By: Dr. Prentice Kinser III, B.A., M.B.A., M.Div., D.Min., CPC, NBCCH

drkinser@verizon.net

"Hypnosis and Pastoral Hypnotherapy" is a portion of Dr. Prentice Kinser, III's doctoral thesis: "Prophecy, Trance and Transference; Hypnosis as a Pastoral Counseling Modality," presented in June, 1997 at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. After much research into what constitutes the hypnotic state, and why it happens, no single factor can explain all of the phenomenon one may encounter. Actually, "many psychological and physical factors, acting reciprocally through the image-producing faculties of the mind induce the perceptual response called hypnosis. Hypnosis is not a sharply delineated state, but rather a mental process along the broad, fluctuating continuum of what is loosely referred to as awareness, depending upon three degree of perceptivity." (1)

The capacity to enter into hypnosis is as natural a phenomenon as sleep, but It is distinctly different from sleep. Hypnosis has been described as "a state of consciousness involving an extension of concentration combined with a susceptibility to suggestion occurring during physiological relaxation. "(2) Another definition I find useful is: "Hypnosis is a process which produces relaxation, distraction of the conscious mind, heightened suggestibility and increased awareness, allowing access to the subconscious mind, through the imagination. It also produces the ability to experience thoughts and images as real."(3) My own approach to hypnosis, pastoral hypnotherapy, and treatment comes out of my training and experience in using the therapeutic insights and writings of Milton H. Erickson, M.D. (19011980). From that perspective, hypnosis can be seen as an altered psychological state "generally characterized by certain physiological attributes ( e.g., relaxed muscle tone, reduced blood pressure, slowed breath rate), by an enhanced receptivity to suggestion, and by an increased access to unconscious feelings, ideas, and memories (Erickson, 1989)."(4) Michael D. Yapko, Director of the Milton H. Erickson Institute of San Diego, defines clinical hypnosis as "a process of influential communication, "( 5) and as "a skill of using words and gestures in particular ways to achieve specific outcomes. "(6)

It is important to remember that hypnosis does not have to involve the stereo typic rituals of swinging pendulums, watches or crystal balls, or that it is a fixed internal state. It is useful to see clinical hypnosis as "an interchange or form of communication between two (or more) people that results in the accessing and subsequent utilization of latent or underdeveloped resources. These resources may consist of past experiences, affects, or forgotten skills, and their renewed experience or application can result in changes in one's memory, perception, sensation, and/or emotion so that new behaviors and attitudes manifest (Zeig, 1987)."(7) However, I would not limit my definition of hypnotic trance to the necessity that it take place between two ( or more) people. "Clinical" hypnosis and "pastoral" hypnotherapy, on the other hand, do imply a clinical or pastoral setting, with the focus more on the process of communication and therapeutic outcome, rather than on the hypnotic state involved.

Clearly, hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness, i.e., it is different from normal waking consciousness. However, it is believed that all people go in and out of hypnotic trance on a regular basis. In a book on "Healing Approaches in Quantum Psychology," Stephen Wolinsky, Ph.D., states:

"Trances are often a necessary means of surviving and negotiating the physical universe. They are like tunnels you walk through in order to maneuver and focus in the world. Some trances are functional and pleasing; others are dysfunctional and pathological. Some trances will be in alignment with your goals, while others will impede you. "(8)

Many people have experienced a type of hypnotic trance state while driving a car and become unconscious of the fact that they are still driving. As they come out of the trance they suddenly realize they do not remember what has happened for the past several minutes. It is as though an unconscious part of the mind was able to drive the car, avoid danger, speed up and slow down as necessary, while the conscious mind went off on a brief vacation thinking about something else. A trance may be experienced in the movies or while watching TV when people become so involved that they actually cry about a picture that has been projected onto a screen. At one level of their minds they know the picture is fiction. On another level, their minds move voluntarily into a trance in which there is a suspension of reality testing and an acceptance of what is happening on the screen as real.

