NYC adjunct Psychology faculty secretly a white nationalist

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

DynamicDidactic

Still Kickin'
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2010
Messages
1,810
Reaction score
1,510

- had a master's in clinical psych
- has a hypnotherapy practices (this should have been the first red flag)

Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Was he anything more than an adjunct at Kingborough CC? Looks like the alt-right is infecting the hipsters. An army of bigots wearing glasses sans any lenses are coming?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
A racist with a hypnotherapy practice... lol, reminds me of the white woman psychiatrist from Get Out.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 6 users
Members don't see this ad :)
Isn't there literature supporting hypnosis for chronic pain?

Maybe, but the article says he provides "emotional counseling" and "assertiveness training." Not sure how effective hypnosis would be for those purposes.
 
Maybe, but the article says he provides "emotional counseling" and "assertiveness training." Not sure how effective hypnosis would be for those purposes.
Right, I'm just saying that there is some literature supporting hypnosis as an evidence-based treatment for chronic pain and that it's not categorically pseudoscience.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Right, I'm just saying that there is some literature supporting hypnosis as an evidence-based treatment for chronic pain and that it's not categorically pseudoscience.
Yes, there is evidence for that. But a few things:

1. Hypnotherapy is a broad term with little consensus among its practitioners on what exactly it is.
2. Many (probably the vast majority) of hypnotherapists aren't primarily treating pain-related problems
3. Even for pain, the studies are not of great quality. I'd love to see more studies of hypnosis vs. sham hypnosis
4. Perhaps most importantly, I still don't understand how hypnosis works. Are we saying that chronic pain goes away b/c I am able to suggest to you that the pain will go away. This to me sounds exactly the same as a placebo effect. Simply stated, what is the difference between placebo and hypnosis?

With the file drawer effect and enough low-quality studies, I can see why the evidence points to hypnosis being effective for chronic pain (especially this condition b/c it is so broad and amorphous). However, theoretically it doesn't make sense.

Note: this is not my area of expertise and I would love to be provided evidence to the contrary.
 
Yes, there is evidence for that. But a few things:

1. Hypnotherapy is a broad term with little consensus among its practitioners on what exactly it is.
2. Many (probably the vast majority) of hypnotherapists aren't primarily treating pain-related problems
3. Even for pain, the studies are not of great quality. I'd love to see more studies of hypnosis vs. sham hypnosis
4. Perhaps most importantly, I still don't understand how hypnosis works. Are we saying that chronic pain goes away b/c I am able to suggest to you that the pain will go away. This to me sounds exactly the same as a placebo effect. Simply stated, what is the difference between placebo and hypnosis?

With the file drawer effect and enough low-quality studies, I can see why the evidence points to hypnosis being effective for chronic pain (especially this condition b/c it is so broad and amorphous). However, theoretically it doesn't make sense.

Note: this is not my area of expertise and I would love to be provided evidence to the contrary.

I think the hypnosis people would tell you that they very much are exploiting the mechanism of the placebo effect, i.e. suggestibility/expectancy. Just in an especially efficient and potent way. I know there is an index of hypnotizability that seems to be used widely that tracks suggestibility very closely.

Non-crazy people also seem to use it for treating functional neurological symptoms and non-epileptic spells, which tend to mostly be experienced by very, very suggestible people. Like, someone remarks that they made a face a little like Jesus on the cross and they report suddenly seeing very vivid stigmata. Like you though not my area so my priors are not strong.
 
Like, someone remarks that they made a face a little like Jesus on the cross and they report suddenly seeing very vivid stigmata. Like you though not my area so my priors are not strong.

I had the privilege of holding the (not King James) Bible on extended arms due to various (usually ridiculous) infractions between the ages 8 and 18 at school.

GUARANTEE I made some "Jesus faces" during this time. You can do anything for 10 minutes??? Yea, right. Yea, I saw some things & stuff....
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
3. Even for pain, the studies are not of great quality. I'd love to see more studies of hypnosis vs. sham hypnosis

Generally I agree, though that problem is hardly unique to hypnosis. Any effective therapy leverages expectancies. Hypnosis is more explicit about this fact in both theory and application. When I've used it in my practice, I've been surprised by how well and how many people respond to it (I work with a lot of people with symptoms refractory to medical treatment, not just pain). But I'm with you, I wish people spent less time doing fMRIs of hypnotized people and more on developing good sham hypnosis procedures for trials.

