The current status of hypnosis in Spain

While Spanish academic researchers have actively attempted to disengage hypnosis from its traditional links with altered states and automatism, and to promote it by linking hypnotic phenomena with other everyday psychological processes, in the legal field there seems to have been little activity. Among jurists, opinion is divided regarding the exact influence of hypnosis on conscious will, although some maintain that hypnosis can override will, and most that being in a state of hypnosis at the time of committing a criminal act can be used as a defence, depending on knowledge of the prior personality of the individual and the kind of suggestions given. Consequently, because of its alleged influence on will, hypnosis is forbidden by law in Spain as an investigative procedure. Likewise, the practice of hypnosis has been removed from Spanish public health system services, and it cannot be subsidized by private insurance companies. We conclude that traditional notions of hypnosis may be holding back its practical acceptance in Spain. Copyright © 2000 British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosi

Reducing Self-Stigma in People with Severe Mental Illness Participating in a Regular Football League: An Exploratory Study

For the past 15 years, a regular indoor football competition has been taking place in Madrid (Spain) with 15 teams from different mental health services in the city, in which teams face off weekly as part of a competition lasting nine months of the year. We are not aware of whether a similar competition experience is offered in other cities. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether participating in this league, called Ligasame, has an influence on participants’ self-stigma. To do so, the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale (ISMI) was adapted into Spanish and applied to 108 mental health patients, 40% of which participated in Ligasame, and the remainder of which did not. The results obtained reflect significant differences between those participating in Ligasame and those that did not in terms of two specific dimensions related to self-stigma (stereotype endorsement and stigma resistance) and total score. On the other hand, no significant differences were found in terms of other variables, such as patients’ prior diagnosis, age or belonging to different resources/associations. In this article, we discuss the importance of these results in relation to reducing self-stigma through participation in a regular yearly mental health football league

Tratamiento psicológico del trastorno esquizotípico de la personalidad: Un estudio de caso

En el presente estudio se expone un procedimiento de intervención en un caso diagnosticado de Trastorno Esquizotípico de la Personalidad. Se ha centrado el tratamiento en aquellos aspectos personales con mayor repercusión social o importancia de cara a otras conductas problema. En la intervención se han utilizado componentes y principios recogidos en la Terapia de Aceptación y Compromiso y la Psicoterapia Analítico Funcional. Los resultados señalan la utilidad de estas estrategias en el trastorno esquizotípico de la personalidad

Analysis of the multidimensionality of hallucination-like experiences in clinical and nonclinical Spanish samples and their relation to clinical symptoms: Implications for the model of continuity

Numerous studies have found that hallucinatory experiences occur in the general population. But to date, few studies have been conducted to compare clinical and nonclinical groups across a broad array of clinical symptoms that may co-occur with hallucinations. Likewise, hallucination-like experiences are measured as a multidimensional construct, with clinical and subclinical components related to vivid daydreams, intrusive thoughts, perceptual disturbance, and clinical hallucinatory experiences. Nevertheless, these individual subcomponents have not been examined across a broad spectrum of clinically disordered and nonclinical groups. The goal of the present study was to analyze the differences and similarities in the distribution of responses to hallucination-like experience in clinical and nonclinical populations and to determine the relation of these hallucination-like experiences with various clinical symptoms. These groups included patients with schizophrenia, non-psychotic clinically disordered patients, and a group of individuals with no psychiatric diagnoses. The results revealed that hallucination-like experiences are related to various clinical symptoms across diverse groups of individuals. Regression analysis found that the Psychoticism dimension of the Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R) was the most important predictor of hallucination-like experiences. Additionally, increased auditory and visual hallucination was the only subcomponent that differentiated schizophrenic patients from other groups. This distribution of responses in the dimensions of hallucination-like experiences suggests that not all the dimensions are characteristic of people hearing voices. Vivid daydreams, intrusive thoughts, and auditory distortions and visual perceptual distortions may represent a state of general vulnerability that does not denote a specific risk for clinical hallucinations. Overall, these results support the notion that hallucination-like experiences are closer to a quasi-continuum approach and that total scores on these scales explain a state of vulnerability to general perceptual disturbance

