Complementary-Therapy Books

This is a nice compact book that gives a good overview about using hot stone and gemstone energy in massage treatment. It explores the Hawaiian and Oriental healing concepts related to these therapies and offers good pictures and diagrams to illustrate how to apply these therapies. It discusses the chakras and meridians, and also mentions the selection of massage oils that can be used. This book covers a lot considering its length. It's not a manual for regular massage therapy, so for learning about anatomy and general massage techniques you would need to use a book on therapeutic massage.

Do you suffer from:

* Tension headaches from stress?
* Chronic backache from hours of desk work?
* Sprains and strains from weekend sports?
* Injuries from accidents?
* Painful joints and muscles due to over-exertion, aging, or inactivity?

Hot Water Therapy can help. This book will introduce you to simple, effective techniques you can use while relaxing in your shower, bath or hot tub to relieve pain and strengthen aching muscles. And they only take a few minutes to do!

You'll learn that you can save your "bad back" by using a combination of gentle massage, exercise, amd stretching. When you blend these routines with the soothing, healing qualities of hot water, you'll enjoy the age-old benefits of spa treatment - right in your own bathroom!
--- from book's back cover

I just finished reading an online version of this book at http://www.enotalone.com/article/13231.html, and it has greatly changed my outlook on health. Using a common-sense, physiological approach to address the causes of disease, the author presents methods for overcoming various afflictions -- major arthritis, high blood pressure, and even cancers, just to name a few. More importantly, though, she addresses what she believes to be the root cause of disease, a fact that many people do not want to face: unhealthy living.

She argues that standard medical professionals fail to address the true causes of disease, instead opting for prescriptions or even disfiguring surgery to remove what amounts to symptoms of other underlying problems. By treating only the symptoms, the true disease (a toxic body) only gets worse and manifests its internal imbalances in increasingly more serious ways. Part of the cause of this "toxemia" is the declining nutrition in the food that we eat on an everyday basis.

She posits that the only thing capable of healing the body is the body itself, and the best approach for overcoming nearly all ailments is giving the body the opportunity to do that. By discovering minor food allergies, imposing a more healthy diet, fasting, and colon cleansing, she puts forward methods for allowing that process to occur. One gem of advice was that of fasting: food digestion burns 30-50% of the energy in the food we eat. By fasting for even short periods of time, this energy (and the toxin-filtering efforts of the liver) can instead be used for purifying and restoring our bodies. She then points out that when we are sick, we lose our appetites for just this reason: we would be much better off to not eat at all, drink plenty of water, and rest, allowing our body the energy to fight the disease, instead of overworking our bodies by eating, fueling the disease with additional food stores, and introducing poisonous antibiotics into our system. It is against-conventional-wisdom-but-highly-sensible (after all, sick animals don't eat) advice like this that make this book really stand out.

I must say that much of the evidence is not up to "scientific snuff", but that is almost to be expected with a work like this. When the main treatment advocated for serious detoxification (and tremendous benefits of various sorts) is a long-term water fast, there is not much profit to be made in promoting or researching it. She does cite various studies throughout, appeals to common sense and history, and presents a slew of anecdotal evidence from her decades of work running Great Oaks School of Health (an alternative healing clinic, for all intents and purposes) in Oregon. She herself even survived two bouts with breast cancer without ever having a mastectomy, chemotherapy, or radiation treatment.

Most importantly, she presents a balanced, realistic view of hygienic healing and healthy living. She does not "religiously" adhere to any one technique, instead presenting the positives and negatives of various methods. She is not overly-optimistic, but truthful instead, accepting and discussing various cases that she could not help. Her descriptions of food in particular, that organic foods are not necessarily any better (in nutrition) than industrial foods, are particularly enlightening. Even while discussing more healthy ways to eat, she accepts that we will sometimes depart from an otherwise healthy diet, and even relates an instance of doing that herself. It is her down-to-earth, pragmatic, truthful, realistic, case-study-driven approach that makes this book worthwhile, and I highly suggest it to anyone.

If you still aren't convinced, at least read Chapter 2: The Nature and Cause of Disease (http://www.enotalone.com/article/13241.html). It simply makes so much sense that it's really hard to ignore, and this is true of the book in general.

This little booklet is an excellent resource for anyone with HPV that would like to treat the virus naturally.

First printed in 1933, Hypnosis And Suggestibility: An Experimental Approach by Clark L. Hull (1884-1952) is a classic work in the annals of psychology and describes the rigorous scientific experimental methods which helped establish the behavioral view of hypnosis as an exact science. Long out of print, and now made available by CrownHouse Publishing Limited, Hypnosis And Suggestibility is especially recommended for personal and academic reference collections as being a studious, extensively detailed, college-level text that transcends the test of time.

