The experience of conscious will is the feeling that we are doing things. This feeling occurs for many things we do, conveying to us again and again the sense that we consciously cause our actions. But the feeling may not be a true reading of what is happening in our minds, brains, and bodies as our actions are produced. The feeling of conscious will can be fooled. This happens in clinical disorders such as alien hand syndrome, dissociative identity disorder, and schizophrenic auditory hallucinations. And in people without disorders, phenomena such as hypnosis, automatic writing, Ouija board spelling, water dowsing, facilitated communication, speaking in tongues, spirit possession, and trance channeling also illustrate anomalies of will - cases when actions occur without will or will occurs without action. This book brings these cases together with research evidence from laboratories in psychology and neuroscience to explore a the- ory of apparent mental causation. According to this theory, when a thought appears in consciousness just prior to an action, is consistent with the action, and appears exclusive of salient alternative causes of the action, we experience conscious will and ascribe authorship to ourselves for the action. Experiences of conscious will thus arise from processes whereby the mind interprets itself - not from processes whereby mind creates action. Conscious will, in this view, is an indication that we think we have caused an action, not a revelation of the causal sequence by which the action was produced.

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Précis of The illusion of conscious will

Non-epileptic attack disorder (NEAD) represents a well-recognized clinical problem with a reported incidence among individuals with a diagnosis of intractable epilepsy as high as 36%. A failure to identify this disorder may lead to certain risks for the patient including polypharmacy, anticonvulsant toxicity, hazardous intervention, social and economic demands and a lack of recognition or neglect of any underlying psychological distress. This review provides a description of NEAD in an historic and societal context and discusses the variety of terminology which has been applied to this psychophysiological phenomenon. Epidemiology and associated methodological limitations; and diagnostic and classification issues related to NEAD in comparison to epilepsy are considered. The problems of failure to recognize NEAD in comparison to epilepsy are considered. The problems of failure to recognize NEAD are outlined, and theoretical and empirical aetiological issues are discussed.

Non-epileptic attack disorder (NEAD): a comprehensive review.

Diagnosing psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) is a clinical challenge. There is neither a standard in diagnosing PNES nor a comprehensive theoretical framework for this type of seizure. The diagnosis of PNES must be made by excluding epilepsy. However, epilepsy cannot always be determined and PNES and epileptic seizures may coexist. In this study, the characteristics of PNES and patients are discussed. The diagnosis of PNES and epileptic seizures was facilitated by the simultaneous recording of seizures on video tape and EEG. Seizure provoking techniques, hormonal indices, and psychological methods were also used. The benefits and limitations of these techniques are discussed and proposals are made for clinical guidelines.

The diagnosis of psychogenic non-epileptic seizures: A review

Numerous research projects converge on the conclusion that there are three major types of very good or highly responsive hypnotic subjects: (a) fantasy-prone individuals who have secretly spent much of their time since childhood fantasizing vividly and realistically; (b) amnesia-prone individuals who have developed special abilities for mentally repressing or compartmentalizing undesired memories, thoughts, and emotions; and (c) positively-set individuals who are maximally ready to cooperate, think-with, and imagine what is suggested to the best of their ability while letting go of contrary thoughts. The major principle that provides a deep understanding of hypnosis and hypnotic phenomena is that all hypnotic subjects are affected, albeit in different ways for different types of subjects, by four powerful behavior-determining factors that can be potentially maximized in hypnotic situations: (a) social factors that obligate the socialized subject to cooperate and try to actualize or realize the hypnotist's expectations and explicit suggestions; (b) the hypnotist's unique skills and personal characteristics (including creative ideas, communicative ability, and interpersonal efficacy) and the nature of the hypnotist-subject interpersonal relationship; (c) the effectiveness of the induction procedure in guiding the subject to think-with the suggestions; and (d) the depth of meaning, creativity, and "force" or "power" of the suggested ideas.

A deeper understanding of hypnosis: its secrets, its nature, its essence.

Hypnotists can vary in their ability to produce meaningful trance experiences. Certain hypnotists produce more meaningful trance experiences than do others. Therapeutic hypnosis is regarded as a “dual phenomenon” occurring within an intense interpersonal relationship. This interactive dimension is important as is the unique contribution made by the hypnotist. A brief historical survey demonstrates the causal attribution of hypnotic effects. The theoretical literature on the reciprocal nature of hypnotic experience emphasizes the importance of the interpersonal functions of hypnosis, the hypnotic relationship per se, and the impact of the hypnotist. Recent research investigating interactional parameters supports these conclusions and suggests future empirical directions. Finally, an emergent interactional theoretical framework is presented which views hypnotherapeutic skill primarily as a function of the hypnotherapeutic ability to create a facilitating “holding” environment for the patient's inte...

It takes two to tango: some thoughts on the neglected importance of the hypnotist in an interactive hypnotherapeutic relationship.

The shared neurosis: Hypnotist and subject

A case study is presented describing the hypnothera-peutic treatment of a 19-year-old male with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. From a consideration of the probable psychodynamics of the patient, it seems that the syndrome, a presumed neurological state, is responsive to psychotherapy and hypnosis.

Hypnotherapy and psychodynamics in the syndrome of gilles de La tourette

2 cases are clinically reported to examine the hypothesis that psychogenic seizure states may be reproduced by hypnotic trance induction and represent a defense against overwhelming anxieties concerning unconscious incestuous feelings. The preliminary report suggests in these cases that massive repression of love-hate drives was responsible for the symptom choice and served as a denial of these drives from consciousness. It is implied in this report that hypnosis may represent a technique for eliciting these unconscious motivations and could serve as both a diagnostic and a psychotherapeutic modality for the clearer evaluation and treatment of such phenomena.

Psychogenic seizure states: a psychodynamic study

This paper presents an analysis of the transference and the counter-transference factors in both the patient and the therapist arising from the Occurrence of a life-threatening crisis in the life of the therapist. Evaluation of these factors includes a description of the role of hypnosis in the elicitation of repressed feelings of denial and hostility in both members of the therapeutic dyad.

Therapist and patient reactions to life-threatening crises in the therapist's life.

This paper presents an analysis of the transference and the counter-transference factors in both the patient and the therapist arising from the occurrence of a life-threatening crisis in the life of the therapist. Evaluation of these factors includes a description of the role of hypnosis in the elicitation of repressed feelings of denial and hostility in both members of the therapeutic dyad.

Harold Lindner

Papers

The shared neurosis: Hypnotist and subject

Hypnotherapy and psychodynamics in the syndrome of gilles de La tourette

Psychogenic seizure states: a psychodynamic study

Therapist and patient reactions to life-threatening crises in the therapist's life.

Therapist and Patient Reactions to Life-Threatening Crises in the Therapist's Life