Oregon Society of Clinical Hypnosis

A Component Section of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis

Our Next Event

December 31, 1969

Pay Meeting Fee Online

Meeting Fee: $15.00

Future Meetings

Past Events

December 2006: Psychological Approaches to Treating Chronic Pain: The Use of Hypnosis

December 1, 2006

Speaker: Normund J. Akots, Ph.D.

Dr. Akots received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1988 and completed two years of postdoctoral training at the Menninger Clinic, where he specialized in diagnostic psychological testing and the treatment of severe personality disorders. He provided contract services to Providence St. Vincent Hospital for 10 years and functioned as the Clinical Supervisor of the Adult Psychiatric Unit for a majority of that time.

Dr. Akots will address:

• Psychological factors associated with pain and pain amplification
• The inherent utility and effectiveness of hypnosis for pain treatment
• Hypnosis being integrated within various psychotherapeutic approaches
• Using hypnosis with pain patients specifically

 

Sept 2007: Hypnosis for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: What Underlies Treatment Effects?

September 28, 2007

Speaker: Roger D. Carlson, Ph.D.

Roger Carlson is a psychologist in private practice in the Portland area and is an authorized user of the Palsson IBS protocol. He has treated clients using the protocol who have reported marked reduction of IBS symptoms. Dr. Carlson is immediate past president of OSCH, and a member of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.

A well-researched treatment protocol for irritable bowel syndrome has been developed by Dr. Olafur Palsson and his colleagues at the University of North Carolina. An outline of the protocol and its use will be presented. Its use boasts a success rate of over 80% in the reduction or elimination of IBS symptoms. The principle questions to be explored at our September meeting are: What are the processes that underlie the success of the use of this protocol? What principles as learned from the success of the use of the protocol might inform us about hypnotic treatments in other areas of somatic distress?

 

Oct 2007: Integrating Treatment Modalities in Helping People with Chronic Pain

October 26, 2007

Speaker: Kern Olson, Ph.D.

Dr. Kern Olson was born, raised and educated in Minnesota. He completed graduate work in New Mexico (MA), Wyoming (Ph.D), and an internship at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Medical Psychology. He served as an Army Psychologist at the Presidio of Monterey. He directed the mental health center and saw clients in private practice in rural Wyoming for 10 years. He has been a licensed psychologist in Oregon since 1977. He helped found the pain management program at OHSU and the Pain management program at St Vincent Medical Center. He also helped develop the sleep disorders program at St. Vincent Medical Center. Dr. Olson is currently in private practice in northwest Portland specializing in pain management and treatment of sleep disorders.

Dr. Olson will present a brief historical overview of pain management and discuss the current model of pain and its treatment. He will explore the typical presentation of the patient with pain, addressing the question: who is our patient/client? Dr. Olson will outline treatment options, including suggestive therapies, and provide a demonstration using a combination of hypnotic relaxation technique and biofeedback.

 

Nov 2007: Music Therapy: Sounding the Bridge Between Art and Science

November 30, 2007

Speaker: Christine Korb, MM, MT-BC

Christine Korb, MM, MT-BC is Director of Music Therapy and Associate Professor at Marylhurst University. She is a music therapy researcher, book reviewer, and published composer. She is principal investigator and creator of the Soul Song Project, a longitudinal research project surrounding choral singing. She describes herself as a dog lover, currently enjoying the company of two Shetland sheep dogs and an American Eskimo mix.

Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship. Music therapy is used to benefit children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly with mental health needs, developmental and learning disabilities, Alzheimer's disease and other aging related conditions, substance abuse problems, brain injuries, physical disabilities, and acute and chronic pain. The idea of music as a healing influence that could affect health and behavior is as least as old as the writings of Aristotle and Plato and the discipline has been developed and formalized during the 20th century. Some applications of Music Therapy resemble goals and phenomena of hypnosis: focused attention which allows dissociation of perceptions and sensations, attending with intensity and precision to thoughts and events, and the ability to rally innate resources in unusual ways. Come and experience some aspects of Music Therapy and learn more about what it is, its many applications and contexts, and the education, research and organizations that support Music Therapy.

