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Articles

I have had the fun of putting some of my thoughts on paper over the years. Along with the two books, a number of my articles have appeared in various magazines and professional journals. The articles from my large MMPI-2 study are listed in my vita. Those listed below are divided into three groups: articles that appeared in Family Circle, articles in several professional journals, and articles in minor journals and some unpublished articles. My favorites are highlighted in yellow. Feel free to share these with family, friends and colleagues.

Family Circle Articles

  • Full Circle: On Bent Nails and Attitudes                         

    As a therapist I have long enjoyed using stories as tools to help people get unstuck. This article celebrates one such story my father used with me many years ago. 

    Family Circle, September 1, 2001, 130.  It was reprinted in 2004 in the book Writing in Depth by Schwegler & Schwegler.

  • How to Talk So He'll Listen and Listen So He'll Talk

    An edited version of this article appeared in the November 1, 2002 issue of Family Circle. It looks at one type of miscommunication that can be quite frustrating for couples. It is easy to blame the problem on other factors. 

    Family Circle, November 1, 2002, 26-29.

  • When Words Get in the Way of Love: 4 Language Traps to Avoid   

    This article is based on some of the material in my first book, Great Ways to Sabotage a Good Conversation. It appeared in the May 21, 2002 issue of Family Circle. It looks at four types of “language traps” that can trigger miscommunication between family members.

    Family Circle, May 21, 2002, 42-44.

  • Words That Really Work with Kids

    This article is also based on some of the material in my book. It appeared February 20, 2001 issue of Family Circle. It looks at four more “language traps” that reliably get in the way of good communication between parents and their children.

    Family Circle, February 20, 2001, 52-54.

  • What Sounds Right To You May Look Better To Your Child

    Most people learn well in all three primary "channels": visual, auditory and kinesthetic (body/movement). Some have a more difficult time with one channel. This can have major adverse impacts during the school years and beyond.

    First published as "There’s More Than One Way to Learn." Family Circle, September 14, 1999.
    Second publication: New Learning: The Journal of the NLP Education Network, Winter 1999/2000:6, 10-13.


Professional Journal Articles

  • Teens: Teach Your Parents to Stop Nagging

    nurtrul JPGWell, maybe not all their nagging. This article teaches some simple strategies for eliminating nagging about three common issues: homework, chores and social outings. Let me know if you think the infamous "12 questions" cover the ones your parents usually ask you!

    This article's publisher is the new English journal, Nurturing Potential.

    Nurturing Potential, 1 (1), July 2002. 

  • French Fries and Food Fights: How to Stop Overreacting

    nurturl.JPGEvery memory can be thought of as having four parts, one of which is how you felt about what happened. This article looks at how fragments of old memories can be triggered in very subtle ways, resulting in your overreacting to a current event. Using a true story about French fries and food fights, it teaches you a strategy for identifying and letting go of the old triggers.

    This article's publisher is the new English journal, Nurturing Potential.

    Nurturing Potential, 2002, 1 (1), 22-24.

  • Just Breathe Normally

    This article appeared in the American Journal of Nursing in March, 2008. It focuses on the unintended consequences that sometimes happen with the words we use when talking to ourselves or someone else. It addresses some of the ideas presented in my first book as they apply to health care situations.

    American Journal of Nursing (2008), 52-57.

  • I'm Right Here Grandma!

    Losing a loved one is seldom, if ever, easy. Grieving is a healthy, important part of the process. Grief that is unfinished can weigh a person down like carrying a heavy book bag. This short story is an intriguing application of hypnosis in helping a grandmother mourn the loss of a grandchild.

    Nurturing Potential, Summer, Vol 2(3), 45, Autumn/Winter 2003.

  • Faulty Assumptions  

    This article deals with four types of faulty assumptions about time, talent, money and energy. I'll show you a simple exercise you can use to identify them – and then get rid of them. With these illusory obstacles out of the way, you’ll find it easier to achieve the goals you set for yourself.

    Nurturing Potential, Summer, Vol 2(2), 26-28, Summer 2003.

  • Lessons From a Flasher   

    A story about discovering the difference between "can't" and "won't",  and the usefulness of practicing for life's inevitable "skids".

    Nurturing Potential, Vol 2(1), 22-23, Spring 2003.

  • Effective Ways to Sabotage a Good Conversation: Part I -- Don't Read This Article

    Now part of the book: Great Ways to Sabotage a Good Conversation

    Published: New Learning: The Journal of the NLP Education Network, Summer 2000:7, 21.

