HYPNOANALYSIS VOL 1

TABLE OF CONTENT
1. HISTORY OF HYPNOANALYSIS: JOHN SCOTT

1
2. MEDICAL HYPNO-ANALYSIS: DR. TREVOR MODLIN

5
A. THE TRIPLE ALLERGENIC THEORY

6
B. EXECUTION DYNAMICS: THESE FOLLOW THE MEDICAL MODEL 7
3. TECHNIQUES OF DAVE ELMAN’S HYPNOANALYSIS

8
A. SIX TYPES OF PATIENT PROBLEMS TO USE PIN-POINTING

9
B. HYPNOSLEEP

10
4. THE SIX PILLARS OF HYPNOANALYSIS: KEVIN HOGAN

10
A. REGRESSION AND REVIVIFICATION
 11
B. CONTACTING EGO STATES / ABREACTION THERAPY

12
5. TRANSACTIONAL HYPNOANALYSIS (THA): JURE BIECHONSKI

13
6. BERNARD C. GINDES AND HYPNOANALYSIS

14
7. THE ROLE OF ART IN HYPNOANALYSIS: MAURICE KUEGELL Ph.D., BCETS

15
8. HYPNOANALYSIS ABSTRACTS

18
9. HYPNO-ANALYSIS: A CASE HISTORY: TERENCE WATTS

22
10. HYPNOANALYSIS: LEWIS WOLBERG

23
11. HYPNOANALYSIS FOR PAIN: APPLIED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE 24
12. STRESS, PANIC & ANXIETY TREATMENT WITH MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS 28
A. THIS PROCESS IS KNOWN AS ANALYSIS
 29
B. ENTER STRESS AND ANXIETY

30
C. STRESSED OUT? RELAX - WITH MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS

31
13. HYPNOANALYSIS AND DISSOCIATIVE DISORDER THERAPY: K. HOGAN 35
14. HYPNOANALYSIS: DR. TREVOR MODLIN

39
15. PSYCHOANALYSIS AND HYPNO-ANALYSIS: OPEN HEART HYPNOSIS 43
16. REGRESSION & HYPNOANALYSIS: SHELLY STOCKWELL

45
17. REGRESSION: A KEY TOOL OF THE MEDICAL HYPNOANALYST

46
18. A SYSTEM OF BRIEF HYPNOANALYSIS:
LESLIE M LECRON & JEAN BORDEAUX

48
19. KEY CONCEPTS OF MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS: RYAN ELLIOT

54
20. HYPNOANALYSIS: RYAN ELLIOT

58
 A. DR. WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN, JR.

59
B. KEY CONCEPTS OF MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS / SENSITIZATION 60
C. KEY CONCEPTS ON HABITS AND EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS

61
D. WEIGHT KEY CONCEPTS

62
E. BABY'S PREBIRTH EXPERIENCES

63
F. SPORTS: MIND AND MUSCLE

64
G. SPIRITUALITY KEY CONCEPTS

65
21. WHAT IS HYPNO-ANALYSIS? RENEE SAKR

65
22. HYPNO-ANALYSIS: A CURE FOR EATING DISORDERS: OCT 2000

87
23. HEALING HYPNOTHERAPY AND HYPNO-ANALYSIS SIMON WAYMAN 70
A. ANALYTICAL THERAPY:

71
B. PHOBIAS

72
C. SLIMMING SESSION

73
D. HABIT OR ADDICTION

75
24. MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS FOR WEIGHT LOSS
 75
25. ALLERGIES (HYPNOANALYSIS): DAVE ELMAN

77
26. PHOBIAS AND MORBID FEARS (HYPNOANALYSIS): DAVE ELMAN

84
27. STUTTERING (HYPNOANALYSIS): DAVE ELMAN

102
28. OBESITY (HYPNOANALYSIS): DAVE ELMAN

112
29. DEPRESSIONS (HYPNOANALYSIS): DAVE ELMAN

121
30. REVIEW, PRACTICE AND APPLICATION OF HYPNOANALYSIS
(HYPNOANALYSIS): DAVE ELMAN

128
31. THE USE OF RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES IN HYPNO-ANALYSIS: W. J BRYAN 148
A. ASTHMA CLIENT CASE HISTORY

150
B. FEAR NEUROSIS CASE HISTORY
 152
32. HYPNOANALYTICAL UNCOVERING TECHNIQUES: GERALD KEIN

155
33. HYPNO-ANALYSIS AND HYPNO-SYNTHESIS: BERNARD GENDIES

157
A. DREAM INTERPRETATION

162
B. TECHNIQUE

164
C. HYPNO-ANALYSIS AND HYPNO-SYNTHESIS

165
34. MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS: APPLIED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE 176
A. SUMMARY OF MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS

180
B. WHERE DID HYPNOSIS DERIVE

181
C. WHAT CAN MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS DO FOR ME
 184
D. SELF IMPROVEMENT

188
E. PAIN MANAGEMENT

192
F. HYPNOANALYSIS SOOTHES RECURRENT INDIGESTION

193
G. HYPNOSIS AIDS STROKE RECOVERY

199
H. THE HARM CAUSED BY PROBLEM GAMBLING

200
I. MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS FOR WEIGHT LOSS

204
J. MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS OVERCOME INSOMNIA

206
K. THE 5 "R"S OF MEDICAL HYPNOANALYTIC TREATMENT
 207
L. STRESS, PANIC & ANXIETY TREATMENT WITH HYPNOANALYSIS 209
M. REGRESSION: A KEY TOOL OF THE MEDICAL HYPNOANALYST 216
N. SEXUAL DYSFUNCTIONS

220
O. HYPNOSIS RECOGNIZED BY AMA

222
P. IMAGINATION: WHAT YOUR MIND CAN CONCEIVE, YOU CAN ACHIEVE
225
Q. LEARNING AND MEMORY ENHANCEMENT WITH HYPNOANALYSIS 228
R. ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

231
S. CHILDREN HYPNOSIS

235
 HYPNOANALYSIS VOL 1
1. HISTORY OF HYPNOANALYSIS: JOHN SCOTT
Obviously, in delving into the use of the term "hypnoanalysis," a history of hypnosis is
implied. But, because there are so many excellent summaries of the history, it does not fall into
the province of this chapter to repeat what has already been done by so many capable scholars.
Rather, the purpose of this section is to narrow the historical quest to the particular use of
hypnosis as an adjunct to analytical therapy. In 1968, Klemperer observed that "it is still too
early to determine" whether one day the modality of psychotherapy, known as "hypnoanalysis,"
will grow from an adjunctive role to a special and autonomous form of treatment. I believe that
day has now come. Like the converging of many streams and rivulets, the theoretical input and
clinical experiences of many scholars and clinicians have been merging and the confluence of
these experiences serve as a foundation which may now be laid for recognizing hypnoanalysis as
not just an "adjunct" to another form of therapeutic procedure, but as a specialized and
autonomous form of therapy.
“Hypnoanalysis" as a term, historically has been loosely used. It has been applied to the
generalized use of hypnosis in direct suggestion for symptom removal on one extreme and as an
adjuvant in psyche-analysis at the other extreme (Brenman & Gill, 1947). Buckley (1950) refers
to a process of "hypnotic analysis as a relatively untried technique." Conn (1949a)used the term
"hypno-synthesis" in reference to the use of hypnosis with psychoanalysis. Then Lifshitz and
Blair (1960) refer to the resurgence of "abreactive therapy" by which they mean the use of
hypnosis as it was used in the treatment of war neuroses. Kline (1955) published a book on
Hypnodynamic Psychology in reference to the use of hypnosis "within the framework of
psychoanalytic treatment." "Hypnoidal psychotherapy" is used by Steger(l951); Schneck (1954)
alludes to "scientific hypnosis." And of course, there is the British Journal of Medical
Hypnotism, with frequent use of "medical hypnosis." One of tie latest and finest works on the
subject is Barnett's Analytical Hypnotherapy (1981), in which a system of combining analytical
principles together with hypnosis is very skillfully done.
Such a state of affairs can only lead to confusion. It depends on "which newspaper one
reads" as to what meaning one derives from the practice or use of "hypnoanalysis." In view of
such confusion it is no wonder that Gill and Brenman (1959) came to the conclusion that
"hypnotherapy" was a misleading term and "should be abandoned"; and "the term
'hypnoanalysis' is sufficiently lacking in specificity as to be useless"
In the last 15 years a growing number of clinicians have gravitated to the practice of
hypnosis, in an analytic context, as a full time specialty called "Medical Hypnoanalysis." While
the theory and practice has been dynamic in that it has been evolving and developing, it has also
been crystallizing as an "autonomous" psychotherapeutic procedure. An organization of
professionals interested in such a specialty has now been functioning since 1975. It is my
purpose in this chapter to summarize the history of the use of hypnosis as an adjunct in analytic
psychotherapy, thus enabling us to get a more objective perspective on where we are currently.
Admittedly, the task I have set before me is no easy one. Since scholars who specialize in
the use of hypnosis cannot even agree on a definition, and greatly differ among themselves on
what takes place when one is hypnotized - and even question if such a state exists - it is not
going to be simple to bring order out of such confusion. However, I do not expect this work to
achieve completely such a high goal. (p 1) Rather, I am sending up a trial balloon which may,
perchance, serve as a basis for further investigations and contributions from others in the field.
At a time when "short-term" therapy is the order of the day, it is certainly apropos to utilize a
procedure which all authorities recognize as being a means to shorten psychotherapy. Yes,
"hypnoanalysis" is a procedure whose time has come.
HISTORY OF THE USE OF "HYPNOANALYSIS" The prefix "hypno-" was
apparently used for a number of words describing what we now call the hypnotic state for the
first time in 1821 by a Frenchman, Entienne Felix d'Henin de Cuvillers (Gravitz & Gerton,
1894).
As far as I can determine, Brenman and Gill (1947) are accurate in attributing to Hadfield
the origin of the hyphenated term "hypno-analysis." Hadfield verified this in a personal
communication to Crichton-Miller stating that he invented the term in the First World War to
describe the method of using hypnosis as a means of reviving forgotten and repressed
experiences, mainly in amnesia cases. However, he also used it as an alternative method to free
association and dream interpretation (Ambrose & Newbold, 1958). But this refers to the use of
the term "hypno-analysis". The history of hypnosis in analysis goes back much further than this.
THE FREUDIAN PERIOD: In Mesmer's pioneering efforts he, of course, made many
mistakes in a trial and error procedure, but he must be given credit, as Chertok does (1978a), for
a "scientific" approach to the study of hypnosis. He maintained that the "magnetic fluid" which
he supposed people to have, was not due to divine or evil influences. It was for Mesmer's pupil,
Marquis de Puysegur, to make the first "analytic" discovery, and as Conn (1982) states, "mark
the emergence of dynamic hypnotherapy." In 1784 de Puysegur hypnotized a shepherd named
Victor, who, when he awoke, did not remember the events which occurred during his session.
De Puysegur concluded that we have two independent memories. Thus, the unconscious was
recognized for the first time (Chertok, 1978a). The concept of the unconscious continued
development in nineteenth century French discourse and had an influence on Freud (Chertok,
1978b). The use of hypnosis during this early period was primarily for suggestion, which
prompted Bernheim in 1888 to observe that "all was suggestion" (Bernheim, 1888).
The process, whatever it may be called, of using hypnosis in a general framework of
psychoanalysis was used by Breuer and Freud by 1895. Breuer had discovered that hypnosis
could be used to enable an hysterical patient to recall the events which were the ultimate cause of
her hysteria. Thus the case of Anna O. became the basis for what Freud later called the "cathartic
method," and which, of course, became the foundation for later psychoanalysis. Breuer and
Freud (1893,1939) introduced periods of hypnosis at intervals during analysis and soon
conceived the mechanism of repression, another fundamental principle of psychoanalysis.
Gruenewald (1982) points out that Freud recognized hypnosis as a means to assist in the revival
of memories of the past while the patient was in a state of increased suggestibility.
In addition, the use of hypnosis led to Freud's discovery of transference. He observed
that in hypnosis there is a real encounter between two persons. When Breuer and Freud
hypnotized women, Mrs. Breuer and Martha (Freud's fiancee) were jealous. It is assumed that,
because of the libidinal aspects of hypnosis, Freud dropped its use in favor of developing
psychoanalysis (Chertok, 1968; Gruenewald, 1982). Undoubtedly there was more to the decision
than that, but Kline (1958) verifies that Freud was sensitive to the fact that hypnotic behavior
involved an intense emotional relationship between the hypnotist and the patient. And he
(Freud) admitted some confusion and ambivalence regarding hypnosis. But Kline sees Freud's
abandonment of hypnosis for reasons that are more complex. He sees "subjective motives" and
“objective motives.”
The subjective motives include: (a) Freud's involvement in non-hypnotic psychoanalysis
and the extension of free-association technique; (b) he felt a sense of failure in being unable to
obtain a somnambulistic state in enough patients; (c) he was sensitive to the development of a
libidinal relationship between therapist and patient.
The objective grounds for Freud's discarding the use of hypnosis are: (a) hypnotic
suggestion failed to produce lasting results; (b) "hypnosis conceals all insight into the play and
interplay of mental forces and psychodynamic interaction; (c) hypnosis covers over the patient's
resistances and thus inhibits effective psychotherapy; (d) hypnotic techniques give the patient the
impression of a laboratory experiment and in this respect interfere with the setting for
psychotherapy" (Kline, 1958). In Kline's evaluation he rightly observes that Freud's subjective
reasons are understandable and justified. But his objective reasons have not proved to be valid.
Kline (1958) observes that since Freud abandoned the use of hypnosis, it fell into disuse
in the formal psychoanalytic movement simply because Freud was looked upon as an authority
figure. Yet the reasons he rejected its use are no longer valid.
Freud does give credit to his contemporaries, Charcot, Breuer, and Bernheim, ... and
acknowledges their effective use of hypnosis. There is, however, no evidence that hypnosis was
used more than occasionally in their treatment. This proved to be the case for many years to
come. Thompson (1950) makes an interesting observation in pointing out that in the evolution of
Freud's clinical practice, psychoanalysis grew out of the use of hypnosis, then hypnosis was
dropped from his practice in preference for free association.
Except for a few allusions to the analytic use of hypnosis (for example, Sidis, 1902, who
appears to be one of the earliest to utilize it in the study of the dynamics of personality) its use at
the turn of the century was primarily confined to direct suggestion. It is as if the psychoanalysts
went their way and the hypnotists went their way. (The International Journal of~sychodnalysis
does not have a single full length article on the use of hypnosis in an analytical context through
1982. There are a few references to hypnosis and some book reviews, but the subject is largely
ignored.)
The dichotomy present between psychoanalysis and hypnosis at the turn of the century is
reflected in the writings of Ferenczi ( 1926). In 1913 he stated that "hypnosis is nothing else than
a temporary return to this phase of infantile self-surrender, credulity, and submission. At any
rate the analysis of such cases usually exposes mockery and scorn concealed behind the blind
belief." (p 4) In 1915 he bluntly said, "I think the difference between hypnotism and analysis is
this: hypnotism is like the beater that beats the bust farther into the clothes, but analysis is like
the " It is said of Freud that he vacuum cleaner; it sucks out the symptoms compared hyp"OS1S
and analysi, 1, the technique of painting and sculpture as characterized by Leonardo da Vinci
(Ferenczl, 1926). Ferenczl appears to reflect the general view of hypnosis by psychoanalysts at
the time (1908) when he states (Ferenczi, 1926).
I will only touch briefly here on the question of hypnosis and suggestion, and remark
forthwith that some successes are to be achieved by these means. Charcot already explained that
hypnosis is a kind of artificial hysteria, and psycho-analysis further supported this by confirming
that suggestion, whether employed during hypnosis or in the waking state, merely merely
suppresssethe symptoms. i.e. it employs the method in which the hysteric failed in his wish for
self-cure. The ideational group occasioning the disease remains untouched by the treatment in
the unconscious of the neurotic whose symptoms we strangled by hypnotism. Indeed in a certain
sense it is enlarged, that is, the hitherto existing symptoms are now joined by a new one that can
certainly, for a time, prevent the expression of pre-existing symptoms. When the force of the
suggested prohibition weakens [and for this it suffices that the patient leave the doctor’s
environment], the symptoms may immediately manifest themselves again regard hypnosis and
suggestion as usually safe and harmless methods of treatment, but as holding out little promise
of success, and their employment. moreover, is much circumscribed by the fact that only quite a
small number of people can really be hypnotized.
THE PERIOD OP WORLD WAR I: Reference has already been made to the fact that
Hadfield first used the term "hypno-analysis" as a process of using hypnosis in treating amnesias
in war shock cases. The procedure, which had been used in earlier cases, was to revive forgotten
and repressed experiences in hypnosis as an alternative method to free association and dream
interpretation (Ambrose & Newbold, 1958).
The period of World War I gave some stimulation to the uncovering techniques available
with hypnosis. The pressure on the army hospitals was to treat the patients in the shortest
possible time. Traumatic war experiences, which frequently involved amnesia, lent themselves
particularly well to treatment by hypnosis (Hadfield, 1920; Brown, 1921; Simmel, 1921). Take
note that Brown is the first to call attention to the fact that usually more than one event of a
similar type was involved as the traumatic basis for the production of the patient's symptoms.
His point was that frequently it took more than one traumatic event to weaken the psyche and
precipitate the neurosis. Wingfield (1920) had already demonstrated the value of going back to
some earlier period in life in seeking the ultimate source of symptoms.
Paul Schilder and Otto Kauders (1927) are given credit for writing the first book of its
kind attempting to explain the phenomenology of hypnosis from the psychoanalytical point of
view (Bryan, 1928, p.l 05). Their statement appears to be the best summary available at this
time:
We consider this method (psyche-analysis) to be a royal remedy in the treatment of
serious neurotic troubles, regardless of whether they result in organic symptoms or not.
Hypnosis is the only method for easy and medium cases and so may have great symptomatic
value even in the treatment of serious cases.
There is no indication of a widespread interest during the period prior to World War II,
but there are glimpses of individuals who manifested some curiosity about the use of hypnosis in
an analytical setting. And, if the publication ofajournal is any evidence, the place of greater
interest seems to be Great Britain. For examples see Speyer and Stokvis (1938), Bramwell
(1921), Hadfield (1919, 1920). Others of this era were Hull (1933), Janet (1925), Platonow
(1933), Eisenbud (1937). Of course, the "grand old man" of hypnosis, M.H. Erickson, was the
leading figure in hypnosis during this period. Although he did not practice psychoanalysis with
it, he utilized analytical principles along with hypnosis and in so doing laid the groundwork for a
more advanced utilization later (19~3, 1938a, 1939b; Erickson & Kubie, 1939, 1940).
Erickson (1937) demonstrated that, at least in some cases, apparent unconsciousness
could develop while reliving a traumatic experience of hypnosis.
Kubie, as an analyst, must be given great credit for pioneering experience in hypnosis
work at his time (1939, 1943a, 1943b etc.). He made many contributions conjunction with
Erickson, in demonstrating, for example, that it is even possible to alter memories in hypnosis
(1941)
It was a significant disclosure when Kubie observed (193C)) that the essence of all
neurosis was that a command had been repeated many times in the child's mind by an authority
figure. Such repetitions must occur because of the resurgent instinctual demands This appears to
be the substance of what we now call negative hypnotic usggestions related to what Araoz
(1981) called “negative self-hypnosis.” Kubie (1943) also recognized that hypnogogic reverie
could produce and clarify unconscious material.
Another example (in addition to Erickson) Of a unconscious material
non-psychoanalyst utilizing PSYChoanalytical methods at this time was Berg(1941). He gave a
popular description of the psyche-analytical method for the lay public.(p 7)
THE PERIOD OF WORLD WAR II: Erickson and Kubie (1941) further stress the
value of abreaction in the recall of childhood experiences by the use of hypnosis in describing
the cure of a case of acute hysterical depression. The patient was first deeply hypnotized and
then given some "protective suggestions" concerning hypnosis, and, it was noted, that the
hypnotist had a permissive attitude. It was clear to the therapists that the patient had several
previous traumatic experiences, severe enough so that, in order to soften the readjustment and to
avoid guilt or fear, post-hypnotic amnesia was produced. This was destined to become a
procedure used later by some therapists.
Erickson and Kubie recognized that there was some repression of insight from the age
regressions, but otherwise they refer to the treatment as "the usual psychoanalytic technique."
For example, many repetitions were used. An observation was made that the patient was cured
with "only rudimentary insight," that is, there were insights, conscious and unconscious, which
were never understood or clarified to either patient or therapists. These two authors further
observe that the patient's behavior in age regression corresponds to the functioning during an
earlier phase of its maturation.
Such reports undoubtedly furnished the basis for the heightened popularity of hypnosis in
age regressions for the cure of war neuroses. For example, Grinker and Spiegel (1943) used a
"dramatic" technique in their treatment. Buckley (1950) describes in some detail a year's
experience in the neuropsychiatric clinic of an Army general hospital. There were 22 cases
showing symptoms of headache following head trauma with alteration of consciousness, "of
these, 9 cases were treated by hypnotic analysis." All had preconcussive amnesia and were in
treatment 1 to 15 weeks. At the beginning, Buckley stated to the patients that this was a
relatively untried technique, but he desired to use hypnosis for age regressions in order to recall
the trauma. He reported remarkable success. By now Erickson (1945) had already observed that
any really co-operable individual could be hypnotized, though this idea was open to dispute.

2. MEDICAL HYPNO-ANALYSIS: DR. TREVOR MODLIN

Description: Is dynamic, short-term and directed. It is a positivistic model for
determining the aetiology and treatment of individual dysfunction, physical or emotional. It does
not require some “failure” or inadequacy to have occurred. It offers a critical, structured and
cohesive strength in the healing process. Dynamic, because it emphasises causes rather than
symptoms, explanations rather than descriptions and subconscious forces rather than conscious
forces as being the ultimate origin of the pathology. Short-term in that in most patients, between
15 and 20 sessions suffice for the resolution of the problem, often much less, sometimes longer.
Directed in that the therapist follows a medical model of psychotherapy aimed at alleviating the
symptoms by means of resolving the underlying subconscious causes.
A History observing verbal and non-verbal communication, seeking clues to the origin of
the problem in order to make a psychodynamic diagnosis. After the patient is introduced to
hypnosis, all subsequent sessions are conducted with the patient in trance.
Examination and investigation: the subconscious is investigated by using the following
procedures :
* a specifically designed Word Association Exercise (WAE)
* dream analysis
* age regression to the crucial events thus identified earlier in life
Such procedures allow the identification, re-implementation, adjustment or re-evaluation and
desensitization of specific causal events.
Treatment:
* Rather than use a scalpel blade to open an abscess, the tool of Regression is used.
* The four cornerstones of Medical Hypnoanalysis (MHA): The Symptom is based on a
learned emotional response - an HABITUAL subconscious emotional response with the “Unholy
trinity” of anxiety, fear or guilt.
THE TRIPLE ALLERGENIC THEORY: A cascade of events which initiates, and
intensifies emotional responses culminating in the appearance of the symptom and involves an
emotional reverberation in time.
* The Initial Sensitising Event - ISE: NOT RECALLABLE BY THE CONSCIOUS MIND
The individual is sensitised by an emotionally powerful event involving Anxiety, Fear or Guilt:
the “Unholy Trinity” It is the aetiologic underlying problem and is subconsciously referred to by
semantics and body language. If not resolved, may result in recurring symptoms
* The Symptom Producing Event - SPE: A second emotionally powerful event which
triggers the symptom. Acts as an “antigen” to increase “emotional antibodies”. May or may
not be recalled by conscious memory. The event per se may be unrelated to the physical
circumstances of the ISE.
* The Symptom Intensifying Events - SIE’s: May be many and varied but always involve
Anxiety, Fear, Guilt. Symptom intensity is worse and longer lasting, though the event may be
regarded as insignificant at a conscious level. Usually the time the patient seeks help.
Event Symptom Antibodies Event Symptom "Antibodies" Eg. Penicillin allergy Emotional
Sensitization
1st Dose00/+ISE00/+
2nd Dose+++SPE+++
3rd Dose+++++SIE+++++
Thus, the more exposure there is to the “allergen” or high voltage negative emotion, the more
intense and long-lasting the symptom.
* The Order of Importance: The relative priority of subconscious factors involved in
SURVIVAL
7. SEXSPECIES
6. TERRITORYSOCIOECONOMIC
5. FOOD
4. WATER
3. OXYGENPHYSICAL
2. SELF-ESTEEMMIND EGO
1.SELF/SOUL/LOVE/GODSPIRITUAL
The Double Diagnosis:
i. The Waking Diagnosis Formal, traditional medical or psychiatric.
ii. The Subconscious Diagnoses - PNE : Prenatal Experience These are the experiences the baby
in the womb has. and which establish its personality. Babies are very aware of events far back
into the womb life.
* IDP : Identity Problem: This is a sense of a loss of belonging in the family, community,
world, and spiritually in the universe, a loss of a sense of a deity or higher power. It is the direct
result of a perception of a loss of Love.
* DES : Death Expectancy Syndrome: This is the basis of all FEAR and future anxiety: all
anxiety is ultimately the fear of death.. It most commonly arises during the process of birth, in
the birth canal as the oxygen levels fall. It is known here as the “Birth Anoxia Syndrome”.
Another component adding to this voltage of fear is the separation from mother at the time of
birth û known as the Separation Anxiety Syndrome.
* WZS : Walking Zombie Syndrome: This describes a “living dead” state as the result of an
event in the past in which the patient believed the thought “I am dying’. Once more this
commonly occurs in the birth canal or with anaesthesia especially early in life.
Alternatively yet just as devastating, the perception may be “my life is so traumatic and
threatening that it is no longer worth living”.
Either way, the subconscious mind must now develop a
symptom that provide the feeling “I AM alive”, this symptom is therefore the ôProof of Lifeö.
* JDP : Jurisdictional Problem: Guilt: This is the result of self-judgement AND self-punishment
in an effort to avoid rejection by family, peers and above all to avoid the punishment of one’s
deity. It is far better to suffer in this life than to spend eternity in “hell”..
* PDL : Ponce de Leon Syndrome: This is an age immaturity problem in which, as the result of
an overwhelming event in childhood, the person subconsciously believes it is too dangerous to
grow any older! It may be too dangerous from a physical, emotional or spiritual point of view.
However, the patient displays many child-like behaviors, emotions and thinking.
EXECUTION DYNAMICS: THESE FOLLOW THE MEDICAL MODEL:
* History: Very extensive and complete, including sexual and religious beliefs. Close attention
paid to body language and the first three sentences as the subconscious repeatedly refers to the
original event by these means. A presumptive Waking and Subconscious Diagnosis is now
made and verified by the examination.
* Examination: This is accomplished, in trance, by means of a specifically designed Word
Association Exercise (WAE), a universal sequence of prompts which include specific
information gained from the history. This provides accurate insight into the specific patient’s
train of thought and belief systems. By linking the various similar responses to the WAT
prompts, more than 95% of patients identify the relevant ISE, SPE and SIE’s as well as the
major subconscious diagnoses. Also important is that the therapist is able to establish the
positive resources a patient has and utilize this during the course of therapy.
* Investigation: Further information may be gained through dream analysis, the 3-box test or
other hypnotic techniques.
* Definitive Diagnosis:
* The “Waking Diagnoses” these conform to the traditional medical or psychiatric
diagnoses such as “migraine” or “panic disorder”.
* The “Subconscious Diagnoses”: as described above, these are the real issues and are
explained to the patient at the appropriate time in therapy. They provide true understanding and
allow the patient to heal him or herself.
* Treatment: In the case of medicine, an abscess is incised and drained. In Medical
Hypnoanalysis, the major tool is regression - a characteristic of the hypnotic state.
The treatment plan follows the “7 R’s”:
* Rapport
* Relaxation
* Regression to the relevant events with the following goals:
* Realization of the faulty belief: desensitisation
* Removal of the faulty belief
* Replacement with a positive belief
* Rehabilitation and Reinforcement of the NEW way of
Thinking, Feeling, Behaving: This process is carried out through cognitive-behavioral therapy,
direct suggestion, metaphor, progression and other hypnotic/ psychodynamic therapies
appropriate to both the patient and the therapist. The use of modern hypno-analytical techniques
very clearly explains what science cannot! The views of clinical medicine are due to ignorance
of the power and dynamics of the subconscious mind and the body-mind connection. Scientific
studies are limited to measuring biochemical and physiological changes û and while some
entertain emotional factors, none introduce the spiritual factor. This, despite scientific work by
Dr Michael Meaney at McGill University which clearly indicate that genetic factors are
secondary to early life experiences and a host of other studies of the new-born and the influence
of outside factors on the fetus! Further studies include work by Simonton, Spiegel, Ornish, Ader
and Cohen, Shafer, Sheinman, Zelling, Modlin and many others in a wide variety of medical
and psychological conditions.
Milton Erickson stated that a successful healer should recognise the patient’s inner pain,
modern medicine fails to do this. Sir William Osler said that it is wiser to know the patient more
than his disease. A symptom is but the subconscious mechanism of a “proof of life”, which may
include suffering of pain to maintain spiritual survival. the mechanism of guilt.
Despite advances in understanding neuropathophysiology, some 30% of patients do not
respond to the best medicines available, many become refractory to treatment and the symptom
tends to recur: it is not eradicated for the primary emotional cause remains locked in the
subconscious mind.
Accepting that there may well be a predisposing genetic factor, and while every disease
will have a final common neurochemical pathway, it must be recognised that this is not the real
problem, it is the result of a subconscious imprinted memory: a learned response to an early
physical, emotional or spiritual pain that is still unresolved. Medical Hypnoanalysis which is
briefly described above is one of several modern clinical hypnosis techniques that are highly
successful, short term and cost effective.

3. TECHNIQUES OF DAVE ELMAN’S HYPNOANALYSIS

(1) The pin point method. To pin point is to find the starting point of a neurosis. Every
neurotic condition had to start somewhere. This starting point has often been referred to as the
"Pin Point." With the Pin Point Technique you are definitely trying to locate the set of
circumstances which acted as the precipitating factor of the neurosis. The basis for the technique
is that there is no effect without a cause. Causes have a beginning. With the Pin Point method,
you attempt to find the initial or beginning cause.
(2) Hypnoanalysis by means of the "Dream it out" technique. This technique should be used on
patients with multiply psychosomatic condition instead of an patient's where there is only one
specific neurotic condition. The basis for the technique is sometimes patients suffering from
multiple psyche-neurotic symptoms, dread open discussion of their problems. By this technique,
open discussion is reduced considerably, and yet the patient is enabled to gain insight into the
conditions causing tile problem.
(a) induce trance state.
(b) Increase his awareness considerably, get the patient to talk about his problem.
(c) Listen attentively to what the patient says. As what problems worry him the most and not
his answers.
(d) Tell him he will remember his dreams remember it vividly - and by those dreams the mind
will tell exactly what problems disturb it. The patient will be able to recollect those problems
and will write them down and relate to the practitioner at the next session.
(3) Hypnoanalysis by the "Play Back" method. This "Play Back" should be used when other
forms of Hypnoanalysis fail. Though this is not used often, it can be effective. When in trance
record session, find out as much about the problem as possible. Then give the patient complete
amnesia concerning the interview and rouse him. At the next session tell him that you once
recorded a session with a person with a similar problem and playback the first session. "Now
there is a person with problems very much like your own. If you were I and had to advise that
patient how to get well, what would you tell him?
(4) The play-acting technique of hypno-analysis. This method is to be used when other methods
fail. When a patient is in deep trans suggest that he is going to see a remarkable play-drama in
which his own problems are acted out. He is to watch this play and give the practitioner a full
description of it upon rousing. Snap your Finger and let the play begin. When the dream is
over, the patient will almost invariably release highly charged material. He gains an insight into
his own problems and the courses of them.
(5) The finger technique or ideomotor responses of hypnoanalysis. Under trance the suggestion
is given that the patient's finger will bend if he isn't telling the truth or is hiding something, is an
insidious one. It gives him the impression that the movement of that finger is beyond his
control. In this way, when he tells a lie, he gives him- self away by moving the finger, thereby
keeping the operator on the right track. The finger technique is a valuable tool for unearthing
the causes for all sorts of phobias.
SIX TYPES OF PATIENT PROBLEMS TO USE PIN-POINTING:
(1) On patients where pain persist even after anesthesia or analgesia has been administered.
(2) Migraines or any other specific neurotic system causing psychosomatic aches or pains.
(3) The reduction of phobia.
(4) Stammering, stuttering, absent-minded, and is occasionally helpful in lisping.
(5) Tics including tic douloure.
(6) In almost all cases where only one specific problem or symptom is involved.
When is the pin-point method not indicated? Where there is a conglomeration of
systems.
Hypnosleep: A deep form of hypnosis that is attached to sleep. When hypnotic
suggestions are given during sleep and the subject responds, the sleep changes to hypnosis, and
if testing instruments are used, the indicators do not show a sleep pattern, but a strait hypnotic
pattern. Therefore instead of calling the state hypnosis attached to sleep, Elman has labeled it
"hypnosleep."
In order to use hypnosleep in therapy, the suggestion to sleep should be given as a post
hypnotic suggestion. Here are the necessary steps:
(1) Count the number of times the subject breathes. Normally in a minute, while Fully awake.
(2) Put him into somnambulism.
(3) Give him sleep suggestions to occur after you rouse him from the relaxed state.
(4) Rouse him from the hypnotic state, and let him fall asleep.
(5) When his breathing gets down to about seven or eight times a minute, test to find whether
or not he still has his normal sense of hearing. Chances are, at a breathing rate of seven or eight
times per minute, he will have the deep unconsciousness of sleep. At this point it is possible to
attach, hypnosis to sleep,. When a person is hypnotized in his sleep and a complete hypnotic
state is obtained, the operation finds himself talking to the unconscious mind of the patient.
When the person wakes up he has no recollection whatever of the operator talking to him.
Steps necessary in attaching hypnosis to deep sleep:
(1) Count the respiration of the patient. Make sure breathing is down to about seven or eight
times a minute.
(2) Approach the patient very gently, for the aim is to by-pass the critical factor of his mind
without rousing him from sleep. Speak very gently, but very confidently, "This is (name)
speaking. You can hear me but you can't wake up.
(3) As the subject is in such a deep sleep, the above statement may need to be repeated several
times, continue, "I'll know you're hearing me when this thumb of yours which I'm going to touch
will begin to rise. I'll know you're hearing me when your thumb moves. You can hear me but
you can't wake up."
(4) When the thumb moves, continue to talk gently, compounding suggestions as you proceed.
(5) When you have finished giving the necessary suggestions, or conclude the hypnoanalysis,
your next step is to remove the hypnotic state so that the subject can continue the natural sleep
state until he wakes up himself. Do it as follows, "When I stop talking to you. You will sleep
deeply and you'll awaken completely refreshed - won't even remember I've been talking to you -
now go to sleep very soundly. I'll. stop talking now.

4. THE SIX PILLARS OF HYPNOANALYSIS: KEVIN HOGAN

The last section concluded with your client being in trance. Now what do we do next?
There are six pillars of hypnoanalysis and all of them lead to therapeutic interventions. In most
cases you will begin with regression therapy, but this is not always the case. Here are the six
pillars of hypnoanalysis to help you discern what comes next!
1) Transference- Transference is the common experience of the client (or a part of the
client) viewing the therapist as someone in his or her past. The therapist could be perceived as
father-like, mother-like, etc. This can be useful if the therapist is doing so with a strategic
purpose in mind. For example, if the therapist is attempting to gain access to an ego state, then it
can be useful to briefly allow transference to take place for a few moments. However, once the
ego state identified the therapist with a past significant other (father, mother, boss, brother,
sexual abuser) the distinction needs to be quickly made that the therapist is NOT that person, nor
is he anything like that person or people who have so negatively effected the client's life. This
moment is referred to as a "transference interpretation."
It is at this point that the therapist gently but firmly challenges the ego state to realize that
he has been reacting to all authority figures, or whatever group the therapist is now "falling
into," as he did (p 91) when he was, say a child, responding to Mom. This moment creates an
"aha!" experience that allows the client to gain personal insight into his behavior. This
previously unconscious behavior is now a conscious experience that allows the client to create
intentional change.
Warning: It is very easy for a therapist to take on the role of significant others both
"good and bad" without knowing it. Countertransference is very common in hypnotherapy and
must be guarded against at all costs. It is probably safe to say that all hypnoanalysts have at one
time or another fallen prey to the seduction of a client's unconscious mind and ego states. When
we treat the client as a child a lover, a parent, or anything other than a client, we have
allowed countertransference to take place. This must be rapidly corrected or the therapeutic
relationship should be terminated. All hypnotherapist should solve their own transference issues
with the assistance of other therapists as these transferences become obvious. Every therapist
needs a therapist.
Watkins (1991) has a general rule of thumb in dealing with clients: "Don't do what the
parents, or whoever reared the patient early in life, did wrong in the eyes of the patient, whether
it is ignoring or abusing."
Clients who have been sexually abused will sometimes (but certainly not always) act
seductively toward the therapist. Be very aware of this common phenomenon. It could destroy
your practice and harm the therapeutic relationship. You will find a common pattern in clients
who report abuse. They tend to have been abused more than once. Rape victims are often
victimized later in life. Molestation victims often are molested by other individuals than the first
offender. Abuse victims are often abused by individuals other than the first offender. Bringing
this pattern to the conscious mind of the client, at the appropriate time, aids in the healing
process. Without proper ego strength an assignation of self-blame might take place and ruin the
therapeutic process.
2) Regression and Revivification- Once in trance, the client can be returned to the
initial sensitizing event. (ISE) using regression techniques. Once a client has been returned to
the ISE, ire can see bow his ego states have shaped his behavior and make a conscious decision
to change. In Dianetic therapy, (which borrows heavily from Watkin's hypnoanalytic work)
this incident is called an "engram" and through the years I have found that term to be accurate
and useful. When I say that someone is "in an engram," I specifically mean that his ego state that
developed at the ISE is unconsciously driving the individuals reactionary behavior. It is
therefore critical to the therapist to return to this event so the ego state can be contacted and dealt
with in an appropriate manner. We will briefly consider the key techniques here to return to that
ISE.
a) The Somatic Bridge- The somatic bridge is a technique that was developed to let a somatic (a
pain or unpleasant internal phenomenon like tinnitus or vertigo) speak for itself. Allow the
somatic to come into consciousness and state it's purpose, goals, and/or objectives.
b) The Affect Bridge- This technique was defined in 1911-by Watkins. The objective of this
technique is to track the feeling or affect component of a person's experience back to the ISE
while in trance. This allows the client to see that the feeling belongs to an earlier experience and
no longer needs to be experienced in the present time.
In session, I might say something to the effect of, "Your tinnitus is loud and it is
frustrating you. It is causing you great annoyance. Take me with you back to a recent time when
you felt depressed by it." Then as each event on the bridge is dealt with ultimately can tell the
client, Take me with you back to the event that most likely was the cause (or a cause) of your
tinnitus so we can experience what caused this noise to turn on." Sometimes the onset was a
physical, external event like a gunshot or a rock concert. In cases like this the tinnitus eventually
will be reduced in volume but normally will not remit entirely. In cases where the ISE is an
emotional event, we normally are able to get an eventual remission although it may take months
or years.-In cases of pain, the remission often begins within minutes, hours or days!
3) Acceptance of the Client and His Ego States- It is not our job to judge our client. It
is our job to facilitate healing. By accepting the client and his parts in a virtually unconditional
manner, rapport is built rapidly. Rapport hinges on trust. Once the client and/or specific ego
states trust the therapist, it is easier to access the ego states that are creating difficulties in the
client's present time life.
4) Contacting Ego States- Once in trance, the simple question, "Would the part or parts
that are (p 94) helping Jim feel this pain be willing to come out and discuss the benefits and
reasons for this experience?" Do not interrogate the ego state. You are not a police officer. Your
tone of voice should be empathetic, appreciative and understanding. Your goal is to discover the
age of the ego state (when it developed), what it's intention is or wants for the whole self and
under what circumstances would the ego state be willing to accept a new job or create a new
experience that would be in the best interest of the ego state and the whole person.
5) Create an environment of safe negotiation between ego states. Allow the various
parts to all feel comfortable with the outcome of the therapy and communication. (In NLP this
process is called Reframing. )
6) Abreaction Therapy- There is no question as to the value of abreaction or catharsis
when working with clients. One significant cause of physical and emotional illness is the lack of
emotional release (usually in the form of tears and/or grieving) from traumatic events. When the
client is in trance, you can allow an ego state to abreact, or, the whole self as seems appropriate.
Experience is the best guide and you will gain skill as you become more experienced in
hypnoanalysis. The key point to remember is that the repressed feelings of grief, guilt, shame or
anger have caused emotional or physical illness and we must allow the individual or his ego
state(s) to experience the release of these "negative" emotions once and for all.
The client should be allowed to get ALL of his emotional repression vented. Once the
tears have flowed, the anger has been vented and the repression has been lifted the ego state that
has been influencing present time health often re-integrates with other parts and healing begins.
The client must learn that the victimization he experiences was not of his own doing. He was a
victim, plain and simple.
As the client re-experiences these traumatic events he begins to release the negative
emotions. As the events are re-examined a desensitization to the event and the experience begins
to occur draining the negative emotional energy from the ISE or engram.
5. TRANSACTIONAL HYPNOANALYSIS (THA): JURE BIECHONSKI
WHAT IS TRANSACTIONAL HYPNOANALYSIS (THA)? THA is part of
transpersonal psychology and works with the theory that our personalities are made up of many
different parts. The aim of THA is to integrate the aware ego within the personality by teaching
us how to access our different personality parts in hypnosis. During hypnoanalysis we learn how
to nurture those parts of our personality that have been suppressed, and how to disempower
those that have become inflated.
By learning to access the different parts of our personalities we gain a much deeper
understanding of ourselves, which then affects our relationships, our ability to express our
spiritual experiences and ourselves. The overall aim of ego integration in THA is healthy
psychological management of the personality as a whole. “The only devils in the world are those
running in our own hearts, that is where the battle should be fought” - Mahatma Ghandi. As we
have separated and split our mind from our body, to avoid anxiety; we have disassociated from
our body and lost any relationship with it. We are or all mind or all body, we do not listen to our
bodies, and any aches and pains or sensations, which is the way that the body communicate with
us, are immediately suppressed by chemicals. It is like driving your car and hearing to a loud
noise from the engine, instead of checking what is wrong we put ear plugs in our ears and
continue driving.
Within our body, we are more concerned about its external appearance rather than its
internal functions, we have disowned our hearts, our stomach our liver and even our sexual
organs. Unconsciously we store our stresses and anxieties within our bodies, to avoid their
existence, by doing that we block energy flows in our bodies, creating energy blockages and
develop diseases that mostly do not exist in the natural world. And as we know that some
thoughts can make us feel cold and some feelings can make us hot, we become aware to what
extent the mind and the body are affecting each other.
I wonder if sentences like heart ache, follow your heart, feeling dizzy in the head, sick in
the stomach, are not part of our collective unconscious and our archetypal tendencies that we
have developed as a result of our evolution? We have also created a dichotomy between our
logical thoughts and our feelings and sometimes we experience ourselves as an internal battle
field, fighting between how we feel and what we think, analysis-paralysis we find ourselves
stuck between two forces, as a battle between the Freudian id and the Freudian super ego, while
the ego just hangs around feeling completely redundant. Follow your heart or follow your head,
standing at the crossroad of life for ever, unable to make a decision.
FROM THE KNOWN: VISUALIZATION - Make yourself comfortable and close
your eyes. Imagine you can turn your eyes inwards scan the inside of your head identify
any areas of tension. discomfort scan the inside of your neck shoulders . arms .hands
.fingers  m ove down to your chest and upper back.. identify any areas of
tension.tummy  lower back  .p elvis  identify any areas of tension legs knees..
calf muscles. feet. Identify any areas of tension Complete in your head the following
sentence: ‘ Physically I feel  TO THE UNKNOWN: Make yourself comfortable and close
your eyes. Remember your week, people you met, situations you have experienced... Yesterday
evening who where you with? Were you on your own? How did you feel? You woke up this
morning, felt. made yourself ready to come here, imagine your way here. any thoughts
any feelings.. arriving here. meeting other people . Complete in your head the following
sentence: ‘ Emotionally I feel ' And now explore how the emotional responses reflect the
physical & vice versa and how the emotional and physical sensations can be linked. Because the
mind affects the physical body, and the physical body affects the mind.
Ask your client where in their body they feel tense in the moment, identify the organ.
Ask the client to become the organ, give that organ a shape a colour, a noise, a sound, a voice.
Create a dialogue between the organ and the client's ego (remember the organ is a sub
personality) Ask the client if there is another organ that they would like to talk to, create a
dialogue between the organs and the client. According to Voice dialogue those organs might be
part of our primary selves or the place in the body that we store those primary selves, or Jungian
personas. We might also have some organs that we disown which will represent our disowned
selves. By giving each one of them a voice, by creating a balance between them, by letting your
heart speak your mind we are moving towards the aware integrated ego. To be more creative and
avoid, as far as possible, interference of the critical factor of the conscious mind, I suggest the
following: Ask your client to imagine an animal coming out of their head and an animal coming
out of their stomach, identify the animals, the animals are now walking on the path in front of
you, what happens next? Ask the client to be each animal in turn and create a dialogue
between them, what are they saying too each other?.... what are they saying about you?..... what
would you like to say to them?..... Remember that on an analytical level you are dealing with the
inner world of the client, but on a humanistic level you avoid any interpretations and allow the
client to provide the meaning. It is advisable also to allow the client to bring the story to an end
in their own unique way, even if the outcome is not favourable it still reflects where the client is
at. There are references in the literature suggesting that each part of our body reflects a feeling or
has a meaning, I would strongly recommend avoiding other people's interpretations and allowing
your clients to give their own private meaning to their bodies. The heart: feeds the mind, feeds
the body keeps it alive but does not get the thanks it deserves, By not listening to the heart and
not letting it speak, we are blocking the flow of energy around the body, causing blockages and
distress. so .. listen to your heart, give it a voice, it is speaking to you, listen from a sacred
space.......... By denying the heritage of our soul, our ancient memories and life experiences we
are overloading the heart, it needs to off load, it needs to express, to fulfil its sacred destiny of
guiding us through our emotional lives. Let your heart speak to your Mind.
Jure Biechonski is an experienced Counseling Psychologist and is the founder and
director of SACH International (School of Analytical and Cognitive Hypnotherapy and
Integrative Psychotherapy) Jure is currently completing his PhD in Clinical Hypnotherapy. Jure
has over 25 years of practice as a psychotherapist and 9 years study of hypnotherapy and NLP to
an advanced level. As a psychotherapist Jure uses hypnotherapy as a tool to accelerate the
therapeutic process by accessing the subconscious mind. His qualifications and extensive studies
have provided him with a wide scope of various counseling and hypnotic techniques, which
ensures a high success rate among his clients.

6. BERNARD C. GINDES AND HYPNOANALYSIS

It was from a book entitled New Concepts of Hypnosis (Gindes, 1951). Surprisingly,
Lindner was laudatory in the introduction to this book. He states (pp xi, xii): the book represents
a valiant effort to insure the rehabilitation of hypnosis One of the few such books likely to
succeed ... it is sober and balanced survey unique among many volumes .. in this third great
wave of concern with hypnosis as a therapeutic agent...
Ostensibly, Gindes was endeavoring to prove a point, to persuade colleagues of the value
of hypno-analysis and hypno-synthesis..
In one chapter, , Gindes reviews the principles of psychoanalysis. There doesn't appear
to be anything new or different in this list. Gindes' review of these principles sets the stage for
his bold statement that hypno-analysis was a major innovation to psycho-analysis and Freudian
techniques He then proceeds to the issues.
He is specific in the ways hypno-analysis improves the therapy. In drawing a contrast
between psycho-analysis and hypno-analysis he states that the usual analytic method must, of
necessity, wade through the extraneous material before significant items appear in the free
association period. Many patients stall for weeks avoiding a point they do not want to face.
Hypnosis enables the patient to face the reality of such difficult thoughts. And it does so by
taking the patient back to the original experience that caused the trauma and to the precise
emotional reaction of that time, rather than a rationalized emotional reaction tacked onto it by
years of living.
Gindes conceives of two stages in the therapy. The first stage, “hypno-analysis” in which
hypnosis is used while following the traditional psyche-analytic techniques, such as free
association, d'eam analysis and the like. One procedure, we have not seen in the techniques of
preceding analysts is the use of a word association test. He makes the point that words produced
in hypno-analysis apparently lie closer to the affective life and lead more directly to the
unconscious material. This and the other methods enables the patient to make contact with the
repressed material.
 Stage two, "hypno-syntheses" constitutes the moral, physical, mental, and emotional
adjustment to the material presented in Stage One. Direct suggestions are given to the patient
during hypnosis to exert independence, Self-reliance, and serenity upon awakening, thus
abandoning the transference relationship In order to promote and maintain recovery,
explanations are made to the patient so as to connect the symptoms and the materla1 of the
analysis Thus the word "synthesis," which signifies a combination.
The patient must understand how the various associations and connotations of the
illness conform to the experience which was revealed in analysis. Further, the therapist should
demonstrate how all fringe Handbook of Brief Psychotherapy by Hypnoanalysis symptoms are
related to the one, main symptom which is connected with the particular experience. The point
is, if the analysis is well done, it won't be necessary for the patient to receive specific
suggestions for the amelioration of the symptoms. The symptoms will vanish.
In conclusion it should be said that Gindes calls attention to the work of his outstanding
predecessors, Lindner and Wolberg. I get a feeling from Gindes that I did not get from the
analysts previously listed, that he has a more "directive" attitude with his patients than they do.
Incidentally, Gindes' book is not devoted exclusively to hypno-analysis. The bulk of it is devoted
to other aspects of hypnosis.

7. THE ROLE OF ART IN HYPNOANALYSIS: MAURICE KUEGELL Ph.D., BCETS

Hypnotists who have acquired the skills to hypnotize and use suggestive
hypnotherapeutic procedures will become aware that they will need additional techniques for
their hypnotic interventions. Hypnoanalysis involves sophisticated procedures applied within the
hypnotic intervention that are aimed at going beyond the suggestive techniques to a
reconstructive understanding. The approach in hypnoanalysis is to recognize elements of
resistance, personality structure, and the "royal road to the unconscious" via various techniques.

Techniques may include figure drawings, free association, dream interpretation, as well
as a variety of various art media. Hypnoanalysts have developed various procedures for
revealing preconscious and unconscious material. The hypnotist needing insight before
proceeding with any induction should be aware that insight into the client is revealed by motor
responses, nonverbal communication and the use of free expression, one such expression being
art. The heart of any interpersonal therapeutic procedure is communication. There is a constant
flow of communication between the client and the hypnotist, not necessarily limited to just
words, there are mannerisms, voice inflections and other expressions. Through such indirect
communication one reveals much more of one's inner-self than through words. Through the use
of art and in this case particularly drawings, clients will reveal their inner meanings, concerns, as
well as a multitude of aspects of their personality and motivations. In my book, DAPTH (see
book review section.Ed.) Accessing the Unconscious in the Practice of Hypnosis and
Counseling, the hypnotist becomes acquainted with various case illustrations on data which
could not have been revealed through an interview alone. The following is a case illustration of
what seemed to be an otherwise routine request for help to stop smoking.
Case illustration 1: Smoking Cessation in an Obsessive Compulsive Personality: A
client comes to you for smoke cessation. He tells you that he must give up smoking because his
doctor is concerned about his health. He is very apprehensive about becoming a nonsmoker.
During the interview, you note that his life style is controlled by various rituals. Thus, upon
arising in the morning he invariably walks to the kitchen, lights a cigarette, walks outside, takes
three drags, fixes the coffee and looks outside. There are continuous rituals throughout the day.
He is aware of his rituals and expresses fears of any changes. As a compulsive personality, it is
clear that his rituals offer him control over anticipated fears. While aware of the senselessness of
his behavior, those rituals provide him with a way to release and control his tension. He was
asked to draw a house (see drawing above). It took him more than five minutes to begin
drawing. He did not start until he was exactly sure how he would draw it and where he would
place the drawing. He ran a constant commentary of his inner dialogue. The entire drawing took
20 minutes, which is too long by any standard and had to be ended due to the time element. As
you look at the drawing, note the details. Observe that the row of bricks in the main part of the
house are similar in number. This suggests and reinforces the initial impression of a compulsive,
ritualistic person. Since the client expresses his wish to stop smoking, should one automatically
proceed with such a program? The client came because he was told to do so. In the initial
interview he expressed his fears associated with any change. Smoking is a ritualistic activity.
(Most smokers are addicted to a particular brand; most use a lighter or matches, rarely both,
most smokers hold the cigarettes in the same way, keep the pack in the same bag or pocket, flick
the ashes in the same way, inhale and exhale in the same rhythm, and so on). Most smokers are
fearful of being able to handle some situations without a cigarette. (For instance, they feel
apprehensive about being able to answer the telephone or making a call without a cigarette, and
fearful of being able to go through the day without having had their first cigarette in the
morning. They could also have several other associations which have become habit forming).
Rituals are much stronger and are binding, as experienced by a person with an obsessive or
compulsive personality.
Cases have been reported where smoke cessation was successful but resulted in a severe
depression on the part of the client. "Any suggestion is an intervention in a human system of
equilibrium. Previous responses, although unconstructive may have been established for specific
reasons. Intervening in them by either compulsions or inhibitions can change the equilibrium and
release a chain of subsequent reactions that may be worse than the ones which the suggestions
aimed to supplant" (Watkins, 1987). Any intervention dealing with altering a habit, needs to
take into account the effect of the change on the overall personality. Thus, smoking is not treated
in isolation but as part of a compedium of other characteristics. Are you equipped to handle a
compulsive personality or do you need to refer to him to someone else? Are you able to
recognize a compulsive? Back to the drawing, there are some other indicators that would be
helpful to you as a hypnotherapist. Note how small the windows and doors are in comparison to
the overall structure of the house. Those might reflect either the anxiousness of the person, or a
need to remain guarded, or a feeling of being closed in. Note the two doors. The front door does
not appear to be accessible but the side door is. Should you proceed with an induction you may
wish to think of a non-directive approach, perhaps a naturalistic approach or metaphors or other
techniques to circumvent the client's needs to control. Although small, both windows and
flowers are present. While hardly perceptible, prognostically they support that communication
could be established. Finally, notice the two driveways and notice how much more accessible the
one leading to the back door is. You may wish to think of techniques that might be more
appropriate to access the subconscious. In any case, keep in mind that one should be able to do
with hypnosis what one can do without hypnosis. Case Illustration 2 Recognizing Suicide:
This 42 year old man came to my office because he was "in a rut and was told that he
needed help and should try hypnosis in order to feel better." During the initial interview he
appeared to be a very well spoken and jovial man with a highly developed vocabulary, who
never really established eye contact. His eyes were constantly directed down to the left and if he
looked up it was only to look up to the left when he seemed to attempt to retrieve some
memories in response to some questions.
The movement of the eyes looking down to the left is acknowledged by the Neurolinguistic
Programming School as significant and looking down to the left is for most people a way to
access their feelings. In this particular case, the client appeared to be completely immersed in
accessing his feelings. He had previous experience with hypnosis when he had attended a
workshop. He was told that hypnosis would help him "come out of his depression."
The 'Draw A Person' was administered. At times one may not be completely sure what
the drawing is and what it represents. It is acceptable to ask the person to provide explanation
about the drawing. Of interest is the fact that, although the paper was given him one way, he
chose to rotate it. He was asked to describe the drawing thus projecting his own interpretation.
The client explained that this man was hanging from a rope. While he drew, he sketched quickly.
He looked very sad and as he finished the drawing, he gave a long sigh and smiled. It was felt
that having expressed the thought on paper he may have experienced a sense of relief. When he
handed the drawing back to me, I asked him if he had ever had thoughts of suicide. He did, but
had failed because people had always rescued him. I asked him if he had been preoccupied lately
with suicidal ideation and he replied that he was too tired to even give it a thought, for he spent
many hours in bed unable to get up and there was nothing to get up for anyway. While clients
might come to us with a specific request for hypnosis, it is wise to recognize that frequently
people may request hypnotherapy as a back door for accessing other serious problems. The
figure drawing here with a paucity of details suggests withdrawal and depression. Maurice
Kouguell Ph.D., BCETS.

8. HYPNOANALYSIS ABSTRACTS
Schneck, Jerome M. (1966). A study of alterations in body sensations during
hypnoanalysis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 14 (3), 216-231.
ABSTRACT: Presents body-sensation phenomena which appeared in a patient in treatment. The
total number exceeds that reported previously and supplies longitudinal as well as cross-sectional
perspectives because the data were gathered over a period of several mo. Comparisons are made
of this material with findings in other patients. The large variety of sensory phenomena are
representations of conscious and unconscious experiences, many of which can be understood in
relation to the S's conflicts or his total personality functioning at the time the phenomena
appeared. Additional areas for investigation include:
1) evaluation of hypnotic sensory phenomena in relation to a variety of symptoms in the form of
somatic complaints by patients seeking psychotherapy,
(2) the study of sensory experiences in therapists in connection with their roles in the special
settings of hypnotherapy and hypnoanalysis and in treatmen without hypnosis,
(3) the study of body sensations experienced by "normal" individuals and comparisons of them
with hypnotic sensory phenomena, and
(4) the evaluation of sensory phenomena as reflections of total psychosomatic functioning with
its ideational and affective ingredients.
Klemperer, Edith (1955). The spontaneous self-portrait in hypnoanalysis. Journal of
Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 3 (1), 28-33.
NOTES: Author presents descriptions patients gave of themselves in hypnoanalysis and
compares them with material obtained with Dr. Walter Boernstein's Verbal Self-Portrait Test.
On that test, the patient is asked, 'If you were an accomplished artist, how would you paint
yourself?' The author concludes, "In summarizing I wanted to show that patients in
hypnoanalysis can use the symbolical representation of their body as a means of bringing to the
fore psychic traits, conflicts, and unconscious forces motivating them. They can even picture
through it the complications of their life histories. In other words, the personality projection as it
is revealed in the Spontaneous Self-Portrait here serves as a tool for the recognition and
understanding of the neurotic structure" (p. 33).
Klemperer, Edith (1961). Primary object-relationships as revealed in hypnoanalysis.
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 9, 3-11. (Abstracted in Index
Medicus, 61, 1228). NOTES: Author presents two patients who were age regressed to age four.
Visualizations from that age were compared with material obtained in psychoanalysis, to explore
"whether the statements of patients in hypnotic regression are accurate recollections or products
of fantasy" (p. 3). She concluded, "The reported material fits many theories that have been
obtained with different methods, but the time spent on obtaining our material was relatively
short. We believe that we have demonstrated that the statements of patients made in
hypnoanalysis are comparable in their accuracy to information gained with other methods" (p.
11).
Klemperer, Edith (1962). Projective phenomena in hypnoanalysis. International Journal of
Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 10 (3), 127-133. (Abstracted in Psychological Abstracts
63: 5228).
ABSTRACT: During hypnoanalysis patients who have been age-regressed may perceive
themselves as experiencing childhood experiences and also as simultaneously watching these
experiences from a distance. This 2nd projected personality may be in the guise of an adult,
adolescent, child, or even an incorporeal being. In some patients it may occur with regularity, in
others not at all. Representative case histories and possible dynamic mechanisms are discussed.
Klemperer, Edith (1965). Past ego states emerging in hypnoanalysis. International Journal of
Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 13 (3), 132-144
ABSTRACT: Patients with anxiety, conversion, or phobic reactions differ from those with
obsessive-compulsive reactions in the type of visualization shown in hypnoanalytic regression or
revivification. The former produce visualizations showing a well-rounded picture with logical
progression of activity and few symbolic distortions. The latter, however, produce visualizations
lacking a logical progression of activity and showing a somewhat disorganized and
poorly-rounded picture. Symbolic distortions are frequent, often recurring intermittently. Case
studies are presented.
Levin, L. A.; Harrison, R. H. (1976). Hypnosis and regression in the service of the ego.
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 24, 400-418. ABSTRACT: 28
highly hypnotizable female Ss were selected to test the hypothesis that hypnosis is characterized
by regression in the service of the ego (adaptive regression). 2 tasks, producing a hypnotic dream
and telling a TAT story, were administered individually under hypnotic and normal waking
conditions. Scoring for adaptive regression yielded 2 factors, one for the regressive aspects of
the fantasies produced, the other for cognitive mastery of those fantasies. An increase in primary
process thinking was found in hypnosis, particularly in the hypnotic dream. There was a
relationship between S's capacity for adaptive regression and the amount of adaptive regression
found in hypnosis. Although facilitating regression from secondary to more primary process
thinking, hypnosis does not inherently provide mechanisms by which primary process
manifestations can be utilized adaptively by the ego. Such mechanisms are ego functions which
tend to be amplified by hypnosis only in Ss who demonstrate good capacity for adaptive
regression.
Raginsky, Bernard B. (1962). Sensory hypnoplasty with case illustration. International
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 10, 205-219. (In Index Medicus 63: March,
S-543) ABSTRACT: Sensory hypnoplasty is a technique in hypnoanalysis in which th
hypnotized patient models clay to which various sensory stimuli (e.g., temperature, texture,
color, smell) have been added to stimulate basic primitive memories, associations, sensations,
and conflicts. This allows the patient to give plastic expression to repressed and suppressed
material which is then followed by verbalization of the conflicts. The therapeutic process is
reputed to be greatly accelerated. This technique has been used in the successful treatment of
diverse pathological conditions.
Rosen, Harold; Erickson, Milton H. (1954). The hypnotic and hypnotherapeutic
investigation and determination of symptom-function. Journal of Clinical and Experimental
Hypnosis, 2 (3), 201-219. (Abstracted in Psychological Abstracts, 55: 7017)
Summary.
1. Symptoms and even syndromes may subserve the repetitive enactment of traumatic events;
may reproduce, instead, specific life situations; may satisfy repressed erotic and aggressive
impulses; or may at one and the same time constitute defenses against, and punishment for,
underlying instinctual drives. They may mask underlying schizophrenic reactions, or hold
suicidal depressions in check. They may serve these and other functions concurrently, or none,
or any specific one or combination of them.
2. With selected patients under hypnosis, symptom-function may be determined rapidly and in a
therapeutic setting. Various techniques can be utilized. Attacks may be precipitated and then
blocked, either by direct hypnotic suggestion or by regressing the patient to a period pre-dating
the onset of his disease, so that substitutive motor or other activity will be precipitated in a form
accessible to therapeutic investigation; attacks may be precipitated in slow motion, so that
individual components can be therapeutically investigated in detail; dissociated states may be
induced; dream acting-out may be suggested; or symptoms may be suggested away while
emotions back of symptoms are concurrently intensified, so that, again, underlying dynamic
material will immediately become accessible for therapy. Still other techniques may be utilized.
3. If treatment, as well as evaluation, be through these techniques, and if treatment be successful,
it may be that the analogy of a log jam will be of value. The jam can usually be broken by
pulling out one or two key logs. The rest then start falling into place -- and the whole log jam
disappears. This may be what happens, although to a limited extent, during therapy of this type.
4. Various of these techniques have been illustrated throughout this paper. Case histories
however, have at times been distorted in order to maintain the anonymity of the patients
involved" (pp. 218-219).
Schneck, Jerome M. (1953). Self-hypnotic dreams in hypnoanalysis. Journal of Clinical and
Experimental Hypnosis, 1 (1), 44-53. (Abstracted in Psychological Abstracts, 53: 6579)
Author's Summary: In evaluating self-hypnotic dreams from the view of form and content,
they should be compared with nocturnal and hetero-hypnotically induced dreams of the same
individual, aside from comparisons with others. Eight self-hypnotic dreams of a patient in
hypnoanalysis are reported here. Well known dream mechanisms are readily discerned. Classic
symbolism is encountered, as well as repetitive types of symbols peculiar to this patient's
functioning. The dreams are given in detail along with the patient's associations and
interpretations. Such self-hypnotic dreams may be used to extend and intensify hypnoanalytic
work. They involve the patient more completely in treatment. They may be used to introduce
new issues, bring problems into sharper focus, identify and analyze resistance. They may, in
fact, be used for most any purpose that hetero-hypnotic dreams may be employed for in analysis.
The text reveals other points of interest regarding self-hypnotic dreams in relation to therapeutic
work, and additional investigations which may be instituted in connection with such dreams.
Schneck, Jerome M. (1961). Hidden determinants in deceptive requests for hypnoanalysis.
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 9, 261-267. (Abstracted in
Psychological Abstracts, 62: 4 II 61S)
ABSTRACT: Evaluation of the motives underlying the request for hypnoanalysis leads to the
conclusion that often these patients do not wish for this form of treatment at all. Thus, requests
for hypnoanalysis are often deceptive (a method of changing therapists during a period of
negative transference). The implications of these hidden determinants are discussed and brief
case references are given.
Watkins, John G. (1971). The affect bridge: A hypnoanalytic technique. International
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 21-27.
ABSTRACT: The "affect bridge" is a technique whereby a patient is moved experientially from
the present to a past incident over an affect common to the 2 events rather than through an
overlapping "idea" as is usual in psychoanalytic association. The current affect is vivified and all
other aspects of the present experience hypnotically ablated. The patient is then asked to return
to some earlier experience during which the affect was felt and to re-live the associated event. A
case is presented during which 2 "affect bridges" were used to secure a regression to early oral
levels of development as part of the treatment of obesity. Significant conflict material so secured
was "brought forward" to the present to achieve "insight" and "working-through." The technique
appeared to achieve significant therapeutic change in a comparatively short period of time.
Baron, Samuel (1960). Levels of insight and ego functioning in relation to hypnoanalsis.
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 8 (3), 141-146.
Author's Summary: "Insight occurs on different levels of psychological awareness and with
varying degrees of curative effect. The complex interplay between psychodynamic factors and
therapeutic situations does not permit any accurate predictability of either the patient''s level of
insight at any one moment or of his readiniess to assimilate deep disclosures. Psychoanalytic
theory sheds the greatest light upon these phenomena as well as upon the analogous aspects in
hypnotherapy. The hypnotic state is peculiarly suited to overcome resistance and to utilize
consequent insight with great effectiveness. Progress in hypnotherapeutic technique has evolved
an approach that assures the assimilation of crucial revelations at a pace in accordance with the
strength of the ego to tolerate the resultant anxiety" (p. 145).
Bowers, Margaretta K. (1966). Experimental study of the creative process by means of
hypnoanalytic associations to a painting done in occupational therapy: The magic ring of
Walter Positive. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 14 (1), 1-21.
ABSTRACT: Drawings, executed in free association to an uninteresting painting, were secured
through the technique of mirror gazing in hypnotic trance. They provided an unexpectedly rich
source of the life history, traumatic experiences, and hopes and expectations of recovery in a
patient who was with all other techniques, both conscious and hypnotic, most unproductive. The
drawings also demonstrate the dynamic development of the life history and the integrative
process by which the patient expects to make and actually has made his recovery.
Chertok, Leon (1982). The unconscious and hypnosis. International Journal of Clinical and
Experimental Hypnosis, 30 (2), 95-107.
ABSTRACT: This paper reviews Soviet approaches to the unconscious and to hypnotic
phenomena, before examining psychoanalytic theories of hypnosis which are generally based on
transference. The author believes the existing theories are inadequate, arguing that there is a
psychophysiological dimension to hypnosis; but what unconscious processes does this conceal?
Psychoanalysis opened one road to the unconscious, but affect, nonverbal communication, and
psychophysiological process are still uncharted territories towards which hypnosis may yet prove
to be another royal road.
NOTES: The author concludes, "hypnosis and the unconscious... are closely linked.
Historically, experiments on posthypnotic suggestion were in fact the starting point for the
discovery of the unconscious. Posthypnotic suggestion is in effect one of the most irrefutable
proofs that psychical contents can influence behavior, albeit eluding the subject's consciousness.
In this paper, the present author provides a description of Soviet researchers' conceptions
of the unconscious, and of the point of view from which they approach hypnotic phenomena.
Psychoanalytic theories of hypnosis are then presented, which are essentially based on
transference. It is shown why this notion seems to the present author powerless to account for
the specific nature of the hypnotic relationship. There is, in effect, a psychophysiological
dimension to hypnosis. It lies at the crossroads between the instrumental and the relational
dimension. But nothing is known about what unconscious processes hide at the
psychophysiological level. Psychoanalysis has brought to light the laws governing the
functioning of unconscious representations. But the realm of the affect, the nonverbal
communication, and bodily processes still remain beyond our knowledge. This is a hidden side
of the unconscious, in relation to which hypnosis may serve as another 'royal road (pp. 104-105).

