By George Gafner

Crown House Publishing Co. LLC, Wales
Copyright, 2009

Reviewed by Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D.

As a hypnotherapist, I was intrigued by this small book focusing solely on hypnotic inductions. In Techniques of Hypnotic Induction, psychotherapist George Gafner, brings over 30 years of experience teaching hypnotherapists how to communicate with the unconscious mind skillfully, through story-telling inductions.

Gafner begins with an overview of the applications and efficacy of clinical hypnosis, backed by research studies. The applications include gastro-intestinal disorders, skin disorders, anesthetic-free surgery, nausea associated with chemotherapy, asthma, gender identity disorders, cystic fibrosis, and of course, smoking and weight management, as well as pain management, insomnia, substance abuse, and anxiety and mood disorders.

Next, the author offers a metaphoric trance induction with helpful notes in the margin showing how he indirectly suggests various trance phenomena: time distortion, dissociation, hallucination, and catalepsy. Then he launches into a series of hypnotic story-telling scripts, which are whimsical, haunting, and amusing, --all designed to induce trance with indirect references to time distortion, opening the mind to discovery, considering options for problem-solving, acceptance, releasing, and dissociation. These scripts teach readers how to insert suggestions into fascinating stories that help clients experience the effects of hypnosis. The scripts obviously speak to the unconscious mind and the influence of Milton H. Erickson is evident. While the scripts are beautifully written, readers are reminded to adapt them to their own circumstances and the preferences and sensitivities of their clients.

Gafner includes a very nice chapter on the hypnotic voice-a subject I've not seen in other books on hypnotherapy. He follows with a chapter on guided imagery inductions, based on scenes from nature - mountain vistas, streams, and forests. He also presents inductions that utilize confusion for clients who are not easily hypnotized or who may be somewhat resistant to direct suggestions.

The main text ends with a few practical recommendations for educating clients about hypnotherapy, introducing colleagues to hypnotherapy in clinical settings, and additional practice guidelines. The two appendices cover a range of techniques (with references to other books where each may be found) and a glossary.

Techniques of Hypnotic Induction makes enjoyable reading for hypnotherapists who want to bring creativity and imagination to their inductions. The clever scripts are interspersed with instruction written with just enough hypnotic language to appeal to the conscious mind as well as the unconscious mind. The entire book makes for a truly entrancing learning experience.

Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D. is a licensed psychotherapist and life coach with a solo practice, Motivational Strategies, in Springfield, Virginia. She is a certified hypnotherapist and NLP Trainer as well as Executive Director of the National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists. She has written The Weight, Hypnotherapy and You Weight Reduction Program: An NLP and Hypnotherapy Practitioner's Manual. Her website is www.engagethepower.com. And her email is judy@engagethepower.com.

Copyright 2009, Published by Crown House Ltd., Wales

Reviewed by: Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D.

Ironically, I picked up The Hero's Journey just one day after reading Viktor Frankl's
Man's Search for Meaning -for the third time, in preparing a presentation on finding a
life purpose. As I sat with The Hero's Journey open in my hands, I saw the same
themes...our lives are about responding to a calling, living our gifts, and healing our
wounds...

Steve Gilligan and Robert Dilts, two of the finest trainers in Neuro-Linguistic
Programming (NLP), present The Hero's Journey in the transcript of a four-day
workshop. They begin with the premise that humans are manifestations of spirit.

Each life is a heroic journey in which spirit can unfold and reveal itself. To find meaning and fulfillment, each person's task is to heed a calling that shapes an ultimate purpose.

Illness, confusion, or dysfunctional relationships are signs that one has strayed from the journey or refused the calling. In the journey, we are aided by other beings--"sponsors" and "guardians"--who help us remember our true selves.

The authors draw from many cultural traditions that find their intersection in the mythological stories and archetypal symbols of the hero's journey. The book guides
readers in exploring the aspects of the journey:

· Hear the call
· Commit to the call
· Cross the threshold
· Find guardians
· Face and transform demons
· Develop an inner self and new resources
· The Transformation
· Return home with the gift

According to Dilts and Gilligan, the self consists of three minds: Somatic (physical),
Cognitive (intellectual), and The Field (expanded consciousness). Each mind operates
in one of three states: primitive, ego-based, or generative. Through lecture, poetry,
and verbatim demonstrations, the authors describe NLP-based processes for accessing
the generative state, in each level of mind.

The somatic mind becomes generative through alignment and centering. The cognitive mind becomes generative through self-acceptance, personal transformation, and by sponsoring others. We open to The Field when we expand our model of the world beyond the self and the moment. We realize ourselves as generative spirit, (you might say we achieve "enlightenment") by integrating the three minds, each at the generative level.

The text contains various exercises for recognizing one's calling and bringing it into
reality; reframing problems and limitations, holding a "sacred conversation,"
expressing the inner spirit, working through internal resistance, and unfolding the
journey. The exercises incorporate trance (centering and mindfulness), archetypes,
symbols, body awareness and movement, submodalities, and timelines. Gilligan and Dilts teach skills to honor, bless, and discover the calling in one's wounds and challenges, and to move through life transitions by transforming one's energies.

