Articles

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Well, 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. 

Every 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.
 

This paper has two versions. This one uses the well known case study of Catherine from Brian Weiss' first book Many Lives, Many Masters. The previous version on this page uses case studies from my own clinical practice. 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

(Please refer to the abstract above for the other version of this article which was published in 2009 in the Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.)

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.

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.

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.