How can a paperback book of 238 pages cover so much I asked myself. The breadth of subjects covered is extensive and include :
Hypnosis in Medicine
The Biology of Hypnosis
Hypnotic Induction,
Psychosomatic Medicine,
Rapid relaxation,
Validation for hypnosis in Dental Practice
Pain Anxiety and Dental gagging in Adults and Children
Treating pain, Anxiety and Sleep Disorders in Children and Adolescents
Etc.
The book is a very practical and user-friendly compendium which embraces research and practical clinical experience for the reader.
As with the other books I have mentioned here today it can be used as a teaching guide or as a user manual for those who are using hypnosis within medicine and dentistry. It is up-to-date and illustrates and describes the many new applications of hypnosis within these fields.
I dont see this as much as a book shelf book.
I would expect to see this well thumbed and lovingly annotated on the desk of many practitioners.
Need I say more ? The proof of the excellence of this book will be found not from reading my words but my reading the book itself and having the most up-to-date aid avail able to you from some of the worlds top practitioners.

David Slater, The Hypnotherapist Magazine

It is refreshing (and rare) to be able to read a clear and detailed account of human anatomy and physiology in relation to the mind/body and hypnosis. If there was any concerns about the efficacy and power of hypnosis in medicine and dentistry, this book provides solid research evidence and theoretical concepts that are grounded in physiology and psychology, leaving little doubt of the potential of hypnosis. There is a wonderful combination and integration of behavioural and cognitive underpinnings and hypnotic techniques, together with the examples that demonstrates the unquestionable use of hypnosis. A recommended read for all who want to help those many people who find they are experiencing chronic and/or acute pain. We all know how miserable that can be!

Tom Barber MA
Director of Studies - Contemporary College of Therapeutic Studies

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 mothers 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 books 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.co.uk or www.chpus.com

________________


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.

Although this is, primarily, a book directed at medical and dental practitioners, it does have very many useful techniques which should be of practical help to any hypno/psychotherapist.

The book is split into three sections, covering, as the title suggests, Medical, Dental and Pain Prevention techniques, with contributions from a variety of well know practitioners. As most of the interventions are evidence-based and backed up by case studies, , they are sure to be of use in persuading the medical and dental professions towards the use of hypnosis in dealing with many of their most difficult cases, as illustrated by one such case, when a Dr. Albert Mason used hypnosis on a young boy's warts, which turned out to be a rare skin disease called ichthyosis. Although the treatment was amazingly effective, Dr. Mason soon found out that it didn't work every time, which he put down to the fact that his own attitude towards the treatment had changed after he found out that the cure had been what he saw as an accidental by-product of his intention to cure warts. His own belief system simply didn't allow him to be as confident as he was the first time, which feelings were picked up by his clients,

This is a fascinating and interesting read, with much to teach about the mind/body connection and its uses in treating and, indeed, possibly preventing, a wide variety of medical afflictions.

A comprehensive volume, Advances in Hypnosis for Medicine Dentistry and Pain Prevention/Management is an up-to-date compendium of hypnosis research and clinical experience that will serve as a clarion call to the health care professional uninitiated in the art and science of hypnosis. Each chapter highlights the too-often overlooked opportunities for medical and dental hypnosis to improve patients' wellbeing and expedite their healing. Most important, this book is framed in the theories of mind/body medicine. It argues that hypnosis is best suited for the paradigmatic shift occurring in our scientific understanding of the "new' quantum physics of biology. " the authors posit that hypnosis is the avenue to improving our health. It stands at the ready to address how to do so, once scientific thinking reaches the tipping point (and it is close) of appreciating the importance of hypnosis in tapping into the complexity of the mind/body relationship. Each chapter succinctly illustrates the "how to's" of hypnosis and the benefits to increasing the utilization of hypnosis in modern medicine. This text will also be a resource to the clinician already using hypnosis. It can serve as an outline for teaching, and a guide to new applications of hypnosis within medicine and dentistry.

The contributing authors to this book have provided an interesting, comprehensive and thought provoking insight into the art and science of Clinical Hypnosis.

With examples, references for future exploration and postulates of possible theories dealing with the mechanisms and biology of Hypnosis, the reader is given important practical information highlighting the value and power of the mind-body connection, to which Clinical Hypnosis is the key.

This book is written for the curious neophyte as well as the experienced "Hypnotist'.

I highly recommend it.

This book should be in every hypnosis practitioner's library. Dr. Brown has compiled the clinical and scholarly wisdom of the most prominent clinicians and academicians in the fields of hypnosis, medicine, dentistry and pain management. The chapters provide insightful guidance on applying hypnosis to assess patients for treatment, to help patients control pre-operative anxiety and prepare for surgery, to eliminate dental anxiety, to relieve traumatic memories associated with chronic pain, and to prepare women for childbirth. There are also excellent chapters on the psychobiology of hypnosis and on mind-body medicine. This book will be a desk-top reference for me for many years to come.