Likewise, when people experience hypnosis or hypnotic trance, they often simply allow their bodies to relax and their minds to focus attention on the words they hear, and the various images they may represent in their minds. As Erickson observed, this is not hypersuggestible mind control but a very natural process that allows clients to more easily reach goals or objectives they have chosen for themselves. As one moves into the hypnotic state, he or she may receive information that the mind processes through the CNS and relates to the neurophysiologic complex of controls built into the human system for self-regulation of homeostatic or adaptive mechanisms. Thus there is greater receptivity of sensory inputs with a minimal degree of interference. This enhances the mental processes so that, with proper motivation, the client moves naturally and easily into a comfortable hypnotic trance state.

It is also helpful to think of hypnotic trance as "an experience that allows for the creation of a new phenomenal world for the client. New behaviors and attitudes are able to evolve and manifest because old, limiting, rigid, or maladaptive ones are modified, dissipated, or shifted to more innocuous areas of emotional or social functioning."(9) This is normally a safe process in the hands of a trained hypnotherapist. However, as with all therapeutic interventions, there are contraindications for certain types of processes, which are discussed more fully in Chapter Two of the soon to be published text PASTORAL HYPNOTHERAPY.

In summary , hypnotic trance, when utilized by trained and competent practitioners, can be a natural, comfortable and helpful process of communication, during which clients and/or parishioners may experience increased attention to suggestions, profound concentration, heightened recall of memories and access to state-dependent memories, greater image-producing abilities, and increased ability to form new habit patterns. All of these positive benefits can be used to greatly enhance spiritual practices, deepen meditation and prayer, control stress, assist in physical, spiritual and emotional healing, and, in general, assist individuals to find greater wholeness and happiness in life.

When these processes are used by a trained pastoral counselor, that is pastoral hypnotherapy.

Footnotes:

1. Milton H. Erickson, The Collected Papers of Milton H. Erickson on Hypnotism. Volume I, The Nature of hypnosis and Suggestion (New York: Irvington Publishers, Inc., 1980), p. 32.

2. David Fox, "Mind/Body, Brain/Soul: Halakhic Explorations of Hypnotic Trance Phenomena," Journal of Psychology and Judaism, Vol. 16, No.2 (Summer 1992), p. 97.

3. A.M. Krasner, The Wizard Within (Santa Ana: American Board of Hypnotherapy Press, 1991), p.2.

4. John H. Edgette, Psy.D., and Janet Sasson Edgette, Psy. D., The Handbook of Hypnotic Phenomena in Psychotherapy (New York: Brunner/Mazel, Inc., 1995),
pp. 3-4.

5. Michael D.Yapko, Ph.D., Essentials of Hypnosis (New York: Brunder/Mazel, 1995),
p. 9.

6. Ibid., p. 3.

7. Edgette and Edgette, p. 4, quoting J.K. Zeig "Therapeutic patterns of Ericksonian influence on communication" in J. K. Zeig (Ed) The Evolution of Psychotherapy (New York: Brunner/Mazel, Inc, 1987) pp. 392-412).

8. Stephen Wolinsky, Trances People Live (Falls Village, CT: The Bramble Company, 1991),
p. 19.

9. Edgette and Edgette, p. 4.

The Rev. Dr. Prentice Kinser III, B.A., M.B.A., M.Div., D.Min., CPC, NBCCH, serves as Rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Oak Grove, Virginia, and St. James' Episcopal Church, Montross, Virginia. Dr. Kinser is certified as a Pastoral Counselor and Fellow by the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, and is a National Board Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. In addition to conducting pastoral counseling & hypnotherapy, Dr. Kinser has also provided professional consultations with individuals, clinics, churches and industry for a wide rage of problems and needs.

For example, Dr. Kinser has led training programs in pastoral hypnotherapy, spiritual growth classes and workshops, stop smoking, weight loss, and performance enhancement programs.