The book invites readers to occasionally enter The Field, to be present in it, going
meta to individual experience and connecting with "intelligences beyond the local
self." Obviously, this is not a book for light reading. The authors speak about creating time for "practices" that nurture the spirit, so that one might operate more effectively in the world. I thought about how and why I could be more consistent about exercising. Such practices allow an ongoing transformation of identity. From this perspective, our habits become statements about personal integrity.

This book provides a format for groups who want to explore new dimensions of personhood. For me, it crystallized concepts that I had wondered about, yet had never
known how to discuss. Gilligan and Dilts establish a vocabulary for spirituality for
goes beyond the philosophical, into the experiential. They are teaching what mystics
have always known and done.

Perhaps one of our greatest fears is that life has no meaning and no purpose, and that
suffering is an end in itself. Yet many people plod along in daily tedium, seeking
only to satisfy basic needs. Frankl wrote, "We had to learn...that it did not really
matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to
stop asking about the meaning of life and instead to think of ourselves as though we
were being questioned by life." Gilligan and Dilts take the search for meaning one
step farther, by inviting those who are willing, to embrace life as the hero's journey.

Purchase The Hero's Journey through Crown House Publications Ltd. at www.chpus.com

Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D. is an NLP Trainer, hypnotherapist, licensed professional
counselor, speaker, free-lance writer, and life coach. Her practice, Motivational
Strategies, is located in Springfield, Virginia.

Her web site is www.engagethepower.com.

Copyright: 2009

Reviewed by Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D.

No matter what business you're in, it's a sure bet: You have customers. It's also a sure bet that customers will bother you, or someone on your staff, with their problems and complaints. This book teaches how to transform unhappy customers into loyal customers, and customer complaints into customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction means repeat sales, more referrals, and higher profit---oh yes, and fewer frustrations for customer service staff!

Shelle Rose Charvet's new book (November 2009), The Customer is Bothering Me, is all about navigating the communication challenges of customer service. The book's principal tool is the LAB Profile, an easy-to-use questionnaire developed and tested by Roger Bailey in the 1990's. With this tool, customer service reps can:
* Identify what motivates people just by asking a few questions and listening to key elements of the conversation.
* Communicate with words and phrases (Influencing Language) that match each customer's thinking processes and decision-making style.
* Inspire the customer to think differently and or take action.
* Create positive customer relationships.

The Customer is Bothering Me is the long-awaited follow-on to Rose Charvet's highly successful Words that Change Minds. With the latter, you can learn to interpret the LAB Profile, and apply the conversational guidelines in a number of business situations, such as teambuilding. With the former, you can apply the same principles to assuaging the ire of upset customers.

Rose Charvet first contrasts typical customer service philosophies, and how these philosophies influence the customer experience. She then examines customer rage, from the customer's point of view, and discusses "The Great Customer Attitude Shift" of the last decade. Additionally, readers get a good look at the problems faced by understaffed and overworked customer service employees. Want to find our how companies reward bad customer service? Read chapter 4.

This book tells corporate managers how to revamp their customer service philosophies at every operational level. The author provides specific tactics for every step of the customer service transaction, from greeting the customer, determining the customer's need, offering knowledge and solutions, to nurturing the relationship.

With short case studies, sample dialog, scripts, tables, and templates, Rose Charvet teaches readers exactly how to respond to customer emotions, stay in rapport with the customer, ask the right questions, understand customer expectations, clarify what the customer wants, make amends, and create a positive image in the customer's mind. The text even goes so far as to recommend the voice tone for the customer service rep to use at each point in the process.

If your company relies on mass marketing, chapter 12 gives language guidelines for ad campaigns with optimum customer appeal. Additional topics include recruitment considerations, branding, staff morale, how to handle adverse publicity, and customer feedback mechanisms.

This book stands out for the clarity of the instruction, its structured approach to a common and difficult problem, and a proven, cost-effective solution. As an author, business consultant, corporate trainer, and business owner, Shelle Rose Charvet is the consummate expert on business communication skills. The Customer is Bothering Me is sure to prove an indispensible manual for customer service training.

To purchase this book go to www.TheCustomerisBotheringMe.com

Dr. Judith E. Pearson is an NLP Trainer/Master Practitioner and licensed psychotherapist practicing in Springfield, Virginia, specializing in solution-oriented counseling and coaching She is also a trainer, writer, and speaker, and has published The Weight, Hypnotherapy and You Weight Reduction Program. Her website is www.engagethepower.com.

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

Jill Cody's superb skills as an NLP Trainer and Master Practitioner are evident in Win the Weight War, destined to become a popular, worthwhile book/CD package, offering NLP-based solutions for weight control. The book focuses on ten strategies designed to change dysfunctional perspectives about eating and emotional attachments to food. In the accompanying CD, Jill provides a hypnosis session to reinforce the main concepts in the book.

The author advises readers to approach their eating habits from the head, heart, and gut, to understand and resolve the psychological and emotional issues that drive overeating. With case examples, self-assessment questionnaires, and a solid grounding in NLP, she guides readers to set realistic and compelling outcomes, and to develop workable thought patterns for self-motivation and sensible choices. Readers learn how to end self-sabotage and find emotional balance.