9. HYPNO-ANALYSIS: A CASE HISTORY: TERENCE WATTS

Dr Bryan Knight is pleased to present a monthly column by Britain's leading
hypnotherapist, the exceedingly knowledgeable Terence Watts. HYPNO-ANALYSIS... a case
history This month, we're going to have look at the salient parts of a case history that illustrate
the way in which hypnoanalysis can be effective with quite 'stubborn' symptoms.
Mary had presented with a long history of migraine headaches; she sometimes suffered
as many as three a week, had consulted with various doctors and tried several different types of
medication, including homoeopathic remedies, acupuncture, and Chinese medicine. She had also
tried 'normal' hypnotherapy in an attempt to get control over the pain but to no avail. When I
asked about other symptoms, she said she had always suffered low self-esteem and poor
confidence levels as well as embarrassment, which could become quite acute, if she needed to
use the toilet anywhere other than in her own home. This last observation turned out to be
surprisingly relevant.
Because of the range of her symptoms, I decided to use free association as a
methodology, since this investigates the psyche in a far broader fashion than does direct
regression. Mary proved to be a very capable at getting into a good hypnotic state and we
progressed well for four sessions. During the fifth session, she was recalling moving house at
around eight years old when she suddenly announced, very red-faced, that she 'simply had to go
for a wee'. She steadfastly refused to do any more work during that session, stating that she
could feel a migraine coming on and that she had to get home before it got a hold; she left with a
great deal of haste, barely pausing to nod when I said: "Same time next week, then?"We had
obviously 'hit' something, though I had no idea what; I was certain, though, that there was more
going on than just her embarrassment at having to 'go for a wee'! She arrived rather late for
session six, admitting rather shamefacedly that she had actually decided not to come at all,
changing her mind only at the last minute. Once into hypnosis, she went more or less straight to
the recall of moving house and told me that this was when she finally got her own room instead
of having to share with her sister. There was a long pause at this point, then she finally said:
"But something's wrong - this is not my room that I'm thinking of. There are two beds in here,
not just my one. But the wallpaper's exactly the same." This was obviously a composite memory,
I thought, a combination of separate elements of two or more separate places/occasions and not
uncommon. Towards the end of the session, she suddenly remembered visiting her Aunt Jane in
Wales and thought that the room that she had 'seen' in her mind was in her aunt's house. "I don't
know why," she said, after exiting hypnosis, "But that's made me feel very uncomfortable for
some reason." She was very thoughtful and almost non-responsive as she left. Now we'll pick up
the vital part of session seven. At the beginning of the session, there had been much talk about
how her parents were very strict and had repeatedly insisted that she was not to ask for anything,
nor talk out of turn, whenever they visited relatives or friends. She was always to remember,
they instilled in her over and again, that she was just a child and that her opinions on things were
not needed. These admonishments were reinforced by physical punishment if she ever
transgressed.
There was a sudden surge of emotion and tears as she understood that this was where the
low self-esteem had originated and we did a bit of 'inner child' repair work. But the most
important part of the session - or her therapy - was to follow. Mary: "I'm remembering being in
Wales again." TW: "And what's happening in Wales?" Mary: "I'm in that room, that room I saw
before. It's all dark." TW: (waiting) Mary: "I need to go for a wee, but I don't know where the
toilet is. I've been looking for it but I can't find it and I'm afraid to wake anybody up in case I get
told off... but I'm bursting!" TW: (echoing tonality) "And you're bursting!" Mary: (distressed)
"I'm sitting up in bed to try to stop it! I remember banging my head against the headboard over
and over again to try and take my mind off it."

10. HYPNOANALYSIS: LEWIS WOLBERG

Goals: In this book, Wolberg discusses the relatively new science of hypnoanalysis. He
raises a number of as yet unanswered questions: Can hypnoanalysis shorten the therapeutic
process? Will the results last? What patients are responsive? Can hypnoanalysis precipitate
psychosis in schizoid patients? Does it restrict therapy to a superficial catharsis? How does it
influence the ego? In this study, the author includes a detailed account of the hypnoanalysis of a
particular patient. He also discusses the procedures involved in hypnoanalysis, and presents a
number of brief case studies, to shed further light on the experimental method of treatment
under scrutiny.
Methods: Conclusions: Wolberg writes that there is an urgent need in psychiatry for a
short form of therapy applicable to patients who cannot afford or lack the time for prolonged
psychoanalytic treatment" (p. xiii). He considers the brief psychotherapies to be superficial; they
typically leave the underlying unconscious cause for a neurosis untreated. Thus "while the
patient makes a more tolerable adjustment to his environment, his characterologic defects
remain" (p. xiii). Several studies have indicated that hypnosis might function as a valuable
psychotherapeutic method with possible advantages over other brief therapies. Hypnotic
suggestion has been shown to ameliorate certain forms of functional illness. Wolberg writes
that those instances are rare, however. It is in the treatment of hysterical disorders that hypnosis
can be eminently useful. Experiences and conditionings in a patient's past are often at the root of
hysterical, obsessional, and compulsive symptoms. Recovering these memories either directly in
the hypnotic state, through recall and re-enactment in the hypnotically induced regressive state,
through automatic writing, drawing, or dream analysis, may cure a patient of a symptom.
Wolberg notes that this recall is not always successful -- sometimes the repression is necessary
to protect the patient against overwhelming anxiety. Sometimes the resistance to recall of a
certain memory is so strong that it will remain buried even during a deep trance. Wolberg
believes that hypnosis can shorten the therapeutic process. He writes, "by cutting through
interpersonal defenses, it plunges the patient immediately into a close relationship with the
analyst" (p. 162).
Hypnosis brings out transference phenomena rapidly. "The patient reacts to the hypnotic
relationship with deep inner strivings and fears, with defenses and resistances such as occur in a
psychoanalytic relationship," Wolberg writes. Hypnosis also helps to remove a patient's
resistances, especially those related to repression of traumatic memories. Hypnosis allows the
circumvention of ego defenses that keep unconscious material from gaining access to the
conscious state. Thus hypnosis facilitates quicker access to unconscious material, which
Wolberg considers the first phase of treatment. He adds that hypnosis can shorten the second
phase of treatment which is the re-educational phase. It "permits easier incorporation and
absorption of wholesome interpersonal attitudes" (p. 163). Wolberg concludes, "hypnoanalysis
holds promise of becoming an invaluable adjunct to psychoanalysis, but it must be explored
more thoroughly before its complete scientific worth can be fully evaluated" (p. xvii).

11. HYPNOANALYSIS FOR PAIN: APPLIED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE

We all suffer it at one time or another. Migraine headaches. Back pain. Chronic pain
from illness or injury. Birthing pains. Pain from surgery or other medical procedures. Whenever
we're in pain we want relief - fast. So we call the doctor and he prescribes medication. We take
it and most of the time it helps. But other times it doesn't help... enough... or for long enough.
And sometimes we just don't want to take medication. MIs there an alternative? Is there a safe
way to get pain relief without medication? Today more and more people are asking this
question. A two hundred year old technique - hypnosis - is gaining in strength as a modality of
choice for pain relief in treatment of a variety of medical conditions from migraine headaches
to chronic back pain to cancer symptoms.
Managing Pain: Most hypnotherapists work with pain problem primarily in conjunction
with appropriate healing arts professionals. This is because pain often is a symptom of a
problem rather than the problem itself. A headache might be migraine; it also might be a brain
tumor. A medical diagnosis is important. However, properly used hypnosis can reduce pain,
alleviate anxiety, remove fears of dentistry or surgery, eliminate or reduce the need for
injections or other applications of chemical anesthesia, promote comfort and healing and
expedite recovery. It is becoming more common in dentistry, obstetrics, burn treatment and
emergency room trauma. In accomplishing the above it is evident that Medical Hypnoanalysis
can prove dramatically effective in dealing with medically-related stress situations
Areas of Application in Dentistry
* Analgesia (as premedication to reduce chemical anesthesia)
* Anesthesia (instead of chemical anesthesia and/or for post operative pain)
* Anxiety & fear reduction
* Bruxism
* Denture problems
* Gagging control
* Hemophilia patients
* Operative Hypnodontics
* Pediadontics
* Phobias
* Preparation for anesthesia
* Promotion of healing
* Salivation control
* Thumb sucking
* Tongue thrusting
* Vascular control of bleeding
[Taken from Hypnotic Induction & Suggestion: 1988. Edited by D. Corydon Hammond, PhD.
Published by the American Society of Clinical Hypnosi
Medical Hypnoanalysis Soothes Recurrent Indigestion: Hypnosis appears to calm a
stomach plagued by a widespread digestive disorder better than an equivalent amount of
supportive therapy or drug treatment, as reported By Alison McCook in (Reuters Health). Dr.
Peter James Whorwell of Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, UK, and his colleagues tested
the usefulness of 16 weeks of Medical Hypnoanalysis in patients with functional dyspepsia
(FD), a form of chronic indigestion that affects up to 25% of the population. Patients' symptoms
include bloating, nausea, vomiting and feelings of fullness. Compared to patients given a
stomach acid-suppressor or a placebo plus supportive therapy--during which patients spoke to
and were counseled by a clinician--those who received Medical Hypnoanalysis experienced a
superior development in their symptoms and quality of life more than a year afterward.
Medical Hypnoanalysis patients, on average, scheduled fewer doctors' visits throughout the 40
weeks following treatment than those given other treatments. In addition, Whorwell and his
group report that not any of the patients given Medical Hypnoanalysis required medications
throughout the follow-up phase following treatment. In contrast, the majority of those who
received supportive therapy or medication for the duration of the study took a mixture of drugs,
together with antacids and antidepressants.
These results imply that Medical Hypnoanalysis can be an efficient and inexpensive way
to calm indigestion in people with FD. "Medical Hypnoanalysis is highly effective in the
long-term management of FD," Whorwell and his team write. "Furthermore, the dramatic
reduction in medication use and consultation rate provide major economic advantages."
This is not the first study to reveal the benefits of Medical Hypnoanalysis for an
assortment of conditions, as well as those that involve digestion. For example, the authors
recently showed that Medical Hypnoanalysis can ease symptoms of a common intestinal
disorder known as irritable bowel syndrome. Other researchers reported that the method can
benefit people with asthma and mothers in labor. During the present study, reported in the
December issue of Gastroenterology, Whorwell and his group asked a collection of 126 patients
with FD to experience Medical Hypnoanalysis, supportive therapy or drug treatment for 16
weeks, then followed them for an extra 40 weeks recording their evolution. Patients who
received Medical Hypnoanalysis and supportive therapy spent the same amount of time with
health professionals--twelve 30-minute visits--while those given the acid-suppressor ranitidine
(Zantac) attended only four visits.
Whorwell and colleagues found that, while receiving the diverse treatments, Medical
Hypnoanalysis patients reported added improvements in symptoms than did those given drugs
or supportive therapy. 73% of Medical Hypnoanalysis patients said their symptoms had
improved, relative to 34% of those given supportive therapy and 43% of those given drugs.
Nine out of 10 patients given medication required other drugs during the follow-up, as did 82%
who received supportive therapy. No patient given Medical Hypnoanalysis required added
medication during the 40 weeks following treatment.
Dr. William E. Whitehead of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, wrote an
accompanying editorial, said he believed the present findings are "fairly dramatic," and
recommended that "it would benefit physicians to incorporate hypnosis much more frequently
than it is now." However, he noted that major obstacles must be conquered before FD patients
and others have effortless access to Medical Hypnoanalysis. Few patients are at this time
offered hypnosis for their pain, Whitehead said, many get no reimbursement for the service from
their insurers. Furthermore, relatively few health professionals are trained to administer Medical
Hypnoanalysis, he and his colleague, Dr. Olafur S. Palsson write. Nevertheless Whitehead noted
that he believed patients with other types of gastrointestinal problems might benefit from
Medical Hypnoanalysis,--such as people suffering from rectal pain, milder forms of indigestion,
and nausea or vomiting. "We think it can help people with milder forms of functional
dyspepsia," he said. Source: Gastroenterology 2002;123:1778-1785, 2132-2147.
Hypnosis in addition to regular medical treatment has several advantages in pain
management. First, it requires no drugs. In fact, studies show that patients with chronic diseases
who practice hypnosis (as taught by a hypnotherapist trained in pain management) required
fewer analgesics to maintain pain relief. They also suffered less anxiety about their pain and
greater comfort during medical procedures. In a study at at Case Western Reserve University
Medical Hypnoanalysis was found useful as a pain management tool following such surgical
procedures as hysterectomy, coronary by-pass, hemorrhoid surgery and abdominal surgery.
The test patients also had shorter hospital stays less nausea and more rapid healing.
Twelve studies have proven Medical Hypnoanalysis to be the preferred treatment for reducing
migraine headache attacks. With such impressive results, why do we reach for the aspirin bottle
instead of the natural, relaxing, healing capacities within our own minds? The answer is
obvious. Most of us don't know how to practice self-hypnosis. Many of us are not aware of its
proven successfulness.
Still others of us hold outdated, fearful notions that hypnosis involves "mind control" or loss of
our own conscious will to another person. That's unfortunate because hypnosis - or Medical
Hypnoanalysis as it is often termed today to indicate the growing acceptance of its therapeutic
value - is a resource that should be explored by all who suffer pain.
It provides an ongoing method of pain management that, once established, can be
monitored and adjusted by the patient him or herself. It returns a sense of control back to the
patient and it has no side effects - except an overall increased relaxation
Applications in Medicine: Compiled by William C. Wester, II, Ed.D.
* Addictions & Alcoholism
* Allergies
* Amenorrhea (absence or abnormal stoppage of the menses)
* Anesthesia for Surgery
* Arthritis/Rheumatism
* Bladder irritability
* Bleeding control
* Blushing
* Burns
* Cancer, Cardiac Neurosis
* Cardiovascular disorders
* Cerebral palsy (persisting qualitative motor disorder appearing before the age of three due to
nonprogressive damage to the brain)
* Condyloma (an elevated lesion of the skin)
* Coronary disorders (psychosomatic)
* Coughing
* Crohn's Disease
* Cyst copy (assisting in the visual examination of the urinary tract with a cyst scope)
* Diabetes
* Dietary problems
* Eczema
* Ego-strengthening
* Encopresis (incontinence of feces not due to organic defect or illness)
* Enuresis (Bed wetting)
* Epilepsy
* Genitourinary disorders
* Geriatrics (problems of the elderly)
* Headaches
* Hemorrhage (Bleeding)
* Hemodialysis (removal of certain elements from the blood by virtue of difference in rates of
their diffusion through a semi permeable, membrane while being circulated outside the body)
* Herpes
* Hiccoughs
* Hyperemesis gravidarum (the pernicious vomiting of pregnancy),
* Hypertension (persistently high arterial blood pressure),
* Hyperthyroidism
* Hyperventilafcion (abnormally increased pulmonary ventilation, resulting in reduction of
carbon dioxide tension, which if prolonged, may lead to alkalosis)
* Itchyosis (any of several generalized skin disorders marked by dryness, roughness, and
scaliness)
* Infections
* Infertility
* Laryngology (Problems having to do with the throat, pharynx, larynx, nasopharynx, and
tracheobronchial tree)
* Mammary augmentation
* Menstrual disorders
* Metabolic diseases
* Migraine headache
* Nausea
* Neurodermatitis (itching presumed to be due to emotional causes) Nutrition
* Obesity
* Obstetrics & high-risk pregnancy
* Oncology
* Orthopedics
* Otology (dealing with the ear)
* Pain
* Phantom Limb Pain
* Psychosomatic Gastrointestinal Disorder
* Raynaud's Disease
* Rhinology (diseases of the nose)
* Sleep disorders
* Smoking
* Surgical preparation
* Tinnitus (a noise in the ears)
* Torticollis (wryneck; a contracted state of the cervical muscles, with torsion of the neck)
* Uterine bleeding
* Vasectomy
* Vomiting
* Warts
* Wound healing
Reference Links:
Hypnosis: A safe and potent pain reliever
Physical pain may begin in the mind, study shows
Hypnosis shown to substantially help cancer patients tolerate treatments, side effects

12. STRESS, PANIC & ANXIETY TREATMENT WITH MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS:

APPLIED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE
Over six million people in this country suffer from uncontrollable fear that causes them
to be anxiety-ridden and to have what is known as a "stressful personality." This type of
personality may be expressed in a variety of behavior patterns that may become so restrictive
that they literally ruin a person's life.
Symptoms may include a gnawing fear that something terrible is about to happen, a
sudden wave of panic with rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, breaking out in a cold sweat,
and a feeling of impending death. These attacks can be triggered by large crowded places such
as theaters, supermarkets, restaurants, or churches and are accompanied by an overwhelming
need to get out. Other situations that may cause anxiety attacks are: being in small, enclosed
places, such as elevators or cars, driving through tunnels or going over bridges, or boarding an
airplane. Anxiety attacks may occur when least expected or "out of the blue" and therefore may
limit a person's ability to go anywhere or to live a happy and productive life.
Some victims may eventually become unable to leave their own home. "We were all
designed to be normal, and, if it were not for inappropriate thoughts introduced into the
subconscious mind, we all would be." The Stressful Personality The stressful person lives in a
constant state of anxiety, which may worsen when there is a duty to perform, a challenge to be
met, a trip to be taken, or a responsibility to be accepted.
Some tasks become so frightening that they are almost impossible to perform. Such
situations are not seen as exciting challenges, but as fearful undertakings. In time, the increasing
sense of pressure can become emotionally and physically destructive. Some victims may have
recurring headaches, periods of insomnia, and outbursts of anger for no reason. This may result
in depression, fear of failure, fatigue, high blood pressure, indigestion, gastric ulcers, or colitis.
All of these symptoms can be part of the stressful personality. Treatment Until recently
it was believed that this type of personality, with its related problems, was inherited. For this
reason, treatment was directed toward changing the symptoms or the behavior in a number of
ways. These treatments included heavy usage of drugs to ease the feeling of anxiety, lift
depression, lower blood pressure, heal ulcers, and, in general, change the internal body
chemistry.
Other treatments stressed relaxation techniques, using medication or biofeedback. The
concept of a health-oriented lifestyle, proper diet, exercise, and avoidance of smoking has been
another form of treatment for these types of symptoms. While these forms of therapy can be
beneficial, there remains a threat of a recurrence of the problem under traumatic circumstances
or when the treatment is discontinued. Consequently, stress and anxiety may continue to
dominate the personality because all of these forms of therapy fail to do what is necessary-that
is, to remove the cause.
Treating the Cause: We know that there is a cause for having a stressful personality
and that this cause can be identified and removed. Most aspects of the personality are created
rather than inherited. They are created by the accumulation of thoughts and experiences, both
positive and negative, in the subconscious mind, beginning after conception, and create our
emotional reactions and behavioral responses throughout life.
Analysis All feelings come from thoughts, either conscious or unconscious. If there were
a tiger ready to attack you, you certainly would get nervous. If the "tiger" is a thought, buried in
the subconscious, you would still be nervous but would not know why until that thought had
been identified. In experienced hands, this can be accomplished in a relatively short period of
time. After that, there is no further need to live in dread of anxiety attacks.
Negative thought patterns are replaced with positive suggestions, which lead to a normal,
emotionally balanced, mature individual. We were all designed to be normal, and, if it were not
for inappropriate thoughts introduced into the subconscious mind, we would be. More than
twenty years experience in communicating with the subconscious in the hypnotic state, has
enabled us not only to bring these facts to light, but has given us the tools to identify, expose,
and remove the inappropriate thought.
THIS PROCESS IS KNOWN AS ANALYSIS. Our knowledge and experience is
centered in an important new specialty named, Medical Hypnoanalysis. Hypnosis opens the
door to the subconscious; analysis helps you to understand the origin of the anxiety. Medical
Hypnoanalysis deals with the problem in the model of General Medicine, that is, a diagnosis is
made, a direct removal of the cause is performed, followed by a short period of rehabilitation.
"All patients are taught self-hypnosis so that a relaxed state can be achieved at will" Treatment
Program In my office, treatment for Stress and Anxiety problems is usually completed in 12-20
visits. Sessions are generally scheduled weekly and last approximately one hour. The first step
is a consultation visit. A complete and confidential history is taken. At this time a determination
is made as to whether the problem can be treated with medical hypnoanalysis and an estimation
is made of the number of visits required to resolve the problem. The second visit consists of
teaching hypnosis and determining how we can best work together. The next three or four
sessions may well be diagnostic in nature, helping to pinpoint the origin of the stressful
personality, remove the negative thoughts, and replace them with positive thought patterns. The
remainder of the visits are used for rehabilitation and reinforcement that create a pattern of
positive thinking. All patients are taught self-hypnosis so that a relaxed state can be achieved at
will. All treatment is strictly confidential.
You can Increase your effectiveness and avoid burnout: The human brain receives
messages from numerous sources, every one dealing with separate types of information. Input
dealing with daily matters such as news, music, jobs, relationships, weather, etc., come from the
outer surroundings. Our own bodies give information pertaining to movement, digestion, strain,
pain, etc., all in the structure of messages, sent to the brain. The conscious mind deals with
reasoning and reason, decisions, goals planning and conscious action. The unconscious mind or
the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) wields the greatest influence. It receives all the
messages from our social, and genetic backgrounds and all the conflicts, which go into our
consciousness each day. The unconscious mind (ANS) receives and holds its information,
neither accepting nor rejecting the messages. The ANS does not evaluate. That procedure is
reserved for the conscious mind.
From prehistoric times the human animal has possessed an escape device that even today, under
harshly hostile circumstances, can cause regression to primal behavior. The fight/flight
syndrome, forever a way of dealing with fears, and other turbulence, has gained tolerance
through evolution with the addition of "reaction vs. action" and "repression vs. depression".
Without these, when the message input reached excess circumstances, the fleeing would be on
the road to the rejection of reality. On the other hand, the yearning for social approval provides
stimulus to manage and adjust to reality.
On the other hand, when the conscious mind can no longer handle the message units
overfilling the brain, the subconscious (ANS) prepares us for fight or flight-the heart pumps
harder, blood pressure rises, super-strength can be generated. But at times there is nothing to
fight. We can't exchange blows with the surroundings. We can't exchange blows with a job, a
calamity, or a bad choice. What now?
ENTER STRESS AND ANXIETY: Powerless to battle, the response turns to the
alternative of flight, which in present day life can prove impossible. Often a state of apathy,
depression and/or hyper-suggestibility ensues. Negative input finds acceptance. Futility and
melancholy develop and an overreaction to the senses develops together with a loss of tolerance.
The road turns downhill.
A person experiencing long-lasting stress may well become subject to frenzy, in the process
developing several forms of stress-related illness. While some stress is sought-after (loving
stress, job promotions, winning a lottery), stresses that produce debilitation, hopelessness,
unnecessary smoking, overeating, irritation, misery, and comparable reactions need
consideration and frequently qualified help.
The initial recognition of a therapist dealing with stress is likely to be that, while the
world, or the past, if it is a feature in the circumstance, cannot be altered, it is feasible to modify
the client's view of and response to them. Again, contributory factors need to be investigated.
Often regression can be useful in this procedure. Stress may be a response to people, places,
events, or things.
The fear may be genuine or imagined. Remember, the subconscious mind ANS does not
question, and more often than not by the point depression appears the conscious mind has lost
its capacity to do so. However, there are more than a few frequent fundamental causes of stress,
which can be acknowledged, defined and regularly eliminated.
Why Me? What's Behind It All? Stress victims ask these questions quite frequently.
Many factors enter into the picture of possibilities. Overachievers, typical Type A personalities,
are hyper-competitive. They can be obsessed with stress. They can take pleasure in it, until it
gets out of control. Sufferers can learn stress early in life from parents, teachers, relations and
others. In the path of early experience they merely think about stress as a customary part of life;
they witness it all the time.
Fears legitimate or otherwise, can lead to the growth of symptoms of stress. They can
develop into full-grown phobias. Pounding pain or uncertainties over health situations are
factors, as are repressed emotions such as upset, resentment, sorrow, etc. Specific incidents are
often implicated, such as the obligation to address a group in the course of job performance
when such goings-on is uncomfortable.
Medical conditions, together with nutritional deficiencies can lead to stress, as can such
womanly occurrences as PMS. Peripheral factors, such as unremitting or sporadic troublesome
noise levels, can create or add to stress levels. Every person is special in tolerance levels, coping
abilities, reactions and therapeutic needs. Dealing with stress is best accomplished through a
trained, experienced and sensitive professional who can determine causes and evaluate
reactions.
Willpower is not the therapy in stress cases. Successful and enduring relief responds to
desensitization, which can be brought about in the course of Medical Hypnoanalysis. Stress
and/or anxiety can be caused by factors, which are known, or unknown. Problems or
insecurities involving relationships, employment, health situations and other disturbing factors
can foster mental and physical conditions which adversely affect the progress and enjoyment of
life.
Other causes may include events, contacts or traumas which may be repressed or
suppressed, creating anxieties the sources of which appear totally unknown; stress inclination
also can be inherited by children from parents. Stress that begins to debilitate or produce
depression needs attention. It is important to analyze the stress stimuli and the physical and/or
emotional responses, which they bring about. Through Medical Hypnoanalysis positive original
responses can be fashioned to substitute the destructive reactions of the past. Obscured feelings
can be brought to the surface and released. Exterior pressures can be calmed. And in conclusion,
new responses to previous turbulence can be induced with major changes in attitudes and
reactions. Stress management Medical Hypnoanalysis is powerfully effective. Causes can be
revealed. In cases where stress-causing situations cannot be changed, Medical Hypnoanalysis
can modify perceptions so as to make possible tolerable living conditions. It works!
STRESSED OUT? RELAX - WITH MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS: John used to
down two scotch and waters before dinner every night just to relax enough to make the
transition from work to home life. But after dinner he would be so relaxed he'd nod off while
reading the paper and find himself unable to go to sleep upon retiring. He desperately needed to
unwind after a stressful workday as a management executive and was looking for an alternative
to "social drinking" when he stumbled upon Medical Hypnoanalysis.
Now after work John takes a fifteen minute "transition break" by closing himself off in
his bedroom, turning off the lights and the phone and putting on some soft music. He slips into
comfortable clothes and stretches out on his bed or recliner. As the music begins to soothe his
nerves his thoughts turn to his "safe place," a mental haven where he has gone many times to
escape from the stresses of the outer world. Here in his own imagination John is in complete
control. He can visit his favorite location - a stretch of deserted beach - or another safe place in
a cool pine forest where he listens to the tinkling of a nearby waterfall. Wherever he is, John
knows he is safe, comfortable, and in complete control, with no one asking anything of him or
wanting anything from him. Here he can - and does - imagine himself as he desires to be -
healthy, happy, relaxed and at peace with himself and everyone around him. If he experienced
any difficulties at work, he puts these problems into the basket of a hot air balloon and watches
them gently blow away, knowing that they will be taken care of in the best possible way. John
may take a dip in the ocean or playfully dance under a gentle waterfall, cleansing both his mind
and his body of all stress, all tension, all negative emotions, and feeling a restorative healing
energy take their place as he continues to enjoy this peaceful, relaxing state.
After about fifteen minutes, John instinctively ends his imaginative journey and slowly
returns his thoughts to the present, reminding himself that he is back in his room feeling
refreshed and revitalized, yet completely and fully relaxed and ready to enjoy his evening with
the family. The relaxed, good-natured John who emerges from the bedroom is a completely
different person from the harried, stressed and sometimes short- tempered man who went in.
John's family members, as well as John, are grateful that he has discovered Medical
Hypnoanalysis. John is just one of a growing number of people who find that Medical
Hypnoanalysis works for them as an effective, non-drug alternative for stress reduction. With
stress an ever-present part of the 90's lifestyle and the growing evidence for the link between
stress and illness - including such condition as hypertension, heart disease, ulcers, immune
deficiency diseases and even cancer - Medical Hypnoanalysis provides welcome relief with no
side effects. Medical Hypnoanalysis, simply put, is a relaxed and focused state of mind. Most
people can be trained to enter this state of deep relaxation and purposefully narrowed attention.
The Magic of Meditation Enhanced by Medical Hypnoanalysis Meditation and
self-hypnosis, as taught by a Medical hypnoanalyst have a certain synergism. Meditation has
been described as a process of freeing the mind of its normal clutter to allow creative or
supportive thoughts and visualization to flow in.
A person trained and skilled in self-hypnosis can use such abilities to add power to
meditation. Further, using techniques of self-hypnosis meditation can be directed rather than
merely allowed to "flow in" at random. Meditation and its powerful impacts have captured the
attention of the work, filling books, videos, lecture programs, seminars, schools and homes. The
world is beginning to discover the tremendous power of the mind, and to use it. Meditation
permits us to establish communication with our own instincts and intuitions. Medical
Hypnoanalysis adds direction and power.
Relax: Learn to let go! Refresh yourself with self-hypnosis: There are innumerable
books on self-hypnosis what it does, how it works, techniques for use, etc. There are still more
books on relaxation, meditation, self-help and related subjects. A lot of Medical Hypnoanalysts
teach self-hypnosis as a component of their existing services. Others use it as an optional extra
to therapeutic procedures in particular cases. One factor is decisive-the user of self-hypnosis is
prone to fare better if the procedure is taught by a Medical Hypnoanalyst than if it is attempted
experimentally from, lesser trained professionals, lay professionals or printed directions. Many
Medical Hypnoanalysts maintain that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, referring first and foremost
to the fact that hypnosis cannot be compulsory. An individual who does not desire to be
hypnotized cannot be hypnotized. A person who requests to be hypnotized can take
himself/herself into any of more than a few depth levels of hypnosis. But the procedure is more
effortlessly learned under Medical Hypnoanalytic supervision. The learning is not hard, and the
necessary skills get better with every individual self-hypnosis practice. For the most part
well-informed people will be in agreement that the psyche is an exceedingly potent
power-perhaps the most dominant power in the cosmos. Self-hypnosis provides a way of using
this influence to individual benefit: to attain self-mastery. Psychologists have claimed that each
human has, conceivably subconsciously, the same goal-the realization of self-actualization, the
attainment of an individual maximum potential, or in sports jargon, the realization of the
"personal best."
Hypnosis can help bring about key changes in imperative areas of living: habit control,
emotional strength, motivational development, physical condition and pain management, sexual
tribulations and others. One of the great benefits of hypnosis is its use in psychotherapy to
disclose causes and trim down the time of treatment.
At the same time as hypnosis is powerful and effective in Medical Hypnoanalysis,
psychology, psychiatry, medicine and other specialized fields, it can generate remarkable results
when independently used by those who master the techniques of self-hypnosis. It can be above
all helpful in altering attitudes, escalating self-assurance, learning enrichment, memory
enhancement, stress and pain management, habit control, bedwetting, enthusiasm and
innumerable other areas of individual concern. Self-hypnosis has proved successful in
advancing athletic skills and is used by Olympic contenders in more than a few nations. The use
of imagination is important, and efforts become much more productive as skills in imagination
and visualization are acquired. Most people, though they may be unaware, have experienced
hypnosis. Daydreaming is a form of hypnosis. Becoming deeply involved in a book, movie, TV
program, musical performance or play can be a hypnotic experience. Missing a turn while
driving may result from "the mind being elsewhere," which can be hypnosis. Hypnosis is not
sleep. It is not unconsciousness. It is often described as an altered state of consciousness, where
the conscious mind is attending to other things, allowing the body to operate on what might be
called "automatic pilot "
Authorities have described hypnosis as "something that you DO," not as something that
is done to you. Self-analysis, under hypnosis, can reveal the direction needed for forward
progress. Self-motivation, under hypnosis, can start the forward movement. Self-suggestion,
under hypnosis, can provide the reinforcement necessary to achieve specific goals. Every
individual has tremendous sources of power available on demand, once the means of accessing
such power are understood and utilized.
Autosuggestion: The Key: It has been pointed out by many speakers and many writers
in many different word formations that "what your mind can conceive, you can achieve!" This
form of positive thinking or statement of affirmation dates back to biblical times (As a man
thinketh, so shall he be, etc.).The same basic thought has been the theme of countless books on
self-improvement, all of which deal with the power of the mind. Self-hypnosis can be the
afterburner of positive thinking-the super power-thrust which can blast a dream into reality.
Self-hypnosis, used in conjunction with imaging and visualization, can generate the power to
change, the power to create, the power to progress toward self-actualization. One of the world's
greatest problems is the acceptance by people of self-imposed limitations: "I'm too old!" "I'm
not educated enough!" "My wife (husband, mother, teacher or whoever) wouldn't let me!" "I'm
too sick!" "I don't know how!" etc. These restrictions, limits, bonds, ropes or chains can be
removed and progress resumed through the powel of self-hypnosis. Preventive and restrictive
emotions-anxiety, fear, depression, grief, anger, hate and other negatives-can be overcome by
the person willing to meet the four basic requirements for success:
Desire, Belief, Expectation and Demand. Self-hypnosis can provide the nurturing to
enable these requirements to advance to the power levels necessary for fulfillment. There are
four elements in achieving a preplanned state of self-hypnosis. They can be learned by study or
through instruction. They are: Fixation- which clears the mind and prepares it for the work
ahead; Relaxation: which diverts the conscious mind and enables the unconscious mind [far
more powerful) to provide or absorb information; Suggestion: which implants the instructions
into the unconscious mind; and Visualization: which is the power source for change,
development, modification 01 whatever is necessary to fulfill achievement of the individual
goals.
Stress Test: Each of us reacts to stress differently. Some of us tighten our muscles,
others dump more acid into their stomach, still others have freezing cold hands or feet, can't
sleep, headaches, ......... That's the bad news and, of course, it gets even worse as things get out
of hand. Stress, unchecked, can make you ill and can even kill. Not news to you, I'm sure. What
you can do is learn to detect your own level of stress accurately. Even more impressive is when
you learn to master your own response to stress. Don't panic, kids learn this easily and so can
you.
This is a simple test of your stress level. Not all stress or tension is bad. You need to have some
to drive a car safely down a city freeway or watch a two year old at the playground. But too
much stress can slowly build like a kettle on the stove. Within minutes it is hissing. After a few
more minutes it is bubbling with the lid rattling. This can happen in a few minutes, a few years
or over a lifetime. Now you can learn to check your body to get an idea of the Stress Factor.
Stress Test: Body temperature is the simplest way to determine your level of stress. To
better understand the relationship of stress and body temperature read - STRESS AND BODY
TEMPERATURE.
Part 1 Finger & Neck Stress Test
A simple way to test your stress level is by comparing your hand temperature to your neck
temperature. Neck temperature is typically around the high 80's to low 90's F. Hand temperature
can vary from 60 degrees to 99 degrees in a normal room temperature. So you can test your
hand temperature by touching your neck with the fingertips of both hands.
* Do your fingers feel colder than your neck? How much colder? Allot or just slightly?
* Do your fingers feel warm like your neck?
* Remember "Warm Hands are Relaxed, Cold Hands are Tense!" If your fingers feel really
cold, then you are showing extra tension perhaps too much stress.
* If your fingers feel cool, then you are showing some tension.
* If your fingers are warm like your neck, then you may be relaxed and comfortable.
* If your fingers feel hotter than your neck, then you may be deeply relaxed. This is a simple
test. Some people feel stress in muscle tension, sweaty hands or other ways that may be more
apparent than hand temperature.
Part 2 Make Yourself Tense: Close your eyes and check your finger/neck temperature
again. Make yourself Stressed Out! Now sit and think of something really upsetting - a divorce,
problems at work, a death, children problems, a bad experience in childhood, credit card bills,
loneliness, etc. Really think about that problem for 3 minutes until you can feel your body
change and react to that pressure.
* Check your finger/neck temperature again.
* Did your fingers get colder? What else happened inside your body? If were not able to make
yourself feel tense then try this. Sit and imagine putting your hands in ICE COLD WATER.
Feel the ice cubes rubbing against your fingers. Hear the freezing cold cubes clang against the
glass bowl. * Or imagine making snowballs or a snowman [person] with NO GLOVES.
Imagine this for 3 minutes. Check your finger/neck temperature again.
* Did your fingers get colder? What else happened inside your body?
Part 3 Make Yourself Relaxed:
* Close your eyes and check your finger/neck temperature again. Now let us test to see how
well you can relax and make your hands warmer. Sit with your eyes closed. Take long, slow,
deep breaths. For 3 minutes imagine that you are laying in the warm sunshine or under a heavy
blanket in front of a fireplace. Feel the warmth flowing down your arms and into your hands.
Feel the warmth pulsing and throbbing over your entire body.
* Check your finger/neck temperature again.
* Did your fingers get warmer? What else happened inside your body? By doing this simple
test and then practicing 5 minutes of deep relaxation, I have had people report that headaches
left, pain subsided and they felt much better. Years later people still use this simple method to
relieve pain and pressure! You can make yourself ill and you can make yourself well.
Permission was granted to reprint the Stress Test and Life Stress Test by Dr. Tim Lowenstein,
of the Conscious Living Foundation.

13. HYPNOANALYSIS AND DISSOCIATIVE DISORDER THERAPY: KEVIN HOGAN,

Psy.D.
WHAT IS HYPNOSIS? Hypnosis is best defined as an interpersonal relationship that
is marked by a significant degree of dissociation and focusing on the part of the subject and the
moving and changing of the subjects "energies" with the assistance of the hypnotherapist (or
other source). (At the conclusion of this article is a brief glossary of definitions including
"dissociation" and "energies" that will be helpful to the reader. Please refer to it as necessary.)
DISCUSSING DISSOCIATION: In 1984 I lived in Southern California. It was at this
time that the infamous "Hillside Strangler" committed his murders. One night I watched the
evening news to hear the good news that Kenneth Bianchi had been apprehended and
incarcerated. It turned out that Bianchi was diagnosed with multiple personality disorder (MPD)
by John G. Watkins, arguably the most important hypnotherapist in the 20th century. (Watkins,
as I have noted during my tenor as a staff writer for the Journal of Hypnotism was the originator
of hypnoanalysis in World War II and it was his pioneering work that influenced Dave Elman
and the future of hypnosis.) It was not the "Ken" personality that claimed "credit" for the
murders he committed. His alter personality, "Steve" offered no regrets however. "Steve," did
the killing in Bellingham and Los Angeles. MPD is the most severe form of dissociation. In the
case of MPD, the various ego states (parts) within an individual form distinct boundaries and do
not communicate with each other as ego states do within a person who develops relatively
normally in his life.
When we speak of dissociative disorders, we are talking about a continuum of states of
mind that include everything from anxiety, unwanted out of body experiences, and depression to
multiple personality disorder and psychoses. For the record, I have never worked with a person
experiencing MPD and I have no reason to ever do so. I would urge you to do likewise. (I have
unwittingly taken on psychotic patients only to refer them out immediately upon discovery of
the psychoses. Please accept my strongest encouragement to refer out clients who cannot
distinguish objective reality from their own subjective reality.)
There are many emotional, mental and physical disorders that a well trained and
experienced hypnotherapist can assist with on a client’s road to wellness. These disorders rarely
yield to suggestive therapy, metaphor or non-analytical forms of hypnotherapy. Conversely,
these disorders tend to significantly diminish in magnitude when worked through with an
experienced hypnotherapist utilizing the three key pillars of hypnoanalysis, regression therapy,
ego state therapy (similar to parts therapy) and transference. In previous articles, I have
discussed in some detail the benefits of regression therapy, which is usually the first line of
therapy after a thorough case analysis and ego strengthening from the hypnotherapist. In this
article I would like to discuss in some detail the definitions, experience, and results of the second
line of hypnoanalysis, which is ego state therapy (very similar but not identical to "parts
therapy"). When faced with dissociative disorders like post-traumatic disorders (including abuse
cases), anxiety, depression, chronic and acute pain, hypnoanalysis is indicated for clinical
hypnotherapy.
EGO STATES- IMPORTANT "PARTS" THAT CREATE AN INTEGRATED
SELF: "Part of me wants to buy the house and part of me says, ‘no way!’" This is representative
of a normal person’s typical internal conflicts and accurately describes a normal person’s
internal process of thinking and decision making. These are two separate (but overlapping) ego
states that are working in the best interest of the self. Each part has "it’s" reasons for supporting
a different point of view. These parts are what we will call ego states throughout the remainder
of this article. An ego state (Watkins 1997) can be defined as "an organized system of behavior
and experience whose elements are bound together by some common principle, and which is
separated from other such states by a boundary that is more or less permeable... Ego states are
generally experienced in normal people as normal mood changes."
Ego states are organized in a few different and typical ways. Sometimes we find these
states as a pattern of behavior resulting from similar stimuli. This is called "normal
differentiation." Ego states that are formed by introjection of significant others are those where
the person develops clusters of behaviors around his perception of a significant other like a
parent or teacher. In cases of abuse, this state may begin to "identify" with the significant other
and act similarly to that person. Other states are formed around periods of time, like childhood.
Still other ego states emerge as defense mechanisms from facing traumatic situations like rape,
child abuse and other traumatic distresses. The "core ego" is the state that is most indicative of
the normal self, the self that is conscious most of the time. This is also called the "executive
ego."
Ego states are not simply a discovery made by great minds like Freud, Federn and
Watson. It was Ernest Hilgard (1977) that actually proved the existence of ego states, although
he called his discovery, "the hidden observer." Hilgard’s experiments prove that there is a "part"
of an individual, for example, that is "conscious: and able to feel pain or hear sound even when
the individual’s core ego is ablated in hypnosis.
In a healthy and normal individual there are many ego states that operate consciously and
unconsciously. In a psychotic individual, or someone with MPD, the ego states are separated
from each other within the self by non-permeable boundaries. On the other end of the spectrum
from MPD divisions, we occasionally find people who have no ego state boundaries. They have
few or no parts to speak of. These people view everything as the same in the world and are not
very functional.
Human personality, according to Watkins, "develops through two basic processes,
integration and differentiation. By integration a child learns to put concepts together, such as
cow and horse, and thus to build more complex units called animals. By differentiation he
separates general concepts into more specific meanings, such as discriminating between a cat
and a rabbit. Both processes are normal and adaptive." (Watkins, 1997) Ego states tend to
describe themselves as "me" or "I" and discuss other ego states within the person, in the second
person, "she" and "he." It should also be noted that in numerous instances in therapeutic work
with my clients, ego states have represented other ego states as "it."
DIFFERENTIATION VS. DISSOCIATION: Differentiation and dissociation both
involve the psychological separating of two "entities," but differentiation is of a lesser degree,
and is normal adaptation. On the other hand dissociation is pathological because it is
maladaptive, decreasing or eliminating internal communication at the conscious and unconscious
level of the self, between parts.
JUST WHAT IS EGO STATE THERAPY THEN? The therapeutic goal of the
hypnotherapist is NOT to fuse all parts together into one ego but to integrate them so they
continue to be valuable to the survival of the individual and work in tandem for the mental and
physical health of the whole person. "Ego state therapy is the utilization of individual, family,
and group therapy techniques for the resolution of conflicts between the different ego states that
constitute a ‘family of self’ within a single individual." (Watkins, 1997)
Virginia Satir, arguably the most skilled family therapist of the 20th century, wrote and
taught extensively about effective family therapy. Her work is completely applicable to working
with individual clients in hypnosis. Hypnoanalysis utilizing ego state therapy hinges on a few
key pillars for healing emotional, mental and physical difficulties.
THE SIX PILLARS OF HYPNOANALYSIS: Transference- Transference is the
common experience of the client (or a part of the client) viewing the therapist as someone in his
or her past. The therapist could be perceived as father-like, mother-like, etc. This can be useful if
the therapist is doing so with a strategic purpose in mind. For example, if the therapist is
attempting to gain access to an ego state, then it can be useful to briefly allow transference to
take place for a few moments. However, once the ego state his identified the therapist with a past
significant other (father, mother, boss, brother, sexual abuser) the distinction needs to be quickly
made that the therapist is NOT that person, nor is he anything like that person or people who
have so negatively effected the client’s life. This moment is referred to as a "transference
interpretation."
It is at this point that the therapist gently but firmly challenges the ego state to realize
that he has been reacting to all authority figures, or whatever group the therapist is now "falling
into," as he did when he was, say a child, responding to Mom. This moment creates an "aha!"
experience that allows the client to gain personal insight into his behavior. This previously
unconscious behavior is now a conscious experience that allows the client to create intentional
change.
Warning: It is very easy for a therapist to take on the role of significant others both
"good and bad" without knowing it. Countertransference is very common in hypnotherapy and
must be guarded against at all costs. It is probably safe to say that all hypnoanalysts have at one
time or another fallen prey to the seduction of a client’s unconscious mind and ego states. When
we treat the client as a child, a lover, a parent, or anything other than a client, we have allowed
countertransference to take place. This must be rapidly corrected or the therapeutic relationship
should be terminated. All hypnotherapists should solve there own transference issues with the
assistance of other therapists as these transference’s become obvious. Every therapist needs a
therapist.
Watkins (1997) has a general rule of thumb in dealing with clients: "Don’t do what the
parents, or whoever reared the patient early in life, did wrong in the eyes of the patient, whether
it is ignoring or abusing."
Clients who have been sexually abused will sometimes (but certainly not always) act
"seductively" toward the therapist. This occurs at the unconscious level. Be very aware of this
common phenomenon. It could destroy your practice and harm the therapeutic relationship. You
will find a common pattern in clients who report abuse. They tend to have been abused more
than once. Rape victims are often victimized later in life. Victims of molestation often are
molested by other individuals than the first offender. Abuse victims are often abused by
individuals other than the first offender. Bringing this pattern to the conscious mind of the client,
at the appropriate time, aids in the healing process. Without proper ego strength an assignation
of self-blame might take place and ruin the therapeutic process.
REGRESSION AND REVIVIFICATION- Once in trance, the client can be returned to
the initial sensitizing event (ISE) using regression techniques. Once a client has been returned
to the ISE, he can see how his ego states have shaped his behavior and make a conscious
decision to change. In dianetic therapy, (which borrows heavily from Watkin’s hypnoanalytic
work) this incident is called an "engram" and through the years I have found that term to be
fairly accurate and useful. When I say that someone is "in an engram," I specifically mean that
his ego state that developed at the ISE is unconsciously driving the individuals reactionary
behavior. It is therefore critical to the therapist to return to this event so the ego state can be
"contacted" and dealt with in an appropriate manner. We will briefly consider the key techniques
here to return to that ISE.
a) The Somatic Bridge- The somatic bridge is a technique that was developed to let a
somatic (a pain or unpleasant internal phenomenon like tinnitus or vertigo) speak for itself.
Allow the somatic to come into consciousness and state it’s purpose, goals, and/or objectives.
b) The Affect Bridge- This technique was created in 1971 by Watkins. The objective
of this technique is to track the feeling or affect component of a person’s experience back to the
ISE while in trance. This allows the client to see that the feeling belongs to an earlier
experience and no longer needs to be experienced in the present time.
In session, I might say something to the effect of, "Your tinnitus is loud and it is
frustrating you. It is causing you great annoyance. Take me with you back to the time when it
began so we can experience what caused this noise to turn on." Sometimes the onset was a
physical, external event like a gunshot or a rock concert. In cases like this the tinnitus eventually
will be reduced in volume but normally will not remit entirely. In cases where the ISE is an
emotional event, we normally are able to get an eventual remission although it may take months
or years. In cases of pain, the remission often begins within minutes, hours or days!
Acceptance of the Client and His Ego States- It is not our job to judge our client. It is
our job to facilitate healing. By accepting the client and his parts in a virtually unconditional
manner, rapport is built rapidly. Rapport hinges on trust. Once the client and/or specific ego
states trust the therapist, it is easier to access the ego states that are creating difficulties in the
client’s present time life.
Contacting Ego States- Once in trance, the simple question, “Would the part or parts
that are helping Jim feel this pain be willing to come out and discuss the benefits and reasons for
this experience?” Do not interrogate the ego state. You are not a police officer. Your tone of
voice should be empathetic, appreciative and understanding. Your goal is to discover the age of
the ego state (when it developed), what it’s intention is or wants for the whole self and under
what circumstances would the ego state be willing to accept a new job or create a new
experience that would be in the best interest of the ego state and the whole person.
Create an environment of safe negotiation between ego states. Allow the various parts to
all feel comfortable with the outcome of the therapy and communication. (In NLP this process is
called Reframing.)
Abreaction Therapy- There is no question as to the value of abreaction or catharsis
when working with clients. One significant cause of physical and emotional illness is the lack of
emotional release (usually in the form of tears and/or grieving) from traumatic events. When the
client is in trance, you can allow an ego state to abreact, or, the whole self as seems appropriate.
Experience is the best guide and defining rules in a limited article is difficult and un-wise. The
key point to remember is that the repressed feelings of grief, guilt, shame or anger have caused
emotional or physical illness and we must allow the individual or his ego state(s) to experience
the release of these "negative" emotions once and for all.
The client should be allowed to get ALL of his emotional repression vented. Once the
tears have flowed, the anger has been vented and the repression has been lifted the ego state that
has been influencing present time health often re-integrates with other parts and healing begins.
The client must learn that the victimization he experiences was not of his own doing. He was a
victim, plain and simple. As the client re-experiences these traumatic events he begins to release
the negative emotions. As the events are re-examined a desensitization to the event and the
experience begins to occur draining the negative emotional energy from the ISE or engram. I
have discussed this form of therapeutic intervention at length in previous issues of the Journal of
Hypnotism and will refer you to those articles

14. HYPNOANALYSIS: DR. TREVOR MODLIN: SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIETY FOR

CLINICAL HYPNOSIS
What is Hypnosis? “Few fields of science have suffered as much as from the
encumbrances of poor definition as hypnosis” Gindes: Broadly, hypnosis is an altered state of
consciousness in which sensory input is processed in a different way for that individual at that
time, and is usually accompanied by relaxation. EEG : 4 to 8 c/sec, up to 14. The average is 8
cycles per second, known as “alpha” rhythm.
BRYAN: “Hypnosis is a normal physiological altered state of consciousness, similar to
but not the same as being awake; similar to but not the same as being asleep, and is produced by
the presence of two conditions :
* A central focus of attention
* Surrounding areas of inhibition
The state of hypnosis in turn produces three things:
* An increased concentration of the mind
* An increased relaxation of the body
* An increased susceptibility to suggestion
HONIOTES : A state of direct and indirect concentration with or without relaxation in
which a person may accept OR reject suggestions good or bad.
ZELLING: Expectancy and acceptance. It is important to note that everyone
experiences spontaneous hypnosis in such states as day-dreaming and that the person who does
the “hypnotizing” is the patient himself or herself. All hypnosis is thus self-hypnosis.
SUBCONSCIOUS FUNCTIONING: The subconscious has one function û survival of
the individual. Faced with any perceived threat, be that financial, physical, emotional or
spiritual, it is compelled to provide the means to that end : this is through the Flight or Fight
response, ie FEAR or ANGER or both. However, when neither of these ensure survival the only
further option is to accept death even before actual death has occurred, rather than endure the
high voltage emotions of the threat. Patients describe this in regression as “switching off,
disconnecting or even as dissociating”.
ANXIETY is exactly the same response as fear when no real threat exists and is the
result of the subconscious still attempting to survive a threat earlier in life which was not
resolved û either because the patient did not yet have the data or maturity to think logically or
because of loss of consciousness at that time or because the subject accepted death at that time.
This original event is not recalled by the conscious mind. The subconscious has no logic
beyond survival û it sees every event as either supporting life or leading to death and must act
accordingly.
MEDICAL HYPNO-ANALYSIS: Description: Is dynamic, short-term and directed.
It is a positivistic model for determining the aetiology and treatment of individual dysfunction,
physical or emotional. It does not require some “failure” or inadequacy to have occurred. It
offers a critical, structured and cohesive strength in the healing process. Dynamic, because it
emphasises causes rather than symptoms, explanations rather than descriptions and subconscious
forces rather than conscious forces as being the ultimate origin of the pathology. Short-term in
that in most patients, between 15 and 20 sessions suffice for the resolution of the problem, often
much less, sometimes longer. Directed in that the therapist follows a medical model of
psychotherapy aimed at alleviating the symptoms by means of resolving the underlying
subconscious causes.
A History observing verbal and non-verbal communication, seeking clues to the origin of
the problem in order to make a psychodynamic diagnosis. After the patient is introduced to
hypnosis, all subsequent sessions are conducted with the patient in trance.
Examination and investigation: the subconscious is investigated by using the following
procedures:
* a specifically designed Word Association Exercise (WAE)
* dream analysis
* age regression to the crucial events thus identified earlier in life
Such procedures allow the identification, re-implementation, adjustment or re-evaluation and
desensitization of specific causal events.
Treatment:
* Rather than use a scalpel blade to open an abscess, the tool of Regression is used.
* The four cornerstones of Medical Hypnoanalysis (MHA): The Symptom is based on a
learned emotional response - an HABITUAL subconscious emotional response with the “Unholy
trinity” of anxiety, fear or guilt.
THE TRIPLE ALLERGENIC THEORY: A cascade of events which initiates, and
intensifies emotional responses culminating in the appearance of the symptom and involves an
emotional reverberation in time.
* The Initial Sensitising Event - ISE: NOT RECALLABLE BY THE CONSCIOUS MIND
The individual is sensitised by an emotionally powerful event involving Anxiety, Fear or Guilt:
the “Unholy Trinity” It is the aetiologic underlying problem and is subconsciously referred to by
semantics and body language. If not resolved, may result in recurring symptoms
* The Symptom Producing Event - SPE: A second emotionally powerful event which
triggers the symptom. Acts as an “antigen” to increase “emotional antibodies”. May or may
not be recalled by conscious memory. The event per se may be unrelated to the physical
circumstances of the ISE.
* The Symptom Intensifying Events - SIE’s: May be many and varied but always involve
Anxiety, Fear, Guilt. Symptom intensity is worse and longer lasting, though the event may be
regarded as insignificant at a conscious level. Usually the time the patient seeks help.
Event Symptom Antibodies Event Symptom "Antibodies" Eg. Penicillin allergy Emotional
Sensitization
 1st Dose00/+ISE00/+
2nd Dose+++SPE+++
3rd Dose+++++SIE+++++
Thus, the more exposure there is to the “allergen” or high voltage negative emotion, the more
intense and long-lasting the symptom.
* The Order of Importance: The relative priority of subconscious factors involved in
SURVIVAL
7. SEXSPECIES
6. TERRITORYSOCIOECONOMIC
5. FOOD
4. WATER
3. OXYGENPHYSICAL
2. SELF-ESTEEMMIND EGO
1.SELF/SOUL/LOVE/GODSPIRITUAL
THE DOUBLE DIAGNOSIS:
i. The Waking Diagnosis Formal, traditional medical or psychiatric.
ii. The Subconscious Diagnoses - PNE : Prenatal Experience These are the experiences the baby
in the womb has. and which establish its personality. Babies are very aware of events far back
into the womb life.
* IDP : Identity Problem: This is a sense of a loss of belonging in the family, community,
world, and spiritually in the universe, a loss of a sense of a deity or higher power. It is the direct
result of a perception of a loss of Love.
* DES : Death Expectancy Syndrome: This is the basis of all FEAR and future anxiety: all
anxiety is ultimately the fear of death.. It most commonly arises during the process of birth, in
the birth canal as the oxygen levels fall. It is known here as the “Birth Anoxia Syndrome”.
Another component adding to this voltage of fear is the separation from mother at the time of
birth û known as the Separation Anxiety Syndrome.
* WZS : Walking Zombie Syndrome: This describes a “living dead” state as the result of an
event in the past in which the patient believed the thought “I am dying’. Once more this
commonly occurs in the birth canal or with anaesthesia especially early in life.
Alternatively yet just as devastating, the perception may be “my life is so traumatic and
threatening that it is no longer worth living”.
Either way, the subconscious mind must now develop a
symptom that provide the feeling “I AM alive”, this symptom is therefore the ôProof of Lifeö.
* JDP : Jurisdictional Problem: Guilt: This is the result of self-judgement AND self-punishment
in an effort to avoid rejection by family, peers and above all to avoid the punishment of one’s
deity. It is far better to suffer in this life than to spend eternity in “hell”..
* PDL : Ponce de Leon Syndrome: This is an age immaturity problem in which, as the result of
an overwhelming event in childhood, the person subconsciously believes it is too dangerous to
grow any older! It may be too dangerous from a physical, emotional or spiritual point of view.
However, the patient displays many child-like behaviors, emotions and thinking.
Execution dynamics: These follow the Medical model:
* History: Very extensive and complete, including sexual and religious beliefs. Close attention
paid to body language and the first three sentences as the subconscious repeatedly refers to the
original event by these means. A presumptive Waking and Subconscious Diagnosis is now
made and verified by the examination.
* Examination: This is accomplished, in trance, by means of a specifically designed Word
Association Exercise (WAE), a universal sequence of prompts which include specific
information gained from the history. This provides accurate insight into the specific patient’s
train of thought and belief systems. By linking the various similar responses to the WAT
prompts, more than 95% of patients identify the relevant ISE, SPE and SIE’s as well as the
major subconscious diagnoses. Also important is that the therapist is able to establish the
positive resources a patient has and utilize this during the course of therapy.
* Investigation: Further information may be gained through dream analysis, the 3-box test or
other hypnotic techniques.
* Definitive Diagnosis:
* The “Waking Diagnoses” these conform to the traditional medical or psychiatric
diagnoses such as “migraine” or “panic disorder”.
* The “Subconscious Diagnoses”: as described above, these are the real issues and are
explained to the patient at the appropriate time in therapy. They provide true understanding and
allow the patient to heal him or herself.
* Treatment: In the case of medicine, an abscess is incised and drained. In Medical
Hypnoanalysis, the major tool is regression - a characteristic of the hypnotic state.
THE TREATMENT PLAN FOLLOWS THE “7 R’S”:
* Rapport
* Relaxation
* Regression to the relevant events with the following goals:
* Realization of the faulty belief: desensitisation
* Removal of the faulty belief
* Replacement with a positive belief
* Rehabilitation and Reinforcement of the NEW way of
Thinking, Feeling, Behaving: This process is carried out through cognitive-behavioral therapy,
direct suggestion, metaphor, progression and other hypnotic/ psychodynamic therapies
appropriate to both the patient and the therapist. The use of modern hypno-analytical techniques
very clearly explains what science cannot! The views of clinical medicine are due to ignorance
of the power and dynamics of the subconscious mind and the body-mind connection. Scientific
studies are limited to measuring biochemical and physiological changes û and while some
entertain emotional factors, none introduce the spiritual factor. This, despite scientific work by
Dr Michael Meaney at McGill University which clearly indicate that genetic factors are
secondary to early life experiences and a host of other studies of the new-born and the influence
of outside factors on the fetus! Further studies include work by Simonton, Spiegel, Ornish, Ader
and Cohen, Shafer, Sheinman, Zelling, Modlin and many others in a wide variety of medical
and psychological conditions.
Milton Erickson stated that a successful healer should recognize the patient’s inner pain,
modern medicine fails to do this. Sir William Osler said that it is wiser to know the patient more
than his disease. A symptom is but the subconscious mechanism of a “proof of life”, which may
include suffering of pain to maintain spiritual survival û the mechanism of guilt.
Despite advances in understanding neuropathophysiology, some 30% of patients do not
respond to the best medicines available, many become refractory to treatment and the symptom
tends to recur: it is not eradicated for the primary emotional cause remains locked in the
subconscious mind. Accepting that there may well be a predisposing genetic factor, and while
every disease will have a final common neurochemical pathway, it must be recognised that this
is not the real problem, it is the result of a subconscious imprinted memory: a learned response
to an early physical, emotional or spiritual pain that is still unresolved. Medical Hypnoanalysis
which is briefly described above is one of several modern clinical hypnosis techniques that are
highly successful, short term and cost effective.

15. PSYCHOANALYSIS AND HYPNO-ANALYSIS: OPEN HEART HYPNOSIS

Hypno-Analysis is pretty much just psychoanalysis under hypnosis except that where
psychoanalysis is usually considered to take something in the region of 1000 hours when it is
carried out with the client in a state of hypnosis this is shortened to between 8 and 12 hours. That
is a huge reduction and the explanation is that under hypnosis the process involves the
unconscious to a much greater extent and it is generally easier for a client to access traumatic
material when under hypnosis. In studying the principles of psychoanalysis we should reach a
good understanding of hypno-analysis.
First I would like to clear up a common misunderstanding about psychoanalysis: The
analysis is something that the client does rather than something that the psychoanalyst does. The
analyst facilitates the analysis by getting the client to free associate and ensuring that they
continue to do so.
Psychoanalysis is all about free association. Free association is really just a matter of the
client relating the first thing that comes into their mind and you may wonder how this could lead
to any kind of satisfactory conclusion (indeed, if you go through analysis yourself you will
almost certainly wonder that even when you understand the process!). If you consider a child
with a guilty secret - that secret seems to occupy the forefront of their mind to the extent that it
is very difficult for them to avoid divulging it. In psychoanalysis we are searching for matters
that have been repressed - kept hidden from consciousness by the unconscious mind. When a
person free associates the repression seems to rise to the forefront of the unconscious and the
battle to keep it from consciousness intensifies. Like the child who has a guilty secret the
unconscious will tell you everything but the repression itself. As free association continues more
and more hints to the repressed material will surface into consciousness. It almost seems to be a
game that the unconscious plays - it finds memories which contain as many similarities to the
repressed event as it can and presents those rather than the repression itself. It is also similar to
dreams - so similar in fact that many psychoanalysts have attempted to shortcut the process by
interpreting dreams. But there is no shortcut. Offering an intellectual description of the
repression fails to release it. Instead the repression must surface in its entirety into consciousness
for the emotion attached to it to be released.
REPRESSION: Repression occurs when the psyche is overwhelmed. When it can't
cope with emotion the unconscious burys it so that the conscious mind does not suffer from it. If
you consider the fight or flight mechanism you will see that where there is a known danger we
respond with fear which leads to fight or flight. When we experience fear which can not be
attributed to anything then we have nothing to fight and nowhere run - we experience anxiety.
Should we experience something which we are unable to deal with then the unconscious will
repress it so that, as far as our conscious mind is concerned, it never happened. The unconscious
is looking after not only our sleep but our waking consciousness as well.
Children seem much more capable of repression than adults. They are generally more
prone to circumstances where they need to repress things too, having less ability to understand
and deal with events than experienced and mature adults. Observe the strange logic that children
display and you will begin to appreciate why this is so. More of repression later.
 DEVELOPMENT: At birth the infant's concept of self includes not only his body with
its concomitant needs and emotions but his immediate environment. Indeed, baby's first task is to
discover his identity - where he ends and the rest of the world begins. His most sensitive and
sensuous organ is the mouth and you will notice that he uses this to explore the world. His
emotions run hot and cold - delight or rage being predominant. Psychologists call this stage of
development the "oral" phase and describe the character as "schizoidal". Schizoidal refers to the
mood swings and should not be confused with the use of schizophrenic to describe what should
more properly be called multiple personality disorder.
Initially the world happens to a baby rather than her being aware of any effect she may
have on the world. Around the time she reaches the stage of being a "terrible two" she begins to
experiment on how she can affect the world. Some psychologists refer to this as the "anal
sadistic" stage of development - anal because sensuality has become focused on the anus rather
than the mouth and because this phase of development usually accompanies toilet training.
Sadistic refers to the common behaviour of the child which usually includes biting, hitting and
other aggressive actions. Following the anal stage comes the genital stage - so named because
sensuality has become focused on the genitals.
CHARACTER: The adult character has rather more to do with influences and
experiences during these early developmental stages than on later events. Self made men aren't!
There are many folk sayings which are sage observations of real life - "give me the boy and I
will give you the man" being particularly apropriate in this case. Adult responses are likely to
reflect early responses to similar events (and don't forget the metaphoric nature of the
unconscious mind). A child who is not taught social responsibility during the anal phase of
development will become a psychopath - unaware of any responsibility for the world and
conscious only of achieving his own objectives. Conversely, those who are punished too
severely for their sadistic behavior will remain timid and posses a very low self esteem.
Perhaps you can see this relationship between the foundations of character and later
behavior which becomes built upon it. Later experiences are interpreted according to the
decisions and interpretations which have already been made about previous experiences.
A person's character is determined largely by the developmental stage where their sense
of identity came into being. For the majority of people this will be during the oral phase. Each
character type is more prone to particular mental and psychological illnesses - the oral types to
phobias, compulsions and depression (including manic depression or bi-polar disorder), anal
types to paranoia, obsessional behavior and hypochondria, and the genital type to hysterical
illnesses.