 

January 2008: EFT: Cutting Edge Emotional Release

January 25, 2008

Speaker: Debbie Nesbitt, RN

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is an effective healing modality based on the ancient principles of acupuncture. It is a simple tapping procedure that gently realigns the body’s energy system, without the use of needles. EFT incorporates an emotional element to the healing process, addressing unresolved emotional issues as a likely cause of physical disease, psychological dysfunction, and personal performance limits. EFT has been used successfully for a wide variety of issues and can be used as an adjunct with hypnotherapy. This evening’s discussion will review current research in energy psychology, present theories on how Emotional Freedom Technique works, but more importantly, will give you an opportunity to actually learn and experience EFT for yourself.

Debbie Nesbitt, a registered nurse for over 25 years, has a private practice in Vancouver, Washington specializing in the use of hypnosis, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), guided imagery and Emotional Freedom Technique. She has additional training in holistic nursing, complementary medical hypnosis, Anodyne (hypnosis for pain management), and HypnoBirthing®. Debbie is currently working on a nursing master’s degree for Psychiatric Mental Health through Gonzaga University. Upon completion she plans to pursue a doctorate in nursing with an emphasis in using hypnosis for treating addictions. Committed to community, Debbie is the founder of a non-profit organization (Natural Approach to Parenting) and serves on the Clark County Substance Abuse Advisory Board.

 

February 2008: Ericksonian Principles Applied to Unconscious Process and Communication

February 29, 2008

Speaker: Bart Walsh, MSW

Communication is always taking place in some form when two or more people are together. Only one portion of that communication is happening with conscious volition. Physical movement, posturing, affectation, eye position, vocal tone, choice of words and much more reflect other forms of expression, which may or may not be congruent with conscious intent. Various means of delivering and receiving information outside conscious awareness will be discussed and part of experiential exercises. This presentation will address some basic operating principles derived from the work of Milton H. Erickson and the practical application of these principles to hypnotherapeutic work.

Bart Walsh, MSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and Diplomat in Clinical Social Work. Bart has extensive experience in community mental health and conducts a private psychotherapy practice, working with individuals, couples and families. His orientation to counseling, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy is essentially a strengths perspective with a solution focus. Bart also directs The Milton H. Erickson Institute of Portland. The Institute offers information, clinical services and training in hypnotherapy to qualified professionals. Bart has presented workshops domestically and in Europe. His publications include the following:

• Goldfinger: A Framework for Resolving Affect Using Ideomotor Questioning. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol. 40, No. 1, July 1997.
• Utilization Sobriety: Brief, Individualized Substance Abuse Treatment Employing Ideomotor Questioning. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol.45, No. 3, January 2003
• The Missing Link to Successful Weight Loss, co-authored with Annie McKenzie, Peaceful Pilgrim Press, 2004.
• Utilization Sobriety: A Substance Abuse Solution. Peaceful Pilgrim Press, 2005.
• Hypnotic alteration of body image in the eating disordered. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol. 50, No. 4, April, 2008.

In his spare time Bart loves to play and compose music.

 

Ericksonian Principles Applied to Unconscious Process and Communication

February 29, 2008

Speaker: Bart Walsh MSW

Bart Walsh, MSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and Diplomat in Clinical Social Work. Bart has extensive experience in community mental health and conducts a private psychotherapy practice, working with individuals, couples and families. His orientation to counseling, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy is essentially a strengths perspective with a solution focus. Bart also directs The Milton H. Erickson Institute of Portland. The Institute offers information, clinical services and training in hypnotherapy to qualified professionals. Bart has presented workshops domestically and in Europe. His publications include the following: • Goldfinger: A Framework for Resolving Affect Using Ideomotor Questioning. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol. 40, No. 1, July 1997. • Utilization Sobriety: Brief, Individualized Substance Abuse Treatment Employing Ideomotor Questioning. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol.45, No. 3, January 2003 • The Missing Link to Successful Weight Loss, co-authored with Annie McKenzie, Peaceful Pilgrim Press, 2004. • Utilization Sobriety: A Substance Abuse Solution. Peaceful Pilgrim Press, 2005. • Hypnotic alteration of body image in the eating disordered. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol. 50, No. 4, April, 2008. In his spare time Bart loves to play and compose music.