Jill teaches people to understand the difference between eating for hunger and eating for emotional comfort. She shows them how to avoid the common pitfalls of dieting and addresses the major psychological barriers to weight management: limiting beliefs, self-criticism, self-sabotage, and faulty decision-making.

With guest author and personal trainer, Kip Jawish, readers can rev up their motivation to exercise. Guest author and nutritional consultant, Jane Mercado, contributes her knowledge on healthy cooking, basic nutrition, shopping tips, and low-fat food choices.

Jill skillfully combines training in self-hypnosis, visualization, and practical behavioral tips that can transform any reader from frustrated to successful and from overweight to slim and trim. With Win the Weight War, you can go beyond the drudgery of mere dieting to reshaping your thinking about the interrelationships of food, exercise, emotions, motivation, and weight. Jill Cody is your Brigadier General for winning the "battle of the bulge."

The hypnosis CD, with the same title, demonstrates Jill's mastery of hypnotic language patterns, sure to help listeners create changes at deep cognitive levels. The trance-work is engaging and relaxing, with appealing phrasing, voice tone, word selection, and pacing of suggestions for resourcefulness and learning. Her use of embedded commands, double entendre, visualization, implied cause-effect, compounding, and time distortion would make Milton H. Erickson proud! Her "conversation with the future self" is the best I've ever heard!

Jill Cody is an NLP Practitioner and licensed psychotherapist practicing in Frederick, MD. She also gives talks and seminars on solution-based methods for healthy living. Her book is available at Amazon.com and other online bookstores.
____________

Dr. Judith E. Pearson is an NLP Trainer/Master Practitioner and licensed psychotherapist practicing in Springfield, Virginia. Through her practice, Motivational Strategies, she offers solution-oriented counseling, coaching, and hypnotherapy. She has written a book for therapists; The Weight, Hypnotherapy and You Weight Reduction Program and recently released a CD: Discover Your Learning Genius. Her website is www.engagethepower.com.

2009, Crown House Publishing, Ltd., Wales

When I first picked up Foundations of Clinical Hypnosis, by Edwin Yager, I did not feel enthusiastic. First, the title sounds like the dry, dull textbooks I waded through as an undergrad. Second, as a hypnotherapist of 20 years, I thought I'd find the subject matter too basic. I am happy to say I was wrong on both counts. Yager's book provides stimulating reading. It is written in a straightforward way and holds basic information for beginners, as well as innovative methods for seasoned practitioners.

Yager covers much of what many would consider "standard fare" for books about hypnosis: hypnosis-related terminology, hypnotic phenomena, hypnotic language, the risks of hypnosis, common applications, and hypnotic tools and methods. He gives a decent review of the research on hypnosis for memory enhancement, touching on the controversial topics of confabulation and false memory. I especially liked his chapter on brief inductions. He also addresses two topics seldom found in books or journals on hypnosis: 1) Hypnosis during sleep and 2) hypnotic language in giving informed consent in medical settings (with guest author, Stephen Bierman).

The author differentiates two basic approaches to hypnotherapy: direct suggestion and hypnoanalysis. He writes that direct suggestion aims for the alleviation of symptoms, while hypnoanalysis, on the other hand, goes to the root cause of symptoms. Hypnoanalysis regresses the client to a seminal event and allows the client to reframe the meaning of that event. Yager advocates hypnoanalysis when the client is "resistant" (i.e., non-responsive) to direct suggestion. He notes that the seminal event should be viewed in a dissociated manner to avoid abreaction and re-traumatizing the client. He also writes that knowledge of the event is not enough; the client must also derive a belief change or a new cognition, such as "you survived that." I found this discussion extremely helpful as a guide in selecting hypnotic interventions and strategies.

Yager is an adherent of Dave Elman, who defined hypnosis as "bypassing the critical factor," to communicate with the unconscious mind. Yager states that "all clinicians use hypnosis, knowingly or unknowingly," because the clinician-patient relationship is structured with three factors that increase the client's suggestibility; 1) the clinician is regarded as an authority, 2) the client is often in confusion or emotional distress, and 3) the client expects the clinician to do something to alleviate the confusion or distress. Thus, we have the perfect formula for hypnosis (authority, emotion, and expectation).

Yager's chapter on Subliminal Therapy, by itself, makes this book worthwhile reading. Subliminal Therapy is a protocol for communicating with the unconscious mind to review memories, extract relevant data, relate cause and effect, derive solutions, and execute decisions. This communication is accomplished via a pendulum, ideomotor signals, visualization, or having the client report on subjectively perceived physical sensations. While no formal induction is required, clients often go into trance during this process.