16. REGRESSION & HYPNOANALYSIS: SHELLY STOCKWELL

Hypnoanalysis regresses the client to earlier periods in this lifetime to uncover any buried
subconscious experiences that produce neurotic behavior in the here and now. It is delightful to
regress a client back to subconscious imprints that enhance beneficial behavior. Many re-
experience their gestation and birth as well as every minute of their lives. The goal of current
lifetime regression is commonplace. It teaches more about who you are in the here and now,
heals past hurts, releases current pain, and renews or forgives old acquaintances. 1. Encourage
any hurtful experiences to be witnessed as a spectator in an impersonal manner.
2. Lets the client know that you are with them every moment as a supportive friend.
3. Suggest that in the discovering and telling of the experience it will lessen and remove any
negative influence of the event.
4. Allow the subject to probe their own subconscious memory and discover for themself the
original source of their trouble. When they make such a personal discovery they recite it to and
you record it.
5. Finally upon awakening, offer a post-hypnotic suggestion that if they listen to the recording of
their past memory, which is the source of his current problem, that the very listening will lessen
any problems. And when they listen to memories that positively enhance their lives those gifts
will grow stronger within them.
This wonderful hypnotherapy. The client gently and pleasantly awakens from the hypnosis
feeling fine. The tape is played for them, and with the playing, the post-hypnotic m of his being
cured of the neurosis goes into effect. Just allow the subconscious to be its own healer. Give the
tape to the client; every time he plays it, it is helpful to him, until the removal of the neurosis is
complete. (p 623)
MODUS OPERANDI: MEET YOUR INNER CHILD: A beautiful thing about regression
hypnotherapy is the reconnection with your instinctual feelings of fun, fulfillment and your
desires. Your inner child is your essential natural self just waiting to be greeted. Regression can
bring forth that vital self who then becomes a valuable ally. Hypnotize your client and suggest,
"Create for yourselves a perfect sanctuary. A place enjoyed by all your senses. Created just to
your specifications; just the way you like it, made perfectly for you. Now in your own time and
way notice the presence of the little you; the one who came here to this earth perfect in every
way. Very good. (You could actually give your client a pillow or doll to hold during this entire
process.)
Now from your heart ask the little you what they would like to tell you. Ask them what they do
for fun. What would they like to do when they grow up? Do they have any complaints? If so, let
them tell you and answer them. Very good. How can you support your inner child to be in their
full energy and joy? How can they support you? Tell each other how much you love one
another. You and your inner child now work as a perfect team. Each teaches the other, new way
to be happy, healthy creative, and joyous. Very good. And then when the time is right you will
come back to the here and now knowing that you are and always have been perfectly you and
feeling so glad to be alive. (p 624)

17. REGRESSION: A KEY TOOL OF THE MEDICAL HYPNOANALYST: APPLIED

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE
Age Regression is one of the most powerful tools available to the Medical hypnoanalyst.
But lately it has come under fire for creating false memories. The truth of the matter is that it
does work, but the Medical Hypnoanalyst must be very careful when directing the regression.
Many therapies involving hypnosis take advantage of the mind's ability to visualize. And this
ability can be very useful when treating someone for overeating, or helping them achieve
athletic and career goals. But combining age regression and visualization must be done very
carefully.
The subconscious mind retains every bit of information that it receives. If
someone is having trouble retrieving a memory, the Medical Hypnoanalyst may suggest that
they visualize something that will help them retrieve it. If the suggestion is not carefully worded
the mind may confuse the image with the memory. For this reason it is very important to use
Non-Directive Medical Hypnoanalysis.
A good example is the case of "Cathy". She recently came to a colleague to discuss a
personal development, which she did not understand. As far back as she could remember, she
had always felt a certain sadness when visitors left her home; but the situation was becoming
increasingly troublesome. The emotional upsets were no longer limited to loved ones, but
happened whenever anyone went out the door. The feelings were growing stronger, and now
also resulted in tears and severe crying spells bordering on hysteria. The situation seemed to be
out of control and she felt it demanded attention. A friend suggested Medical Hypnoanalysis.
After interviewing her, and testing her for suggestibility, the Medical Hypnoanalyst
decided that some event in her childhood had resulted in a psychological imprint which had
either been forgotten, or had not been consciously recognized as the cause.
The subsequent meeting was designed to make use of techniques of hypnotic regression,
the reason being to search for the Initial Sensitizing Event (ISE) involved in the development of
the predicament. The Medical Hypnoanalyst felt that something had occurred which produced a
psychological imprint, which afterward had been forgotten or had been unrecognized for the
effect it could produce. It might have implicated parents, teachers, relatives, siblings or some
unique event independent of other human connections. Regression could pull back the covers of
the past to disclose the underlying factors. The Medical Hypnoanalyst instructed her to go back
to the time and place where she first remembered the problem happening. The regression
proceeded normally. Since the Medical Hypnoanalyst had no information of either the age or
conditions implicated, the client was merely instructed to go back in time to the year and place
where the dilemma originated. Programmed to view the occurrence as if it were a television
show and to be able to talk about it, the client was asked what was going on.
He suggested that she view the event as if it were a television show and to describe what
she saw. "Cathy" explained that she was three years old, sitting on the stairs in her home,
looking down into the living room. Her father had just died and was lying in the living room.
She was called down and instructed to kiss her father good-bye, which she did.
Bingo! The clarification and the impression of doors were locked subconsciously into
the three-year-olds mind. There was no understanding, simply an authoritative declaration that
going out a door led to something dreadful. Parents, teachers and others often have no idea that
an explanation comprehensible and well intended to adults can prove overwhelming to a child's
psyche.
The well-meaning family wanted to avoid a situation where a child, not understanding
what death was, would not constantly be expecting her father to return. They explained that
when her father would be taken out through "the door", he would be gone forever and would
never return.
Without realizing what they had done, they had created an association between death and doors
that remained locked in her subconscious. To her three-year-old mind, there was no
understanding, only an authoritative statement that going out the door would lead to something
terrible.
As with most cases of this sort, understanding the cause was enough to solve the problem.
While traditional psychoanalysis might have required years to discover the cause of the
problem, a Medical Hypnoanalyst solved in it just a few sessions.
Having discovered the casual factor and adjoining state of affairs, the Medical
Hypnoanalyst in the course of Medical Hypnoanalysis guided the client into releasing the past to
the past where it would have no additional effect on the present or the future. This was in itself
adequate to resolve the predicament. From that moment of understanding the difficulty vanished
immediately. In three years it has not returned.
Age regression has proved priceless in Medical Hypnoanalysis. Its use in psychotherapy,
following the work of the late internationally recognized psychiatrist, William J Bryan has been
expanding steadily. Regression, as in the case cited, has proved an excellent medium for rooting
out causes. In numerous cases of stress or anxiety, the causing factors are unidentified to the
conscious mind. But the unconscious, immeasurably larger and more influential, is the seat of
all remembrance and can bring forth from memory information and proceedings related or
relevant to the tribulations at hand. Fears and phobias often have veiled, repressed or concealed
causes which can be ferreted out in the course of Medical Hypnoanalytic age regression.
Hypnotic journeys into the times of yore can come across very sensitive and delicate
revelations, and solid trust and comfort involving the participants is indispensable to the
realization of goals.
Substantial consideration has been given in current years to the experience of "past life
regression." Regrettably a number of individuals, unqualified in Medical Hypnoanalysis,
psychology, psychiatry or related fields, present group programs in what they term "past life
therapy." But the trained professional can resolve many problems using this type of therapeutic
procedure. Such professionals typically do not assert that the experience recalled in such
regression is automatically legitimate, noting that regression could call up past fantasies,
imaginings or dreams. The consensus seems to be, however, that whether the recalled
experience is real or imagined is really not important if it solves the problem, which is often the
case. However, it can run a risk if the client were to believe some to be true that is not true.
Regression, of any kind, presents no particular risks in the hands of a competent and trained
Medical Hypnoanalyst. It can offer major advantages in illuminating the sources of troubles.
Door To The Past: Perhaps you have a habit, a fear or phobia, a reaction or an attitude,
which creates a problem in your life. It may be that you have no idea why this problem exists
or where it came from. But problems tend to have had beginnings or causes. Quite often, simply
knowing and understanding the cause is in itself sufficient to effect a cure.
Medical Hypnanalytic regression can ferret out causes of problems even when the
causing event, experience or trauma has been suppressed, repressed or forgotten, by the light of
understanding, appropriate Medical Hypnoanalysis can be undertaken to resolve, explain or
otherwise deal with the problem. And Medical Hypnoanalysis, by its own nature, is short-term
therapy. The treatments do not go on endlessly. Results are often rapid.

18. A SYSTEM OF BRIEF HYPNOANALYSIS: LESLIE M LECRON & JEAN BORDEAUX:

HYPNOTISM TODAY: WILSHIRE BOOKS: HOLLYWOOD CA: 1947
All types of psychotherapy having now been(considered, some conclusions can be
reached. As indicated, each system has certain advantages and each can claim some positive
results. The neuroses, among, the most prevalent of all diseases afflicting civilized man, may
often be overcome no matter whether the method used is persuasion, suggestion, psychoanalysis,
hypnoanalysis, or perhaps faith alone. Probably only in shock treatment is there a physical as
well as a psychological effect.
On the other hand, failures are common to all methods. The neuroses are universally
regarded as difficult to cure. No psychotherapist acknowledges the percentage of sterile results
although it is admittedly large in every system. There is much greater knowledge of etiology
than of successful- therapy.
With our present understanding of the elusive neuroses and an appreciation of the need
for a more efficient therapy, if a method can be evolved which does not require a great deal of
time in most cases and which brings good results, then it could be generally adopted. In our
opinion, specific features! from the various systems can be selected and combined to for a
satisfactory method. In the following pages we describe procedure formulated by taking the most
suitable and help ful elements from several systems and combining them to make a reasonable,
logical plan. Basically it is psychoanalysis (220) though not of the orthodox type, with the
addition of some points taken from other schools of psychotherapy and the supplemental
application of hypnotism. It embodies nothing new, merely being a logical arrangement of
known facts, but it emphasizes some which have been ignored in modern psychotherapy. It aims
essentially at brevity, but brevity depends on the particular case, and perhaps thorough study and
analysis of the patient's entire personality will be required, involving up to a hundred hours of
treatment. But principally it is directed at the less acute cases which sometimes can be
successfully treated in only a few sessions.
The aim of hypnoanalysis should be to secure completed permanent results as quickly as
possible. A careful study of the patient's personality and case history will give the therapist some
idea as to the rate at which he can proceed. As he makes ,progress, susceptibility to hypnosis,
resistances displayed, and the patient's ability to accept education and to develop a new
viewpoint and ego strength will determine the length of treatment. The uncovering of repressed
material is, of course; indeterminate in time. A few cases may be satisfactorily terminated in five
or six sessions, but in mild cases ten to thirty are more often required and many more may be
necessary when the condition is severe and of long standing.
According to our belief in the possibility of cure (in the sense in which we use the word)
whenever the patient becomes convinced that he is cured, as in faith healing, a neurosis may be
relieved in one session, though such brevity certainly is not advisable unless the circumstances
are exceptional, and relapse is likely unless there is analysis and education.
Bordeaux once treated a stutterer in such a brief way, through necessity. This was a man
thirty-eight years old who had been afflicted since early childhood. Living in a distant (221) city,
he was to return home at once, and time permitted only one treatment. Fortunately he proved to
be a somnambulist and quickly entered a deep hypnosis. Repetitious and emphatic suggestion
was given that he need not stutter while in the trance, and he was then directed to talk while
hypnotized. After speaking without hesitation, his attention was called to the ease with which he
spoke and he was told there was no reason to stutter when awake, for he was relieved of the
condition and never would stutter again. Awakened and completely convinced because he had
been able to speak perfectly while hypnotized, he had no further difficulty. A year later' he wrote
to confirm his permanent cure. Causes of this man’s speech trouble are still unknown.
Good hypnoanalysis is plastic in execution. No set procedure should be followed, all
depending on the individual case and the situations developed. Alexander and French have
emphasized the value of devising a definite plan for treatment which constitutes the strategy of
attack. This is planned as soon as possible and is based largely on the analyst's observations
during the first interview, perhaps modified by a study of the written case history, which should
be presented at the second session. There need not be adherence to the original plan if
subsequent developments indicate a change, but it saves time to make such a plan at once. Actual
tactics to be followed in carrying out the general strategy depend upon developments in the
analysis, though some may be determined in connection with the original design.
Before proceeding with analytic work, which may I arouse resistance to hypnosis, the
hypnoanalysis must teach the patient to become a good hypnotic subject in whom a deep
somnambulistic trance can be induced. The benefits and operation of hypnotism are explained
and misconceptions about hypnosis are removed by a preliminary talk. (222)
 During the early sessions, while studying the case history and the personality of the
patient and formulating a plan for the analysis to follow, the main effort is towards establishing
deep hypnosis. At the same time, strong suggestions of eventual cure should be made.
Modification and disappearance of symptoms as progress is made should also be suggested.
Their relative unimportance because they are only incidental should be stressed. At this time it is
wise to caution against impatience for cure, and it may be pointed out how symptoms sometimes
flare up and temporarily become worse as a result of undertaking treatment. Possibly it may be
better to reserve explanation of this fact until it occurs, tor there is often an exactly opposite
effect.
In this period it is desirable to develop confidence on the part of the patient and to instill
a capacity for acceptance of whatever comes forth during analysis. The first steps towards
education are begun while discussing the patient's particular problems.
At the introduction of analysis it usually is necessary to break down the barriers of
reticence towards intimate matters and hypnotic suggestion can aid in the process. During
hypnosis the patient can be made appreciative of tile need to view himself properly and to
discuss his problems frankly and adequately. This may be made easier for him by manipulation
of amnesia, for he then understands that he will not have to deal with repressed conflicts and
memories at the conscious level until able to face them with strengthen ego. In this way even the
most modest woman soon finds herself able to make disclosures of her sex life. Discussion and
confession often bring a ,great feeling of relief.
Psychoanalytic theory regards causative factors in a neurosis as possessing a dynamic
force which produces the symptoms, the energy arising from the repression of memories and
(223) conflicts. Some psychotherapists such as Fink, who are much in minority, believe that
causes sometimes activate symptoms which through repetition tend to become either habits or
conditioned reflexes. Also, they believe that symptoms may possibly generate as a result of
suggestion. The authors find themselves in accordance. This does not mean that the neurosis
itself arises from suggestion or is a habit or conditioned reflex. The neurotic pattern must be
present and causes may be a complex matter, but some symptoms do seem to originate or
continue in this way.
As an example, My. N came to LeCron to be rid of some neurotic difficulties. The main
symptom was a continually dry mouth with an ever-present bad taste in it. After examination,
his physician had informed him that there was no physical cause for the trouble. It was
functional only.
Mr. N was a very successful fifty-five-year-old businessman. His history showed no
previous neurotic troubles, he had no apparent problems, and he seemed well adjusted. No deep
insight was needed to find the precipitating cause of the symptom. Although himself innocent,
he had become involved in a case of blackmail and bribery which ended in court. Called as a
witness, he was afraid that he would be asked a question which he intended to answer truthfully,
and his business would then have been ruined. For two weeks he waited to be called or was on
the witness stand and was under great emotional strain throughout the period. Figuratively, as he
had commented at the time, the whole matter left a "bad taste in his mouth." By the time the
situation ended with the question still unasked, an actual bad taste had appeared, wholly
symbolic and apparently a result of suggestion. The condition had now persisted for three years.
Mr. N's figurative oral bad taste was impressed on a mind influenced by a combination of
fear, disgust and anger, (224) all strong emotions. The common figurative expression suggested
an actual bad taste, which then appeared. Maintained for a time, it developed into a habit.
Suggestion thus may generate a symptom which is kept alive by habit after repeated occurrence.
It has been an axiom of standard psychoanalysis that the actual causes of a neurosis must
be learned so that the energies generated by the repressed conflict and memories can be
discharged by the patient as a part of cure. Undoubtedly a knowledge of causative factors is
valuable, for it aids both patient and analyst to understand the situation. When they are known,
these factors may be worked through and the patient given insight and taught to readjust. If the
cause, such as an environmental matter, is still active, there will either be a relapse or no cure
will be effected unless the cause is uncovered. But causes may extend back into childhood and
be completely inactive though still motivating behavior. If dynamic energy is still being
generated, this would explain the presence of symptoms arising out of such old causes, and it
would be necessary to remove them through knowledge of the causes. However, if they are
considered as being still exhibited because they have become habits or conditioned reflexes, the
case is different and it is not so important to know the causes, though it would still be desirable.
This would seem to be substantiated by cures made in faith healing, where causes remain
unknown and entirely disregarded. The same is true of cures wrought by the old-school medical
hypnotists by direct suggestion. There is a tendency to ignore such cures or question them as
temporary only, and many relapses do occur because there is no insight and the underlying
neurotic trends have not been affected. But such cures cannot be shrugged off and many are
permanent, if we confine the definition of "cure" as relief from distress and (225) ability to exist
comfortably while carrying on an occupation. Brenman and Gill mention the effectiveness and
frequent permanence of the old-style hypnotic cures. Alexander and French accept the actuality
of faith cures and believe that they may result from "benign traumata" which "occur occasionally
in the form of intensive emotional experiences during treatment or by chance in ordinary life,"
with permanent changes of the ego resulting. Janet's study of the cures at Lourdes is particularly
impressive. In all such cases it would indicate that no dynamic force activates the symptoms
(after they have been established), for such a force would inevitably make them reappear, or
perhaps the "benign traumata" permanently discharge the energy.
It therefore seems logical to believe that some visible symptoms may be generated by an
outside influence or situation or by an emotion or thought. If through repetition they have
become habits or conditioned reflexes, direct hypnotic suggestion may be of material aid in
dislodging them and breaking up the pattern.
During psychotherapy the patient's nervous condition is often overlooked or disregarded
or considered as something which will disappear with other symptoms as treatment progresses.
Many neurotics are more or less nervous; some are under extreme nervous tension. Nervousness
is a study in itself and is the subject of many books and articles. It is a frequent accompaniment
of anxiety. Jacobson, Fink, Pierce and others have devised systems of relaxation exercises, some
of them extremely complicated, to teach control of nervousness. They are based on the principle
that physical tension in the muscles prevents discharge of nervous energy and so relaxation
relieves the feeling of nervousness. But hypnosis automatically brings a physical relaxation
which is far greater than can be voluntarily achieved. After a sitting, the (226) therapist who uses
hypnosis in treating nervous patients often hears the statement, "I seem to have lost all my
nervous tension." Mitigation of nervousness is highly beneficial, and many patients look forward
to their trance sessions because of the relief felt thereafter. The effect may be increased by
suggesting that the patient's nervousness will disappear while he sleeps and that he will awaken
refreshed and invigorated, free from tension.
When coming to a practitioner, the neurotic patient seeks relief and wants it quickly
though his condition may be of long standing. The way is paved for acceptance of belief in cure
if symptoms can be eliminated or diminished, and nothing is more conducive to this than-to
reduce the nervousness which may exaggerate or even generate some symptoms. As nervous
tension lessens and symptoms begin to abate, the patient feels that better and more rapid
progress can be made in analysis and treatment.
One of the great advantages in hypnotic psychotherapy is that hypnosis is invariably
found a pleasant matter. It is a new and interesting experience to be hypnotized, and the subject
quickly discovers enjoyment in it, particularly in the release from nervous tension. Frequently he
mentions looking forward to his periods of hypnotic treatment.
The neurotic person always is a victim of a vicious circle of thought, emotions and
action. He has become intensely introspective, usually spending most of the time thinking about
himself and his troubles, both neurotic and economic, and feeling sorry for himself. He may be
unable to work and thus gains more time for brooding. The more he thinks 'about his illness the
more the symptoms are stimulated and intensified, and the more exaggerated his neurotic trends
become the worse he feels. The worse he feels, the more he worries and thinks about it. He
enters into a vicious circle difficult to over. (227) come. As a result he becomes more and more
nervous and may have physical reactions such as digestive upsets or any of a host of new
physical symptoms.
Horney has mentioned these vicious circles as being one of the most important processes
in neuroses and the main reason why severe neuroses are bound to become worse, even though
external conditions are unchanged. She cites oth~ examples of their operation: anxiety causing
excessive need for affection and love; a sense of having been rebuffed and frustrated if the need
is not met, which is followed by intense hostility; then hostility must be repressed, owing to fear
of losing affection, and this provokes rage, increased anxiety and need for reassurance. The
circle continues with ever-increasing anxiety.
One of the important phases of psychoanalysis is to uncover these circles and to change
their direction of flow. Insight and education bring this about, but it may be extremely difficult
to stop and reverse them even when they are recognized. Hypnotic suggestion can aid materially
in accomplishing this. Sometimes autosuggestion and autohypnosis may be used to supplement
the therapist's suggestion, their main value being in enabling the patient to participate and to
practice the advice of the analyst in directing thoughts into proper channels.
In some cases autohypnosis can be helpful in treating a neurosis. It will aid in
overcoming nervousness and during reeducation may aid in building ego and in developing self-
confidence. But it must be used discreetly, for no patient is qualified without technical guidance
to' be his own therapist. Those who suffer from hysteria are not qualified to learn it. and it
should be taught only to some few intelligent neurotics who do not have acute chronic
disturbances.
Many psychoanalysts deem it unwise for the patient to (228) have much knowledge of
psychoanalytic theory until an analysis has progressed for some time, believing that such
knowledge might influence the patient's revelations and mislead the analyst. But in lighter cases,
we believe that the sooner the patient obtains a correct understanding of his conditions, the
quicker a cure can be effected. Of course the personality and intellect of the patient must be
taken into consideration, and too much knowledge may lead to resistances and to criticism of the
analyst's methods.
To aid a patient in understanding his condition and also to effect a saving in time, some
of the good popular books on nervousness and neurotic conditions may be recommended for
reading. (Such bibliotherapy also should include good books on general subjects.) Here again
there must be discretion, for a suggestible person reading about neurotic ,disturbances might
apply too much of the information to himself, or it might do harm by lulling him or convincing
him that he is being helped when such is not the case. But bibliotherapy can be of value if
carefully handled and if accompanied by discussion and interpretation with the analyst.
In our consideration of brief hypnoanalysis, we have mentioned some matters not
concerned with either hypnosis or psychoanalysis but which can be incorporated supplementally
to advantage in the treatment of many cases. And if medicine can also be employed, as is
sometimes possible, then by all means it should be used. The main thing is to bring relief to the
patient no matter what the means. Essentially the method of psychotherapy being outlined is
hypnoanalysis, but nothing which can be of service should be overlooked or neglected.
Basically, hypnoanalytic treatment is modified psychoanalysis with inclusion of
hypnotism for brevity. All the hypnotic phenomena described in the previous chapter are vital
(229) to the brief method being presented here, but their application need not be discussed
again. To obtain the lifting of repressions and the recall of buried memories resort can be made
to age regression, dream induction and analysis, automatic writing and drawing, crystal and
mirror gazing, and direct inquiry under hypnosis. Resistances are overcome, the transference
dealt with as desired, and the hypnotic situation and hypnosis itself directed and employed
according to plan and to situations as they arise.
In general, a patient should arrive at insight and knowledge by his own understanding
developed through educational processes. He must learn to comprehend his instincts, drives,
urges, his complexes and conflicts. He should understand why his symptoms have appeared and
why he behaves as he does. Reeducation is continued throughout the analysis with new habits of
thought and new viewpoints developed. Insight and education teach him to resolve his confliCts;
to ease his guilt feelings and to face reality. In the process his "vicious circles" are broken,
anxiety is relieved and self-confidence is gradually gained as ego strength is built.
Everyone responds to honest praise and the analyst must point out to the patient his good
points in character and personality. Judicious compliments are helpful. During this "build-up" of
ego, the fact must be stressed that the patient will cure himself and that cure lies entirely within
himself, though not through mere wishing. (Rank even believes that cure may be volitional.) The
knowledge and experience of the therapist are at the service of the patient to aid him cure
himself while the analyst guides him along the proper path. To make an analogy, proper
hypnoanalysis is a tandem bicycle whose rear seat is occupied by the strenuously pedaling
patient, while the therapist rides in front to steer and to help pedal. (230)
Just how far personality analysis should proceed is always a problem for the analyst. In
the most serious cases probing may be deep and long continued, but in those neuroses which are
lighter a complete understanding of every detail is unnecessary. Few normal, welladjusted
people have more than a glimmering of insight into their personality and behavior. Frequently
treatment may be ended with expectancy of the development of further insight in the course of
normal living. -When the road has been properly paved, ego strength and adjustment will
continue to improve. This is frequently observed after a lapse of time, when a check of progress
is made.
Throughout hypnoanalysis there is not only resort to the phenomena which have been
described but suggestion is continually directed at promoting insight' and increasing ego
strength. The hypnotic instigation of conflicts has been mentioned as one way of showing the
mechanism of emotions and behavior as a result of conflicts. Resistances and the transference
are hypnotically controlled, and progress may be checked by test situations hypnotically
produced.
Frequently the analyst finds that he must not only deal with the patient but endeavor to
revise the mental attitude of his family. Family and home environment can defeat all
psychotherapy, and perhaps the situation is such that a cure is impossible, for generative factors
in the neurosis may be active and not subject to change. This may be a matter of finances or of
improper family life. The problem may involve marital relations, which brings up the question:
Is the therapist warranted in suggesting divorce? He might then face a damage suit if his patient's
spouse learns that such advice has been given. Such problems can be decided only in each
individual case. Every therapist must make his own decisions.
Concluding the treatment is not usually difficult with (131) hypnoanalysis, particularly if
there has been brief treatment. Dependence on the analyst has been controlled and the patient has
been taught to stand on his own feet. In standard analysis, he has been closely associated with
the analyst over a period of months or even years and sometimes is panic stricken at the thought
of severing the connection. Termination is recognized as a period of danger of relapse. With
brief hypnoanalysis, there is no reason for further treatment when self-confidence has been
stimulated through insight and bolstered by hypnotic suggestion and when symptoms have
disappeared and. the patient, with new-found ego strength, has learned to face reality. Then he
feels no need to continue. Convinced of his cure, he is ready to go his own way. (232)
19. KEY CONCEPTS OF MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS: RYAN ELLIOT
(1) Medical hypnoanalysis always begins with the taking of a complete patient history.
(2) Within the first two or three sentences of the history, a patient may reveal information that
often turns out to be related to the basic diagnosis.
(3) If one refuses to answer questions about some areas of one's past, there is a diminution of
hope in solving one's problem.
(4) The history taking helps to establish trust and understanding between the patient and the
hypnoanalyst.
(5) By communication with the subconscious, hypnoanalysts are able to uncover the underlying
reason behind a patient's problem, addiction, or phobia.
(6) People of above-average intelligence make the best hypnotic subjects.
(7) At any given time, we are functioning at one of four mental-activity levels: beta, alpha, theta,
or delta.
(8) Within the alpha-theta mind-activity level, hypnosis occurs on three different planes or
trances: light, medium, or somnambulistic.
(9) Most hypnoanalysis prefer to work at the medium-trance level.
(10) The hypnoanalyst's goal is equal to the patient's goal not to treat every little idea and review
everything that happened in their lives.
(11) Medical hypnoanalysis is successful because it treats the underlying reason for the problem,
and not only the symptom.
(12) We subconsciously control our lives and our well-being, our health, and our habits. The
key is to accept that we are in control and use that strength to determine our directions.
(13) Our bodies manufacture their own anticancer drugs, tranquilizers, and antibiotics; but when
we are sad, angry, or under stress, we interfere with our internal pharmacies. (p. 53)
Charles Reade, a nineteenth-century philosopher said, "Sow an act, and you reap a habit.
Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny." The path most
of us take in developing our character passes three milepost: Attitudes leads to actions, actions
lead to habits, and habits lead to life-style. (p. 57)
What is Hypnosis? “Few fields of science have suffered as much as from the
encumberances of poor definition as hypnosis”. Gindes. Broadly, hypnosis is an altered state of
consciousness in which sensory input is processed in a different way for that individual at that
time, and is usually accompanied by relaxation. EEG : 4 to 8 c/sec, up to 14. The average is 8
cycles per second, known as “alpha” rhythm.
BRYAN : Hypnosis is a normal physiological altered state of consciousness, similar to
but not the same as being awake; similar to but not the same as being asleep, and is produced by
the presence of two conditions : A central focus of attention Surrounding areas of inhibition The
state of hypnosis in turn produces three things:
* An increased concentration of the mind
* An increased relaxation of the body
* An increased susceptibility to suggestion
HONIOTES: A state of direct and indirect concentration with or without relaxation in
which a person may accept OR reject suggestions good or bad.
ZELLING : Expectancy and acceptance. It is important to note that everyone
experiences spontaneous hypnosis in such states as day-dreaming and that the person who does
the “hypnotizing” is the patient himself or herself. All hypnosis is thus self-hypnosis.
SUBCONSCIOUS FUNCTIONING: The subconscious has one function û survival of
the individual. Faced with any perceived threat, be that financial, physical, emotional or
spiritual, it is compelled to provide the means to that end : this is through the Flight or Fight
response, ie FEAR or ANGER or both. However, when neither of these ensure survival the only
further option is to accept death even before actual death has occurred, rather than endure the
high voltage emotions of the threat. Patients describe this in regression as “switching off,
disconnecting or even as dissociating”.
ANXIETY is exactly the same response as fear when no real threat exists and is the
result of the subconscious still attempting to survive a threat earlier in life which was not
resolved û either because the patient did not yet have the data or maturity to think logically or
because of loss of consciousness at that time or because the subject accepted death at that time.
This original event is not recalled by the conscious mind. The subconscious has no logic beyond
survival û it sees every event as either supporting life or leading to death and must act
accordingly.
MEDICAL HYPNO-ANALYSIS: Description: Is dynamic, short-term and directed.
It is a positivistic model for determining the aetiology and treatment of individual dysfunction;
physical or emotional. It does not require some “failure” or inadequacy to have occurred. It
offers a critical, structured and cohesive strength in the healing process.
* Dynamic, because it emphasizes causes rather than symptoms, explanations rather than
descriptions and subconscious forces rather than conscious forces as being the ultimate origin of
the pathology.
* Short-term in that in most patients, between 15 and 20 sessions suffice for the resolution of
the problem; often much less, sometimes longer.
* Directed in that the therapist follows a medical model of psychotherapy aimed at alleviating
the symptoms by means of resolving the underlying subconscious causes.
* A History observing verbal and non-verbal communication, seeking clues to the origin of the
problem in order to make a psychodynamic diagnosis. After the patient is introduced to
hypnosis, all subsequent sessions are conducted with the patient in trance.
* Examination and investigation : the subconscious is investigated by using the following
procedures * a specifically designed Word Association Exercise (WAE)
* dream analysis
* age regression to the crucial events thus identified earlier in life
* Such procedures allow the identification, re-implementation, adjustment or re-evaluation and
desensitization of specific causal events.
* Treatment: Rather than use a scalpel blade to open an abscess, the tool of Regression is used.
The four cornerstones of Medical Hypnoanalysis (MHA) The Symptom is based on a learned
emotional response - an HABITUAL subconscious emotional response with the “Unholy
trinity” of anxiety, fear or guilt.
* The Triple Allergenic Theory: A cascade of events which initiates, and intensifies emotional
responses culminating in the appearance of the symptom and involves an emotional
reverberation in time.
* The Initial Sensitizing Event - ISE: NOT RECALLABLE BY THE CONSCIOUS MIND:
The individual is sensitized by an emotionally powerful event involving Anxiety, Fear or Guilt:
the “Unholy Trinity”. It is the aetiologic underlying problem and is subconsciously referred to
by semantics and body language. If not resolved, may result in recurring
symptoms
* The Symptom Producing Event - SPE: A second emotionally powerful event which triggers
the symptom. Acts as an “antigen” to increase ‘emotional antibodies”. May or may not be
recalled by conscious memory. The event per se may be unrelated to the physical circumstances
of the ISE.
* The Symptom Intensifying Events - SIE: May be many and varied but always involve
Anxiety, Fear, Guilt. Symptom intensity is worse and longer lasting, though the event may be
regarded as
insignificant at a conscious level. Usually the time the patient seeks help.
* Event Symptom Antibodies Event Symptom"Antibodies"Eg. Penicillin allergy Emotional
Sensitization
1st Dose00/+ISE00/+
2nd Dose+++SPE+++
3rd Dose+++++SIE+++++
Thus, the more exposure there is to the “allergen’ or high voltage negative emotion, the more
intense and long-lasting the symptom.
The Order of Importance: The relative priority of subconscious factors involved in
SURVIVAL:
SURVIVAL:
7. SEX SPECIES
6. TERRITORY SOCIOECONOMIC
5. FOOD
4. WATER
3. OXYGEN PHYSICAL
2. SELF-ESTEEM MIND - EGO
1.SELF/SOUL/LOVE/GOD SPIRITUAL
THE DOUBLE DIAGNOSIS:
1. The Waking Diagnosis: Formal, traditional medical or psychiatric.
2. The Subconscious Diagnoses:
* PNE : Prenatal Experience: These are the experiences the baby in the womb has, and which
establish its personality. Babies are very aware of events far back into the womb life.
* IDP : Identity Problem: This is a sense of a loss of belonging in the family, community,
world, and spiritually in the universe; a loss of a sense of a deity or higher power. It is the direct
result of a perception of a loss of Love.
* DES : Death Expectancy Syndrome: This is the basis of all FEAR and future anxiety: all
anxiety is ultimately the fear of death.. It most commonly arises during the process of birth, in
the birth canal as the oxygen levels fall. It is known here as the “Birth Anoxia Syndrome”.
Another component adding to this voltage of fear is the separation from mother at the time of
birth; known as the Separation Anxiety Syndrome.
* WZS : Walking Zombie Syndrome: This describes a “living dead” state as the result of an
event in the past in which the patient believed the thought “I am dying”. Once more this
commonly occurs in the birth canal or with anaesthesia especially early in life. Alternatively yet
just as devastating, the perception may be “my life is so traumatic and threatening that it is no
longer worth living”. Either way, the subconscious mind must now develop a symptom that
provide the feeling “I AM aliveö “ this symptom is therefore the “Proof of Life”.
* JDP : Jurisdictional Problem; Guilt: This is the result of self-judgement AND
self-punishment in an effort to avoid rejection by family, peers and above all to avoid the
punishment of one’s deity. It is far better to suffer in this life than to spend eternity in “hell”.
* PDL : Ponce de Leon Syndrome: This is an age immaturity problem in which, as the result of
an overwhelming event in childhood, the person subconsciously believes it is too dangerous to
grow any older! It may be too dangerous from a physical, emotional or spiritual point of view.
However, the patient displays many child-like behaviors, emotions and thinking.
Execution dynamics:
These follow the Medical model :
* History: Very extensive and complete, including sexual and religious beliefs. Close attention
paid to body language and the first three sentences as the subconscious repeatedly refers to the
original event by these means. A presumptive Waking and Subconscious Diagnosis is now
made and verified by the examination.
* Examination: This is accomplished, in trance, by means of a specifically designed Word
Association Exercise (WAE); a universal sequence of prompts which include specific
information gained from the history. This provides accurate insight into the specific patient’s
train of thought and belief systems. By linking the various similar responses to the WAT
prompts, more than 95% of patients identify the relevant ISE, SPE and SIE’s as well as the
major subconscious diagnoses. Also important is that the therapist is able to establish the
positive resources a patient has and utilize this during the course of therapy.
* Investigation: Further information may be gained through dream analysis, the 3-box test or
other hypnotic techniques.
* Definitive Diagnosis:
* The “Waking Diagnoses”; these conform to the traditional medical or psychiatric diagnoses
such as “migraine” or “panic disorder”.
* The “Subconscious Diagnoses”; as described above, these are the real issues and are
explained to the patient at the appropriate time in therapy. They provide true understanding and
allow the patient to heal him or herself.
* Treatment: In the case of medicine, an abscess is incised and drained. In Medical
Hypnoanalysis, the major tool is regression - a characteristic of the hypnotic state.
The treatment plan follows the “7 R’s” :
* Rapport
* Relaxation
* Regression to the relevant events with the following goals:
* Realization of the faulty belief: desensitization
* Removal of the faulty belief
* Replacement with a positive belief
* Rehabilitation and Reinforcement of the NEW way of
Thinking, Feeling, Behaving: This process is carried out through cognitive-behavioral therapy,
direct suggestion, metaphor, progression and other hypnotic/ psychodynamic therapies
appropriate to both the patient and the therapist.
The use of modern hypno-analytical techniques very clearly explains what science
cannot! The views of clinical medicine are due to ignorance of the power and dynamics of the
subconscious mind and the body/mind connection. Scientific studies are limited to measuring
biochemical and physiological changes, and while some entertain emotional factors, none
introduce the spiritual factor. This, despite scientific work by
Dr Michael Meaney at McGill University which clearly indicate that genetic factors are
secondary to early life experiences and a host of other studies of the new-born and the influence
of outside factors on the fetus! Further studies include work by Simonton, Spiegel, Ornish, Ader
and Cohen, Shafer, Sheinman, Zelling, Modlin and many others in a wide variety of medical and
psychological conditions.
Milton Erickson stated that a successful healer should recognize the patient’s inner pain û
modern medicine fails to do this. Sir William Osler said that it is wiser to know the patient more
than his disease. A symptom is but the subconscious mechanism of a “proof of life”, which may
include suffering of pain to maintain spiritual survival û the mechanism of guilt.
Despite advances in understanding neuropathophysiology, some 30% of patients do not
respond to the best medicines available, many become refractory to treatment and the symptom
tends to recur: it is not eradicated for the primary emotional cause remains locked in the
subconscious mind.
Accepting that there may well be a predisposing genetic factor, and while every disease
will have a final common neurochemical pathway, it must be recognized that this is not the real
problem, it is the result of a subconscious imprinted memory: a learned response to an early
physical, emotional or spiritual pain that is still unresolved.
Medical Hypnoanalysis which is briefly described above is one of several modern
clinical hypnosis techniques that are highly successful, short term and cost effective.

20. HYPNOANALYSIS: RYAN ELLIOT

We have to be careful what we think because we can set ourselves up for what we get.
We do, in fact, create reality through our thinking. In other words, we get what we expect to
get, especially when our expectation stem for fear. Fear calls into existence that which we are
afraid of.
we create our realities based on how we think and program our minds. The philosophy of
personal responsibility means that our subconscious, fear-based programming influences the
events of our lives here and now. By personal responsibility, we mean that others - our parents,
our society, our friends and loves - are not responsible for our circumstances. Personal
responsibility means that the buck stops with us.
Through the following steps, a hypnoanalyst guides you in uncovering the origin of your
problems, undoing the subconscious knot, and freeing yourself to live a healthier, more
productive life.
(1) Relaxation.
(2) Realization. Difficulties stem from negative thinking and feelings.
(3) Reeducation helps you recognize the difference between the underlying cause from the past
and the conscious problem-belief.
(4) Rehabilitation. You get new information and positive suggestions, and will have time to
correct bad habits -time to rehabilitate your thinking and practice your new thought patterns.
(5) Reassurance. You experience a decrease in symptoms. Your analyst will take advantage of
any changes, not matter how slight, to remind you of your improvement.
(6) Repetition is necessary to implant positive suggestions in the soil of your subconscious.
(7) Reinforcement. By developing your skills in self-hypnosis, you will learn to support the
positive suggestions you've received from the analyst.
(8) Responsibility. Once the first seven steps have been accomplished, accepting responsibility
for your life is a natural outcome.
Dr. William Jennings Bryan, Jr. stressed the following forms of survival and their
relative importance to human beings:
(1) Spiritual survival: An individual's connection to God, to an infinite power, or to a universal
intelligence topped Bryan's list of important factors. While admitting that earthly physical well-
being is important, Bryan insists that physical security pales in comparison to spiritual well-
being. He contrasted Maslow's basic survival level of security to spiritual well-being through
Jesus Christ words, "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his
soul?" Even if you don't believe that your spirit will survive for all eternity, there is still value in
respecting and practicing truth, he contended. People will give their lives for someone or
something they love, whether it is a person, a country, or a belief. The most miserable people in
any society, Bryan said, are those who live lives based on physical survival only.
(2) Analytical or mind survival: Next in importance is our ability to make our way in the world,
develop self-esteem and establish personal identity. The ability to reason, to discern, and to
exercise judgment is of utmost importance, second only to our spiritual survival. As I mentioned
earlier, the left brain, or conscious mind, is analytical in nature. It controls such activities as
thinking, speaking, writing, arithmetic, planning, organizing, judgment, and reading. A fear
much worse than death for many people is the loss of analytical powers, which would turn them
into "vegetables."
(3) Physical survival: With our mental and emotional faculties assured, physical survival is
next on the list of priorities. A major fear with people as they age is that they will lose their
physical abilities while their minds are still alert. Physical survival was Maslow's number one
priority, you will recall. The fact that smoking is a threat to physical survival does not prevent
great numbers of people from putting away. Using Bryan's order of importance, the personal
enjoyment or emotional satisfaction gained from smoking would not outweigh the activity's
potential harm. Physical survival has three component: air, water, and food. A person can go
without air of only moments, water for a few days, and food for a month or so.
(4) Territorial survival: As we go through life, we stake our certain "territories" that become
very much a part of our identities. Our homes, our jobs, and our social outlets are territories that
we won't give up without a fight - unless we have already secured the territories to replace them.
This motivational level corresponds to Maslow's security or social levels.
(5) Sexual survival: Surprising, sexual survival is lowest in importance to most people. Despite
America's apparent obsession with sexual activity, as manifested by the mass media, it ranks on
the bottom of the list. Although we might not like the idea of survival without sex, most people
would agree that they would give up sex before giving up their identities, their bodies, their
minds, or their spirits. Given the choice between a meal or sex, a hungry person will opt for the
meal.
Hippocrates, the Greek physician known as "the father of medicine," was discussing what
we now know as hypnosis when he said, "The afflictions suffered by the body the soul sees
quite well with shut eyes." Tenth century physician Avicenna said, "The imagination can
fascinate and modify man' body, either making him ill or restoring him to health."
KEY CONCEPTS OF MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS:
(1) Medical hypnoanalysis always begins with the taking of a complete patient history.
(2) Within the first two or three sentences of the history, a patient may reveal information that
often turns out to be related to the basic diagnosis.
(3) If one refuses to answer questions about some areas of one's past, there is a diminution of
hope in solving one's problem.
(4) The history taking helps to establish trust and understanding between the patient and the
hypnoanalyst.
(5) By communication with the subconscious, hypnoanalysts are able to uncover the underlying
reason behind a patient's problem, addiction, or phobia.
(6) People of above-average intelligence make the best hypnotic subjects.
(7) At any given time, we are functioning at one of four mental-activity levels: beta, alpha, theta,
or delta.
(8) Within the alpha-theta mind-activity level, hypnosis occurs on three different planes or
trances: light, medium, or somnambulistic.
(9) Most hypnoanalysis prefer to work at the medium-trance level.
(10) The hypnoanalyst's goal is equal to the patient's goal not to treat every little idea and review
everything that happened in their lives.
(11) Medical hypnoanalysis is successful because it treats the underlying reason for the problem,
and not only the symptom.
(12) We subconsciously control our lives and our well-being, our health, and our habits. The
key is to accept that we are in control and use that strength to determine our directions.
(13) Our bodies manufacture their own anticancer drugs, tranquilizers, and antibiotics; but when
we are sad, angry, or under stress, we interfere with our internal pharmacies.
Charles Reade, a nineteenth-century philosopher said, "Sow an act, and you reap a habit.
Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny." The path most
of us take in developing our character passes three milepost: Attitudes leads to actions, actions
lead to habits, and habits lead to life-style.
THE TRIPLE ALLERGENIC THEORY: Dr. Bryan used the "triple allergenic
theory," borrowed from medicine to help identify and understand the developments and
psychological problems. Bryan theorized that psychological injuries parallel the development of
physical allergies. "You can't be allergic to strawberries without eating a strawberry." he
pointed out. "You've got to come into contact with a foreign-body protein, an antigen, before
the body builds up antibodies against it.... The antibodies sit and wait for the antigen to come
back again. On the next contact the antigen-antibody action causes the nose to swell or the skin
to break out in a rash. The next time you eat strawberries, there are so many anti-bodies that you
get a real big reaction."
The same thing occurs psychological, Bryan contends. People are born with only two
fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. Think about it. We don't develop a fear of
dogs unless we are told to be afraid or unless a dog bites us. A kid would pick up a worm and
eat it unless the mother said, "Ugh! That's a worm! Dirty!" A kid learns "Worm! Ugh!" and the
next time reacts the same way. A young child may see a grandparent's house burn down and
develop an intense fear of fire, even of a lighted match.
The event causing the psychological condition may not be related in any way to the
actual problem. For instance, a teenager's parent may die unexpectedly while the young person
is attending a basketball game and he or she may develop a dislike for the sport... Bryan defined
three clearly recognizable developmental stages of habits or emotional problems.
(1) Initial sensitizing event (ISE): The initial sensitizing event may be a conditioning process
or a single traumatic occurrence that happens to person and is forgotten. The ISE usually occurs
at a young age, is not recallable by the conscious mid, and produces no symptoms, but it can act
as a basis for what will later manifest itself as the problem.
(2) The symptom-producing event (SPE): The symptom-producing event can trigger either
an emotional or physical reaction, and the individual usually remembers the event. The
psychological antigen reacts to the psychological antibodies that were built up by the ISE.
(3) The symptom-intensifying event (SIE): Symptom-intensifying events are always
recallable and such an event may, in fact, be the one hat motivates the visit to the doctor or the
hypnoanalyst.
KEY CONCEPTS ON HABITS AND EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS:
(1) Habits are learned behavior. We establish them by repeated action, but they can be broken.
(2) Good habits and bad habits are the products of mental conditioning, the result of our
subconscious minds having accepted either positive or negative suggestions.
(3) To be cured of an inflexible, unwanted habit, an individual must relive the emotional
incident that caused the problem, reject the negative input lodged there, and accept positive
suggestions to replace it.
(4) The path most us take in developing our character passes three milepost: attitudes (beliefs
and values that lead to action, actions, that lead to habits, and habits that lead to life-styles.
(5) Our attitudes dictate our actions. Through communication from our habits. And through
communication from our subconscious to our conscious minds, our habits dictate our life-styles.
(6) People are born with only two fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. All other
fears are learned.
(7) William Jennings Bryan, Jr. M.D., the father of medical hypnoanalysis, defines three clearly
recognizable developmental stages of habits or emotional problems: The initial sensitizing event,
the symptom-producing event, and the symptom-intensifying event.
(8) In hypnoanalysis and age regression, we leave the positive input alone and seek our only the
incidents that caused the problem.
(9) People act on their emotions, not on their intellects. Hypnoanalysts work to reveal the
emotion behind a habit or a behavior.
(10) 'Bringing to consciousness the initial sensitizing event disarms the emotional trigger. (p. 69)
The power of the hug should not be underestimated. It is one of the most potent
methods for healing emotional wounds, relieving stress, and building self-esteem. The person
who receives an abundance of warm hugs during childhood grows up with more confidence and
poise, more self-esteem, and the greater ability to cope with life's challenges. The person
starved for hugs grows up with a constant need for outside stimulation to keep moral and self-
esteem up. The hug is a powerful generator of beta endorphins, those substances manufactured
in various parts of the body, that have a soothing effect on certain receptors in the brain.
Endorphins are also produced by strenuous exercise and are the source of the "jogger's high."
Imagery can involve much more than mental pictures. You can imagine tastes, smells,
sounds, and feelings as well. Boost your visualization effectiveness:
(1) Repeat your visualizations. Repetition etches the image into your subconscious mind.
(2) Practice often, Frequent practice leads to improvement. By choosing the same time daily,
you can make a habit of self-hypnosis.
(3) Maintain control over your imagery. Say no to undesired images and feelings.
(4) Continue to breath from your diaphragm during your visualization periods to maintain your
relaxed state.
(5) Be sure to create the exact feeling that your goal will produce in you, thereby associating the
image with the feeling and keeping in mind that the intensity of the subconscious program
depends on your feelings.(p. 93)
The power of visualization lies in the quality of your images. Your programming
statements must be positive to achieve positive results. If you cannot imagine a situation, you
will have difficulty achieving it. By the same token, the stronger the feeling attached the
imagery of something you desire, the better your chances of reaching it. Use mime imagination
to bring your images into the hear and now. When you put yourself into a scene, take all your
senses with you. Let your imagination create for you the sights, sounds, feelings, and smells of
the reality you desire. Self-affirmation statements are the core of conscious activity in
reprogramming your subconscious.
Keep these rule in mind when planning your reprogramming:
(1) Self-affirmations must be keep in the present tense. Instead of saying, "I will get up early
tomorrow." Affirm instead, "I enjoy getting up early."
(2) Keep self-affirmations in the first person. Your subconscious has no control over anyone or
anything except you and your actions.
(3) Brief self-affirmations are more effective.
(4) Repeat self-affirmations frequently.
(5) Visualize success while programming your mind.
(6) Image success from two perspectives. "See" your images both as a spectator and as a
participant. (7) Never visualize failure.
WEIGHT KEY CONCEPTS:
(1) Obesity is a complex matter involving psychological, physiological, social, and physical
components.
(2) Diets alone fail because they do not address the real problem.
(3) Exercise alone is neither efficient or effective in reducing weigh.
(4) An emotional attachment to food motivates people with obesity and eating disorders.
(5) Weight control needs to be attacked on three fronts: psychological/emotional issues, eating
habits, activity levels.
(6) Perceived threats to one of our survival prerequisites may de dealt with by overeating,
resulting n obesity; by refusal to eat, resulting in anorexia; or by such behavior as binging and
purging (bulimia), or other self-destructive actions.
(7) Unless the underlying negative suggestion or suggestions to the person's survival is removed,
any attempts at dieting and food management will be counteracted by the survival mechanism.
(8) Through hypnoanalysis, persons not only can receive immediate symptomatic relief from
life-threatening eating practices, but also can achieve a permanent resolving of the problem.
The phobic reactions doesn't stem from some real threat. Rather, it is caused by an
onslaught from the imagination. The phobic situation unleashes a frightened salvo of thoughts
and images. The body starts pumping away as if these thoughts and images represented reality.
If the victim were facing some threat - an attacking dog, a car approaching in the wrong lange -
the mind could order a rational response. But since these ar imaginary threats, the mind sees no
way to deal with them. It, therefore, spurs the body on in an exaggerated response that can lead
to panic.
The word phobia originates from the Greek word phobos, meaning fear. Individual
phobias get their names by taking a Greek or Latin word for triggering condition and combining
with the word "phobia." Thus, "phobophobia,' describes the fear of fear that Franklin Roosevelt
referred to in his firs inaugural address, when he reassured the American people during the Great
Depression that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
Phobias are generally classified into three groups: simple, social, and agoraphobia.
People with simple phobias are afraid of singular, identifiable objects or conditions. Fear of
heights, water, particular animals and insects characterize simple phobias. Social phobias involve
public situations. People with such phobias any experience anxiety while attending parties,
eating in restaurants, speaking before groups, or in other situations in which they are conscious
of being observed by other people. The anxiety manifests itself in the form of physical
symptoms such as trembling hands, blushing, perspiring, dizziness, weakness in the limbs,
palpitations, and hyperventilation. When the victim experiences these effects, the usual response
is to flee from the situation and to avoid such situations in the future.
BABY'S PREBIRTH EXPERIENCES: There is a kind of extra-sensory perception in
the communication between the mother and the unborn child. It is as if the last three months
before birth the child in the womb is like a mind reader. And it reads the mind of the mother.
Severe events in the daily life of the mother can send messages to the unborn child by means of
the hormones that are secreted by the mother and in turn flow into the unborn child. The strong
emotions of the mother, which manifested fear, anger, hatred, or pain, frequently will influence
the unborn child. Before the child is born it is very sensitive to these emotions...
Sometimes the mother's feelings are that the pregnancy is unplanned and unwanted and
has no purpose; that it is a mistake. And it the mother has these feelings strongly, week in and
week out throughout the pregnancy, there is a chance that the unborn child will absorb those
feelings and believe these feelings are its own before it ever born. If the mother has feelings of
bitterness and resentment and disappointment, these strong emotions also produce feelings in the
unborn child that are similar...So a person can have an identity problem due to the events that
happened before that person was born.
The attitude of the father affects the unborn child indirectly through the mother. If the
father neglects or abuses the mother, her attitude is affected and she passes this on to the child.
(p. 171)
When the child feels unwanted or like an intruder into the world, it may respond through
some form of self-destructive behavior. The child may even become accident-prone or illness-
prone, which means that it is subject to many illnesses all of the time. In some cases, even more
serious illnesses such as cancer and diabetes are likely to develop.
Guilt can be a healthy force when it warns you in advance of a wrong course, or when it
reminds you after the fact that what you did was not in your best interests and should not be
done again. Healthy guild is a gut feelings. It becomes unhealthy when it takes charge of your
mind and actions long after the need for remorse has passed. Unhealthy guild is obsessive and
needlessly repetitive.
Depressed people are persistently sad and anxious. They feel hopeless and pessimistic.
Nothing ever turns out right, and nothing ever will. They feel guilty, worthless, and helpless.
They have no interest in pleasures, hobbies, and activities they once enjoyed. The feel tired,
listless, and apathetic. They sometimes think of death and suicide, and in extreme cases will
attempt suicide. They have trouble concentrating and remembering things. They also have
trouble making decisions. They are plagued by headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain.
SPORTS: MIND AND MUSCLE: "football is played , above all, with the heart and
mind," said Pennsylvania State University Coach Joe Paterno. "It's played with the body only
secondarily. A coach's first duty is to coact the minds. If he doesn't succeed at that, his team
will not reach its potential." If football and other sports are played with the mind, is it possible
to program the mind for victory? Can hypnosis, with proper suggestions, turn a loser into a
winner by the power of the mind."
Hypnosis should not be used to help someone ignore an injury and perform to maximum
capacity. Ignoring an injury for the sake of temporary gain can make the injury permanent, or
worse. But hypnosis can help you to get the most out yourself which, as Cervantes wrote, is the
best kind of victory one can hope for. "We become what we think we are." wrote Les
Cunningham in his book, Hypnosport . "If we think success, we become successful. If we think
failure, we become failures." (p. 191)
Dr. Daniel Zelling reports in the American Journal of Psychiatry that 95 percent of
Americans polled believe in God, compared to 5 percent of the members of the American
Psychiatric Association and 43 percent of the American Psychological Association. "So well
over half of the care providers are, in effect, denying God or the role of spirituality to those
who seek treatment. This could account for the lack of success secular psychotherapists have
had in treating spiritual problems. (p.212)
In his book, The Problem Is God, C. Alan Anderson quotes an unnamed scholar,
"Rightly understood, the problem of God is not one problem among several others; it is the only
problem there is." Anderson comments, "The problem of God is so all-embracing that
everything else must be seen in relation to it." I support this idea, yet in about 50 percent of the
cases I see, the GOD problem looms very large.
My work has shown that God is subconsciously thought of as either love or as a parent
figure. If God is love, then the believer feels loved by God, has freedom, takes responsibility for
self, and doesn't blame God for circumstances in the world. If God is a parent figure, then God
is judge, jury, and executioner. The personal believer feels wrong, guilty, enslaved, and
insecure. God then is anthropomorphic. God is created in the image and likeness of man and
not the reverse. I believe that God is love, and since love is a feeling, then God is feeling.
Each individual is a combination of body, mind, and spirit. If any aspect is neglected, the
person is in trouble. We each have the power to shape and control our destinies. Faith is the
tool with which we try to understand our being and our place in an ever-changing world. Faith
is a human activity, not a thing we possess. It is part of our being.
"Confession is good for the soul" is more than a cliché. Holding negative feelings inside
does, indeed, kill one's spirit, but it also affects the body. In research on body image among
women with eating disorders, Dr. James Pennebaker, a Southern Methodist University professor,
concluded that confession of a burdensome secret resulted in dramatic physical effects"
SPIRITUALITY KEY CONCEPTS:
(1) What we feel in relation to our self-image and self-esteem results from how much God we
have in our lives.
(2) In some 50 percent of the cases of depression, low self-esteem, or chronic guilt, and nearly
all cases of addiction and abuse, the subconscious root of the problem refers to people's concept
of God. (3) History indicates that "being right with God" has always been a precondition for
physical and mental health.
(4) Humans, once created, are given responsibility for their own lives. Life is for creating.
(5) Guilt is neither virtuous nor desirable in the eyes of God.
(6) Each individual is a combination of body, mind, and spirit. If any aspect is neglected, the
person is in an unbalanced state. All areas must be feed.
(7) When wee change our minds, we change what will go on around us.
(8) We develop personal power by balancing and directing our creative energies.
(9) We are all connected In some fundamental way, and when one person changes, it brings
change in others and to his or her environment.

21. WHAT IS HYPNO-ANALYSIS? RENEE SAKR

Hypno-analysis is a special technique that we use to analyze the cause of a symptom or
an ailment. Hypno-analysis is a deeper form of treatment than direct or indirect suggestions. It
helps practitioners find the cause and the origin of the symptom and how to deal with that cause
instead of dealing with the symptom. For example, let's say someone comes to you to eliminate
the habit of nail biting. If you were to put that person into Hypnosis and deal with the
nail-biting by giving the person direct suggestions such as:
"Every time your hand comes close to your mouth with the intention of biting your nails,
your awareness heightens and you will become aware of what you are doing and you bring that
hand down." "The moment you put any of your fingers in your mouth with the intention of
biting your nails, your finger tips will taste bitter, actually they taste horrible and your stomach
will progressively become nauseated and more and more nauseated. The moment you tell
yourself I am in control, I stopped doing that, I feel better without the fingers in my mouth, I
don't need that, I have kicked the habit etc."
In the above examples, you have provided appropriate suggestions that might work and
the client might stop the nail-biting habit. However, if the nail-biting is associated with some
bottled emotions which are still boiling inside which we call deep-seated emotions, then what
happens afterwards is that the subconscious mind will create another ailment or symptom to
replace the previous one. This process is automatically done by the subconscious mind to take
the client's mind off the bottled emotions and the hurt.
When we perform Hypno-analysis and find out the cause of the ailment or the symptom,
and then re-pattern it and focus on forgiveness, self-esteem, ego strengthening or parts therapy,
it is like pulling the tree from its roots, burning it and then replacing it with a new one (the
positive things). This way we would have eliminated the ailment or symptom once and forever.
In more traditional approaches, we would run the risk of cutting one branch (the symptom) and
letting another branch or two grow instead. In essence, we would be attempting to remove the
symptom rather than the root cause.
Case Histories: I worked with a 14 year old girl who have had splitting Migraine for
eight years. Every time she had the Migraine, she would turn very pale, her lips would become
blue and she would develop a big sensitivity to light, so every time she had a headache, she had
to go lay in bed and cover herself over her head in order not to see the light. The first time I met
her we were in a party and I saw that young lady laying her head on the table. I asked about
what was wrong with her and I was told she has a Migraine. I was also told that her dad was a
doctor and that he would give her some kind of analgesic that is very strong of which each pill
was $14.00 and she would be a little better soon. I spoke with her parents and explained to them
that I could help their daughter with Hypnotherapy and that would get her out of that migraine
cycle into a healthy life with no migraine and no side effects from the medicine. They agreed
and she was brought to me after 3 months (probably after a lot of thinking by the parents). I
worked with her four sessions. She was very responsive to Hypno-analysis. During the History
intake she told me that sometimes she wakes up with Migraine. During our Hypno-analysis
session I took her back to her dreams and let her tell me what she was experiencing, I then
worked on re-framing and thought re-processing and subsequently we stopped the migraine
from any origin, whether during the day or waking up with it cycle. She has not had one in three
years. She also stopped biting her nails and she improved her attitude and her grades at school
and became a lot more receptive at home. I get a lot of referrals now from her Dad who is a
doctor as well as from her Mom who tells everybody she meets about the Miraculous healing of
her daughter.
Case Two: I was teaching a Self-Hypnosis class in Florida Community College my
students were very interested in Hypno-analysis and requested me to show them how it is done.
I told the class I needed a volunteer and that volunteer needs to get me a doctor referral
allowing me to work with him or her. I did not think any body was going to go through the
trouble to go to a doctor and bring me a referral. But I was wrong.
The next week when the class met again, a lady in her 50's approached me and gave me a
doctor's referral. She wanted to work with weight that she has had all her life. I scheduled that
for the coming week.
I worked with her for two hours, one time only. During the 8 weeks of the class she lost
14 pounds with no further work or suggestions from me other then one-group session for losing
weight.
Note: In both cases the reasons for the problems were minute or you might even say funny, but
at the time it happened for that little individual who was helpless and hopeless about changing
the situation, it created negative energies and energetic imbalances.
Renee N. Sakr: Goldlite Hypnosis Institute, Jacksonville, FL. Past President, Hypnosis
Education Association, Faculty Member NGH 2000 & 2001 Conventions, Faculty Member
Florida Community College.
President, NGH Local Chapter/Jacksonville. FL.
JACKSONVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: MEMBER OF THE WEEK:
Renee Sakr: Goldlite Hypnosis Institute: If an opportunity existed which allowed you to reduce
your high blood pressure, heal your headache/ migraine, release mental bloc, stop smoking, or
lose weight, would you take advantage of it? How about if you were able to better manage your
time, improve your sales performance, control your stress or improve your memory and energy
level? Certified Hypnotherapist, Renee N. Sakr, of Goldlite Hypnosis Institute, promises this
and more. Hypnosis has both therapeutic and improvement benefits. As described above,
therapeutic applications include painless childbirth, pain management, sleep disorders, panic
and anxiety attacks, nail biting, fears and phobias, and overcoming depression. In fact, in 1958,
the American Medical Association formally adopted hypnosis as a viable treatment tool for
many therapeutic applications.
Ms. Sakr explains that hypnosis also has personal self-development benefits. Examples
are communication skills, assertiveness, mental attitude, freedom from worry, stage fright,
enhanced creativity, self-esteem, confidence, sports performance, test performance and study
habits.
What makes Renee Sakr so effective is her insistence on treating the cause of the
problem. As she explains, "Our philosophy is to work with the root cause of the problem and
not with the symptom by changing negative energies and imbalances into positive energies.
Although the cause of an imbalance might be ridiculous or even silly, it is the effect that
matters, and the effect is a negative energetic field. When we remove the negative energy and
create a new way of thinking and perceiving, the person’s life will no longer be affected by that
negativity." It’s more difficult than it sounds which is why credentials are so important. Renee
Sakr is certified in her field, and is a member, an instructor and a faculty member of the
National Guild of Hypnotists and a faculty member of Florida Community College. She has
been nominated by the National Registry Who’s Who, an organization based in Washington, as
an Honored Professional As the Executive Director of Goldlite Hypnosis Institute, she teaches,
trains and certifies new practitioners. She is also a Certified Hypnotherapy Instructor by N.G.H.
Hypnosis is often a misunderstood science, shunned by some religious groups. But Ms.
Sakr places hypnosis within a framework of psychology and caring: "Hypnosis is a vehicle to
get a complete relaxation of the body and mind. The body goes to sleep but the mind is 100%
more alert than usual. In that situation we can bypass the critical faculties of the mind and
establish selective thinking." Often, only one session is needed, as is usually the case with
smoking cessation. But, as Ms. Sakr indicates, if there is an underlying cause such as stress, the
client will most likely return for stress management. In corporate accounts, Ms. Sakr goes to the
business location and conducts group sessions for improving sales for example.

22. HYPNO-ANALYSIS: A CURE FOR EATING DISORDERS: OCT 2000

This is a little-known form of therapy but is one with a remarkable ability to help people
with many forms of psychological and emotional problems. I have been working with people
with a variety of physical and emotional problems for some years, and with some of them we
would come up against a brick wall. There would be some progress and then nothing seemed to
move forward. I was so frustrated that I started looking for something that would get through
this barrier. As happens sometimes, providence takes a hand and by some very strange
coincidences I found a therapy which looked like it would be of use. It turned out to be the most
useful therapy for all emotional conditions that I have ever found.
The surprising thing was that this therapy could help so many different conditions;
depression, anxiety, IBS, psoriasis, migraine to name a few, and eating disorders. I had been
helping people with this condition for some time, and then I saw a TV program on this subject
which nearly made me cry, there was no treatment! I looked through the library, I searched the
internet and found all the main sites but still there was no help. I was shocked. I started calling
my colleagues and asking if they had success in treating this illness. Yes, just the same as any
other psychological condition. I decided from then on to get this knowledge out to those who
needed it.
There is always a lot of scepticism with any unknown therapy but slowly the word is
getting out. It’s the same when anyone contacts me and asks "Can you help me? I feel terrible
about myself, I’ve no self confidence and can’t make relationships." The answer in most cases is
yes. The interesting thing here is that nearly all people suffering an eating disorder have these
same feelings as well. In fact people with eating disorders ALWAYS have other symptoms. For
some reason these symptoms are ignored and that person is put in a box marked “E.D.” I’ve
found eating problems amongst many, many people who also have other symptoms as well, and
who never think of themselves as having an eating disorder. The truth of the matter is that an
eating disorder is simply a “symptom” which is caused by an underlying anxiety. And so is
every other nervous disorder. Just a symptom. The reason that its been so hard to help with these
sorts of problem is that people have been trying to cure the symptoms, not the cause.
So let’s move on to what really causes all these conditions. During the course of our
growing up we are all faced with difficulties, hurt and pain. It is inevitable that, at some time we
will all feel unwanted, useless, sad, guilty, embarrassed and every other feeling there is. Children
can be very cruel to each other. Parents get harassed and don’t have time to give a cuddle.
Teachers get frustrated and say "You’ll never learn" and so on. Add a bereavement, family
break-up, clever brother or sister, demanding parent, and there you have anybody’s childhood.
I don’t mean it all has to be bad but the hurts will stay with the child, especially if he or
she is sensitive. These emotions can be overwhelming for a young one and the natural thing to
do is to wish it away, deny it and bury it, and soon it will be gone and sometimes, forgotten. The
important thing here is that these feelings don/t go away. They are only buried. They try to get
out but can’t. This manner of dealing with problems goes on even after we become mature but
the majority of our repressed memories and emotions come from our childhood.
At some time later on, generally after a shock or “trigger” there will be a resurgence of
these old feelings, still trying to get out. These inner anxieties have been woken but there is still
that process of denial. The human body can’t tolerate this anxiety so it lets it out in a distorted
form; as a symptom.
It can come out in literally any form but it will have some symbolic reference to the
original feeling or incident. Hence the most common feelings (shared by all) are; feeling
useless, unwanted, unlovable, image problems, can’t tell people what you really feel, can’t say
no, embarrassment, guilt, shame, shyness, fear.
They can manifest in many forms such as blushing, stuttering, nervousness, failure to
make relationships, allergies, bed wetting, eating problems, compulsions and phobias. Phobias
are the best example of an apparently ludicrous symptom û to be frightened of a spider or a moth
or a leaf or fog, beards, fur or anything else at all. What is happening in every case is the
unknown inner anxiety is being projected outwards as a “known” fear or inhibition. This is the
symptom I mentioned earlier.
The symptom has the function of lowering the person’s inner anxiety and as such is
helping the person. You will recognize that when your daily life gets more stressful, then your
symptoms will get worse. And if you try to control your symptom then your anxiety will get
worse. So trying to make an anorexic eat more will greatly increasing their anxiety. Now the
only way to get rid of the symptom is to remove the underlying cause. I must say now that
nearly everyone’s problems do come from childhood. There’s overwhelming evidence for this.
Many or even most people will be aware of some things from their childhood which have caused
them great pain or sorrow which is still with them. But how to let it go, or even find it. So lets
look at the therapy.
Hypno-analysis is a combination of psychoanalysis with hypnosis. Both well established
therapies. It is a way to get to the route of hidden problems in a remarkably short time.
Psychoanalysis is well known for its thorough and methodical way of going back into a
person’s past and letting them see where their problems started. The problem with this is it takes
years to complete and costs more in time money and that any normal person could afford. If only
it could be speeded up.
That’s where hypnosis come in. It is a state of deep relaxation, nothingmore. In this state
you are awake and able to converse freely, and will be aware of everything which happens. It is
simply a physical and mental relaxation in which a person’s conscious mind is quietened and
their subconscious mind is free to explore the past and to see again and feel again those forgotten
memories. In this quiet state and with a skilled analyst a person can unlock and release those
feelings in a very short time, to permanently free themselves from those buried traumas. Also the
analytical process gives the person the chance to see again many situations from their past and to
understand where much of their difficulties and programming came from.
The therapy takes between 6 and 10 one hour sessions at weekly intervals, and can bring
relief to many within that time. For others it takes a few weeks or a few month longer to come to
a resolution of their problems. The therapy doesn’t continue however, the newly re-experienced
emotions simply take that time to be integrated and assimilated within the person. It is just a
natural process of coming to terms with these feelings and dealing with them in the normal way.
Everyone has these locked in feelings and it can be tremendously beneficial to anyone, well or
ill, to bring out and release this baggage that we all carry. As said before, people with eating
disorders also have other problems too. I have worked with many who are now completely free
from all these problems. They now live a normal happy life without any worry about eating at
all.
One case in particular that I helped with concerned a middle aged lady. She had
anxieties, relationship difficulties and low self esteem but her main worry was that her children
would copy her eating habits. She had been anorexic for 20 years and now was managing to
keep her weight about a stone below normal.
During the course of 8 sessions of hypno-analysis she brought back two major traumas
from her early teens, one of which she had completely repressed and pushed out of her conscious
mind. She was amazed that she could have forgotten something which afterwards she
remembered so well. These extremely strong emotions, and lots of other lesser hurts and grief
were revealed and released, and by the end of her treatment she was back to her old self. Her
weight had gone back to nearly normal and she looked very well. When I finally asked her about
her eating she simply said "I eat when I’m hungry." It had ceased to be an issue for her. Getting
on with her daily life was her main concern, and I have recently heard she is as well now as
when I last saw her. Not everyone responds so quickly, especially if they have been suffering
for some years but the majority of people do respond to this treatment extremely well. The best
response comes when the condition is treated soon after as it arises. S.W.

