To everyone who has contributed to the success of our society: Thank you
Mark P. Jensen, PhD
This is my last ISH Newsletter letter as president of the International Society of Hypnosis. I am writing with a sense of deep gratitude to everyone in our society who has helped to move us, and the field of hypnosis, forward during my tenure as president. This includes our Board of Directors, USA Administrator, ISH committee members and chairs, our administrative staff, and you, dear member. I would like to take the time to thank each of you for your important contributions.
ISH Board of Director members
During the last three years, the eleven board members of our board of directors have met regularly to discuss, make decisions about, and take actions towards goals that move our society’s mission forward. I have appreciated each member’s commitment to the advancement of hypnosis worldwide, as well as their significant contributions to our goals. We have made significant progress while maintaining a sense of deep respect for each other and a warm and friendly atmosphere. Each BOD member has contributed to this process.
In the last three years, Bernhard Trenkle served ISH as the Immediate Past President, Chair of the Membership Committee, Co-Chair of the Credentials Committee, and a member of both the Education and Training Committee and the ISH 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee. He carries a wealth of knowledge about hypnosis gained from decades of work in the field. He is very social, with significant connections with leading hypnosis practitioners and scientists worldwide. The WhoISHWho initiative is his brainchild. Please visit www.whoishwho.com and consider registering to facilitate your connections with like-minded people worldwide. Bernhard is someone with a great deal of common sense (a trait that is not as common as one might think) and a delightful sense of humor. I am privileged and lucky to know him and to have had a chance to collaborate with him so closely over the years.
Kris Klajs served as ISH’s President-Elect and has worked diligently with his team to organize the 2021 ISH International Hypnosis Congress (which had to be postponed due to COVID) and the 2022 ISH Virtual Event. Most recently, he and his team have been working hard to organize the upcoming 2024 ISH International Hypnosis Congress in Krakow. Anyone ever involved in organizing a successful congress knows the incredible devotion and effort this takes. He and his team have planned a congress that will allow us to sharpen our clinical skills, learn about the newest scientific advances, and feel inspired to continue our work. Kris has contributed a rock-solid foundation of gentle calmness to our events and meetings, which helped to create an environment conducive to ISH’s high level of productivity over the past three years.
In his role as Secretary-Treasurer, Enayat Shahidi has maintained and built on our society’s fiscal health. In his role as Chair of the Education and Training Committee, Enayat and his committee initiated and then organized the monthly Master Class webinars. These events provide our members (at a special member-only deeply discounted price) and international hypnosis community access to some of the most experienced hypnosis practitioners in the world. They also provide our society with an additional source of income, contributing to our overall fiscal stability. I greatly appreciate Enayat’s warm energy, thoughtfulness, and keen intelligence.
Woltemade Hartman has served as the Council of Representatives Chairperson and Chair of the Standards Committee. He has worked diligently to ensure our members have a voice in our BOD’s discussions and decisions. He also completed the incredibly complicated task of developing guidelines for training in clinical hypnosis for the world community, guidelines that can be seen on our website. These guidelines take into account the marked differences in the applications of clinical hypnosis in each country and culture: a complicated task. His deep knowledge of these issues – developed through years of teaching clinical hypnosis skills all over the world – helped to make the guidelines applicable worldwide. I always look forward to hearing what Wollie has to say; he really knows how to tell a story in a way that brings delight and inspires insight.
During the past three years, Callie Hattingh has served as the Council of Representatives Vice-Chairperson, the Co-Chair of the joint European Society of Hypnosis and International Society of Hypnosis Crisis Invention Committee, and a member of both the Education and Training Committee and the Standards Committee. Although Callie contributed his many insights and significant organization skills to our Board of Directors meetings, I especially appreciate the work he did with Kathleen Long, the other Co-Chair of the Crisis Intervention Committee, in pulling together hypnosis-related resources for those experiencing human-made and natural disasters in the world, as well as their work organizing clinical hypnosis training for clinicians who serve these individuals. Callie is someone who sees the good in people and who can effectively help them build on their strengths. One is just a better person when one spends time with Callie.