Yager has chosen the unusual name of Centrum (also the commercial name of a multi-vitamin) to indicate the part of the mind with which the therapist communicates. He characterizes Centrum as a part of the client's consciousness that is wise and helpful-a part that can communicate with all other parts of consciousness. Astute readers will note that Subliminal Therapy draws from Ego State Therapy and the "parts model" of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Yager gives ample description, a flow chart, and a case transcript to show how to conduct Subliminal Therapy; the instructions to give, the questions to ask, and how to work with the information received.
Foundations of Clinical Hypnosis concludes with brief discussions of various applications of clinical hypnosis, and the considerations unique to each. These include the commonplace, such as smoking cessation, weight loss, insomnia, and pain management, as well as the atypical: asthma treatment, childbirth, breast enlargement, wart removal, stuttering, and ocular correction.

Among his other achievements, Robert Yager, Ph.D. is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and a Staff Psychologist of the UCSD Medical Group. He is certified as a Consultant in Hypnosis by the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. He also maintains a private practice in San Diego, California.

I recommend his book to other hypnotherapists because it makes for an excellent desk reference. I also recommend it as an introductory textbook for those in hypnosis training programs. It can be purchased through the Crown House Ltd online catalog in the U.S. and the U.K.
_______
Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D. is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Master Practitioner/Trainer in NLP. She is Executive Director of the National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists and has a private practice in Springfield, VA. She has published

The Weight, Hypnotherapy and You Weight Reduction Program: An NLP and Hypnotherapy Practitioner's Manual and has recently released a hypnosis CD entitled Discover Your Learning Genius. Her website is www.engagethepower.com.

2009, Crown House Publishing, Ltd., Wales

Reviewed by Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D.

For mental health practitioners trained in hypnotherapeutic approaches to addictions, compulsions, and habit control, Joseph Tramontana's new book will make an excellent library addition. Hypnotically Enhanced Treatment for Addictions provides strategies and scripts for alcohol abuse, drug addiction, gambling addiction, smoking cessation, and weight loss. The methods in this book can be extended to other compulsions and impulse control disorders as well.

This book packs a wealth of practical information into just 144 pages. Readers get advice on client interviews, assessment questionnaires, tests of hypnotizability, and explaining hypnotherapy to clients. The author trains readers in hypnotic processes such as trance induction, trance ratification, deepening, affect-bridge, ego-strengthening, reframing, ideomotor signaling, and reorientation---specifically for addictions. He includes therapeutic metaphors, tips on assessing motivation, and methods for preventing relapse.

He recommends "packaged programs" which I, too, have found useful in working with these client populations. Such programs consist of a specific number of sessions, contracted between the therapist and the client, with each session focusing on a unique aspect of the presenting issue.

This highly readable book is thorough and straightforward with excellent examples and case studies. Solid gold instruction for hypnotherapists!

______________________

Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D. is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Clinical Hypnotherapist, and Master NLP Practitioner/Trainer. She is Executive Director of the National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists and has a private practice in Springfield, VA, under the name Motivational Strategies. She has published The Weight, Hypnotherapy and You Weight Reduction Program: An NLP and Hypnotherapy Practitioner's Manual and has recently released a hypnosis CD entitled Discover Your Learning Genius. Her website is www.engagethepower.com.

Presenter: Ron Klein, M.C.S., NBCCH

Fee: $199.00 including lunch both days.

To read the online brochure for this EMI Workshop, and to register on line, by mail or by phone, click the following link: CLICK HERE

EYE MOVEMENT INTEGRATION (TM), EMI, is a brief, very effective approach which produces lasting therapeutic outcomes. Learn to treat PTSD, phobia, the anxiety associated with addictions, and to deal successfully with fear resulting from recent crises--- often in a single session.

EMI, is an uncomplicated, yet highly effective eye movement desensitization technique. Unlike other methods, EMI is considerate of the client’s integrity and does not require regression. Therefore, it is designed to avoid the concerns of false memory and/or the possibility of re-traumatizing the client.

COMMENTS:

"I was troubled by PTSD that was causing me increasing distress despite years of psychotherapy. I volunteered to be a demonstration subject and after the EMI intervention, the response is gone. It has been two months since the seminar and I have had no recurrence. It is wonderful!"

L. Merl, LICSW

"I have training in both EMDR and EMI. What I discovered when I attended the EMI seminar, is that EMI is easier on the client and preferable in my opinion. I, myself was paired with another student during the work shop. During that practice session, I went from having a dread of public speaking to a feeling of pleasant anticipation. I am now comfortable when speaking to groups and respond to the audience and the situation appropriately."

Nancy Montagna, Ph.D.

To read the online brochure for this EMI Workshop, and to register on line, by mail or by phone, click the following link: CLICK HERE

To print a hard copy of the brochure on 81/2 X 14 paper, CLICK HERE

To read an article about Eye Movement Integration, CLICK HERE

Register early as the last time this workshop was offered it sold out.

A White House report from an expert panel suggests that from 30% to half the population could catch swine flu during the course of this pandemic and that from 30,000 to 90,000 could die. Since it first emerged in April, the global swine flu epidemic has sickened more than 1 million Americans and killed about 500.

So who is most at risk and how do you prepare?

Here are 3 things you need to know…Swine flu is more of a threat to certain groups — children under 2, pregnant women, people with health problems like asthma, diabetes and heart disease. Also, teens and young adults also seem more vulnerable to swine flu.