23. HEALING HYPNOTHERAPY AND HYPNO-ANALYSIS SIMON WAYMAN

The Therapist: Simon Wayman has been a practicing therapist for 9 years,
concentrating on the emotional needs of the individual, understanding what it is that stops a
person doing and being what they want. A member of the International Association of
Hypno-Analysts using analytical hypnotherapy to unlock and release inner trauma and emotion.
He has experience in teaching and working on self-esteem, personal growth and motivation. This
is a key area in helping anyone achieve tremendous levels of personal growth which can lead
people to development far beyond anything which they thought possible. Helping people to
focus on their goals and achieve happiness and success above their expectations. A registered
Healer with the Corinthian Healing Association, he also has experience as a teacher and writer of
Healing. In his practice he works with people on both physical and emotional problems.
USING BOTH THERAPIES: Having worked with a variety of different therapies, I
have found that for most people, it is most useful to start with the emotional needs of the person,
using Hypno-analysis to deal with the underlying fears and traumas. These unresolved emotion
are the driving force for most illnesses, whether emotional or physical and need to be dealt with
first. Sometimes however, it can be appropriate to use Healing alone if there is a physical
condition but no apparent emotional problems. Also the two therapies can be used together to
help both emotional and physical problems.
The therapy which I carry out is a very personal, in depth analysis of the patient's inner
fears, blocked and unresolved feelings, and repressed memories. It is carried out in a quiet and
gentle way, allowing the memories and emotion to flow back and release pent-up anger, grief
and fears of the past. By unblocking these emotions an enormous change can be evoked,
relieving years of frustration and liberating the person's feelings. This will lead to a freedom of
expression and an ability to move forwards in life, and also to the relief of the psychosomatically
caused symptoms.
I work with my patients in an holistic way, treating the whole person and never just the
symptoms. It is so important to deal with each person at their level and at their speed, tailoring
the therapy to fit each person's individual needs.
What is Hypnosis? It is a state of deep relaxation. An altered state of mind which is
induced either by a hypnotherapist or the person themselves. The word Hypnosis comes from the
Greek “Hypnos” (to sleep) but far from being asleep, the person in hypnosis may well be in a
heightened state of awareness, with improved memory, in which they still have complete control
of their own mind. They are however, more open to suggestion that may be given by the
hypnotherapist.
The state of hypnosis is a most pleasant and particularly relaxing natural state during
which a person can converse easily. It is inconceivable that any harm could befall you. It is not
possible that you could be made to do anything that you do not want to do, or say anything
which you do not want to say. It is a co-operation between patient and therapist to help change
and improve your life.
Hypnosis is increasingly being used as an adjunct to orthodox medicine where it is
providing, for doctors and dentists, a valuable alternative to drugs and anesthesia, to accelerate
the healing process and to help in pain control.
Hypnosis is a natural state where the conscious mind is in a quiet state and the
subconscious mind is much more to the fore. In this state a person is able to recall much better
and also to feel emotion much more strongly. It is for this reason that hypnosis is so useful for
aiding the recall of traumatic of emotional incidents, and in releasing the locked up emotions
associated with them.
ANALYTICAL THERAPY: Analytical therapy is used to discover the original cause
of psychological problems, using Hypno-analysis. It is a means to get to the root cause of the
problem. Once it is revealed and removed, the symptom will permanently disappear. The types
of illnesses which can be helped is truly amazing; Phobias, Eating Disorders, Alcohol
dependency, Low Self Esteem, Shyness, Stammering, Sexual problems, Pain and many more.
The reason why this therapy can help with all of these conditions is because these conditions are
only 'symptoms' of an underlying anxiety, such as a buried trauma, emotion, shock, bereavement
etc, which was not expressed at the time.
 What Is The Treatment? What will it feel like? The only way to cure problems
caused by blocked emotions is to release these feelings. This can be done by using
Hypno-analysis. It is, in essence, very simple. After an initial consultation you will be asked to
lie on the couch and close your eyes. You will then be relaxed by following the suggestions of
the therapist, imagining calmness and peace and you will very quickly becoming very relaxed
but still awake. This hypnotic state is a normal and natural state of being. We all pass through
this 'hypnoidal' or 'lethargic' state every time we go to sleep. If you have been in meditation or
listened to a relaxation tape or just day-dreamed, then you have been in this state. You are not
asleep. Your conscious mind is simply in a quiet state while your unconscious mind is more
aware and will be able to focus on images and memories much more easily. You will also be
able to converse freely, be totally aware and remember everything which is happening.
This take only a few minutes and then you will be asked to say whatever comes into your
mind - memories from the past. You will not be led in any way. This is called 'free association'.
By remembering one incident after another, your thoughts will lead you back to events and
emotions from your past. This process can bring back and help you to release intense feelings
locked away deep in your unconscious. It is aimed at recreating the emotions for your past. To
feel them again, and release them.
All the time you will be guided and looked after by the therapist who is trained to give
you the best care in this sometimes vulnerable situation. The analysis is a very specialized
therapy which is aimed to help you re-experience those feelings which are mainly from
childhood. As an adult you can deal with them now as a mature person, putting them in their
correct place.
How Many Sessions Will It Take? Hypno-analysis usually takes between 6 and 10 one
hour sessions at weekly intervals. This is an enormous improvement over the normal 1000 hour
psychoanalysis which can take years and will be out of reach, both in time taken and cost, of the
average person. By using this conscious Hypnosis it is possible to reduce the time taken in
therapy to just a few sessions. This is a major advance and brings psychoanalysis within the
reach of everyone.
It must be stressed that although some people will make a rapid improvement, for many
the internal process of change within a person takes time. This process continues after the
sessions of analysis have finished. In fact it is not until perhaps six months after it has finished
that the full benefit of the treatment will have taken place. The coming to terms and assimilation
of these previously unknown and unresolved experiences is what brings permanent relief from
the symptoms.
This means that, although many people will be free from their problems at the end of
analysis, some people may still have their symptoms but these will disappear with time. It is a
common mistake for analytical therapists to keep their clients in therapy until the problem has
gone. Whereas the therapy is actually maintaining the problem and it will not resolve it until
after the therapy has ended.
My Promise To You: I deal with many other problems not mentioned here. Whatever
your problem, you can be sure that you will receive the best of attention and that I will respect
totally your right to confidentiality and privacy. I am a member of the International Association
of Hypno-analysts and have undertaken to abide by their code of practice and ethics. There is no
reason why you need to put up with these problems, provided that you are prepared to devote
some time and effort to the therapy. It is a chance to free yourself from the things which hold
you back and create a happier and more positive future.
 PHOBIAS: A phobia is an irrational fear. It is possible to have a phobia of anything at
all. The list below shows some of them. Not all fears are phobias. Being scared of something
like falling, isn’t a phobia because there is a real danger and there is a need for survival in the
individual. Only when the fear becomes irrational does it become a phobia. Being frightened of
something harmless like a spider or dust has to be classed as abnormal but it is surprising how
many people have these fears. If you have never had a phobia you will probably not realize how
overwhelmingly powerful the fear really is for the sufferer. It can also be very debilitating when
the person has to avoid certain fearful situations.
Phobias have been written about for thousands of years but their cause has only been
understood in recent times. There are two types of phobia, direct and indirect. Both are a
symptom of blocked emotions. There is a big difference in their formation.
The simplest to explain is the direct phobia. It is caused by a frightening event, the
emotion from which is held and locked away together with the memory of what happened. For
example if you were frightened by a dog, and forever after were phobic of dogs. The memory is
locked in and held with the original frightening feelings so that when a similar event is
experienced, the fear is brought out automatically.
The indirect phobia doesn’t have a simple cause. It is caused by a build up of anxiety
from many causes and often over a long period of time. There is no direct, single cause. This
general, unconscious anxiety is projected onto an outside object or event by the unconscious
mind. It will have some symbolic association to the original anxieties but it will often have been
unconsciously changed and distorted by the person. It is impossible to tell which sort of phobia
a person has unless they remember the event which caused it (direct phobia). But even if they do
have such a memory, the phobia could still be the focus of other inner anxieties as well.
The types of phobias which are most likely to be indirect are fear of; heights, the dark,
enclosed spaces, open spaces, spiders, water, flying, public speaking, to name a few. These fears
are the focus of feeling “out of control” or of “fear of the unknown”. If you have lots of phobias
then you can be sure that most of them are from you inner anxiety (indirect). Most
hypnotherapists will use 'suggestion therapy' to help remove the symptom, with little regard for
their underlying cause. Remembering that every phobia has buried emotion associated with it,
simply to remove the projected fear will leave the person open to the creation of a new phobia or
even another type of nervous condition altogether. Their inner anxiety will get projected onto
something else. This condition is well known as symptom substitution. So to offer to remove
phobias from anyone without any regard to the underlying cause is being negligent in the
extreme.
It is relatively easy to remove simple symptoms such as a phobia but when that person
develops a worse phobia or even a completely different symptom, it can do immense harm.
Imagine being claustrophobic and not liking to go into lifts or small spaces, and having this
transformed into agoraphobia so that you can’t go out of your own house. It could also manifest
as a nerve rash, or you might find yourself beginning to stammer. If that happened to you would
you consider yourself as having been helped? The only safe way to deal with these symptoms,
whether they are direct or indirect, is to remove the inner anxiety with a technique such as
hypno-analysis, after which most of the phobias will go automatically. Any remaining ones can
be safely dealt with afterwards, without the worry that another will take its place. It must be
remembered that all psychological problems have a cause, and to bring permanent relief it is
always necessary to deal with this underlying cause.
Slimming: Slimming Therapy uses Suggestion for habit changing and calming, and
requires a single one hour session with perhaps a booster later on. It helps you to slim without
cravings, mood swings or irritability. This is done as the final part of the Analytical therapy
(Hypno-analysis). It is necessary to remove the cause of the comfort eating or craving before
changing the behavior patterns. About 50% the people who have analysis for weight loss, find
that their weight reduces naturally without any suggestion therapy or diets at all. This shows that
they were previously using their eating as a comfort and stress reducer.
SLIMMING SESSION: You will be asked to lie on the couch and will be relaxed into
a very quiet and comfortable state where your unconscious mind can more easily absorb the
suggestions for calmness and the easy with which you will change your eating habits. All you
have to do is to relax. The suggestions will go into your unconscious automatically and start to
work for you, helping you to do the things that you want to do. It is such a relaxing experience
that many people fall asleep during the session but this make no difference at all to the
effectiveness. Your subconscious mind is still active and will respond just the same. It's still up
to you to want to change your eating pattern. Hypnosis does not 'control' your mind and cannot
make you do something against your will, so it is very important that you have made the
decision to lose that weight. When you have made that decision then hypnosis will be your
greatest ally.
WHY WE PUT ON WEIGHT: There are several reasons why we can put on weight.
There is in many, the need to feel good when things aren't going well or when our stress level is
high. This so called 'comfort eating' is well known to many who will either nibble or may
indulge in a big meal to fill the need for something good.
This pattern eating can easily become a habit, and one which is hard to break.
Hypnotherapy can be a great help to motivate and focus the mind on a proper eating pattern. It
makes it easy and fun to be doing the thing which you want to do. Think of yourself now the
way you want to be... looking slim, wearing good clothes, and feeling great about yourself...
The focus is changed from 'not eating' to 'being the way you want to be'. Positive feelings of
doing what you want to do.
STOP SMOKING SESSION: It uses suggestion to help you change your thought
patterns and to rid you of this habit and helps you to live the way you want. It helps to remove
the desire and habit of smoking, and helps you to give up without any cravings, mood swings or
irritability. 90% of people Stop Smoking with one session of Hypnotherapy. You will be asked
to lie on the couch and will be relaxed into a very quiet and comfortable state where your
subconscious mind can more easily absorb the suggestions for calmness and the easy with which
you will stop smoking. All you have to do is to relax. The suggestions will go into your
unconscious automatically and start to work for you, helping you to do the things that you want
to do. It is such a relaxing experience that many people fall asleep during the session but this
make no difference at all to the effectiveness of the treatment. Your unconscious mind is still
active and will respond just the same.
It's still up to you to want to give up though. Hypnosis does not 'control' your mind and cannot
make you do something against your will, so it is very important that you have really decided to
stop smoking. When you have made that decision then hypnosis will be your greatest ally.
HABIT OR ADDICTION: The therapy relies on the principle that smoking is a habit
and not an addiction. Much that we are all told of the addictive properties of nicotine, the fact is
that people are not addicted. An addiction occurs when the body craves a substance and needs
an ever increasing amount of that substance to fulfil it's needs. However, as we all know the
majority of smokers are satisfied with a daily number of cigarettes which remains constant for
many years. You may have smoked 20 cigarettes per day for 30 years. This is not characteristic
of an addiction.
The other difference is that smokers don't wake up every hour through the night to have a
smoke. It may seem impossible to go more than an hour without a cigarette during the day but
you may well sleep 6 or 8 hours without any need whatsoever. It goes to show the tremendous
power that the unconscious mind has to control us and make us believe and do things in our life.
It is a miracle how a cigarette can calm anyone's nerves. After a nerve racking day at work or in
some other stressful situation you will light a cigarette, draw on it and feel a tremendous feeling
of calm. But why? It is a vaso-constrictor. It puts your blood pressure up and gives you a buzz.
The only calming effect is a psychological one.
This leads us on to why it calms our nerves. Smoking, along with eating, drinking, nail
biting and thumb sucking, is an 'Oral Satisfaction'. We get pleasure from putting things in our
mouths. It comes from the baby period when we instinctively sucked. We never lose this trait
and it is normal in all humans. Hence smoking calms our nerves. Therefore it is quite
understandable that when people stop smoking, they may well start eating more instead. They
have simply substituted one oral satisfaction for another.
To go one step further it is necessary to look at your level of anxiety. Not just how
stressed you are on a daily basis but your underlying stress levels. Old traumas from the past. If
you have a high anxiety level and you use smoking to calm yourself, then, even with hypnotic
suggestion you may find it impossible not to go back to smoking. If this is the case then you
need to find and release these traumas. 'Hypno-Analysis' is an ideal way to do this.
What Causes The Symptoms? Unknown to most people, we are all suffering from the
stresses and traumas of our early life. That is up to the age of about 16 years, the frustrations,
fears, guilt, shame and grief that everyone endures as a part of growing up, are very often not
expressed at the time. We live with them and it is a human trait not to express our feelings; to
bottle them up and deny them, either because we are too frightened, embarrassed or insecure.
We all know what this can feel like, its very unpleasant. If the trauma is very severe then the
mind of any person will find it too overwhelmingly horrible to live with and will “repress” it.
That means to “forget”, to push the experience out of the conscious mind. It then becomes
completely unknown to that person. This happens mostly in childhood when the mind and
emotions are immature. Things an adult would find very unpleasant, a child can find unbearable
and will simply push it out of the mind.
We forget the memory but we cannot forget the emotion. It remains inside us and gives
rise to anxious, nervous feelings. The body cannot tolerate this unknown, free floating anxiety
and gets rid of it by producing a symptom. A phobia is one form. In this case the fear is
externalized, directed outwards onto something which is known, such as spiders, heights,
enclosed spaces etc. The particular phobia will symbolically represent the underlying repressed
fear.
It can also come out as an emotional problem. Depression is by far the most common but
also lack of self esteem, failure to make relationships and eating disorders also rank highly.
Another way out is to produce a physical symptom such as high blood pressure, ulcers, eczema,
cystitis, arthritis, migraine. Also there are the hysterical symptoms such as paralysis, blindness,
tremor. (these are not physically caused). And lastly hysterical dissociation, with multiple
personality being the most well known. It is surprising for most people to learn that we each
have five or more major repressions inside us. If you doubt that it is true for you, try asking a
parent or an older relative about things from your past. You may well hear about a big event in
your life which you now have no recollection of at all. Or perhaps you don't remember anything
before age eight.
The most common emotional problems are feeling out of control and 'social phobia'. This
shows itself as a feeling of not being good enough, lack of self confidence and self worth,
feelings of being judged, feeling unlovable, unable to express yourself except to close friends
and family, and feeling insecure and frightened in certain conditions. I'm sure everyone reading
this feels some of these feelings but did you realize that there is a specific cause?
As a child we all find ourselves in embarrassing, frightening and humiliating situations.
Most of them are not even our fault. Here is a typical example; A six year old who is a little
slow at reading, is called on to read a piece to the class. She is nervous but tries her best. She
makes a few silly mistakes and is pounced on by her teacher. "You stupid child, can't you learn
anything." She is made to stand at the back of the class in disgrace. Everyone laughs.
Can you imagine how you would feel if this happened to you? You would feel stupid,
useless, humiliated, unloved, angry... and decide at that moment never to speak out for fear of
that ever happening again. If the child couldn't bear those feelings, over the next few days, she
would wish it away, deny it, bury it and finally it would be lost from her consciousness
(repressed). She would have no memory of that incident from that time on. The feelings would
still be there though. She would probably find it nearly impossible to read out loud, would not
answer any questions in class and would try to avoid any similar situation. She could well
become uncooperative and moody, with a sharp deterioration in her work.And everyone would
wonder why. Years later those same feeling would still be there and if a situation arose which
threatened that person in the same way, (a trigger) then there may well be a new symptom of
that underlying emotion.
At puberty... feelings of not being acceptable. Given responsibility at work... panic at
not being good enough or having to speak in a meeting. In a relationship... feeling unlovable.
Becoming a mother... responsibility for the child, can't cope. Being out of control... fear of
being stared at, being judged, flying, doctors and dentists etc. This is the basis of our irrational
feelings and behaviors. We all have them. Some people learn to cope and some don't do quite so
well. There is something that can be done to clear these feelings.

24. MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS FOR WEIGHT LOSS: APPLIED BEHAVIORAL

HEALTH CARE
Hypnoanalytically Enhanced Eating Awareness Training (H.E.A.T.) We have found that
many people become overweight when they begin to use food to satisfy an emotional need; to
compensate for something they feel is missing in their lives. Some people overeat to
compensate for an unpleasant experience. Others eat to reward themselves, or possibly for
entertainment. Some want to be noticed, and many use a large body to offset a small ego. Food
can be used to compensate for a lack of love, to offset fear, to overcome frustration, to deal
with boredom, or sometimes even to avoid sex.
Often, the reasons they began overeating are anchored in their past; some emotional
event that caused them to begin eating for security, self preservation or protection. The memory
of the event remains sealed in the subconscious mind, even if they have consciously forgotten it.
For these people, dieting alone will not be enough to lose the weight and keep it off. They often
view the diet as a short term program; and look forward to achieving their weight goal so they
can return to eating "normally". Once they meet their goal, they reward themselves with the
huge meals or heavy deserts that they have been craving; and the weight quickly returns.
 Dieting never eliminates the subconscious need for excess food. It's just a form of
self-torture they go through, until they eventually give in to their subconscious desires. They
may go up and down the scale continuously, never letting go of the desire for excess food.
A Medical Hypnoanalytic program, based on the principles of "Hypnoanalytically
Enhanced Eating Awareness Training" (HEAT) will do more than just modify an individual's
behavior. It address all issues which may be affecting their eating habits. The Medical
Hypnoanalyst will ask: "When do you overeat? Where do you overeat?" and most importantly,
"Why?" We will also help examine your self-esteem and self-confidence. We need to know if
these areas require strengthening?
The HEAT sessions will help you to look back on your life, and locate the event (or
events), which led to your current attitude toward food. This is the first step in eliminating the
subconscious desire for excess food. The second step will be to instill a new attitude toward
eating, such as "I am satisfied with smaller amounts of healthy food". Hypnotic conditioning
with cassette tapes are used to reinforce the new attitude. When used for 30 days, the attitude
becomes a permanent part of the your outlook on life. New eating habits are formed, that will
last a life time. The weight easily stays off; and the roller coaster ride is over.
Why be Fat? Being substantially overweight is physically dangerous, placing strain on
the heart and other organs. Overweight conditions also detract from appearance and
attractiveness, and can adversely affect career advancement, social desirability, relationships and
other factors pertaining to life enjoyment and progress.
The question, then, is Why Be Fat? In most cases it is really unnecessary. Many people
overeat to compensate for something in life, which is undesirable; fear, anxiety, anger, hurt,
home/family problems, job/career problems, losses or defeats, loneliness. HEAT can uncover
and reveal the problem, resolve difficulties, change attitudes, reduce the need and desire for
excessive food intake. As weight is lost, appearance improves, self-esteem advances, and
confidence develops. Life becomes enjoyable. Personal progress returns.
Can H.E.A.T. Make you Thin? Tired of carrying around those extra twenty pounds?
Sick and tired of diets that don't work? Are you ready to shed that flab once and for all? HEAT
may be the answer for you. But not if you're expecting miracles. HEAT is not a magic bullet. It
cannot make you stop craving potato chips or never feel hungry again. It can't make you
exercise or make you like vegetables or make you do anything.
What, then, can HEAT do that "will power" can't? Hypnosis, a state of deep
relaxation and intense mental focus, can help you "re-program" old attitudes and beliefs about
eating. While in the state of hypnosis your subconscious (inner) mind is more available to you,
more open to receive suggestions that will then become a part of those messages in the "back of
your mind" that nudge you toward new behaviors. Like a modern day Jimminy Cricket,
hypnotically implanted messages urge you to "do the right thing" - to follow through with the
changes that you decided to make in your life, simply by increasing awareness.
You eat only in response to your body's natural need for food as fuel" can help
re-program bad eating habits. Repetition of such suggestions, especially if listened to regularly
on a taped message, can boost your determination, because it works naturally without effort
because you will be eating in agreement with yourself instead of fighting with yourself.
It takes a combination of eating awareness training, exercising regularly and
psychological education (understanding why you have certain eating patterns and how to change
them) in order to achieve permanent weight loss. Not only will you receive mental suggestions
for awareness enhancement and lifestyle changes, we will explore with you any emotional
connections to food and eating habits. Once you realize why you are eating when you are not
hungry (If we all ate only when we were hungry there would be no need for any weight loss
programs) you can begin to change that behavior.
A Medical Hypnoanalyst will work with positive programming, in part using your own
natural success to spur you on and not rely on "aversion therapy," "positive" or "negative
conditioning" to achieve results. Suggestions that stress positive changes (looking the way you
want to look, feeling the way you want to feel) and that increase self-esteem can help you
succeed not only in your weight loss, but in other areas of your life as well. Mental imagery is
another important part of Medical Hypnoanalysis. Using hypnosis for weight loss, after
achieving a deep state of relaxation your Medical Hypnoanalyst might lead you through an
imaginary journey where you might imagine yourself wearing a dress or suit you've grown out
of. You might imagine the positive comments of your friends or co-workers. You would be
encouraged to use all five senses in your imagery, seeing and feeling yourself grow thinner,
stronger, more healthy and vital. Studies show that the more real your inner experience, the
more likely the final results will match your mental "program." "Via HEAT you can achieve
long term success. While not magic, HEAT can provide powerful tools to help you fight the
battle of the bulge, tools that just may make the difference between success and failure.

25. ALLERGIES (HYPNOANALYSIS): DAVE ELMAN: HYPNOTHERAPY: WESTWOOD

PUB CO: GLENDALE, CA: 1964
In transcripts of hypnoanalysis, it is impossible to show facial expressions, gestures,
reactions, and extreme emotions displayed by patients. You might not know, for example, that
the patient who was the victim of a congenital illness showed such extreme emotion that in the
tape recording made at the time you can hear violent sobbing and the gasping for breath. I can
assure you, however, that her reactions were not unusual for a patient going through an
abreaction in hypnoanalysis.
As we examine the circumstances surrounding the emotional problems of this patient, we
begin to wonder why her hayfever didn't show up during her childhood or first marriage.
Certainly there were great problems in her late teens. But the hayfever did not develop until
trauma had piled upon trauma, culminating in the great fear engendered when morbid thoughts
caused her to cry excessively as she feared for her son's life.
We have discovered in hypnoanalysis that this seems often to be the case: A person is
free from allergic reactions for any number of years, and then suddenly one or more allergies
show up, always preceded by strong emotional circumstances.
A year or two after the hypnoanalysis of the hayfever victim just described, her doctor
reported to me that she had gone through a couple of hayfever seasons without showing any
evidence of allergy. She has recovered completely from her reaction to the pollen, though skin
tests still prove she is sensitive to pollen. In addition, her morbid fears were completely erased. I
am certainly not claiming that the hypnoanalysis itself was responsible for her recovery. It was
supplemented by the work of an excellent doctor who had the good sense to continue working
with the patient until her difficulties were completely corrected. The credit belongs not only to
hypnoanalysis, but to the intelligent cooperation and further work by a good doctor. (216)
Let me give you another illustration of allergic reaction. I was asked to employ
hypnoanalysis with a young lady who had been completely free from any signs of allergy until
she had reached the age of eleven, when a severe case of hayfever had developed. The
hypnoanalysis revealed that when she was eight years old her mother died and it was a terrible
shock to the young child. Eventually, she seemed to have recovered from the shock,and was in
excellent health. She showed no allergic reactions. Three years later her father remarried and
brought the stepmother to live with the child. That fall she developed hayfever. In the
hypnoanalysis she told how bitterly she resented the first appearance of the stepmother. She still
deeply missed her mother, and felt that no one could replace her real mother. She would sob
herself to sleep at night but, not wanting her father or stepmother to know how she felt, she
repressed the tears when she was in their presence. The sobbing continued, and when she was
alone at night, she would find herself crying even in her sleep. Then the hayfever season came
along and with it her first attack of the illness. At the time I saw the girl, it was in the midst of
the hayfever season and what I call the "crying syndrome" was apparent.
In my opinion, every case of hayfever represents a crying syndrome. The eyes tear and
get red as for weeping; the nose runs; the throat gets dry and raspy. Frequently, there is gasping
for breath. All of these signs appear when a person cries excessively. Hypnoanalysis reveals
again that victims of hayfever and many other respiratory illnesses have undergone traumatic
experiences that caused prolonged crying. Consciously. these people have stemmed back the
tears, but at a level below conscious awareness the tears persist. The crying apparently affects a
change in sensitivity to allergens, and the allergic reactions develop in the crying syndrome of
hayfever.
I believe that, just as it is possible for a person to repress unpleasant thoughts, it is
possible to repress the emotions which stem from those thoughts. Tears are one of nature's relief
mechanisms. If thoughts bring tears and the tears are repressed - that is, the mechanism is not
permitted to operate - many respiratory illnesses can and often do result. If you (217) had seen
this crying syndrome in literally hundreds of emotional illnesses, I believe you would agree with
me that the crying syndrome is worthy of further medical research and study. Find the cause of
the syndrome in every patient, and you will probably be able to help many people who suffer
from respiratory conditions.
There are exceptions, however. A doctor once brought his son to class, an
eleven-year-old boy who was a victim of asthma and hayfever. He had been taken to Denver,
where notable work is being done with asthmatic patients. Unsuccessful there, the father took the
boy to a distant state where a specialist was reputed to be doing remarkable work with
asthmatics. Again, all treatment failed. The boy still had his asthmatic condition. Then the father
became a student of hypnosis and one night he suggested that we might uncover the cause of the
asthma by means of hypnoanalysis.
I agreed to try, but stipulated that neither parent must be present in the room while we
were working with the boy. As I explained to him, we have found it advisable not to have loved
ones present when hypnoanalysis is done. Patients who are emotionally involved won't speak
freely when family members are present for fear of saying something embarrassing to
themselves or disturbing to the people they love .
The boy very much wanted help and he responded to hypnosis beautifully. Under
hypnoanalysis, he told how when he was a baby all he had to do was to cry and his mother
would come running. With the arrival of a baby sister, attention was divided; now mother didn't
respond to his crying as fast as she used to. One day he cried so long and hard that his breathing
made a "funny sound." The sound didn't disturb him at all, he said, but when his mother heard it,
she came running to him, frightened. "Rales" she called it, and when she told her husband, the
doctor, he too became alarmed. Now the child could get attention any time he wanted it simply
by crying and making those funny sounds when he breathed. He could make his father and
mother pay more attention to him than they did to his baby sister.
The hypnoanalysis did not produce any immediate improvement that I could see. Before
the conclusion of the session, the boy volunteered the information that he was (218) certain his
parents favored his sister. He wanted their love so badly even asthma seemed a small price to
pay for it. When the parents were made aware of the situation, they were shocked. They told me
they would do everything in their power to correct the brother and sister problem. I am sure that,
gradually, as the sibling rivalry is eased, the boy will "outgrow" his asthma.
In many cases, a patient suddenly begins to have strong reactions to all sorts of allergens,
though he has never been troubled by them before. Skin tests may show that he is sensitive to
everything from chocolate to ragweed to wool. Judging by these skin tests, I am led to believe
that the allergies have always been present, and that only the allergic reaction has been affected.
The patient who suddenly has an attack of hayfever has probably been allergic to pollen all his
life but, the severe reaction was precipitated by an emotional problem. I believe this to be true of
any number of allergies.
Since the allergies have always been present and probably always will be, all that can be
done in the light of present knowledge is to correct their effect. To my knowledge, no way has
been found to cure an allergy; when we remove the reaction, we haven't caused the
allergen-sensitivity to disappear.
Some years ago, I had in my class an allergist who was an excellent student. He saw me
use hypnoanalysis with a number of patients suffering from allergic reactions. He said to me,
"You know, Dave, it's very odd the way I became an allergist. I was in medical school, engaged
to be married, when along came an allergy that almost killed me.
"It was graduation day and my girl and I were celebrating the fact that we were engaged.
A bunch of young grads, along with my girl and I, went out together for a celebration. We
decided to have a shore dinner. We were a perfectly happy group, my girl friend and myself and
these other boys and girls, all medical students-all finishing college, and enjoying a wonderful
shore dinner.
"There were clams, oysters, lobster, you know what a shore dinner is composed of. All of
a sudden I got so sick. Everybody else was perfectly well, but I got so sick I almost died. When I
found out that I was allergic to clams and that it was the clams that had made me so sick, I
decided (219) to find out something about allergies. And so I became an allergist."
I said to him, "Doctor, I would like to find out exactly what happened that night that you
had the clams." He declared, "It's just like I told you, Dave. Everybody was having a wonderful
time. Everybody had clams. Everybody was feeling wonderful, but I got sick. It's because I'm
allergic to clams." I told him, "Not necessarily. You had had clams in your life before and they
hadn't made you sick. Let's do hypnoanalysis to find out what caused you to react this way."
I regressed him to graduation night. I had him relive the episode little by little. Just
before the shore dinner was served, he and his girl had had a terrible fight. She gave him back
his ring and told him she was never going to marry him. He felt miserable. Then the shore
dinner was served, and he found he couldn't stomach the clams. That is when the reaction to the
allergy occurred.
The fact of the matter is that probably this man had always been allergic to clams, but it
was not a vile poison for him until the emotional upset came along coincidentally with the eating
of the clams.
Many years ago I saw an interesting allergic reaction. I met an actress who had a
recurring and disappearing strawberry mark on her forehead. It was just as red as a real
strawberry and looked exactly like a strawberry. But the mark only appeared on her forehead
during the strawberry season. "Every time I see a strawberry," she told me, "I get this reaction. I
don't know why it happens." Her case is reminiscent of the stigmata (more prevalent in Europe
than here) brought on by religious ecstacy. Such marks are evidently stimulated by emotional
responses.
A somewhat similar case was brought to my attention by a dermatologist who brought to
class a patient afflicted with severe hives. The hives were not present at the time, and the
dermatologist told me that the patient had only been troubled by such skin reactions during the
past couple of years. The hives would disappear for a while and then come back. The doctor
believed there was an emotional basis underlying the disorder. In hypnoanalysis this story was
revealed:
The patient had held a minor position as a factory (230) hand. He was an outstanding worker,
and after a number of years of holding the same job, the boss suddenly promoted him to
foreman. At first, he was very proud and his friends were very happy for him. Now, however, he
had to give orders to co-workers who were old friends, and since the boss expected him to turn
out a specific number of units a day, he had to exert pressure on them. He was unhappy about
being in a position of authority which he really didn't want-and every time the boss needled him
to pressure his co-workers, the hives developed.
To find out whether the reaction was strictly emotional, the dermatologist pretended to
be the boss during part of the hypnoanalysis. After listening to the doctor give orders for two or
three minutes, the patient developed enormous hives on his arms, legs and body. These hives
were larger than silver dollars. When we told the patient the boss had left, almost immediately
the hives disappeared.
We have worked with several victims of hives, and the symptoms always seem to
originate. on an emotional basis. While hives mayor may not be considered an allergy, they do
show an emotional reaction similar to allergic reactions.
I was visiting at the home of friends one evening and many guests were present. When a
dish of candy was passed around, the man seated next to me looked at the chocolates longingly
and said, "Sometimes I get such a fierce longing for chocolates that I eat them no matter what,
and then I get so sick that I think I'm collapsing. My nose runs, my eyes water and my stomach
is upset. But I can't resist eating the stuff."
Following a theory I had, I asked him to resist the candy this time just long enough for
me to give him a few hypnotic suggestions. He was most agreeable; I put him into a deep state
of hypnosis, and gave him the suggestion that he could eat chocolate without suffering any ill
effects, provided he never had them at a time when he was emotionally upset. Then he ate the
chocolates, without any ill effect.
The results were astounding, for he has been able to eat chocolate ever since without
having any reaction whatever. He is very careful not to eat them at a time when he is
emotionally upset. He is, of course, still allergic to chocolate but he is avoiding the precipitating
factor which (221) caused him to react to the allergy. Some allergists claim that all allergies
have an emotional basis others insist that some do. Hypnoanalytic research, however, leads me
to the conclusion that no allergy itself is emotionally produced, but all reactions to allergies have
an emotional basis. There is quite a difference.
For clarification, let's get back to the crying syndrome. I can remember a nurse who
came to class with an extensive rash on her hands. Her eyes were watering and itchy. The crying
syndrome was apparent. It seems that she had never shown a reaction to allergies of any type,
but in April of that year she suddenly developed a rash on her hands and, concurrently, the
watering and itching eyes. She tried wearing rubber gloves but they didn't help at all; the rash
continued to get worse. Finally she went to see a dermatologist, who made various tests and
discovered that the nurse was allergic to antibiotics. He gave her treatment for contact dermatitis,
but even this treatment gave her no relief from the rash or the crying syndrome. The doctor then
brought her to class.
I questioned her at length, trying to determine if she had ever ,had any allergic reactions
at all prior to the previous April. She had not. Then I asked her how she was getting along at the
hospital where she worked and at home. To these questions she answered, "Everything is fine. I
have no problems. I'm happy at home and I like my work!' Then I made the remark, "A pretty
girl like you must have a lot of boy friends." She said, "I did have one." "What happened?" "We
had a quarrel and broke up. I haven't seen him since." "When did you have this quarrel?" She
said, "Last April," and broke into tears. The girl didn't realize that the unhappy ending of her
romance had anything to do with her allergic reactions. The emotional problem had acted as the
trigger mechanism.
I asked the doctor to continue working with the patient privately along these lines, and
she soon showed a marked improvement. The recognition and treatment of an emotional
problem do not, however, relieve every sufferer from allergies, asthma, etc. Judge for yourself
whether or not emotion was shown (222) to be a causative factor in the development of the
following asthma case.
The patient first began to suffer from asthma when she was twenty-four years of age. The
condition persisted for seven years, then completely disappeared for a period of another seven
years, only to return violently six months before her doctor brought her to class.
I asked the patient many preliminary questions about family life, her work, her marriage,
etc., and she responded that everything was just fine. We regressed her and learned that all
through her formative years she had experienced no allergic reactions and no asthma. She was
married when she was twenty-three years of age.
Now read part of the hypnoanalysis which followed:
ELMAN: You've been married a few months now. Are you working or are you staying home?
PATIENT: I'm working.
ELMAN: Do you like your job?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: When I snap my fingers, it will be the first day you've ever had asthma, and you'll
know just what's been happening ... [snaps fingers] What's been happening today?
PATIENT: I'm coughing. I've got a cold. How are things going at home? Fine.
ELMAN: How are you getting along with your husband?
PATIENT: Just fine.
ELMAN: This will be the first day you ever got asthma. Something must have happened that
caused a common cold to turn into asthma. When I snap my fingers, you'll know what it was that
emotionally upset you that d.ay ... [snaps fingers] What was it?
PATIENT: I don't know.
ELMAN: Now, stay completely relaxed. When I lift your hand and drop it, you'll know exactly
what it was, and if you want to tell me you can, and if (223)
PATIENT: you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. But you'll know what it is ... Now, what
happened that day? Do you want to tell me? [Patient has become disturbed; begins to weep,
apparently experiencing typical crying syndrome.] This is the first day you've ever had asthma.
It's five minutes before you have your first attack of asthma. What's been happening?
PATIENT: I just keep coughing and coughing and coughing.
ELMAN: What are you worried about?
PATIENT: I don't like the cough.
ELMAN: Do you have any ideas on your mind that this might be something serious?
PATIENT: No, sir.
ELMAN: Where's your husband? Is he home?
PATIENT: He's with me.
ELMAN: What's he doing about your cough? Anything at all?
PATIENT: No, sir.
ELMAN: How long have you had this cough?
PATIENT: Three weeks.
ELMAN: And still coughing pretty badly. What's been happening these past three weeks?
PATIENT: I was in the hospital.
ELMAN: You were in the hospital? What with?
PATIENT: Pneumonia.
ELMAN: So, you did have pneumonia and you were in the hospital. While you were in the
hospital you were pretty sick, is that right?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Did you get scared when you were in the hospital?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: You knew at all times that you were going to get well? (224)
PATIENT: Yes, sir ... [Patient sobs, appears to be experiencing violent emotional response.] My
boss said that I had tuberculosis. He kept saying that again and again.
ELMAN: Your boss thought you had tuberculosis. Now
we're getting to the cause of the fear that was underlying the whole thing, aren't we?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: And now we're beginning to see where the asthma came from, aren't we? Because way
down underneath, he scared you pretty badly when he said that, didn't he?
PATIENT: I didn't think so.
ELMAN: But now that you look back on it, you can see
it clearly again. You realize that his words had pretty stunning effects on you, didn't they?
PATIENT: Yes, sir. I quit my job because of it.
ELMAN: Now let's go to your most recent attack, and see
if this attack which occurred six months ago has any of the same elements in it ... What
happened about six months ago?
PATIENT: Just like the flu-I had an upper respiratory infection, and then the asthma came back.
***
Notice the similarity of the events preceding both attacks of asthma, and notice also how
the words of her boss gave her morbid fears. At this point in the hypnoanalysis, the patient
rejected any further work, and when we attempted to find the reason for the rejection through
ideomotor responses, she revealed that she had gained a great deal of insight into her problem as
the result of the hypnoanalysis but that she preferred not to go further at this time. Her doctor
continued the work with her privately.
Although hypnoanalysis is often fabulously interesting, sometimes it can become dull
and discouraging. During one class, I had worked with an asthma sufferer, but without any
success. After the class was dismissed, his doctor persuaded me to work with this patient again.
This time, to my (225) surprise, he accepted hypnosis readily and quickly went into a deep state
of somnambulism. This is another indication that many patients will not reveal their problems
before a group of doctors. He had previously, that evening, rejected hypnosis when the class was
in session.
He was a man in his forties or fifties, and had been an asthmatic victim since early
childhood, he said. I began compounding suggestions by taking him back to the first grade in
school, and followed it by taking him to successive grades, hoping that by increasing his
awareness, I might be able to discover the cause of his asthma.
He was able to identify every child in the first, second, third and fourth grades. And each
time he mentioned the children with whom he studied in those early years, he would mention a
boy named Joe. "I like Joe," he said. "We're awfully good friends."
I took him to a week before the first asthmatic attack, and everything was fine. He was a
completely happy boy. Three days before the attack, everything was still fine. Two days before
the attack, he said, "We're out in the yard playing ball. Joe and I are arguing. Boy, am I mad. I
hit him and knocked him down." "Did that break up your friendship with Joe?" "Oh no. We're
too good friends for that. We made up in a little while and I apologized to him. He said I really
didn't hurt him anyway."
Then I took him to the day of the first asthmatic attack and asked him to relate what was
happening in the classroom. He started mentioning the names of the boys in class, and then was
silent for a moment. Suddenly he exclaimed, "Where is Joe? Joe isn't here?" Then he began to
sob violently.
The abreaction was so severe that I decided to terminate it. When I brought him out of
hypnosis, he said, "I was talking about Joe, wasn't I? I haven't thought about him for many
years." "Yes," I said, "Tell us about Joe." He said, "Joe died when we were in the fifth grade. I
thought that when I hit him I caused it. I can remember now how many times I cried about it, but
I would never let anyone know how I felt. After all, big boys don't go around (226) people who
aren't even members of their family.”
The crying syndrome was clearly indicated, and was apparently the cause of the first
asthma attack. This case, like many others I have encountered, proves that a guilt complex can
exist below the level of conscious awareness. The patient had been carrying that guilt complex
ever since childhood. It was the cause of the crying syndrome and the precipitating cause of the
asthma.

26. PHOBIAS AND MORBID FEARS (HYPNOANALYSIS): DAVE ELMAN:

HYPNOTHERAPY: WESTWOOD PUB CO: GLENDALE, CA: 1964
One of the most interesting experiences a doctor can have is the tracking down of a
phobia. It is my contention that every phobia can be tracked to its originating source, and that
bringing this source to the conscious attention of the patient in many cases helps the patient
tremendously and in some cases results in a complete correction. Unfortunately many doctors
think that the cause of a phobia is difficult to determine and that investigation requires an
interminable time. As a matter of fact, hypnoanalysis offers a rapid way to expose and resolve a
phobia.
Of course, many individuals have phobias but don't recognize their difficulties as such.
Some people will refuse to ride an escalator but will deny the existence of any phobia: "I just
don't like escalators. It isn't a phobia; it's an idiosyncrasy." Similarly, fear of walking downstairs
is labeled "just an eccentricity." We are all apt to rationalize actions which do not appear to be
within the norm.
A phobia is an abnormal fear, a dread of any object or action. Chances are, if you search
yourself honestly, you will find that you are the victim of one or more phobias. These fears are
anything but unusual, though they may sometimes manifest themselves in unusual ways.
I can best illustrate from my own experience. I am afraid of riding in an airplane, though
I flew a great deal, without any fear, until a particularly upsetting incident left the stamp of panic
on me. It happened when my oldest son got on a plane at LaGuardia field, bound for Florida.
Many students were going to Florida and it was decided to accommodate these students in two
flights. My wife and I were seeing our son off to school. We watched both planes take off, then
wandered around the terminal for several minutes. As we were about to leave, we heard a
loudspeaker report that one of the planes leaving for Miami had crashed. There was
pandemonium in the terminal. We had failed to note the (182) number of my son's flight and for
the rest of the night we tried, without success, to find out whether he had boarded the doomed
plane. Finally, all people who had no immediate business at the terminal were asked to leave and
wait at their radios for further news. But there were no further details on the radio. When we
were just about crazy with worry the phone rang. I was afraid to answer it. I lifted the receiver
and heard my son's voice saying, "Hi, Dad. I'm at the airport in Florida. It was a wonderful trip."
Since that time I've always dreaded an airplane flight. I have a phobic fear of plane rides,
though I force myself to fly when necessary. I believe a few sessions of hypnoanalysis under
proper guidance would enable me to overcome this fear completely.
Let me tell you about some of the interesting phobias I have encountered in my
teachings. If a few seem amusing to you, remember that they certainly were not amusing to their
victims. A doctor declared: "Mr. Elman, my wife is deathly afraid of cats. If we are walking
down the street and happen to see a cat, she will insist that we cross the street. If she is walking
by herself and happens to see one, she will go several blocks out of her way to keep from
passing it. I believe if I ever made her approach a cat she would actually go into shock. You
couldn't get her to touch one no matter what reward you offered her."
He said this before the class, and his wife laughed, but the laugh was one of
embarrassment. However, she confirmed what he said, and the doctor asked, "Do you think we
can determine the source of her unusual reactions?"
Before I started to work with her in hypnosis, I questioned her extensively:
"Did you ever have a cat for a pet?"
"Of course not-never in my life. I couldn't bear the thought of it."
"Did you ever have an unpleasant experience with a cat?"
"Not that I know of. I don't know why I can't stand them."
I continued to question her but could learn nothing that would establish a cause for the
phobia. By this time the doctors were anxious to learn what hypnoanalysis would (183)reveal.
She accepted somnambulism quite readily, and I found her a most willing, cooperative subject. I
was able to take her back to the time when she was a few years old and found that even at this
very early age she was afraid of cats. It was necessary to regress her to the age of two before we
could locate the source of the trouble.
Her parents had given her a little kitten for a present. The child loved the kitten so much
that she took it to bed with her night after night. One morning she woke up and the kitten was
cold and silent beside her. It was dead. Frightened by her first encounter with death and upset at
the loss of her beloved pet, she was deathly afraid of cats from that time on. She first learned
that the kitten was dead when she touched it, trying to get it to playas usual.
he would never touch one again.
At subsequent class meetings her husband told me they were now able to walk down the
street and see a cat without her showing any unpleasant reactions. No longer did they have to
cross the street to avoid them. She could even walk down the street alone and pass a cat without
betraying the slightest bit of emotion. However, when I asked her if she would like to have a cat
for a pet, she answered,
"Decidedly not. No, never."
"Would you be able to touch a cat without having an unpleasant reaction?"
"I believe I could do that all right, but I wouldn't want one for a pet.'"
Maybe you look upon this as a complete correction. I don't. I still believe further work
was indicated. We were conducting classes in a western city, meeting in a room which was
several stories up from the lobby. On several occasions, before the session started, I would see a
doctor climbing the stairs as I was coming out of the elevator.
I asked him one time, "Why don't you take the elevator?" He answered, "I prefer the
stairs."
I didn't question him further, but one night he came to me and said, "Maybe you wonder why I
always walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. I have claustrophobia. I can't get into an
elevator. It's too small and confining a space. I am never able to go into a confined space
because I suffer torture when I do." (184)
I asked him if he would like us to find out, by means of hypnoanalysis, the cause of his
difficulty. We found the source in his early childhood. He was raised by his aunt, who used to
punish him for minor misdeeds by making him stand in a corner. If he had done something
really naughty, she would punish him by putting him into a dark closet and leaving him there for
quite a while. This was all right with him; he was not scared at all at first. But one day when she
locked him in the closet, she went out shopping and completely forgot about him. After quite a
while, he tried to get out of the closet. When he couldn't, he shouted for his aunt. Nobody
answered-she didn't come-and he went into a panic. Finally, his aunt came home to find a
shrieking, terrified boy. She released him from the closet, but in a way she was too late; his
claustrophobia had begun. It delighted me to see that after the hypnoanalysis, he took the
elevator to our meeting rooms.
The number of phobias listed in dictionaries and medical texts is astounding-fear of
water, of height, of depth, of birds, of darkness, etc., etc., etc. People in the music business still
recall that one of their union leaders scarcely ever shook hands with people. It was said that he
feared the contamination that might possibly result from germs being transferred in a handshake.
The condition is called bacteriophobia, and is not as uncommon as you might think. The person
who has this condition looks upon it as plain common sense, and would deny vehemently that it
is a phobia. Yet phobias are all the more damaging because they are so common and because
they go unrecognized.
Medical dictionaries list one definition of phobias as “morbid fears.” If we regard these
as
phobias. I might easily think of countless examples. It is my contention that morbid fears are
responsible for many neurotic aches and pains, and sometimes even for deaths.
These morbid fears may go undetected in cases where they exist below the level of
conscious awareness. The doctors who most often come upon them and recognize them are men
in the psychiatric field. When they resolve the inner conflicts promulgated by these morbid
fears, they have the patient well on the road to recovery. I have heard psychiatrists In class, as I
uncovered some of these fears, (185) say, "It will be easy to go on from there with the
information you've extracted."
We had been discussing phobias one night in class, and when the session was over a
doctor came up to me and said, "Talking about phobias, how would you explain this? I can't
walk down the street by myself. Walking down a street alone is absolutely frightening. For
example, if I am making a house call and the patient lives just a short distance away, I don't
walk. I drive. There is nothing wrong with my legs, no aches or pains. It's just that I can't walk
down a street by myself. Yet if I walk with somebody, I am not disturbed at all."
He wouldn't undergo hypnoanalysis before his fellow students, but what he was learning
in class seemed to help him. Before the course was over, he came to class one night and proudly
announced, "I walked by myself today, for three whole blocks. And for the first time since I can
remember, I enjoyed the walk. I stopped to window shop. I have never been able to do that.
Believe me, it is a pleasure to be able to walk down the street by myself like other people.
Thanks for your help."
Since I had not given him any specific help, I can only assume that, having seen the work
we did in the classroom on similar problems, he applied the knowledge to himself and was
thereby able to help himself.
One of the most common phobias is fear of the dark. Some people are afraid to enter a
closet or a dark room. I remember investigating a case of enuresis, and finding that the problem
was solved immediately when a fear of the dark was uncovered. The cause of the fear was
determined to the child's satisfaction, and the bed-wetting ceased. Some phobias, however, can
have far more serious consequences than a child's wetting of a bed. They can even affect preand
postoperative prognoses.
Abnormally severe preoperative apprehension is sometimes encountered in medical and
dental practice. The patient goes through a trying ordeal. This is particularly true of children, yet
many youngsters can be helped by hypnoanalysis. Children are easy to hypnotize. Get them into
the somnambulistic state and simply ask them why they are afraid. Most of the time these
youngsters will (186) disclose the disturbing factor and the doctor can usually correct the
condition quickly.
In the case which follows, you find a fear much deeper than the usual preoperative fear
of a child. You have the morbid fear of death, produced by seeing a veterinarian put a dog to
sleep permanently. From that time on morbid fear was present, penetrating deeper and deeper
into his thoughts. Eventually he began to associate the anesthesia he had had in previous
operations with the actions of the veterinarian, and became deathly afraid of doctors and any
anesthesia.
He was ashamed to reveal his fears to anyone, particularly to his father, who was a
doctor. He tried to repress his fear, but could not cope with it. Eventually he was almost in a
panic state at the very thought of the operation which he knew would be necessary.
Operations done under such circumstances are traumatic events for the patients who
undergo them and are responsible for slow recovery and much postoperative discomfort. Merely
remove a child's tonsils while he is in a panic state, and you leave him with a morbid fear that
conditions his actions all through life.
In the hypnoanalysis which follows, pay particular attention to the "thumb" or "finger"
technique employed. In the case of the boy with the morbid fears, it was used to get him to
reveal what he was ashamed to tell. It was known material, being intentionally withheld by the
patient. It is important that you know how the case was explained to me before we worked with
the boy. His father told me the boy had had four operations on his eyes. He had shown no
unusual apprehension during any of these operations. A fifth operation had been performed for
the removal of his tonsils, and at this time he had gone into a panic. Now another operation was
deemed necessary on the boy's eyes, and his father was extremely worried. Five operations
would upset anybody, but would not necessarily be responsible for morbid fears.
With this information, I began the hypnoanalysis. I investigated the first three operations
to find if anything untoward had occurred during any of this surgery. The following excerpt
begins with the investigation of the third operation: (187)
ELMAN: When I snap my fingers it will be a week before your third operation ... [snaps fingers]
How old are you?
PATIENT: Seven.
ELMAN: And you're going to have your third operation. When are you going to have it?
PATIENT: July.
ELMAN: Let's take you right to the third operation now ... [snaps fingers] They're dressing you
for that third operation. How are they dressing you?
PATIENT: In sort of white pants.
ELMAN: Was there anything that disturbed you in that
third operation?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: Now, it's just one week before the fourth operation. What grade are you in school?
PATIENT: Third grade.
ELMAN: Now tell me, what time of the year is it?
PATIENT: It's winter.
ELMAN: And are you in school now as I'm talking to you? Where are you in your mind?
PATIENT: At home.
ELMAN: I'm talking to you at home, and I'm saying to
you, "You're going to have the fourth operation on your eyes, aren't you? And you're going to
have it in about a week. Is that right? Tell me, how do you feel about this operation? Do you
mind having it? You didn't mind having those other three, did you? Well, you're going to have
the fourth operation." When I snap my fingers it will be just before the fourth operation. You'll
be seeing how they dress you and everything ... [snaps fingers] How are you being dressed?
PATIENT: White.
ELMAN: Same way?
PATIENT: Yes. (188)
ELMAN: They're wheeling you into the operating when I snap my fingers ... [snaps fin
Anything different about this operation so
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: All right. Now you're in the operating and what's the first thing that happens?
PATIENT: Sleep.
ELMAN: All right. How'd they do that? They 'Put a needle in my arm. Did you mind that?
PATIENT: I liked that better than the ether.
ELMAN: They put this needle in your arm. Now happens after they put the needle in your
PATIENT: I sleep.
ELMAN: Do you go right to sleep? Let's see if you right to sleep because this will be just two
minutes after they gave you the ane~ and I'll know whether you're asleep or I your answer. It's
two minutes after the) you the needle. Are you asleep? [Patient Are you worried about anything?
[Pa shakes his head indicating 'no'.] When finished the operation you were up in you pital room,
is that right?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: How do you feel coming out of the anesthesia?
PATIENT: Okay.
ELMAN: Do you hear anything? Anybody saying thing in the hospital room?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Who's talking?
PATIENT: Mother.
ELMAN: What's she saying?
PATIENT: They're dressing me.
ELMAN: Putting your clothes on, you mean?
PATIENT: Yes. (189)
ELMAN: The idea being to take you home? Was that the idea?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Was there anything about this dressing that alarmed you? Everything was quite in
order? [Patient nods.] Let's go to the time when you had your tonsil operation, should we? You
weren't afraid of anesthesia all the time you were having the eye operations, were you?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: All right, now we're going to just about the time when you're ready to have your tonsil
operation ... [snaps fingers] How old are you?
PATIENT: Seven.
ELMAN: Now it's going to be just about a day before your tonsil operation. When I snap my
fingers, I want you to answer me just as if you're seven years old ... [snaps fingers] You're going
to have your tonsils out tomorrow. You don't mind it, do you?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: Not scared of it at all. Are you going to the hospital to have it done?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: All right. Now you're in the hospital and they're getting ready to take out your tonsils.
When I snap my fingers ... [snaps fingers] How do you feel about this operation on your tonsils?
PATIENT: Okay.
ELMAN: You aren't scared, are you?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: And you don't mind taking medicine to put you to sleep?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: Your parents are gone from the hospital What are you thinking about after they go?
PATIENT: I'm scared. (190)
ELMAN: You are scared ? You're scared because of the tonsils coming out, is that what you're
scared about?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: Well then, you tell me, just what makes you scared. Maybe if you tell me what makes
you scared I can get that scare out of you so that you'll never have it again.
PATIENT: Ether.
ELMAN: Afraid of the ether. What are you afraid of the ether about?
PATIENT: It smells awful.
ELMAN: Are you at the place where they're going to give you the ether now?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Have you ever had ether before?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: And you're scared about the ether. This is stuff you never told me. What makes you
scared about the ether?
PATIENT: The smell.
ELMAN: Is that the only thing? What else are you scared about? Just the smell? Look, there's
more to it than that because just the smell of something doesn't scare anybody. For instance, if
you smell vinegar, you don't get scared, do you? If you smell alcohol, you don't get scared, do
you? If you had to smell some type of acid that smelled badly you wouldn't get scared, would
you? But all of a sudden you're scared because of ether. Now, there's a reason for it, and I'll tell
you what we're going to do to find out what that reason is. You're going to lose complete control
of this thumb. You won't be able to move it. That thumb is going to represent your deep inside
mind and that thumb is going to be controlled by your inside mind. The rest of you will be
controlled by your outside mind, your conscious mind. If you tell me that the ether (191) just
scared you and there's something else to it, that finger will move because you can't keep it from
moving. See what I mean? But when you tell me exactly what it was that scared you about the
ether, then you'll find that finger won't move any more because that finger always tells me
whether your outside mind is agreeing with your inside mind. You know what I mean by the
concious mind and underneath the conscious? Do you know what I mean?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: All right. So, now you answer the questions. You've had ether before. How did you
feel before when the ether was administered?
PATIENT: I didn't like it.
ELMAN: Well, let's take you to the time when they are giving the ether for this tonsil operation.
There's more to it than the smell. Notice how the thumb is moving? What else is scaring you
about it? You could feel that thumb moving, couldn't you? So that means there's more inside that
you haven't told me. When you tell me the whole thing, that thumb won't move any more. So,
tell me the whole thing, won't you?
PATIENT: I don't know.
ELMAN: The thumb says you do know. The thumb just said that you do know. Now, we've got
to find out because you want to be helped, don't you? Of course, you do. So, there was
something else. And you'll know what that something else was when I snap my fingers ... [snaps
fingers] What was it?
PATIENT: Doctors.
ELMAN: You were scared of all the doctors, was that it? You see, your thumb stayed pretty still
that time. But there's still something else about the doctors or something, because every once in a
while it's got that jump in it. See that? There's something else. Tell me what it is so that I can
help you, won't you? What is it? (192)
PATIENT: The tools.
ELMAN: The tools that they work with? Is that it? Did
you get a chance to see all these tools in the hospital room, was that it? Was that at the eye
operations that you saw them or just at the tonsil operation? When was it you sawall these tools?
PATIENT: At the tonsils.
ELMAN: In other words you were never scared during the eye operations, isn't that right? But
you were scared at the tonsil operation. Is that what happened ? You see, when you said yes the
thumb stayed still, but if you'd said no you would have seen that thumb jump. Was it the tools,
the instruments that the doctors had that scared you? [Patient does not answer.] You say they
gave you ether. At what point did you start getting scared?
PATIENT: The ether.
ELMAN: Started with the ether. You didn't like the ether
from the very start? Well, you'd had it before and you weren't scared. What made you scared this
time?
PATIENT: The smell.
ELMAN: Well, you'd smelled ether before, hadn't you?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: And you never were scared of the smell before.
This time you were scared of it. Why? You'll know when I snap my fingers ... [snaps fingers.]
Why?
PATIENT: It didn't smell good.
ELMAN: Had it smelled good for the other operations? ... But this time it really smelled bad.
What is it that is really scaring you? See that thumb moving? What is it that you're not telling
me? You can feel it move, can't you? So you know that I know there's something else that has to
come out. You're in the operating room for the tonsils, and this is the first time you were really
(193) scared. Now, when I snap my fingers you'll know what scared you ... [snaps fingers.]
What scared you? Did anybody say anything?
PATIENT: No. Tools.
ELMAN: It was the tools. What kind of tools scared you?
Your thumb is begging you to tell just what did happen that scared you. Don't you know that if
you tell this and once get it out of your mind you won't have that scare any more? And then
you'll be able to look at operations as a person should look at them when they're necessary,
without that terrible fear. You know what fear does to a person, don't you?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: Oh, yes you do. You know that it's made you
scared of the eye operation that you ought to have. Hasn't it? Now, you want your eyes to be
well, don't you? And if you once get rid of this fear ... See that thumb jumping all over, saying,
"Boy, I would like to tell. I would like to tell just what caused that fear because then it wouldn't
be there any more." Do you want to tell me what caused that fear?
PATIENT: I don't know what it was.
ELMAN: Does your inside mind know what it was? What does your thumb keep saying that you
should tell me?
PATIENT: Medicines.
ELMAN: Medicines during the operation?
PATIENT: Medicines before.
ELMAN: The anesthesia, is that what you mean? The thing that puts you to sleep, is that what
you're thinking about? Those medicines? What is there about those medicines that scares you?
And when did they scare you? Because I can't find any scare there. Oh, but look how that thumb
is saying, "Yes there was plenty of scare." What was it? (194)
PATIENT: I was afraid I wouldn't wake up.
ELMAN: See, that's what your thumb is saying, that's
what you were thinking, wasn't it? In other words, it was the fear of death, was that it? Now, was
that so hard to tell me? Don't you feel better for having gotten it out of your system? Because
you know that fear wasn't justified. What gave you the idea that you might not wake up from the
ether? Or that you might die from the ether? What gave you that idea?
PATIENT: Dog put to sleep.
ELMAN: Oh, you saw a dog put to sleep, did you? Oh,
now, you see what the whole thing was. Don't you understand that? Don't you see where it all
comes from?
PATIENT: I saw a veterinarian put a dog to sleep forever.
ELMAN: They don't do that to humans. There isn't a
doctor in the world who would ever, ever, ever -do a thing like that to anybody. You'd never
meet a man like that in your whole lifetime. You can't imagine a person doing a thing like that to
another person, can you? And yet you had a notion the ether was going to do that to you. You
thought that's what they gave to the dog. That isn't what they gave to the dog at all. They wanted
to put the dog out of its misery, painlessly. But they aren't allowed to do that with human beings.
Do you see that? Is that fear all gone now? Look, the minute you told me that, notice how still
the thumb stays. Whenever something like that gets on the inside of your mind and bothers you
terribly, don't keep it inside. Let a person know what it is. You were ashamed to tell me. Afraid
to tell me weren't you, at first? Because it might show that you weren't a man or something like
that, or it wouldn't be manly. But you can be awfully manly and have fears. Don't you know
that? And you never have to be afraid of the truth. You know that you're all over being scared
(195) because your finger said that and you said that and we know that. And when you have the
operation on your eyes, you're not going to be scared any more, are you ? You know that, don't
you. And you're never going to have the thought that anybody is going to put you to sleep
permanently. You won't ever have that thought again, will you?
No, [sobbing] I'll be all right now. ***
The finger technique can often be valuable to the adrojt operator of hypnoanalyses. In
recent years, the patient's reactions to this technique have become known as "ideomotor
responses," and they are also used to extract unknown material lurking below the level of
conscious awareness. Here l are instructions for employing the finger technique. Stroke the little
finger or the thumb of the patient as I you tell him, "This finger is being put under the control of
your inside mind. In just a few seconds, when your Inner mind takes over, you won't be able to
bend this finger no matter how hard you try. You'll have no control of it consciously. You can
go ahead and try to bend it but you'll find it won't bend."
After testing to make sure the patient cannot will the finger to bend, continue speaking as
follows: "Just as I said, that finger is now under the control of your inside mind - the real you.
The real you knows exactly what happened - it can't lie to you because you know the truth of
everything, and that inside mind is the real you. If I should ask you something and you don't tell
me the entire truth, or if you should tell me a falsehood, that finger under the control of your
inside mind will bend and I'll know there is something more to the story than you are telling
me."
The suggestion that the patient's finger will bend if he isn't telling the truth or is hiding
something, is an insidious one. It gives him the impression that the movement of that finger is
beyond his control. In this way, when he tells a lie, he gives himself away by moving the finger,
thereby keeping the operator on the right track. Should this occur, the operator must then find
another means of arriving at the truth. (196)
Be sure to make your statement casually, as if this were the most normal behavior pattern
in the world, and in many cases you will get at the complete truth of the situation. As you work,
watch the finger or thumb. The instant the patient varies from the truth or does not give a
complete answer, his inside thoughts will speak out through spasmodic movements of the
immobilized finger. Sometimes if the patient in hypnoanalysis begins to tell a protracted
falsehood or gives misleading information, the finger will creep upward, not with spasmodic
movement, but little by little and steadily, and the patient will not even know it has changed
position.
The patient who bends his finger from the very outset, when you are first giving him the
suggestion that it will not bend but that the finger will be under the control of his inner mind, is
resisting from the outset. This patient knows that he is hiding something and prefers to keep it
that way. On the other hand, the patient who accepts this suggestion and cannot will his finger to
bend, but later bends it when he tells a lie, is not resisting. Actually he has accepted your
suggestion that the finger will move when he lies, thus keeping you on the right track. The finger
technique is a valuable tool for unearthing the causes for all sorts of phobias.
To treat a phobia, however, you must of course recognize it. Sometimes phobias are
unrecognized even by the doctor. A doctor's wife was brought to class for hypnoanalysis. Her
husband was at a loss to understand the cause of her ailments. Three dermatologists had
diagnosed her condition as scleroderma. The effect of the illness was evident in a scalp condition
which resulted in the loss of hair and eyebrows. This condition began prior to a stillborn
delivery. In addition, the patient had suffered from rose fever since childhood. Hypnoanalysis
revealed a deep-rooted morbid fear-a phobia. Here is an excerpt from the transcript of the
hypnoanalysis:
ELMAN: I want to go to the time when you were a little girl in the first grade. School was
enjoyable to you, wasn't it?
PATIENT: It wasn't in the first grade.
ELMAN: You didn't like the studies, or anything like that? (197)
PATIENT: No, the teacher.
ELMAN: Did this affect you in any way? Did you feel
so badly about school that it made you react in any way?
PATIENT: No. It never did.
ELMAN: In other words, you were able to handle that.
What we're going to do now is to take you to the fourth grade. Where are you sitting in this
room? Your memory gets better with every breath you take.
PATIENT: In the third row.
ELMAN: Tell me, have you ever had rose fever?
PATIENT: I think I did.
ELMAN: Now, we're going to take you back to the third
grade. In the third grade you'll see it even more clearly than you did in the fourth grade. As I
said, with every breath you take, your memory gets better. You can feel it getting better, can't
you? Did you ever have rose fever while you were in the third grade? [Patient does not answer.]
All right, we're going to take you back to the second grade. Tell me, you're in the second grade
right now, did you ever have rose fever?
PATIENT: I don't think so.
ELMAN: Then something happened between the second
and third grades that was an emotional involvement of some kind. Let's go to the end of the
second grade. It's June now. You're about seven years old and you're not having rose fever now
if you're in the second grade, are you?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: It's Christmas time and you're in the third grade.
Has anything happened in the first part of this year that upset you in any way?
PATIENT: My aunt died.
ELMAN: What did your aunt represent in your life?
PATIENT: Very important. (198)
ELMAN: The important person. Even when you think about it now you can feel as you felt
when you were a child. Had your aunt been ill long?
PATIENT: She died in childbirth.
ELMAN: And this was the thing that upset you? And this was the time when the rose fever came
on that year?
PATIENT: She liked roses.
ELMAN: And so that's what brought on the rose fever. Now, let's go a little beyond that. This
rose fever-was it because you thought of her in connection with roses, was that it?
PATIENT: I'd never thought of it.
ELMAN: You never thought of it from that day to this. You never realized that there was any
connection. Did you continue to grieve over her pretty much?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: And how did the rest of the family take it? They were grieving too, were they-pretty
bad? Tell me, what did you find yourself doing?
PATIENT: It was a great loss and I cried a great deal.
ELMAN: How did you react to it? Did you find yourself crying by yourself and things like that?
PATIENT: I couldn't stop crying.
ELMAN: So that by the time the roses came along which she liked ...
PATIENT: I've disliked roses ever since.
ELMAN: Now that you realize where the rose fever came from, I don't think you'll ever be
troubled with it again ... And now you will be able to handle the situation ... Now I want you to
remember the first day you ever found this skin condition, and you'll be able to tell me where
you were and how you happened to notice it. What happened?
PATIENT: I remember when my hair was thin in a spot.
ELMAN: Where you had been pulling it? (199)
PATIENT: Yes. And I remember sitting-I was outside.
And I remember the coolness of my skin and scalp and it frightened me that the spot was so
large.
ELMAN: When was this?
PATIENT: It was before I delivered.
ELMAN: Was there anything on your mind about the de-
livery? Were you worried about it?
PATIENT: Not that I know of.
ELMAN: Was anything upsetting you during this period?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: You tell me what was upsetting. What was it?
PATIENT: I was very tired. I had a year-old baby and a
three-year-old and I was tired and we were moving.
ELMAN: Just too much for a young mother to take at that
point. Was that it? Or what? Remember, you told me a very important thing-that your aunt died
in childbirth. Remember that? Now you told me your baby was stillborn. Remember also that
probably there was still a great love for your aunt. Is that correct?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: So now we put two factors together and find out that you were expecting to deliver
and going through a very trying pregnancy because you were so worried and tired. Is that
correct?
PATIENT: Yes. I had often said that I didn't think I could ever deliver. I felt guilty about that. I
was talking to the neighbors and I would say I was too tired to deliver.
ELMAN: Then there was a terrific worry and a holding back.
PATIENT: It went ten months.
ELMAN: Afraid to deliver, in other words. Was that it?
PATIENT: I seemed to be. (200)
ELMAN: And this dermatitis condition-did it develop during this time?
PATIENT: Just a raw spot. Very large. You said the baby was stillborn? Yes.
ELMAN: Did you expect that because of the trying pregnancy or for any reason?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: But you did feel that you were holding back during the pregnancy. Is that right?
PATIENT: I didn't know I did it at the time.
ELMAN: But you do now that you look back on it? I don't want to put words in your mouth, I
want you to tell me what happened.
PATIENT: Well, I kept going back to the doctor when it was due. But I got so tired. But they
thought I would deliver because the first one had been almost ten months. And then I had a
dream.
ELMAN: What did you dream?
PATIENT: I dreamed that I was sitting in the waiting room and the doctor went by. I was
hemorrhaging and I pleaded with him to do something and he had a tennis racket and shorts and
he said, "I have to play tennis," and laughed. And I just knew that I needed help That's all there
was to the dream.
ELMAN: Just wait-wait. I know that dream roused you. When I snap my fingers, you're going to
realize what that dream meant-the significance of the dream in your life, and you'll be able to tell
me when I snap my fingers ... [snaps fingers] What did that dream mean to you? ... You know.
PATIENT: I thought the doctor was not listening to me when I told him at my visits that I was
tired.
ELMAN: And that you were begging him for help and he wasn't giving you help. The doctor
was holding back. And that was the sum and substance (201) of the dream. In other words, he
was playing ball while you were going through this pregnancy and you were worried about it.
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Now, did your aunt's death occur in her third pregnancy?
PATIENT: The first.
ELMAN: Did you connect any situation of your aunt with your own? Did you feel as though
you were going through what she had gone through?
PATIENT: It's hard for me to talk about that but each time before I would have a baby my
mother would say, "It's an awful thing you're going through." It frightened me. [Patient begins to
cry.]
ELMAN: Now we're getting to the real cause of this head condition. I'm sure. Because we can
see how you would react to that. If it occurred each time you had a baby and -
PATIENT: She was with me when I delivered and helped me move.
ELMAN: If that ever occurs again it would be better if she isn't there.
PATIENT: Yes, I had thought of that.
ELMAN: You can already see that this thing-this dermatitis-just any form of it-shows that
there's an emotional problem a person is trying to solve, and as the emotional problem becomes
too big, apparently the patient doesn't know how to face it and the dermatitis begins. But we
have uncovered the fact that you were so scared during this pregnancy because of that tired
feeling, and because of the words that your mother said, and that at the previous deliveries you
had held back -probably unconsciously-and the spot appeared before the birth. But after the baby
arrived stillborn, tell us how that spot developed. Because I imagine after that it came on very
strongly. Is that right?
PATIENT: Yes, it did. (202)
ELMAN: Now you see what that indicates, don't you? What does it indicate? Don't let me tell
you. You tell me what that scalp condition indicates. You ought to know.
PATIENT: After I lost the baby I just felt terrible, but I didn't want to show it because of the
other two children. I put myself into as much as I could in every way and outwardly I couldn't
show it.
ELMAN: But inwardly you were feeling pretty badly. Wouldn't you say that your holding back
may have done damage? Did you feel that? In other words, what I'm getting at-this dermatitis
condition-say it very bluntly-what does it represent? A sort of punishment for what happened?
PATIENT: I hadn't thought of it that way.
ELMAN: Well, is that the way you've been feeling about it?
PATIENT: I thought it was tied up with whatever prevented me from delivering. I thought it
was hormones.
ELMAN: Mostly, strong emotional conditions are the precipitating factor. It could have been the
feeling that in this terrible fright that you went through and then the holding back-also the fact
that your aunt had died in childbirth, and now your baby was stillborn-it appeared to you that
maybe the baby could have been saved if only you hadn't been so terribly tired. Although you
didn't want to be responsible you felt perhaps you could have been responsible? Wasn't that the
feeling? Was that the feeling you had?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: You wouldn't have done anything in the world to intentionally prevent that child from
being born just as your other children were born, alive and healthy. But there was the feeling
that maybe you had unconsciously or unwillingly been a contributing factor?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Would you call it a guilt complex?
Yes. (203)
ELMAN: That's the term I'm hitting at. You do feel that the dermatitis represents a guilt
complex?
PATIENT: I do. And I also hoped that I could have gotten help. I mean that I felt I needed help
from the doctor and I felt-
ELMAN: Did you ever consciously put these thoughts together?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: In your mind did you think, "I wonder if the birth of the baby and all of that had
anything to do with this scalp condition?"
PATIENT: Oh, yes, I thought that all along.
ELMAN: Well, let me tell you how to get rid of that scalp condition permanently. In the first
place, let me say this : We are not responsible for what happens to us from external sources ...
For instance, if I happen to be the sort of person who gets scared to death because somebody
comes at me with a gun, it's not my fault if I have heart failure, is it?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: Do you think a person is at fault whose aunt died in childbirth, and who is going
through a terribly trying time because she's so tired and this pregnancy doesn't seem like the
previous ones-all external influences. Do you see what I mean? Now the time comes when your
own mother unwittingly points the pistol at you and says, "You're having a terrible time." And
you know the fear that it brought on. It brought on the fear of the same thing happening to you
as happened to your aunt-and it was there, wasn't it?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: So, can't you see, that there was no reason for a guilt complex within yourself? These
things were externally caused. Can't you see that? The fear that the doctor wasn't helping you
enough. That dream tells me-if it doesn't tell you, it (204) should-that you were begging for help.
And the doctor seemed to say, "No, I'm going out and play tennis." Now, when you were over
there you weren't hemorrhaging, but Freud said that every dream is a wish fulfillment.
PATIENT: I was-almost.
ELMAN: Yes. But look at the situation. In every dream a person has there is a wish fulfillment
some place. In that dream you're asking for helpthat was a wishful thing, wasn't it? You wanted
help.
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: What did you get instead of help? You got the impression he was going out to play
tennis ... Here was a terribly frightened woman who wasn't getting the right kind of
encouragement to help her. It wasn't your fault. These were all external causes. Nevertheless,
you would feel that maybe in some way you might have contributed-that you might have done
something. And that, eating at your vitals, would cause the dermatitis. Do you see what I mean?
You want to get rid of this feeling and you get the scalp condition. But you won't have to give it
any more mechanical irritation because now that you know the cause-and the cause is completely
revealed to you-you'll find that you have no desire to touch your scalp any more ... Feels better
already, doesn't it?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: And you know you're not going to have rose fever any more, because now that you
know where it stems from, you can cope with it. You know that you don't have to hate roses any
more ... And now, when I have you open your eyes, just notice how good you feel ... You'll
remember every word that we've spoken ... How do you feel?
PATIENT: I do feel better. (205) ***
It will be worthwhile at this point to read a report by the patient's husband on the results
of the hypnoanalysis recorded above. Though I had not had any opportunity to work with his
wife again, he described a gratifying outcome of this single session:
"After one session of hypnoanalysis, the improvement has been very remarkable. The
scar-like tissue which was once as big around as a silver dollar has now returned to normal
except for a small groove which is about five millimeters wide. And hair has been growing and
shows signs of completely filling in. The rose fever has improved one hundred percent. Now
when roses are in bloom or whenever we have roses in a vase in the house she can enjoy them. I
hope this will help to show many others the far-reaching beneficial effects hypnosis can have."
You have seen how morbid fear played an important part in the case histories you have
just read. However, the examination of still another example will deepen your und~rstanding of
phobias and their results (which may be symptomatized by a wide range of disorders, including
such disparate troubles as allergies and emotional exhaustion). A doctor brought a patient to
class who was a sufferer from hayfever. He had told me beforehand that she was a victim of
congenital syphilis and she was filled with emotional problems. As you will see, he also armed
me with a number of other relevant facts. Then he asked me to work with her; the story she
related in hypnoanalysis revealed fears implanted deeply in her mind, and these morbid fears,
phobias by our working definition, had resulted in the hayfever. To avoid embarrassing the
patient, we did not mention her congenital syphilis. The names of all patients and places have
been altered in this case (as well as in all others related in this book). Here is the transcript of the
hypnoanalysis:
ELMAN: Were you working when you were eighteen or
were you just living at home?
PATIENT: I was just living at home. My mother had to go
to a nursing home because of illness and my father's drinking, and our home was broken up.
ELMAN: Then this wasn't a very happy time for you, when you were eighteen. (206)
PATIENT: Never, never . We were always afraid of my father.
ELMAN: Well, I want to ask you something when you were eighteen years of age. Don't talk
about the illness the doctor was telling me about. Don't mention that at all. There's no necessity
for it. But at eighteen, I want to find out if things at home-the high emotions and the
unpleasantness that you knew-had they resulted in any illnesses for you other than that with
which you were born?
PATIENT: Nothing-only nerves.
ELMAN: But they had resulted in strong emotionalism because of the tensions at home. Is that
right? [Patient nods.] But when the hayfever season came along, you went right through it
without having any signs of hayfever, isn't that right?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Now let's go to the time of your first marriage. You're about nineteen, and you're
getting married. Are you in love with this man that you're marrying?
PATIENT: I think I am.
ELMAN: Are you sure you're not just trying to get away from home?
PATIENT: I think I was trying to get away from home, too.
ELMAN: In other words, it was a combination of both. Now, you're married to him. Your first
marriage-tell me, how are you getting along?
PATIENT: Everything is a disappointment to me.
ELMAN: In other words, it's jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Is that it?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Have you had any emotional problems? Remember, you were just a bunch of nerves
when you were eighteen. Now you're nineteen-you're married-things aren't as good as they were
at home. Has it affected you in any way? Have (207) you had any illnesses because of it, or are
you able to bear up under it pretty well?
PATIENT: No-I almost had a nervous breakdown.
ELMAN: You got married, and immediately you got
pregnant.
PATIENT: Ten months later exactly from the day I was married my first baby was born.
ELMAN: And were you happy with that first baby?
PATIENT: Very happy.
ELMAN: That compensated a little bit, did it, for the fact that you were unhappily married?
PATIENT: I was happy with my baby.
ELMAN: But not with your husband, is that right?
PATIENT: No. Very unhappy with him. He wasn't paying bills.
ELMAN: But you still stuck by him, and then you found
yourself pregnant again. Tell me about the second pregnancy.
PATIENT: Well, I had gotten yellow jaundice suddenly
when I was about two months pregnant, and I got awfully sick and I went to the hospital, and
they didn't give me too much medicine. They said-they led me to believe that was the cause of
my yellow jaundice-the medicine I was taking for that illness that I was born with. And then I
was awfully nervous all the while that I carried him and short of breath. And I never got much
sympathy from my husband because he drank a lot. And I had a fear of dying.
ELMAN: Yes, that's what I wanted you to tell me ...
When I snap my fingers, you'll tell me the first time you ever got this fear of death ... [snaps
fingers] When was it?
PATIENT: I felt the whole while I carried him that I wasn't
going to live.
ELMAN: Because it was just about this time that it was
revealed to you about the illness that you were born with, is that it? (208)
PATIENT: No. I never knew anything about it until I was trying to get married and when they
told me I didn't even know what the word meant ... [Patient begins to cry.]
ELMAN: Yes, I know. Was it when you got that horrible shock-was that when you got that
morbid fear of death?
PATIENT: Yes. I knew that my mother was awfully sick and they told me that was the reason
for her illness, and I was afraid I would be crippled up the way she was and that I wouldn't live
beyond maybe twenty-two or -three years old.
ELMAN: You didn't know what the word meant when they told you what the illness was?
PATIENT: No, I didn't.
ELMAN: Who told you? Was it your father or mother?
PATIENT: My father died before I was married.
ELMAN: Then who told you?
PATIENT: I think it was my oldest sister. She knew it. She was born with it and so was 1. And
she thought that I ought to know. I was treated for it but I thought I was anemic all the time.
ELMAN: But the results were good and you did get rid of this illness entirely, so you did have
nothing to worry about there ... Now, if a girl goes all through her formative years believing one
thing and then gets the horrible shock that you got when you were just ready to get married-she
doesn't even know the name of the illness, and all of a sudden she hears it and she's never heard
it before-can you imagine all the many, many fears that would enter her mind. Here's something
she's not responsible for. She had nothing to do with it, and she's being punished for something
she knew nothing about. And that's exactly the feeling you had, wasn't it?
PATIENT: I was frightened to death after they told me what it was. My doctor told me. He tried
to explain to me that I was all right. (209)
ELMAN: There are a lot of doctors present, and every
doctor here probably realizes the seriousness of this case. Do you think that any person in this
room would have reacted any differently than you did ? You know that if I had heard such a
thing about myself, or if any doctor here had heard it about himself or herself, that everyone of
us would have been frightened to death. And that's where your morbid fear of death came in.
Don't you see? This acted as a traumatic incident-a trauma-an emotional situation with which
you could not cope. Do you understand?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: And when you heard that this thing was some-
thing that could kill, wasn't it quite natural that you should have thought of death? But illnesses
such as you had can be completely cured. Is that correct, doctor? Say it out loud so that she
knows it.
DOCTOR: It certainly is true;
ELMAN: Now, in other words, once you got rid of the
illness-and you did-you know that-you know there's no trace of it in you now. Once you got rid
of the illness, you had not gotten rid of the trauma. Do you see what I mean? The shock. And so
the morbid fear of death remained. And that fear of death has been with you every day since
then, hasn't it?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Did you know that even before you got here,
your doctor told me that you had this morbid fear, and now you see how pronounced it was. You
hadn't been sitting here more than a few minutes before you, yourself, came out with it. But
remember, the disease is gone-the illness is gone-all that remained was the trauma, the shock, the
situation with which you could not cope. But this situation no longer exists. Do you see what I
mean? And since the situation no longer exists, there's nothing for you to cope (210) with ...
Except what? Except the shock that was given to you when you were a young girl. Now, talking
it over when your awareness is about two thousand percent above normal, I think we put that
fear in a completely different light, didn't we? This awareness lets you see that as a girl of
nineteen you had every reason to be frightened, but there's no more reason for you to be
frightened now than there is for any person in this room to be frightened. Do you see what I
mean?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: You're not going to have those fears any more. And as a result, you're going to find, I
believe, that you're going to live a much happier life. From this point on, you'll be able to put
that fear into its proper place in your life. This was just a shock. It was a horrible shock. Nobody
here would care to go through such a terrible situation. The only thing that wasn't gotten rid of
was the shock and we're getting rid of the shock now by letting you see it again. Now let's go on
a little bit. It may be that your fear is also the cause of the hayfever, I don't know. Let's find out
if the hayfever is caused by the fear. I'm going to take you to the first time you ever had a
hayfever attack. I'm going to take you right to it. This is your second marriage now and you have
had two children during this marriage. How were the children two years ago?
PATIENT: Fine.
ELMAN: How were the children who were living with the aunt? How were they?
PATIENT: They were all right.
ELMAN: But there was worry about them? Mark had an accident.
PATIENT: That's what I want to get at. Now we're getting at the cause, aren't we?
PATIENT: Well, now I am also recalling trouble that we had there in our neighborhood. (211)
ELMAN: Yes. Now we're coming to that very time when you had the first attack of hayfever. I
want you to tell me about the trouble you had in the neighborhood. If it's the type of thing you'd
rather not talk about, you don't have to talk about it. So long as you know about it. Do you want
to talk about it?
PATIENT: A person in the neighborhood tried to hurt my husband. Things are coming back to
my mind -that and Mark's accident.
ELMAN: Yes, and that's when the hayfever first came up ... So, we'll take you to the minute that
the hayfever first came up and we'll find out whether it was Mark's accident or whether it was
your husband with this bad person in the neighborhood. I'll snap my fingers, and it will be the
first time you ever had a hayfever attack ... [snaps fingers] Where are you? When is it?
PATIENT: I seem to be at home.
ELMAN: Where are you?
PATIENT: In the front room.
ELMAN: What's been happening?
PATIENT: All I can remember is Mark's accident.
ELMAN: Mark is your son and is one of the two boys not with you?
PATIENT: No, Mark is my baby. He is with me.
ELMAN: So when your little baby had the accident was when the first attack came on, is that it?
PATIENT: Yes. I mean, that's all I can think of.
ELMAN: Yes, because the two things are interwoven. What were you worried about with that
accident? What kind of accident was it?
PATIENT: Well, I was going to go shopping and my older daughter was across the street. She
had been playing with two relations of my husband. They were visiting from the country. They
had taken Mark across the street and were waiting there by my car. I was locking the door and
had started out and Mark started across to me (212) and I saw this car coming and I screamed
and I hollered-it wasn't coming very fast~I just knew that Mark was going to get run over and
killed. And then it hit him.
ELMAN: Was he hurt very badly?
PATIENT: No. But it frightened him.
ELMAN: Yes, but so were you. Because you can see by the very reliving of it how frightened
you were. Can you see that that would cause any mother who had been through emotional strain
such as your own, to manifest emotional symptoms after that? Because in addition to her own
morbid fear of death now she had morbid fears regarding her child. And that was it, wasn't it?
PATIENT: Yes. I have a terrible love for my children.
Some way, I always thought they were going to be taken from me or I would be taken from
them.
ELMAN: You don't have to have any worries about that.
Don't you see where that thought came from? A girl of nineteen, suddenly told that she was the
possessor of something horrible, over which she had no control. But thanks to modern medicine
she is able to get rid of the illness. She's not able to get rid of the fear, though, that took hold
when she was told about the illness. Her morbid fears of death continued over the years and
every day that went by she had those fears in her mind. Now she sees her child get injured by a
car ... I want to ask you something; if this happened to anybody in this room who had a
background similar to your own, don't you think they would have reacted with an emotional
illness of some kind?
PATIENT: I guess so.
ELMAN: Both times you were up against a situation with
which you could not cope. You couldn't prevent the accident to Mark, could you? There was
nothing you could do. You couldn't prevent this illness you had, which was no fault of your
(213) own. Each time, death was connected with those incidents. The thought of death was
connected with Mark. Now, you were not only afraid for yourself, but for your children, too. Do
you see what I mean?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: So what happened? You began to manifest the symptoms that have troubled you since.
Isn't that correct? You know that to be so.
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Now that you know that's so, do you think there's any need for you to ever have
hayfever again?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: Does this give you a new insight into the hayfever-something you never had before?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: You're going to find from this point on you won't have any hayfever because if we've
done anything, we've certainly removed that first fear, haven't we? We've certainly removed that
second fear because Mark's quite all right and so are your other children and things are going
well. You have a husband who certainly loves you or he wouldn't be here tonight. You know
that. Isn't that so?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: You're going to find that as a result of our talk tonight even those polyps you have,
which have been characterized as allergic polyps, won't come back. You don't need the hayfever
any more. You're not going to have the morbid fears of death. They're going to be erased
completely. You're going to have normal fears that any person has, but they won't be morbid
fears. There's no need for morbid fears ... Instead of looking forward toward blackness, look
forward toward light. I want your life from now on to be full of light and not thoughts of death.
And (214)I don't think you'll have any hayfever at all ... [addressing physician] Doctor, would
you give us a report on this case as time goes by? [to patient] You know you're going to be well,
don't you? All right, when I have you open your eyes, you're just going to feel grand ... All right,
open your eyes ... How do you feel?
PATIENT: Fine.
ELMAN: I think you're going to be all right. ***
The prognosis expressed in the last line above is proving accurate. The case histories in
this and the foregoing chapters exemplify an important principle: that physical
difficulties-stuttering, obesity, allergies, etc.-as well as strictly mental ones often have a basis in
emotional conflicts. Such conflicts may arise from insecurities, griefs, inability to cope with
given situations, out and out phobias. But they all have this in common, that hypnosis can be
employed as an effective medical tool, to alleviate or correct them. (215)