Dr. Kinser is the author of the doctoral thesis "Prophecy, Trance and Transference: Hypnosis as a Pastoral Counseling Modality." and the soon to be published text LIMITLESS LIVING, A GUIDE TO UNCONVENTIONAL
SPIRITUAL EXPLORATION AND GROWTH.

Email: drkinser@verizon.net

Posted by Ron Klein at 02:31 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

You do want the large size fries, don't you? Its only 55 cents more!

Ordering a "super-value" meal and drink seems like it makes a lot of sense because you're getting a lot more food for a little more money. Who can resist a bargain? But is it actually such a good deal?

A new study indicates while you get about 73 percent more food in these larger portions, the added calories and fat can translate into much higher costs for health care, extra food and even gasoline. "In essence," writes Rachel Close, study author from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, "the more a person overeats, the greater the financial cost."

Based on this study, every extra value meal adds up to 35 cents extra in overall food costs, since heavier people eat more calories as they gain weight. Additionally health care can cost up to $6.64, because of obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis. Furthermore, for every extra value meal a person eats, they will end up paying more in fuel costs, because heavier people makes cars and planes less fuel efficient.

That larger size fries can end up costing people a lot more than the extra 55 cents the food server suggests.

Source: Science Daily

Posted by Ron Klein at 09:31 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

A shepherd was in the country watching his flock of sheep when a brand new Jeep Cherokee screeched to a halt before him. Putting down his cell phone, the driver, a young man wearing Ray Bans, a Brooks Brothers pinstripe suit and Gucci shoes, leans out the Jeep's window yells to the shepherd: "If I can tell you exactly how many sheep you have in your flock, will you give me one?"

The shepherd gazes at his flock scattered peacefully across the countryside and calmly replies: "Sure."

Our "yuppie" gets out of the Jeep, whips out his laptop, connects through the Internet via his cellular phone to the NASA site, accessing the GPS satellite, navigational system. Scanning the area, he creates an Excel database with dozens of spreadsheets and complex macros. From his high-tech miniature printer gushes forth a 150 page Draft Report.

Reviewing this Draft, he turns to the shepherd and says: "You have exactly 1,586 sheep!"

Shrugging in response to this information, the shepherd replies: "This is correct, go ahead and take one of my sheep."

He watches while the young man selects an animal and puts it into the back of the Jeep.

Then the shepherd asks: 'If I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me my animal back?"

"Sure, why not?" responds the confident, young man.

"You are a Consultant," says the shepherd.

"You are right! How did you guess?" the young man replies in amazement.

"Oh, it's easy", says the shepherd. " You show up here when no one invited you. You want to be paid for information which I already have. And, finally, you don't know ANYTHING about my business, because you just took my dog."

Submitted by: H.D.Johns, Ph.D.
Rockville, MD
hdj1@erols.com

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By The INTERLINK Staff

The March 1999 issue of Alternative Therapies journal reported on a study that investigated the efficacy of hypnotherapy in healing bone fractures. The randomized, controlled pilot study examined the rate of healing for 12 subjects with fracture of the ankle. The study was conducted at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and the McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. The study was funded by the National Institute of Health; National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine.

The subjects were recruited from orthopedic emergency departments and randomly divided into a control group and a treatment group. All subjects received standard orthopedic care with clinical assessments for 12 weeks following injury. In addition, the treatment group received a program of hypnotic intervention, supervised by a psychologist with advanced certification training in hypnosis. The program consisted of six office visits. The hypnotic sessions focused on the healing process, with direct and indirect suggestions to reduce inflammation, alleviate pain, stimulate tissue growth and fusion at the injury site, and counteract psychological distress. The treatment subjects were given hypnotic rehearsal of increased ankle mobility, enhanced bone strength, and recovery of normal activities. They were also given audiotapes for daily at-home practice. All treatment subjects were tested with the Hypnotic Induction Scale (a standardized measure of hypnotizability) and found to be moderately to highly hypnotizable.