What to do to lessen the chance of contracting the flu... Wash your hands often and long. Swine flu spreads through the coughs and sneezes of people who are sick. Cough or sneese into you sleeve, not you hand. Wash your hands with soap and water long enough to finish singing the alphabet song, "Now I know my ABC's..." Also use alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

If you have other health problems or are pregnant and develop flu-like symptoms, call your doctor right away. You may be prescribed Tamiflu or Releza. These drugs can reduce the severity of swine flu if taken right after symptoms start. If you develop breathing problems (rapid breathing for kids), pain in your chest, constant vomiting or a fever that keeps rising, go to an emergency room.

Here is the problem...70 million Americans have no prescription coverage at all. 1/6th of everyone in the U.S. right now, don’t even have a basic health insurance that covers doctor visits or lab work so they avoid going to the doctor all together.

They just try to stick it out. NOT GOOD ! ! !

Crown House Publishing Co. LLC, Wales

Copyright, 2009

By Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D.

Followers of Bill O'Hanlon will delight in the recent release of his six new CDs, all influenced by the work of Milton H. Erickson. If you don't know much about Milton Erickson, this set of CDs will serve as a good introduction to Ericksonian hypnosis.

The recordings demonstrate O'Hanlon's versatility with hypnosis, rapport, and story-telling. In each 40- to 60-minute presentation, his voice is friendly and comforting to listen to, with excellent inflection and pacing. Bill tells his stories in such a relaxed and casual manner that they seem spontaneous and fresh, as though you were hearing them over a mug of beer or a cup of coffee. Here is a brief review on each CD.

Meetings with a Remarkable Man: Personal Tales of Milton Erickson

O'Hanlon begins this recording with an engaging story about how he came to meet and study with Milton Erickson. While in graduate school, O'Hanlon came across a fascinating story about Erickson in Life magazine and became determined to meet the man. He devised a plan to exchange gardening services for the opportunity to talk with Erickson and observe his work. Bill shares his own observations about Erickson's amazingly intuitive approach to therapy and teaching.

Next, Bill goes on to tell Erickson's story, describing several life-changing events in Erickson's life, in which Erickson coped with physical disabilities, pain, and hardship, to become a physician and legendary hypnotherapist. These stories show the shaping of Erickson's personality, as well as his brilliant mind and uncanny skills of communication and observation. These stories will touch listeners at both the conscious and the unconscious levels, with examples of individual strength and resilience.

Calm beneath the Waves: Help Relieve Panic, Anxiety and Desperation

In the tradition of Milton Erickson, O'Hanlon crafts a series of stories about people facing anxiety and fear, and their ability to move beyond those experiences. Bill gets into rapport with listeners by telling of times in his own life when he felt anxious or panicked or hopeless. The admission is humanizing and levels the playing field between speaker and listener.

Bill then tells entrancing and uplifting stories about people who managed to confront and reframe debilitating fears and do something different to interrupt illogical patterns of thinking and behavior. Each story is engaging and easy to imagine, and all are ideal for anyone immobilized by irrational fear.

Moving On: Two Healing Trances for Resolving Sexual Abuse

On the first track of this two-track recording, O'Hanlon creates a hypnotic induction that suggests flexibility and choice. He models Erickson's gentle permissiveness and application of metaphor. The themes in the trance-work explore how survival and reframing of a trauma can lead to a sense of life purpose, and to realizing a spiritual, core self. These stories speak about changing the meaning of one's life story, maintaining boundaries, and reaching self-acceptance and validation.

In the second track, O'Hanlon makes the point that recovery is a step-by-step process. He encourages listeners to take their own next step. He reframes the experience of sexual abuse so that listeners feel encouraged to reclaim a sense of self, redefine identity, and see a future of possibilities. The themes include suffering and recovery, perfection and imperfection, and redemption, all beautifully explored in Bill's kind and nurturing voice. I would definitely recommend this CD for survivors of sexual abuse.

Beside Yourself with Comfort: Hypnotic Help for Chronic or Acute Pain Relief

On this CD, O'Hanlon hypnotically suggests and describes many methods for reducing pain. He invites readers to consider each one and choose those that work best. First, Bill discusses acute awareness of sensations, then distraction, and then reframing pain as a body signal that has served its purpose. He tells stories of people, such as Milton Erickson, who demonstrated nontraditional methods for overcoming pain.

O'Hanlon also helps listeners to alter pain's visual submodalities and dissociate from pain. He speaks of analogies that suggest habituation to pain. He tells of how people develop calluses, for example, to reduce skin sensitivity. He also recommends that listeners shift the habits that pain has brought into their daily living. He tells listeners to challenge their pain-related habits and find one small method to "win back some of your life from pain." Bill's message suggests imagination and flexibility in coping with pain, guiding people to find untapped resources within.

Keep Your Feet Moving: Favorite Teaching and Healing Tales

Listen to this CD and you might feel the "narrative imperative" to document and record your own favorite teaching and healing tales. Here is a small collection of entertaining and heart-warming stories that showcase O'Hanlon's story-telling talents. Like a series of audio Rorschach inkblots, Bill lets listeners derive their own meanings and reach their own conclusions. In these stories I found themes of resilience in adversity, refusal to be overwhelmed by fear, and making progress in small incremental steps.

