Feasibility of Brief, Hypnotic Enhanced Cognitive Therapy for SCI-related Pain During Inpatient Rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVES: (1) Adapt evidence-based hypnosis-enhanced cognitive therapy (HYP-CT) for inpatient rehabilitation setting; and (2) determine feasibility of a clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of HYP-CT intervention for pain after spinal cord injury (SCI). STUDY DESIGN: Pilot non-randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Inpatient rehabilitation unit. PARTICIPANTS: English-speaking patients admitted to inpatient rehabilitation after SCI reporting current pain of at least 3 on a 0-10 scale. Persons with severe psychiatric illness, recent suicide attempt or elevated risk, or significant cognitive impairment were excluded. Consecutive sample of 53 patients with SCI-related pain enrolled, representing 82% of eligible patients. INTERVENTION: Up to 4 sessions of HYP-CT Intervention, each 30-60 minutes long. METHODS: Participants were assessed at baseline and given the choice to receive HYP-CT or Usual Care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participant enrollment and participation and acceptability of intervention. Exploratory analyses examined the effect of intervention on pain and cognitive appraisals of pain. RESULTS: In the HYP-CT group, 71% completed at least 3 treatment sessions and reported treatment benefit and satisfaction with the treatment; no adverse events were reported. Exploratory analyses of effectiveness found pre-post treatment pain reductions after HYP-CT with large effect (P<.001; ß=-1.64). While the study was not powered to detect significant between-group differences at discharge, effect sizes revealed decreases in average pain (Cohen's d=-0.13), pain interference (d=-0.10), and pain catastrophizing (d=-0.20) in the HYP-CT group relative to control and increases in self-efficacy (d=0.27) and pain acceptance (d=0.15). CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to provide HYP-CT to inpatients with SCI, and HYP-CT results in substantial reductions in SCI pain. The study is the first to show a psychological-based nonpharmacologic intervention that may reduce SCI pain during inpatient rehabilitation. A definitive efficacy trial is warranted.

Charles Lloyd Tuckey: medical hypnotist and 'amiable necromancer'.

Charles Lloyd Tuckey (1854-1925) was one of the leaders of the British 'New Hypnotism' movement of the late nineteenth century. This neglected figure is important because of his contributions to the early psychotherapies in Britain, ushering in the concept of suggestion to British medicine from Europe. Through his networks and clubs, Tuckey demonstrates the bewildering range of institutions that shaped and spread the novel theory of suggestion and the nascent talking therapies at this time. His affiliations to psychic investigation and ceremonial magic societies demonstrate his intellectual curiosity rather than backwards primitivism. Tuckey played an important role in establishing the term 'psychotherapeutics' and legitimising medical hypnotism, a precursor of the psychological therapies of the early twentieth century.

The power within: Mass media, scientific entertainment, and the introduction of psychical research into China, 1900-1920.

How did a new science initially promoted by only a few individuals eventually become a widespread cultural phenomenon practiced and known by thousands of people? Following a transnational approach, this article traces the introduction of psychical research into China during the first two decades of the 20th century. Known in the Republican period (1912-1949) as Spiritual Science (xinling kexue or xinling yanjiu), psychical research flourished between the 1920s and 1930s, playing a key role in the popularization of applied psychology and mind-cure across China. This article takes a step back from the heyday of Spiritual Science by looking at the period that immediately preceded and helped define it. Focused on wide-circulation newspapers, popular manuals, and stage performances, it teases out the ways in which Chinese popular culture translated European, American, and Japanese psychical research to local Chinese audiences in the midst of China's search for modernity. By naturalizing the reality of psychic powers, spiritual scientists blurred the boundaries between science and superstition in a period when these were posited as diametrically opposed.

Albert Pitres: Charcot's Brilliant Student.