Communication is always taking place in some form when two or more people are together. Only one portion of that communication is happening with conscious volition. Physical movement, posturing, affectation, eye position, vocal tone, choice of words and much more reflect other forms of expression, which may or may not be congruent with conscious intent. Various means of delivering and receiving information outside conscious awareness will be discussed and part of experiential exercises. This presentation will address some basic operating principles derived from the work of Milton H. Erickson and the practical application of these principles to hypnotherapeutic work.

 

April 2008: Hypnosis: Fallacies and Facts

April 25, 2008

Speaker: Robert Butler, Phd, ABPP

Dr. Butler's clinical interests focus on clinical neuropsychology, brain injury rehabilitation and hypnosis. He received his Ph.D. in 1984 from Ohio State University in Columbia, and completed his Neuropsychology fellowship at the University of California-Los Angeles. He became board certified in Clinical Neuropsychology (ABPP-Cn) in 1996 and has been associate professor in the division of pediatric hematology/oncology at the OHSU department of pediatrics. He was interviewed by the Oregonian for a recent article on the therapeutic benefits of clinical hypnosis.

Dr Butler will address issues of presenting clinical hypnosis to clients--how to uncover and address misconceptions they may have regarding hypnosis. He'll address fears such as surrendering control to another person, being influenced by another person, loss of consciousness, and what side effects there may be to hypnosis. In addition, he'll present the facts of the scientific basis of hypnosis and its use clinically with clear specific beneficial effects for many individuals in psychotherapy, stress management, and in enhancing quality of life.

 

May 2008: Survey of Hypnotic Techniques for Management of Pain

May 30, 2008

Speaker: Susan Rustvold, DMD, MS

Dr. Rustvold works with patients having orofacial pain in the Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) clinic at Kaiser Permanente. She earned her DMD at OHSU in 1985 and MS in counselor education at PSU in 1996. She is past chair of the department of behavioral sciences at OHSU.

We have explored the scientific and research bases for the use of hypnosis in the management of acute and chronic pain in recent meetings. Here we focus on specific strategies and techniques and the situations or therapeutic goals for which they may be most beneficial. Cory Hammond, PhD (1990) outlined over thirty strategies for the use of clinical hypnosis in management of pain that he grouped under four broad treatment categories: 1. Unconscious exploration to enhance insight or resolve conflicts that contribute to or maintain pain 2. Creating anesthesia or analgesia 3. Cognitive-perceptual alteration of pain that is chronic and/or involves several sites 4. Decreasing awareness of pain (distraction techniques) Hammond’s framework will serve as a foundation for the presentation. Interview strategies for obtaining sensory and qualitative descriptions of the pain are included. In addition, scripts with commentary written by Marlene Hunter, MD, will be reviewed.

 

July 2008: Neuroscience, Attention, and Suggestion. 6-9pm

July 18, 2008

Speaker: Amir Raz, PhD

Amir Raz received his Ph.D. in computation and information processing in the Brain from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He went on to be a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Michael I. Posner in the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, USA. He was then appointed to the position of assistant professor at Cornell University, and subsequently Columbia University, New York. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including the 2006 Young Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders and the 2005 Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association (Division 30). He is currently Associate Professor at McGill University and a diplomate of the American Board of Psychological Hypnosis. Using neuroimaging and other techniques, his research elucidates the relationship between disparate attention networks and attentional planes such as hypnosis.

Dr. Raz will address hypnosis and neuroscience: a cross talk between clinical and cognitive research. His research spans attention, expectation, placebo and consciousness, as well as developmental psychopathology and neuroimaging.