What I like about this CD is Bill's easy-going way of relating tales of mythology, magic, personal experience, gifted people, and ordinary people doing extraordinary things. I was mesmerized by the story of how couples can remember how they fell in love. Bill tells the story of how Roger Bannister broke the four-minute-mile barrier. In the story of the African Violet Queen of Milwaukee, Bill relates how Milton Erickson helped a depressed woman find purpose and meaning. Each story is delivered skillfully, with a forceful ending.

Bill concludes with a stunning account of psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who survived the German concentration camps and took his message of life and meaning to the world. The message is that a compelling vision of the future gives one a reason to go on living, despite pain and tragedy. If you want to be amused, astonished, riveted, and emotionally moved, listen to this CD!

Let Your Soul be Your Pilot: Finding Your Direction in Life

This CD takes a philosophical turn. Bill tells his listeners that they can find life purpose in three ways: through their wounds, through their anger, and through their bliss. Wounds, anger and bliss can be life's way of grabbing people by the lapels and shouting, "This is what you are supposed to do!"

Bill tells stories about people who found meaning in life by surviving suffering and tragedy. "Your wound is your opening to the world...You can close down, or you can go out and change the world."

What makes you angry? Bill reminds us that out of anger, people can acknowledge inequity and injustice. They can then transform their anger into energy, which provides the impetus to speak out, support a cause, and find a calling.

Bliss makes the heart pound and compels us to action. Bill asks us to examine our own sources of inspiration and happiness. Our soul's path can also be found in the friendship, love, and mentoring of others who have seen and admired our talents and potentials. To make the point, he includes his own stories of how he became fascinated with psychotherapy and solution-oriented therapy. For people who want to discover their life purpose, this CD is perfect!

Conclusion

These CDs make for well-spent listening time. Throughout these teaching tales, O'Hanlon's warmth and charm shine through. Additionally, the CDs touch on themes that psychotherapists and coaches often encounter in their work: fear, pain, recovery, meeting a life challenge, and finding purpose. As a mental health therapist, I will certainly be recommending these recordings to my clients.

Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D. is a licensed psychotherapist and life coach with a solo practice, Motivational Strategies, in Springfield, Virginia. She is a certified hypnotherapist and NLP Trainer as well as Executive Director of the National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists. Her recently-published book is The Weight, Hypnotherapy and You Weight Reduction Program: An NLP and Hypnotherapy Practitioner's Manual.

Her website is: www.engagethepower.com

Her email is: judy@engagethepower.com

A division of the American Hypnosis Training Academy, Inc.

Presents the 2009 Dual Certification Train the Trainer program to become:

Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Trainer and Certified Ericksonian Hypnotherapy Instructor

October 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 2009

Instruction provided by: Ron Klein

If you are a certified NLP Practitioner and have at least 30 hours training in Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, this is your invitation to become both a Certified Ericksonian Hypnosis Instructor and a Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Trainer.

During the last few years participants enrolled in the programs at the American Hypnosisis Training Academy and the MidLantic Institute for NLP have frequently asked to become certified trainers of both Ericksonian Hypnosis and NLP. As a result, this training program is designed to give you the opportunity to become both a Certified NLP Trainer and an Ericksonian Hypnosis Instructor.

Ron Klein, your instructor for this training, has been training mental health professionals in both of these approaches for more than 34 years. This is your opportunity to learn from his extensive experience with a small group of highly motivated colleagues.

The class will be limited to 18 participants to assure maximum learning and plenty of individual coaching from Ron. Additionally, after the end of this training, ongoing mentor/coaching on course design, marketing, business planning, running your training business, and building a following of satisfied graduates will be available.

The Skills You Will Learn:

 Teaching to the conscious and unconscious mind
 Creating and maintaining the desired states in your students
 Working with the group process, common challenges and solutions
 Gaining group rapport and holding the participant’s attention
 Developing and maintaining your personal training state of excellence
 Creating effective stage anchors
 Integrating content for effective presentations
 Using multi-embedded metaphors
 Demonstrating content as you teach (walk the talk)
 Utilizing your physiology and language to empower your teaching
 Conducting successful demonstrations and how to select demo subjects
 Making content much more learnable by the use of pre-framing
 The importance of appropriate sequencing of the material being taught
 Utilizing and handling objections, questions, and “hecklers”
 Giving effective feedback

This dual certification training will be a highly structured and an extraordinarily rewarding experience.

To read the complete brochure CLICK HERE

Read what participants say about the quality of Ron Klein's training CLICK HERE

Crown House Publishing Limited

Copyright 2009

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

Despite the fact that many medical practitioners have been trained in clinical hypnotherapy, this discipline still has a distance to go to achieve full acceptance as an adjunctive therapy in medicine. Advances in the use of Hypnosis for Medicine, Dentistry, and Pain Prevention/Management, edited by Donald C. Brown, MD, could help that effort considerably. This book is compilation of papers on hypnotherapy in medicine, all written by established practitioners who use hypnosis in their medical specialties. The book is the outgrowth of the 6th Frontiers in Hypnosis Assembly in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2003.