Healing at the injury site was determined with radiographic data and orthopedic assessment, as well as subjective reports of the subjects. The results were that the treatment group had improved ankle mobility, greater functional strength, and lower use of pain relievers throughout the 12-week recovery period, as compared to the control group. Overall, hypnosis subjects had a faster rate of recovery, and reported less pain, less stress, less anxiety, a more positive attitude, and an enhanced sense of relaxation.

In other medical studies, hypnosis has been found beneficial in healing and pain management for severe burns, in reduction of tumors, and for increased range of motion in neuromuscular disorders. The underlying mechanism by which hypnosis creates physical healing is not fully understood. Possibly, the relaxation associated with the hypnotic state affects autonomic processes, which, in turn, enhance immune functioning.

Citation: Using Hypnosis to Accelerate the Healing of Bone Fractures: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study, by Carol S. Ginandes, Ph.D. and Daniel I Rosenthal, M.D. in Alternative Therapies, March 1999, Vol. 5, No. 2, p. 67 - 75.

Posted by Ron Klein at 11:05 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By Dan Short, Ph.D., Betty Alice Erickson, M.S., L.P.C. and Roxanne Erickson Klein, R.N., Ph.D.

Published by Crown House Publishing, Ltd., Wales, U. K., Copyright 2006

Reviewed by Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D., L.P.C.

Followers of Dr. Milton H. Erickson are sure to find pleasure and education in Hope and Resiliency: Understanding the Psychotherapeutic Strategies of Milton H. Erickson.

The authors provide a fresh analysis of his philosophy and psychotherapeutic work. Dr. Dan Short has teamed up with two of Erickson's daughters to write this book that is based on case histories, Erickson's own writings, and personal anecdotes from Betty Alice Erickson and Roxanne Erickson Klein. The book begins with a biographical history of Erickson's life and then explains six therapeutic strategies that the authors consider to be the basic cornerstones of his professional success with clients for whom he was often a "port of last resort."

Biographical History

Milton H. Erickson was born in 1901 in the Nevada Sierras in a log cabin with a dirt floor, the second of nine children born to Albert and Clara Erickson. His was a farming family. At age 19 he was stricken with polio and the paralysis left him an invalid; so ill in fact that at one point the family doctor told his mother that her son would die by the next morning.

Through an arduous year of self-rehabilitation, the young Erickson learned to walk again and attended the University of Wisconsin, graduating in 1927 with a medical degree in psychiatry. He held many appointments at prestigious institutions; his last spanned 14 years at Wayne County Hospital near Detroit.

He had three children by his first marriage and five more by his second wife, Elizabeth, his life-long partner. In the late 1940s he moved to Phoenix, Arizona and began a private practice. He also traveled as a lecturer, writer, and consultant and was a nationally recognized expert on clinical hypnosis. In 1957 he founded the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis.

During the last three decades of his life, post-polio syndrome brought constant, debilitating pain and paralysis. Nevertheless, he continued working from his home, even while confined to a wheelchair. Throughout those years he exuded a love of life, a delight in simple pleasures, a quick wit, a sharp mind, and a keen sense of humor. His life was characterized by hope and resiliency and these were the gifts he gave to colleagues, patients, and students.

Erickson's Approach to Psychotherapy

Part II of Hope and Resiliency describes Erickson's therapeutic approach: the fundamental dynamics of healing and the clinical relationship as Erickson saw them and applied them. Erickson, for example, did not promote the concept of "cure". Instead, he was interested in helping people adjust to their circumstances. While he worked to reduce suffering, he did not expect perfection from his patients. He encouraged them to make small changes that often led to bigger accomplishments.

He recognized that learning requires effort and exhorted his patients to take action to solve their problems, no matter how small or insignificant those actions might seem. Erickson took a holistic view of physical and mental health, always working from within each patient's frame of reference. He respected the right of personal choice. He re-educated his patients through experiential learning.

Erickson favored and fostered a relationship of trust and collaboration with his patients (even children) believing that the therapist should "always let patients follow their own spontaneous ways of doing things." His style was to offer possibilities, support individual growth, and let each person find a unique path to healing. Respect for individuality was Erickson's hallmark.