 

Sept 2008: Hypnotic Alteration of Body Image in the Eating Disordered

September 26, 2008

Speaker: Bart Walsh MSW

Bart Walsh, MSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and Diplomat in Clinical Social Work. Bart has extensive experience in community mental health and conducts a private psychotherapy practice, working with individuals, couples, families and groups. His orientation to counseling, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy is essentially a strengths perspective with a solution focus. Bart also directs The Milton H. Erickson Institute of Portland. The Institute offers information, clinical services and training in hypnotherapy to qualified professionals. Areas of special training and focus include hypnotherapy, sex therapy, trauma recovery, chronic illness, eating disorders and substance abuse. Bart’s publications include the following: Goldfinger: A Framework for Resolving Affect Using Ideomotor Questioning. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol. 40, No. 1, July 1997. Utilization Sobriety: Brief, Individualized Substance Abuse Treatment Employing Ideomotor Questioning. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol.45, No. 3, January 2003 The Missing Link to Successful Weight Loss, co-authored with Annie McKenzie, Peaceful Pilgrim Press, 2004. Utilization Sobriety: A Substance Abuse Solution. Peaceful Pilgrim Press, 2005. Hypnotic alteration of body image in the eating disordered. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol. 50, No. 4, April, 2008. In his spare time Bart loves to play and compose music.

Hypnosis lends itself nicely to certain aspects of eating disorder (ED) treatment, as eating disorders like anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) clearly display hypnotic trance phenomena. Changing or disrupting any element of an eating disorder complex may inspire beneficial shifts in other parts of the complex. This presentation illustrates a number of successfully applied hypnotic approaches designed to establish a reality-based body image in an eating disordered person over a relatively brief treatment sequence.

 

Oct 2008: SoulCollage And Behavioral Change In Clients Struggling With Addiction

October 24, 2008

Speaker: Suzie Wolfer LCSW

In her 23 year career, Suzie Wolfer LCSW, has worked extensively with chemical dependency and dual diagnosis at Providence Hospital as well as in her private practice. She leads weekly SoulCollage therapy groups at Providence Outpatient Behavioral Health. Her talk is based on a paper presented at the SoulCollage Facilitator annual conference entitled “Externalization and the SoulCollage Process in Psychotherapy.” Her special areas of expertise include chemical dependency, eating disorders, personality disorders, and resilience through art, spirituality and creativity. In her private practice she offers groups in: advanced SoulCollage practice, mindfulness and emotional intelligence workshops. She offers SoulCollage Facilitator Training in Oregon and internationally as well as CEU workshops for therapists in SoulCollage . To learn more about her background and training visit www.suziewolfer.com and www.counseling-portlandoregon.com. Learn more about SoulCollage at www.soulcollage.com

Soulcollage And Behavioral Change In Clients Struggling With Addiction: A Powerful Tool to Externalize and Manage Problem Behaviors by Suzie Wolfer LCSW Epidemiological research indicates that 1 out of every 10 people has at least some of the genetic markers for chemical dependency. SoulCollage can help clients identify the “voice” of the addiction, externalize it and take charge of it. By creating an image of the “Conman” and his habitat on a SoulCollage card, the client has successfully externalized the thinking errors that accompany addiction. She can then separate her sense of self and personality, from the problem. And the space created between the person and the problem is where change happens and new thinking and behaviors are born. SoulCollage puts the client in the management chair as he takes on the role of the CEO of a corporation that includes the “Conman.” When used in psychotherapy, even the shadow cards can become powerful allies in recovery, as the client learns to understand their point of view, needs and skills. Locating the problem outside the client’s personal identity, allows them to relate to and interact with the problem, and thus increase their self efficacy with this genetic pattern without the stigma of being labeled an alcoholic or addict.

 

Dec 2008: Dimensions of the Hypnotic Experience and Transitional Space

December 5, 2008

Speaker: Thomas Wall, Ph.D., ABPH

Thomas Wall, Ph.D., ABPH is a Past President and Fellow of ASCH, and is an Approved Consultant in clinical hypnosis. He received the award for Excellence in Teaching Clinical Hypnosis by the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis in 2000. He has Board Certification from both the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and the American Board of Psychological Hypnosis (ABPH). Currently he is Chair of the Washington State Board of Examiners in Psychology. He has a half-time appointment as an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in the APA-approved program for graduate clinical psychology at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle. He is Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Washington in both the Departments of Psychiatry and Clinical. In addition he maintains an almost full-time private practice and serves in the Board of Regents of the Honors College at Oregon State University. His wife, Valerie, is also a psychologist, and they are in practice together. Thy have a daughter in medical school at Ohio State and a son at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

Dr. Wall will discuss two dimensions of the psychological phenomenology of hypnosis and the analytic concept of transitional space, sometimes called metaphoric space, to help us understand the experience of hypnosis and how to work within this domain.