Brian Allen has been the Council of Representatives Secretary, and serves as a member of the Education and Training Committee and the Credentials Committee. Brian has served on the ISH BOD for many years and carries a knowledge of ISH’s history with him. He is particularly committed to supporting the growth of hypnosis in parts of the world where clinical hypnosis has yet to take a foothold. He is someone who cares deeply about others. In the Board of Directors’ meetings, I have enjoyed his playful way of presenting important and useful ideas. And speaking of playful, over the years, I have been particularly appreciative of his wonderful singing voice. He brings lightness, ease, and joy to any gathering, whether a business meeting or a social event.
Cecilia Fabre has served as a Board Member At-Large and Chair of the Social Media Committee. She also serves as a member of the Education and Training Committee and served as a member of the ISH 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee. Under her strong leadership and advocacy, ISH has moved into the 21st Century with respect to social media; with her steady advocacy, our social media footprint and impact continue to increase. In our board meetings and gatherings, she notices and then facilitates strong connections between people for the greater good and efficacy of the group process.
Giuseppe De Benedittis served as a Board Member At-Large, Chair of the World Health Organization (WHO) Taskforce, Chair of the Research Committee, Chair of the Publications Committee, and Member of the Education and Training Committee. His many contributions and service to ISH have strengthened our society over the years. Most recently, he has led the initiative for WHO to recognize clinical hypnosis as a recommended treatment for pain, a first step towards recognition of clinical hypnosis as a recommended treatment for other conditions. Giuseppe is a contemporary Renaissance Man, skilled as both a clinician and scientist. His patients are lucky to receive his care, and the world is fortunate to have access to the findings from his research studies, review articles, and theoretical papers.
Anita Jung has been a Board Member At-Large, and served as chair of the ISH 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee as well as a member of the Education and Training Committee and the Standards Committee. As a new member of the Board of Directors, she brought a fresh perspective to our discussions. In her work as chair of the 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee, she organized several events in 2023 to mark the 50th anniversary of ISH’s founding. Anita’s positive approach and strong leadership skills will serve ISH and the international hypnosis community well in the years ahead.
Katalin Varga has served on the Board of Directors for many years and will be ISH’s President-Elect for the next three years. Her devotion to ISH and ISH’s mission is evidenced by her service. During the past three years, she has served as a Board Member At-Large, Chair of the Newsletter Committee, and a member of the Research Committee, the Ethical Practice Committee, and the Publications Committee, and as the ISH Newsletter Editor. Her significant contributions to the Board’s discussion and decisions and her many committees have helped move ISH forward. Her work as the ISH’s Newsletter Editor has been vital to our community. The newsletters have been uniformly excellent, providing updates regarding ISH’s events, and information valuable to our members. As a leading hypnosis scientist, researcher, event organizer, educator, and skilled clinician, Kata’s contributions to the field have been enormous. As an individual with a deep commitment to the field who is knowledgeable, thoughtful, and personable, her future tenure as president will help ensure that ISH plays a leading role in advancing hypnosis throughout the world.
USA Administrator(s)
ISH is registered as a non-profit organization in the USA. In order to ensure that we maintain this status, someone needs to work with our accountants in the USA ensuring that our accounts are audited and annual tax returns are filed. Someone also needs to interact with our society’s lawyer when critical legal issues must be addressed. Julie Linden served as the USA Administrator for many years, including the past three years during my tenure as president. Her incredible attention to detail and ability to keep on top of the many complicated issues related to keeping our society’s paperwork up-to-date and accurate have been essential to our society’s health. Julie is someone you can count on; I would trust her with my life. Julie has also served as Co-Chair of the Website Commitee, and Member of the Newsletter Committee. In these roles she has shaped and facilitated communication between ISH and both our members and the outside world.
Julie will be stepping down as the USA administrator as of June 2024. Lawrence Sugarman (another person I would trust with my life) will be taking on this essential role for the society. Laurence has also served as a member of ISH’s Credentials Committee, which is necessary for us to ensure that individuals who apply for ISH membership meet ISH’s training and education requirements.