Albert Pitres (1848-1928) was an internist, neuropsychiatrist, professor of anatomy, pathology, and histology. He never really had a biography in English. However, the development of neurology and neurosciences in Bordeaux owes a lot to him, as to the psychiatrist Emmanuel Régis (1855-1918). The fact that his career was so closely linked with Charcot (1825-1893) should have secured him a more prominent place in neurology and the history of aphasiology. Pitres went on to co-author clinical and experimental research papers with Charcot that are considered some of the most notable ones among Charcot's publications. Both carried out studies about pathological correlations between cortical lesions and hemiplegia, published series of articles and two major books about neurophysiology of motor control. To convey the atmosphere and the importance of the neurological clinic of Pitres in the heyday, we illustrate this article with unpublished photos of him.

"Spreading the word of the master": the contribution of Italian physicians in the early dissemination of Jean-Martin Charcot's theories.

Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893) laid the foundations of modern neurology. The lectures he gave at La Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris attracted a large number of visitors from all over the world. Some of them transcribed these clinical lessons, translating and publishing them when returning home. This article discusses the contribution of some Italian physicians (Gaetano Rummo, 1853-1917; Domenico Miliotti; Giulio Melotti, 1857-19?; and Augusto Tebaldi, 1833-1895), who were pioneers in disseminating the ideas and discoveries of Charcot. The early Italian translations were based on personal handwritten notes and memories, not relying on official French versions personally revised or edited by Charcot himself. As such, their veracity cannot always be verified, particularly in the lack of other independent works reporting details on the same lectures. However, the Italian transcriptions providing information which cannot be found elsewhere in Charcot's corpus of works represent an invaluable and a unique source for fully understanding some theories by the French neurologist. Furthermore, they are the first documents providing original materials related to Charcot's teaching translated in a foreign language. The first Italian publications that included photographs of patients were deeply influenced by and clearly modeled on the famous volumes of the Iconographie photographique de la Salpêtrière and further contributed to the early dissemination of Charcot's theories.

Charcot, Janet, and French Models of Psychopathology.

Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893), thanks to his insight as a clinician can be said to be one of the precursors of scientific psychology. Charcot's 30 years of activity at La Salpêtrière hospital display an intellectual trajectory that decisively changed the idea of human psychology by favouring the emergence of two concepts: the subconscious and the unconscious. It was his collaboration with Pierre Janet (1859-1947), a philosopher turned physician, that led to this evolution, relying on the search for hysteria's aetiology, using hypnosis as a method of exploration. Focusing on clinical psychology that was experimental and observational, Janet built a theory of psychic automatism, "the involuntary exercise of memory and intelligence" leading to "independence of the faculties, freed from personal power." From all that came the idea of the subconscious, a functioning as a passive mental mechanism, resulting from a more or less temporary dissociation of previously associated mental content.

[Letters from Paul Julius Möbius to Auguste-Henri Forel : " that the harmony of perceptions on this novel point is also repeated on completely different issues"]. / Briefe von Paul Julius Möbius an Auguste-Henri Forel : " , daß die Harmonie der Auffassungen an neuem Punkte auch an ganz anderen Stellen sich wiederholt".

This article provides an analysis of the content of 15 letters and postcards written by the Leipzig neurologist Paul Julius Möbius to his Zurich-based colleague Auguste-Henri Forel between 1889 and 1902. Moreover, they are set in the context of the works of the two correspondence partners. The 15 documents preserved at the University of Zurich Medico-Historical Institute and Museum comprise one half of the correspondence, whereas the letters Forel sent in response do not seem to have been preserved. So far, biographic research has neglected the letters analyzed here. Hypnotism and medical suggestion as well as their effects and efficiency in treating and maybe healing certain nervous and mental disorders, primarily psychoneuroses but also certain somatic disorders, formed the bond that connected Möbius and Forel. The exchange was less concerned with discussing details or concepts of hypnosis. Möbius seemed to be more interested in studying the practical application with Forel. Moreover, Möbius and Forel shared the view that contemporary, largely brain-biologically oriented conventional psychiatry had largely neglected or at least underestimated the psychological component of both nervous and mental disorders. Both shared the notion that electrotherapy, widely used at the time, had a strong suggestive component. The letters revealed that both correspondents requested reviews or discussion of their own papers from each other. Forel invited Möbius to consider writing for his Zeitschrift für Hypnotismus (Journal for Hypnotism). The correspondence also revealed that their harmony in certain views did not prevent them from refusing requests made by the other. The letters discussed in this article enrich the knowledge on these two prominent neurologists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Savoir rire entre les lignes : matérialisme médical et « hiéropsychologie ¼ dans la Revue de l'hypnotisme (1887-1910).