 

January 2009: Hypnosis as a Window to the Nature of Free Will 6:30pm

January 30, 2009

Speaker: John O Beahrs

John O. Beahrs earned his M.D. at Stanford University in 1969, where learned hypnosis as a research assistant in the laboratory of Ernest R. Hilgard Ph.D. He completed his psychiatric residency in 1973. During his residency he was given leave to study with Milton H. Erickson, M.D., in Phoenix AZ. John was in private practice in psychiatry 1973-1982. He served as psychiatrist in the Veterans’ Administration from 1982 to 2005, when he retired. John has been on the faculty at OHSU from 1983 to the present, where he is now Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and continues to teach medical students, residents and forensic fellows. His primary interest is the nature of consciousness and volition, which led sequentially to studies in hypnosis, legal theory, and evolutionary biology. He is currently refining a theory that the human mind evolved as shared self-deception that serves to promote cooperation where interests otherwise conflict. He is married with three stepchildren. He loves music and the great outdoors.

ABSTRACT: Subjects who carry out posthypnotic suggestions without recall often experience their actions as any everyday free choice. They give reasons for these actions that are entirely independent of their true source, appear to believe these reasons, and often defend them against challenge. In these cases, hypnotic behavior and free choice are indistinguishable. Might "real" everyday free choices be similar in kind, that is, carrying out posthypnotic suggestions that we have unknowingly accepted from our everyday social interactions? Recent research on the "illusion of conscious will" supports the possibility that post-hypnotic suggestion and free choice are equivalent. If so, rather than being an active causal agent of our actions, free will and hypnotic behavior are better understood as covert social contracts by which we regulate one another's behavior. Hence, peoples' actions and so-called mental structures vary profoundly with their social milieus. This reframability is what permits therapists to change their patients' brains without physically entering them.

 

February 2009: Hypnosis With Young Children 6:30pm

February 27, 2009

Speaker: Allan R. Pike, D.D.S., M.S.

Allan R. Pike received a Bachelors degree in Pre-Dental Studies (1958) from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan and a DDS (1962) from Marquette University Dental School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He received a Certificate of Specialty Training in Pedodontics (1966) and an MS in Physiology (1968) from the University of Oregon Dental School (currently OHSU). Dr. Pike is a part-time Clinical Instructor in the Pediatric Clinic. He maintains a private pediatric dentistry practice in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Pike has served as President of the Multnomah Dental Society (1991), Oregon Academy of Pedodontics (1973), Oregon Academy of Preventive Dentistry (1972), Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity (1971), and Portland Academy of Hypnosis (1970). His is the author of Creating a No-Fear Practice: Introducing Children to a Lifetime of Positive Dental Care.

Dr. Pike will present his approach to working with children, which reflects his conviction that it’s important to treat children with respect, to establish a feeling of safety, comfort, trust, and collaboration in even young (two year old) children. He will share videos of his work with young children. Dr. Pike enlists the help of parents in establishing a calm atmosphere in the introductory appointment and even prior to that appointment. In this way, the children experience the dental (or medical) office in a way that decreases anxiety and future fears. He has extensive experience with the use of clinical hypnosis and uses principles such as patient education, positive expectancy, physiologic calm, and narrowing of focus to allow children to have a positive introduction to the dental office. “I have to put the child and the child’s memory first.” Time invested in this foundation early in the therapeutic relationship yields subsequent positive attitude toward dentistry and the dental office, ease of working with the patient, and in the family’s ownership of health. If you’ve ever been a child, have children of your own, or know children, you’ll want to experience Dr. Pike’s approach to introducing children to the dental office.