Like ego state therapy, parts therapy "is based on the concept that our personality is composed of a number of various parts. Our personality parts are aspects of the subconscious" (Hunter, p. 1). Roy Hunter views ego state therapy as a variation of parts therapy. Both ego state therapy and parts therapy derive from the work of Paul Federn and John G. Watkins. Admittedly, both address the same phenomena known elsewhere as "subpersonalities" or what C. G. Jung called "complexes" or "fragmentary personalities" and described in 1935 as "autonomous groups of associations that have a tendency to move by themselves, to live their own life apart from our intentions." The differences between parts therapy and ego state therapy seem to be matters of emphasis more than essentials. Both are dealing with the same reality, but the former approach is geared more toward "lay hypnotherapists" (hypnosis professionals who do not necessarily have additional clinical training or credentials) while the latter is more clinically-oriented. In this excellent introductory textbook of parts therapy author Roy Hunter credits his late mentor and "twentieth century hypnosis pioneer" (p. ix) Charles Tebbets with borrowing parts therapy from Federn and evolving it into a client-centered approach. (I was unaware of Tebbets' or Hunter's work when previously I reviewed Gordon Emmerson's Ego State Therapy on amazon.com.)

Hunter requires his students to read Emmerson's Ego State Therapy, and he cites that work several times in Hypnosis for Inner Conflict Resolution. Neither book is necessarily "better" than the other; rather each provides a strong complement to the other, enough so that one would do well to think of these books as forming a two-volume set. Each offers specific techniques not found in the other. Among the many strengths of Hunter's work are its organization; direct, easy-to-read writing style; and practical, judicious use of repetition to reinforce conceptual recall. It includes clear, step-by-step instructions on thoroughly preparing clients for parts therapy and facilitating the sessions. Hunter devotes an entire chapter to "Potential Pitfalls and Other Concerns," and he offers guidance on when to make referrals to (or seek supervision from) mental health professionals (e.g., when a lay hypnotherapist realizes that his or her client has dissociative identity disorder). One area in which Hunter's book surpasses Emmerson's work is in his section on working with what Emmerson calls "Inner Strength" but what others have termed the "Higher Self." Hunter acknowledges having often used "an application of parts therapy to access that part of the inner mind that is most closely connected to God, or the client's perception of Higher Power" (p. 167). His concern here is not with promoting a particular metaphysical viewpoint, however, but rather with empowering clients and promoting their access to untapped internal resources. Elsewhere--with respect to past life regression--I have said that the therapeutic value of such work trumps its literal truth or falsity. Hunter takes a similar perspective on working with "Higher Self": "my opinion does not matter, because the client was empowered" (p. 159) and "Whether or not one believes in God or a Higher Power, the subconscious (or unconscious) contains access to an inner wisdom that sometimes far surpasses that of ordinary consciousness" (p. 167). That Hunter's book includes an index and far fewer typographical errors than were at times a distraction in Emmerson's book also warrants favorable mention. Both books deserve wide professional readership and a place on the shelf of any hypnotherapist, addictions counselor, or trauma therapist.

This book is an excellent guide for practitioners to develop all the elements needed to foster success in clients who wish to stop smoking. It promotes a flexible approach in which the therapist is attuned to the client's needs and subjective cognitive structures. The hypnotherapist is guided to use every detail of interaction with clients to build positive expectation and empowerment of clients to see themselves as non-smokers and believe that therapy will be successful. This book includes a CD and client handouts that can assist the therapist in applying what is taught in this manual. I found this book to be very thorough and well-thought out. It seeks to help you prepare clients to build resources that enable them to remain non-smokers even when faced with future stressors or triggers that might make vulnerable individuals relapse. I would highly recommend this book to other professionals and even will suggest this book to laypersons who wish to apply this great collection of insights and information to their own efforts to quit smoking.

Terence Watts is without a doubt the most creative and forward thinking mind in the field of hypnosis.

His book, Hypnosis: Advance Techniques of Hypnotherapy and Hypnoanalysis, provides a sweeping new approach to hypnosis and therapy, and, I for one find it refreshing and fascinating.

There are a plethora of new techniques concisely detailed and easy to apply.

Numerous subjects are dealt with in depth including obsessions, phobias, fears and many others.

Fortunately there are several case studies in the text that allow the reader to see how all of these new techniques and approaches are applied in reality!

Once you start reading this text it is very difficult to put down because Watts's take on personality, thinking, emotion, therapy, and everything related, is truly unique.

You will not only enjoy this provocative book, you will utilize it every day in your life and in therapy.

Kevin Hogan
Author of The New Hypnotherapy Handbook

Written by clinical psychologist and approved consultant of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis Dr. Paul W. Schenk, The Hypnotic Use of Waking Dreams: Exploring Near-Death Experiences Without the Flatlines is a guide to experiencing the perspective-transforming miracle of a near-death experience without risking one's life, but rather through the process of a hypnotic waking dream. Chapters further explore the other benefits that hypnotic waking dreams can bring, such as connecting one with past lives or spirit guides, and offer several individual testimonies at length. "If, then, our entire lives can be seen as an ongoing work in progress, negotiating that process can be easier with the help of a seasoned coach or mentor. When faced with an unfamiliar or difficult situation, it is nice to have someone to turn to for advice and support. As a therapist, I enjoy the opportunity to service in this capacity for my clients. Yet even more than this, I enjoy helping my clients develop (or strengthen) a conscious connection with their own spirit guides." A straightforward introduction to the dimensions and life-changing benefits of certain metaphysical practices.

I am one of the fortunate people to know this author, and have known her for
30 years. She apeaks from the heart, and is highly educated (as are her children & grandchildren), loving, and is so present , to this day. Lucky me, I visited her in her home state just a few days ago ~ she still has her
"Ruthie " laugh...

Enjoy the book, it's straight from her heart, which, albeit her physical strength is waning, is brimming with love and honesty.