Six Core Clinical Strategies

"It is difficult to find another single approach to psychotherapy that incorporates as many strategies for healing as the Erickson approach." (p. 37)

The authors delineate six core clinical strategies that Erickson used as the foundation of his work. A chapter is devoted to each strategy. These six strategies are listed below, with brief definitions.

Distraction: This strategy relies on directing the patient's attention away from the problem toward a seemingly irrelevant task, another problem or challenge, a capability, or another aspect of the problem previously not considered. The shift in attention often solves the original problem or causes the patient to move beyond a limitation, by doing something that previously seemed impossible.

Partitioning: This process involves re-chunking and restructuring the symptom in terms of complexity, goals, duration, resources and attention. By breaking the problem into smaller unites, small successes are more easily achieved. One example is "splitting": proposing the existence of opposites as two or more components of the problem or solution, each of which can be addressed separately.

Progression: This method employs the incremental use of assignments and/or instructions to increase the patient's response. Erickson had his patients start out with small successes and discoveries that gradually led to larger ones. He once stated, "Even the smallest breakthrough can serve as the foundation on which other accomplishments are built."

Suggestion: Essentially, suggestion is the basis of all therapy. Erickson made the point that the therapist's confidence in his or her ability conveys a powerful suggestion that the patient will be helped.

Reorientation: This is assigning new interpretations of events, creating new meanings and asking questions that create insights. Additional methods include externalizing the problem, and changing one's perspective with respect to time (age regression, age progression, and time distortion).

Utilization: This is recognizing and using the patient's behavioral, emotional and intellectual predispositions as a fundamental treatment component. "A previously unrecognized potential is employed to achieve any outcome that will be helpful or appealing to the individual." (p. 189)

The authors note that the six strategies are not mutually exclusive and do not constitute an exhaustive list of Erickson's methods, but are only a "brief introduction" to the full range of Erickson's work. The authors prudently discuss contraindications for each strategy. They remind readers of the principal directive of Erickson's teachings: Structure each therapeutic intervention for the needs and personality of the individual.

Referring to the title of this book, the authors point out that hope promotes healing and reduces suffering. Erickson inspired hope by engaging patients in the therapeutic process---giving them tasks to perform and implying that by performing such tasks the client would derive beneficial results. Erickson encouraged resiliency by helping patients find an inner source of personal strength and capability, even in the face of disability.

Conclusion

Erickson-inspired therapists will truly enjoy Hope and Resiliency as an addition to the ever-expanding body of literature on the world's best-known hypnotherapist. This book's unique contribution is the thorough description of the six core strategies of Erickson's work. The case studies and anecdotes from the Erickson archives make for great reading as well as apt illustrations of the strategies.

This book shows that Erickson used more than hypnosis in his approach. His ability to align himself with his patients, assess their personalities and eccentricities, put their symptoms and strengths into new perspectives, and his creativity in prescribing solution-oriented assignments were as essential to his many successes as his skill in clinical hypnosis. The authors give insights into Erickson's reasoning as well as the manner in which he laid the groundwork to ensure each patient's compliance and acceptance.

Even 25 years after his death, there is still a fascination with the genius of Milton Erickson and as Short, Erickson, and Klein prove, there is still more to learn about this remarkable physician.

______________________________

To purchase Hope and Resiliency, go online and visit www.crownhouse.co.uk (for readers in the U.K. and Europe) or www.CHPUS.com (for readers in the U.S. and Canada).

Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D., is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice in Springfield, Virginia. She is a certified clinical hypnotherapist, and a Master NLP Practitioner and Trainer. She is the Executive Director for Certification for the National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists (www.natboard.com). She is an Associate Trainer with the American Hypnosis Training Academy (www.ahtainc.com) and an adjunct faculty member in the graduate program in counseling with Webster University. Her web site is www.engagethepower.com.

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