 

April 2009: Introduction to Ego State Therapy and Practice 6:30 pm

April 24, 2009

Speaker: Arreed Barabasz, PhD, ABPP

The Friday evening presentation is part of the weekend workshop, with a total of 8 hours of continuing education credit. Fee is $15 for Friday evening only; $150 for OSCH members for the combined Friday and Saturday sessions; $200 for non-OSCH members for the combined Friday and Saturday sessions. OSCH members may pay via PayPal from within the members' section of the website. Arreed Franz Barabasz, Ed.D, PhD, ABPP completed his first doctoral degree in Psychology at State University of New York at Albany at the age of 23. His PhD in Clinical and Human Experimental Psychology is from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand where he conducted the first studies of EEG and Hypnosis in Antarctica. His post-doctoral Clinical Fellowship was at Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School. He is the Editor of the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (IJCEH and a professor at Washington State University. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Professional, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. He was President of the preeminent Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (SCEH) (1999-2001) and a recent past President of the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 30 (Society of Psychological Hypnosis). Arreed was Associate Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School prior to his Professorship at Washington State University. He has published over 100 refereed research papers and received numerous awards for his achievements in research, theory and practice. He is the three-time winner of the coveted Henry Guze Award from SCEH for best research paper published in the previous year. Arreed’s (2005) text “Hypnotherapeutic Techniques, 2E, co-authored by John G. Watkins and published by Brunner-Routledge/Taylor & Francis was awarded the 2005 Shapiro National Award for the ‘Best Book on Hypnosis. His latest psychoanalytic text Watkins & Barabasz (2008) Advanced Hypnotherapy: Psychodynamic Techniques also published by Routledge includes the foundations of Ego State Therapy and hypnoanalysis. He conducts workshops on hypnosis worldwide.

Unresolved trauma will produce unwanted symptoms. Patients respond pathologically when faced with what they construe as a 'trip wire' reminder associated with previous traumatic stress. Abreaction activated by hypnosis in Ego State Therapy (Watkins, & Barabasz, 2008) targets the fullest expression of the traumatized ego state (the part of the person which encoded the trauma initially), whilst providing the needed resources to respond to the threatening agent. Once resolved, the post-traumatic symptoms dissipate, because they are no longer driven by the underlying ego state adaptation that carried the trauma. Ego State Therapy, more so than other forms of psychodynamic therapy, relies on hypnotic age regression to activate and reconstruct traumatic events. We now have substantial replicable empirical evidence to support the use of hypnosis to activate specific developmentally age-fixed perceptual responses and child-like affective behaviors. The findings are unequivocally supportive of clinical observations. This introduction to the workshop will focus on the essence of Ego State Therapy.

 

May 2009: Panel: Three Perspectives on the use of Hypnosis in the Management of Pain 6:30pm

May 29, 2009

Speaker: Panel

Paul Feldman, PhD, Deb Nesbitt, RN, ANP, and Susan Rustvold, DMD, MS, will share their experience in helping clients manage pain.

Bio: Susan Rustvold, DMD, MS, works with patients having orofacial pain in the Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) clinic at Kaiser Permanente. She earned her DMD at OHSU in 1985 and MS in counselor education at PSU in 1996. She is past chair of the department of behavioral sciences at OHSU.

Debbie Nesbitt, registered nurse in private practice utilizes hypnosis for a wide variety of physical and psychological issues including pain management, surgery preparation, and hypnosis for child birth.

The evenings panel presentation will give three different yet complemetary approaches to using hypnosis for pain management. Discussion will include some theory behind hypnosis for pain management, how hypnotic language affects pain managment, and a few specific techniques that you can begin to implement in your practice today.

 

September 2009: Eating, Weight Issues and Hypnosis: Review of the literature and implications for practice

September 25, 2009

Speaker: Polly Fisher, PsyD

Dr. Polly Fisher is a licensed Psychologist and long time member of the Oregon Society of Clinical Hypnosis. She participated in the basic course offered by the Portland Academy of Hypnosis in 1993. Dr. Fisher's previous degrees were in Nursing and she has a long-term interest in the interface between Psychology and the Health Sciences. She has extensive experience in conducting therapy and psychological assessments of people with eating issues. Her practice is presently quite varied, as she has a private therapy practice and also works with county civil courts around guardianship and competency for adults. Her presentation will focus on the research related to eating issues, hypnosis and applications for clinical practice.