  • Effective Ways to Sabotage a Good Conversation: Part II -- To Should or Not to Should -- is the Wrong Question

    Now part of the book: Great Ways to Sabotage a Good Conversation

    Published: New Learning: The Journal of the NLP Education Network, Autumn 2000:8, 18-19.

  • Absolutely Effective Ways to Sabotage a Good Conversation: Part III -- The Perils of "Absolutes"

    Now part of the book: Great Ways to Sabotage a Good Conversation

    Published: New Learning: The Journal of the NLP Education Network, Spring 2001:9, 18-19.

  • Effective Ways to Sabotage a Good Conversation: Part IV -- Why Why Doesn't Work        

    Now part of the book: Great Ways to Sabotage a Good Conversation

    Published: New Learning: The Journal of the NLP Education Network, Summer 2001:10, 15-16.

  • Effective Ways to Sabotage a Good Conversation: Part V -- Make Me's                                                                                    

    Now part of the book: Great Ways to Sabotage a Good Conversation

    Published: New Learning: The Journal of the NLP Education Network, (in press).

  • The Benefits of Working With a “Dead” Patient: Hypnotically Facilitated Pseudo Near-death Experiences

    This article, published in AJCH in 1999 (citation below), is a detailed discussion of one of my favorite applications of hypnosis. The paper was presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association later that year, and at a meeting of the Georgia Hypnosis Society in 2000. Since then it has also been presented at meetings of the Georgia Psychological Association and the Georgia Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. It provided the basis for my second book: The Clinical Use of Hypnotic Dreams: Exploring Near-Death Experiences Without the Flatlines, published in 2006 by Crown House Publishing.

    Abstract

    The literature on near-death experiences is consistent in describing how such events are typically transformative. Utilizing standard hypnotic techniques, therapists can approximate many of the therapeutic aspects of such experiences, without the life-or-death crisis, to facilitate both first and second order change in psychotherapy. This article explores the use of hypnotically facilitated waking dreams as an interactive projective technique. The focus is on the varied ways that the dream components which correlate with near-death experiences can evoke durable change.

    Published: American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis,(1999), 42:1, 36-49.

  • Family/Systems Therapy in the Fourth Dimension: A Theoretical Model for Past Life Therapy 

    This paper has two versions. The version above, which was published in 2009 in the Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, uses case studies from my own clinical practice. The one listed below uses the well known case study of Catherine from Dr. Brian Weiss' first book Many Lives, Many Masters. Along with the AJCH article published in 1999, this article became part of the basis for my second book:  The Clinical Use of Hypnotic Dreams: Exploring Near-Death Experiences Without the Flatlines, published in 2006 by Crown House Publishing.

    Abstract

    The author presents a layered genogram model for conceptualizing and utilizing hypnotic phenomena of the "past life" type. In an earlier article (Schenk, 1999) he discussed a different model which bypasses the question of reincarnation by interpreting the patient's "waking dream" as a purely metaphorical projection from the unconscious, consistent with the theories of therapists like Freud, Jung, Perls, and Sacerdote. The model presented here incorporates reincarnation concepts by adding a fourth dimension to family/systems models of psychotherapy. The article then applies the model to several case studies to demonstrate some of its clinical applications. Whether the hypnotic imagery is understood as factual or symbolic, a growing body of literature indicates that treatment strategies associated with past life therapy are often effective in treating Axis I symptoms which have not responded to other treatment approaches. These techniques can also bring about, albeit more slowly, durable Axis II personality changes similar to those seen as sequella of near-death experiences. With the two models as theoretical foundations, the author hopes to stimulate more widespread research into the therapeutic implications of these hypnotic techniques, independent of either the therapist's or client's beliefs about the reincarnation question.

    Published: Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, (2009), 37(2), 192-217.
     


Other Publications and Unpublished Articles

  • Ripples of a Kindness Remembered

    This short article focuses on a different aspect of the way a current event can trigger memories, in this case of a very pleasant kind. The article will be included in a new book coming out this August.

    In Press: Individual Trauma: Recovering From Deep Wounds and Exploring the Potential for Renewal, Kathryn M. Gow and Marek J. Celinski, Editors, Nova Science Publishers.

  • On the Teaching Power of Pacifiers  

    Even a doctorate in psychology does little to prepare a new father for how to help an unhappy newborn. My first son wasted no time in beginning to teach me what I needed to learn.

    Unpublished.

  • Megan's Antiques  

    I enjoy the challenge of staying really alert. Sometimes, when I least expect it, a wonderful gift lands in my lap – or in the seat next to me.

    Unpublished.