Placing Pain „Into the Hands“

Placing pain or memories into one’s hands – an unusual idea that lies at the core of new research at the Insula Institute. The technique may offer a new way to process emotions physically.

Placing something intangible – like pain or a memory – into one’s hands may sound unusual at first. Yet this very embodiment technique lies at the heart of current scientific research at the Insula Institute. The technique “Placing into the Hands” allows emotional content to be physically experienced – and may offer a new approach to processing emotions and pain.

From the Mind into the Body through “Placing into the Hands” 

In the “Placing into the Hands” technique, patients mentally recall a situation from their past and imagine placing it into one of their hands. This effectively brings the experienced situation “out of the head” and into the body. This shift enables memories or pain to be accessed, addressed, and ideally processed on a physical level.

Sinosomatics doesn’t leave Emotions simply “In the Hand” 

The embodiment technique “Placing into the Hands” originates from hypnotherapy. It is also used in the integrative therapy method Sinosomatics, which combines neuroscientific findings with East Asian healing traditions. What makes the Sinosomatics approach unique is its incorporation of physical stimulation. For example, the hand holding the memory may be physically stimulated by the therapist, such as with a derma roller on the skin.

Researchers study the Mechanisms of “Placing into the Hands” Prof. Dr. Florian Beißner and his team at the Insula Institute aim to understand the neurophysiological and psychological effects of “Placing into the Hands.” To this end, they have developed a comprehensive interdisciplinary research design consisting of three separate studies:

1. A behavioral experiment

2. An fMRI study (functional magnetic resonance imaging)

3. A clinical study with 90 chronic pain patients in cooperation with the Hannover Medical School (MHH)

   
   

The behavioral experiment is already complete. In this study, healthy participants were asked to record the sensations they felt during a Sinosomatics treatment session.

In the fMRI study, participants were guided to place memories into their hands while inside the fMRI scanner. The researchers measured which brain regions were active before and after the “Placing into the Hands” technique with subsequent stimulation. As a control, stimulation was omitted. Additionally, participants completed qualitative SAM questionnaires (Self-Assessment Manikin) in the fMRI. These surveys collected data on the quality of the emotion, the perceived level of control, and physical arousal (calm or excited) related to the recalled situation.

“Placing into the Hands” appears to alter Brain Structures 

The fMRI data collection has been completed, and analysis is underway. The analysis of the SAM questionnaires and behavioral data has already revealed fascinating preliminary results: it appears that this relatively simple embodiment technique used in Sinosomatics may be capable of selectively modifying emotional memories – even after just one application.

“'Placing into the hands' appears to actually induce changes in how our brain processes emotions. This is a phenomenon not previously described in this way. It might point to a fundamentally new principle,” says Prof. Dr. Florian Beißner.

The full evaluation of the data and the clinical study with chronic pain patients will clarify how stable and therapeutically useful these effects are. If the preliminary results are confirmed, the basic research conducted by Prof. Dr. Beißner and his team may offer new hope for people suffering from chronic pain.

The Insula Institute is an independent research institute reliant on donations and grants. The study described in this article, “Embodiment Techniques for Expanding the Understanding of Illness in Chronic Pain Patients: An Interdisciplinary Study of the 'Placing into the Hands' Method,” is funded by the HEAD-Genuit Foundation and the Schweizer-Arau Foundation. It would not be possible without their generous support.