 

October 2009 Hypnotic Technique and the Clinical Relationship 6pm dinner, 7pm presentation

October 23, 2009

Speaker: Paul Feldman, PhD

Paul Feldman, PhD, MS, is past president of both Portland Academy of Hypnosis and Oregon Society of Clinical Hypnosis. Paul has been working with clinical hypnosis in his psychology practice since 1983. He has been course director for the OSCH basic course in clinical hypnosis and continues to teach in the course.

No matter what our professional roles or scope of practice, the selection of hypnotic techniques we employ influences the relationships we have with the people we serve. In essence, through that selection we send a message to our clients or patients about what they can expect of us and of our work. Ideally, that message is consistent with our goals in all our clinical work, whether utilizing hypnosis or not. This presentation will discuss six elements in working with hypnosis clinically --introducing hypnosis to the client or patient, induction, deepening, trance reification, alerting, gathering feedback-- as well as the effect of hypnotic experience on the relationship.

 

December 2009: Lower back pain and Depression. 6:30pm

December 4, 2009

Three videos from ASCH are on the program. One deals with management of pain, with a focus on lower back pain and accompanying depression. Two show sessions with patients, one with chronic pain and trauma-based obesity.

 

January 2010 Case conceptualization and clinical hypnosis Thomas Wall, Ph.D

January 22, 2010

Speaker: Tom Wall, PhD

Thomas Wall, Ph.D., ABPH is a Past President and Fellow of ASCH, and is an Approved Consultant in clinical hypnosis. He received the award for Excellence in Teaching Clinical Hypnosis by the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis in 2000. He has Board Certification from both the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and the American Board of Psychological Hypnosis (ABPH). He has a ¾ time appointment as an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in the APA-approved program for graduate clinical psychology at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle. He is in his second five-year term on the Examining Board of Psychology and was former Chair. In addition he maintains a private practice.

Dr. Wall will discuss case conceptualization with hypnosis as a component of treatment. Case conceptualization takes into consideration the theoretical perspective, relevant diagnostic considerations, and specific influences in the complexity of human experience that affect the conceptualization of the case, such as age, development, gender, culture, family systems, and history of violence. Dr. Wall will include cases that demonstrate a number of hypnotic interventions. His psychodynamic approach will be reflected in the presentation and the cases

 

February 2010: Accessing Essential Neurobiological Communication:  Ericksonian Principles Applied to Unconscious Process. 6:30 dinner, 7pm presentation

February 26, 2010

Speaker: Bart Walsh, MSW

Communication is always taking place in some form when two or more people are together. Only one portion of that communication is happening with conscious volition. Physical movement, posturing, affectation, eye position, vocal tone, choice of words and much more reflect other forms of expression, which may or may not be congruent with conscious intent. Various means of delivering and receiving information outside conscious awareness will be discussed and constitute part of experiential exercises. The unconscious, or body-unconscious, has access to information and process ranging from the molecular to  psychological. Communication with the unconscious can at times provide what is needed to resolve a multitude of psychobiological problems.This presentation will address some basic operating principles derived from the work of Milton H. Erickson and the practical application of these principles to hypnotherapeutic work.

Bart Walsh, MSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and Diplomat in Clinical Social Work. Bart has extensive experience in community mental health and conducts a private psychotherapy practice and directs The Milton H. Erickson Institute of Portland. The Institute offers information, clinical services and training in hypnotherapy to qualified professionals.His orientation to counseling, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy is essentially a strengths perspective with a solution focus. Bart presents workshops domestically and in Europe. His publications include the following: • Goldfinger: A Framework for Resolving Affect Using Ideomotor Questioning. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol. 40, No. 1, July 1997. • Utilization Sobriety: Brief, Individualized Substance Abuse Treatment Employing Ideomotor Questioning. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol.45, No. 3, January 2003 • The Missing Link to Successful Weight Loss, co-authored with Annie McKenzie, Peaceful Pilgrim Press, 2004. • Utilization Sobriety: A Substance Abuse Solution. Peaceful Pilgrim Press, 2005. • Hypnotic alteration of body image in the eating disordered. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol. 50, No. 4, April, 2008. • Rapid remission of anorexia nervosa and unconscious communication. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, (in press) April, 2010. In his spare time Bart loves to play and compose music.

