Editorial - Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis: Volume 38, Number 2 & 39, Number 1, 2010-2011

Abstract

Welcome to this combined edition of Volumes 38 (2) and 39 (1) of the 'Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis'. As incoming editor I am delighted by the breadth and depth of the contributions that are presented here. The experimental study by Williams and colleagues presents an important contribution to research on the psychophysiology of hypnoticanalgesia mechanisms, clearly demonstrating their differentiation from focused attention within the brain. It is of great importance for clinicians treating pain to understand the distinction between hypnotic analgesia and cognitive behavioural methods of pain management, which both work but by different mechanisms, in order to tailor their treatment to the individual skills and capacities of their clients. For pain researchers the demonstration of an additional central mechanism of pain regulation opens up new research possibilities, while for hypnosis researchers this study adds to our understanding of the role of changing executive control in hypnosis in a way which supports one of the primary theories of hypnosis - the dissociated control model of Woody, Bowers and their associates. Writing from his practice in Harley Street David Kraft offers us the fourth in a series of papers on the place of hypnosis in psychiatry, focusing on agoraphobia and social phobia. Previous papers in this series were co-authored with his late father Dr Tom Kraft. From Australia we have contributions from highly experienced and much respected members of the clinical hypnosis community. Eugen Hlywa and Lynda Dolan share with us their experience of the role of spirituality in therapeutic practice. Karla Fenton asks us to consider the role of behavioural medicine as an alternative in treating the problem of constipation in the elderly and presents a practical script developed for this purpose. Writing from a theoretical perspective, Natasha Loi and I consider the role of processes encountered in the study of absorption, fantasy proneness and hypnosis, in the responses of susceptible individuals to the experience of overwhelming negative affect that occurs in trauma. We argue for the centrality of (non-cognitive) affective regulation mechanisms in the trance condition and propose a novel experimental paradigm, the emotional Stroop, for researchers to explore trance-related changes in affective control. Case studies today are focusing more and more on providing a detailed account of clinical decision making in which theory informs practice and practice informs theory. This approach is clearly evident in the accounts, and particularly in the analysis of the choices made in designing hypnotic treatment interventions by two contributions from an emerging generation of Australian practitioners. Elke Kellis provides a thoughtful account of the integration of hypnosis with cognitive-behavioural therapy in the treatment of a patient with depression, anxiety and self-concept problems. Susan Blunsden writes a detailed step-by-step analysis of the rationale and steps adopted in a brief narrative-based hypnotic intervention in the treatment of the skin disorder, lichen sclerosus of the vulva, with great sensitivity to the complex psychological meaning of the condition for her client.