The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis-Education and Research Foundation (ASCH-ERF) sponsors three levels of instruction through its professional training in clinical hypnosis. These Regional Workshops are held four to six times a year. ASCH-ERF makes every effort to hold workshops in all regions of the US.
Clinical hypnosis targets mind/body communication to create change. The targeted use of suggestions that occurs in hypnosis can influence the mind/body system in numerous ways including improving immune function, altering pain, improving the gut biome and reducing blood flow to a surgical site. For some, hypnosis is an alternative to anesthesia. It has been used successfully to improve both comfort and compliance in patient’s undergoing medical and dental procedures, saving thousands of dollars.
Hypnosis is equally beneficial in behavioral health with a broad range of applications including the treatment of anxiety, depression, habit disorders, trauma and behavioral aspects of many known medical problems. As a therapeutic technique, hypnosis offers novelty of experience creating effective and deeply engaging experiences of change. While hypnosis engages the mind, it also activates imagination and the unconscious. Without being called such, hypnosis is a somatic therapy through its use of bridging mind/body communication. In treating anxiety and depressive disorders, hypnosis has both rapid interventions aimed at improving self-regulation as well as interventions aimed at physiology, mind or behavior, allowing for tailoring to the individual. Hypnosis helps a patient tap into their inner strengths and resources. Patients are empowered as they develop skill-based techniques. For those with a preference for a cognitive-behavioral therapy approach, research has shown that adding hypnosis into the treatment improves outcomes. These improved outcomes are seen in treating anxiety, depression, pain and more.
Clinical hypnosis incorporates the science of neurobiology and brain plasticity. Its principles are trans-theoretical. For clinicians across medical and behavioral health disciplines, learning the use of hypnosis heightens attention to language and the use of communication skills to facilitate change in thinking, feeling, perception and behavior. Suggestion is an essential aspect of any treatment. Learning hypnosis allows one to understand better one’s use of language in treatment and how to increase and diversify skills in the implicit and explicit suggestion of therapeutic possibilities. We all know how something said in just the right way for a person can enable impactful change. As a clinician, unlike strategies that are problem specific, clinical hypnosis can transform the way one thinks about patient problems and the solutions one offers.
Fundamentals of Hypnosis Workshop
Why pursue training in Clinical Hypnosis? What are the benefits?
The Fundamentals of Clinical Hypnosis Workshop, the first part of a series of workshops in the certification program for clinical hypnosis, is intended for licensed health professionals including physicians, nurses, psychologists, dentists, counselors, social workers and those in related fields. A diverse faculty from a range of health disciplines will teach you the principles and process of hypnotic inductions, suggestions and treatment. The workshop is a mix of didactic presentations, demonstrations, experiential exercises and faculty-led small group practice tailored to the specific needs and learning style of each participant. At the conclusion of the workshop you will have been taught the basic skills required to utilize clinical hypnosis and begin to apply it to your practice.
Benefits:
• Rapidly establish rapport and the hypnotic relationship across developmental ages;
• Facilitate change, ego-strengthen and reduce impediments to change
• Cost-effective, collaborative, person-centered treatment
• Empower clients and patients to build skills for better health
• Learn a highly creative, broad-ranging technique for use in integrative medicine
Refining Skills and Treatment Applications Workshop
What are the advantages of more training in Clinical Hypnosis?
The second step in certification training is to strengthen your skills, strategies and applications of clinical hypnosis. Part one taught you “how to” do clinical hypnosis, and part two builds on this skill set and refines and furthers your development so you add the when, why and where to the “how to”.
Advantages:
- Introduction to a wider range of topics on the utility of clinical hypnosis (e.g., Pain Management; Irritable Bowel Syndrome; Anxiety and Sleep Disorders; Habit Disorders; Dissociative Identify Disorder);
- Learn more techniques for the creative use of the language of suggestion to facilitate change;
- Learn specific tools (complex inductions and intensification techniques) for specific populations (children; procedural hypnosis; PTSD); and
- More practice with the feedback of expert faculty.
The Refining Skills & treatment Applications Workshop increases your skills and builds confidence in your use of hypnosis. It prepares you to move on to the Advanced Workshop level and Individual Consultation with a strong basis of skills and understanding of the principles and practice of clinical hypnosis.
Advanced level workshops are topical. Recent professional training workshops have focused on behavioral medicine, health psychology, hypnosis and pediatrics, and mind-body medicine.
Participants are encouraged to attend these workshops in sequence in order to make the most of each workshop. Skills mastered in the Fundamentals of Clinical Hypnosis and Refining Skills & Treatment Applications Workshops are essential to fully benefiting from the advanced level workshops.
