In my November issue, you will learn about upcoming training opportunities, especially the November 5th teleseminar with Dr. Robert Scaer, The Neurobiology of Trauma and Chronic Pain. News From the Pain Front features hypnosis as an effective tool to reverse chronic pain.

Be well,

If you are familiar with the neurobiology of trauma and pain, then you know how important the role of unresolved freeze and activation responses is in creating and maintaining chronic pain. There are many people, however, who have no idea how the after-effects of car, motorcycle, bicycle and other vehicular accidents, sports injuries, and work-related injuries interact with loss, abuse, neglect, and illness experienced throughout the lifespan. There is also a huge gap in being able to apply information about traumatic stress effectively to make a difference in pain.

Please join us on Wednesday, November 5th, from 9:00 am -10:30 am Pacific time to participate in this important topic. At a time when our entire nation and world seems frozen on the eve of the most important election in most of our lifetimes, it is particularly important that we not freeze. To get an idea of the high quality of the content you will receive in our teleseminar, please visit Dr. Scaer's's website, www.traumasoma.com. You can watch a free video interview by clicking here and you can read Bob's free articles on the Dissociative Capsule here and on whiplash here. You'll see very quickly why I want to do a teleseminar with him!

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Many of you have expressed surprise at how much ground we can cover in such a short time for such a low price in our teleseminars. Here are some recent comments:

"I liked how the questions seemed to build on each other. You had a lot of material to cover in a brief time, which Peter and Maggie did very well. I liked the description of the circle breathing...Thank you both for an excellent and inspiring teleseminar."

"Thank you for offering these affordable seminars. I need as much information as I can get on chronic pain since it shows up all of the time in my practice. I particularly like the option of listening to it for a month afterwards."
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If you have not joined us before, please note that your $50 USD fee brings you the following benefits: 1) A study guide to help you maximize your learning; 2) live access to the 90 minute seminar (a 60 minute presentation followed by a 30 minute live Q&A session) via your telephone line (usual long distance charges apply) or the internet (no additional charges); 3) unlimited 30 day access to the audio replay of the teleseminar whether or not you are able to attend "live"; 4) an opportunity to ask your most compelling questions about how to work with whiplash and other symptoms related to accidents or injuries, how to discharge the freeze response safely, how to counteract the cumulative impact of "little t traumas," and many other issues YOU are interested in; 5) the satisfaction of boosting your awareness, knowledge, and healing.

The topics we will cover (and we really will deliver on this promise) are:

• The interaction of unresolved shock and freeze responses in the formation of pain conditions
• How whiplash contributes to neuromuscular dysfunction and myofascial pain
• Dissociative capsules and how they cheat us of full presence in the here and now
• Ways of safely discharging the freeze response and relieving pain
• Why trauma dynamics create symptoms that are so out of proportion to the trauma event

We have one more teleseminar for this calendar year and many more to look forward to in the New Year.

On Friday, December 9, from 8 am - 9:30 am Pacific time (please note the different weekday and time), I will be joined by Dr. Laurel Parnell, who has authored four books on EMDR. She will be presenting from her latest book, Tapping In and Tapping Through: EMDR with Emotional and Physical Pain. If you are an EMDR practitioner, or would like to get a good understanding of the promise of EMDR in a short timeframe, do not miss this telesemnar! We will be offering certification credits through EMDRIA. Watch for future emails to enroll in this event. If you don't know Laurel, please visit her website at www.emdrinfo.com. She is an excellent teacher and creative clinician so please mark your calendars!

In January, 2009, I will be joined by Brother David Steindl Rast, who is a Benedictiine monk, psychologist, spiritual teacher/writer, and inspirational speaker. One of the greatest blessings in my life is to know Brother David on a personal level. He is an amazing human being and one of the leaders of the emerging gratefulness movement around the world. To see why I want him to be part of our "Ask the Experts" series, visit his website www.gratefulness.org. I particularly recommend that you view his extraordinary video, "A Good Day." Please go to www.gratefulness.org/brotherdavid/a-good-day.htm. The January teleseminar will be on Gratefulness: The Heart of Healing Pain. What a great way to start the New Year!