Anyway, I don't think it's necessary or helpful to malign a legitimate (if niche) modality to make a point about some fool who is almost certainly not using it in any sort of evidence-based way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Anyway, I don't think it's necessary or helpful to malign a legitimate (if niche) modality
I am not maligning (aside from a small joke). I can put out some things now.

If you google "hypnotherapy association" you receive links to a bunch of competing organizations. These websites lack agreement on what is hypnosis/hypnotherapy (most do not even try to define it).

I have not found any strong and consistent evidence that hypnosis/hypnotherapy is anything more than placebo. Even theoretically, the mechanism is expectations.

Hypnosis is more explicit about this fact in both theory and application.
It is not explicit about anything. Find me 3 people that practice hypnosis/hypnotherapy and they will likely have three separate ideas of the therapeutic mechanisms and protocols. Additionally, I see nothing from these organizations stating that hypnosis is the same as a placebo effect.

Generally I agree, though that problem is hardly unique to hypnosis. Any effective therapy leverages expectancies.
Correction: every therapy leverages expectancies. A truly effective therapy demonstrates superiority over placebo. Otherwise, the therapy itself isn't effective, only the expectations.

I hate to be the wet blanket but where is the evidence for the efficacy of hypnosis aside from the placebo effect? I have no problem with clinicians using treatments that are primarily effective due to the placebo effect (e.g., antidepressant medications for mild/moderate depression) as long as they understand that the treatment itself is not effective beyond placebo.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I think the hypnosis people would tell you that they very much are exploiting the mechanism of the placebo effect, i.e. suggestibility/expectancy.
Unfortunately, I do not believe the majority of clinicians using hypnosis think that. I have no empirical evidence to support this but my anecdotal experience informs me that the practitioners align the use of hypnosis with whatever theoretical orientation they already support. Dynamic folks say it is a shortcut to the unconscious while CBT people somehow connect it to relaxation.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Members don't see this ad :)
Here is a goodie:
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Here is a goodie:

Excellent! I love Vegans. They taste great!
 
Here is a goodie:
I still have PTSS from that.

/interthreadulity
 
I didn't see that thread originally and now I'm horrified. Ahhh.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I hate to be the wet blanket but where is the evidence for the efficacy of hypnosis aside from the placebo effect? I have no problem with clinicians using treatments that are primarily effective due to the placebo effect (e.g., antidepressant medications for mild/moderate depression) as long as they understand that the treatment itself is not effective beyond placebo.

I might be unusual in that respect. I was very familiar with, and contributed to, the literature on placebo response years before I ever encountered hypnosis in a professional context. And I probably would not have been so open to hypnosis if I had not been well acquainted with placebo research.

The answer to your question depends on what you mean by placebo. Some studies use an attention control (Adjunctive Self-hypnotic Relaxation for Outpatient Medical Procedures: A Prospective Randomized Trial with Women Undergoing Large Core Breast Biopsy), but "sham hypnosis" is as hard to find as "sham CBT."

my anecdotal experience informs me that the practitioners align the use of hypnosis with whatever theoretical orientation they already support. Dynamic folks say it is a shortcut to the unconscious while CBT people somehow connect it to relaxation.

I'll take your word for it. What dynamic practitioners do with the idea is not relevant to me.

Mostly I'm interested in somatic symptoms and pain. Change in heart rate variability is a reasonable, maybe even sufficient at times, explanation for hypnotic analgesia. It's a nonspecific effect that you could achieve with biofeedback, relaxation training, some forms of meditation, and other procedures. My impression - also anecdotal - is that hypnosis is relatively efficient, but I would like to see data. There are some head-to-head trials underway (in pain populations) that I'll be excited to learn from.

If you google "hypnotherapy association" you receive links to a bunch of competing organizations. These websites lack agreement on what is hypnosis/hypnotherapy (most do not even try to define it).

I'm not sure what you think this demonstrates. I just Googled "psychotherapy association" and came up with the same. Did you know there is an entity called the "American Academy of Psychotherapists"? Psychology has no hold on terminology. Division 30 has its definition and, though I'm not a member, they seem to be steering towards psychophysiological applications also.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Also organic, fair-trade, sustainable, and gluten free!

Most of my therapies are gluten-free. Except exposure therapy....I feel like there is definitely gluten in that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Top