Each paper presents an overview of current practice and research concerning a specific medical application of hypnosis. These applications include pre-surgery anxiety, dental gagging, sleep disorders, obstetrics, psychosomatic illnesses, and, predominantly, pain management. The contributors, combined, cite hundred of research studies; a benefit for readers who want to conduct additional investigation or analysis.

One could say that Advances... is a textbook on mind-body medicine, delving into cellular biology, placebos, neuro-psychology, and the roles of belief, meaning, suggestibility, and the non-conscious mind, all relative to health, illness, healing, and recovery. About one quarter of the book is devoted to dental hypnosis; especially useful for working with patients who exhibit dental phobias, anxiety, or dental gagging. The value of hypnosis in dentistry is often overlooked and this book is good starting point for dentists who want suggestions that put their patients at ease.

I found the section on hypnosis for pain management to be worthwhile reading, as that is an application for practitioners in many settings, including sports medicine, geriatrics, and psychotherapy. Contributor A. Max Chaumette gives an exemplary discussion of the history of hypnotic anesthesia and the use of hypnosis in surgery. The chapter by James Straub and Vicki Straub is right on target with an overview of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) in reducing pain associated with past trauma. These two authors explain how NLP patterns, such as Visual Kinesthetic Dissociation, submodalities, parts work and cognitive restructuring can reduce painful emotions, limiting beliefs, anxiety, and flashbacks.

Contributor Leonora Kuttner writes about the unique considerations of hypnosis in treating pain, anxiety, and sleep disorders with children. Additionally, Dr. Brown makes the case for hypnosis in obstetrics, for easing the discomforts of childbirth and delivery, reducing complications, preventing premature labor, decreasing the mother's anxiety, and improving post-partum outcomes.

While this book gives an excellent overview of medically related applications of hypnosis, it is not a training manual. Medical practitioners who are inspired to add clinical hypnosis to their skill sets will do well to use this book to spark their motivation to attend certification training programs and continuing education in clinical hypnosis and NLP.

The book's author, Donald C. Brown, M.D. is a consultant in Medical Hypnosis for the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and Founding Director in the Department of Family Medicine, Dalhousie University Medical School in Nova Scotia, Canada.

To purchase Advances in the use of Hypnosis for Medicine, Dentistry and Pain Prevention/Management go to www.crownhouse.com

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Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D. is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Executive Director with the National Board for Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists. She is an NLP Master Practitioner/Trainer with a counseling practice in Springfield Virginia: Her web site is www.engagethepower.com. She has published The Weight, Hypnotherapy and You Weight Reduction Program: A Manual for NLP and Hypnotherapy Practitioners and recently released a hypnosis CD: Discover Your Learning Genius.

I am conducting a research study to complete my Educational Specialist degree, Ed.S., at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA. Below please find the information that you will need about this study. Although your participation is not mandatory, I do respectfully request that you consider being part of this study. If you choose not to be part of this study, no response is necessary. If you have any questions please address them to me at steve@stevegjones.com or you may call my office 10am-6pm Tuesday-Thursday at (912) 897-9799.

If you choose to be part of this study please go to the following site and fill out the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=e3neq1i8Mdj7M70dA44DIg_3d_3d

Purpose of this study: Suggestibility tests are a convenient way to determine the degree to which a client will enter a hypnotic state. The HGSHSA (Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Suggestibility, Form A) has been used for over 30 years to determine the level of hypnotic suggestibility of individuals. This test will be easily administered to an individual or a group. This investigator's study will determine the degree to which this test is currently used by practicing hypnotherapists. It will also determine the benefits and challenges faced by hypnotherapists when using this test. The investigator will use a ten-question survey to determine the degree to which hypnotherapists use suggestibility tests when dealing with clients. With results of this survey information, the investigator will be able to evaluate the usefulness of the HGSHSA.

Benefits:

The benefits to society as a result of this study include giving hypnotherapists a greater insight as to the usefulness of suggestibility scales. With this knowledge they will be better equipped to help people in the future.

Duration/Time required from the participant: under one hour.

Statement of Confidentiality: Steve G. Jones and Dr. Charles A. Reavis will have access to the information obtained in this study. Data will be maintained in a secure location for three years and then destroyed.

Right to Ask Questions: Participants have the right to ask questions and have those questions answered. If the participant has questions about this study, please contact the researcher named above or the researcher's faculty advisor, whose contact information is located at the end of the informed consent. For questions concerning your rights as a research participant, contact Georgia Southern University Office of Research Services and Sponsored Programs at 912-478-0843.

Compensation: There is no stipend, credit or other incentive for participation in the study.

Voluntary Participation: People receiving this form do not have to participate in this research; they may end their participation at any time by telling Steve G. Jones, not returning the instrument or other options. Additionally, they do not have to answer any questions that they do not want to answer.

Penalty: There is no penalty for deciding not to participate in the study; participants may decide at any time that they do not want to participate further and may withdraw without penalty or retribution.

