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KRISTIN D. HUDACEK
NK cells and were shown pictures of NK cells destroying cancer cells
in order to strengthen their own visual imagery. Individuals were also
prompted to use vivid metaphors for the immune system, such as that
of a warrior overcoming an intruder. Participants further enhanced
their mind-body awareness by undergoing a sequence of directed
muscle contraction-relaxation exercises. In addition to the weekly
training sessions, patients were encouraged to practice at least three
times weekly using audiotapes of their sessions (Bakke et al.).
Instead of employing immune imagery, the autogenic training (AT)
used in the Hidderley and Holt (2004) experiment utilized techniques
to calm the body. Autogenic, which means “generated within,” is a
type of training that was developed in the 1930s by the German psy-
chiatrist and neurologist, Johannes Schultz (Hidderley & Holt, p. 62). It
involves six mental exercises to calm the mind and sympathetic ner-
vous system and, most important, to connect the mind and body. The
mental exercises focus on the (a) heaviness of the limbs, (b) warmth of
the limbs, (c) regularity of the heartbeat, (d) ease of breathing, (e)
warmth of the abdomen, and (f) cooling of the forehead (Hidderley &
Holt). Participants underwent weekly training sessions, but, unlike
patients in the Bakke et al. (2002) experiment, they were not encour-
aged to repeat the hypnotic therapy at home.
The different types of psychological interventions and frequency of
hypnosis raise questions about the quality of treatment and dose-
response relationships. Both types of hypnosis aim to create a strong
psychosomatic connection, which should ultimately have similar
results on the immune system. However, certain patients may respond
better to the guided-imagery technique of the Bakke et al. (2002) exper-
iment or to the autogenic training of the Hidderley and Holt (2004)
trial depending on personality type, creativity, and hypnotizability.
Regarding the question about a dose-response relationship, neither
study examined this issue, but it is likely that the patients in the Bakke
et al. trial would receive a greater benefit from hypnosis performed
several times a week as opposed to only once a week as in the Hidderley
and Holt study.
Although each experimental design had its strengths and weak-
nesses, which may affect results, both studies showed that hypnosis
improved mental well-being and immune-cell counts. The Bakke et al.
(2002) trial measured psychological and immunological parameters at
baseline, at the end of the 2-month hypnosis training, and at a 3-month
follow-up. The Profile of Mood States (POMS) showed statistically sig-
nificant improvement in depression (
p
< .04) at the end of the 2-month
hypnosis training and at the 3-month follow-up (Bakke et al.). These
results indicate that it is clinically relevant to measure the psychologi-
cal effects of hypnosis several months after hypnotic therapy is given,
but unfortunately the Hidderley and Holt (2004) experiment only
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