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Regional Workshop Registration Fee Chart*:
Member NonMember Resident/Intern/ECP Student
Fundamentals of Clinical Hypnosis Workshop $457 $657 $317 $272
Refining Skills & Treatment Applications Workshop $457 $657 $317 $272
Advanced Workshop $457 $657 $317 $272
All registration fees include a $37 printed handout fee. If you wish to receive your handouts electronically, you may subtract the $37 fee from your total amount due at registration. Handouts will be emailed approximately one week before the workshop.
Information on the Mutter Scholarship Fund for Student and Early Career Professional Training.
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*Due to increases in the number of participants at the most recent workshops, we strongly recommend registering for the workshop of your choice in advance, as we cannot guarantee the ability to accommodate walk-in registrants.
Regional Workshop Schedule
Each of the Regional Workshops will offer a Fundamentals of Clinical Hypnosis, Refining Skills & Treatment Applications and an Advanced Workshop and begin at 6:30 pm on Thursday and end at noon on Sunday unless otherwise stated. Call 630-980-4740 with any questions.
• December 13-16, 2018 ASCH-ERF Regional Workshop; Sheraton Sand Key Resort; Clearwater Beach, FL (PDF flyer with hotel information)
(on-line registration available) (Workshop Schedule)
In addition to offering the Fundamentals of Clinical Hypnosis and Refining Skills & Treatment Applications Workshops, ASCH -ERF will be offering the following
Advanced Workshop in Clearwater Beach, Case Conceptualization, Treatment Planning, and the Use of Clinical Hypnosis in Integrated Health Care with David Reid, PsyD; Holly Forester-Miller, PhD; Cheryl Beighle, MD; and Sheryll Daniel, PhD.
Integrative case formulation has long been considered a core skill of trained health care professionals. However, while many articles describe what case
formulation might include, and how to use the process, many health care professionals remain uncertain and uncomfortable with the use of this skill, how
to integrate hypnosis into the plan and how it can appropriately inform ongoing and frequently changing treatment. This might be particularly true for clinicians
from varied health care disciplines who use the dynamic and powerful intervention strategy of clinical hypnosis.
The workshop will begin with an overview of the what, why, when, and how of case formulation, core content of a pertinent case conceptualization, a brief review of integrative conceptualization models, and the importance of case conceptualization in the development of an initial, and adaptable, treatment plan. The how, why and when of incorporating hypnosis into the treatment plan will also be presented.
The workshop will continue with presentations and discussion by several widely experienced and capable clinicians, who are accomplished and respected educators, of clinical applications of case conceptualization and treatment planning, with emphasis on specific patient populations and presentations, and with particular focus on the inclusion of clinical hypnosis in the health care relationship.
Dr. David Reid will focus on case formulation and treatment planning using hypnosis for the treatment of anxiety and phobic disorders. Two case studies will be reviewed and include a thorough review of each case and the rationale for selected treatment interventions. Participants will have the opportunity to generate their own hypnotic treatment plan for an individual who suffers from a specific phobia.
How to conceptualize the issues being presented in complicated cases will be discussed and demonstrated by Dr. Holly Forester-Miller. She will review the psychological and medical issues in hypnotic surgery preparation for a patient having very complex surgery with a trauma history related to prior surgeries and related grief issues. Participants will have the opportunity to work through another complicated case for which hypnosis was effective in helping a woman whose anxiety impacted every area of her life and manifested in a variety of physical symptoms. Case formulation and treatment planning when working with patients
with obesity will be discussed by Dr. Cheryl Beighle. Biobehavioral interventions and hypnotic strategies will be presented.
Dr. Sheryll Daniel will discuss case formulation and the use of hypnosis in the treatment of depressive disorders. She will focus on when and how to focus on addressing the patient’s symptoms, and how to discern when deeper exploration of the causes of depression and the triggers for a specific depressive episode is indicated. She will demonstrate the integration of hypnosis with cognitive-behavioral techniques. She will provide case reviews as examples. Participants will create treatment plans for a patient with a depressive disorder.
2019
• January 20-27, 2019 ASCH-ERF Workshop at Sea; Holland America Lines; Mexican Riviera Cruise (PDF Brochure) (Workshop will be limited at the first 20 paid registrants)
Carolyn Daitch, PhD will teach this 12-hour Advanced Workshop titled, Healing Anxiety: Evidence-Based CBT, Mindfulness and Hypnosis Techniques that Really Work!
Anxiety destroys the normal enjoyment of life through the fear, worry, obsessive thinking and avoidant behavior that anxious people experience. Simple activities like going to the grocery store, taking a child to her first day of school, or meeting a friend for lunch trigger a barrage of frantic “what ifs.” This workshop will explore the subtleties of working with this pervasive category of disorders that affects an estimated 20% of the population.