27. STUTTERING (HYPNOANALYSIS): DAVE ELMAN: HYPNOTHERAPY:

WESTWOOD PUB CO: GLENDALE, CA: 1964
There is no such thing as a congenital stutter. A stutter or stammer must be precipitated.
Over the years, many doctors have brought stutterers to class in the hope that through various
techniques we would be able to help them. It is pitiful to see a youngster trying to speak and
only able to utter a word after extreme effort, but it is equally distressing to meet a woman in her
thirties or forties who has the same problem as the little boy or girl.
Every time I see one of these patients, I feel a pang, recalling my first meeting with a
stutterer when my father hypnotized a young girl in her teens and stopped her from stuttering.
Then when the hypnosis was over, she stuttered as badly as ever. I used to wonder why the
problems of these people couldn't be permanently corrected. I don't remember the first time I
ever used hypnoanalysis to help a stuttering patient but, admittedly, there have been many times
when I have been unable to give them permanent relief. Nevertheless, it is pleasant to remember
the many who have been helped considerably.
When a stutterer comes to a doctor's office, the usual procedure is to examine the patient
carefully, and when the doctor finds he can do nothing to help the stutterer, he sends him to a
speech therapist. The speech therapist works diligently with the patient, and in a number of cases
finally succeeds in helping him to some extent. But the number of failures is depressing.
It is my firm belief that every stutter has a basic, investigable cause the years, Over the years,
I have tried to get doctors to change their attitude towards stutterers an treat the cause rather than
the effect.. I recall one instance in particular. A doctor came to me and said, "I have a patient
who is extremely ambitious. He wants to attend law school, but no law school will accept him
because he stutters so badly that he can scarcely speak a word without effort. I've tried (149) to
help him and so have speech therapists, all without success. Is there any way that hypnosis might
do the job?"
I told him that the only way to help the boy would be to find out the reason for the stutter
by means of hypnoanalysis. If we could locate the cause perhaps we would be able totreat him
effectively. Perhaps we could even give him normal speech. The doctor, not being very familiar
with hypnoanalysis, hesitated to attempt it himself, but asked me to work with him.
I explained that one session of hypnoanalysis might perhaps locate the cause but even if
it did, it might not necessarily remove the stutter. Once the cause was located it would be
necessary to see that whatever inner conflicts the boy had were resolved completely or else we
couldn't expect to give him permanent help. Hypnoanalysis is not a a one-shot therapy;
exploration must continue until these inner conflicts are resolved and this sometimes requires
extensive treatment. The doctor said, "Would you undertake the first hypnoanalysis?" I told him
I would be glad to, but that he would do well to attempt for himself some of the techniques I had
taught him. Weeks passed and he did not bring the patient to class. Then, finally, he surprised
me by reporting that he had done the first hypnoanalysis by himself after all, and that he had
been quite successful with it. I said, "Keep working with him and you may be able to help him a
great deal more than you thought possible."
The following fall I was pleased when the doctor reported to me, "The boy has been accepted by
a law school and he is without a stutter."
During the next winter I continued to get reports. The boy was now at the head of his
classes, and I have learned that he is now a successful attorney. This sort of case makes me feel
that encouraging doctors to use hypnoanalysis is worth my every effort.
A psychiatrist in Chicago went so far as to tell me he considered hypnoanalysis as the
crown jewel of hypnosis. Many psychiatrists realize that hypnoanalysis is the key to the solving
of many emotional problems, but although I have taught thousands of doctors how to use
hypnoanalysis, comparatively few of them are adept at it and I think I know the reason for this.
Too many of them are unwilling to devote the necessary (150) time to it or are unwilling
to probe deeply into the human mind. I have known doctors who, for practice, will take the time
to regress a patient to an early age to see reactions that are not of a startling nature; they like the
idea that they can take a patient back to the time when he was two or three years old and let him
see again how the toys under the Christmas tree looked. This is interesting to see and, the doctor
feels, harmless. The same doctor will make no attempt to delve into what might have made the
same patient stutter. Yet I agree with the psychiatrist acquaintance in Chicago that eventually
hypnoanalysis will be recognized as a valid and useful therapeutic technique which can be used
by every doctor in solving emotional difficulties. Psychiatrists are trained to resolve inner
conflicts they feel that the patent is well on the road to recovery. Hypnoanalysis enables the
therapist to locate the sources of inner conflict, and is the best technique I know for getting at the
root causes quickly. It saves months and months of work. I wish I could make every doctor see
hypnoanalysis the way that the psychiatrist sees it.
Talking about root causes and inner conflicts, what are those of a stutter and related
speech difficulties? In a moment, I will relate a few instances which show typical causes -which
in most cases are not related to pathology. Actually, I don’t know of any stutter that was created
by pathology, although I am well aware that medical researches suspect a functional disorder in
certain cases of such speech defects. Studies have been made at John Hopkins and other medical
centers of the effects of specific dyslexia, a constitutional language disability. This syndrome,
sometimes called strephosymbolia, primarily affects reading and writing ability, but is likely to
occur in children who were slow to learn how to talk, and whose family histories included
stuttering, among other difficulties. It has nothing to do with intelligence. Rather, it seems to
stem from an organic weakness of a section of the brain controlling the differentiation of left and
right. Dyslexics have trouble telling a "b" from a "d" or the word "saw" from the word "was."
Some authorities doubt the existence of pathological dyslexia, however, feeling that it is a
syndrome of some psychiatric block. I mention it here only to show that I realize the possibility
of a pathological stutter, from this or several other causes. Having said so, (151) I must repeat
that I know of no stutter of which the cause was proved to involve pathology. Now let's examine
examples of emotional causes. Doing hypnoanalysis to locate the course of a stutter, we found
this case history:
Trying to get answers from the patient was extremely difficult because he stuttered so
badly. I regressed him to the age of five and learned that he stuttered at that age. I took him back
to the age of four and found that the stutter was full-blown even at that early age. When I finally
got him back to about two years of age, he related an unusual incident. There was a lumber yard
near his home and he wandered into it because it seemed like a good place to play. He saw two
men fighting. The argument developed into blows. It became a terrific battle. Finally one of the
men was knocked to the ground and when he managed to get up he grabbed an axe that was
lying nearby and struck his assailant, knocking him to the ground-and then chopped his head off.
The child was terrified. He ran home to his mother. He was afraid that the murderer had
seen him, would follow him, would perhaps do the same thing to him. When his mother asked
him what was wrong, he had reached a point in his life where he didn't want to talk, or couldn't
talk. That was how the stutter began.
I discovered an analogous, though not horrifying, instance when I did hypnoanalysis on a
young man and regressed him to the age of two, to find that his stutter began when he
accidentally pulled a tablecloth off the dining room table. The table had a lot of dishes on it. His
mother came storming into the room and he knew he was in trouble. He tried to talk his way out
of it but the words wouldn't come. I remember saying to myself, "That is certainly not sufficient
reason to start a stutter." So I decided to take him back to the time when he was about a year old.
It was his father's birthday, and his mother had baked a beautiful cake for her husband.
The little boy climbed on a chair to get a closer look at the cake, holding on to the tablecloth as
he climbed. The cake came tumbling down and spattered all over the floor. His mother, hearing
the crash, came storming into the room, and when she saw what had happened she scolded the
baby severely for spoiling his father's birthday celebration. This incident at age one didn't, (152)
by itself, cause the stutter, but when a similar incident took place a year later the stutter was
precipitated. The boy had reached a point where he was obliged to talk but didn't know what to
say, and the reason was clear. When the first incident occurred, the baby was distressed because
he knew he had done something naughty and his mother was angry. When the same thing
happened a year later, he not only knew that he had done something naughty and that his mother
was angry, but at a level below conscious awareness he was reliving the incident which had
upset him one year before. Even a minor trauma can, like suggestion, be compounded by
repetition. Every stutter has its beginning in a situation in which the victim reaches a point where
he doesn't want to talk and yet is obliged to.
Let me give you another example of how a traumatic situation causes a stutter to begin.
A woman patient was brought to class. She was in her fifties, and claimed she had stuttered since
she was a baby. Trying to correct a stutter half a century old didn't strike me as an easy task, and
I thought surely this patient would require a great deal of hypnotic therapy before she could be
helped on a permanent basis.
Before hypnoanalysis, I usually ask the patient a lot of questions. Interrogation revealed
that she believed her stutter to have begun at an early age, when she had been troubled by
convulsions. When asked what caused the stutter, she said it must have been started by an awful
scare she had as a baby. She didn't remember what the scare was. When asked if the scare might
have also been the cause of the convulsions, she didn't know but she didn't think so. I didn't think
so either. Nevertheless, the fact that she could answer without hypnoanalysis that the stutter and
the convulsions both appeared at approximately the same time set me to wondering. This is what
the hypnoanalysis revealed:
At the age of about two, while she was ill in bed, she heard her mother and father
quarreling. The child had never heard them argue so violently before. When the fight had grown
intense, the father threatened to kill the mother and also the little girl. He started toward the bed
where the child was lying ill. The mother ran to protect the screaming child, while the child
herself tried to talk but couldn't because of her terror. She went into convulsions. (153)
The father calmed down and the child soon recovered from the convulsions. But from
that time on, every time her father approached her she became terrified and couldn't talk. Her
stutter had begun.
It would seem from the case histories I am citing that all stutters begin at an early age.
This is not true. You will find many people who think that they have stuttered all their lives, but
when hypnoanalysis is done you find that the stutter didn't begin until they were eight or ten
years of age, or older. I have even run into cases in which the stutter didn't begin until the patient
was of high school age. Yet all these people will say they do not remember a time when they
didn't stutter. Perhaps it is painful for them to remember when (and coincidentally how) the
stutter began, so they employ the defense mechanism of blotting the memory out.
One young college student who was brought to class had a very pronounced stutter. He
was one of those patients who claimed he had stuttered all his life and couldn't remember a time
when he hadn't. During hypnoanalysis, it was revealed that when he was five years old he didn't
stutter. When he was six years old he didn't stutter, and even at the age of eight he didn't stutter.
But when he was nine years old he did. We learned that his playmates had tied him to a tree one
day, binding him securely with a rope around his neck. Then they piled wood on the ground
around the tree and started a fire. At first, he thought it was a game, but when the fire started he
began to yell for them to set him free. Apparently, the kids got scared and ran off, leaving the
boy helpless. Luckily, a passerby saw him, stamped out the fire and released him. By this time
the rope had abraded his neck. He ran home. When his mother saw him she was very upset by
the appearance of his neck, but he was afraid to tell her what had happened. He thought she
might punish him or-worse-speak to the parents of the boys who had hurt him. If this happened,
he thought, they might try to do it to him again for telling. He had reached a point where he
didn't want to talk.
There have been cases-fortunately rare ones-in which only partial help has been possible
because only partial causes have been found. And a cause must be understood to be treated. In
one such case, a psychiatrist found that one of his patients had begun stuttering in early
childhood, (154)
after being frightened away from the entrance of a cave he had begun exploring. Even in
hypnoanalysis, the patient could not bring back the memory of what had terrified him. This
obstacle does not hinder the therapist in most cases, however.
Here is the transcript of an actual hypnoanalysis on a stuttering patient; note the
technique used to determine the root cause:
ELMAN: Do you know when you started stammering?
PATIENT: [Stammering] Well, no. I believe I did all my
life.
ELMAN: It seems to you that you did all your life?
PATIENT: That's right.
ELMAN: And yet your common sense tells you that no-
body is born with a stammer ... So it must have originated somehow. And if we can find out why
it happened, we might be able to help you cope with the cause and get rid of the stammer
entirely. When do you stammer most?
PATIENT: Especially when I'm excited.
ELMAN: Then the stutter gets awfully bad, is that it?
PATIENT: Yes, sir. I'm worse now than I've been in a
long time.
ELMAN: Are you going through some trying times at present?
PATIENT: No, sir.
ELMAN: Is everything all right at home? Family all right?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: And you're doing all right? Business is all right, or your work, whatever it is?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: What do you do for a living?
PATIENT: I'm an operating engineer.
ELMAN: And do you find that your stammering interferes with your work?
PATIENT: No, sir. (155)
ELMAN: You've taken a line of work where the stammering does not interfere ... We've got a
pretty good indication that you have a severe stammer and if I'm going to help you I have to give
you some simple instructions. If I meet with resistance I'm unable to help you, so if you will try
to work with me, maybe I can help, and if you try. maybe together we can get some place...
[Places patient in somnambulism.] ... That's good cooperation. When you're relaxed like this,
you can live through any part of your life. Most people believe that they are unable to recall
incidents of long ago. This is not so. Everything that has ever happened to us is registered in our
minds and can be brought forth. So, I would like to take you back to the time when you were a
boy to find out if the stammer or the stutter, whatever you want to call it, was there when you
were small ... Tell me this, did you celebrate Christmas in your home when you were a little kid?
PATIENT: No, sir.
ELMAN: There was no Christmas tree or anything like that?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: Did you have birthday parties when you were a little kid?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: But you did go to school ... is that right? Sure.
All right, I'm going to take you back to the first grade in school because I want to talk to that
little kid in the first grade. Did you go to kindergarten? Maybe I'll take you back to kindergarten.
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: All right, I'm going to take you back to kindergarten, and when I lift your hand and
drop it, don't try to remember, because that's what (156) defeats us all the time ... Just say to
yourself, "It's going to be there and I'd like it to be there," so when I lift your hand and drop it, it
will be when you were in kindergarten and you'll see yourself in kindergarten as clearly as when
you were there the first time. And I'm going to talk to you in kindergarten. Stay completely
relaxed when I lift your hand and drop it and watch it happen ... That's it ... There you are ...
You're in kindergarten ... Do you like kindergarten?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: Take a look around kindergarten. Do you get along with the kids all right?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: Do you get along with the teacher?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: Do you like the teacher?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: Tell me this, you're in kindergarten and everything is clear-do you have fun in
kindergarten?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: And do you ever stutter or stammer?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: You do. So this means you started to stammer or stutter before you went to
kindergarten... We're going to take you back now to before you started kindergarten, and you'll
be doing something that you haven't thought of ever since the time you did it, but it will be
something that you like to do. I'll be talking to you and you'll be a little boy just three years
old ... There you are ... What are you doing?
PATIENT: Playing in the back yard.
ELMAN: What are you playing with?
PATIENT: Some dirt.
ELMAN: You're about three years old, aren't you? (157)
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: Do you ever stammer? [Patient doesn't answer.] Maybe you don't know what that
means. Do you ever stutter? Do you ever have trouble in talking?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: When I lift your hand and drop it, it will be the first day you ever had trouble with
talking. And you'll know what caused it when I lift and drop your hand ... Stay relaxed and
you'll have it .. There you are ... What's been happening today that makes a little boy have
trouble talking?
PATIENT: My father came home. Mommy says he's drunk. [Starts to cry.]
ELMAN: What happened? Tell me, because this may stop you from stammering forever if we
get all this out and we want all this out. So, what did your daddy do ? You can tell me.
PATIENT: He beat me.
ELMAN: Why did he beat you?
PATIENT: Cause I must have done something he didn't want me to do.
ELMAN: What did you do?
PATIENT: I don't know.
PATIENT: When I lift your hand and drop it you'll know why it was he beat you. [Note the
compounding of suggestion.] ... and what you did, if you did anything. Stay relaxed and you'll
know. What did you do.
PATIENT: We had some little wood chickens and I drowned them.
ELMAN: You drowned them? Yes.
PATIENT: You said "wood chickens."
PATIENT: No. Little chickens.
ELMAN; Did you do it accidentally?
PATIENT: No. I just did it on purpose. (158)
ELMAN: You did it on purpose? You drowned them? Now, there must have been a reason why
a little boy would pick on those chickens, and maybe we can find out. Maybe there was a little
resentment against them, or something, or somebody. Was there anybody you didn't like at this
time?
PATIENT: No, sir.
ELMAN: Did you like daddy all right?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: Did you like mother all right?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: Brothers and sisters?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: Did you like the little chickens'?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: Did you take them out of the house to drown them?
PATIENT: They were out in the yard.
ELMAN: You be out in the yard when I lift your hand.
I t will be before the chickens are drowned and then you can tell me whether it's on purpose or
not. And maybe you don't even know whether it was on purpose or not. And maybe you'll find
out now. Because it will be just before they were drowned ... What are you doing, playing with
the chickens, are you?
PATIENT: No, they're ducks.
ELMAN: See, now we find out more. Take a look at the ducks. Do you like these little ducks?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: You do like them. Well, what are you doing with them if they're ducks?
I'm putting them in the tub of water. Putting them in a tub of water?
PATIENT: Yes, sir. (159)
ELMAN: Well, isn't that all right for ducks, to go in water?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: Do you have any idea of what you want to do with the ducks?
PATIENT: I want to watch them swim.
ELMAN: Now you're watching them swim. Is there any idea on your part to do anything
harmful to the ducks?
PATIENT: No, sir.
ELMAN: Then what happens to these ducks? They all drowned. In the water?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: How did they drown?
PATIENT: Because they couldn't swim.
ELMAN: Well, ducks naturally swim. Take a look at them again. Are they ducks or are they
chickens? If they're ducks, they'd naturally swim.
PATIENT: They're chickens.
ELMAN: Chickens can't swim. But ducks can swim.
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: What made you think for a while that they were ducks? You called them ducks a little
while ago.
PATIENT: I don't really know. I just thought that they could swim.
ELMAN: I see. Then you really didn't want to hurt these chickens, did you?
PATIENT: No, sir.
ELMAN: So that this would be just a little mistake that a little boy made. Is that it?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: And because he made this little mistake his daddy came home and beat him for it and
now because he doesn't know what to say to daddy -he tries to talk and explain ... (160)
PATIENT: He wouldn't-he wouldn't-he wouldn't.
ELMAN: You'll be able to talk without stammering when I snap my fingers. [Snaps fingers.]
PATIENT: He would never let me cry.
ELMAN: He wouldn't let you cry?
PATIENT: No, sir.
ELMAN: I see. And that's repression-unable to cry. Did he give you any reason why he wouldn't
let you cry?
PATIENT: He said he would beat me harder if I cried.
ELMAN: So you were afraid to cry. And that stammer represents that concealed cry. Is that
what it is?
PATIENT: I don't know, sir.
ELMAN: Well, now let me tell you. I want you to notice how close a stammer is to a sob. It's
awfully close, isn't it? And it's that stifled sob every time you stammer. Did you ever realize
that?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: In other words, you've known this all along, is that right?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: You've known that it's because he wouldn't let you cry that you stammer?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: Well, you can get rid of that cry now. That is, you can cry if you want to. If you feel
like crying you can just let loose, because you're a big man now, and if you feel like crying, you
can let it all out, because this is the emotion you felt as a little kid, and if it comes out now it will
do you a lot of good. If you feel like crying, let it go ... [Patient sobs for prolonged period.] Let
it all out and you won't stammer any more just on account of it. Get rid of that emotion that's
been pent up inside of you for so many years. Let it all out. Just let it come out good ... [Patient
goes on crying. Elman addresses attending doctors.] I've never known a stammer or a stutter
(161) that didn't involve some emotional situation. He'll get that out of his system and then you'll
see how well he talks. There will be no stammer there at all. And if his father had let him do it
when he was a kid he wouldn't stammer. But this was a misunderstanding of a parent and a child
... [Patient's sobbing has subsided. Elman addresses patient.] It felt kind of good to get that out
of your system, didn't it?
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: Let all that pent up emotion come right out. [to doctors] This has been concealed in
him and he was about three years old when this thing happened ... [to patient] How old are you?
PATIENT: Fifty years old ... I'm forty-nine now.
ELMAN: [to doctors] That's forty-seven years-forty-six years-of repressed emotion, and what
that will do to a person! It's probably meant a lot of difference in his living conditions, in his
life-in the way he's made his living-in the way he's gotten along with people ... And if his dad
had just let him cry it out when he was a little kid, he would have been just as normal a
youngster as anyone in the world. When he wants to cry, his dad says, "I'll beat you all the more
if you cry." So, afraid to cry ... every time he wants to cry, there's a stammer. Every time he has
an emotion it's in the form of a stammer.
Maybe I'm making it sound too easy. I'm not trying to indicate that after one such session
he needs no more ... there's not a person that I work with ever in hypnoanalysis who could not
stand from that one session... And this is not advanced to you as a panacea or elixir. It’s not
advanced to you as a cure-all, but as a technique of getting to the cause of the condition... [to
patient] I’ll bet you feel a lot better.
PATIENT: Yes, sir. I sure do.
ELMAN: And there's no stammer there now, is there?
PATIENT: No, sir. (162)
ELMAN: Do you think there ever will be? No, sir.
If there ever is-if there ever shows the slightest sign of a tendency to a stammer- I want you to
think instantly of those chickens and your father beating you. Think of it instantly, and it will be
like a mental flash-and the minute you do, say, "I'm not going to stammer just because my daddy
wouldn't let me cry." After all, there was no venom in what you did as a child, was there?
PATIENT: No, sir.
ELMAN: You didn't mean to go out and kill those chickens, but this was a natural mistake that
any little child might make. You wanted to see the little birds swim You didn't know they
couldn't, and when they drowned you were, I suppose, just as heartbroken as anybody about it,
but your father wouldn't let you explain He just beat you for it.
PATIENT: Yes, sir.
ELMAN: I don't think you'll stutter or stammer any more, what do you think?
PATIENT: No, sir. I don't think I will any more either. And if you do ... [to patient's doctor]
Doctor, if he shows any tendency toward a recurrence of the stammer, take him back and do this
over again, and each time you do it you'll find he gets tremendous help out of it. I think that
you've probably got a complete removal of the stammer by what we've let him do today. I can't
swear to it. Sometimes we get these sensational recoveries that look like magic, and sometimes
we don't. But I'm not trying to get a sensational recovery in any case that I work on. So many
doctors tell me, "I haven't got the time for hypnoanalysis." I think any doctor should be willing
to spend the length of time I spend with these patients in order to correct situations like this. ***
Incidentally, I have found again and again that the victim of one neurotic ailment is apt
to be the victim (163) of more neurotic ailments. The point I am trying to make is that just
because the patient loses the stutter, you haven't necessarily solved all the patient's neurotic
problems. That is why I make the statement that all these patients can benefit from further work
by the doctor. Internal conflicts must be resolved entirely if the patient is to be helped
completely.
The man in medicine best trained to resolve inner conflicts is the psychiatrist and if the
doctor in any other branch of medicine find that he is unable to resolve those inner conflicts
permanently, in my estimation, he should turn the patient over to the psychiatrist.
In dealing with a stutter, follow these instructions. First, remember that every stutter has
a beginning. Take the stutter back to the traumatic situation that caused the stutter, and let him
relive it in an abreaction or by seeing the same thing happen to another person on an imaginary
television screen. In many instances, patients gain insight about the true cause of the first stutter
and are helped permanently. What happens if you don't get back to the cause of the stutter? The
most you'll be able to do is to give the patient temporary help. If the cause remains within him,
the stutter will return.
Sometimes a doctor will get back to what he thinks is the true cause and the patient will
apparently be helped. Then the stutter returns. The doctor should know from this that he has not
found all the disturbing material, and will have to prober further to get out all the true cause
before he can permanently help the stutter. This explanation not only applies to stuttering but to
every neurotic problem; if the help is temporary, the true cause has not been exposed and further
work is indicated.
A technique is demonstrated in hypnoanalysis which has been found vastly beneficial in
many types of neurotic disturbances. We know that emotional illnesses are caused by
repressions. A person lives through a situation with which he cannot cope. He is not prepared for
it by experience or training. The memory of the incident is horrifying. He represses all thoughts
of the traumatic situation. Sometimes he even succeeds in putting it below the level of
consciousness, (164) so that eventually it becomes truly a part of the unconscious material of his
mind.
This does not mean he is not affected by it. On the contrary, this very repression of traumatic
experience will most certainly continue to do damage at the conscious level. In many cases, we
are able to bring repressions from below the level of conscious awareness to a place where they
are known and recognized at a conscious level. We then make sure the repression is not allowed
to retire into the unconscious again. Note how this technique was demonstrated in the foregoing
case of the stuttering man.
Too many people believe hypnoanalysis is a "one-shot" therapy. Nothing could be further
from the truth. Doctors are inclined to believe that if they can't get permanent results with one
application of hypnoanalysis, the therapy won't work on that particular patient. This is not
evidenced from our experience.
Not long ago, a doctor in one of my classes asked if I would work with his son, a
stuttering boy. The boy's family was most cooperative. We worked with the youngster but got
nowhere. When the boy showed signs of tiring, we gave him some superficial suggestions to rid
him of his stutter temporarily at least and to increase his confidence.
Two weeks later we were told that the boy spoke without a stutter for about ten days and
then the affliction returned. Again we worked with the child. This time we began to get the
answer to the stuttering problem, but certainly didn't complete the therapy.
Again the child showed improvement, but by this time the father and mother were
showing disappointment that a miracle had not taken place in two sessions. My class in that
particular city came to an end, and there was no opportunity to go on giving the boy the
additional help he needed. I advised the doctor to continue the program of hypnoanalysis with
one of my students. Because of his disappointment, however, I do not believe he did so. And yet
his boy might have been helped permanently.
That same doctor would probably be provoked if one of his patients took only two
teaspoonfuls of a prescription and then took no more because the two teaspoonfuls did not cure
him permanently. Why people expect the techniques of hypnosis to work like magic is beyond
my understanding. (165)
The question might be asked, "If the father was a student of yours, why didn't he
complete the hypnoanalysis himself?" Possibly because the child was reaching a stage in life
where ambivalence towards his parents was beginning to be manifested. The father might find
resistance within the child, though another operator might find none. Still, such a situation
should not be allowed to stand in the way of helping a child. Always remember this: The
severity of the traumatic event accounts for the severity of the stutter; find the cause, treat it, and
the effect will automatically be alleviated. (166)

28. OBESITY (HYPNOANALYSIS): DAVE ELMAN: HYPNOTHERAPY: WESTWOOD

PUB CO: GLENDALE, CA: 1964
When the doctor is confronted with an obesity problem, he usually puts the patient on a
diet, supplemented by proper medications, and a warning about the possible medical
consequences of overweight. Some patients will stay on the diet and absorb the medications (and
warnings) until the necessary poundage is lost. Then they part company with the doctor. A year
or two later, they are back to see the same doctor about the same problem "They're as fat as
ever," the doctor says to himself. " They just don't seem to have any sense about food intake."
There are also patients who say they want to lose weight, but won't or can't stay on the diet
prescribed by the doctor. Under the doctor's care they don't lose an ounce; in fact, they gain
weight while they are supposed to be losing it. Compulsive eaters aren't necessarily gluttons.
They are often people who are searching for security. This search takes them back to the time
when oral satisfaction represented complete security - when mother fed and took care of them
They eat and continue to eat, because eating gives them the sense of security which allays a fear
lurking hplow the level of conscious awareness.
With every patient, the fear has a different cause, but it is really the same kind of fear. In
effect, all such fears are similar. However, this does not mean that the same
diet-medication-warning treatment will work with every patient, nor does it mean that hypnosis
should be used simply to give every/patient hunger-allaying suggestions. A hypnotic diet without
the removal of creative fear, may provide only temporary help. The doctors who recognize the
problem are remarkably successful with obesity cases, and some of them actually specialize in
obesity problems. Excessive overweight is often caused by strong emotional conflicts, which can
be resolved-like those associated with stuttering, which can be resolved - like those associated
with stuttering - by an approach utilizing hypnoanalysis.
 I want you to read part of an actual transcript of one such hypnoanalysis. The patient in
question was slender (167) until she was fourteen years of age, and then suddenly started to gain
weight:
ELMAN: [After regressing patient to early childhood]
You're in the fiirst grade. I want you, mentally, to stand up in your seat there in the first grade
and look across the room at the kid furthest away from you. Is that a boy or a girl?
PATIENT: A boy.
ELMAN: What's his name?
PATIENT: John.
ELMAN: Now your awareness is increasing. I'm going
to ask you a few questions while you're in the first grade. I'm coming up to your seat now and
I'm saying to you, "You're six years old. Are you a fat little girl?"
PATIENT: No ... [The patient is now taken through suc-
cessive school levels, and it is found that she was slender until she reached the eighth grade. The
transcript is resumed at this level.]
ELMAN: Now, when I lift your hand and drop it, you'll
be in the eighth grade. There you are. Tell me, you're about fourteen years old now. Take a look
at yourself. How's your weight?
PATIENT: A little heavy.
ELMAN: You're in the eighth grade and you're beginning
to be a little bit heavy. When I lift your hand, it will be vacation time, and it will be just before
school starts for the eighth grade ... You know, school is starting in just another few days. Will
you be glad to get back to school?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Tell me, did you like this summer? Did you have a nice summer?
PATIENT: I had scarlet fever.
ELMAN: You were pretty sick with scarlet fever, were you?
PATIENT: Yes. (168)
ELMAN: Did you at any time have thoughts that were unpleasant while you were sick with
scarlet fever?
PATIENT: Yes. I was afraid I wouldn't get well, and if I did, I worried about the aftereffects.
ELMAN: We've got the whole reason there, haven't we? Why a little girl would feel the need for
security.
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Now we know the whole reason as to why you got fat, don't we?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: You were a slender little girl. Then you saw yourself at the end of summer vacation,
and you saw a little girl who was just getting over scarlet fever. And then you saw that little girl
in the eighth grade, and she was beginning to get fat; already showing the need for security. The
morbid thoughts that you must have had about what would be the aftereffects, was that it?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: And so that little girl in her search for security found the natural outlet of more food
and more food because that gave her satisfaction. It made her feel secure. The security she knew
as an infant when she didn't have to worry about the future. Is that so?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Now we've found the cause, and you don't have to worry about scarlet fever any more,
do you?
PATIENT: No. ***
Every neurotic problem has a beginning, and obesity, is most often a neurotic problem.
The cause-finding technique, illustrated above and used in obesity as it is in stuttering and
similar difficulties, is called pinpointing the start of a neurosis. After all, the patient wasn't fat up
to the eighth grade, but in the eighth grade we find she was beginning to get a little heavier.
Something must have caused it. What? (169) The summer before the eighth grade started, she
had scarlet fever. The severe illness frightened her. Would she ever get well? And if she did
what would be the aftereffects? She certainly experienced enough fear to cause a child to search
for security. And she found that security in the oral satisfaction she knew as an infant, when life
was at its sweetest and she knew no problems, when she was safe in her mother's arms and well
fed. She began to overeat to recapture that feeling of security she once knew. Like alcoholics
and drug addicts, over eaters develop a tolerance for the object of their craving. More and more
food is needed to achieve a given degree of satisfaction. Now it takes an immense amount of
food to give this patient her feeling security. The result: obesity.
Did she ever realize this at a conscious level? Of course not. She knew that she had had
scarlet fever, and she would have been able to tell you that she was terribly scared by it. But she
did not relate the scarlet fever to her obesity. She had no idea that food represented an escape
from the fright engendered by her illness. Now she understands her problem. She doesn't have to
worry about the effects of scarlet fever any more: a vicious habit patter that remains of her
search for security, and hypnoanalysis enables her to break up that habit pattern.
Her doctor subsequently reported that under medical supervision, she lost over one
hundred pounds, and has maintained normal weight ever since.
I said before that fears in such cases are all of the same kind. To illustrate this, let me
recount another case in which fear caused an overweight problem. The patient was a woman in
her fifties. Her doctor told me that she had been a patient for many years. She had always been
slender until she had undergone a hysterectomy; after that, she started putting on weight at an
alarming rate. Now she was in desperate need of help because no matter how hard she tried, she
couldn't stay on the diet prescribed for her.
After getting this information, I began the hypnoanalysis. Every fact mentioned by the
doctor was verified, and now I started to probe for the cause of her difficulty. I took her back to
the visit she had made to her doctor before the operation. She told me everything the doctor had
said at the examination, reliving the experience vividly. She said the (170) doctor told her she
had a large fibroid tumor-perhaps more than one-and that surgery was indicated. Hearing the
word tumor, she became frightened and asked the doctor if it might be malignant. She
remembered very clearly his telling her that they couldn't tell for sure about such things until
surgery was done, but that in his opinion it was most certainly not malignant.
I brought her mentally to the period just after the surgery had been accomplished.
Despite her doctor's assurances before and after the operation that there had been no malignancy,
she could not get out of her mind the idea that she might have cancer. I asked her why she felt
that way, and she said she wasn't sure, but that she thought a question asked by the doctor during
the preoperative examination planted the disturbing thought. I asked her, "What was that
question? "
She said, "He asked me if there had been any loss of weight recently. Well, it so
happened that I was on a diet at the time in an attempt to take off a few pounds. As the doctor
told you, I was never heavy, but I thought losing about five pounds might give me a better
figure, and that's why I went on this diet. It worked very well, too, because I had lost a couple of
pounds. But when the doctor asked me if I had lost any weight I wasn't sure whether I had lost it
because of the diet or because of the tumor."
She just couldn't get that thought out of her mind, and when she recovered from the surgery,
she began to overeat in an effort to gain weight-to make sure that no malignancy was present.
This fear, operating at an unconscious level, caused her to overeat, gaining weight until she was
a very fat woman.
The doctor helped me to eliminate the thought of cancer. Once the hypnoanalysis
unearthed the cancer phobia, with the doctor's further help, she was able to stay on a diet and get
down to normal weight. Since the tendency to eat too much is a reaching for security, you must
combat it by pinpointing a concrete fear that brought on the eating response.
A doctor brought his young daughter to class some time ago. She was in her early teens,
and had an excess weight of about forty-five pounds. Interrogation before the hypnosis
established the fact that she had been slender until she spent a summer at camp with a lot of
other youngsters. (171)
After she came back, she began to put on extra poundage. She continued to gain weight,
for she was now eating more than she usually did. When her father tried to bring her down to
normal weight, she didn't stay on the diet but continued to gain weight. By the time I saw her,
she was extremely fat.
Upon putting her into deep hypnosis, we learned that she had had several terrifying
experiences at summer camp. The first episode was the capsizing of a boat in which she and
several companions were sailing. She was very frightened because she did not know how to
swim. The children nearly drowned before they were rescued, and of course she longed to be
safely at home.
The next incident took place while she and a group of other children were playing hide
and seek. She was hiding behind a car, and a dog happened to be there. The dog found a
poisonous snake, and kept bothering the reptile, keeping it away from the children. Her
grandfather killed the snake, and then he beat the dog because the dog was not supposed to be
there. She was very upset. She felt that the snake could have bitten anyone of them. In both cases
the child was made panicky by fear and she longed for the security which she found at home in
her mother's arms. However, when she got home, her father was sick, and she was temporarily
denied the security she thought she would find at home. These three happenings were the cause
of her excessive eating. She was unconsciously searching for security, and the only way she
could find it was in oral satisfaction.
Another obese patient was brought to class by her doctor. With hypnoanalysis and under
the doctor's careful supervision, she lost eighty pounds. Then the same doctor brought her back
to another class a year later. "She stayed on the diet beautifully," he explained-"until she lost
eighty pounds, just half of what she should lose. Why shouldn't we be able to help her all the
way?"
This doctor, like so many other, had assumed that one session of hypnoanalysis was all
that was necessary. After the single session, he had merely supervised her diet, without giving
her further help.
Since there had to be a reason for her behavior, we put the patient into hypnoanalysis
again. Once in deep (172) somnambulism she exclaimed, "I don't want to lose the other eighty
pounds. My doctor says that when I lose that eighty pounds I'll be in good enough physical
condition to stand surgery, and I'm scared to death of surgery."
 Obviously, the patient was so frightened of an operation, which the doctor had told her
she must have, that she was determined not to lose the other eighty pounds. Fear is the disorder
requiring treatment. Locate the fear it, and un er goo e supervision the excessive weight problem
can be solved.
A fat patient will sometimes tell the doctor, "I don't know why I'm fat. I eat so little." Put
such a patient into hypnoanalysis and take him through a typical twenty-four hours to find out
every morsel of food eaten that day. You'll be surprised to find how much the patient who
"scarcely eats anything" eats.
One doctor asked for my advice about an obese patient who was at least fifty pounds
overweight as a result of compulsive eating. "Should we put her on a hypnotic diet?" he asked. I
told him that putting her on a hypnotic diet at this point might not do much good. Of course, she
would lose a lot of weight and be delighted with the results, but a year later she would be back
again as fat as ever. The only way to help her would be to find out why she was searchin for
security.
The doctor agreed to my suggestion, and hypnoanalysis revealed that when the patient
was a little girl she was in an automobile accident. She was taken to the hospital where the
doctors went into consultation within her hearing. The girl, wavering in and out of
consciousness, heard them discussing whether amputation of her legs would be necessary. One
of the doctors said, "Maybe we can save those legs," but another doctor remarked, "It looks
pretty hopeless."
It was unfortunate that the girl heard those remarks. Now she was put into anesthesia for
necessary surgical procedures. Amputation was deemed unnecessary, but when she recovered
consciousness she was still anesthetized and couldn't feel her legs. She thought that she had lost
them, that they had really been amputated. When she was given assurance that she still had her
legs she didn't believe it until feeling returned. Though she completely recovered (173) from the
accident, from that time on she was a compulsive eater, searching for security.
When we recovered these facts in hypnoanalysis, she made an astounding statement:
"Now I know why I have closets full of shoes in my home. I can never pass a shoe store without
buying shoes. I don't think I'll have to do that any more."
I am happy to relate that she too, lost considerable weight as a result of the
hypnoanalysis, and kept her weight down to within normal limits.
Almost every time we use hypnoanalysts for an obese patient, we find the same basis for
the trouble. It is almost always the result of mental trauma. If the trauma is a minor one, there
is a weight increase of only thirty or forty pounds. But if there is a major one, the weight
increase is absolutely astounding.
We have seen patients in the four-hundred-pound class. The fattest person who was ever
brought to class was certainly in this category. He wouldn't let me perform hypnoanalysis on
him although he professed that he wanted help. He resisted every effort to hypnotize him and
when the class was called to a close, he mentioned how terrible he felt that he couldn't be helped.
As usual after our class sessions, my wife and I went out to eat. We had only been seated
in the restaurant a few minutes when in came the fat man. He may have seen us; I do not know.
He struggled into a seat several tables from us. I t must have been close to midnight, and we
thought he was going to have a cup of coffee and perhaps a snack before retiring, as so many
people do. Since we were doing exactly that, the assumption seemed natural.
Imagine our amazement when we saw the waitress, without consulting him, bring him a
platter of turkey, mashed potatoes, peas, salad and bread and butter. He finished all of this plus
several slices of bread and butter. Then he repeated the entire order. After that the waitress
brought him whipped cream cake and a cup of coffee. He finished this, and she brought him a
second order of whipped cream cake and coffee. He ate it all with gusto.
We intentionally dawdled, and after he left the restaurant I asked the waitress about him.
"He's one of my steady customers," she explained. "He comes in every night at this (174) time,
and that's what he gets. I don't have to ask him what he wants."
He had just come from a classroom full of doctors who were discussing the dangers of
obesity. His own doctor had said in front of him, "We must help this man before he suffers a
heart attack from carrying that weight around." And immediately after hearing this statement, he
had preceded to eat more than enough for two men. Here was a patient who didn't want help. He
didn't know it, but he was unconsciously attempting to commit suicide. Such patients are
extremely difficult to help.
When I hear about intractable obesity problems, I recall the doctor who said, "Mr.
Elman, your next class will be attended by an extraordinary man. He's a psychiatrist who does
remarkable work with the emotional problems of his patients, but he isn't able to solve his own."
I was curious enough to ask for details, but my informant only answered, "Wait until you see
him."
It was easy to recognize the man who couldn't solve his own emotional problems. He was
at least 150 pounds overweight. Since he was not very tall, his girth was actually startling. He
must have weighed more than 300 pounds. We had not had many class sessions before he asked
if I would work with him to see if we couldn't determine the cause of his overweight. During
hypnoanalysis he went into an abreaction that disclosed several traumatic episodes, and as he
relived various experiences, he cried bitterly. I am not at liberty to disclose the details of this
case, but we did find the reasons for his search for security, and he agreed that the findings were
accurate. Nevertheless, I was unable to give him any real insight regarding the connection
between this search and his weight problem. I don't think he benefitted from the hypnoanalysis.
If this seems strange to say of a psychiatrist - bear in mind that there are undoubtedly people
who don’t want their problems solved. They profess a desire for help and even seem to seek it,
but when help is offered, they refuse to take it. I am of the opinion that this unwillingness to get
well is part of their illness.
When a person is only moderately overweight, trauma be the cause, and I think I should
make this point very clear. I know a patient who is only ten or fifteen (175) pounds overweight,
and she tells a story that explains why. She says that when she was a child, every time she cried,
her mother stuffed her mouth with food, and in that way kept her from crying. If she hurt
herself, her mother gave her food; if she couldn't go to sleep at night, her mother gave her food.
On all occasions when the child was in discomfort or unhappy, her mother stuffed her with food.
The habit of eating during times of stress - not trauma but merely tension - become ingrained.
This woman laughs about it today, but brings her own children up the same way. If these
children become overweight, she will never realize that she was probably the cause of it, just as
her mother was the cause in her own case. Many people may be overweight because of some
habit patterns formed during infancy and childhood.
There are certain pathological conditions which cagse overweight. Every physician
knows what they are, and checks these condition when examining his patents. Such cases, of
course, do not require hypnoanalysis as part of the treatment program. And even in cases
involving emotional conflicts, a doctor sometimes can do an amazing job without the use of
hypnoanalysis. If a doctor gives a patient sufficient inceptive to lose weight, that person, despite
strong emotional problems, will manage to stay on a diet. Here is a case history to illustrate the
point:
A young married woman, who had been tremendously overweight for years, was now
happier than she had ever been in her life. After ten years of marriage, she was pregnant for the
first time and was looking forward to the birth of her baby. She had fitted up a beautiful nursery,
prepared a layette, and when I saw her she could talk about nothing but the child that would soon
be theirs. She carried to full term, but the baby was stillborn. She and her husband were
heartbroken. She had been overweight for so many years that when she gained even more weight
during pregnancy she was not disturbed. It seemed to her quite natural to put on weight during
pregnancy. When it was over, she was too upset to give much tl10ught to dieting. After her
discharge from the hospital, her doctor told her the sad news that she would never be able to
have a baby. In all probability she had had previous emotional problems; now she had an
additional one, and the pattern of overeating, (176) if it changed at all, became stronger. About
two years later, she went to another doctor because she had a cold. During the interview, she
mentioned the fact that nothing would make her happier than having a baby, but had resigned
herself to the fact that this could never be. The doctor said, "Do you mind if I examine you to
confirm that."
"It would probably be a waste of time," she told him, "because I've already been
examined and told I could never have a baby. I lost the only one I ever carried. But I want a
baby so badly. Go ahead, doctor, let's see what your examination shows."
After the examination he said, "I don't agree with the previous diagnosis. If you will lose
at least seventy-five pounds, I promise you will have a baby."
This was such welcome news to her that she told the doctor, "I could starve myself if the
reward were the baby I want. What do I do?"
He prescribed a diet, warning her that if she strayed from it there would be no baby.
"You must eat the things I have prescribed," he cautioned her, "because you must maintain good
health to have a healthy baby. You can be sure that the diet I have given you is good for you. Eat
everything on it, but nothing else."
She followed his instructions implicitly, actually enjoying her diet, and every time
something tempted her, she gleefully remarked, "That's not for me. I'm going to have a baby and
I don't need that fattening stuff."
She lost eighty pounds, and she became pregnant. Of course, she and her husband were
delighted. Now their task was to be sure that this baby was born in good health.
The doctor who had put her on the diet took care of her during pregnancy. He now put
her on another diet, one that would maintain health but would not add weight. She delivered a
healthy baby, and at this writing, she is a slender, happy mother. It is plain to see from this case
history that the proper incentive can help even a person with great emotional problems to
maintain a proper diet.
But this does not mean that hypnoanalysis can often be dispensed with. Some years ago,
nationwide publicity was given to a professional hypnotic operator who said he had been
tremendously successful with hypnotic diet in obesity cases, and the publicity actually contained
some (177) remarkable statistics. The doctors in my classes asked me why I hadn't taught them
how to handle obesity problems by the use of hypnotic suggestion.
As I explained to them, it is easy to put patients on hypnotic diets, but in most cases as
soon as the suggestions wear off, they’ll regain the wieght they have lost. In the final analysis,
what good are the suggestions if they don't give permanent results? Hypnotic suggestions will
not enable the patient to solve his basic problem. He will lose weight fast; of course he will. But
later on, he will be as fat as ever. I don't believe a doctor should use hypnotic suggestions for
this purpose until he has solved the basic problem, learning why a patient has to eat so much,
and .then treating the cause and not the effect.
The doctors insisted, however, that I teach them how to put a patient on a hypnotic diet. I
did so, and doctor after doctor reported how successful he had been. Weight losses were reported
of thirty, forty or fifty pounds, or even more. But the same doctor who had been so successful
would often report a year or two later that "Those obese patients are as fat as ever. Hypnosis
doesn't give permanent results."
Because of these reports, I refused to teach any more doctors how to put a patient on a
hypnotic diet. However, a psychiatrist made me change my thinking. "Think of the doctor who is
in cardiology for example," he said. "His patient must lose weight fast. If hypnosis will help his
patient lose weight fast, you have no right to demand slower methods for lasting results. Even
temporary help might be vital to such a patient. And you don't have to be in cardiology to meet
cases of this type. Give these doctors the instructions they need."
After a great deal of reflection, I decided to make an instructional recording on the
subject. This, I felt, would save doctors much valuable time if they were made to understand that
hypnotic diet could not, by itself, constitute complete treatment. I gave a series of lectures on the
subject, asking the doctors to tape record every word said. Then I asked them to allow their
obese patients to hear the tapes to see whether or not by listening to a recording they could be
placed on a hypnotic diet.
The tapes must have been effective, for soon doctors (178) began requesting that we
make a phonograph record which could be given to obese patients to use at home. We made such
a record. Then an interesting incident took place. An obstetrician came to class one night and
explained that many women after delivery seem to gain an unusual amount of weight. She
wanted to get these people down to normal size again and had therefore invited a group of her
obese patients to a meeting with her so that she could discuss their obesity problems. A
surprising number of patients showed up for that first meeting. She held a lengthy discussion of
the disadvantages of extra poundage, after which she played the record for them, gave them a
diet to follow and told them to come back one week later for a checkup.
An odd thing happened with these patients. They began to compete with each other to see
who could lose the most weight in the shortest time. Moreover, the class which had originally
started with seventeen obese patients grew to thirty-five at the second session. The doctor
weighed each patient and found that everyone of them had lost weight. She decided to call a
third meeting, and this time so many patients showed up that she was obliged to divide the class
into two groups. Finally, she had to have three groups.
She suggested in class that other doctors form classes in obesity, remarking that, "There
are enough fat people for all of us." I repeated her story in all my classes. Soon doctors were
treating obesity patients in groups, and this group therapy seems quite effective. The patients
actually compete with each other, and it is impressive what competition does in accomplishing
weight reduction.
I think I should mention at this point a California physician, Doctor Peter G. Lindner,
who has been so successful with this sort of class instruction that he has written a book on
obesity. The book is entitled Mind Over Platter, and to learn interesting facts about obesity, I
recommend that you read it.
Don't think because of what I have said that a recording will do the job alone. It must be
supplemented by sound advice from the doctor and a diet prescribed by him, plus additional
therapy, including hypnoanalysis, when indicated. The diet must be followed conscientiously.
All the record will do is strengthen the patient's determination to stay on the diet. (179)
To conclude this discussion of weight problems uncovered in hypnosis, I believe we
should recount one case history which is the complete opposite of any thus far related: A young
lady was brought to class who was a pleasure to see. She was about sixteen years old, and
beautiful. If there was any flaw in her appearance, it was that she was extremely slim-though not
skinny. Her doctor said, "I'd like you to work with this girl. She's in deep trouble. She has an
enormous appetite. It's unearthly. It's just an inordinate appetite, but after every meal she
regurgitates everything she has eaten. We're worried about her and we can't find anything
organic that makes her vomit. We think it's purely a functional symptom but at the same time we
can't find out what this functional symptom represents. We're rather lost in the handling of her. I
wonder if through hypnoanalysis we can find out what's causing the trouble."
The young lady accepted deep hypnosis quite readily and I attempted to pinpoint the start
of the neurosis. I had her relive the events leading up to the first time she ever vomited, and it
seemed to me I was going in the right direction. It started with the first prom she'd ever attended.
She was fourteen years old, and a seventeen-year-old boy had asked her for the date. The girl
was delighted. They went to the prom and she found out that he couldn't dance. This was a
terrible disappointment to the fourteen-year-old. She had a miserable time. She had built the
prom up in her mind as a tremendous event. Afterwards, he took her to a hamburger stand with
the rest of the school crowd. As she ate her hamburger, she thought about how nauseating an
evening it had been. In her own words, "I just couldn't stomach that boy." Her reaction was to
vomit; that was the first time. I felt sure I was on the right track.
Now I took her to the second time she ever vomited to see if I could find a habit pattern.
Sure enough, her second date was nauseating, too, and so was the third one. By this time I was
convinced I had found the reason for her problem and that it could be solved easily. Preparing to
do it, I asked her the preliminary question in deep hypnosis. "How would you like to get rid of
that vomiting?"
She threw us all for a loop when she answered, "Oh no. I don't want to stop." "Why don't
you want to lose that vomiting habit?" (180) "Before I learned to vomit I was fat. Don't tell me
that I should lose this vomiting habit, because if I don't vomit I'll get fat like I used to be and I
don't want to be fat. I love to eat and I'd rather vomit than diet. Vomiting works wonders for
me."
Of course, this case required further work. I included the incident here to show that in
hypnoanalysis the patient doesn't let you get far off the track for very long. A patient with an
awareness of two thousand percent or more above normal won't let you make (and hold onto) a
mistake very easily. You can make a temporary error as I did, but when I make a mistake the
thing that often puts me back on the right track is the awareness of the patient. It reveals itself in
some such statement as, "No, I don't want to lose the vomiting habit." In doing hypnoanalysis it
is well to bear in mind that things are not always what they seem. Listen carefully to what a
patient reveals about himself during this period of heightened awareness. And remember that a
single session is not a cure. Uncovering a problem in obesity does not necessarily solve the
problem. In every case I have mentioned, further work was indicated. (181)