Laughter played a crucial strategic role in the fight against clericalism and religion in France during the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. The cultural output from this polemical use of laughter is contrasted with a "scholarly literature," which fought against religion in a radically different manner that featured reason facing obscurantism and prejudice. Drawing on a study of the contributions dealing with "the psychology of religion" or "hieropsychology" published in the Revue de l'hypnotisme, I will try to show that there also exists a "scholarly ridicule," the forms, codes, and uses of which are characteristic of the anticlerical laughter associated with "medical materialism."

Le rire a joué, en France, dans la deuxième moitié du 19e siècle et la première moitié du 20e siècle, un rôle stratégique crucial dans le combat anticlérical et antireligieux. De cet usage polémique du rire est résultée toute une production culturelle qu'on a distinguée d'une littérature « savante ¼, qui mènerait la lutte contre la religion sur un tout autre plan, celui de la raison affrontant l'obscurantisme et le préjugé. Dans cet article, on essaye de montrer, à partir d'une analyse des contributions relevant de la « psychologie de la religion ¼ ou « hiéropsychologie ¼ publiées dans la Revue de l'hypnotisme, qu'il existe aussi un « ridicule savant ¼, dont les formes, les codes et les usages sont caractéristiques du rire anticlérical que l'on peut associer au « matérialisme médical ¼.

Impact of Hypnotherapy on Fear, Pain, and the Birth Experience: A Systematic Review.

In recent times, research has been conducted on the use of hypnosis during childbirth preparation and its effects on pain, fear, and overall childbirth experience. The main objective of this study was to analyze the published scientific literature on the use of hypnotherapy during childbirth preparation and the outcomes achieved during labor. A systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 protocol, with a search performed on the PubMed, Cinahl, Scopus, and WOS databases. Studies meeting inclusion criteria, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs), were evaluated for methodological quality using the PEDro scale. The searches yielded a total of 84 results, from which 7 RCTs of high scientific quality were selected. Each article examined the impact of a hypnosis intervention during pregnancy and the results obtained during labor. The analysis covered the use of epidural anesthesia, pharmacological analgesia during labor, self-reported pain, labor duration, type of delivery, fear of childbirth, and childbirth experience. The results demonstrated benefits in reducing fear and pain during labor, along with an enhancement in the overall childbirth experience. Hypnotherapy can be a valuable resource for reducing fear and pain during labor and improving the lived childbirth experience.