Additional ISH Committee Chairpersons and Committee Members
As noted above, a number of our BOD members and our current USA Administrator are chairpersons and/or members of ISH’s committees. These committees do the critical work required to achieve our society’s goals. All of us can feel grateful for the work they have done.
Therefore, a huge and heartfelt THANK YOU to Camillo Loriedo, Chair of the Awards Committee, which completed the challenging but essential task of selecting the 2024 ISH awardees. The awards will be announced at the 2024 Congress in Krakow and hosting the in-person BoD meeting in Bologna
I would also like to express my deep appreciation to Éva Bányai, Chair of the History Committee, who not only maintains a deep knowledge of our society’s history (reminding us of this history at the ESH meeting in Antalya, Türkiye), but is also as a scientist who makes significant contributions to our knowledge of the beneficial effects of clinical hypnosis, and to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying those effects.
I also appreciate the work that Paola Brugnoli has done for us as Chair of the Ethical Practice Committee, advising the BOD on questions regarding ethics. Susanna Carolusson served (with Bernhard Trenkle) as Co-Chair of the Credentials Committee, bringing her depth of knowledge about clinical hypnosis to bear when making decisions regarding whether a member applicant meets our criteria for membership. Nicole Ruysschaert has served and continues to serve in many roles for ISH over the years. In the past three years, this has included Co-Chair of the Website Committee and a member of the Awards Committee, the WHO-Taskforce Committee, the Research Committee, the Education and Training Committee, the Publications Committee, and the ISH 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee (whew!). Her significant contributions help boost the appropriate practice and dissemination of knowledge about clinical hypnosis worldwide.
Special appreciation also goes to Kathleen Long, who had the brilliant idea to create the ESH/ISH joint Crisis Response Committee and serves as the committee’s co-chair (with Callie Hattingh). As noted above, the committee has accomplished a great deal under her and Callie’s leadership. It will continue to provide critical support for millions facing human-made and natural disasters in the years ahead. Nadine De Cal, Kaltrina Gashi, Olivia Huan Hu, Zoltán Kekecs, Raphael Kolic, Joshua Rhodes, Shady Tonn, and Banafsheh Yaloodbardan, are Co-Chairs and members of the Youth Committee, which had been formed under Claude Virot’s leadership during his tenure as president of ISH from 2015 to 2018.
All of the important work of ISH’s many committees – the work that keeps our society vibrant, healthy, and impactful, could not be completed without the efforts of the additional committee members, including Teresa Robles, an additional member of the Education and Training Committee, Consuelo Casula, an additional member of the Education and Training Committee and Ethical Practice Committee, and Dan Short, an additional member of the Education and Training Committee.
ISH Administrative Staff
The broad-ranging work of the ISH Board of Directors and ISH’s committees could not have been accomplished without the help of our administrative staff, who serve under the able leadership of Shady Tonn, ISH’s primary administrator. Her steady, dependable, and patient efforts ensure we stay on track. She is doing an excellent job. Mahta Shahidi manages all administration aspects of the monthly Masterclass webinars and Coffee with the President monthly meetings. She also serves as a backup for Shady to respond to ISH-related emails and membership issues when Shady is busy with other tasks. In addition, Judit Osvat produces the layout for our quarterly Newsletter. Paloma Valencia provides social media marketing and the layouts for Masterclass banners, editing the content of interviews conducted to market ISH events. Finally, Manfred “Manni” Henke helps us address any technical emergencies (such as when our website has been hacked) with great skill.
You, valued ISH member
And who is working day-in and day-out to use clinical hypnosis to bring comfort to people who could benefit? Who is also conducting rigorous research to evaluate the efficacy and mechanisms underlying clinical hypnosis, studying how hypnosis can be used to understand the human condition better? It is, of course, you, our valued clinician and scientist ISH members. We are a community of individuals committed to building bridges that bring the world together, providing care to those in need, and studying hypnosis to make it more effective and valuable. The work that you do is the most important work of all. Supporting you in this work is, in my view, the most crucial goal of our society.
Thank you, each and every one of you, for your work and your ongoing support of ISH and the world of hypnosis.