 

April 2010. Use of Hypnosis in Treatment of Depression

April 23, 2010

Speaker: Deb Nesbitt, RN and Susan Rustvold, DMD, MS

Just how is hypnosis being used to treat depression? Do you wonder how your colleagues are using hypnosis to successfully work with their patients who suffer from depression? Would you like to learn a technique that could help you treat your clients with depression? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then you will want to plan to attend the April meeting. We will begin by reviewing the current literature to examine what the research is revealing about the use of hypnosis for depression. We will then open the floor as we invite our membership to share some of their most successful techniques in addressing this population. Finally, Moshe S. Torem's "Back From the Future" technique will be taught. This technique is designed to promote a sense of hope for a better future.

Debbie Nesbitt, a registered nurse for over 25 years, has a private practice in Vancouver, Washington specializing in the use of hypnosis, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), guided imagery and Emotional Freedom Technique. She has additional training in holistic nursing, complementary medical hypnosis, Anodyne (hypnosis for pain management), and HypnoBirthing®. Debbie will complete her master’s degree in Psychiatric Mental Health in May, 2010 through Gonzaga University. Upon completion she plans to pursue a doctorate in nursing with an emphasis in using hypnosis for treating addictions. Committed to community, Debbie is the founder of a non-profit organization (Natural Approach to Parenting) and serves on the Clark County Substance Abuse Advisory Board. Dr. Rustvold works with patients having orofacial pain in the Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) clinic at Kaiser Permanente. She earned her DMD at OHSU in 1985 and MS in counselor education at PSU in 1996. She is past chair of the department of behavioral sciences at OHSU.

 

May 2010 The Decision To Use Hypnosis 6:30pm

May 21, 2010

Speaker: David Windstrom, Psy D

The decision to use hypnosis can be complicated, involving practical, clinical, ethical and even legal factors. In many cases, consideration of this decision begins with a direct request for its use by a prospective client during a pre-intake phone conversation. This presentation will explore and invite discussion concerning the importance of this decision and its implications. As practitioners, the way we engage our client in the decision may affect the efficacy of the intervention itself. We will attempt to clarify some of the variables and issues involved, including the client’s hopes and expectations, client personality characteristics and “ego strength”, inherent ability to use hypnosis, pre-morbid conditions, socio-cultural context, and prior experiences with hypnosis. Participants are invited to bring their own case examples for discussion.

Dr. Windstrom received his B.A. in Communications at the University of California at Berkeley, and his doctorate in clinical psychology at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. During his pre-doctoral internship at The Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital, Dr. Windstrom completed rotations in acute inpatient care, psychological assessment, treatment of anxiety disorders, and trauma psychology. After completing the post-doctoral residency in the Adult Psychiatry Department at Kaiser Medical Center in Santa Rosa, California, he spent several years working there as a staff psychologist. During this period, he delivered clinical services at the outpatient clinic and emergency room, developed group treatment programs for anxiety, and provided diagnostic consultation and assessment services to medical providers. He received his early training in the use of clinical hypnosis from Antonio Madrid, Ph.D., and completed both modules of EMDR training from the EMDR Institute. After relocating from the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006, he provided treatment to chronic pain patients for two years in the Comprehensive Pain Center/Department of Anesthesiology and Postoperative Medicine at OHSU in Portland, Oregon. Currently, Dr. Windstrom maintains a private practice in Tigard, where he specializes in complex anxiety disorders complicated by trauma, dissociative disorders, and participates in multi-disciplinary treatment of patients with acute psychological reactions to the onset of Tinnitus. His organization affiliations include: American Psychological Association, Oregon Psychological Association, Anxiety Disorders Association of America, American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, and the Oregon Society of Clinical Hypnosis. Dr. Windstrom is also an avid amateur astronomer, jazz and classical music aficionado, and loves hiking in the Columbia River Gorge