Characteristics of Users of a Digital Hypnotherapy Intervention for Hot Flashes: Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND: Hot flashes are associated with a lower quality of life and sleep disturbances. Given the many consequences of hot flashes, it is important to find treatments to reduce them. Hypnotherapy, the use of hypnosis for a medical disorder or concern, has been shown in clinical trials to be effective in reducing hot flashes, but it is not routinely used in clinical practice. One solution to close this implementation gap is to administer hypnotherapy for hot flashes via a smartphone app. Evia is a smartphone app that delivers hypnotherapy for hot flashes. Evia has made hypnotherapy more widely accessible for women who are experiencing hot flashes; however, the app has yet to undergo empirical testing. Additionally, research on user characteristics is lacking. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to (1) determine the average age, stage of menopause, and length of menopause symptoms for users of the Evia app; (2) determine the characteristics of hot flashes and night sweats for users of the Evia app; (3) determine the self-reported sleep quality of users of the Evia app; (4) determine the self-reported mental health of users of the Evia app; and (5) determine the relationship between hot flash frequency and anxiety and depression for users of the Evia app. METHODS: This study analyzed data collected from participants who have downloaded the Evia app. Data were collected at 1 time point from a self-report questionnaire that assessed the demographic and clinical characteristics of users. The questionnaire was given to users when they downloaded the Evia app. Users of the Evia app fill out a questionnaire upon enrolling in the program and prior to beginning the intervention. This included 9764 users. RESULTS: Results showed that the mean age of users was 49.31 years. A total of 41.6% (1942/4665) of users reported experiencing 5 or more hot flashes per day, while 51.2% (1473/2877) of users reported having difficulty falling asleep each night and 47.7% (1253/2626) of users reported their sleep quality to be terrible. In addition, 38.4% (1104/2877) of users reported that they often feel anxious or depressed. There was a small, significant, and negative correlation between hot flash frequency and self-report frequency of anxiety and depression (r=-0.09). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the average age of app users is in line with the median age of natural menopause. A large percentage of users reported experiencing 5 or more hot flashes per day, reported difficulties with sleep, and reported experiencing depression and anxiety. These findings are in line with previous studies that assessed hot flash frequency and the consequences of hot flashes. This was the first study to report on the characteristics of users of the Evia app. Results will be used to optimize the hypnotherapy program delivered via the Evia app.

Phineas T. Barnum, Gardner Q. Colton, and Painless Parker Were Kindred Princes of Humbug.

Phineas T. Barnum (1810-1891) and Gardner Q. Colton (1814-1898) both entered the laughing gas show business in Manhattan in 1844. With Horace Wells (1815-1848), Colton introduced inhaled nitrous oxide for dental anesthesia in December 1844. The Barnumesque nature of laughing gas exhibitions may have contributed to the initially negative reception of nitrous anesthesia as humbug. Colton continued laughing gas shows after 1844, and he performed in a Barnum forum in Boston in 1862. In 1863, Barnum encouraged Colton to establish a flourishing painless dentistry practice in Manhattan. Barnum designated himself to be the Prince of Humbug. He embraced humbug for entertainment purposes but decried medical humbug. Notwithstanding, Barnum explicitly evinced awareness of the power of the placebo response. Accordingly, the proneness of individuals to deem impersonal all-purpose assessments to be personally applicable is dubbed the Barnum effect. Barnum was indirectly connected to Painless Parker (1872-1952), a dentist who exploited sensational advertising and humbug and ran a circus.

Hypnosis in Spain (1888-1905): from spectacle to medical treatment of mediumship.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, some Spanish physicians sought to legitimize hypnotherapy within medicine. At the same time, hypnotism was being popularized among the Spanish population through stage hypnosis shows. In order to extend the use of medical hypnotherapy, some physicians made efforts to demarcate the therapeutic use of hypnotic suggestion from its application for recreational purposes, as performed by stage hypnotists. However, in the eyes of some physicians, the first public session to legitimize hypnotherapy turned out to be a complete failure due to its similarities with a stage hypnosis performance. Apart from exploring this kind of hitherto little-known historical cases, we explore the role of spiritists in legitimizing medical hypnosis. At a time when Spanish citizens were still reluctant to accept hypnotherapy, the spiritists sponsored a charitable clinic where treatment using hypnosis was offered. We conclude that the clinic was effective in promoting the use of hypnotherapy, both among physicians as clinical practice, and as a medical treatment for patients from the less privileged classes of Spanish society.

Policing epistemic deviance: Albert Von Schrenck-Notzing and Albert Moll(1).

