Some members of the National Council for Hypnotherapy are offering a free consultation/session to help homecoming servicemen and women cope with their return to civilian life after the stresses of warfare.

This is a short article published in the Autumn 2009 edition of the NCH’s publication The Hypnotherapy Journal. It outlines proposed improvements to the Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma (HPD) award. Comments are invited from any interested parties, especially NCH members and accredited training schools.

This snippet discusses a recent experimental study which attempted to quantify (as a percentage) the extent to which expectation contributed to the pain-reducing effects of hypnosis, imagination, and a placebo medication. Strong evidence was derived from statistical analysis suggesting that the effect of hypnotism is “partially-mediated” by expectation, albeit to a lesser degree than the placebo effect.

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A recent series of articles compared the influential “sociocognitive” and “response expectancy” theories of hypnosis with Alfred Barrios’ “conditioning and inhibition” theory, which reprises elements of Pavlov’s theory of hypnotic suggestion. This snippet outlines the opposing theories and research findings cited in favour of the sociocognitive position.

Professor David Spiegel, of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Stanford University, wants the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) to sanction sweeping changes.

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What’s the relationship between indirect suggestion and traditional hypnotism? This article gives a plain English review of Hans Eysenck’s seminal research on the factors in hypnotic suggestibility.

The Open University has considered the NCH Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma (HPD) and awarded it 45 points at Undergraduate Level 1 (FHEQ Level 4/SCQF Level 7)

May Research Snippet. Some updates on research news and a short discussion of a recent study comparing self-hypnosis and progressive muscle relaxation in the treatment of chronic pain in multiple sclerosis. The role of expectation and hypnotic susceptibillity are examined.