Hey Wait! I Just Thought of Something Else! Advaita and Clinical Hypnosis.

While much has been made of the value of Buddhist mindfulness in clinical treatment, little attention has been given over to its parallels, if not antecedents in Hindu philosophy. Buddhist traditions in the vipassana, ch'an and zen tradition, and the practices associated, find their roots in Advaita philosophy and practice. This article looks at the useful/effective nature of Advaita and its specific application in clinical hypnosis. The linkage between traditional wisdom sources, psychological investigations of the self and contemporary hypnosis is articulated in the article which follows, and a case example, regarding clinical application, is provided.

Anxiety and the Wounded Self.

The self-wounds model of anxiety disorders based on the work of Wolfe (2005, 2006) is delineated here. The focal point of this model is the concept of wounded self or early unresolved emotional injuries. According to this view, anxiety disorders represent a chronic struggle with painful experiences. These emotional experiences are driven by two interrelated layers of psychological processes which arise from the wounded self. While the first layer of this process entails conscious awareness of symptoms resulting from cognitive distortions, the second layer comprises implicit or unconscious interpretations of what the symptoms mean to the patient. This article describes the components of the self-wounds model of anxiety disorders, which offers an integrative perspective on the development, onset, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety disorders. This model can be easily adapted to the understanding and treatment of other emotional disorders.

The Wounded Healer: From the Other Side of the Couch.

While concern for the "wounds" of the patient are paramount in clinical practice, there is both historical and contemporary literature on wounding in the professional. In what follows, these perspectives are presented. Issues related to transference/counter-transference, the "wounded healer," vicarious traumatization, nocebo potential in informed consent, and the use of treatment as crucible for one's own development as clinician are discussed.

Strategic eclecticism in hypnotherapy: effectiveness research considerations.

Hypnosis is attempting to come to grips with the EST (Empirically Supported Therapy) revolution in mental health practice. However, there are ways to account for outcome outside of simple empirical validation of treatment models. In this light, strategic eclecticism as a broader research-based consideration is used to illustrate empirical principles within Eriksonian hypnotherapeutic approaches.

What should we mean by empirical validation in hypnotherapy: evidence-based practice in clinical hypnosis.

This paper briefly surveys the trend of and controversy surrounding empirical validation in psychotherapy. Empirical validation of hypnotherapy has paralleled the practice of validation in psychotherapy and the professionalization of clinical psychology, in general. This evolution in determining what counts as evidence for bona fide clinical practice has gone from theory-driven clinical approaches in the 1960s and 1970s through critical attempts at categorization of empirically supported therapies in the 1990s on to the concept of evidence-based practice in 2006. Implications of this progression in professional psychology are discussed in the light of hypnosis's current quest for validation and empirical accreditation.

Efficacy vs. effectiveness research in psychotherapy: implications for clinical hypnosis.

Empirically supported therapy (EST) has become a major focus and trend for mental health practice. When hypnosis is involved, this may mean satisfying a standard that is entirely too narrow in its emphasis. In this article "efficacy"-based research in clinical practice is contrasted with "effectiveness" -focused research, and they are discussed from the perspective of hypnosis. When clinicians can consider trans-theoretical factors as well as those that are treatment-enhancing, possibilities for improved treatment outcome increase. The "effectiveness" perspective also serves as a counter point for hypnosis in contrast with the dubious efficacy-based gold standard currently proposed for therapy in general, and hypnosis in particular.