Shortly after the death of Albert von Schrenck-Notzing (1862-1929), the doyen of early twentieth century German para psychology, his former colleague in hypnotism and sexology Albert Moll (1862-1939) published a treatise on the psychology and pathology of parapsychologists, with Schrenck-Notzing serving as a prototype of a scientist suffering from an 'occult complex'. Moll's analysis concluded that parapsychologists vouching for the reality of supernormal phenomena, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, telekinesis and materialisations, suffered from a morbid will to believe, which paralysed their critical faculties and made them cover obvious mediumistic fraud. Using Moll's treatment of Schrenck-Notzing as an historical case study of boundary disputes in science and medicine, this essay traces the career of Schrenck-Notzing as a researcher in hypnotism, sexology and parapsychology; discusses the relationship between Moll and Schrenck-Notzing; and problematises the pathologisation and defamation strategies of deviant epistemologies by authors such as Moll.

Hipnosis y magnetismo en la Revista Magnetológica (1897-1903) / Hypnotism and magnetism in revista magnetológica (1897-1903)

El objetivo de este artículo es analizar una fuente poco estudiada hasta el presente, la Revista Magnetológica publicada por una sociedad conformada principalmente por adherentes al espiritismo y la teosofía en Buenos Aires. El contenido de la revista ofrece evidencias muy valiosas sobre la manera en que actores sociales ajenos al campo médico tradicional abordaron teórica y prácticamente la hipnosis y el magnetismo en el cambio de siglo. En efecto, los magnetólogos de Buenos Aires no sólo elaboraron complejas conceptualizaciones sobre esos fenómenos, sino que también pusieron en práctica curaciones magnéticas cuyos detalles fueron difundidos des-de las páginas de la revista. Nuestro cometido es analizar algunos aspectos puntuales de esa publicación: de un lado, el modo en que los magnetólogos se posicionaron en relación a los médicos de la ciudad, y de otro, sus estrategias de autolegitimación.

The aim of this article is to analyze a source that has not been deeply studied yet: the Magnetologic Magazine (Revista Magnetológica)published by a society mainly composed of adherents of spiritualism and theosophy in Buenos Aires. The content of the magazine offers valuable evidence about the way in which social actors -who were foreign to the medical traditional field- theoretically and practically approached hypnosis and magnetism at the end of the century. In fact, magnetists from Buenos Aires not only developed complex conceptualizations of these phenomena, but also implemented magnetic cures which details were spread throughout the pages of the magazine. Our task is to analyze some specific aspects of this publication: on the one hand, how the magnetists were placed in relation to the doctors of the city, and on the other, their strategies of self-legitimation.

Georges Borda y el primer tratado de hipnosis publicado en Buenos Aires (1886) / Georges Borda and the first hypnosis treatise published in Buenos Aires (1886)

En 1886 se imprimió en Buenos Aires un libro titulado Las maravillas del hipnotismo. Escrito por un francés llamado Georges Borda, el texto constituye la más temprana obra sobre hipnosis publicada en la ciudad. A medio camino entre el lenguaje de la medicina y el afán divulgador, esas páginas propiciaban una difusión de los hechos del hipnotismo entre el público letrado de la capital argentina. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar los rasgos centrales de aquel libro, que hasta el presente no había retenido la atención de los historiadores. Además de rastrear sus planteos nucleares, el cometido es localizar la intervención de Borda en el contexto de la cultura científica de fines de siglo, poniendo especial énfasis en las tensiones y negociaciones que eran mantenidas entre la medicina porteña y otros actores profanos del escenario social.

In 1886, a book entitled "The wonders of hypnotism" was printed in Buenos Aires. Written by a french author called Georges Borda, the text constitutes the earliest piece about hypnosis published in the city. Halfway between the language of medicine and the spreader eagerness, those pages propitiated a diffusion of the hypnotism's facts among the qualified audience of Argentine's capital. The aim of this paper is to analyze the central features of this book, which up to the present had not caught the attention of historians. Besides tracking its nuclear statements, the task is to locate Borda's intervention in the context of the scientific culture of the end of the century, with particular emphasis on the tensions and negotiations held between the Buenos Aires' medicine and other lay actors of the social scene.