29. DEPRESSIONS (HYPNOANALYSIS): DAVE ELMAN: HYPNOTHERAPY:

WESTWOOD PUB CO: GLENDALE, CA: 1964
 A number of years ago, a psychiatrist asked me to help him work with a suicidal
depressive. Never having worked with such a patient, I was reluctant. However, the doctor
explained that he had made little progress and felt that with my aid he could at least learn how
this type of person could be handled with hypnotic techniques. This was an assignment I didn't
relish, but the doctor was searching for knowledge just as I was, and this was an opportunity to
learn what a suicidal depressive was like from the psychiatric viewpoint. The patient, a woman,
nearly forty years of age, was not very communicative. At first she only repeated, again and
again, "What's the use of living? I want to die."
She accepted hypnosis readily. Now the idea was to find out what caused her to feel the
way she did. I couldn't get any answers that seemed to help. She was married, loved her husband
devotedly, loved her children. There had been no recent tragedies that might have left her
brokenhearted. After the first interview, I was ready to give up. The psychiatrist said, "Work
with her some more. I still think you might be able to get at the cause finally." And so I tried
again. This time she gave me some information that the psychiatrist had already given me, but
she added, "Suicides seem to run in our family. My mother committed suicide and I suppose
some day I will - and soon."
I wondered whether her mother's suicide many years ago could have anything to do with
the daughter's present depressive state, but I couldn't find any direct connection. Our lack of
progress was discouraging. At this point, we called in a doctor who was working for his boards
in psychiatry, and who wanted practice in hypnosis though he was already an accomplished
practitioner.
I had seen psychiatrists at work, but this was an opportunity to watch a brilliant novice
putting into use the studies he had made over many years. He had been in general practice for
some time before he began to earn his boards in psychiatry, and had developed a bedside manner
I have never seen equaled. In about five minutes he had the patient more at ease than she had
been with the psychiatrist and me after hours of work. His words, as I remember them, went
something like this: "This lady needs help right now -not later-and she's going to get it right
now."
The patient looked up at him and for the first time I saw a look of relief come over her
face. She accepted hypnosis even more readily from him than she had accepted it from me or the
psychiatrist. It was apparent that she was in deeper somnambulism than she had ever been, and
answered his questions more readily. When I had asked her age, she had replied, "Almost forty."
But when he asked the same question, she gave her birth date and her exact age. There was quite
a difference in the way she answered, and I think it was his bedside manner that caused her to
cooperate so fully and quickly.
Then he asked her about her family background. She revealed it without hesitation.
When she mentioned her mother's suicide, he said, "Tell me about your mother. What kind of
person was she?" She answered, "Just like me. Always depressed. When I was a little girl there
was a flood in our town that killed a lot of people. It depressed her terribly. One day she left the
house and when my father came home he asked me, 'Where's mother?' I answered, 'I don't know.
Maybe she went down to see the flood.' Daddy got awfully upset. I can remember he almost
shouted at me, 'Come quick. We have to find her.' We went rushing down to the flood waters.
There was mother, walking further and further out into the flood. She would have drowned if
Daddy hadn't plunged in and saved her."
I had never been able to get any detailed information from this patient. Neither had the
psychiatrist. But this doctor uncovered the first important clue in a matter of moments. When he
questioned her further, she revealed that her father had warned her about her mother's suicidal
tendencies.
At this point, the patient began to react violently. The doctor watched her closely.
Weeping, she went on, "Every day when I came home from school I'd go looking for mother
-always finding her sitting in a chair, looking straight ahead, kind of dazed. One day I came
home from school (229)
and mother wasn't sitting in the chair as usual. I went all over the house looking for her and
calling her, but she didn't answer. Finally I opened a closet door ... [Here, the patient sobbed
almost hysterically.] and there she was-hanging in the closet ... She was dead."
The doctor and I quieted her down and then the doctor gently asked, "Why didn't you tell
this to your psychiatrist? Why didn't you tell it to Mr. Elman?" "I couldn't - I couldn't - it was
too terrible. I didn't want to remember it." "How old was your mother when all this happened?"
"Thirty-nine." "How old did you say you are?" "I'll be thirty-nine next Tuesday." "Don't you see
the connection?" Still sobbing, the patient answered, "Of course I do. All my life - ever since it
happened-I've been thinking that when I reached thirty-nine I'd do just what my mother did -
commit suicide. But I don't have to do it, do I?"
After that, treatment was fairly easy. About a year later, I received a telephone call from
the patient's husband. He wanted to thank me: she was past forty now, happy and quite well. But
without doubt, the entire credit should go to the doctor whose bedside manner and hypnotic skill
ended this woman's depression.
In one of my classes there was a handsome young dentist who had a fabulous practice
and a beautiful wife. He came to every class session accompanied by his wife. We became quite
friendly. As the session on hypnoanalysis approached, the young dentist came to me and said,
"My wife ought to be a good subject for hypnoanalysis. She gets violent headaches
occasionally-the migraine type, and when she gets those attacks, I don't know how to help her.
Do you suppose you could find out the cause of the migraines?"
Her own physician was there and was very much in favor of having the hypnoanalysis
done. Doing hypnoanalysis on this beautiful girl, she revealed nothing. The hypnoanalysis was a
complete bust.
Her husband came up to me and said, "Too bad. I know you can't be successful with
everyone, but I wish you could have helped her, poor girl. She needs help so badly." (230) When
the class was over and my wife and I were discussing the session, I said, "Too bad about the
dentist's wife. She certainly needs help."
My wife said, "I have something odd to tell you. When you finished working with her,
she motioned me to come into an adjoining room. When we were alone she said, 'It was useless
doing hypnoanalysis on me. I know where the headaches come from. I'm terribly worried about
my husband. He gets so terribly depressed and does so many erratic things. He won't see a
doctor. I love him so dearly. Please talk to your husband about this and try to help us.' "
This was an unusual case ... We wondered which of the two was right. Maybe they were
both right, each causing the troubles of the other.
I was in the midst of a subsequent class lecture when the dentist asked if he could speak
with my wife privately. She accompanied him into the adjoining room. When they were alone,
he said, "I'm terribly sorry that Mr. Elman got nowhere with my wife on that hypnoanalysis. She
needs help so badly. Those headaches of hers keep getting worse all the time. I hate to see her
suffer."
My wife took the bull by the horns. She told him what his wife had said-that he was the
one who needed help because of the depression, erratic actions, etc. He smiled charmingly and
said, "Mrs. Elman, you should know better than that. After having worked with so many doctors
and seen so many patients, you know how these sick people claim there's nothing wrong with
them. It's always the other fellow. Of course, my wife says I'm the one who needs treatment. But
believe me, she's the one who's sick."
There were three psychiatrists in his class, and after getting this report, I suggested to the
dentist and his wife that they both seek psychiatric help. Later, he came to me and said, "We'll
see one of your students who is a psychiatrist. Maybe he'll call you in to help with the
hypnoanalysis."
That was the way the matter stood when the classes ended and we left town. I assumed
they had gone to a psychiatrist. So far as I know, they never saw a psychiatrist. From what I
have told you, wouldn't you imagine it was the wife who was sick? After all, he was such a
charming, happy-go-lucky chap, always ready with a smile and (231) and mother wasn't sitting
in the chair as usual. I went all over the house looking for her and calling her, but she didn't
answer. Finally I opened a closet door ... [Here, the patient sobbed almost hysterically.] and
there she was-hanging in the closet ... She was dead."
The doctor and I quieted her down and then the doctor gently asked, "Why didn't you tell
this to your psychiatrist? Why didn't you tell it to Mr. Elman?" "I couldn't-I couldn't-it was too
terrible. I didn't want to remember it." "How old was your mother when all this happened?"
"Thirty-nine. "
"How old did you say you are?" "I'll be thirty-nine next Tuesday." "Don't you see the
connection?"
Still sobbing, the patient answered, "Of course I do. All my life-ever since it
happened-I've been thinking that when I reached thirty-nine I'd do just what my mother did
-commit suicide. But I don't have to do it, do I?"
After that, treatment was fairly easy. About a year later, I received a telephone call from
the patient's husband. He wanted to thank me: she was past forty now, happy and quite well. But
without doubt, the entire credit should go to the doctor whose bedside manner and hypnotic skill
ended this woman's depression.
In one of my classes there was a handsome young dentist who had a fabulous practice
and a beautiful wife. He came to every class session accompanied by his wife. We became quite
friendly.
As the session on hypnoanalysis approached, the young dentist came to me and said, "My wife
ought to be a good subject for hypnoanalysis. She gets violent headaches occasionally-the
migraine type, and when she gets those attacks, I don't know how to help her. Do you suppose
you could find out the cause of the migraines?"
Her own physician was there and was very much in favor of having the hypnoanalysis
done. Doing hypnoanalysis on this beautiful girl, she revealed nothing. The hypnoanalysis was a
complete bust.
Her husband came up to me and said, "Too bad. I know you can't be successful with
everyone, but I wish you could have helped her, poor girl. She needs help so badly." (230) When
the class was over and my wife and I were discussing the session, I said, "Too bad about the
dentist's wife. She certainly needs help."
My wife said, "I have something odd to tell you. When you finished working with her,
she motioned me to corne into an adjoining room. When we were alone she said, 'It was useless
doing hypnoanalysis on me. I know where the headaches corne from. I'm terribly worried about
my husband. He gets so terribly depressed and does so many erratic things. He won't see a
doctor. I love him so dearly. Please talk to your husband about this and try to help us.' "
This was an unusual case ... We wondered which of the two was right. Maybe they were
both right, each causing the troubles of the other.
I was in the midst of a subsequent class lecture when the dentist asked if he could speak
with my wife privately. She accompanied him into the adjoining room. When they were alone,
he said, "I'm terribly sorry that Mr. Elman got nowhere with my wife on that hypnoanalysis. She
needs help so badly. Those headaches of hers keep getting worse all the time. I hate to see her
suffer."
My wife took the bull by the horns. She told him what his wife had said-that he was the
one who needed help because of the depression, erratic actions, etc.
He smiled charmingly and said, "Mrs. Elman, you should know better than that. After
having worked with so many doctors and seen so many patients, you know how these sick
people claim there's nothing wrong with them. It's always the other fellow. Of course, my wife
says I'm the one who needs treatment. But believe me, she's the one who's sick."
There were three psychiatrists in his class, and after getting this report, I suggested to the
dentist and his wife that they both seek psychiatric help. Later, he carne to me and said, "We'll
see one of your students who is a psychiatrist. Maybe he'll call you in to help with the
hypnoanalysis."
That was the way the matter stood when the classes ended and we left town. I assumed
they had gone to a psychiatrist. So far as I know, they never saw a psychiatrist.
From what I have told you, wouldn't you imagine it was the wife who was sick? After
all, he was such a charming, happy-go-lucky chap, always ready with a smile and (231) a joke.
He could always manage to tell an amusing story that would send the other doctors into gales of
laughter.
Here comes the somber twist: Two months later, he committed suicide. A psychiatrist
and I became good friends and one day I met him at his office for a lunch date. Before we left,
he introduced me to one of his patients, a homosexual with suicidal tendencies.
The psychiatrist had long been working with this young man, but had not utilized any
hypnotic techniques as he doubted the psychiatric value of hypnosis.
As soon as the patient was gone, the psychiatrist began describing his problem to me: "I
haven't been able to help him. He's been a non-paying patient for almost seven years -and all that
time he's been threatening suicide. He keeps saying that some day I'll find him dead on my
doorstep."
"Aren't you worried about that?" "Of course, but people who keep threatening suicide are usually
people who are unconsciously asking for help. The ones you have to worry about most are the
deeply depressed patients who never mention the subject of suicide." "But there must be
exceptions." "Of course there are, and he might well be one of them.
Every time he commits a homosexual act he gets such a feeling of guilt that he wishes he
was dead. Do you think that you could help him with hypnosis? Nothing yet has had any effect
on his suicidal threats, and I may be a skeptic but I'm willing to try hypnotic suggestion."
Although I was afraid that suggestion might do no good, at least it could do no harm; and
so an appointment was set up. The patient, whom I will call Freddie, was a nice looking chap in
his early thirties. There was nothing effeminate about him, though he was wearing slightly
garish clothes. Perhaps the outfit would have been appropriate for the stage (he was a singer) but
not for street wear.
 He said, "I guess the doctor has told you about my problem so we don't have to waste any
time. If hypnotism will help me, I'm eager to try it."
Despite this statement, Freddie was one of the most resistant patients I have ever
encountered. At that first session, practically all I could do was to talk to him; I could not
develop a usable hypnotic state. I managed to (232) discover only that he was a very talented
young man, a splendid singer with a great love of music, whose career had progressed no further
than a minor role in a Broadway show; he was a chorus boy to be exact.
When he learned that I, too, was a lover of music, he became quite enthusiastic. He didn't
want to talk about his problems, but he was more than willing to talk about music. We spent
most of the hour talking about our mutual interest. Finally, I signaled to the psychiatrist that
there was no use continuing at present, since the patient was completely rejecting hypnosis.
After Freddie was gone, I told the psychiatrist that I didn't think I could get past his
rejection, and there wasn't anything more I could do to help.
The doctor insisted that I try again, however, and a second appointment was set up. This
time I was quite firm with the patient. I said, "Freddie, if you really want my help, you'll have to
follow my instructions. If you won't do that this time, I won't work with you again no matter
what the doctor says."
I couldn't induce him to accept hypnosis, but when I offered to teach him autosuggestion,
he responded quickly, not realizing that autosuggestion is a form of hypnosis. He became avidly
interested in the subject, and when he learned that he could now anesthetize his own hand or leg,
he felt that we were making considerable progress. I told him to practice autohypnosis fifty
times a day until he had mastered it thoroughly, and that if he mastered autosuggestion, I'd be
willing to help him some more. He agreed, and the psychiatrist was pleased.
At the third meeting Freddie said that he was greatly pleased with the results he had
obtained from autohypnosis. For the first time in years he was able to get a good night's sleep
without waking up time and time again. And bad dreams, which had habitually troubled him, no
longer kept coming back.
Then I exposed the fact that autosuggestion, autohypnosis and hypnosis itself were one
and the same thing, and that if he could give suggestions to himself so successfully, he ought to
be able to take suggestions that were for his good from anyone. This now seemed reasonable to
him, and almost immediately I had bypassed his resistance. Thus far (233) the subject of suicide
had never come up. Now was the proper time. I steered the conversation around to his suicidal
tendencies. "Yes, some day I'm going to do it-right on the doctor's doorstep." "Why on the
doctor's doorstep? After all, he's been working with you for seven years, never charged you for
his efforts, and you know how he's tried to help. Why take it out on the doctor?" "Because I'm
still a homosexual. Why don't the girls in the chorus attract me instead of the boys?" "You can't
blame that on him. You'd be taking your own guilt feelings out on the man who has given you
freely of his time, earnestly trying to help you, and yet you resent him. Why?" "I don't know. I
like the doctor very much. I keep coming back to him trying to get help, but I'm getting awfully
discouraged and resentful."
I saw Freddie many times after that, always at the doctor's office. I was able to get him
over his resentment to the doctor, and to get him over all thoughts of suicide though I didn't
know how to correct his homosexuality.
When I got him into deep somnambulism I explained that he must regard homosexuality
not as an abnormality, but as an emotional illness; that he must never think of himself as "queer"
but as a person who, through no fault of his own, was a victim of illness. I told him that many
dedicated men are trying to solve the riddle of homosexuality, and when they succeeded they
would be able to help thousands of people like Freddie.
He exclaimed, "You mean I'm just a human guinea pig?" "Freddie, you are far more than
a human guinea pig. You're a symbol-a symbol of your own doctor's dedicated efforts to help
people like you. Don't you realize that if he finally succeeds in correcting your homosexuality,
you'll be the instrument by which people all over the world can be helped?"
Our conversations during hypnosis often went like that. He would raise the same
objections and I would repeat my assurances. After many long sessions, I seemed to have
succeeded in calming him and in changing his attitude toward the doctor from resentment to
friendliness. I could do (232) nothing more, but at least the psychiatrist now had an amenable
patient to work with.
Perhaps this simple technique wouldn't succeed in many cases, but it certainly did in
Freddie's case. He began to regard himself as a valiant hero trying to help people who were
similarly afflicted.
A number of years later, he was appearing in another Broadway show and he sent passes
to my wife and me. We attended the performance and saw Freddie between the acts. I asked him
if he ever thought of suicide these days. He answered, "Good heavens no! I haven't thought of
suicide for years-not since you helped me."
In almost every city in which we teach, a doctor will say something like this to me:
"Your students claim that with hypnotic techniques they've been able to save lives and restore to
normalcy deeply depressed people, patients who have a will to die. They make claims that are
hard to believe. Aren't they perhaps talking about cases that are easy to handle? Are they
successful with the really difficult cases?"
And I answered them as honestly as I can: "Who is to tell? If a deeply depressed person
is restored to normalcy, what better proof is there? Some of the doctors are probably
overenthusiastic; some of them are not. Some say they haven't been successful at all. I don't
think that every success has been an easy case and it is important to realize that there have been
failures as well as successes." For every failure there have been many successes, but if you
suspect that the doctors aren't talking about serious depressions, think of this one:
A number of years ago, a doctor in Jersey City telephoned me about a patient who was in
his office. "I've been working with him," the doctor explained, "trying to get him over his
despondency, and finally I told him I would call you up to see if you wouldn't come over to help
me. Can you do it?" "Right now?" "Wait a minute. I'll ask him if he can wait here until you get
over."
I could hear him talking to his patient a moment or two, and then the doctor asked me if I
could make the appointment for four o'clock on Thursday. (233) "Well," I said, "if he is very
deeply depressed, he shouldn't wait that long. This is Tuesday and it means he is going to be
without help for two whole days. We ought to work with him today."
However, the patient insisted he could hold out until Thursday, and that he didn't want to
wait for me to drive over now (I lived about half an hour's drive away). This seemed a strange
attitude for a patient who was supposedly in urgent need of help. I was puzzled, but I agreed to
come on Thursday and I made the appointment with the doctor.
On Wednesday, the doctor phoned again. His first words were, "Cancel that appointment
for Thursday. My patient has killed himself."
Fortunately, many deeply depressed people do grasp at help when it is offered to them.
And if hypnotic techniques can help some of these people, it is a doctor's duty to employ these
techniques.
Hypnosis has prevented suicide in many, many cases.
It would be possible to cite additional case histories of depressives helped by hypnosis, but in
psychiatry failure is always easier to prove than success. Of a patient who no longer thinks of
suicide, it is natural to ask, "Wouldn't he have come back to normal without the use of hypnotic
techniques?" Perhaps. "And how can you prove in these so-called successful cases that they were
suicidal depressives?" The patient would have to commit suicide to prove the diagnosis was
correct. And, of course, suicide only occurs in cases of failure.
However, here is one example of how a deep depression caused illness where, so far as I
know, there was no thought of suicide. The doctor explained that the patient had been diagnosed
by several physicians as an epileptic. Yet encephalogram readings showed no signs of epilepsy.
This patient, a spinster in her forties, was subject to frequent grand mal attacks, and was deeply
depressed. She was brought to class. I noted that she looked very weak. She was pale and
emaciated, not bad looking, but sick looking. The doctor warned me that she might have a grand
mal attack in the midst of the hypnoanalysis, and I was glad he was there to take care of her.
Hypnoanalysis quickly revealed that the seizures were brought on by a guilt complex. I
suspected that it was a (236) sexual problem. I therefore terminated the hypnoanalysis and
instructed the doctor that this type of case could not be handled in the classroom before a group
of people even if they were all doctors and nurses. The doctor agreed, and said that he would
continue to work with her in private.
Two weeks later the doctor reported his findings: When he had put her into
hypnoanalysis he had quickly confirmed my suspicions. It was a sex problem. She had revealed
herself to be a deeply religious virgin with great sexual anxiety. This anxiety caused her to
search for sexual relief. The only relief she could find was in masturbation. But after
masturbating, she suffered such an intense guilt complex that she developed grand mal attacks
diagnosed as epileptic in nature. A year or two later, the doctor reported, she was in excellent
health and was no longer deeply depressed. How he handled this situation was not revealed to
me but the cause was determined by hypnotic techniques, so that effective treatment could be
initiated. (237)

30. REVIEW, PRACTICE AND APPLICATION OF HYPNOANALYSIS

(HYPNOANALYSIS): DAVE ELMAN: HYPNOTHERAPY: WESTWOOD PUB CO:
GLENDALE, CA: 1964
In studying hypnoanalysis, there is a certain temptation to be avoided by all doctors
whose specialties do not lie in the field of psychiatry. The following warning must be
remembered at all times: Leave the work of the psychiatrist to the psychiatrist.
Your knowledge of hypnoanalysis will be of value to you no matter what your field of
medicine is. The dentist will be able to do better work in his field because of a knowledge of
hypnoanalysis, the physician will be a better physician, and the psychiatrist will be a better
psychiatrist. In the minds of some people the mention of hypnoanalysis brings to mind
psychoanalysis, and they consider one the corollary of the other. Actually, there is such a great
difference between them that neither could substitute for the other. They have entirely different
uses. Psychoanalysis in many cases give complete explanation of a complicated behavior pattern.
Hypnoanalysis in many cases will reveal the cause of a patient's peculiar reaction to a given set
of circumstances. It is the difference between a board plateau and a pin-point.
Psychoanalysis deals with the material of the unconscious mind which, through special
time-consuming techniques, is brought into the patient's consciousness so that he can deal with
it. Hypnoanalysis deals with awareness below the level of consciousness which the therapist
must help the patient see consciously. It is often a speedier method of therapy. "Unconscious
material" is not to be considered a synonym for "awareness below the level of consciousness."
A complete psychoanalysis takes time, years in some cases; hypnoanalysis takes hours. A
complete psychoanalysis by means of hypnoanalysis alone would be an extremely difficult
procedure. It is doubtful whether hypnoanalysis would lend itself to such a purpose. (238)
To illustrate the difference between psychoanalysis and hypnoanalysis, let's take this
example: A young boy in school stands up to recite a poem. He has practiced it a thousand times
and knows every word exactly. Suddenly his mind goes blank; he can't remember the lines. He
sits down in confusion. Through psychoanalysis, you could find out why the boy forgets; with
hypnoanalysis you probably would not get such a complete answer. You would only find out
why he forgot on that particular occasion. The pattern of forgetting would be revealed with the
use of the first therapy; the why of the particular occasion would quickly be revealed with the
second.
Let us consider a practical application: A man comes into a dentist's office and says, "I
want you to pull all my teeth." The dentist examines the patient and finds the teeth in excellent
condition. As far as the dentist is able to learn, there is no pathology which requires the removal
of the man's teeth. Here is a most unusual and complicated behavior pattern. Certainly the case is
not one for the dentist. The psychiatrist is the right man to handle it. And he probably won't use
hypnoanalysis or, if he does, it will form only one aspect of therapy.
But suppose another man comes into the dentist's office for dental treatment and it is
discovered that he has a most alarming gag reflex. A gag reflex is considered by most dentists
well within the norm of human behavior. It is not a complicated behavior pattern, but a quirk.
The dentist wouldn't ordinarily send such a man to a psychiatrist. His patient is merely showing
a peculiar reaction to a particular set of circumstances. Such a case yields to hypnoanalysis in
five or ten minutes. It would yield to psychoanalysis, too, but in a considerably longer period.
Hypnoanalysis makes the patient amenable to dental procedure very quickly, whereas if
psychoanalysis is decided upon, the dentist will be unable to work upon the patient immediately,
and the patient's mouth condition may deteriorate considerably in the months or years before the
psychoanalysis is concluded.
To show that this illustration is more than hypothetical, here is a case history: A doctor
brought to class a man with an almost vicious gag reflex. Ordinary hypnosis and hypnotic
suggestions had been tried on him, but he still gagged (239) and vomited. The patient was put
into the trance state of hypnosis, and hypnoanalysis was begun. Within five minutes he related
how in 1936 he had been the victim of a carbon monoxide incident in which he had almost lost
his life. Physicians in attendance at that time inserted a long rubber tube into the patient's mouth,
and proceeded to wash out the stomach. It is perhaps an understatement to say the experience
was unpleasant. Ever since that time, when any doctor approached with a foreign object to be
inserted into his mouth, the patient, at a level below conscious awareness, relived the carbon
monoxide incident, and began to gag and vomit. When this was brought to the patient's
conscious attention, he was able to cope with the situation instantly; subsequently, extensive
dental work has been done on this man and he has never gagged once. In this case,
psychoanalysis was not particularly indicated. There was no need for it. This was no complicated
behavior pattern needing years for solution; this was an individual reaction to a particular set of
circumstances, and, therefore, hypnoanalysis was indicated.
 Simple medical problems often call for hypnoanalysis. A man calls on a doctor and gives
him a history of migraines dating back to the time when the patient was a boy. He tells how he
has gone from one doctor to another. No one has been able to give him relief. He is put under
observation in a hospital, given every possible medical test. There is no pathology, but the
headaches persist. The new doctor tries hypnoanalysis. Within twenty minutes, he learns that the
headaches began when the patient was in the fourth grade at school. He brings on an abreaction
of the incidents which occurred just prior to the first headache. He learns that the teacher gave
the youngsters an unexpected examination that day for which the boy was not prepared. He
flunked the exam miserably. The teacher told him she was going to call at his home after school
and have a talk with his mother. The boy was thrown into a panic. He ran all the way home
trying to forestall the teacher. Maybe if he was sick when the teacher arrived, he'd have a
reasonable explanation for flunking the exam. And so he wished he was sick-wished it so hard
and pretended so hard that he actually became sick.
The trick worked. On another occasion he tried it again, (210) and it worked the second
time, too. A habit pattern was created. Now every time an emotional problem comes along, the
headache comes along with it. This, incidentally, was an actual case; after the doctor brought the
true state of affairs to the attention of the patient's conscious mind, and gave him insight,
recovery from the migraines was immediate. The cause had been explained and eliminated. Did
another symptom replace the old one? Not at all, for the patient did not want to be sick. He
wanted to be well and face his emotional problems squarely. Years have passed since that
hypnoanalysis was performed but the patient has not had a recurrence of the migraines, and is in
excellent physical and emotional health today.
Let us presume for the moment, however, that the hypnoanalysis had only resulted in a
partial success, and that later on the migraines returned, or that the patient showed other
symptoms which might be caused by deep emotional conflict. The physician would then know
that the patient required more than can be accomplished with hypnoanalysis, and would refer
him to a psychiatrist for therapy - perhaps even psychoanalysis.
Mention has been made here of a fairly common neurotic problem in dentistry and a
fairly common neurotic problem in medicine. Are these instances isolated? There are few men
held in higher repute than Doctor Karl Menninger, whose Topeka Clinic is justly famous. Doctor
Menninger made this statement: "Fifty percent or more of the people who go to doctors to be
healed of sickness are suffering from neuroses." Many of these people may be helped by
hypnoanalysis.
You won't help all your neurotic patients, but if you can merely help some of them, the
study of hypnoanalysis is worth your time and effort. Let us examine in further detail the
recommended techniques in hypnoanalyzing patients. First, be sure that all organic pathology
has been ruled out. This is vitally important. Next, be extremely careful to arouse no hostility or
resistance by committing a blunder in your approach to the trance state. Make no blunt
statements of what you intend to do. Don't say, "Sit down, Mr. Jones, we're going to try
hypnoanalysis on you." Instead, use the approach which you have already learned, using the
term relaxation as the basis of your procedure. (241)
Tell the patient that maybe if he sits or lies down and relaxes a little bit he'll be able to
describe his condition much more easily. Show him the advantages of relaxation.
We have talked about the pin-pointing method before.
It must be reviewed here, and a definition is in order pin-point: the starting point of a
neurosis. Ever neurotic condition a to start somewhere. This starting point has often been
referred to as the pin-point. With the pin-point technique, you are trying to locate the particular
set of circumstances which acted as the pin-point. With the pin-point technique, you are trying to
locate the particular set of neurosis. You may recall Freud’s observation that “Amnesias ...
according to our newer studies, lie at the basis of the formation of all neurotic symptoms.
Amnesias - inability to remember certain elements of past experiences - necessitate the pin-point
procedure. There is no effect without a cause. With the pin-point method, you are attempting to
find the initial or beginning cause.
Here are the types of patient problems in which to us pin-pointing
1. Where pain persists even after anesthesia has been administered.
2. For migraines or any other specific neurotic symptom
causing psychosomatic aches or pains.
3. In the reduction of phobias.
4. For stammering, stuttering, absent-mindedness, etc.
5. For tics, including tic douloureux.
6. In almost all cases where only one specific problem or symptom is involved.
NOTE: The pin-point method is not usually indicated in cases where thee is a
conglomeration of symptoms. Now for the actual procedure. The first step is to induce the
trance state, just as you normally would. Occasionally it is wise to begin with waking hypnosis,
inducing the trance state when sufficient rapport has been achieved, but this is something
experience will teach you to judge on an individual basis. The next step is to prove to the patient
conclusively that in the relaxed state his awareness is greatly increased, that he can remember
things which he thought were forgotten. These things were not forgotten-they were merely
stored in his memory-and if he is sufficiently (242) relaxed, the early events of his life can be
relived with the same vividness and in the same sequence in which they originally occurred.
Perhaps one of the most successful methods of proving to a patient that he can relive
these experiences is to bring him back in age to childhood days. Let him attend school again, or
an early birthday party, or a Christmas celebration of his childhood. When he begins reliving the
event as vividly as though it were taking place now, rapport will increase considerably and you
can proceed with the hypnoanalysis.
When you are sure that your patient can relive or recall any specific memory you wish
him to have, tell him now that he can remember things about his present condition Which will
lead him to understand ho . illness started. Te 1 him every illness has a beginning, and all you
want to do is to find that beginning in an effort to learn what caused it. Take him back to school
again, perhaps to the first grade. Ask him to look around the schoolroom. Ask him if he ever had
any symptoms resembling his present ones while attending first grade. Did he ever have the kind
of aches or pains which he has as a grown man?
If his answer is yes. tell him that you would like to compare the condition he had then
with the condition he has today. Tell him that anything you can produce in this relaxed state can
be removed in the relaxed state. All you want to do is to compare symptoms of childhood with
the adult symptoms he manifests today. Occasionally a patient will object to reliving previous
painful experiences. Reassure him that it is for the purpose of accurate diagnosis and you will
remove the pain instantly. Frequently, this assurance achieves its aim and proper cooperation is
secured. In those cases where no amount of reassurance achieves this end pass it by for the
moment and return to it later in such a way that me patient does not realize what your
suggestions are achieving.
It is important that a comparison be made between the symptoms of childhood and those
of adulthood. A headache may be caused by many things, not all emotional. If you are looking
for the emotional cause of a headache, a comparison must be made to be sure that an emotional
factor was the causative factor in the first place and formed a habit pattern which has persisted
through the years. For example, (243) a headache in childhood might have been caused by eye
strain and subsequently corrected by glasses. Obviously, this would not be what you were
looking for, and you would have to continue searching. There is a lot of difference between a
pathological condition that causes headaches and an emotional condition that causes headaches.
Perhaps a patient suffers from violent headaches, and is in agony at the beginning of the
hypnoanalysis. You have not been able to suggest it away. Now your aim is to compare his
present headache with the one he had in childhood. How can you do this if he is distracted by
pain while you are talking to him? Tell him that just for a moment you are going to have him
imagine that all the aches and pains are flowing out of his body- "as though you are taking wing
on a magic carpet" Tell him to imagine how good he would feel if this could actually happen.
Explain can happen if he will think as you direct him to. Tell him you are going to count to ten
and count all the way. Do not stop. Act as though it were the most natural thing in the world for
this phenomenon to occur; imply by your confident manner that it always happens, that it never
fails. Now, before the patient has a chance to say, "I still have the headache." put in your
suggestion: "Notice how much better you feel. That headache is gone completely." The patient
in most instances will accept this suggestion since it is a very welcome one, and you have
achieved the first partial success.
When the headache is gone or the patient feeling much better, tell him that vou would
now like to have him imagine he is back in school again, on one of those days when he ~as si~.
Ask him, "Are you in school?" When he says, yes, continue with, "What time of the day is it,
early morning or afternoon?" "Morning." ... "And I suppose you are feeling pretty good?" The
patient might answer, "It's morning in school-just before I get sick. I'm starting to feel sick
already."
To illustrate technique specifically, here is a hypothetical case, based on a real one and
chosen for its own clarity and for the clearcut removal of the symptoms once the cause was
understood. Most cases are not as simple and are not as easily solved; because of its simplicity
this one lends itself (244) to the teaching of the therapeutic technique. Here is a reconstruction of
the conversation between the doctor and his patient:
DOCTOR: What's been happening in school to make you sick?
PATIENT: I don't know.
DOCTOR: What is your teacher doing?
PATIENT:[Might answer anything.]
DOCTOR: What are you doing?
PATIENT:[Tells what he's doing in school]
DOCTOR: You say you're starting to feel sick in school. What did you have for breakfast this
morning?
PATIENT:: The usual.
DOCTOR: I'm going to take you back to the time you woke up that morning and then take you
right through the day to see just what it was that made you sick. You are fast asleep in bed and
it's that morning you felt ill in school. Do you wake up by yourself or is someone waking you?
PATIENT:[Answers.]
DOCTOR: Now you're getting dressed for school. Is anybody helping you?
PATIENT: Yes. Mother.
DOCTOR: And how are you feeling as she helps you?
PATIENT:[Answers.]
DOCTOR: All right, you're dressed now. What is the next thing you do?
PATIENT:[Answers.]
DOCTOR: All right, you're sitting down to breakfast. What room are you in?
PATIENT:[Answers.]
DOCTOR: You're eating in the kitchen. Is anyone eating with you.
PATIENT:[Answers.]
DOCTOR: What are you having for breakfast this morning?
PATIENT: [Answers.]
(NOTE: From the patient's answers, you can usually judge whether he is actually abreacting or
merely recalling. If he appears to be doing the latter, it is necessary for the doctor to stimulate
his memory further.)
DOCTOR: I don't want you to remember. I want you to be there. Sitting down at breakfast, that
very morning. When I snap my fingers [The doctor can use this or any similar trigger
mechanism.] ... When I snap my fingers, you'll be sitting down for breakfast and it will be that
very day and you'll live through everything-just as you did that morning ... [snaps fingers] Now
-you're a little boy and you're sitting there. What are you having for breakfast?
(NOTE: The patient at this point will usually be able to live through the entire breakfast and the
balance of the day's events. Such reliving is known as abreaction, as distinguished from recall.
When the patient is halfway through his meal, doctor continues questioning.)
DOCTOR: Has mother or anybody else said anything this
morning so far that in any way disturbs you?
PATIENT: [Answers.]
(NOTE: It is assumed, of course, that the doctor will be guided by eacli answer he gets. In this
case, the patient's answers showed that nothing upsetting was said by any member of the family
up to this point.)
DOCTOR: Now you're through with breakfast and getting ready to leave for school. What
clothes are you putting on?
PATIENT: It's cold outside. I have to put on my coat.
DOCTOR: All right, your coat is on. You're just stepping outside the door. Everything all right?
PATIENT: Yes. Mother is kissing me and telling me to be careful. I'm big enough to walk to
school by myself now.
DOCTOR: Are you happy? (246)
PATIENT: Yes - and I'm feeling good, too. Except that I'm kind of scared.
DOCTOR: Scared? Scared about what?
PATIENT: That big dog that lives on the next street. He doesn't like me. He always barks at me.
And
I got to walk by the house where he is. But mother told me not to worry because he's always
inside the screen porch and locked up.
DOCTOR: Then he's probably safe, all right. Now you're crossing the street.
PATIENT: Oh-I'm getting awful scared. The dog isn't chained up this morning. He's on the
sidewalk and I got to pass him. I don't want to. I'm going to walk down this side street. Ooh!
He's seeing me. He's starting to bark. He's coming after me. I better run. He's going to catch me!
He's going to bite me! (NOTE: At this point in the actual case, the patient went into near panic.
The doctor had to soothe the patient, who began screaming, "Mother! Mother! Help me-help me,
oh, please, mister, help me-that dog is after me." The patient finally subsided and continued
sobbing.)
PATIENT: Will you take me to school, mister? Please! And don't tell my mother. Oh, thanks,
thanks!
DOCTOR: [Brings abreaction to an end and now substitutes recall.] ... Did the dog bite you?
PATIENT: No, not really. But I thought he was going to. The man saved me. He was an awfully
nice
man. He took me to school and nothing happened. He didn't tell my mother or anything.
DOCTOR: [Bringing patient back to abreaction] You're at school now. Are you still scared?
PATIENT: No. I'm all right now. Just a little nervous.
DOCTOR: What's making you nervous?
PATIENT: I got to go home for lunch and I might see that dog-and I got to come back to school.
And I got to go home again this afternoon. That's (247) three more trips today-and I-I-I'm
getting awfully sick. I got an awful pain in my head. My head hurts. I got a headache. Gee, it's
the first time in my life my head ever hurt this way. (NOTE: In this case, the doctor was able to
learn that the migraine which started in school that day was the forerunner of all subsequent
headaches. He was able to compare the first headache with the later ones, and to learn that the
dog episode precipitated a habit pattern. At the slightest scare of any kind, the patient-at a level
below conscious awareness-relived the frightening incident, and the migraine headache recurred.
It is interesting to note how the doctor handled the situation while the patient was still in the
trance state.)
DOCTOR: Well, Joe, you can see how good your mind is when you can recall a thing like that
and actually live through it. Can you see now what brought on that first headache?
PATIENT: You mean it was the dog chasing me that did it?
DOCTOR: Yes, but it wasn't quite that simple. Remember when you were in school, worried
about having to go home for lunch, and coming back from lunch, and then going home in the
afternoon again?
PATIENT: Yes. Gee, I was scared about it.
DOCTOR: Well, you were a little boy trying to escape from a bad situation, having to pass that
dog maybe three times more in one day. And there wasn't any escape you could find-and so
nature came up with a defense mechanism. If you were sick you wouldn't have to pass that dog
again. It wouldn't be necessary. And so you didn't have too much to do with it. Nature did it for
you. Nature showed you that by being sick you could escape the dog. And that's how the first
headache happened.
Yeah, I guess that's so, all right. But what about all my other headaches? I didn't always (248)
have to pass by the house where the dog was, and I still had my headaches. What about those?
DOCTOR: Well, nature sets up peculiar defenses. When you found out you could escape
unpleasantness by being sick, a habit pattern was created. From then on, when anything
unpleasant came along the headache came with it. Let's see if that's right. When I snap my
fingers you'll remember the second headache you ever had where you were, how it occurred-and
everything about it. Now listen for the snap of my fingers ... [snaps fingers] Now, where are you
this second time?
PATIENT: Playing baseball with the kids. Harry's up at bat and it's my turn.
DOCTOR: Then why aren't you up?
PATIENT: He says it's his turn and he's wrong. It's my turn.
DOCTOR: Why don't you tell him that?
PATIENT: If I do, we'll get into a fight again and he's bigger than me. But it's my turn. It's not
right for him to take my turn. I'm beginning to feel sick. I'm getting a headache.
DOCTOR; I'll snap my fingers and the headache will disappear ... [snaps fingers] How about it,
Joe, see how a habit pattern works? You're scared this second time, there's no way out that you
can figure, and so nature gives you a headache and you avoid the entire unpleasant situation.
PATIENT: It does look that way, doesn't it? But what can I do about it?
DOCTOR: Well, you're a man now, and you don't have anything to be scared about these days,
do you?
PATIENT: No, I don't think so.
DOCTOR: Well, all you have to do is decide that when an emotional crisis comes along, you're
going to face it squarely. Face up to it, and you'll probably find that you won't have to escape
into headaches from now on. Think you can do it?
PATIENT: I can try.
DOCTOR: That won't be enough. You'll have to succeed.
Now, I'm going to test you and see whether you can take an emotional crisis in stride. Here's
what I'm going to do. I'm going to create an emotional situation and see if you can handle it. Are
you willing?
PATIENT: If you think it will do any good.
DOCTOR: Let's find out. Because if you can face this
scare, you can face any of them. You're a little boy in the first grade of school. How old are you,
Joe?
PATIENT: Six.
DOCTOR: Do you know any kid named Harry?
PATIENT: Yeah, and I don't like him. He's bigger than me.
DOCTOR: Well, he's talking to you. He's got a chip on
his shoulder -and he's daring you to knock it off. He says he'll beat you up if you knock it off.
You can do one of two things-have a headache or take a beating. What would you rather do?
PATIENT: I'd rather take a beating. I'm going to knock
that chip off his shoulder.
DOCTOR: There it is. Knock it off.
PATIENT: [Moves as if knocking chip off shoulder.]
DOCTOR: And you see, nothing happens! You don't get a
headache, and he doesn't beat you up. That's the way most troubles are. Strictly imaginary. If
you face them, they don't come off. Nothing happens. If you remember this lesson, you'll
probably be able to face any trouble that comes along. See what I mean?
PATIENT: Suppose I do get my block knocked off?
DOCTOR: Wait a minute, Joe. I'm not asking you to get in the path of trouble. If you put your
hand against a buzz saw you're liable to lose it. The idea is that most troubles are minor ones.
You can face them without worrying about them at (250) all. Now today when you first came
into my office you had an awful headache, didn't you'?
PATIENT: Yes-awful.
DOCTOR; Let's find out what caused it. Anything on your mind about home or business that's
worrying you?
PATIENT: You might call it that. There are a couple of buyers coming in from St. Louis
tomorrow, and one of them expects me to take him out and show him the town. I got a sick baby
at home and I don't want to go out with him.
DOCTOR: And so you got a headache thinking about him.
PATIENT: Yeah. There doesn't seem to be any way out.
DOCTOR: But there is. Has it occurred to you that you can tell the buyer about your sick child
and ask to be excused this time?
PATIENT: He's an important buyer. We might lose his business.
DOCTOR: Well, how much business do you think you're going to get from him if you're too
sick to go out with him, anyhow? Isn't it better to face him and tell the truth, and be a man
without a headache than be sick and miserable the way you were when you came into this
office?
PATIENT: Yes. I guess you're right. The way things were going I'd have been too sick to go to
the office tomorrow, anyhow.
DOCTOR: How do you feel now?
PATIENT: Wonderful. I'm beginning to understand why I get these headaches and from now on
I think I can keep them from happening.
DOCTOR: That's what I wanted to hear you say. So long as you face your emotional problems
squarely, you'll be a man without a headache. Now, when I snap my fingers, you're going to
open your eyes feeling better than you've felt for weeksmonths, years. When you get a
wonderful feeling from head to toes like you're getting now, that means you're ready to come out
of this (251) dreamlike state. Listen for the snap ... [snaps fingers] How do you feel?
PATIENT: Wonderful. Like I've been asleep and just woke up, but I wasn't asleep because I
could hear every word.
DOCTOR: Well, if you're wide awake and alert as you say, you ought to be able to tell me all
about your headaches and what caused them. Can you?
(NOTE: At this point, the doctor reviewed with the patient all the material which had been
revealed through the hypnoanalysis. By bring it to the attention of the patient's conscious
awareness, he doubly fortified the patient against a recurrence of the migraines. Although this
hypnoanalysis occurred many years ago, the patient has never had a recurrence of his headache
problem.) ***
As was stated at the beginning, all cases are not as simple as this, nor do they always lend
themselves so readily to this type of therapeutic approach. Let us analyze what happened: By
using the pin-point method of hypnoanalysis, the doctor enabled the patient to guide himself
back to the initial cause of his condition. Having returned to childhood and having seen for
himself what started the habit pattern, the patient was in a position to choose between
alternatives - he could face his emotional problems and not be ill, or he could seek escape from
them into illness. The average neurotic when faced with these two choices will choose the wiser
one, a return to normal health. It is a logical conclusion that in a neurotic condition manifesting
one specific symptom only, this symptom is the result of a habit pattern created by an emotional
problem which the neurotic has not been able to face. Consciously, therefore, he has forgotten
the emotional situation that initially triggered the system. To repeat Freud's observation,
"Amnesias ... according to our newer studies lie at the basis of the formation of all neurotic
symptoms."
Doctor after doctor sees cases in which he can find no signs of pathology and yet illness
persists. There are (252) exceptions, however, and there is always the question of what is
pathological and what is not. In a previous chapter, I described an asthmatic patient who was
brought to class and in a dramatic abreaction revealed that the cause of his illness was his belief
that in his grade school years he had caused the death of a friend whom he knocked down.
 This case was described to me as asthmatic, and the crying syndrome was apparent. Yet,
in tracking down the case for verification of all the facts, I received a letter which revealed that
this man was also suffering from many other ailments, including a peptic ulcer. At the time of
the hypnoanalysis I did not know that this condition existed. However, you will notice from the
following letter that all his symptoms (whether or not they may have been partially pathological)
diminished as a result of hypnoanalysis and of the fine work the doctor did in following up the
case. Here is what the doctor said in his letter:
"Case of Henry L., about 35-40 years old with intractible peptic (stomach) ulcer of many
years. Although this was his presenting complaint, he also had a history of various
'psychoneurotic' complaints of one kind or another. He had seen many doctors and had been a
patient at Illinois Research Hospital, which is connected with the University of Illinois Medical
School. Under hypnosis you took him back to kindergarten and on through the grades, asking for
anything different. At sixth grade when you asked about change he said in a strained voice, 'Joe
isn't there. Where is he?' On pursuing that line, it seems that during the summer he had a fight
with Joe and gave him a bloody nose. Not long after Joe got sick and died, cause not completely
known, but probably an infection, probably meningitis. With your usual technique of bringing
this to his conscious attention and with suggestion under hypnosis and in the waking state ... he
improved markedly, particularly in regard to the ulcer syndrome. The rest of his neurotic
symptoms also improved, although some mild symptoms remained."
In all the other cases I have mentioned, so far as I know, there was no pathology present,
yet these people were undoubtedly ill and they needed help. In my opinion, when a person says
he sick, he is sick. It doesn't matter whether his illness arises from pathological causes or from
the stresses and strains under which we live. There are only two things (253) in the world which
can cause a person to be ill, so far as I am able to learn. One is evidenced by pathology and is
usually revealable by medical tests. But when the tests come back negative, despite pains, aches,
fears, repressions, anxieties, etc., the suffering patient is still entitled to help, and hypnoanalysis
is a device which enables the doctor to trace the cause of the condition in this second type of
case.
The reason it's important to trace the cause is that if you don't know what it is. all vou
can do is treat the symptoms. The doctor is in a much better position when he knows what the
cause of the illness is. Then he can often correct the condition.
This does not mean that I claim hypnotic techniques to be a panacea. I don't think that
hypnosis is the last word in medicine, but I do think it is an important tool. Sometimes its full
importance is obscured under teaching conditions, and only comes to light in
clinical-private-use. This is our problem in presenting hypnoanalysis before a group of people.
Many times the patient is unwilling to air his troubles in public. For instance, one doctor's wife
certainly had no idea of what caused her headaches or I'm sure she wouldn't have volunteered to
undergo hypnoanalysis during a class session. And if her husband had known what caused the
headaches, he wouldn't have let her come up before the class. Since he did not know, he said,
"By all means, work with her. She has terrible migraines. If you can help her, it will be
wonderful."
I got out some of the pertinent material through hypnoanalysis very easily, but her
ideomotor response indicated there was more. Then, when I saw that I wasn't going to be able to
get the full story, I used hypnosis attached to sleep, and was talking to her unconscious mind.
Even now, however, she remained reticent in public. Finally, I asked her if she would whisper
more information to me and she said that she would. She revealed that she was deeply troubled.
Her exact words were, "I'm so unhappy at home, I have been contemplating suicide, and I
certainly don't want to talk about it now." This case obviously had to be handled by her personal
physician privately. I talked to her husband about it before they left the class. Apparently he was
unaware of this situation, and was deeply shocked. He said he would do something about it
immediately. (254)
To further illustrate the technique and uses of hypnoanalysis (and especially of
abreaction) I would like to tell you about an interesting psychiatric problem, the victim of which
was brought to class. The doctor explained that the patient suffered from violent temper tantrums
and that he was also a victim of amnesia. He had been shot down in a plane over France prior to
the Normandy Invasion during World War II, and couldn't remember anything that had
happened after he bailed out of the plane. He knew that some of the crew members were killed
or captured, and the others got back across the Channel safely, helped by the French
Underground. But he didn't have the slightest idea what happened to him between the time he
was shot down and the time he found himself back in England. The psychiatrist felt that there
was probably some connection between this amnesic episode and the temper tantrums. Would
hypnosis reveal the true situation?
It is interesting to note how good his memory was up to the time he bailed out of the
plane, so let's start with part of the interview that preceded the hypnoanalysis:
ELMAN: Give us an idea of what happened so far as you remember?
PATIENT: You mean what occurred that particular day?
ELMAN: Yes. You were in the Air Force at that time?
PATIENT: Yes. We reported to briefing at approximately three-thirty in the morning. And up to
that point I had been flying as a crew member-navigator, previously gunner-for about four years.
Not once in those four years did I ever turn my personal belongings in to Intelligence, which we
were always told to do, but I never did-like most of us. But this particular morning when the
curtain was raised and the target was pointed outthe colonel pointed to the target and said, "The
target for today is Stuttgart." I got a cold chill. I just knew this was it. After briefing I took all
my personal belongings to Intelligence. In fact, I went so far as to repay a pound note to a friend
of mine from whom I had borrowed it.
ELMAN: And that's going pretty far. (255)
PATIENT: That's going pretty far. This is the God's honest truth. I handed it to him and he said,
"Wait until we get back from the mission." And I said, "No, I'd better give it to you now." He
said, "Why?" and I said, "Because we're not coming back." He said, "You're crazy." I said,
"Well, take it for me and hold it for me and then it doesn't make any difference." Well, we were
what was termed a lead crew for the group. In the American Air Force we bombed in numbers
-daylight bombing-so at this time they were using what they called Pathfinder ships. They were
the original ships with radar. The Pathfinder ships were the ones that found the target and
released the first bombs, and of course, the other ships released their bombs in unison and that
was it. In case of a malfunction in the Pathfinder ship, or if the Pathfinder was shot down or got
into trouble, the lead ship was to take over. It just so happened this was a long mission. We were
the first plane to take off of our group. This was, of course, important later, because we used up
more gas than any other plane ... We had always had a primary target, a secondary target and a
third choice target. As we approached the primary target, and we could see our target, the
Pathfinder ship called over the radio that their radar mechanism was out. So number two, which
was also a Pathfinder ship, took over and they too, reported immediately that they could not get
the target on sight ... We, being the first plane with a bomb sight, it just happened that our
bombardier did not have the electricity turned on which would heat up the bomb sight and a cold
bomb sight can't be operated properly. However it was my responsibility to see that he did have
it heated up ... Therefore, .we flew right over the target and no bombs were dropped. We went to
the second target and it was covered by clouds, so we couldn't see it. So we went to our third
target and dropped bombs.
ELMAN: By this time it had been heated up, right?
PATIENT: Right. On the way back, because we had been flying so long, we were practically out
of oxygen, and we were running low on fuel, too. Because we were running out of oxygen we
had to lose altitude and at that time the flak got heavy and the fighters got thick. On the way
back, with us being a lead ship now, when I was asked where we were and how far we were
from shore-from the coast-I was completely lost, probably through all the excitement. I was
asked to give a new course and time of arrival and I was off about twenty minutes. Part of this
was due, of course, to the fact that we lost one engine, and then we lost a second engine. So, I
gave the order to head south instead of trying to make it back to England. I felt we could never
make it back to England. We didn't have enough gas. We would have had to ditch in the channel
and in B-24's that was absolutely a death warrant. Rather than ditch in the channel, we decided
to head south. We had one minute's gas left when we bailed out ... And I don't remember what
happened after that.
ELMAN: And when did you notice these severe temper tantrums?
PATIENT: When we got back to the States. I spent, I think
it was five months in Washington for what they call their rest cure. And it was during that time
and mostly after that I would get these temper tantrums ... I've gotten so worked up that on one
occasion at home, rather than hit my wife, I put my fist through a wall-through a plaster wall.
ELMAN: Our job now is to find out what caused the temper tantrums and see if we can
eradicate them by bringing the cause to your consciousness, because the cause is lurking down
there in the unconscious, unquestionably ... All I want you to do now is to follow certain
instructions, (257) and if you follow these instructions, we'll be able to go through it pretty well.
PATIENT: May I ask a question?
ELMAN: Sure.
PATIENT: Usually with this type of analysis, is the patient in many cases helped?
ELMAN: In many cases he is helped, yes. He is never harmed, and he is helped in many, many
cases. With our rapid techniques, I can take the time to hear your story and know that in one
minute from now we can have you in the state in which it is possible to recall these things,
provided there aren't any obstacles in our wayobstacles such as your not following orders, not
doing as we ask. You'll find that this will probably help the temper tantrums. It can't hurt them.
It won't bring them on, but it will let you see, perhaps, what causes them, and if you are able to
understand the cause and cope with it, you'll be able to control yourself.
(NOTE: At this point, patient was put into somnambulistic state. In the following transcript, note
the violence of his abreaction during hypnoanalysis, and especially how the abreaction was
terminated.)
ELMAN: Now, this is the peaceful feeling that you used to know-this nice feeling of relaxation
is what you used to have a great deal of. And even today, before you fall asleep at night, those
few seconds before you actually fall asleep, this is the feeling that you have-where the mind is
relaxed and the body is relaxed and then comes the sleep ... When a person is relaxed like this,
the mind is more aware than it is at any other time. It is in this state, when you're relaxed
physically and mentally, that you can relive any episode in your lifetime that's significant to your
behavior pattern. For example, at this time I can take you back and let you see exactly what you
went through in that mission over Stuttgart, (258)take you back to the time when you were a
child and let you see yourself as a kid, and let you see the scenes you saw then. Just to .show you
how well your mind really works, and how well relaxed you are, I'm going to let you see
yourself as a little boy. I'm going to count to three, snap my fingers, and at that point, you'll see
yourself back in the first grade of school, and you'll see it as clearly as if you were back in it this
very minute. That is, just as if you were in it right now. Now, just stay as relaxed as you are and
don't try to remember, because nobody can remember like that. Just say to yourself, "Wouldn't it
be nice to be able to see myself back in school when I was in the first grade." You liked school
didn't you?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: I want to show you how you really do remember things, and that any loss of memory
that you've had is a defense mechanism of nature. I want to get back of that defense mechanism
and let you see yourself as a little kid. Let you see how good your memory really is. I'm going to
count to three and take you back to the first year in school. You'll see the teacher, you'll see the
desks, you'll see the tables, you'll see the blackboard, you'll see the pictures on the wall, you'll
see the windows, and if you walked up to a window you could actually see the same sights you
saw when you were a little boy in the first grade. So, just stay as relaxed as you are and we'll get
you back to the first grade. Here you are, one ... two ... three. There you are in the first grade ...
[snaps fingers] Take a look at the teacher ... Do you like this teacher?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: And tell me, what part of the . room are you sitting in?
PATIENT: About the middle.
ELMAN: Middle row and middle seat? (259)
PATIENT: Third from front.
ELMAN: Now, mentally, I want you to stand up and turn around and look at the back of the
room, catercorner, to the kid furthest away from you, and tell me who it is. Boy or girl?
PATIENT: Boy.
ELMAN: Now he's going to stand up, as you stand up mentally, and you're going to see who he
is. And when I snap my fingers you'll know his name ... [snaps fingers] What's his name?
PATIENT: George.
ELMAN: That's good. Then we know the memory is perfect, don't we? Now, I'm going to come
up to you as you're sitting at that desk or table or whatever that room had. What were you sitting
at?
PATIENT: We had desks.
ELMAN: I'm going to come up to your desk and I'm going to stand alongside you and I'm going
to say, "Do you know what a temper tantrum is? Do you ever have tantrums?"
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: All right, then. Let's go to the fifth grade and you'll see the fifth grade even more
clearly than you did the first grade. You'll see the teacher, you'll see the chairs, the tables, you'll
see everything. But I want you to notice how the kids have grown up since you were in the first
grade. Now, watch ... one ... two ... three ... [snaps fingers] and there you are in the fifth grade.
Do you like school?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: And are you pretty happy in the fifth grade?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Do you like your teacher?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: How about the kids. Do you get along with them all right? (260)
PATIENT: Most of them.
ELMAN: Do you fight with some of them? Yes.
PATIENT: Are they hard, nasty fights? Yes.
ELMAN: What is mostly the cause of the fights?
PATIENT: Neighborhood fights.
ELMAN: But you would call these the ordinary fights of childhood?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: That fifth grade is pretty vivid, isn't it?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Did you go to junior high or eighth grade? Junior high for one year.
PATIENT: That would be the eighth grade? Seventh grade, and then we moved.
ELMAN: Let's see you in the eighth grade, after you moved. You see how good your memory
is, that you know you moved and you've seen these kids in school; you've seen the teachers;
you've seen everything. Now let's go to the eighth grade and let you see that your memory was
just as good in the eighth grade-even better. One ... two ... three ... [snaps fingers] Here you are
in the eighth grade in the new neighborhood. How do you like this school?
PATIENT: Fine.
ELMAN: Do you like the kids? Yes.
Have you gotten over the neighborhood fights?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: So, here we are in the eighth grade and things are going pretty well. How are things at
home? Mother all right?
PATIENT: Yes. (261)
ELMAN: Dad all right?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: I want to ask you something. You're in the eighth grade. You're getting to be pretty
grown up now, getting to be a young man. You know what a temper tantrum is in a kid, don't
you?
PATIENT: I've seen them.
ELMAN: Ever had them yourself?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: So we know then that there was nothing in the first years of your life that would cause
you to have temper tantrums. It must have been something later on. So, let's have you graduating
from high school. I'm going to count to three and snap my fingers, and you'll be graduating from
high school. One ... two ... three ... [snaps fingers] Graduation day and you'll see graduation
exercises. Notice how good it is to see graduation exercises again. How do you like the
graduation exercises? Glad to be here today?
PATIENT: Kind of sad.
ELMAN: What's the matter? Sad to leave high school? Dad and mother in the audience?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Are they kind of proud of you? Are you the
oldest boy?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: The other kids have made high school too, have they? And are they in the audience?
PATIENT: My brother is.
ELMAN: This shows that your memory is normal, and can go back to your childhood or any
part of your life and see those things which are important to your behavior pattern, and certainly
school days were important to you ... Now, it's after high school. Have you started college yet?
(262)
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: What year is it?
PATIENT: 1936.
ELMAN: What are you studying?
PATIENT: Dairy husbandry.
ELMAN: Now, let's get you to 1940. Have you graduated yet?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: You've graduated from college. You have your full competence now and if you don't
want to go any further, you're qualified to go out and make a living in dairy husbandry, is that
correct?
PATIENT: Not yet.
ELMAN: Why?
PATIENT: I've changed my course. What did you change to? Horticulture.
ELMAN: Do you like that better?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: You're graduating and majoring in that, is that correct?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: So you're equipped with an education. Is that correct?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Let's take you to the time when you got your diploma. One ... two ... three ... [snaps
fingers] and there you are, right there seeing the exercises so vividly. Tell me, are you glad to be
graduating?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: What are your plans?
PATIENT: I have a job.
ELMAN: And you plan on going into that job, is that it? (263)
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: It's in the line you want-the thing you've been studying? ... You're very pleased with
it ... Things have gone well at school ... You're getting a diploma. All right, while you're getting
your diploma, I want to ask you a question. Do you ever have any temper tantrums?
PATIENT: I think a few-I had a few.
ELMAN: Well then, it wasn't the result of the war at all.
But there was something that happened that caused a boy who had never had a temper tantrum
up to the time he finished high school, to have them in college. Let's take you back to that first
year at college ... You're just finishing your first year of college. You're studying dairy
husbandry at this point. Are you happy with your studies?
PATIENT: I don't feel that school is giving me enough.
ELMAN: You want more education than you're getting. is that correct? Tell me, as you finish
this first year of college, have you had any temper tantrums? Stay relaxed-it's important to stay
relaxed ... You see, we're getting to the cause now and since we're getting to the cause let's not
let any tensions come in. You'll be so much more aware when there are no tensions. Have there
been any temper tantrums in the first year of college?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: Now you're starting your second year of college. Are you still going in for dairy
husbandry?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: But you're not quite satisfied. Is that it? Little
discontents are creeping in. Let's get you to the finish of your second college year. One ... two ...
three ... [snaps fingers] and it's just the end of the second college year.
PATIENT: I quit. (264)
ELMAN: You quit school and you went to another school, is that it?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: What happened?
PATIENT: They gave me a scholarship.
ELMAN: In another field?
PATIENT: Just to come back.
ELMAN: There must have been a reason why you quit. What was it? I thought it was too
juvenile. I thought I was man enough to go out on my own. And they wanted you back to school
so they gave you a scholarship to come back and study what you wanted to and that's when the
change in studies occurred. Is that it?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Up to this point were there any temper tantrums?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Apparently something came along that caused that first temper tantrum. It is important
that we find out and go to the exact first temper tantrum. And find out when it occurred and
what was on your mind at the time. I want to get back to an hour before the temper tantrum, and
wherever you were, you will be there again. It will be the first temper tantrum you ever had and
it's coming up in about an hour or so. I want you to go back to an hour before the temper
tantrum so that we can find out what your thoughts are at that time. Here we go. One ... two ...
three ... [snaps fingers] It's an hour before the first temper tantrum. Where are you?
PATIENT: In the dorm.
ELMAN: What's been happening?
PATIENT: The junior classmen in the dorm cut me out. Cut you out for what? (265) N
PATIENT: Activities.
ELMAN: Why did they cut you out?
PATIENT: I was voted out of my letter.
ELMAN: Voted out of your letter for athletic activity, you mean? Why were you voted out of
your letter?
PATIENT: Personal, I think.
ELMAN: Had you earned the letter?
PATIENT : Yes.
ELMAN: You had earned it and then they didn't give you the letter. Was this a pretty big
disappointment to you?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: You worked hard to get the letter?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: We're coming to within about half an hour of that temper tantrum. Where are you and
what's been happening?
PATIENT: The athletic board met and one student was the deciding vote and voted that I should
not get my letter.
ELMAN: Were you present there?
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: But you heard about it.
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: And where were you at the time this was happening?
PATIENT: In my room.
ELMAN: In your room waiting for the decision, is that right? And the decision seemed pretty
important to you. What had you done or what had you not done that caused these people to vote
against you? What happened? Had you said anything? Had you done anything? Had you noticed
any personality defect that kept you from making friends? (266)
PATIENT: Some of the students didn't like me because I was given responsible jobs. They had
to take orders from me. I assigned students to work.
ELMAN: And you made them do it even though they didn't like to do it.
PATIENT: They had to do it.
ELMAN: And you felt they had to do it.
PATIENT: Every student had to work.
ELMAN: Would you say this was responsible for not getting the letter?
PATIENT: Not all.
ELMAN: What was the rest? Because unquestionably that letter meant a great deal to you;
otherwise the temper tantrums never would have occurred.
PATIENT: I used to date my friends' girls.
ELMAN: And they didn't like that.
PATIENT: No.
ELMAN: You wouldn't have liked it either. In your mind, you probably thought it was a big
thing to date your friends' girls. But the friends didn't like it any more than you would. Now that
you look back at it you can see that if one of those boys whose girl you dated had to make the
deciding vote, he certainly wouldn't vote in your favor, would he? Wouldn't you say that you
knew as you were sitting there in the room that the vote had to go against you? Didn't you feel as
you were in the room that if those friends had to do the voting you wouldn't get the letter? And
wasn't there quite a feeling of guilt involved; quite a feeling that if you didn't get the letter, you
already knew why?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: In other words, this was a guilt complex, wasn't
it? And the temper tantrum was merely a manifestation of a guilt complex. You really knew why
you didn't get the letter. They hadn't been (267) the ones who took the honor away. You had
been the one who took the honor away from yourself, and therefore you felt guilty about it. Isn't
that right? Am I telling you this or are you telling me this? Are we discussing absolute truth
now?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Can you understand why a person feeling guilty gets mad at himself? You get so mad
you could put your fist through the wall. Isn't that so? You're mad because you say to yourself,
"If I hadn't done so and so, this wouldn't have had to happen." But you're not thinking it out
loud. You're repressing that sort of thought, but the thought is there, nevertheless, at an
unconscious level, isnt it? Now, if this is true, and if we are discussing the absolute truth, you'll
find that every temper tantrum you ever had was the result of a guilt complex, where you were
really mad at yourself, and took it out on the other fellow. Are you beginning to see what I'm
talking about?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: Let's go to the last temper tantrum you had and see if we're right in assuming that this
was really a case just like that of the letter. When I snap my fingers you'll know exactly when it
was ... [snaps fingers] When was it?
PATIENT: About a month ago.
ELMAN: What happened? ... It's just an hour before ... What's been happening?
PATIENT: My daughter. A boy has been calling at the house almost every night. And my wife
and I discussed it. I didn't feel that this boy should be coming to the house so often. My wife and
I got into an argument.
ELMAN: Now, why didn't you feel the boy should be coming there quite often? How old is your
daughter?
PATIENT: Fifteen and a half.
(Note: I must interrupt the transcript here to point out certain facts. The same kind of situation
that had precipitated the first temper tantrum was occurring again. The first incident was
precipitated because he was taking the other fellows' girls away from them. The latest flare-up
took place because now somebody was taking his girl-his daughter-away from him, in his
unconscious thinking. This indicates that further work was required by the doctor in charge of
the case, in order to give the patient insight, for at this point, although the patient realized how
the latest temper tantrum occurred, he was not associating it with the first one. This should also
indicate to the reader how it is often impossible to perform a complete hypnoanalysis in one
session. Let me review this case from the beginning: The first temper tantrum was precipitated
by his failure in his responsibility to fellow students, as well as frustration at not getting his
letter. Remember that in telling about the airplane incident, he said it was his responsibility to
have the bomb sight heated up. He had not done this. Again he failed in his responsibility, and
the accident that followed left him with a severe feeling of guilt. The third incident, involving
his daughter, was triggered by parental jealousy and by his feeling of being responsible for the
girl's behavior; when his wife didn't agree with him about dealing with the situation, again he
was frustrated, and again he felt guilty about a failure to handle his responsibility. I must point
out that we have covered only three temper tantrums. However, the doctor reported that there
had been many more. Therefore, we know that a habit pattern had been established. Now let us
continue with the transcript; the patient is still in somnambulism as I address him.)
ELMAN: Now, let's go a little bit further. You'd like to learn exactly what happened to you after
that plane crash. Let's see what happened as we have you in the air and the first engine goes
out ... You'll find that you'll remember exactly what (269) happened ... There we are ... You're
there now as I snap my fingers ... [snaps fingers] Now, tell us what happens and you'll see that
the memory comes right back.
PATIENT: I see the railroad yards and we dropped our bombs. We're hitting 320 degrees. I
asked for a course and I start working backwards. I can't pin-point.
ELMAN: There's a reason why you can't pin-point. I'll snap my fingers and you'll know the
reason ... [snaps fingers] What is it? Are you nervous?
PATIENT: I got lost on the last turn.
ELMAN: What's happening?
PATIENT: I asked for an ETA to the coast. Time is running out ... We can't see the coast ... We
just lost number two ... I'm working back again ... I can't find where we are ... still can't see the
coast ... We just lost number three ... I take a reading ... We don't have enough fuel ... I asked
should we continue or head south ... We head south ... I think I know where we are ... We only
have four minutes of gas ... We have to get ready for emergency ... Fighters below are coming ...
I can't get out I climb ... I got out ... I'm afraid ... I open my chute  .. It's long down ... I'm not
going to make it to that farm ... I try for a road ... I missed ... Now I'm stuck up in a tree ...
Germans all over ... I'm just ... I'm stuck ... I can't get out of my chute ... I get out-I'm out ...
Some Frenchmen are coming ... They throw me a wire ... I start down ... I fall ... I'm knocked
out... They tell me to come with them ... I hide my jacket and my gun ... I go with them.
[Patient shows violent reaction, begins hyperventilating.]
ELMAN: You don't have to be so excited about it. You can tell the whole story.
PATIENT: We saw Sergeant Branch in a tree ... They get him out ... They chopped down the
tree ... We hide all night ... (270)
ELMAN: You're much calmer now as you tell the story. The fear's all gone.
PATIENT: [Sounds breathless] There are soldiers all over  .. They're looking for us. I can't
speak ... We got to get out of here ... We're walking through the woods ... We're going up the
road  .. [breathing heavily again] We see a man on a bieycle ... We jump in the ditch ... He
comes . .. He stops ... We go on the other side and hide  .. He comes back, he gives us coffee ...
He told us to go to town, and wait ... We wait ... He comes back ... Talked of the sergeant ...
Sergeant Warren was killed ... Brings us his dogtag number ... His chute never opened ... We go
around town ... Awful hungry ... They bring us bread, and cheese ... We see German soldiers ...
ELMAN: Now, 1m going to count to three and all the nervousness will leave. One ... two ...
three  .. [snaps fingers] Now the nervousness leaves. You'll calm down, and you'll recall it all,
and you won't be affected by it, but you'll recall everything because you see how good your
mind is. You realize that, don't you?
PATIENT: Sure.
ELMAN: These are the things that you blotted out of your mind because they were unpleasant.
PATIENT: It hurts.
ELMAN: I'll snap my fingers and you'll feel wonderful  .. [snaps fingers] Now, you feel so
good. I'm going to bring you out of this because I think you've had enough of it and you know
that you can remember everything. You can remember anything you want to. This was just
nature's defense mechanism for making you forget an unpleasant episode. And, of course, it was
unpleasant. But it happened a long, long time ago. You're all over it, and you know you came
out of it clearly. We don't have to have you go through the whole abreaction now. You know
already you've been helped, don't you? (271)
PATIENT: Yes ... I'm shaking.
ELMAN: You won't when I have you open your eyes,
and you'll feel so good for having gotten this out of your system, up into consciousness again.
And now you'll feel like a new man. This is what we call a mental catharsis. You'll feel so good.
All right, you can open your eyes ... Notice how good you feel. Well, how do you feel?
PATIENT: Tense. Look at my hands-all wet.
ELMAN: You were hyperventilating. That's why I stopped it. But isn't it a nice thing to know
you can remember? And now you know exactly what happened.
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: You relived just part of the episode and you saw how excited you got, didn't you?
PATIENT: I could feel it.
ELMAN: Of course you could. That's what we know as an abreaction. And sometimes it can be
pretty violent. The reason I didn't let the abreaction continue was that you were hyperventilating
badly.
PATIENT: Am I supposed to be nervous now?
ELMAN: No. You've relived something that was horrible, so naturally you would show some
signs of strain after going through it.
PATIENT: But I didn't remember.
ELMAN: Sure, because you'd blacked it out for so many years. Now you know how you got
back across the channel and everything, don't you?
PATIENT: Yes.
ELMAN: But you thought you had completely forgotten it. You hadn't forgotten any of it.
Nature had just drawn a veil over it as a protection to you. In the reliving of it, of course, you
hyperventilated, and you had quite a severe abreaction. This isn't as violent an abreaction as
we've seen. (272) We have had to take people who have gone through military action where their
buddies are being shot down all around them; these men were terrified. You were scared. You've
seen action. You know what it's like. You've seen fear and you've seen bravery mixed up in one
and the same thing.
PATIENT: Bravery comes out of fear.
ELMAN: And the man who says he isn't scared is just not honest. If a man has ordinary
imagination, then he's scared ... ***
In this case, you can see how frustrating circumstances and a conviction of guilt
precipitated the temper tantrums. Although the frustration occurred in the airplane incident prior
to the actual bailing out, the habit pattern would cause his temper tantrums to become more
violent as he was recuperating during the rest cure. The doctor, of course, had to do further work
with this patient before his condition could be entirely corrected. *
Did you recognize how the abreaction was speedily terminated? It is a very simple
device, yet it always works. I have never known it to fail. It is done by a change of tenses as the
operator speaks to the patient. If you wish to change abreaction to recall all you have to do is
change your tenses. Instead of saying, "What happens now?" simply say, "What happened then?”
By this simple means you have substituted recall for abreaction. Many times, when a patient
becomes highly excited. I change abreaction to recall, but continue the patient in the hypnotic
state for further recall, perhaps later inducing abreaction again. [I did not have my own tape
recorder on during the above hypnoanalysis and must add this footnote in appreciation to the
doctor, who kindly sent me his tape recording for inclusion here.] (273)

