time Lecturer in Clinical Hypnosis at
the University of Sheffield and Administrator of the Diploma and Masters Courses in
Clinical Hypnosis, which he and his colleagues set up. From 1993 to 1999, he was a teacher
and Assistant Administrator of the Diploma and Masters Courses in Applied/Clinical
Hypnosis at the Department of Psychology of University College, University of London.
Over the last 30 years, Dr. Heap has published many papers and chapters on hypnosis in
scientific journals and books, and has lectured on the subject throughout Europe, Israel,
Canada and the USA. He is an Advisory Editor for the International Journal of Clinical
and Experimental Hypnosis. In the last 20 years he has edited and co-authored several
learned books on the subject of hypnosis and its clinical applications, including M. Heap &
K.K. Aravind (2002) Hartland’s Medical and Dental Hypnosis (4th ed.). His latest book
(2011) is entitled Universal Awareness: A Theory of the Soul.
HYPNOTHERAPY IN PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDERS, May 24, 2013
A wide range of common medical disorders are often referred to as ‘psychosomatic’
because they may be triggered, aggravated, or maintained by stressful emotional experiences and conflicts. They include dermatological, gastro-intestinal, respiratory, and
cardiovascular disorders. These conditions themselves may have adverse effects on the
patient’s psychological wellbeing, the ability to participate in various activities and the
ability to cope with the demands of everyday life. The workshop will familiarise participants with a wide variety of hypnotic procedures that have proved effective in the management and amelioration of these conditions. There will be didactic and practical sessions, as
well as case discussion and overviews of the clinical research literature. There
will be ample course material (hard copy and electronic).
HYPNOSIS IN LEGAL, MEDICO-LEGAL AND FORENSIC CONTEXTS,
May 25, 2013
Is it necessary to have laws restricting the use of hypnosis? Should hypnosis be
used in the interrogation of witnesses in criminal investigations? As an ‘expert
Hypnosis Canada
Sixth edition
Page 17
Banff Spring Conference May 24-26, 2013
witness’ for a trial, how would one assess the defence claim that hypnosis caused a complainant to have ‘false
memories’ of sexual abuse in childhood? Is it possible, through hypnosis, to make people do things against
their will, such as engage in antisocial or criminal activities? Is stage hypnosis dangerous? How does one
assess an allegation of negligence on the part of a practitioner of clinical hypnosis or stage hypnosis? Or a
claim that a therapist indecently assaulted a patient during hypnosis? All of these questions go to the heart of
the question, ‘What is hypnosis?’. The workshop leader will draw on his wide experience of providing expert
witness reports for the civil and criminal courts that address these questions. As well as didactic sessions, there
will be small group discussions of actual cases with which the workshop leader has been involved. There will
be ample course material (hard copy and electronic).
Keynote Address: EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL HYPNOSIS: ARE THEY THE SAME?, May 24,
2013, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
In recent years there has been a growing consensus amongst experimental researchers and theoreticians
concerning the defining characteristics of hypnosis as a normal psychological phenomenon, likewise the nature
of its likely underlying mechanisms. The pivotal area of research has been the experiences and behaviour of
susceptible subjects who are responding to hypnotic suggestions, and it is broadly agreed that such individuals
experience the suggested effects in a realistic and automatic way ‘at times bordering on the delusional’ (Kihlstrom). Neuropsychological and neurophysiological research has also highlighted differences
between responsive and unresponsive subjects both in and outside of the hypnotic context. Recent theoretical
models have proposed some kind of dissociative or inhibitory mechanism within the perceptual-cognitivebehavioural process. How are these advances reflected in the way clinicians conceive of hypnosis in their
work? Very often it appears that they are referring to something quite different, the central concept being a
state of mind and brain which is, of itself, therapeutic and which potentiates healing communications. The
lecture will address the question how much the laboratory investigation of hypnosis and the theoretical models
proposed have in common with the way hypnosis is conceived of and practised by clinicians.
By. Dr. Assen Alladin
Page 18
SCEH CONFERENCE TORONTO, Oct. 2012 (Cont’d)
I saw his commentary as an important challenge to self-examination in professional
hypnosis societies (including the Canadian Federation) that we need to begin discussing
today. Bravo, Steve!
Banquet Surprise:
Several awards were distributed at the banquet
including an Honorary membership to Dr. Claire
Frederick by Ontario Division, presented by Dr.
Dabney Ewin-first recipient of an honorary OD
membership in 2002 (an award that I presented to
him10 years ago as founding president of that
society). Congratulations to Claire on a welldeserved honour. Then, in a surprise move,
Claire Frederick & Judy Coldoff
President Steve Pauker called Dr. Jacques Gouws and
me up to the stage to receive Presidential awards for
our contributions to Canadian hypnosis. This was very unexpected, as, outside of my
workshop contribution and work as Intermediate faculty, I had not participated in the
planning of the conference. (My offer to SCEH and OD of the use of our large database to
help publicize the conference was declined several months back). However, the award was
Steve's way of encouraging future cooperation between Federation and OD-a sentiment I
most whole-heartedly support.
Invitation:
A tangible outcome of the meeting was that the Canadian Federation was invited to cosponsor--along with Ontario Division--the next SCEH meeting at Berkeley, California in
October 2013. I again offered our large database for publicizing the conference
(over 240,000 health professionals and researchers) and this time the SCEH reps were
positive. Some details will need to be worked out, but we look forward to working with
our colleagues in SCEH and OD to make next year's conference bigger and even better.
In addition to the learning experiences at these conferences, some of the best moments
occur during the social opportunities. IMHO, that is how relationships are developed and
things happen. Federation Board was well-represented by Marie Wilson, Stan Blicker,
Pascal Vettraino and me. Stan, Marie and I had
meals with Claire, Dabney, Rick, Amir, Sid
Freedman, Ed Frischoltz, Steve Lynn, and James
Straub. Even Norman Doidge (author of The
Brain that Changes Itself) was there. The
relationships we forged during this exciting
meeting bode well for the very bright future of
CFCH.
Kudos to the SCEH planners and OD. Plan on
coming to Berkeley next year...it's going to be
great! By, Judy Coldoff, Ph.D., President, CFCH
Marie Wilson & Stan Blicker
Hypnosis Canada
Canadian Federation of Clinical Hypnosis /
Fédération canadienne d'hypnose clinique
Executive Members:
President, Dr. Judy Coldoff (Quebec rep.)
President-elect, Dr. Marie Wilson (Alberta rep.)
Treasurer, Dr. Stanley Blicker (Quebec rep.)
Nominations, Dr. Kent Cadegan (Atlantic rep.)
Federation Offices:
Alberta.Office@clinicalhypnosis.ca
(800) 386-7230
Atlantic.Office@clinicalhypnosis.ca
(902) 677-2243
Quebec.Office@clinicalhypnosis.ca
Members at large, Dr. Ian Simpson (Atlantic rep.),
Mr. Pascal Vettraino (Alberta), Ms. Jane Oxenbury (Alberta)
Interesting Web Links:
The Journal of Mind–Body Regulation:
http://mbr.synergiesprairies.ca/cjh/index.php/mbr/index
Why Listening is so Much More than Hearing:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/opinion/sunday/why-listening-is-so-muchmore-than-hearing.html?_r=0
Mind Body Medicine Network:
http://www.mindbodymedicinenetwork.com/Webinars.html