Workshop participants will learn practical interventions that are applicable to the treatment of panic, generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, social anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
In addition, health care providers with medical and dental specialties will learn approaches to address procedural anxiety, medical avoidance as well as strategies to address somatic responses. The presenter will introduce a powerful, integrative therapy model that combines: Hypnosis, Mindfulness, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
These approaches work together to help patients feel more empowered when flooded with anxiety. If you want to gain skill crafting the best treatment plan for each patient’s individual needs, this workshop offers a springboard for your creativity and an invaluable addition to your therapeutic toolkit.
• May 2-5, 2019 ASCH-ERF Regional Workshop; Seattle Marriott Bellevue; Bellevue, WA (Hotel Reservations) (on-line registration available)
In addition to offering the Fundamentals of Clinical Hypnosis and Refining Skills & Treatment Applications Workshops, ASCH -ERF will be offering the following Advanced Workshop in Bellevue, Hypnosis for Chronic Pain Management with Mark Jensen, PhD and David Patterson, PhD, ABPH.
This 20-hour workshop will provide an overview of hypnotic strategies and suggestions for helping individuals better self-manage chronic pain conditions. It will begin with a discussion of the neurophysiology of nociception and pain, focusing on nine specific processes and physiological structures involved in pain perception, and that can be influenced by hypnotic suggestions. Evidence regarding pain’s impact on other functioning domains (e.g., activity level, sleep, mood) will be discussed, and ideas for hypnotic suggestions and approaches for addressing *all* of these domains and processes will be generated.
A model for performing a complete evaluation of the outcome domains that hypnosis can benefit in persons with chronic pain will be presented, and methods for developing a pain treatment plan based on this evaluation will be discussed. Approaches to use when a patient is in high distress or anxiety will be described. A hypnotic cognitive therapy approach using open question and reflective listening that can be used to develop effective suggestions and enhance overall treatment benefits will also be introduced. Participants will learn how to do inductions that prepare patients for upcoming stressful medical procedures. An age progression technique for helping clients effectively manage pain will also be introduced. Participants will learn the basics of Ericksonian hypnotic approaches and how they can be used to construct complex, non-linear inductions for use with pain management. The workshop will end with a discussion of the specific hypnotic suggestions that can be used to target specific pain conditions. The emphasis of the workshop will be on applied clinical technique; demonstrations, brief exercises and the opportunity for consultation will be included. After participating in the workshop, participants will have the resources and skills to evaluate a patient with chronic pain or hypnosis treatment, and design a treatment intervention that addresses the various problems identified.
• June 20-23, 2019 ASCH-ERF Regional Workshop; Crowne Plaza Old Town Alexandria; Alexandria, VA (on-line registration available)
Advanced Workshop Title: "Mindfulness, Meditation & Hypnosis"
• September 19-22, 2019 ASCH-ERF Regional Workshop; DoubleTree Hotel Chicago Oak Brook; Oak Brook, IL (on-line registration available)
Advanced Workshop Title: "Interface of Hypnosis in Behavioral Health and Medicine"
• October 17-20, 2019 ASCH-ERF Regional Workshop; Embassy Suites by Hilton Dallas Park Central Area; Dallas, TX
(on-line registration available)
Advanced Workshop Title: "The Next Step: Informal Uses of Hypnosis-Conversational Inductions, The use of Language, Word Play, Metaphors, and Teaching Tales"
• December 5-8, 2019 ASCH-ERF Regional Workshop; Rosen Plaza; Orlando, FL (on-line registration available)
Advanced Workshop Title: "Wake Up to Better Sleep: Hypnosis, Neuroscience, and the Role of Sleep in Common and Uncommon Clinical Conditions"
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On-Line Registration for Regional Workshops Now Available
On-line registration for Regional Workshops is available by clicking here. Simply complete the form, including payment information, and submit the form. It's that easy! Remember when making your travel and lodging arrangements that the workshop begins at 6:30 pm on Thursday and ends at noon on Sunday unless otherwise stated in the brochure. Call 630-980-4740 with any questions.
California Board of Behavioral Sciences Accreditation
Please note that effective July 1, 2015, the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (CBBS) is no longer renewing existing CE provider numbers. ASCH-ERF’s accreditation through CBBS expired on December 31, 2015. BBS licensees now obtain their continuing education through the National Association of Social Workers and the American Psychological Association, among others, both through which ASCH-ERF maintains accreditation.
September 14-17, 2017 ASCH Regional Workshop; Hyatt Regency Schaumburg, Schaumburg, IL
2018
March 15-18, 2018 ASCH Annual Scientific Meeting & Workshop; Embassy Suites Lake Buena Vista South, Kissimmee, FL
June 21-24, 2018 ASCH Regional Workshop; Crowne Plaza Old Town Alexandria, Alexandria, VA
September 27-30, 2018 ASCH Regional Workshop; Hyatt Regency Schaumburg, Schaumburg, IL
2019
June 20-23, 2019 ASCH Regional Workshop; Crowne Plaza Old Town Alexandria, Alexandria, VA