Upcoming lectures

Just back from the PA conference in Brazil. I will give a presentation on parapsychology in English next week at http://qday.se/ in an event that includes daryl hannah, the founder of cirkus cirkörs, and others.
On the 16th on November I will lecture on Dissociation at Uppsala.
And CERCAP has helped organize the following three lectures with world-class figures:

Hypnosis: An Evidence Based Approach

Professor Irving Kirsch, PhD
Associate Director, Program in Placebo Studies and Lecturer in Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Hypnosis is a useful tool that is capable of enhancing the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Hypnotic suggestions can produce dramatic reductions in pain and compelling hallucinations in all sensory modalities. The ability to respond to these suggestions is known to be a very stable trait. Less well known is the fact that people who are able to respond to them are able to do so even when hypnosis is not induced. The effect of the hypnotic induction is real, but relatively small. The effects of suggestion, whether in or out of hypnosis, can be very large. Indeed, the apparent effects of antidepressant drugs seem to due to suggestion, rather than the chemical composition of the drug.

Time: Friday 30 September, at 13.15
Place: Paradisgatan 5 P, Room P-124

Hjärtligt välkomna!
Professor Etzel Cardeña

Antidepressants: The Emperor's New Drugs

Professor Irving Kirsch, PhD
Associate Director, Program in Placebo Studies and Lecturer in Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Antidepressants are supposed to work by fixing a chemical imbalance, specifically, a lack of serotonin in the brain. But analyses of the published and the unpublished data that was hidden by the drug companies reveals that most (if not all) of the benefits are due to the placebo effect. Some antidepressants increase serotonin levels, some decrease serotonin, and some have no effect at all on serotonin. Nevertheless, they all show the same therapeutic benefit. Instead of curing depression, popular antidepressants may induce a biological vulnerability making people more likely to become depressed in the future.

Time: Monday 3 October, at 10.15
Place: Paradisgatan 5 P, Room P-124

Memory Illusions

Prof. Giuliana Mazzoni, University of Hull, UK

Autobiographical memory is a very powerful tool that is responsible for negotiating life successfully. People rely heavily on their memory for having a sense of self, a history and ultimately an identity. In spite of its strength, human memory is also fallible. The results of a number of studies are reported here that show how a major issue in memory refers to its malleability, and its amenability to social influence, including hypnosis and other forms of psychotherapy. The results of these studies have both theoretical and applied implications. While understanding the malleability of memory provides essential information on how human memory works, finding the variables that create false memories has important implications for psychotherapy and eyewitness memory.

Time: Monday 3 October, at 13.15
Place: Paradisgatan 5 P, Room P-124