We will also look forward to a February teleseminar with Dr. Bruce Eimer, author of my favorite book on self-hypnosis and pain, Hypnotize Yourself Out of Pain Now! Visit Bruce and read his excellent article on hypnosis and pain relief at www. hypnosishelpcenter.net/pain.htm. Our teleseminar together will be on How Hypnosis Can Lead to Permanent Pain Relief.

Specific dates for the January and February teleseminars will be announced sometime in December so please stay tuned to updates through special emails and the December newsletter.

Hypnosis has long been used to treat all types of pain effectively. Suggestions are usually given to create what we call analgesia, a medical term for pain relief or a lack of awareness of pain. Hypnotic suggestions range from focused suggestions for reducing or blocking awareness of pain sensations to more general suggestions that it's possible to have experiences that are quite inconsistent with pain and suffering.

One of my colleagues, Dr. Mark Jensen, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington has just published a very informative article on hypnosis with pain. For the full article, you can write Dr. Jensen for reprints of "The Neurophysiology of Pain Perception and Hypnotic Analgesia: Implications for Clinical Practice" at mjensen@u.washington.edu.

Given that hypnosis and self-hypnosis can be used quite effectively for pain management without the risk of side effects, this is an important area of study. The gist of Dr. Jensen's article is that hypnotic suggestion can be tailored to respond to the multiple neurophysiological processes that are associated with pain.

One important use of hypnotic suggestion is to help create a global sense of calm. Jensen explains that this is important to counter the increase of cortical activity that occurs when the nociceptor nerves are actively transmitting pain sensation. Suggestions for progressive muscle relaxation can be quite helpful as can ideas for creating a special place that evokes specific desirable feelings such as relaxation, calm or comfort.

There is some evidence that hypnosis can influence the activity of nociceptor nerves that pick up and relay various kinds of pain sensation from the periphery of the body through the dorsal horn, brain, and central nervous system. For example, it's possible to give suggestions that one arm can seem pleasantly heavy while the other feels numb, like a "block of wood" or a "block of ice." Or you can suggest that cooling water can flow over various areas of the body to bring soothing relief to all of them.

Hypnosis can also be used to create sensations that can compete successfully with painful ones. For example, you can imagine hands rubbing gently an affected area of your body with just the right kind of touch so that gradually these pleasant sensations can replace feelings of discomfort. Similarly, you can suggest that pain can decrease in intensity. For example, "with every breath you take, the pain in your hand (leg, foot, neck, back, or other affected area) is decreasing gradually." It's also possible to change your perceptions of the pain site, or experience the extent of pain diminishing, or to shift the quality of pain (Ex. "Can that become a dull, aching pain instead of a sharp, stabbing one?").

Another possibility is to use hypnosis to turn on comfortable, pleasant sensations in the body: "And you might be able to feel a very gentle, soothing breeze. It may be cool...or warm...or just the right temperature." You can also travel back in time to body sensations that are incompatible with pain "recalling just what it was like before the pain began" or even to focus on a feeling of not caring about or worrying about the pain: "There is no need for you to do anything more now other than sit back and relax, allow your unconscious mind to do all the work, and expect to feel more and more comfort."

Still other uses of hypnosis include helping you change the meaning of pain: "As you feel more and more free to ignore pain, you'll be able to focus on many other things which are so much more important." You can also look into the future "to see yourself looking and feeling so much more confident and comfortable than you do today."

There are times when disconnecting from pain can be extremely important: "You might have the fantasy that you can leave behind that body that has pain and begin to float away from it in such a pleasant way." And finally, you can imagine your body integrating changes that can allow it to move differently: "And as you experience yourself feeling more and more comfortable in this pleasant, relaxing place, you can notice how easily you can bend and move your arm...without even having to think about it so that you can move into a state where you can move with ease and pleasure."

Does the hypnotic approach to pain interest you? If so, you might want to read chapter 4 "Imagine" of my Reversing Chronic Pain book or check in your location for experienced therapists who are trained in hypnosis. My 4-CD program "Hypnosis: The Pain Solution" and the one CD "Hypnosis; The Headache Solution" is also a good resource. Go to: www.hypnosisnetwork.com/hypnosis/pain_management.php.

Happy Halloween and Happy Thanksgiving from us here in the US!

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