A Case Study of Anorexia Nervosa and Obsessive Personality Disorder Using Third-Generation Behavioral Therapies

This article presents a case study of anorexia nervosa and obsessive personality disorder as a means of describing the main therapeutic interventions in the framework of “third-generation” therapies. The sessions were videotaped by independent observers. The particulars of the therapeutic relationship (based on functional analytic psychotherapy) and the contextual strategies (based on acceptance and commitment therapy) used are analyzed here. This case highlights progressive positive changes in social behavior, including congruence of values and vital actions, resolution of the eating disorder, greater openness to experience, and decreased pervasive thoughts. The discussion associates these changes with the types of intervention specific to this therapeutic approach

From the Visions of Saint Teresa of Jesus to the Voices of Schizophrenia

The life of Saint Teresa of Jesus, the most famous mystic of sixteenth-century Spain, was characterized by recurrent visions and states of ecstasy. In this paper, we examine social components related to Teresa’s personal crises and the historical conditions of her times, factors that must be taken into account to understand these unusual forms of experience and behavior. Many of these factors (e.g., increasing individualism and reflexivity) are precursors of the condition of modern times. Indeed, certain parallels can be observed between Saint Teresa and certain present-day psychopathological disorders. The analogy should not, however, be carried too far. Religion played a particularly crucial role in Teresa’s cultural context; as a result, it would be misleading to view her mystical experiences as resulting from a mental disorder

Factorial Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-Stigma (AAQ-S) in Spain

The objective of the present study was to validate and adapt the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-Stigma (AAQ-S) to the Spanish context. Method: The study included the participation of 1212 subjects, with an average age of 17.12 years old. Results: The confirmatory factorial analysis revealed a number of adequate fit indices for the new version of the scale χ2/df = 3.24; Comparative Fit Index = 0.96; Incremental Fit Index = 0.96; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.060; Standardized Root Mean Square Residual = 0.035, in which the factorial structures displayed gender invariance. The two factors comprise the scale both exhibited high internal consistency (+0.90) and temporal stability. Conclusion: The Spanish version of the AAQ-S proved to be a robust and adequate psychometric instrument. In this sense, future lines of research focused on determining the role of psychological flexibility in stigma and the processes of change at the base of interventions could benefit substantially from the use of AAQ-S

Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Distressing Hallucination-Like Experiences in a Nonclinical Sample

The presence of psychotic-like experiences in the general population has been amply reported. Nevertheless, the degree of concern or anxiety that such experiences may generate is an aspect that has not received as much appraisal. In this sense, mindfulness is an approach to intervention based on the modification of the individual's relationship with the symptoms, instead of their elimination. The goal of the present study is to compare the effect of mindfulness training on distressing hallucination-like experiences. Eighteen participants were assigned to the experimental group, and they received 8 sessions of mindfulness training; 20 participants were assigned to a control group that viewed 8 sessions of a video forum. The results showed that upon completing the mindfulness training, there was a significant and large effect on the decrease of anxiety caused by hallucination-like experiences. These results were maintained at the 16-week follow-up. The repercussions of these results are underlined

Validation of the Scale of Emotional States in the Physical Education Context

The purpose of the present study was to validate an instrument of student emotional experiences in the Spanish Physical Education context. The sample of participants consisted of 864 secondary education students from various educational institutions of Spain who ranged in age from 13 to 19 years. To assess the psychometric properties of the Scale of Emotions in Physical Education (SEPE), various types of analyses were conducted. The factor structure of the SEPE was examined through confirmatory factorial analysis in relation to two models. In the first model, it was proposed that the eight first order factors, which represented the eight emotional states, would be correlated amongst each other. In the second model, an eight-factor model with two higher order factors was proposed, with these higher order factors representing distinct sets of positive and negative emotions. The results provide support the presence of an eight-factor second order model which consisted of sets of four positive emotions and four negative emotions. These results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the SEPE within the Spanish Physical Education context