31. THE USE OF RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES IN HYPNO-ANALYSIS: WILLIAM J BRYAN,

JR RELIGIOUS ASPECTS IN HYPNOSIS: ACCESS BOOKS: AN ARBOR, MI
AN AID TO INDUCTION: One of the difficulties encountered in the practice of
hypno-analysis is the proper induction of the subject. While induction into a light trance of
hypnosis is generally not difficult, it is sometimes difficult to induce the emotional experience
necessary to obtain the proper catharsis, which is needed to bring about the patient's recovery.
Those persons capable of easily experiencing and-expressing their emotions are frequently the
targets for emotional illness, and consequently are also the best subjects. Occasionally, however,
we are faced with a stoic person whose personality because of its inflexibility is difficult to stir
into emotional activity. This type of individual generally does not suffer from emotional illness;
but in the event that he does need therapy, he may become a particular problem to the physician
who is entrusted with his care. One of the blessings of treating this type of individual is that
should his inflexible personality and firm convictions have a religious basis, these beliefs can
then be used to great advantage both in analysis and in psychosynthesis following analysis. An
example of this follows:
In one particular case of a sixty-seven year old woman, it was necessary to produce
hypnoanesthesia for a particular operative procedure. The patient concentrated only poody, and
was unable to visualize to any great extent. She was mentally taken for a walk in the woods, a
trip to the seashore, and to various other situations in which it was hoped that she would be able
to concentrate her mind sufficiently to produce the desired anesthesia. None of these however
were successful (48)
until I stumbled onto the idea of using the woman's firm religious convictions as a method for
visualization. Although she was unable to visualize the trees in the forest, the waves of the
ocean, or a circle on a blackboard, when told that she would be able fa visualize the angels
standing at the top of a long white marble staircase, and that step by step she would climb the
staircase, she immediately hallucinated the desired objects, placed herself in the situation
completely, and produced a perfect anesthesia.
In a similar case a patient who had little faith in his "doctors" yet had a great deal of faith
in the Lord, was persuaded through the use of hypnosis that the Lord, not his "doctors," would
produce the desired anesthesia. Since he was firmly convinced that the Lord never failed, the
anesthesia obviously didn't fail either.
The two previous examples therefore illustrate rather well how persons with firm
religious convictions may be aided in their induction or in their production of anesthesia. The
mem repetition of the direct suggestion that God's grace is sufficient for all the patient's needs is
frequently a great help in alleviating pre-operative or pre-analytic fears. Similar passages from
the Bible which are helpful in reducing the apprehension of patients, which so often retards their
progress, are: "Be strong and of good courage, fear not nor be afraid of them; for the Lord thy
God, He is it that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee nor forsake thee" (Deuteronomy 31:6).
"Fear not, for I am with thee" (Isaiah 43: 5). "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee" (Joshua 1:5).
For those persons who have a deep religious conviction and even more important an unshakable
faith is the strength and power of God to help them, will progress'rapidry towards the solution of
their problem in a cure of their illness,' provided religious principles are utilized while the
patient ,is ill the hypnotic trance. (Second Samuel Chapter 22:29 through :1:3) "For thou art my
lamp, oh Lord, and the Lord will lighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop: by
my Cod have I leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; (49) the word of the Lord is
tried, He is a buckler to all them . that trust in Him. For who is God, save the Lord? and who' is
a rock, save our God? God is my strength and power: and he maketh ,my way perfect."
A patient who accepts this philosophy at a subconscious level is certainly unlikely to
secrete excess adrenalin eillier im-' mediately prior to surgery or to analysis. Hence, during
surgery we are missing the adrenalin effect of dilating the superficial blood vessels which is
responsible for so much excess bleeding. Both in surgery and in analysis we are missing the high
blood pressure and high pulse rate which are also generated by adrenalin and other like
compounds which are secreted in response to fear.
THE FATHER FIGURE: The search for, misinterpretation of, and confusion about the
father figure is responsible for a great deal of mental illness. Indeed, the absence of a father
figure can certainly lead to dire consequences, especially when this is related to God. One case
comes to mind of a sixteen year old girl who had been a juvenile delinquent being involved with
the authorities on charges of dnmkeness, lewd conduct, and petty theft. She was also a truant
from school and indeed on occasion would leave school for periods of months at a, time. Her
mother, a strict Morman, had no real u.nderstanding of the girl's problem and subconsciously
rejected her. Indeed, the more the young girl got it to trouble, the more her mother used these
incidents to produce a certain martyrdom for herself. The girl's father had died at an early age
from an accident, and the girl's, subconscious resentment of a loss of her father figure, plus her
hostility to her mother because of the obvious parental rejection she received, carried her from
bad to worse. In searching for a father figure, she would attempt sometimes successfully and
sometimes unsuccessfully to seduce older men, and then upon completion of this real or fancied
intercourse, she would develop great feelings of guilt because she subconsciously (50) connected
these men with her own father. Analysis and subsequent synthesis reassured her that although
she had experienced the loss of her human father, that she still was in full possession c qf her
heavenly father who was just as real and a great deal more reliable. She immediately began to
improve.
She returned to school, and her school work improved rapidly. She entered into school
activities and her reputation with her fellow students gradually began to change. No longer
regarded as the class prostitute, but as an ambitious young lady attempting to straighten out her
life, she soon won the admiration of her teachers and her schoolmates. Indeed, the decreased
amount of expression of her hostility for her mother caused some difficulty since the mother
could no longer use this to fulfill her own psychopathological needs. Although quite “religious"
for a good many years, her mother had nevertheless not experienced the rebirth in Christ so
necessary to the follower of the Christian religion. Her anxieties eventually, however, led her
into an Evangelical meeting, where for the first lime she experienced the "emotional rebirth" and
began to oblain some insight into her own behavior. Although their problem are far from over,
both mother and daughter are learning to understand themselves in an objective and self assured
manner, born of the trust and faith which they have duly received. In the young girl's case, her
decision for Christ was directly hrought about through the use of hypno-analysis, by placing her
in a frame of mind in which she could accept the father lignre for which she sought so
desperately. In the mother's case, a decision was brought about at an Evangelical meeting. These
two cases in the same family illustrate nicely the parallel between some aspects of hypnosis in
religion.
ASTHMA CLIENT CASE HISTORY: To illustrate the difficulty and anxiety which
can be used by the absence of a father figure altogether, let us review the case of Mr. E. N. Mr.
E. N. is a fifty-eight year old white male, an acute asthmatic, who came to me with the following
complaint: "I am a lame-brain with a psychosomatic overlay on every situation that arises. No
matter what it is I (51) end up suffocating from emphysema or asthma. I break out into a sweat, I
start to suffocate, and I go into a panic of only have two outs. The first one is my intermittent
positive pressure breathing apparatus which is at home, and the second one is an adrenalin
injection. These two outs are the only things that keep me alive. As a boy-until I was eleven
year-old - I had bronchial asthma. If I had even tipped over in bed, I would have suffocated. I
know because my parents said this over and over. At eleven, I moved into the country and that
was the end of the asthma. I have been a hard working mechanic all my life, but I remember the
doctors told my parents, and my parents chatted to the neighbors that I couldn't possibly live past
eleven years old. Once I did live past eleven then my asthma was gone. Six years ago though we
had a 45 ft. cabin cruiser boat, and I had an emotional upset on it. I had a few drinks, lay down
to sleep, and when I woke up I couldn't breathe, and I have had my asthma ever since. I've had
this for six years, but the panic is becoming more acute as every day goes by. I have taken a
number of tranquilizers and they help temporarily. The best drug 1 have ever taken was Librium,
but even that doesn't solve the problem. I know that if I could just control my emotions, 1 could
breathe. I have seen any number of psychiatrists, and been in and out of hospitals, but I seem to
continue to get worse."
When asked about his occupation he stated, "I am a mechanic, and one of the best in the
business, but I've really never liked it." When asked what he would rather do he stated, "Exactly
what you are doing." He was then questioned on his married life and stated that he had been very
happy for the past seventeen years during which he was married to his present wife. They had
had many misunderstandings because of his wife's mother, whom the patient states he cannot
forgive, but he describes his wife as a "sweet rose," who unfortunately has a terrific mother
complex which tears the patient to pieces. He states his first wife walked out with the postman,
and even had the nerve to sell me my own car back. (52) He had to pay for both divorces but his
wife committed suicide later, which he said "didn't bother me one bit." When asked about his
religious affiliation he stated he was Protestant and had been armember of the Unity, Christian
Science, Methodist, Presbyterian, and a number of other churches. He said he was also three
years as a Yoga and had belonged to various sects but "never found the answer." He neither
drinks nor smokes and had been placed on Librium and Miltown medication for his asthma. He
also states that it is impossible for him to sleep, and that he hasn't had a good night's sleep
without barbituates in years. He has an eight year old daughter whom he idolizes and his wife
has two grown boys, one by her former husband and one adopted by the patient, and his first
wife. He lived mortally in fear that some physician would give him Sodium Pentathol which he
had been told by a doctor is extremely dangerous for emphysema.
The rest of his past history was essentially negative except for a heart murmur which he
stated was a result of a previous attack of rheumatic fever as a child. Describing his childhood he
stated, "it was normal," but his father and mother were divorced when he was eighteen years old.
He described his father as one of the most level-headed, finest persons he had ever known in his
life, and "everybody loved him." He described his mother as "a bundle of dynamite, the same as
my wife." Apparently his father brought a boarder to live in the house who eventually became
sexually involved with the patient's mother. The patient knew it and tried to inform his father
about what was going on between his mother and the hoarder. This led to some deep traumatic
psychological experiences. He also had some unpleasant experiences in school when his teacher
used to beat him. He became apprehensive about surgery and physicians, because he was a boxer
and had had many injuries. His sexual life was essentially normal.
One other damaging incident in his past was when he ran into an old man with his car, as
the man stepped out of a safety zone. The patient stated the old man actually jumped (53) in
front of his car, but the police held the patient for homicide. Finally, the old man awoke and said
it was his fault, and two witnesses also confirmed the story so the patient was released. The
patient obviously had a very depressed ego, and was punishing himself and his wife. Even at tIle
first consultation period it was easy to see that his early childhood asthma had a sensitizing
effect, and that something happened to him six years ago which started the incident all over
again. To summarize, his asthma and insomnia seemed to be his main presenting symptoms, but
as is so often the case, the presenting
symptoms do not indicate the cause of the problem. Indeed, most frequently the cause of a given
psychosomatic illness has nothing to do with the presenting symptoms in an ordinary or rational
sense.
It was realized that because of his symptoms beginning on a boat, it might be unwise to
use a beach visualization scene to hypnotize him. Accordingly, a different method was
employed. After induction he was given a long and involved word association test, which was
extremely revealing. Without going into the details of the test, the results obtained under
hypnosis clearly showed that he, was extremely hostile to his mother and father for breaking up
their home, and also for planting the ideas into his head at an early age that he could not possibly
live past eleven. Realizing this was a go~d deal of the cause' for his first asthma, he developed a
tremendous hostility for his parents. In reality this hostility was also in part for himself, for even
as a child, he had the hostility for his parents and expressed it to them by informing his father on
the sexual activities of his mother. This caused him to develop such ter'tible guilt feelings
(namely that he was himself responsible for the breaking up of his own family) that he felt an
overwhelming need for self punishment. The only way to punish himself in this fashion was to
cripple himself up with asthma, for this also was a means to protect himself from carrying out
any of his more violent thoughts. This was the basis of the analysis on the first level. (54)

When a deeper level was penetrated, which was extremely difficult with this patient and
was done only with the combination of hypnosis and trilene, the patient went into a narcosis and
kept repeating in a rapid machine-gun fashion the words "I am dead" "I am dead" "I am dead,"
over and over hundreds of times. The real horrible pathology of this patient was that his mind
had actually accepted the idea that he was already dead. Indeed, he was a walking zombie, and
he was extremely hostile and angry at the anesthetist for having "killed'" him. This "occurred"
when he was eleven years old. He had already had his initial sensitizing event in early life, at
which time his, parents had unwittingly planted in his mind the seed that he could never live past
eleven.
He remembered an incident under hypnosis when he was eleven years old. He was
involved in a bicycle accident which caused a broken arm, and he had to have it set. At the time
the anesthetist was lowering the mask over his face, the patient accepted the thought that he was
actually dying, and did in fact mentally "die" from that point on. It was for this reason that his
asthma cleared up, as obviously "dead men do not have asthma." It was only because he woke up
on the boat ,some many years later and realized that he was in fact still alive that he, therefore,
had to suffocate from his asthma again, and it became tremendously worse.
At the deepest part of his analysis, it was finally determined that the person to whom he
expressed the greatest hostility was neither his mother, his father, the anesthetist, nor even
himself. He really hated God, something he could not even admit to himself. He had accepted
the idea that God was responsible for his suffering, and truly hated him. Because of this horrible
thought, and this of course was entirely on a subconscious level, he felt that he had to atone
constantly for his sins, and even said "I believe I am following my 'soul pattern' paying for the
errors, mistakes, and sins which I committed in a previous life." The previous life was in reality
his life up until age eleven. He then expressed many unusual religious (55) beliefs including
reincarnation, but blamed himself and God for his own "faulty" creation, steeping himself
further in guilt and becoming sicker and sicker.
He finally began to improve only when he was made to see by an advanced
hypno-analytic method that he did not have the right to judge himself. During the process of
deep emotional experience the biblical quotation of Matthew Chapter 7, verse 1 "Judge not that
ye be not judged" was brought to his attention in the fashion that he not only did not have the
right to judge himself and that if he was judging himself the was usurping the dominion of God.
Once he accepted the fact that only God could judge him and that his sins therefore could
not be expiated by punishing himself, but ,only by laying the entire load on God's, grace through
Christ he finally began to improve. Later after realizing the miracle of grace and the importance
of God's gift though Christ's redemption of his sins, the man was also able to change his hate to
love. It was at this point in his therapy that he experienced. his greatest advancement. It was
unfortunate that the man had gone through over six years of incredible physical torture which he
had placed upon himself
in the belief that he could expiate himself from his guilt feelings through the means of
self-punishment. He had been literally suffocating himself to death.
This case dramatically illustrates how a negative attitude toward God can easily be
introduced and accepted by the unwary mind and cause a great deal of physical illness, which
though treated adequately by modern medical means, nevertheless, fails to respond until the root
cause is ferreted out through the correct application of religious principles during analysis under
hypnosis.
FEAR NEUROSIS CASE HISTORY: Still a different problem is illustrated by the
following case in which the patient's illness was actually caused by a misinterpretation by him of
an Evangelical sermon given by a Catholic priest. This case illustrated a number of interesting
points. Not the least of these is the point that the audience (56) in church is frequently in and out
of the state of hypnosis and that great good can be done by the placement of positive suggestions
in the subconscious minds of those listening intently and concentrating upon the sermon.
However, a sermon which misdirects or which concentrates upon The negative aspect, or which
tends to frighten rather than comfort, may actually introduce' anxiety into, the listener which
later pops out as a full-fledged neurosis. For this reason all ministers should be extremely careful
regarding content and delivery of their sermons, and examine sermons with the utmost
meticulousness in order to make sure that their sermons achieve' the purpose for which they
were designed.
Following is the case of Mr. R. M., a successful Italian business man who first came to
me with the problem of fear neurosis. The unfortunate patient was afraid of almost everything.
His scope-of activities was limited geographically to a small area near his home, and he was
afraid whenever he had to leave this area .. He even carried a bottle of smelling salts in his
pocket for years for fear he might faint. He became so nervous and extremely limited in his work
that he had to seek help, and had seen not only five psychiatrists but another well known
hypnotist with no results.
It was obvious that no one had reached the root cause of his problem. Most of all the
patient feared death. He could not enter a movie theater, he could not go to church for fear of
death. He could not go to any funerals, drive down certain streets, enter into any house where
anyone he had known had passed away, and many other behavior patterns made life increasingly
difficult for him. Unlike the previous patient who actually accepted the idea that he was dead,
this patient was obsessed with the fear of dying.
The time the initial sensitizing event occurred was when the patient was forced by his
parents to attend a church mission. He was in High School at the time and the sermon involved
was on death. Instead of orienting the sermon to the theme of eternal life, the priest had
unfortunately preached (57) only on tile negative aspect of death. He repeated tile words time
after time frightening the patient, stating over 'and over that anyone in the congregation might be
dead next year, next month, next week, the next day, the next hour or even the next minute. The
message became so frightening to the patient that he became deathly nauseated, had to leave the
church and became quite sick, vomiting violently. His subconscious mind had obviously
accepted the negative thoughts and the patient simply could not stomach them.
From that moment on the patient developed one illness after another. He was diagnosed
as having gastro-enteritis, ulcers, etc. He had many gastro-intestinal x-rays and saw many
specialists, all to no avail. During the war, he entered the service as a volunteer Officer Cadet,
and although he became an excellent pilot his terrible fears prevented him from continuing in
that occupation.
His worst attack of fear occurred when he was driving to a hospital at which
his ,sister-in-law was having a baby. The reason for this attack was revealed later under analysis
as being the fact that his grandfather died in a hospitaI. He described his attacks of fear"as the
"exact same feeling you would get from an automobile accident." The patient had had an
unhappy childhood largely due to the fact that as an Italian he was discriminated against in Ius
community, and also due to the fact that his mother was constantly ill from psychoneurotic
causes. He was forced to work when very young and never weighed over 120 pounds until he
was married. He had to quit school in the ninth grade and had resented it ever since.
The worst effect of all of his background was the effect that it had on his subconscious
mind in depreciating his ego. Not only had "God" let him down by prescribing death at every
turn' in life's road, but the patient truly felt himself to be an inferior individual because of the
constant depreciation which was due to his earlier background of poverty in Italian immigrant
status. With psychosynthetic hypnotic techniques the patient was made to realize that as an
American, he was a citizen of the most advanced country in the world, and that as an
Italian-American he was privileged to have the background of a nation that has been more
responsible for the development of our law, medicine, language, and general conduct of life than
any other nation in the world. The patient was able to develop a pride in himself and believe it
on an emotional level, which he was unable to do before.
Once he was age-regressed back to the various incidents which caused his fear and made
to see that each one of these was fearful only because it was connected with the previous illness
or death, he began to lose his fears. After ridding himself of his hostility towards his parents by
building a protective wall around himself through which they could no longer penetrate, he
became more relaxed and tranquil. His biggest improvement naturally occurred when he was
able to realize the existence of and remove the hypnotic suggestion planted in his mind
unintentionally by the well-meaning priest.
When the patient realized that the priest's message had actually been a message of eternal
life rather than one of death, his entire attitude changed; and, analytically realizing this on an
emotional level, he has begun to act on these beliefs in a positive fashion. To date every single
one of his fears has been removed. He has stopped all medication including sleeping pills and
tranquilizers which he formerly had to take daily in large doses. He now drives alone, something
he could never do before, ventures out into territories which formerly he could not do. He has
entered the supermarket on the corner near his home even though a man had been shot dead
there some time ago, and he has walked across the street to a house in which a man died, a house
which he was formerly unable to enter. He can even go to a theater and sit in a seat which is not
on the aisle and feel comfortable throughout the entire performance, which was simply
unthinkable before his hypno-analytic therapy. Indeed, he is completely well except for the fact
that he has not yet returned to church. After a few more sessions of hypno-therapy there is no
doubt in my mind but what this (59) obstacle will he overcome, and the patient will experience a
complete cure.
A very fascinating case, completely different from any of the previous ones does not
concern either the absence of God or the misconception of God, but rather a confusion about
who is God. This is the case of a lawyer, Mr. K. R., who was extremely fearful because he was
becoming a "pill addict." He depended upon tranquilizers and medications more and more to
maintain his equilibrium and sleep. He was subject to severe migraine and tension headaches
which he could remember as far back as his childhood. He realized his situation was as he
reported to be calm on the outside and hell on the inside." The patient most of all had difficulty
in going to sleep and-a tremendous fear of going to bed. Even if "dead tired," he would fall
asleep for a short while, but then wake up again at 2 a.m. and was through for the night. When
sunlight came in, however, he could fall asleep nicely. This is not ap unusual complaint and is
generally associated with a subconscious reason or hypnotic suggestion which the patient under
such circumstances feels he has to be awake to be on guard against some mythical danger which
his mind perceives to be present. Since the mind cannot distinguish between a real danger and an
imagined one and since it has accepted the hypnotic suggestion that a danger really exists, the
patient is kept awake constantly to remain on guard against this mythical danger.
The patient realized he was running away from himself and blamed a good deal of his
difficulty on his family problems, since he was tile sole support of his present family, a previous
wife and two children, and his own mother and father. The financial burden was staggering but
tllis was not the root cause of his trouble, as was, soon found out under analysis. Hypno-analysis
was done by a very rapid type of treatment designed to specifically reach the root cause in ..the
shortest possible time obviating the necessity for long hours of psychoanalytic work on the
couch. Analysis which is not detected leads only to confusion. Obviously the analysis in this
case had to be directed toward the cause of his insomnia. This patient indeed had been under
psycho-analysis for five years, with no positive results whatsoever. However, in less than half a
dozen treatments under the rapid analysis the man was totally well.
By exploring traumatic incidents in the patient's past, he vividly revealed to himself an
incident describing his mother's death, a violent death in which his mother was hit on the head
accidentally by a blunt object. Age-regressing the patient before this death, it was noted that the
mother had frequently said to the patient that he was the cause of her frequent migraine
headaches. In a small way then tile patient subconsciously blamed himself for his mother's death,
even though
he in no way had to do with the skull fracture caused by the accidental blow to her head. Indeed,
he began to build up such guilt feelings regarding this, that he felt the necessity to help his
mother alive. He did this in a number of ways. The first way was to idolize her as a God. She
could do no wrong in his eyes and would live "forever" in his memory. However, it was found
out that he had even adopted certain characteristics of his mother in order to keep her alive
within his body.
This was brought out on a deep level during the word association test under analysis
during which he associated his father with a merchant, then immediately said, "I am not a
merchant." This really indicated that he was saying quite positively that he was not his father;
since there was no reason for him to deny that fact, one can only assume that therefore he was
his mother, and this certainly proved to be the fact.
When the patient had lost his mother, he stated that for a long time he did not believe in
God. This came about as a ' result of an uncle who told him at the time of his mother's death that
his family had been so happy with his mother that God in his loneliness had borrowed his
mother. Although the uncle's intentions had been good, rye had set up in the patient's
subconscious mind a situation in which God had become a source of competition for his
mother's love. This allowed the
(61) patient to hate God. Such hate naturally brought on deep guilt feelings on his part and these
guilt feelings in turn demanded punishment. Instead, he changed God into mother and placed
both within himself.
Under hypno-analysis, the reason finally manifested itself showing the patient why he
felt the need to stay awake, on guard to protect the mother Within him. Once he was able to
dissociate mother from God, he realized that she was not a deity and in fact a human, a human
who died, a human who did not need to be 'kept alive by 1timself, who indeed had eternal life
through God, and who did not need to be guarded. Once the confusion had cleared away
regarding the deity and the patient realized in fact that his own mother was not God, and that
God in fact was omnipotent and not a lowly competitor for his mother's affections, then he was
not only able to cure his insomnia, but also he was able to develop a new outlook on life which
permitted him a greater peace of mind and tranquility than he had ever known previously in his
entire existence. Now, leading a life of quiet trust, the patient goes about his professional
business with the calm self-assurance of one who walks with God.
In these brief case histories then, we have been able to illustrate various methods by
which religious principles may be used in the practice of hypno-analysis, as well as pointing out
that faults and misconceptions regarding religion can also be a great source of mental disease
which can best be ferreted out through the use of hypnosis and treated by means of a thorough
understanding on an emotional level of the principles of a loving, benevolent God who, through
His grace, grants us eternal salvation. (62)

32. HYPNOANALYTICAL UNCOVERING TECHNIQUES: GERALD KEIN

There are a number of specialized hypnoanalytic techniques which the hypnotist can
employ with selected clients. These techniques stimulate unconscious mental activity of a
constructive nature. The use of such specialized hypnoanalytic techniques requires a good deal
of direction on the part of the hypnotherapist. The following are uncovering hypnoanalytic
techniques which I have found to be most revealing of unconscious material and most helpful in
overcoming resistance to the recall of unconscious dramatic material.
Pre-talk Questioning. When many clients come to see you they have a need to tell you
what is the cause of their problem. You should do everything possible not to listen to what they
feel has caused the problem. For if what they conclude is correct, they would not have come to
you for help. Usually, what they're telling you is simply what other therapists have told them.
What you should do is ask them specific questions that will give you the information you need to
have a successful session. You should get a general overview of the subject; such as, where they
were born and grew up. Whether they come from a happy family? Has anyone close to them
died and, if so, were they with them at the time of death? Are they single, married, divorced or
just in love? (Divorce always indicates deep feelings of guilt.) What is their relationship to
alcohol, if any? Have they had any great failures in life; such as, in business or schooling? What
is their sexual orientation? And, if possible, when you're dealing with a woman, see if you can
discover whether there is a history of an abortion. (Once again, abortion creates tremendous
feelings of subconscious guilt.)
If a person indicates any emotion when discussing these subjects, write down what you
were discussing when the emotion was revealed. When your client reveals negative emotions
when discussing these matters, it indicates when you have the client in a hypnotic state, you will
need to change the subconscious perception of these negative events. Negative events revealed in
this manner can usually be corrected through the use of Chair or Death Bed therapy.
Stems. This is an old Gestalt technique that is highly effective in our work today. The
client is told to lean back in the recliner and told to close his eyes and relax. The hypnotist then
gives him the following instructions: "I am going to start a sentence and then I want you to put
an ending on it. For example, if I say my name is You will answer my name is Judy Jones."
(or whatever the client’s name) You will then begin to say a sentence such as, "I feel safe when,
I feel guilty about, whenever I see you I feel, or, if I ever lose control.
Questions like these and others of a similar nature will begin to reveal the emotional
content of your clients subconscious mind. After each question, you should write down the
emotions attached to your clients answer. For example, fear, sadness, anger etc. By locating
these emotions you'll be able to regress the subject back to the first time he felt these negative
feelings. Once again, what is revealed in this manner will be pertinent to the cause of your
clients problem. When working with the Stems technique, in many cases when a client reveals a
strong emotion you can simply say, "Follow that feeling back to the first time you ever felt that
emotion. I'm going to count back from 10 to 1. When I reach the count of 1, you will be at the
first situation or event that causes you to have this feeling of (insert feeling generated.)"
Automatic Writing. This is an excellent means for gaining access to subconscious
material. While the subject is in hypnosis, he is told that the arm and hand with which he writes
will feel as if they are no longer part of him. Then a pencil is placed in his hand and he is told
that his hand will begin to move as if it were controlled by some outside force. When the client
is able to open his eyes without coming out of the trance, he can be given a book to read while
his hand writes automatically. While he is doing this, the hypnotherapist may talk to the client
while his hand is writing. As a rule, the first few attempts will produce a jumble of lines and
symbols, gradually increasing in freedom of expression as the motor activity becomes better
established.
As it trains, the unconscious will often use various devices to make it difficult for the
hypnotist to decipher the writings. A few of the unconscious disguises which have been
discovered in automatic writing are: writing upside down, writing words backward or in
repetition of one letter or symbol. After automatic writing is well-developed, it often relates
suppressed episodes of early childhood in a coherent fashion. Reports have been made of clear
impressions from the first year of life which have been confirmed by family members. It is best
to have the client explain the meaning of his automatic writing while still in hypnosis. At times,
especially when the meaning is disguised even to the client, it’s beneficial to have the client
associate to the material. The client then can be asked whether he wants to remember the
meaning of the automatic writing when he is emerged from the trance. The unconscious is a
good judge of the client’s ability to cope with the uncovering of the material revealed.
Projective Hypnoanalysis. This hypnoanalytic technique utilizes the combined tactics of
the three basic approaches to the understanding of the unconscious conflicts --psychoanalysis,
hypnosis and projective techniques. It makes use of free association, dream analysis, and
transference reactions as they are projected on to relatively unstructured situations in hypnosis.
The best subjects for this approach are those with a vivid fantasy life. In projective
hypnoanalysis there is often active intervention by the hypnotist to suggest a fantasy on any topic
desired, while the client is in deep trance. Frequently, the fantasy that emerges from the client
has a direct relationship to the cause of his problem. In all cases, whatever is revealed in this
manner is pertinent to the clients underlying cause and should be handled with great care and
sensitivity by the hypnotherapist. Projective Hypnoanalysis is a powerful method for the
experienced hypnotherapist to help the client reveal pertinent events of his past, good or bad.
The use of uncovering techniques prior to the actual hypnosis portion of your session will
give you much information that will enable you to determine what direction your sessions should
take. For example, it will tell you whether you should use a direct suggestion format or, a
regression to cause technique. The hypnotist who understands the power of
conscience/subconscious emotion uncovering methods will dramatically increased his session
success rate.

33. HYPNO-ANALYSIS AND HYPNO-SYNTHESIS: BERNARD GENDIES: NEW

CONCEPTS OF HYPNOSIS: WILSHIRE BOOK COMPANY: N. HOLLYWOOD, CA: 1951
It is not the intention here to present an exhaustive survey of the theory and practice of
psychoanalysis. The reader is referred to the extensive literature in the field. I shall confine
myself to a brief summation of the more important concepts of psychoanalysis, particularly those
which have led to the later developments of hypno-analysis and hypno-synthesis.
The principles of psychoanalysis were formulated by two physicians, Sigmund Freud and
Josef Breuer, in Vienna during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Upon graduation from
the University of Vienna, Freud became vitally interested in the subject of neurology, and
devoted his time to research in conditions of nervous origin, particularly those of diplegia and
aphasia in children. Freud's interest in neurological disease led him to investigate the
phenomenon of hysteria, and it was during this investigation that he became influenced by
Breuer, with whom he later became associated.
Breuer was conducting hypnotic experimentation in hysteria, and Freud shared this
interest. Desiring to explore further along these lines, in 1885 he left for Paris to work with
(208) Charcot at the Salpetriere. Charcot's observations on hysteria were recognized in the field
of neurology as being well ahead of those of his contemporaries. Freud was fascinated by his
demonstrations proving that ideas could produce actual bodily changes; for instance, paralysis of
the arm was both produced and eliminated in a hysterical patient during hypnotic trance.
Freud altered his theories to conform to those of the Salpetriere, namely, that the
condition of hysteria was the result of a mental dissociation. Continuing with his studies in this
field, he went to the Nancy Clinic, of which Bernheim was the director. At this time he became
absorbed in the phenomena of post-hypnotic reactions, feeling that they were the result of
hidden, unrecognizable motives. For example, when a patient who had just carried out a
post-hypnotic suggestion was questioned about motive, he would come up with one that was
pure fantasy, not referring to the fact that it had beel). received hypnotically. This indicated to
Freud that the subject was entirely unaware of the suggestion that had been given him under
hypnosis, which, in turn, predicated that a portion of his mind was divorced from consciousness.
He also discovered that when a patient was returned to consciousness, he had complete amnesia
about suggestions given him in . hypnosis, inventing elaborate explanations for his obedience to
them until challenged, at which time, strangely. enough, he could instantly recall having
received them during the hypnotic state.
Before leaving for Paris to continue his studies, an interesting conversation had
transpired between Freud and Breuer. It concerned a case of hysteria which Breuer had brought
to a successful conclusion. The patient, Anna 0., had been under his care for one and a half
years. Breuer related how he had employed hypnosis to relieve the girl's condition, during which
the patient talked about the onset of her symptoms, going into exact details as to their
development. What (209) appeared remarkable to Breuer was the fact that when her experiences
were aired in their entirety and the feelings she had in connection with them were expressed, the
symptoms disappeared.
While working in the hospitals of Paris, Freud had frequent occasion to recall Breuer's
case, and whenever possible he would interrogate his hysteria patients in order to elicit some
clue concerning the advent of their symptoms, searching for traumatic experiences. Such
elicitations would, at times, reward him with pertinent information as to the origin of certain
psychic manifestations. As a result of the experiences gleaned from clinical and later private
practice, Freud was convinced that Breur's method of therapy held magnificent hope for the
hysterical patient. Together they published their first paper, which told of their joint discoveries.
These findings were presented more extensively in a book that made its appearance a few years
later, entitled Studies in Hysteria. Breuer's cathartic method was the starting point for Freud's
later investigations.
Their combined observations in this work embraced their theories of the origin of
hysterical symptoms. Resolution of the illness, according to Freud and Breuer, was brought
about by the. psychic and emotional "purging" achieved by the patient during treatment. They
expounded that hysteria was an affective result of the patient's past. Freud later referred to the
symptom as a rnol\ument of some disagreeable and forgotten act of the patient's life. Brill adds
explanatory comment to this observation: "The patient did not, however, recognize the
significance of this monument any more than the average foreigner would understand the
meaning of the Bunker Hill monument." [Brill, A. A., Freud's Contribution to Psychiatry, W.
W. Norton Co., New Yark, 1944, p. 61.]
This theory led to the later development of Freud's evaluation of the unconscious, but
more, it laid emphasis upon (210) the importance of the emotional factors as a basis of the
neurotic condition. In their presentation of the affective dynamisms that are responsible for the
syndrome of hysteria, the symptom, according to Freud and Breuer, originated as a consequence
of an imprisoned or a strangulated affect. The patient, by certain mental mechanisms, was
restrained from giving vent to his emotions, and as such, the idea with its attendant emotions was
driven from consciousness or repressed. As the repressed idea had not undergone great
weakening in its strangulation, it remained active, frequently attempting to break through to
consciousness. Finally, in somewhat of a compromise action, it was allowed to rise to the
conscious surface, disguised so that it could assume another path, usually affecting a particular
innervation. This was the cause of the symptom. In this way the repressed material was given
expression; the psychic energy, formerly strangulated, was now converted into a physical disease
process. If the patient could have given vent to her emotions at the time of their occurrence, the
exclusion of the original idea might have taken a course other than the repression which
ultimately led to her infirmity. Breuer's "talking cure" brought with it the complete obliteration
of lhe symptoms by affording the patient the benefit of free expression of the idea, thus allowing
its unhampered return to consciousness. The. patient, having no fear of rebuke, worked off the
pathogenic idea by re-living the experience, permitting free' course to consciousness of the
emotions which originally attended the traumatic material. To this cathartic phenomena they
gave, the name abreaction.
Soon after the appearance of Studies in Hysteria Breuer left Freud, retiring to his general
practice. Breuer had some regrets that he had entered into collaboration with Freud. Following
the presentation of their joint efforts an ugly storm of criticism raged upon the scientific horizon.
Some of their readers, with angered indignation, threw away the book after (211) perusing its
introduction, for here the writers adduced that sexuality played the principal part in the
pathogenesis of hysteria! While Freud seemed unaffected by the rantings of his critics, Breuer
brooded over the insults, finally withdrawing from association with Freud. Nevertheless,
Breuer's "talking cure" continued as the foundation for Freud's construction of the
psychoanalytic theory.
The reader will remember that the earlier experiments of Breuer and Freud were
conducted by means of hypnotic states. While Freud recognized hypnosis as a most efficient tool
for broadening of consciousness in his investigative therapy, it offered many drawbacks which
he could not reconcile, the most important being that not all of his patients made adequate
response to his methods of induction. He also objected to the tyrannical qualities of suggestion.
Much as he disliked discarding a practice that had had its advantages in the past, he,
nevertheless, abandoned hypnosis. As the technique of hypnosis served to solder the gap
between conscious and unconscious, another method had to be instituted in its stead. In a few of
Bernheim's experiments Freud had witnessed a remarkable phenomenon. Bernheim had proven
in these instances that it was possible, under insistent prompting, to facilitate the return of
experiences obtained under hypnosis, although a suggestion of posthypnotic amnesia had been
successfully demonstrated. These experiments were carried out in the waking state. Bernheim
would ask a patient to recall the information which before he had been requested to forget. In so
doing he would place his hand upon the patient's forehead. After much persistence, the forgotten
experiences would be remembered, returning to consciousness with great lucidity.
From Bernheim's experiments he concluded that the patient's memories could likewise be
made accessible to analysis although the patient remained in a waking state. The technique, more
time-consuming and wearisome than hypnosis, (212) brought satisfactory responses, but only
after much coaxing and insisting on the part of Freud. Soon the "pressure on the forehead"
technique was also discarded. The patient was asked to recline upon a couch; Freud assuming a
position behind the head so that he could see his patient and in turn the patient could not see him
unless he made an effort to do so by turning around.
Freud would ask his patient to let his mind wander, reporting all of the thoughts which
occurred to him regardless of their importance. When the patient indulged in criticism of the
thoughts, Freud would sternly admonish him for such practices, attempting to confine the
patient's utterances to manifestations of the unconscious without the interception of conscious
thought. At first, the spontaneous outpourings had little pertinence, but soon these free
associations were properly led from flighty utterances to those of basic significance, finally, but
not inevitably, locating the area of disturbance. Freud, delighted with his initial successes shortly
afterwards had cause to revise his approach, for soon he realized that the thoughts of free
association were not as free as he would have liked them to be; that their use was only justifiable
in the light of analytical interpretation. Thus developed the method of psychoanalysis.
The methods of free association were obstructed by the patient's frequent resistance to the
expression of the pathogenic material. Freud then inferred that the resistance that prohibited the
venting of the material was due to its traumatic content, i.e., that its nature was either
humiliating, grievous or oppressive to the well-being of the patient. Consequently, he could not
harbor the conscious memory of it. Thus, it was apparent that the resurrection of the causative
idea necessitated the previous conquest of the resistance. N ow Freud could venture an
explanation of the etiology of the neurotic symptom: a desire, which for some reason must be
suppressed, makes its way into consciousness. Because of its (213) nature it cannot coexist with
a force already present. This results in the effort of the force totally to eject the new idea. In an
attempt to overpower the intruder a psychic conflict takes place between the new idea and the
resistance against it. At this moment the battle is ensuing on the field of consciousness, but soon
the sum of energy (cathexis) of the impulse will be dissipated and it will retire from battle.
According to Freud this represented normal adjustment. The neurotic adjustment draws
still another conclusion of the battle. The force of resistance (ego), soon after the battle begins,
refuses further encounter with the impulse and retreats to an area of safety, thereby closing all
possible entries to consciousness. The impulse, still maintaining its energy, becomes housed in a
lower level, but nevertheless, persists. The painful idea has been repressed.
An example here will help to elucidate the nature of repression: A male patient, 34 years
of age, was brought to my attention by his family physician. For eight years he had been unable
to lift either arm more than a few inches away from the shoulder girdle. While attempts at
movement elicited no pain, a sharp contraction of the muscles would occur preventing further
effort. Although various explanations for the symptom were in the offing as he consulted a
number of physicians for his complaint, no satisfactory treatment had been given the patient.
One physician, having knowledge of the patient's background, surmised that the origin of the
complaint could well be psychogenic. The patient was then referred to me. After several
consultations with the patient, the evidence which seemed most worthwhile was the fact that he
demonstrated utter abhorrence for his sister-in-law. The usual methods of interrogation met with
no success.
With the aid of hypnosis I was able to penetrate the patient's wall of resistance, and after
much urging, laborious as it was, an old memory found its way to consciousness. (214) The
experience had occurred nine years previous to this day. The country was in the midst of its
worst depression, employment being difficult to find. The patient, an automobile worker at the
time, was desperate for help. He wrote to his brother who had established himself in California.
Realizing his circumstances, the brother sent money for the fare and the patient left Detroit for
California. While being supported he sought a job but with little luck. All of this time he felt
badly for imposing upon his brother. There was probably little foundation for this feeling as his
brother earned a large salary; the patient's presence in the household created no hardship.
Besides, he received the best of care, especially from his brother's wife who would periodically
engage him in long conversations.
Shortly thereafter, he began to build a fond affection for the girl, which seemed to be
reciprocated. It was on one particular day that their eyes met as they had never met before. A
kiss led to other responses. After the experience, a great many thoughts had entered his mind. He
was faced with the most horrible of guilts. For weeks afterwards he indulged in
self-condemnation. He felt that he had betrayed his brother by his despicable behavior. No
rationalization could dissolve the contempt that he felt for himself. When he found, much to his
regret, that however he tried to dispel these thoughts from his mind, they always reappeared, he
decided upon the action of thinking them through. In one way or another, he discovered a means
by which the guilt could be transferred, by a process of projection, to his sisterin-law. From this
moment there arose such a strong hatred for her that to be alone with the girl for more than a few
minutes at a time brought homicidal thoughts to his mind, and rapid retreat was necessary. "I had
to get out of that house because I knew I'd kill her if I stayed there. I couldn't get it out of my
head what she did to my brother, after he was so good to us both." (215)
The patient left his brother's house with the explanation that he had obtained a job in
another city. But the resentment toward his sister-in-law nevertheless continued. Moreover, in
some of his fantasies he found himself torturing her: then quickly he would erase such thoughts
from his consciousness, for he could visualize the great sorrow that would befall his brother if
some misfortune had occurred to his wife.
After a year of such conflicts, his despondency left him. He gave less thought to the
experience; but at this time he began to notice a peculiar sensation in both shoulder joints. A few
days later he found himself unable to lift his arms. Until the present treatment he was
incapacitated as far as gainful labor was concerned. His catharsis, under hypnosis, was quite
dramatic. On several occasions, because of his behavior while living through the experiences, he
had to be restrained.
When he returned to wakefulness he remembered all that had transpired during the
hypnotic period. Remembrance of the experience left him somewhat unnerved. I took this
opportunity to trace the symptom directly to its point of origin. The next few minutes were
enlightening. "By what means did you intend killing your sister-in- law?" I inquired. "I wanted
to choke her to death." "What prevented you from doing so?" "I didn't want to do any more harm
to my brother," he answered. "He was good to me. I'm sure I would have gone back and killed
her. I guess these arms stopped me." "Then this condition prevented you from carrying out your
intention. Could it be that it gave you good reason not to, because you realized that you were
equally responsible for your brother's betrayal?" "Maybe so," he sobbed, and after a pause, "That
was it. I was guilty too. I guess if I killed her, I'd have to kill myself too." (216)
After several of such sessions, the symptom gradually left the patient. It did not return.
The reader will note that it was not the repression of painful material which caused the
symptomatic response, but the failure of the repression. After it had once become repressed,
because of its traumatic nature, the force of resistance would hardly permit it to become
conscious again, at least not without a struggle. If the repression had been complete, the patient's
hatred for his sister-in-law might not have been so apparent. Therefore, we are aware of the fact
that the pathogenic material remained active despite all efforts toward its destruction. If, on the
other hand, the patient had accepted his experience and by rationalization of some sort succeeded
in reconciling it, he would not have developed the symptom. His infirmity was the indirect
manifestation of the failure of repression of the traumatic material. As such it represented a
compromise between the primitive self (the id) and the ethical self (the ego).
In 1901, Freud added considerably to the knowledge of mental phenomena by publishing
The Psychopathology of Everyday Life. [FREUD, S., The Psychopathology of Everyday Life,
Macmillan, New York, 1914.] In it he maintained that the repressed idea frequently makes itself
known to consciousness by slips of the tongue, everyday blunders and the thoughtless mislaying
of objects. The usually wary censor has relaxed momentarily, and the rejected impulse struggles
to higher levels in search of expression. A minister related to me what to him was his most
mortifying experience in the pulpit, when during one of his sermons he said: "The meek shall
inhibit the earth." Despite trickles of laughter the sermon was, nonetheless, enlightening. The
minister, an apt student of the mind, devised an explanation for his quaint lingual misbehavior.
On the day before, he appeared before a meeting of the trustees of his church. One of the
trustees, an outspoken religionist, (217)
admonished him for his interjection of "modern examples" in his Bible interpretations. The other
members of the board, usually meek, nodded their heads in approval of the stern reproof. The
minister did feel inhibited.
It is easier to forget a debt that we owe than one that is owed us. It is more likely that we
will know the date of a coming party than that of a particularly boring lecture that we must
attend. Likewise if we appear at that party a week ahead of time our host has ample reason to
feel flattered. Contrariwise, Mary, who is called "Jean" by her "date," feels unhappy.
At times these mechanisms of unconscious activities can be touched off by the chance
remark of a friend. Thus teasing generally has its effect because it irritates a "sore spot" of which
the victim may not have been aware. Likewise many of our prejudices are rooted in the
unconscious due to ideas that have never been openly aired.
A. DREAM INTERPRETATION: Freud made an important contribution to our
knowledge of unconscious mechanisms when he published The Interpretation of Dreams.
[FREUD, S., The Interpretation of Dreams, Macmillan Co., New York, 1933.] In it he
maintained that the dream, if analyzed far enough, was shown to embody the fulfillment of a
wish that was either conscious or repressed. If the wish or impulse was of a traumatic nature it
would appear in the dream in a disguised form, adequately distorted by symbols so that it could
be more acceptable to consciousness. As such, the dream represented a phantasy picture which,
in its true form, could not be accepted. The dream, as it is told by the patient, is referred to as the
manifest content. As the patient indulges in free association his thoughts provide meaning to the
content of the dream. The significance, in terms of (218) meaning, of these free associations
represents the latent content. The psychoanalytic transformation of the latent to the manifest
content is called the dream-work. The reason for the distortion of the impulse now becomes
apparent. If the impulse, savage as it is, reaches consciousness, sleep is readily disturbed, either
by nightmare or by sudden awakening. The force of distortion is therefore the protector of sleep.
Frequently, an impulse can be so distorted that its opposite alone is meaningful. A patient
dreamed that she was carrying on divorce proceedings against her husband, while her husband
pleaded with the judge to stop the action. In reality she did not want a divorce as she still loved
him, but he insisted upon it. This also demonstrates how the dream represents a wish fulfillment,
for as the patient has power over the continuation of the proceedings, she can stop it at any time.
The dreamer is always the principal actor of the dream, but he can assume two roles if this is
necessary for the distortion. In this manner a student who was destined for an examination the
following morning and had a bit of apprehension about it dreamed that he was the professor
examining a nondescript student who managed to pass with a high grade.
The extent of the distortion is always relative to the degree of inacceptability of the real
wish, according to Freud. Serious conflicts in this way can be expressed with much lightness and
even humor if greater distortion of them can be accomplished. Thus a patient who had lost large
sums of money through unwise investments, fearing that his wife would discover his blunder,
dreamed that she was throwing one hundred dollar bills into an open fire to keep warm. The
dream not only softened the blow of reality, but also held his wife directly responsible for the
loss, and, as such, he was immune to her critical judgment. The reader will remember a case.
described in this chapter where the patient projected his feelings so that the burden of guilt
resulting from an experience (219)
with his brother's wife rested upon his sister-in-law instead. It is easy to note the similarity
between conscious and unconscious distortions. The chief patterns of distortion are displayed in
the mechanisms of symbolization, dramatization, condensation and displacement.
Symbolization is the mental substitution of one thing for something else. A student who
had anxiety about finances dreamed that a man named Riley was sharing his quarters. As he was
not acquainted with anyone of that name, it could be assumed that the dreamer-might have found
prosperity in the Life of Riley. Likewise, a .bed of roses might symbolize freedom from anxiety
and the purchase of a baby crib might symbolize the hope for pregnancy. In everyday life a
Hopalong Cassidy outfit puts a boy up there with the best of them, while a doll becomes a baby
to a little girl. The interpretation of symbols is important, for it expresses the unconscious wish,
leading to its recovery to . consciousness. , Moreover, it betokens a train of thought which gives
expression to the deeper conflicts of personality. Symbols, therefore, represent complexes. A
patient dreamed that she was playfully throwing dirt at her husband. The dream was easily
explained when it came to light that she was in love with another man; her husband's demise
supplying the best solution for her problem. The dirt thus symbolized his burial. Another patient
dreamed that' she had recovered a doll that she had played with as a child. This signified a wish
to return to an age during which her wants were provided for, and anxieties were minimal. It
symbolized a wish to withdraw from situations which oppress the adult. "If I could only be a kid
again," is a common expression of everyday life. Dreaming will make it so!
The content of the dream occasionally seems alien to the dreamer, mainly due to its
objectivity. As the patient is apart from his dream it becomes unnecessary for him to (220)
assume responsibility for his acts which to him seem base. Moreover, this process is of great
service to the psychoanalyst for it permits the patient to "open up," thereby rendering
information which he would normally keep to himself if he' thought his baser nature would
unfold in the exposition.
Dramatization provides animation to our thoughts, impulses and feelings. In our dreams
people and places come to life. In this respect the dream has been compared to a motion picture.
The phenomenon of time is distorted. Whim one has to travel from New York to California, the
first scene shows him boarding the plane, the next, sitting comfortably in his seat, the third scene
finds him leaving .the plane and being greeted by his friends. The dreamer makes effortless
journeys, appearing in distant places as easily as he can change his thoughts.
Condensation is an interesting mechanism to be found in some dreams. By this means
two persons might fuse into one composite personality. One of my friends related a dream in
which he was extolled along with the presentation of a medal for being a great physician, a
celebrated automotive engineer and im outstanding musician. The dream had resulted from an
argument 'that ensued just before bedtime. As a physician he had no business disassembling his
car whenever the. fancy struck him, or so his wife thought. The fact that he had also neglected
his practice by devoting much too much time to the piano added further to the argument. His
wife's final contention was that a person who dabbled in all three pursuits could only be
one-third of a physician, one third of a mechanic and one-third of a pianist. This was exactly
what my friend had accomplished in his dream.
When it is convenient an opposite mechanism can manifest itself in the dream. The
characteristics of the dreamer may become diffused in a Jekyll and Hyde manner. In this way,
one tendency of the dreamer is dissociated from the remainder of the personality and occupies
the form of a (221) separate person in the dream; thus he exists apart from his animal tendencies,
disclaiming responsibility for them.
Displacement is a common kind of behavior in everyday life. The irate husband who
kicks the cat because he cannot kick his wife; the golfer who vents his anger on the caddy
because the ball landed in the "rough," are examples of displacement. It is the transfer of tension
from its perplexing bed to another place where it seems more innocent. A lawyer dreamed that
he was defending a client who was on trial for embezzlement. Actually the lawyer was the
culprit. He had juggled the finances of an estate left to his trust and could not replace the funds
he had taken. As his client was, in reality, a prominent business man he was a fitting object for
the transfer.
Thus dreams express our unknown impulses and lead to their discovery. Our actions,
thoughts and biases spring from rejected tendencies which we attempted to disown at the time of
their occurrence. These mingle with our memories of yesterday and the situations of today, and
so govern our responses to changing scenes. The fact that many of our present opinions are
based on infantile feelings of childhood leads us to suspect that our thoughts do not always
follow logical sequence.
The methods of psychoanalysis have not only provided a vast array of important
behavior conceptions, they have also produced a system of therapy which seeks to evoke the
pathogenic material imbedded in the hidden strata of the unconscious, and in so doing, brings
permanent relief to the emotionally sick.
B. TECHNIQUE: Psychoanalysis insists that its therapists must themselves undergo
comprehensive analysis before being permitted to practice. As this must entail time, effort and
money, few (222) physicians care to make these sacrifices. If the novice should wish to pursue
such a course he should place himself under the supervision of an analyst who is competent in
such matters.
Before any type of psychoanalysis is embarked upon, the patient should be submitted to
thorough physical examination to eliminate any possibility of an organic cause for the nervous
symptoms. The diagnostician selected should be one with a background in psychosomatic
medicine, for illnesses resulting from physical bases cannot be cleared up until the physical
cause has been eliminated; as conversely, a physical ailment rooted in a psychogenic disorder
cannot be cured until the patient has discovered its unconscious disposition.
In the technique of free association, the patient reclines upon a bed or couch in a
darkened room, away from disturbances which might ordinarily affect him. The room is quiet so
that the patient may feel as calm as possible. Some analysts prefer to place the patient in a chair
facing them in order to note the varying facial expressions, while most of them assume a seated
position beyond the view of the patient.
Then the patient is told to let his mind wander, to say anything that might enter his
consciousness. At first, the outpourings have little pertinence, but if he is properly led from
flighty thoughts to those of a basic significance, his response with information sheds light on the
mechanisms of past behavior. The patient may speak of his feelings and impulses, he may tell of
dreams or fantasies; no matter how foolish or irrelevant the material might appear to him, he is
prompted to express it.
This is the method of free association, as it is employed in standard analytical procedure.
It is based upon the theory that if the mind is permitted to wander from thought to thought,
under guidance, of course, it will inevitably locate the area of disturbance; that the mind will
eventually travel to trauma which is causing the distress. If a certain thought, impulse or desire
seems to appear recurrently, the (223) analyst guides the patient back to that point, and insists on
iteration and reiteration, particularly if it seems to carry distress in its wake. The strategy is to
attempt to probe beyond the censor's gate; to stimulate unconscious thoughts to rise to
consciousness, where the patient himself is forced to recognize their presence and adjust himself
to himself as he actually is to accept that thought or feeling or act which was at one time
repugnant enough to him to force him to repress it. Once he comes to terms with himself,
symptoms automatically dissolve. He must learn to develQp a tolerance for the material which
was formerly repressed; his point of view must change; he is forced to grow. Through analysiS
of his dreams, and by the repeated sessions of free association which he undergoes. the patient
develops an entirely new conception of his own personality. With the new understanding and
integration the symptoms are banished.
Of course, the drawback to psychoanalysis is its expense. The analyst must have
undergone many years of study and apprenticeship; must invest large sums of capital in his
training. Likewise, the patient must generally make a large investment of both time and money
as most analysts insist upon five or six sessions a week. Furthermore, no definite time limit can
be established for the consummation of complete therapy. The conscientious therapist warns his
patient that he may have to spend years at it, and even after this time, there is no absolute
assurance that his difficulties will be entirely resolved. A patient who had been duly
recommended to me by her analyst had undergone six years of persistent therapy.
C. HYPNO-ANALYSIS AND HYPNO-SYNTHESIS: Many innovations have been
thrust into the psychotherapeutic field since the publication of the works of Breuer and Freud. Of
these, the hypno-analytical approach provides (224) considerable advantages, for not only does it
shorten the time element involved in orthodox methods, but it also causes a more predictable
contact with the unconscious. While it does not stray too far from the normal Freudian course, it
offers the therapist greater and far more direct access to the pathogenic material that harasses his
patient. Thus it enables him to bring about the desired integration within a shorter period of
time. The usual analytic method must, of necessity, wade through the extraneous material before
significant items appear in the free-association period. Many patients stall for weeks, talking
around a point that they do not want So face. Their symptoms must become more painful than
the fear of recognition before their "censors" will break down and admit that "the master could
be capable of such thoughts."
Through the facilities of hypnosis such censorship is avoided, for in this state the
"censor" may be dethroned, consequently promoting the dissolution of the inhibitions, thereby
permitting the patient to remember what his former conflicts caused him to forget. The patient is
brought back to the original experience that caused his trauma. He is prompted to recall the
material with all the clarity of the original picture, plus the precise emotional reaction of that
time) rather than a rationalized emotional reaction tacked onto it by twenty or thirty years of
living. We can take him back, age by age, day by day, and, if necessary, back to experience by
experience. We can cause him to dream under hypnosis, and we find that hypnotic dreams are
less cluttered with protective symbolisms. We can even suggest that he will dream about a
particular incident of his life, and we generally find that, with the aid of these dreams, he is able
to recall experience in its entirety.
The orthodox analyst, by free associations, brings his patient to recall various traumatic
experiences which have affected him in the past and those pertinent experiences and (225)
thoughts which he once had and later forgot. When they begin to appear with sufficient intensity,
the patient begins to cry profusely, or to tremble, or shake or scream with fear, as he relives the
experience. He is encouraged to relate it to the analyst in detail, and then to repeat the story over
and over again until the emotional expression dissipates, and he tells it as quietly as though he
were discussing the weather. This constant reliving desensitizes him to the experience.
When abreaction occurs, the analyst gives his patient plenty of opportunity to indulge in
any emotional play that might be associated with the experience while it is coming to the
surface. Then he explains how the feeling affected his condition at that certain time, which
procedure offers the patient insight into his personality disturbance. With the analyst's help, then,
the patient is brought gradually and gently to a more mature attitude, and reaches the point of
integration where he can solve his own problems upon an adult level of behavior.
 The question arises, can hypnosis, our short-cut to the unconscious, be used to expedite
this process; if so, how, and what benefits does it confer? The answer will evolve as we examine
the technique of analysis as it is used in conjunction with hypnosis. There is, of course, a wide
variety of techniques in the application of hypno-analysis, some of which will be mentioned in
passing. Much important work has been done, and for the consideration of other approaches the
reader is referred to the literature.
Before proceeding with an exposition of the methods in use, we must, for convenience
and comprehension, divide our therapy into two separate stages of action. The first stage is the
precise hypno-analysis. The word "analysis" implies the resolution of a compound into its parts
or elements. As such it brings the patient to an adequate level of hypnotic response, in this way
establishing contact with the repressed material (226) and elevating it to the surface, thus
stimulating its emotional revival proper to the original experience.
The second stage cannot properly be called hypno-analysis, as there is no further
separation of the material into its basic elements, for this stage constitutes the moral, physical,
mental and emotional adjustment to the material presented. Moreover, the second stage prepares
the patient by suggestion during hypnosis to exert independence, self-reliance and serenity upon
waking so that the transference which existed as a necessity between therapist and patient during
therapy may be abandoned without undue conflict to the patient. Explanations to the patient of
the connection between his symptoms and the material also aid in promoting and maintaining
recovery.
As the second stage implies a combination of separate or subordinate parts into a new
form, the term "hypno-analysis" is an apparent misnomer. The process of analysis keeps these
elements separated. The word "synthesis," on the other hand, signifies the combination of
separate elements into a whole, contrasted with analysis, which is from the whole to separate
parts. Therefore, through hypno-.synthesis the new personality, openly rejecting the pathogenic
material, makes a suitable adjustment and is stimulated to grow. Thus the two states,
hypno-analysis and later hypno-synthesis, are necessary for successful termination of the
behavior disorder.
The first step in the process of hypno-analysis is to place the subject in Medium Sleep.
He must demonstrate his ability to accept and react to simple and later fairly difficult
suggestions. Then we proceed with a suggestion such as this:
"When 1 place the palm of my hand on the back of your neck, you will immediately
think back to the occurrences which were responsible for your present difficulty. You will be
able to visualize all of these experiences in full detail; you will be without any desire to hold
back or to repress this (227) information; you will be able to tell me everything that you feel
about your condition, and the various causes of it as you recognize them. I will understand-you
may depend upon it can and will help you."
The analyst then places his hand on the back of the patient's neck and waits until the
patient develops a certain emotional reaction indicative of the emergence of the information. He
must be steadily prompted by the analyst to give out as much information as he possibly can. It
is necessary to retain complete control over the patient during this period, for he may develop
fits of rage or quiver with emotion as he recounts his story. The analyst must be very tolerant
and not interrupt the patient at any point of this procedure. If the patient should, however, at any
time attempt to evade the subject, it is the analyst's duty to pull him back so that he will
concentrate only on pertinences. When this method is satisfactory, the patient will unburden
himself completely arid describe_ vividly, in detail and with all the original emotion, the
traumatic experiences.
During this abreaction, the analyst's calm must remain unbroken, for if he fails to display
serenity, repose, and even a degree of apathy mingled with his interest, the patient senses the fact
and takes alarm. The patient must never be rushed to end this session, for he might lose track of
some experience or idea which will prove to be a key to the entire situation.
I. Motion Picture Technique: A method which I prefer to the one that has been described,
however, is the one I call the "motion-picture technique." The patient, when in the desired
hypnotic state, is given this suggestion: "Soon I shall ask you to open your eyes. When you do,
you will find that you are in a motion picture theater. Ahead (229) of you is the screen. On the
screen you will see a movie. This motion picture is the story of yo.ur life. You will notice that
all of the important details of your life have been successively woven into the story that you see
before you on the screen. I want you to tell me about them, for I am unable to see the screen.
Now I am going to ask you to open your eyes, and just ahead of you will see the screen."
The patient opens his eyes and seems rather amazed at what he "sees" before him. He
begins to recount everything that passes on his screen. As he watches, he occasionally laughs
rather loudly, or grins sheepishly, or looks embarrassed, at times screaming with rage or anger.
He describes the picture graphically, and it has been proven to me many times that what he is
describing is actually a vivid account of experiences hitherto "forgotten." The session generally
continues until the patient breaks down under the emotional stress caused by some condittion
which seems to have affected him at some time in his life. As he visualizes this, and as he
recounts it, he enters suitable abreaction, for he recalls the very things which before were too
painful for him to retain in conscious memory.
One case which I was fortunate enough to have recorded shows the various effects which
can be caused by this method of hypno-analysis. The patient was given the suggestion that he
would see everything upon the screen before him. The patient was a twenty-four-year-old boy
who had finally been shipped back to the United States from a station hospital after breaking
down completely under "battle fatigue." He had served an, unusual number of missions without
showing signs of strain, and then collapsed completely. His symptoms were those of tremendous
anxiety and depression which were perpetually with him; he could not sleep, was greatly
fatigued, and was totally unable to make any kind of adjustment either in his work or his
personal life. He was so "torn (229) to pieces" that he had been discharged almost immediately
upon his return to the United States.
As soon as he was able to visualize the "screen" before him, he began to talk: "I see the
picture clearly now. I am in a plane with Red. ... Red Stokes, that's his name .... Red's my gunner
... and there I'm looking over to Red to see how he's doing. ... suddenly a couple of Jap Zeros are
coming at us .... Red is getting ready to fire The Japs are firing at us. I can see Red has been hit.
... a couple of bullets went right through the side. ... out of the back of the plane a flame leaps
out. I call to Red to jump ... I can't go on, I don't want to see it. It hurts like H .... I can't stand to
look at it ..."
He broke off sobbing. I told him that for his own good he must look at it; it was his only
chance of getting well. I made him look at the screen, and when finally, he brought himself to
look up, he said: "I can't stand to look at it. ... I am calling to Red .... I am looking at him, calling
to him, 'Jump, jump!' but he just doesn't look my way. He is holding his hand by his chest and
it's full of blood. I know that he's a goner, but the plane is on fire; I must jump; I must take him
with me; I must jump, this plane is a goner. I can't take him with me, I have to jump; I can't wait
any longer-the plane is on fire. I open the door and I jump, without him .... and I left him."
 At this point, the patient became most distraught and upset, screaming wildly, "I didn't
kill Red-he was killed already .... I couldn't do anything for him .... I had to jump to save my life
... Right here, I interposed to assure him that of course he did the only thing he could possibly
have done. His gunner was dead, and hampering himself with a dead body would only have
destroyed his own chances of survival without helping Red. (230)
In the next few sessions, I had him look at the "screen" to see the picture again and again,
until he did because desensitized to it, at which time all of his symptoms cleared up completely.
I have used this method more frequently than any other, having found it to be very much the
most satisfactory method of catharsis. The p~tient, in relating what he sees on the screen:
becomes so objective about it that he makes very little attempt to repress. either what he sees or
his emotions concerning it.
In other cases, when I suspect that the condition was brought about at a certain period of
a patient's life, I have employed the same motion picture technique, telling him that he will see
himself at a certain age or in a certain experience. When I have instituted this suggestion, I have
him open his eyes and look at the screen ahead; the blocks appear to dissolve and he rela.tes
precisely what he "sees" with no evasion at 411, with ensuing therapeutic benefit.
In one case of impotency, where the patient was entirely unable to recall consciously any
incident in his life responsible for his condition, I made him "see" a picture of his father on the
screen. He opened his eyes and said immediately, "Look! that's me, over there in the corner,
thumbing through a picture book. I can see the pictures very clearly now. Gee, I must be about
four years old. Now, the picture is changing and I am in bed with my mother. The both of us are
in bed together. Dad isn't in the room. I don’t know where Dad is. I am lying in my mother's
arms and she is doing something bad to me. At least I think it's bid; I seem to be enjoying
myself. I know it's bad, and yet I am enjoying it tremendously. She is putting her hand on my
penis and she is saying something. Now I know what she is saying .... Now I know .... She
shouldn't have said that. She shouldn't have done it. Now I know exactly what happened. Now I
know why I hate my (231) mother. I could kill her for it. She made me think things that I wasn't
supposed to think. Now I know exactly and I can't help myself. I must hate her for that."
When asked to tell what his mother said, he was very reluctant at first, but as his rage
built up until he could not control himself, he said that his mother had murmured, while placing
one hand on the organ, "When you are older, Ed, I'll tell you exactly what you're supposed to do
with this. But until then, no one else is supposed to touch you there."
He became violent with rage; then the rage subsided and he became at first fearful and
finally hysterical. He developed a panic reaction and begged not to have to look at the screen any
more, for he was afraid of seeing something else. It would be better, he said, if he did not know
it.
About this time, he was wakened, and during the next five sessions I repeated the
demonstration to him; each time he added more to what had been said. Finally, he became so
completely desensitized to the situation that he accepted the experience entirely with the thought
that mother was only unfortunate in her ignorance, and should perhaps have been
psychoanalyzed also.
As soon as he accepted this realization, the symptoms of impotence disappeared
completely. The unconscious reaction from this experience had forced him to identify his wife
with his mother and regress to the impotency of a four-year-old. The entire situation cleared up
and he has been symptom free ever since.
2. Hypnotic Dream Analysis: Occasionally we are confronted with a dream which
defies interpretation because of the heavy symbolism which effectually disguises its content. In
these cases I have found that under Medium Hypnosis the patient will interpret the dream for
me. As an instance, one minister whom I had been treating dreamed that a tremendous tide had
drifted in, completely
(232) enveloping a manuscript that he was writing. At first the content of the dream seemed
vague to us both. Under hypnosis he gave me a complete interpretation. He said that the word
"tide" in the dream should not be there at all, because "tide" spelled backward would be "edit,"
and that is exactly what the dream meant, for the Church had been "editing" the manuscript for
him, and his whole being was in rebellion against that "editing." It was sweeping his manuscript
away, "enveloping" it.
Again, the same patient dreamed that there was a little mouse; that the mouse was being
chased by a lion, and finally the lion caught up with the mouse and devoured it. From this he
awoke in a cold sweat and was unable to go back to sleep. Under hypnosis he said that he was
the mouse and his father the lion; that he vividly recalled many times during his childhood when
his father dominated him completely, sometimes chasing him to enforce that domination. He had
always fantasied himself as a "wee mousie" and father, the lion.
The patient, 41 years of age at the time of treatment, was in charge of the largest church
in his city. Being well liked by his congregation and commended many times by the church
board of the state, he had little reason for his manifest feeling of insecurity. Nevertheless, it was
there. He lived in fear that one day, because of some action that he could not control, he would
be "thrown out" by the board. Such thoughts led to many depressing moments. While he "made
good" at the church, his marital life seemed an unhappy one and "a flop." He had met his wife
while a junior in college, marrying soon afterwards. As marriage brought with it his first sexual
experience, it was on the wedding night that he discovered his inability to perform the sex act.
This had caused him considerable anxiety. In the twenty-one-year period prior to his submission
to treatment, he had remained impotent, without any sign of improvement.
In response to my request to "talk things out," he (233) recalled an experience at the age
of fourteen of having been ordered from the house by his father and told never to return. The
patient could shed no further conscious light on the subject. At this time I utilized a particular
method which had served me well in the past. After guiding the patient to Medium Sleep, he was
told that soon the state of hypnosis would be converted into normal slumber, during which he
would have a dream, that the dream would return him to the origic nal experience, and he would
recall it upon awakening twenty minutes later. Upon waking, he would write the full content of
the dream on the paper lying on the desk before him.
Twenty minutes later he awakened, as if from a deep sleep, and after slight hesitation, he
picked up the pencil from the desk and started to write. While he wrote he tried to restrain his
tears, but to no avail. He began to sob, first quietly and then loudly. But he continued to write,
stopping occasionally to wipe the tears from his eyes, or to dry the paper where they fell. After
one hour and fifteen minutes his dream had been completely recorded. He presented me with the
nineteen pages, and felt better for it.
Eventually we discovered, on the basis of the dream, that back of the "throwing out"
scene lay a childish bit of investigation with his younger sister, which Father, a harsh, bigoted
man, relentlessly "moral" in his own interpretation of the word, had chosen to regard as a
particularly vicious bit of original sin. Once this reached the surface, one fact led easily to
another and the cure was soon effected.
The patient was once again returned to the hypnotic state for hypno-synthetic therapy. He
was asked to let his thoughts wander along certain paths, i.e., he was given something to think
about. I asked him to concentrate upon any resemblance which might be apparent to him
between his father and the church. At first, he repeated the fact that his father was a pious man
who wanted his children to grow up within the religious fold, but soon he began to interpret the
(234) material which he had presented in his explanation of the hypnotically induced dream.
It seemed that the marriage license had little effect on the thoughts of morality that had
been inflicted on him by his father, for even after he married, the marital act disturbed
him ,because it stimulated the reappearance of the guilt that was connected with his incestuous
advances in the original experience. The church was the symbol of his father; thus each time he
attempted the sex act, though it was incomplete, he felt that the church would punish him for his
indiscretions by "throwing him out." This mechanism was of course an unconscious one, and as
such he had no knowledge of it, but it was responsible for his impotence and his insecurity. Both
conditions left him almost immediately, and thereafter he was free of them.
If a patient cannot recall an experience by any of these methods-and in deeply rooted
ones he may not be able tohe may be given the suggestion that he will dream of the experience
which caused this condition, and furthermore (this is important) that upon wakening he will
remember the dream and immediately write it down to submit to the analyst at the next session.
This helps considerably. When the patient returns for the next visit, there is the dream in black
and white, somewhat uncomplicated by symbolism and easy to interpret. When the patient
brings the dream in, he is made aware of the previous suggestion, unless he first volunteers the
information that there is a strong similarity between the dream and an incident in his life which
he had forgotten. That is occasionally the case.
Mrs. A. G., age 42, complained of nervousness. Her physical condition seemed good,
except for a persistent tachycardia, which at times made the pulse uncountable. Moreover, sharp
pains would frequently shoot up and down the left arm, causing her no end of discomfort,
occasionally preventing sleep. Careful examination of the chest by an able (235) diagnostician
failed to elicit a cardiac lesion or other pertinent signs of dysfunction. As many opinions were
voiced in her journey from doctor to doctor, the patient received many treatments which proved
of little benefit. It was on one of such visits that a physician noted a peculiar reaction in the
patient. This had been occasioned by some workmen directly outside the office building banging
away at metal pipes. The patient in response screamed, covered her ears in an attempt to exclude
the sound and, as if to no avail, fainted dead away. The physician, discounting other opinions,
detected some hysteria in his patient and thus had her seek psychiatric advice.
The patient's life had been somewhat rugged. Being brought up in Germany, and of a
certain political disposition, she made open declarations of her discontents on the event of
Hitler's assumption of power. As a result, she was arrested, and without benefit of trial interned
in a camp with others who had made similar avowals. It was only after repeated efforts on the
part of her friends and family that she was allowed her freedom to leave the camp and the
country. Because of the severity of conditions in the concentration camp in which she was
incarcerated, her final freedom, after two years, left her in a state of physical depletion and
malnutrition, from which it took her some time to recover.
The patient, perhaps because of partial success in suppressing the memory of the horrors
of that period, resisted all methods attempted. Nevertheless, she did respond to hypnosis, but
only after we were able to overcome a certain amount of her initial recalcitrance. We finally
brought forth greater achievement by placing a suggestion in her mind with regard to
post-hypnotic dreaming: "When you have gone to sleep tonight, a short time afterwards you will
have a dream. The content of the dream will concern itself with the clanging sound of two
metals hitting each other. After the dream you will awaken, write it down on paper with a pencil
that you will keep close to your (236)
bed for this purpose. The dream will have no emotional effect on you. In fact, after completing
the record of your dream, you will return to your bed and resume your sleep. You will bring
your dream with you to your customary appointment with me tomorrow."
The patient carried out these suggestions to the letter, producing her dream the next day.
Although few words were used to describe its content, the dream upon interpretation, furnished a
solution to her case: "I dreamt that I was in the concentration camp again. I was hungry and
thirsty. Everybody else felt the same way. Sometimes the attendants would keep the food from
us, especially when somebody made trouble. In the dream we lined up against the bars and made
noises with our tin cups against the bars. Then everybody did the same thing until the noise was
so loud it was deafening.' Then the guards came. One of them, a woman, caught my arm-my left
arm-and pulled it through the bars and tried to twist it against the bar. It hurt me. I screamed. I
couldn't stand the pain. Afterwards I thought my arm was broken, but it wasn't. I could not move
it for a few days-then it was all right."
Once I had examined the dream, I handed it to the patient, requesting her to read it again.
As she perused the paper, she became overcome with emotion-her tears were profuse. My
interrogation followed:
ANALYST: "What does the dream mean to you?"
PATIENT: "It's more than a dream. It's true. That is what happened."
ANALYST: "What happened?"
PATIENT: "As it was in the dream. That horrible noise ... my arm ... ."
ANALYST: "Is that why you fainted in the doctor's office, because you heard the same noise?"
PATIENT: "Yes. That was it. I can't stand that noise, so I faint to escape from it. I don't want to
be reminded."
ANALYST: "Is it not your left arm that has been troubling you?" (237)
PATIENT: "Yes. It hurts me right now-very much." (Patient massages her left arm.)
ANALYST: "Was it not the same left arm that was damaged by the woman attendant in the
camp?"
PATIENT: (Pause) "That's right. It was that arm."
ANALYST: "Could it be possible that in attempting to wipe the memory of the incident from
your mind, you allowed a few symptoms, such as the response to the clanging noise and a
painful arm, to replace the memory?"
PATIENT: "That is what I have done."
ANALYST: "As the experience is over with, you should have no further reason to harbor such
symptoms."
PATIENT: ''I'm sure that they will disappear."
The symptoms did disappear, and with them went) a good deal of the patient's nervous
tension. The fast, persistent pulse, while it did not return to normal, showed marked
improvement, probably as a result of the therapy.
It is sound procedure, in any event, whether using motion picture technique or that of
placing one hand on the patient's neck, to tell him that the forthcoming night will bring a dream
of an experience which he had forgotten but which the dream will recall, and which will contain
within it the germ for his healing.
3. Word Association Tests: The word association tests developed by J ung and others
seem to function differently under hypnosis from the manner in which they do in full
consciousness. The words produc.ed associatively in the hypnotic state apparently lie closer to
the affective life and lead more directly to unconscious material. One of their advantages is that
they can be an effective means for' yielding information, in conjunction with other methods of
analysis such as dream interpretation and free association. The efficiency of the word-association
method is demonstrated readily in the following case: Jack R., age 23, applied for
psychoanalytic therapy, as (238) this was the course set forth by an understanding judge who
released the patient on the provision that he would seek psychiatric attention.
A few weeks preceding the trial, Jack had parked his car several feet from the entrance of
a school for girls, and, according to a later confession, waited until school was out, at which time
he exposed his genitalia to some of the girls passing by. Soon after he started the engine and
made for home, confident that his identity had not been discovered. This was not the case, for
one of the girls had the presence of mind to record his license number. When she related the
incident to her father, he, feeling that his daughter had been outraged by the scene she had
witnessed, reported the story to the police. Within a few hours Jack was "booked" at the central
station.
As soon as the police began their questioning, Jack made a clean breast of it. In tears he
recounted the incident, just as the girl had described it. He could not understand what had
provoked him to act as he did. He was convinced that his aggression against society had
destroyed his life and had made him the subject for humiliation by his family and friends.
His wife, a rather quiet girl, could not understand her husband's act. Although the
validity of his confession had been demonstrated to her, she refused to believe that he could
become so involved, for his usual behavior seemed to nullify the act. Her husband had always
been extremely modest in his habits. In innumerable instances she had inadvertently entered the
room while he was dressing. He would rapidly make an effort to cover his body and show no
end of embarrassment. Further conversation with her led to information which seemed
paradoxical. For example, Jack would leave the room if she were undressing" on the pretense
that he was going to the corner for a package of cigarettes. Instead she noticed with particular
confusion that he would leave the house, stand at her window, and peer into the room (239)
through an opening in the shade. While his actions in this regard were incomprehensible to her,
she had never before discussed them with anyone. On one occasion, a friend of her husband's
had returned from overseas on a furlough. As he had no family and few friends in the city, he
was invited to make his home with them for the short duration of his stay. On the second day of
his friend's visit, an interesting conversation took place between the patient and his wife. As
Eddie, the temporary boarder, had been away for a long time, he needed to be entertained by the
opposite sex. Jack thought that his wife should assume this duty. This demand resulted in a bitter
quarrel, for she objected to being "prostituted" by her husband. The matter was henceforth
dropped.
The first consultation with Jack was given to a discussion of the incident which led to his
trial. He was completely at a loss for an explanation of the event. Although it was the first time
he had submitted to the impulse to expose himself, it had existed for many years. He could not
remember the first incidence of the urge, but he was confident that it had occurred before
puberty.
As a routine procedure, I submit a number of words to the patient for his associative
response. He is asked to give each association as quickly as possible after the stimulus word is
heard. Following through with the association method in consciousness, I hypnotize the patient
and repeat the identical stimulus words. The word associations are generally most informative
during Medium Sleep. On this occasion ten words were chosen from my standard list. The
patient's responses to them in the conscious period were:
STIMULUS WORD
ASSOCIATION
1. dark
light
2. sickness
health
3. mountain
river
4. woman
man
5. cold
quite cold (240)
6. beautiful
ugly
7. smooth
round
8. command
order
9. slow
fast
10. courage
coward
His conscious responses were by no means atypical, and therefore, could throw little light on his
behavior patterns. The following were his associations to the same stimulus words under
hypnosis, in the same analytical session:
STIMULUS WORD
ASSOCIATION
1. dark
hell
2. sickness
me
3. mountain
breast
4. woman
my mother, the only
woman
5. cold
the way, she treats me
6. beautiful
my wife, she treats
me
7. smooth
a woman’s body
8. command
my father ruled me
9. slow
I’m to fast with my
wife
10. courage
courage to die
The patient was then asked to speak whatever thoughts entered his mind after he had
responded to the words I had given him. As he had not been returned to the waking state, the
associations he had offered were fresh in his memory, and as such, they led to a provocative
explanation.
When Jack had reached his tenth birthday his mother celebrated the occasion by inviting
a few friends to the house. Cake and wine were served. It was the first time that Jack had tasted
wine; he liked its effect on him. His mother, being too occupied with her guests, failed to notice
that Jack had taken excessive amounts of the liquid. In the beginning he was gripped by a most
disturbing nausea, but soon he felt good. It was only after the party had broken up that his
mother noticed that her son was slightly inebriated, and insisted that he be put to bed
immediately. She helped him to
(241) undress, and it was then that the thought occurred to her that a cold bath might help to
sober him. In preparation for this, and in order to keep from getting wet in the process, she
removed her blouse, partially exposing her chest. The patient's words follow: "Christ, I don't
know what came over me then. I did something terrible. Mom was leaning over the tub and I
grabbed her breast. She was screaming-trying to get me off. Then she got me by the hair and hit
me over and over again across the face. Pop came up when he heard the screaming and did the
job up right. After that, Mom didn't talk to me much.
"After that, I used to get funny feelings-like dreams. The first one came on the day after.
I started thinking about what happened in the bathroom. It got me all excited. But what really
did it was when I tried to feel and imagine Mom hitting me. It was a hell of a feeling. I wanted
her to do it again, but I didn't have the nerve."
Jack had identified sexual experience with humiliation, and, as other qualities of
this nature made themselves manifest in his personality, he discovered that acts promoting
degnidation were, in some ways, enjoyable even if they did result in mortification. Thus Jack
wanted to be "caught" and humiliated. But he did find other means by which he could be
debased. When he had suggested to his wife that she submit to his friend, he was doing so with
this apparent purpose. When he exposed his person to the young girls in front of the school, he
might have been "confident" that he could make a "getaway," but inwardly his act had satisfied a
desire for double humiliation-one in the exposure, the other in the capture that followed, and the
consequent confession.
We elicited the following information during an analytical session several months later:
"When I was kid I used to look in people's windows. I was a 'peeping Tom' or something. Once I
got caught. I got a good beating for it; I didn't mind. Some gal was undressing. Her husband was
coming home from work. It was at night. He caught me looking in the window. After that I used
to do it whenever I could, even if I knew I could get killed for it. I even looked through the
window at my wife. It gave me the same feeling."
On another occasion: ''I'm smaller than the average man. I've always felt lousy about it.
Never wanted anyone to see me. When I was in the Navy, I'd get the idea that the kids were
laughing at me. One time I wanted to jump over the side, but I didn't have the 'guts.' "The guys
used to talk about the time it took them. I used to be ashamed because I was so quick. I'm glad
my wife never paid any attention-anyway she never said anything about it. I always keep myself
covered when she's around. I hate to have her see me. That's one humiliation I've never wanted."
The patient had, by this time, gained sufficient insight into his behavior, many of its
expressions having disappeared, but it took six months of persistent effort to neutralize the
pathogenic material and draw a happy conclusion from the case.
4. Suggestion in Analysis: After the patient has once abreacted to a given situation
recalled under hypnosis, the ordeal can be eased if the session is augmented by counseling which
the analyst gives while the patient is still in hypnosis. Now our method of hypno-synthesis must
come into play. This must be designed with a view toward helping the individual to accept the
experience which he has just produced and adjusting his life accordingly. The hypnotist should
also impress upon the patient's mind the (243) various associations and connotations of his
illness, and how they conform to this particular experience which he has relived. He must show
where all the symptoms are actually related to the symptom connected with this particular
experience. It will not be necessary for the patient to receive specific suggestions for the
amelioration of the symptom, for if the analysis of the experience is a true analysis, the symptom
will vanish without suggestion; if the analysis be untrue or incomplete, it is better to keep
"digging" now than to banish a symptom only to have it pop out at a later date in a more virulent
form. Frequently a case is complicated enough to require a number of abreactions and the
reliving of many experiences before the analysis may be considered complete. Beware the too
hasty conclusion.
Despite the many methods in hypno-analysis, it is still necessary to coax the patient into
giving more and more information. This coaxing must never be done in a way to offend the
patient under treatment. He must be made continu- .y ously aware of the fact that the
information is only desired in order to effect his complete rehabilitation. After the first session of
hypno-analysis, the patient may be nervous upon awakening unless given suggestions which will
waken him calm and serene. This must be taken into consideration, for if the patient is unduly
upset and transference incomplete, he will leave the analyst's office not to return, and in worse
shape than ever because new fears have been added to the load he is already carrying.
It would appear that the implementation of psychoanalysis with hypnosis is the most
effective way we have at present for the clarification of certain types of neuroses and the release
of neurotic symptoms. It is the quickest method known to alleviate causative conditions and to
bring the patient to a contented integration both within himself and wirh his environment.

