ABSTRACT: Clinical hypnotherapy has been soundly established as an effective treatment for the symptoms associated with cancer and its associated therapies, including chronic and acute pain, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, and mood disturbances. Its use produces strong tendencies toward improvement of patients’ quality of life and of treatment cost. As the etiology and progression of various forms of cancer become better understood, the potential of hypnotherapy for increasing survival rates by improving medication response and even slowing or reversing the progression of the disease increases. Given the lack of risks to patients and the wide potential for benefit, additional research and clinical experimentation into this area are encouraged, and recommendations for this type of hypno-oncological exploration are discussed. An experimental hypnotherapy script which attempts to reverse the course of the disease while addressing multiple symptoms is included as Appendix I.

PDF: Hypno-Oncological Interventions, Understandings, and Potentials.

INTRODUCTION: According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), more than five million individuals meeting criteria for serious mental illness “perceived themselves as having an unmet need for treatment in the year prior to the survey” (Bender, 2003). Of these, almost half cited inability to afford treatment as the primary reason for their needs not being met. This means that mentally ill individuals who want appropriate treatment but are unable to afford it constitute more than one percent of the entire adult population of the United States, a condition which represents a public health crisis and should be addressed.

There are a number of ways in which this issue can be conceptualized and corresponding actions which can be taken. One way in which legislators and advocacy groups have attempted to remedy the problem is through the proposal and institution of “parity” measures for mental health service coverage as it applies to American workers and other insurance consumers. Mental health parity, as an ideal, would make mental health and substance abuse services available to consumers on a level equal to the availability of general medical and surgical services. This can be accomplished either by forcing employers to add the additional benefits onto their group insurance plans, or by forcing insurance companies to include equal mental health coverage as a standard part of all health plans that they offer. The purpose of this analysis is to examine the arguments for and against mental health parity as well as the implications of the available alternatives.

PDF: Mental Health Parity: A Brief Policy Analysis