Participants must be 18 years of age or older to consent to participate in this research study. If an individual consents to participate in this research study and to the terms above, they should sign their name and indicate the date below.

Title of Project: Application of Suggestibility Tests among Hypnotherapists

Principal Investigator: Steve G. Jones, 107 Picket Row Savannah, GA 31410, (912) 897-9799, steve@stevegjones.com

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Charles A. Reavis, 1045 Golf Club Road Statesboro, GA 30458, (912) 478-5307, carevis@georgiasouthern.edu

Completion and return of the survey implies that you agree to participate and your data may be used in this research.

Sincerely,

Steve G. Jones, M.Ed.
Clinical Hypnotherapist

Authentic change, especially generative and sustainable change, begins with a change in thinking. Our self-talk or internal dialogue affects our experience in the world. Marilee Adams, the workshop presenter, says our self-talk can be modified dramatically by changing the questions people ask themselves (Question Thinking™). Helping people change their internal questions impacts positively on the way they think, feel and behave.

This dynamic skill-building workshop, introduces the practical methodologies of Question Thinking (QT) through new distinctions, stories, models, tools, and interactive exercises for designing and delivering powerful questions. Question Thinking provides practical tools that empower problem-solving, decision-making, and conflict resolution as well as critical, creative, strategic, and collaborative thinking. This material can also be helpful in working with couples and families.

To read the online brochure for this workshop CLICK HERE

Note from Ron Klein: I attended this workshop earlier this year and can recommend it wholeheartedly. Dr. Adams provides a wealth of valuable, practical material and her "Choice Map" cards are a must tool you will want to give to every client. If you want to speak with me before you decide to participate, call me on my cell: 301-523-5659 or email me at ronkleinonline@gmail.com .

Publisher: Brunner-Routledge, 2004

Drs. Voit and Delaney are both practitioners and trainers of hypnosis. "Hypnosis in Clinical Practice" is a concise manual that outlines the fundamental and essential steps and constructs in the application of hypnosis to the treatment process.

The book includes a brief description of the commonly occurring hypnotic phenomena that are present in symptomatic behavior and how they can be evoked during trance experiences for therapeutic purposes. These included age regression, age progression, anesthesia (and its antithesis, hyperesthesia,) amnesia (and its opposite hypernesia), dissociation (and its opposite association), and catalepsy (and its opposite flexibility/movement).

A helpful table is included displaying these hypnotic phenomena along with their normal, problematic, and dysfunctional behavioral displays. There is a discussion of depth of trance as well as breadth of trance. They highlight breadth of trance as being composed of preconscious hypnotic talent (the idiosyncratic hypnotic phenomena to which an individual enters regularly occurring trance states), self-absorption (through therapeutic, naturalistic utilization of predictable talents and subjective experience the individual enters trance as he establishes focus and absorption into his preconscious talents), self-surrender (where the individual yields to a deeper trance experience through an unconscious reconciliation between adaptive, self-protective resistance and their safely familiar hypnotic phenomena), and hypnotic synchronicity (where the client becomes absorbed in his or her unconscious process and can access and affect healthy or maladaptive manifestations of hypnotic phenomena). It is at this latter level of trance that very deep internal work becomes possible. The authors acknowledge the distinction between depth and breadth as merely semantic however, the distinction between depth and breadth alerts clinicians that clients have inherent hypnotic abilities that can be both utilized and emphasized for the induction of trance. The utilization of truisms as well as the elements of naturalistic inductions is covered. Also, elements of indirect induction and direct induction are offered.

The authors present the notion, that instead of viewing hypnosis in stages, which suggests is a linear process, hypnosis occurs in layers with each layer separate, in and of itself, while simultaneously fused with and influenced by the other layers. There was an excellent section on treatment planning. Basic steps in which both depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms, along with their hypnotic phenomena, were presented. Treatment strategies using the hypnotic phenomenon that correlates with treatment strategies for both anxiety and depression were highlighted.

Book report by: Gary Kelley, Ph.D.

HOW TO GET AMAZING RESULTS WITH OVERWEIGHT CLIENTS

A TWO-DAY WORKSHOP * Presented by Judith Pearson, Ph.D
June 27 - 28, 2009

SKILLS THAT WILL MAKE YOU AN EXPERT - In this two-day workshop, you will learn clinically proven methods for helping your clients lose weight. At the end of the second day, you will walk away with a hypnotherapy-based program for weight reduction that you can implement in your practice immediately. You will develop the skills and strategies that teach overweight clients how to stay motivated, cope with compulsive eating, and activate their own resources for a healthy lifestyle—with methods that can be adapted for each individual. You will learn how to alleviate the basic psychological factors that most-often contribute to obesity.

A New Niche for Your Practice. Obesity now affects 30% of the population, with another 30% overweight. Obesity affects people from all walks of life.

There is a need for practitioners who can offer a safe solution at an affordable cost. Wouldn’t you like to be the therapist in your locale that people turn to for a weight reduction program that works? Wouldn’t you like to be the therapist doctors refer to? That’s what this workshop can do for you.

To read the online brouchure and register for this workshop, CLICK HERE