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Amir Raz gets some funny looks when he talks about using hypnosis and meditation techniques to build attention spans in a hyperactive MTV world. "Mention contemplation to a lot of people, and all they think of is some kind of (wacky) spiritualism, people sitting around a darkened room with candles, chanting," says Raz, a McGill University professor who holds the Canada Research Chair in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Attention. "Our ideas are shaped by Hollywood movies. So you talk about hypnosis, and people see something out of a Woody Allen movie, a guy in a turban with bushy eyebrows who wants to put you to sleep." But "trim away the folkloric fat," and Raz, a cognitive psychologist who worked his way through graduate school doing magic tricks, sees mindfulness training as a valuable, drug-free tool in the struggle to foster attention skills, with positive spinoffs for controlling our emotions and even...

Pain is one of the few areas where hypnosis can be applied clinically in the absence of a broader treatment framework - although hypnosis allied to cognitive behavioural techniques may well be an extremely effective intervention. A number of studies have examined the effectiveness of hypnosis in treating pain, either when used alone or alongside cognitive behavioural therapy. Pain is one of the best-researched areas - there have been a number of meta-analyses (literally a study of studies - one of the most a reliable ways to find out if there is an effect) of hypnosis for pain control. Methods of pain control Hypnotic approaches to pain relief take three forms: Direct suggestion for symptom change Dissociative approaches - encourages clients to mentally 'go elsewhere' and leave the pain behind Resource utilisation - a more Ericksonian approach Meta-Analyses Meta-analyses are essentially studies of studies. Where individual studies can sometimes show contradictory results,...

Hypnotherapy significantly improves quality of life in irritable bowel syndrome patients, both in the short- and long-term, claim British researchers reporting to the BSG conference.Two research teams investigated the impact of hypnotherapy on quality of life in patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).They presented their findings at the British Society of Gastroenterology Annual Meeting in Birmingham, England. Click here for the full story...

A recent article from John Hopkins states "The most promising alternative therapy for irritable bowel syndrome is gut-directed hypnosis (also called hypnotherapy). Click here for the FULL STORY...

Mary-Joan Gerson, Ph.D. and Charles D. Gerson, M.D. of the Mind-Body Digestive Center have presented at Digestive Disease Week 2010.

From the Department of Neurology at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Israel examined whether a Parkinson’s Disease (PD) tremor (which gets worse with stress) could improve with what they refer to as “relaxation guided imagery” (RGI) and calming music.

1. Hypnosis is very effective in bringing IBS symptoms under control. The original study that brought this to the attention of the medical world remains one of the most thorough in the field to date. In it Whorwell, Prior, and Faragher (Controlled trial of hypnotherapy in the treatment of severe refractory irritable-bowel syndrome.