If the reader should be interested in pursuing further works of hypno-analytic technique,

he is referred particularly to Walberg's Hypnoanalysis and Lindner's Rebel Without a Cause,
both of which provide abundant information on pathological behavior and its cure through the
use of hypnosis. In the first work, Wolberg discusses the successful analysis of a psychotic,
Johan R., and shows how, by masterful handling of hypnotic techniques, a schizophrenic was
able to return to the reality from which he had escaped.
Lindner's book should be of interest to the sociologist, the criminologist and the therapist,
for it relates the case of a psychopathic personality, whose maladjustment to life and society had
made him a criminal. By means of hypnosis and psychoanalysis, Dr. Lindner was able to make
known the repressed memories of his patient, Harold; as he adjusted himself to them, remarkable
personality alterations followed. Harold was no longer a "rebel." He was able to assume a place
in a society that he had despised since childhood.
When unconscious resistances on the part of the patient prevent adequate induction of
hypnosis, depressant drugs are sometimes resorted to, which are presumed to produce the same
effect. It is my opinion that they are less successful; the end result is narcosis, not hypnosis.
There are various drugs which have been used from time to time for this purpose, the most
popular being sodium amy tal, phenobarbitol and sodium pentathol.
While there 'have been ,certain instances in which the drugs have been useful, they
should not be used save as a last resort, and then only by those persons who are 'qualified to
handle them.
“Bis dat qui cito dat"-"He gives twice who gives it quickly." My own conclusions are that
ingenious "surprise attack" will accomplish anything the drug might, and, should (245) that fail,
it is not hypnosis that has failed, but the ingenuity of the hypnotist. (246)

34. MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS: APPLIED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE

IMAGINATION: BOTH MASTER AND SERVANT: Better Living through
“Imagination Engineering”Is there something you'd like to transform about yourself? Perhaps
you desire to lose weight .... refrain from smoking .... decrease anxiety .... become more
motivated .... perk up your sports performance or merely discover how to amplify your self
esteem and confidence? Medical Hypnoanalysis allows you to contact the subconscious mind to
go back to the moment in time a way of thinking, belief, behavior or action was learned and to
alter it if you so wish.
Medical Hypnoanalysis is a normal and restorative process with enduring benefits. What
can Medical Hypnoanalysis do for Me? Hypnosis is currently used in some health care
environments to help bring about changes in thinking and behavior. Some health care providers
also use hypnosis to alter the experience of pain and stress without the use of drugs.
For example, people in chronic pain may use Medical Hypnoanalysis:
* To help modify their experience of pain, anxiety and fear
* To reduce their need for medications
* To make medical procedures more comfortable
Harvard Medical School's Consumer Health Information
HYPNOSIS: "A normal, physiological, altered state of consciousness, similar to, but not
the same as being awake; similar to, but not the same as being asleep; and is produced by the
presence of two conditions:
* a central focus of attention and
* surrounding areas of inhibition.
The state of hypnosis produces three things:
* an increased concentration of the mind,
* an increased relaxation of the body,
* an increased susceptibility to suggestion."
William J. Bryan, Jr., MD, JD, LLD, PhD, the founder of the American Institute of Hypnosis
Defined by the American Psychological Association: Hypnosis is a procedure during
which a health professional or researcher suggests that a client, patient, or subject experience
changes in sensations, perceptions, thoughts, or behavior. The hypnotic context is generally
established by an induction procedure. Although there are many different hypnotic inductions,
most include suggestions for relaxation, calmness, and well-being. Instructions to imagine or
think about pleasant experiences are also commonly included in hypnotic inductions. People
respond to hypnosis in different ways. Some describe hypnosis as a normal state of focused
attention, in which they feel very calm and relaxed. Regardless of how and to what degree they
respond, most people describe the experience as very pleasant. Some people are very responsive
to hypnotic suggestions and others are less responsive. A person's ability to experience hypnotic
suggestions can be inhibited by fears and concerns arising from some common misconceptions.
Contrary to some depictions of hypnosis in books, movies or television, people who have been
hypnotized do not lose control over their behavior. They typically remain aware of who they are
and where they are, and unless amnesia has been specifically suggested, they usually remember
what transpired during hypnosis. Hypnosis makes it easier for people to experience suggestions,
but it does not force them to have these experiences.
Hypnosis is not a type of therapy, like psychoanalysis or behavior therapy. Instead, it is
a procedure that can be used to facilitate therapy. It is the opinion of the authors of this
statement that because it is not a treatment in and of itself, training in hypnosis is not sufficient
for the conduct of therapy; rather, clinical hypnosis should be used only by properly trained and
credentialed health care professionals (e.g. licensed clinical psychologists), who have also been
trained in the clinical use of hypnosis and are working within the areas of their professional
expertise.
Hypnosis has been used in the treatment of pain, depression, anxiety, stress, habit
disorders, and many other psychological and medical problems. However, it may not be useful
for all psychological problems or for all patients or clients. Again, it is the opinion of the
authors of this statement that the decision to use hypnosis as an adjunct to treatment can only be
made in consultation with a qualified health care provider who has been trained in the use and
limitations of clinical hypnosis. In addition to its use in clinical settings, hypnosis is used in
research, with the goal of learning more about the nature of hypnosis itself, as well as its impact
on sensation, perception, learning, memory, and physiology. Researchers also study the value of
hypnosis in the treatment of physical and psychological problems.
Hypnosis as Defined in the Skeptics Dictionary: Hypnosis is a process involving a
hypnotist and a subject who agrees to be hypnotized. Being hypnotized is usually characterized
by (a) intense concentration, (b) extreme relaxation, and (c) high suggestibility. The versatility
of hypnosis is unparalleled. Hypnosis occurs under dramatically different social settings: the
showroom, the clinic, the classroom, and the police station. Showroom hypnotists usually work
bars and clubs. Their subjects are usually people whose idea of a good time is to join dozens or
hundreds of others in a place where alcohol is the main social bonding agent. The subjects of
clinical hypnotists are usually people with problems who have heard that Medical
Hypnoanalysis works for relieving pain or overcoming an addiction or a fear, etc. Others use
hypnosis to recover repressed memories of sexual abuse or of past lives.
Some psychologists and hypnotherapists use hypnosis to discover truths hidden from
ordinary consciousness by tapping into the unconscious mind where these truths allegedly
reside. Finally, some hypnotic subjects are people who have been victims or witnesses of a
crime. The police encourage them to undergo hypnosis to help them remember details from
their experiences.
Hypnosis: the common view challenged: The common view of hypnosis is that it is a
trance-like altered state of consciousness. Many who accept this view also believe that hypnosis
is a way of accessing an unconscious mind full of repressed memories, multiple personalities,
mystical insights, or memories of past lives. This view of hypnosis as an altered state and
gateway to occult knowledge about the self and the universe is considered a myth by many
psychologists. There are two distinct, though related, aspects to this mythical view of hypnosis:
the myth of the altered state and the myth of the occult reservoir.
Those supporting the altered state theory often cite studies that show that during
hypnosis (1) the brain's electrical states change and (2) brain waves differ from those during
waking consciousness. The critics of the mythical view point out that these facts are irrelevant
to establishing hypnosis as an altered state of consciousness. One might as well call
daydreaming, concentrating, imagining the color red, or sneezing altered states, since the
experience of each will show electrical changes in the brain and changes in brain waves from
ordinary waking consciousness.
Those supporting the unconscious occult reservoir theory support their belief with
anecdotes of numerous people who, while hypnotized, (a) recall events from their present or
past life of which they have no conscious memory, or (b) relate being in distant places and/or
future times while under hypnosis. Most of what is known about hypnosis, as opposed to what is
believed, has come from studies on the subjects of hypnosis. We know that there is a significant
correlation between being imaginative and being responsive to hypnosis. We know that those
who are fantasy-prone are also likely to make excellent hypnotic subjects. We know that vivid
imagery enhances suggestibility. We know that those who think hypnosis is rubbish can't be
hypnotized. We know that hypnotic subjects are not turned into zombies and are not controlled
by their hypnotists. We know that hypnosis does not enhance the accuracy of memory in any
special way. We know that a person under hypnosis is very suggestible and that memory is
easily "filled-in" by the imagination and by suggestions made under hypnosis. We know that
confabulation is quite common while under hypnosis and that many States do not allow
testimony which has been induced by hypnosis because it is intrinsically unreliable. We know
the greatest predictor of hypnotic responsiveness is what a person believes about hypnosis.
Hypnosis in its socio-cognitive context: If hypnosis is not an altered state or gateway to
a mystical and occult unconscious mind, then what is it? Why do so many people, including
those who write psychology textbooks, or dictionary and encyclopedia entries, continue to
perpetuate the mythical view of hypnosis as if it were established scientific fact? For one thing,
the mass media perpetuates this myth in countless movies, books, television shows, etc., and
there is an entrenched tradition of hypnotherapists who have faith in the myth, make a good
living from it, and see many effects from their sessions which, from their point of view, can
only be called "successes." They even have a number of scientific studies to support their
views. Psychologists such as Robert Baker think such studies are about as valid as the studies
which supported the belief in phlogiston or the aether. Baker claims that what we call hypnosis
is actually a form of learned social behavior.
The hypnotist and subject learn what is expected of their roles and reinforce each other
by their performances. The hypnotist provides the suggestions and the subject responds to the
suggestions. The rest of the behavior--the hypnotist's repetition of sounds or gestures, his soft,
relaxing voice, etc., and the trance-like pose or sleep-like repose of the subject, etc.--are just
window dressing, part of the drama that makes hypnosis seem mysterious. When one strips
away these dramatic dressings what is left is something quite ordinary, even if extraordinarily
useful: a self-induced, "psyched-up" state of suggestibility. Psychologist Nicholas Spanos agrees
with Baker: "hypnotic procedures influence behavior indirectly by altering subjects'
motivations, expectations and interpretations." This has nothing to do with putting the subject
into a trance and exercising control over the subconscious mind. Hypnosis is a learned
behavior, according to Spanos, issuing out of a socio-cognitive context. We can accomplish the
same things in a variety of ways: going to college or reading a book, taking training courses or
teaching oneself a new skill, listening to pep talks or giving ourselves a pep talk, enrolling in
motivation courses or simply making a willful determination to accomplish specific goals. In
short, what is called hypnosis is an act of social conformity rather than a unique state of
consciousness. The subject acts in accordance with expectations of the hypnotist and hypnotic
situation and behaves as he or she thinks one is supposed to behave while hypnotized. The
hypnotist acts in accordance with expectations of the subject (and/or audience) and the hypnotic
situation, and behaves as he or she thinks one is supposed to behave while playing the role of
hypnotist.
Spanos compares the popularity of hypnosis with the nineteenth century phenomenon
we now call mesmerism. Furthermore, he draws an analogy between the belief in hypnosis and
the belief in demonic possession and exorcism. Each can be explained in terms of
sociocognitive context. The conceptions of the roles for the participants in all of these beliefs
and behaviors are learned and reinforced in their social settings. They are context-dependent
and depend upon the willingness of participants to play their established roles. Given enough
support by enough people in a social setting, just about any concept or behavior can become
adamantly defended as dogma by the scientific, theological, or social community.
Another psychologist, E.M. Thornton, extends the analogy between hypnotism,
mesmerism, and exorcism. She maintains that hypnotic subjects are asked basically to take on
"what really amounts to a parody of epileptic symptoms." If some hypnotic or mesmerized
subjects seem possessed, that is because possession involves a similar socio-cognitive context, a
similar role-playing arrangement and rapport.
The central beliefs differ and the dominant idea of an altered state, of animal magnetism
or of invading demons, gives the experiences their distinguishing characteristics. Deep down,
however, hypnotism, mesmerism, hysteria, and demonic possession share the common ground
of being social constructs engineered mainly by enthusiastic therapists, showmen, and priests on
the one side, and suggestible, imaginative, willing, fantasy-prone players with deep emotional
needs or abilities on the other.
Hypnosis: the good, the bad and the ugly: The godfather of the repression, Freud,
wisely gave up using hypnosis in therapy. Unfortunately, however, hypnosis continues to be
used in a wide variety of contexts, not all of which are beneficial. Using hypnosis to help people
quit smoking or stick to a diet may be useful, and even if it fails it is probably not harmful.
Using hypnosis to help people remember license plate numbers of cars used in crimes
may be useful, and even if it fails it is probably not harmful. Using hypnosis to help victims or
witnesses of crimes remember what happened may be useful, but it can also be dangerous
because of the ease with which the subject can be manipulated by suggestions from the
hypnotist. Overzealous police hypnotists may put conviction of those they think are guilty
above honest conviction by honest evidence presented to a jury. Hypnosis is also dangerous in
the police setting, because of the tendency of too many police officers to believe in truth
serums, lie detectors, and other magical and easy ways to get to the truth.
Using hypnosis to help people recover memories of sexual abuse by their closest
relatives or by aliens in spaceships is dangerous, and in some cases, clearly immoral and
degrading. For, in some cases, hypnosis is used to encourage patients to remember and then
believe events which probably never happened. If these memories were not of such horrible and
painful events, they would be of little concern. But by nurturing delusions of evil suffered,
therapists often do irreparable harm to those who put their trust in them. And they do this in the
name of healing and caring, as did the priests of old when they hunted witches and exorcized
demons.
SUMMARY OF MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS:
1. Hypnotic suggestion (Classical Conditioning) plays a major role in the etiology of
psychosomatic, psychoneurotic and psychotic conditions.
2. Hypnosis is viewed as a form of super-concentration, (hyper-focus, fascination or
mono-ideism) of the mind, which is especially likely to occur as the result of induction
procedures, meditation or emotion.
3. In all probability everyone can concentrate their mind through one of these modalities and/or
feel emotion. Anyone capable of this can be affected by hypnotic suggestion (classically
conditioned).
4. The phenomena of hypnosis, research shows, can mimic in every way the actual signs and
symptoms of virtually every psychosomatic, psychoneurotic and/or psychotic conditions.
5. The state of hypnosis (heightened suggestibility) can be induced deliberately or accidentally.
Accidentally is true especially in negative programming.
6. An emotional incident or idea is thought to concentrate the mind, producing a condition of
hypnosis, and any idea or thought then introduced acts as a hypnotic suggestion, so that many
psychoneurosis, psychosomatic and psychotic conditions are, to all intents and purposes, the
same in its structure as the behavior and symptoms arising from a hypnotic or post hypnotic
suggestion. 7. The role of hypnosis in the treatment process deals with
(1.) Relaxation to be able to confront the problem.
(2.) Realization of the "root cause" on an emotional or subconscious, (visceral) level,
followed by
3. Re-education under hypnosis.
Understanding Medical Hypnoanalysis! What it is and how it works! Medical
Hypnoanalysis and its uses in the practice of psychotherapy is speedily emerging as an
exceedingly valuable discipline in solving the problems of people. It can be very helpful in
numerous cases of psychotherapy and psychiatry. Yet it is almost certainly the lowest risk
method existing from the standpoint of contraindications. Yet few therapeutic measures are less
understood, or more weighed down by misconceptions and misunderstandings. Most Medical
Hypnoanalysts, on interviewing a new client/patient, will ask the client what he or she thinks
hypnosis is. Replies range from sleep, to unconsciousness, to surrender of mental powers and
control, to magic, to voodoo. All are in error!
Hypnosis cannot be sleep. The subject is completely conscious of communication and is
able to respond on request either orally or by gesture. Nor is unconsciousness involved. A
subject asked to make a precise movement will comply with the request unless it is offensive, in
which case there will be a negative response.
There is no surrender of mind or control. A person who does not want to be hypnotized
cannot be hypnotized or be induced to do or say anything, which violates personal standards of
behavior or integrity. There is neither the supernatural nor voodoo involved.
Hypnosis is considered an altered state of consciousness featuring "selective perception,"
a process in which the subject (who is in control) chooses to see only what is relevant to his
task. Hypnosis involves guided concentration. The guidance may be provided by a Medical
Hypnoanalyst or, in the case of self-hypnosis, by the individual subject Self-hypnosis, which
can be taught by a properly trained Medical Hypnoanalyst and learned by almost any client, can
provide the receiver with a life of benefit.
 WHERE DID HYPNOSIS DERIVE? The basic of hypnosis goes back to ancient times.
In the early centuries of our own land, the medicine men of Indian tribes performed seeming
miracles. Hypnosis. Wider, non-secret usage began in the 1700's in several forms under
different names.
There were periods of advancement and periods of stagnation in the growth of
contemporary hypnosis. Medical curiosity and recognition expanded following World War II
when the use of Medical Hypnoanalysis proved particularly useful to surviving battlefield
casualties suffering from shock, injury, battle fatigue and various psychological disorders.
As understanding improved hypnosis began to be acknowledged as an essential addition
to counseling psychology, psychotherapy, psychiatry, and also medical fields including
neurology, obstetrics, emergency medicine, burn therapy and others. Hypnosis is finding rising
usage in dentistry and other areas where pain control is essential.
All humans (and possibly several animals) have two distinct minds- the conscious mind
and the unconscious mind, which can also be thought of as the Autonomic Nervous System
(ANS). The unconscious (ANS) mind is immensely larger and more influential than the
conscious mind, yet it is the least understood and by mankind.
HOW DOES IT WORK? The subconscious (ANS) mind receives and retains messages
we receive from our backgrounds, whether inherited, social, religious or experiential, plus all
the conflicts (little or big) that come into our lives daily. When for whatever reason the
conscious mind (which deals with daily living, reason, etc.) becomes overloaded, the
subconscious prepares us for what is considered suitable action (usually fight or flight). The
subconscious (ANS) mind does not analyze, as does the conscious mind, but accepts all
messages in the literal sense. Hypnosis is a means of communication between the conscious
mind and the subconscious (ANS) mind. Many human problems, habits, stresses, anxieties,
attitudes or apparent deficiencies can be traced to interpretations by the subconscious (ANS)
mind which, when understood by the conscious mind, can reduce or resolve specific problems.
The subconscious (ANS) is also the seat of all memory. Traumatic events can be buried
or suppressed in the subconscious (ANS). A major benefit of Medical Hypnoanalysis is its
capacity to discover and bring into the light of understanding the hidden information or
incident, which may be the origin of a troublesome disorder.
What You Will Experience: Your first visit with your Medical Hypnoanalyst will, be
investigative. You will learn about hypnotism and become relaxed with it. Your Medical
Hypnoanalyst will discuss your interests and your wishes to decide if Medical Hypnoanalysis
can achieve what you want to attain. If you both feel that it will be advisable to continue, your
Medical Hypnoanalyst may give you some small tests to verify your suggestibility, ability to
relax, and your skills at visualization-procedures which assist your Medical Hypnoanalyst adjust
to you as an individual so as to devise training tailored for you which will be suitable to your
subconscious (ANS), retained and acted upon in a way leading to complete attainment of your
goals.
What Can Medical Hypnoanalysis Do? A competent Medical Hypnoanalyst, working
with a highly suggestible client-subject, can create apparent miracles. Relaxation can be induced
to relieve pressures of stress at home and at work or to alleviate insomnia; habit problems can
be brought under control, whether smoking, overeating, alcohol, drugs or unwanted
mannerisms.
Medical Hypnoanalysis has proved effective in countless physical and mental illnesses, dealing
with phobias, degenerative conditions, anesthesia requirements, and especially attitude
modifications. It can create the all-important positive attitude necessary for healing. It can
enhance learning, develop motivation, build confidence, and improve relationships. Up to 90%
of the public can be hypnotized.
"Hypnotic Suggestion" by Ivan Pavlov: "Hypnotic Suggestion is the most direct form
of a Conditioned Reflex." "In general, it should be pointed out that in experimental disorders of
the nervous system almost always separate phenomenon of hypnosis (suggestion) and
conditioned reflexes (associated responses) are observed, which give the right to assume that
this (hypnosis or conditioned reflexes) is a normal physiological remedy . . .."
"Among the various aspects of the hypnotic state (or any other emotional state) attention
is drawn to 'suggestion' and its physiological interpretation. Speech provides conditioned
(suggested) stimuli, which are just as real as any other (unconditioned) stimuli (physical
reality). Speech (suggestion) provides stimuli, which exceed in richness and many-sidedness
any of the others, allowing comparison neither qualitatively nor quantitatively with any (un-)
conditioned stimuli, which are possible in animals.
Speech (suggestion) on account of the preceding life of the adult is connected with all
the internal and external stimuli, which reach the cortex, signaling and replacing all of them.
They can call forth all those reactions of the organism, normally determined by the actual
stimuli. We can, regard 'suggestion' as the simplest form of a conditioned reflex in man."
Imagination Engineers by Mark Twain "THE Power, which a man's imagination over
his body to heal it or make it sick is a force which none of us is born without. The first man had
it; the last one will possess it. If left to him, a man is most likely to use only the mischievous
half of the force-the half that invents imaginary ailments for him and cultivates them; and if he
is one of these very wise people, he is quite likely to scoff at the beneficent half of the force and
deny its existence. And so, to heal or help that man, two imaginations are required: his own and
some outsider's. The outsider's work is unquestionably valuable; so valuable that it may fairly
be likened to the essential work performed by the engineer when he handles the throttle and
turns on the steam; the actual power is lodged exclusively in the engine, but if the engine were
left alone it would never start of itself. His services are necessary. He is the Engineer; he simply
turns on the same old steam and the engine does the whole work." Hypnosis creates measurable,
marked changes in brain activity.
WHAT IS MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS? Medical Hypnoanalysis is a form of deep
relaxation and focused awareness that was introduced in the late 18th century by Dr. Franz
Anton Mesmer. A soothing tone of voice and repetitive stimulus, such as the sound of a
metronome (a device that marks time in a steady beat), can induce the hypnotic state in
susceptible individuals. This relaxed state can lead to lower blood pressure, a decreased heart
rate and slower brain wave activity.
How does hypnosis work? In hypnosis the "critical" or analytical" part of the mind
becomes relaxed or disengaged. Suggestions are then received more deeply without criticism
and thus, have a far greater impact.
Will Medical Hypnoanalysis instantly solve my problems? While we have personally
seen some clients make remarkable and rapid change, Medical Hypnoanalysis is not a magical
cure. It does not work for everyone. Medical Hypnoanalysis can help people change habits, learn
to relax, heal old hurts, get in touch with inner strengths, learn to look at things differently, or
discover solutions to problems. Persons must then take responsibility and change their behavior.
Without that commitment, the benefits of Medical Hypnoanalysis will probably be small and
short-lived.
Occasionally, clients express discomfort with hypnotic work on religious grounds. Among the
concerns we have heard is the belief that during hypnosis clients surrender their free will and
self-control to the therapist. A few people have stated that trance and dream-states are places
where God speaks, so we should remain "hands off."
The first concern assumes that hypnosis has far more power than it really does. As has
already been said, people will not do anything in or after trance that they would not otherwise
do.
The second issue, and other concerns like it, are more complicated. There are many Scripture
references to God communicating with people in dreams or in trance. (John's visions, detailed in
Revelation, are noteworthy examples.) We respect clients' spiritual convictions and religious
traditions and will never attempt hypnotic work with clients who don't think it's appropriate. We
will work on clients' concerns in other ways that they find acceptable, perhaps using
biofeedback, relaxation training, or some form of "talk therapy." This likely has to do with
religious tradition, views of pastors past and present, and individual upbringing. Our job as
therapists, however, is to respect clients' spirituality, not to challenge or try to change it. While
Medical Hypnoanalysis is not as magical as some people believe, it is a powerful tool in helping
people grow. It is especially useful in working with problems that seem "automatic" and outside
our conscious control. (For example, certain habits or the sleep disturbances, flashbacks, and
upsetting memories often caused by abuse or other trauma). By studying and mastering Medical
Hypnoanalysis, we seek to be more and more helpful to the people we are privileged to serve.
WHAT CAN MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS DO FOR ME?
* Medical Hypnoanalysis allows subconscious knowledge and inner wisdom to emerge into
conscious awareness.
* Medical Hypnoanalysis allows you to access the subconscious mind to return to the time an
attitude, belief, behavior or action was learned and to change it if you so desire.
* Medical Hypnoanalysis allows the healing power of the subconscious mind to emerge and be
consciously focused.
* Medical Hypnoanalysis gives you access to traumatic memories to examine and transform
them to release the pain of the event from the very cells of your body. You can also understand
and change fears, phobias, anxieties, sadness, pain, hurt, and negative thoughts and beliefs. You
can change your responses and feelings so they no longer control you in any way.
* Medical Hypnoanalysis can assist you in uncovering the causes of many physical symptoms
and psychological patterns which are hidden in the subconscious mind. Is hypnosis dangerous?
* There has never been a documented case of harm coming to anyone from Medical
Hypnoanalysis. * The harm is that Medical Hypnoanalysis is not used enough by people to
bring about their own self-improvement.
Am I asleep? No. You are awake and aware of everything going on around you during
hypnosis. You are, though, very pleasantly relaxed, peaceful and tranquil. Hypnosis is not a
sleep state. While hypnotic trance is different for everyone, it is more like a daydream in which
one's attention is focused on things we often ignore. In trance, one may focus attention on
mental images, physical sensations, unspoken ideas, emotions or memories. Typically, time
seems to pass quickly.
If you have ever been so absorbed in a book or TV show that you lost track of time, you've been
in trance. Most of us probably experience some form of trance on a daily basis.Trance is a
normal, natural state of mind. Yet, trance is also a state in which people can influence their own
"unconscious mind". This is difficult to do in our usual state of conscious awareness. The
unconscious is the part of the mind that does things "automatically", with little conscious intent
or control. The unconscious is the stuff of dreams, of habits, and of physical functions and
changes.
Won't I remember what happens when I'm in trance? Not necessarily. You can remember
whatever your mind chooses to remember. You probably won't remember everything, but that
has more to do with what you were paying attention to than it has to do with trance itself. Even
in a state of full waking consciousness, we don't remember every bit of information that comes
our way, because we don't pay attention to everything.
Will I remember things with hypnosis that I can't remember otherwise? Maybe. People
may remember new things in trance, but that is not always the case. Generally speaking, people
may recall things that would be good to remember and probably won't remember things that are
best left alone. The client's subconscious mind will make those decisions, not the therapist. It is
important to realize that "memories" recalled in trance are not always reliable. They may not be
true memories. They may really be fantasy images, memories that have been changed by time
and experience, or something the person was told by someone else. Much unnecessary heartache
has happened when a person acted on hypnotically-recalled memories, believing they were true,
only to find out later that they were not.
What Is Medical Hypnoanalysis Used For? Medical Hypnoanalysis is very good at reducing
stress because hypnosis is so profoundly relaxing. Hypnosis is very effective at elevating and
strengthening self-confidence and self-esteem. It is highly successful in helping people
overcome fears and phobias, (fear of flying, anxiety/panic attacks, public speaking anxiety and
claustrophobia). Hypnoanalytically Enhanced Eating Awareness Training (HEAT) is
tremendously successful in helping people get control of their eating habits and lose weight.
Motivational hypnosis can help people stop procrastinating, begin exercising or increase sales.
Thousands and thousands of people have successfully stopped smoking using Medical
Hypnoanalysis. Medical Hypnoanalysis is also particularly good at helping people stay calm and
focused when taking stressful exams, (state licensure exams, certification exams, professional
exams as well as SAT's and GMAT's). Today, the field of "sports hypnosis" helping athletes
enhance their performance through heightened mental focus is growing exponentially! What
does it feel like to be hypnotized? Can I be hypnotized? The answer to this is extremely
important because it may determine whether or not you can benefit from hypnosis. Some people
give up on hypnosis after a few sessions because they were disappointed in their reactions,
believing they are not suitable subjects. Many people believe they will go through something
different, new and spectacular in the hypnotic state. They equate hypnosis with being
anesthetized or being asleep or unconscious.
Do not expect to go to sleep or lose touch with reality. You will be able to hear, remember,
and experience everything that is going on around you. Hypnosis is a very pleasant feeling of
complete physical and mental relaxation. It is similar to that moment between knowing you are
awake and going into the sleep-state. Often, when people are in hypnosis, you find your mind
active, you hear every sound in the room, that you can resist the suggestions if you choose to,
you realize that you are not asleep, and you are able to remember everything perfectly, all of
these factors lead people to believe that they were not hypnotized, when indeed they were. Is
Medical Hypnoanalysis Approved by the Medical Community? Yes. The American Medical
Association (AMA) approved the use of hypnosis in 1958, as did the British Medical
Association. The American Psychiatric Association has approved hypnotherapy for use by
professionally trained and responsible individuals. Medical Hypnoanalysis gaining more
acceptance and respect because of its effectiveness. Recently, the American Journal of
Gerontology published an article regarding the effectiveness of hypnotherapy for Irritable
Bowel Syndrome. The value of the hypnotherapeutic process receives more and more
recognition and acceptance as its effectiveness is discovered.
How Do I Know I Am In Hypnosis? Do I Give Up Control?
In a session, you will feel very relaxed, but also alert and aware. Your subconscious mind
remains open and receptive. You retain full conscious awareness and control, while in touch
with subconscious memories, emotions and feelings. It is not done "to you", but is a gift you
give yourself. And no one can make you do something you don't want to do! You can come out
of your relaxed state any time you want to. You will not do anything that is against your moral,
ethical or religious values. You will not experience anything you are not ready to do.
Why do some people have doubts about hypnosis? Hypnosis is such a misunderstood
phenomenon. For centuries, it has been affiliated with spiritualism, witchcraft, and various other
“unexplainable” events. Based on “B” movies, cheap novels and exaggerated claims made by
undisciplined persons.
Does hypnosis weaken the will? Are only weak minded people able to go into hypnotic states?
No. Self-hypnosis strengthens the will. Hypnosis works with the will, not against it. In fact, the
more intelligent and strong-willed you are, the more effective hypnosis will be for you.
Will I Always Come Out? Using Medical Hypnoanalysis, you will be deeply relaxed. You are
aware, not asleep. Your mental awareness is increased and you become more focused, such as
occurs when you are engrossed in a book or immersed in music, or cruising down the highway
and miss your exit.
What Kind of Changes Can I Experience With Medical Hypnoanalysis?
Generally, there is a positive effect from Medical Hypnoanalysis. When pain and trauma is
released from the subconscious mind and the physical body's stored stress is also released from
your cells. You can experience calmness, peace. and a feeling of joy from resolving an old
issue, changing your behaviors and old patterns, leaning new information, connecting with your
inner wisdom, changing how you perceive yourself and others. You can actually learn to let go
of old hurts and angers, so they no longer affect you physically and emotionally. Your
subconscious mind holds your key to health, happiness and self-empowerment!
What Is Self Empowerment? How Can I Learn More About It? Self-empowerment is the
process of tapping into your own inner sources of power and wisdom, becoming more aware
and conscious of how creative you are, and incorporating this knowledge into your daily life.
How exactly does hypnosis work?The human mind is extremely suggestible and is being
bombarded daily with suggestive stimuli from external sources, and suggestive thoughts and
ideas from the inside. A good deal of suffering is the consequence of “negative thoughts and
impulses invading one’s mind from subconscious recesses. Unfortunately, past experience, guilt
feelings, and repudiated impulses and desires are constantly pushing themselves into awareness,
directly or in disguised forms. These thoughts become feelings which sabotage one’s happiness,
health, and efficiency. By the time one has reached adulthood, there has been a build up of
“negative” modes of thinking, feeling and acting which persist as bad habits. Like any habit
they are hard to break or change. However, using hypnosis, we are able to transform negative
attitudes into more positive ones. For some, change does happen quickly if they believe change
can happen quickly. Other times, it often takes time to extinguish old behavior patterns, so do
not be discouraged if there is no immediate effect. Even when no apparent changes happen on
the surface, much is happening on the inside.
An analogy may be useful: Imaging if you were to hold a batch of white ink blotters above the
level of your eyes so that you only see the bottom blotter. Then, if you were to begin to dribble
drops of ink blotters on the top blotter. As you do this, you observe nothing happening to the
bottom blotter until sufficient ink has been poured to soak through into the entire thickness.
Eventually the ink will come down. During this period while nothing seemingly has happened,
changes were always occurring. Hypnotic suggestions are like ink poured on layers of
resistance, namely, one’s limiting beliefs about oneself. One must keep repeating the
suggestions before the soak in to begin to influence old destructive patterns.
Can a person be hypnotized against their will or made to do anything against their will?
No one is able to be hypnotized against their will. If people were, hypnosis would be the most
closely guarded secret on the planet. Entering hypnosis is a consent state. The Medical
Hypnoanalyst assists the subject, who then hypnotizes him/herself.
What is self-hypnosis? Techniques exist by which one can attain a state of self-hypnosis and
gain complete relaxation under the most stressful conditions. In this state, the sub-conscious
mind is open to therapeutic suggestions.
What exactly is the sub-conscious mind? The conscious mind, the mind that you are conscious
of, is your “me.” It is the critical part of your mind. The sub-conscious mind is the one that
directs your conduct through the habits and emotional desires acquired from the influences of
your environment, before you were old enough to reject harmful ideas and concepts.
How does self-hypnosis differ from hypnosis by a Medical Hypnoanalyst? In self-hypnosis,
YOU choose your own time limits, instead of a scheduled appointment with a Medical
Hypnoanalyst. Using a Medical Hypnoanalyst at the beginning of your awareness training is of
great benefit. It speeds up your process of self-improvement.
What if I Can't be Hypnotized? Most people feel or think this very same way. The fear is
giving up control. The opposite is actually true. You are exercising a more powerful form of
thought-control than at other times by accepting the suggestions given. The only thought to
prevent you from going into hypnosis is the thought, “I can’t be hypnotized.”
Do I Need Medical Hypnoanalysis? Will it Work For Me? Medical Hypnoanalysis is an
alternative to other methods of treatment for change. If you have nervous symptoms such as
tension, depression, fears, chronic fatigue, or feel irritable, unhappy, and believe you are not
getting the most out of life, then Medical Hypnoanalysis nay be for you.
How effective is Medical Hypnoanalysis or hypnotherapy? A survey of psychotherapy
literature by noted psychologist Alfred A. Barrios, Ph.D. revealed the following recovery rates:
* Psychoanalysis: 38% recovery after 600 sessions.
* Behavior Therapy: 72% recovery after 22 sessions.
* Hypnotherapy: 93% recovery after 6 sessions.
Source: American Health Magazine
How Does Medical Hypnoanalysis Work? Nervous systems and unwarranted unhappiness are
the product of inner emotional conflicts. By using Medical Hypnoanalysis, you are assisted in
understanding your conflicts. In this way, it is possible for you to do something constructive
about solving them.
Does a person become unconscious or lose control during hypnosis? Actually the opposite is
true as you are gaining control over mental functions most other people are scarcely aware of.
Contrary to popular myth, you will never tell secrets you want to keep to yourself or accept
suggestions that are not in your best interests. Also you will be awake the entire session and will
be able to recall all that took place. YOU are ALWAYS in CONTROL! What does being
hypnotized feel like?Most clients report pleasant feelings of mental and physical relaxation,
similar to those moments before we fall asleep at night. Relaxed, yet still aware and able to
respond if we need to.
Can anyone be hypnotized? Anyone who can follow simple instructions can work with
hypnosis if they want to. The better informed a client is as to the truth and fictions regarding
hypnosis, the better the results. It is true that some people find it easier to access a deeper level
of hypnosis than others. A light to medium level of hypnosis is more than adequate for most
situations. After all, chances are that you were not in deep hypnosis when the problem started!
What about those group hypnosis programs for smoking and weight control that I see
advertised in the paper, are they effective? Clinical research shows that hypnosis is far more
effective in the private session or small group format. First, someone running a large program
cannot give individualized attention to each person there. Second, many people find it hard to
relax in a room with 100-300 strangers, especially if it is your first time working with hypnosis.
Third, many problems require follow-up visits, which the traveling programs cannot provide.
You are far more likely to reach your goal by working with a Medical Hypnoanalyst privately
over a period of several weeks. The added investment is certainly worth it.
How many sessions will be needed? This depends on the nature of the goals or problems.
What are the costs? The fee structure is $125 for each visit
SELF IMPROVEMENT: Self-esteem and self-confidence are essential to human
progress. Self-esteem is fundamental to friendships, work, love relationships, ambitions and
goals-even health, itself. A person must like, respect and admire the person he/she sees in the
mirror. Self-confidence is necessary to achievement; however, it requires self-esteem to be
effective.
Life events, in childhood or adult years, can damage the self-esteem and destroy
confidence in anyone. The chances of reaching one's full potential thus can be minimized. Past
negative programming from judgmental parents, teachers, relatives or peers can inhibit
progress.
But Medical Hypnoanalysis can reveal the causes, create understanding and modify
self-doubts and beliefs, enabling individual potentials to be achieved. Achieve Your Goals
Quickly Through Medical Hypnoanalysis Self-esteem and self-confidence are essential to human
progress. Self-esteem is fundamental to friendships, work, love relationships, ambitions and
goals-even health, itself. A person must like, respect and admire the person he/she sees in the
mirror. Self-confidence is necessary to achievement; however, it requires self-esteem to be
effective. Life events, in childhood or adult years, can damage the self-esteem and destroy
confidence in anyone. The chances of reaching one's full potential thus can be minimized. Past
negative programming from judgmental parents, teachers, relatives or peers can inhibit
progress. But Medical Hypnoanalysis can reveal the causes, create understanding and modify
self-doubts and beliefs, enabling individual potentials to be achieved. Whatever your goals are,
Medical Hypnoanalysis can help you achieve them more easily and more quickly. Many people
don't realize the awesome power that their subconscious mind has over their lives. The causes of
so many "bad habits" are rooted in memories or perceptions that may be forgotten by the
conscious mind but retained in the subconscious. Medical Hypnoanalysis helps to access the
subconscious mind and affect the desired changes more easily and more quickly. Unfortunately,
many people refuse to consider Medical Hypnoanalysis because of their fears and
misconceptions. They may believe the hypnotherapist will control them, they will tell their
hidden secrets, or be made to do ridiculous things. These misconceptions might be the result of
watching old vampire movies or cartoons on TV. These fears and misconceptions are
completely unfounded. The individual is always in control, and in fact, is more aware of what is
happening while in the hypnotic state.
Although Medical Hypnoanalysis not a panacea, there are many areas where it has
proven to be tremendously helpful; these include memory enhancement, improving
concentration, relieving insomnia, eliminating nail biting, reducing stuttering, sales and sports
achievement. However the most common reasons for visiting a hypnotist are loosing weight,
quitting smoking, and managing stress. Many overweight people who fail with diet programs
turn to Medical Hypnoanalysis as a safe and reliable alternative. For them, dieting never
eliminated the subconscious need for excess food. It is just a form of torture they went through,
until they eventually give into their subconscious desires. So they continuously went up and
down the scale, never letting go of the desire for excess food.
The reasons for their desire were often anchored in a memory of some past emotional
event that caused them to overeat for security, self-preservation or protection. The memory of
the event remained sealed in their subconscious, even if it was consciously forgotten. Medical
Hypnoanalysis locates the event, which triggered this behavior, and changes the individual's
perception of that event; thus eliminating it as a problem source. Once this is accomplished, the
individual can eliminate the desire for excess food and the weight comes off easily, and stays
off.
This same technique is effective for quitting smoking. When an individual relives the
horrible experience of taking that first puff, and remembers the events that caused them to
continue smoking, the habit is easily eliminated. Phobias such as the fears of water, flying,
driving and claustrophobia are easily treated with the same technique, and can frequently be
overcome in many cases in just two or three sessions. "What the mind causes, the mind can
cure. Wellness begins in the mind!" Every problem has a cause, and when you eliminate the
cause from the computer we call the subconscious mind, the problem disappears.
Personal Development: Self Esteem, Confidence, Motivation Each human being,
psychologists maintain has an ultimate goal. The goal may be maintained in the subconscious
mind, but it is nevertheless a final goal And it is the same for all people, in spite of race, creed,
nationality or even physical condition.
The crucial objective for every individual is Self-Actualization: achieving what sports
people call a "personal best." In spite of environment, learning, monetary position or other
factors, every individual is subconsciously induced to move forward and upward, to be the
greatest achievable in relation to beliefs and values.
Advancement in the direction of the final goal, and indispensable transitional objectives,
is affected by pragmatic factors-the hand of cards dealt out by genetics, chance and life in
general. There are three factors indispensable to positive progress: self-worth, self-confidence
and motivation. During the path of a life span, nearly everybody experiences problems
concerning one or more of these elements. Resolving such tribulations is one of the most vital
and valuable capabilities of Medical Hypnoanalysis.
High self-esteem is a fundamental of achievement. Low self-esteem, on the other hand,
does not unexpectedly come into view, like the symptoms of an infection. It develops like a
malignancy, more often than not ignored in early stages, but scattering gradually all the way
through the mind until, when acknowledged, it may be full-scale, demoralizing disparaging, and
maybe even fatal. Low self-esteem in fact must be dealt with before improvement can be
achieved in building self-assurance and creating motivation. It is difficult for a person to
demonstrate self-confidence when he views himself as low man on his own totem pole.
At the same time as poor self-esteem can originate from events which might be
considered personal setbacks (in business, relationships, health, etc.), the prime reason is
negative indoctrination from the past. It might be a creation of disapproving parents, teachers,
authority figures, relatives, or friends. Countless times deprecating remarks; mockery,
unrelenting disapproval and related factors do not take into account admirable accomplishment
and merely spotlight on and emphasize the pessimistic. Repeatedly these events, hurts, or
negative valuations are immersed by and hidden in subconscious memory, with the wounded
completely oblivious of the sources of distressed feelings, fears, self-doubt and destructive
attitudes.
Nevertheless we recognize that the subconscious mind is the storage space of memory.
Through Medical Hypnoanalysis it is feasible to set aside the conscious mind search for, find
and expose the detrimental memories, or conditioned reflexes which are harmfully distressing
the personality and in bringing the troubles to light and understanding, achieve a decree which
can free the client from the past and unlock the doors to potential advancement and
achievement. The establishment of self-confidence must go after the disposition of past negative
programming-eliminating from self-perception any labels such as terrible, immoral, brainless,
inept, dumb, inept, incompetent, ill-bred, etc. Medical Hypnoanalysis can become the
foundation of self-discovery-revealing unrecognized capabilities that show the way to an
acceptance of legitimate self-worth.
The measures for increasing self-confidence may differ significantly, depending on the
intensity and genesis of the difficulty. In milder cases, working out problems of self-esteem
may be followed by programming, which utilizes visualization, creating in the mind pictures of
triumph, self-confidence and suitable abilities. Enhancing suggestions given in Medical
Hypnoanalysis can be immersed and received, leading to outlook adaptation and positive
demonstrations of newly acquired confidence.
Longer-term outcome can be considerable. Mood and energy levels amplify, obsessive
and psychosomatic symptoms weaken, emotions become understood, clients move toward
self-direction and better interpersonal participation. Self-derogation is reduced and positive
feelings about life's potential expand. With self-esteem and self-confidence improved, enhanced
enthusiasm comes into the spotlight. Psychologist Abraham Maslow defined five levels at which
people are motivated: Psychological-food, drink, sleep, sex; Safety-protection, freedom from
fear, order; Belongingness-love, social contact, family, friends; Esteem-self-respect, need to be
valued; Self-actualization-the need to grow, to achieve one's potential.
Indispensable to generating positive motivation is removal of any fear of failure (or its
often concealed counter-part, fear of success). First, it is vital to be familiar with motivations
and following successes of the past. Second, a sense of direction is required. (Where am I
going?) Then comes the all-important factor of "goal-setting." Not the final goal, but a
short-term, rapidly reachable goal-a first step to supply persuasive evidence that onward
progress is recognized this constitutes self-recognition, a potent inspiring factor. This prize may
be a self-treat, or the satisfaction of accomplishment and self-assurance. The lesson learned will
be durable: The purpose of establishing short-term, successive goals is key to understand. A
small success generates added self-reliance. It creates a sense of achievement, readiness and
enthusiasm for the next step. The end product:
Motivation! Successful Selling via Medical Hypnoanalysis: Sales people earn the
highest incomes among working people. 80% of the commissions paid are earned by 20% of the
workers. This seems unfair. If two people working for the same firm and selling the identical
merchandise or service spend the same quantity of time working, why should one receive four
times the quantity of the other? There are innumerable legitimate reasons, of course. Sales
professionals must be able to produce and maintain motivation. Without it all the sales
preparation courses in the world will not manufacture success. With motivation improved, sales
training takes on meaning and positive results ensue.
Motivation, to be of use, requires positive self-esteem and self-confidence, which can be
greatly enhanced through Medical Hypnoanalysis (MH). As these basic qualities are developed,
MH focuses on method, which entails learning to plan, set goals, deal with state of mind, and
plan for improvement and attainment. Target setting is in itself a talent requiring deep
understanding of steady progression. Few people recognize how to set goals; few people are
conscious of a variety of types of goals and the interrelationship linking them. A profession in
sales to be successful requires a go-getter attitude. Medical Hypnoanalysis can prove
exceedingly valuable in producing the way of thinking essential for sales success.
Accomplishment Goals:
There are two major types of goals:
1. Accomplishment Goals: and
2. Activity Goals: Accomplishment goals deal with where a person wants to go with a career.
Activity goals deal with how such a person gets there. Without activity goals, execution goals
are usually worthless. They can be nothing but imaginings, entirely lacking the essential of
answerability. Self-hypnosis, adeptly learned from a Medical Hypnoanalyst, is a model place to
commence. Deep relaxation, accompanied by examination of the inner self, can help increase
understanding of special capabilities and potential, which are essential to the founding of
rational accomplishment goals.
Realistic assessment of wishes is imperative. For example a proclamation like, "I desire
to have a million dollars," does not produce an accomplishment goal. On the other hand, a new
sales person might settle on, "I want to earn $50,000 this year." This could be a reasonable
accomplishment goal. Having looked within to establish an accomplishment goal, which is
within reason in sight of the capabilities of the goal-setter and the constraints of his situation, it
becomes indispensable to establish the steps and sequences required to accomplish the intent.
For a real estate sales person it might be useful to work backwards. What dollar amount of sales
would be crucial to produce commissions received of $50,000? Taking into consideration the
average price of homes sold how many must be closed, how many homes must be shown; how
many prospective buyers must be contacted to show the number of homes required; how many
telephone calls must be made to generate the necessary number of prospects? At this time the
sales person has a roadmap showing the path to the goal and what is indispensable to realize the
objective.
Activity Goals: Having done the research, the sales person is in a spot to establish the
activity goals. Having recognized that a particular quantity of telephone calls per day must be
made, the motivation to accomplish that precise activity goal must be generated. Medical
Hypnoanalysis may be chosen as the suitable means of inspiring the motivation creating the
self-esteem and confidence necessary to move forward. Conditioning against dissuasion equally
may be prudent. Activity goals are the stepladder essential to move in the direction of the
accomplishment goal. A definite amount of contacts per day are required to bring into being one
potential buyer in listing properties, likewise, the law of averages indicates that a precise
amount of contacts are essential to produce a listing.
 Turn downs and rejections are common, which is why motivation and self-confidence
are indispensable rudiments to success. Sales people who look at rejection as not anything more
than a needed step in the direction of the next acceptance will join the 20% group of superior
earners. Those who see the rejection as a defeat discouraging future effort, will be in the larger
80% group of poor to commonplace producers,
The import of attitude is unmistakable. The occasion of rejection is to be expected. That
is why true sales proficiency is the highest paid vocation in the world. It demands control of the
self; a rare asset. The veiled secret is that all the fundamentals indispensable to sales success can
be acquired. Those who suffer from low self-esteem owing to past failures or poor
performances can turn around, recapture their sense of self worth, and attain the success
presented to them.
Those who need self-confidence, who find it hard to dial a telephone or rap on a door,
can strengthen their self-confidence, attain an impressive success and build on it. Those who
lack motivation and just can't get moving, and those who keep creating duties which give
explanation for the rescheduling of what they recognize they should be doing, can revolutionize
both habits and attitudes. Medical Hypnoanalysis can bring the precise jolt in that segment of the
anatomy where it is most required. And those who, after repetitive exposure to sales training
courses, never seem to put their instruction to use or pursue the direction provided by top sales
pros, can come to life and exhibit immaculate examples of proficient techniques. They merely
must be ready to be taught before being subjected to the training experiences. Medical
Hypnoanalysis can definitely help realize these goals.
PAIN MANAGEMENT: Pain. We all suffer it at one time or another. Migraine
headaches. Back pain. Chronic pain from illness or injury. Birthing pains. Pain from surgery or
other medical procedures. Whenever we're in pain we want relief - fast. So we call the doctor
and he prescribes medication. We take it and most of the time it helps. But other times it doesn't
help... enough... or for long enough. And sometimes we just don't want to take medication.
Is there an alternative? Is there a safe way to get pain relief without medication? Today more
and more people are asking this question. A two hundred year old technique - hypnosis - is
gaining in strength as a modality of choice for pain relief in treatment of a variety of medical
conditions from migraine headaches to chronic back pain to cancer symptoms.
Managing Pain: Most hypnotherapists work with pain problem primarily in conjunction
with appropriate healing arts professionals. This is because pain often is a symptom of a
problem rather than the problem itself. A headache might be migraine; it also might be a brain
tumor. A medical diagnosis is important. However, properly used hypnosis can reduce pain,
alleviate anxiety, remove fears of dentistry or surgery, eliminate or reduce the need for
injections or other applications of chemical anesthesia, promote comfort and healing and
expedite recovery. It is becoming more common in dentistry, obstetrics, burn treatment and
emergency room trauma. In accomplishing the above it is evident that Medical Hypnoanalysis
can prove dramatically effective in dealing with medically-related stress situations
AREAS OF APPLICATION IN DENTISTRY: Analgesia (as premedication to reduce
chemical anesthesia), Anesthesia (instead of chemical anesthesia and/or for post operative pain)
Anxiety & fear reduction
Bruxism
Denture problems
Gagging control
Hemophilia patients
 Operative Hypnodontics
Pediadontics
Phobias
Preparation for anesthesia
Promotion of healing
Salivation control
Thumb sucking
Tongue thrusting
Vascular control of bleeding
Taken from Hypnotic Induction & Suggestion: 1988, Edited by D. Corydon Hammond, PhD
HYPNOANALYSIS SOOTHES RECURRENT INDIGESTION: Hypnosis appears to
calm a stomach plagued by a widespread digestive disorder better than an equivalent amount of
supportive therapy or drug treatment, as reported By Alison McCook in (Reuters Health). Dr.
Peter James Whorwell of Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, UK, and his colleagues tested
the usefulness of 16 weeks of Medical Hypnoanalysis in patients with functional dyspepsia
(FD), a form of chronic indigestion that affects up to 25% of the population. Patients' symptoms
include bloating, nausea, vomiting and feelings of fullness.
Compared to patients given a stomach acid-suppressor or a placebo plus supportive
therapy--during which patients spoke to and were counseled by a clinician--those who received
Medical Hypnoanalysis experienced a superior development in their symptoms and quality of
life more than a year afterward. Medical Hypnoanalysis patients, on average, scheduled fewer
doctors' visits throughout the 40 weeks following treatment than those given other treatments.
In addition, Whorwell and his group report that not any of the patients given Medical
Hypnoanalysis required medications throughout the follow-up phase following treatment. In
contrast, the majority of those who received supportive therapy or medication for the duration
of the study took a mixture of drugs, together with antacids and antidepressants.
These results imply that Medical Hypnoanalysis can be an efficient and inexpensive way
to calm indigestion in people with FD. "Medical Hypnoanalysis is highly effective in the
long-term management of FD," Whorwell and his team write. "Furthermore, the dramatic
reduction in medication use and consultation rate provide major economic advantages."
This is not the first study to reveal the benefits of Medical Hypnoanalysis for an
assortment of conditions, as well as those that involve digestion. For example, the authors
recently showed that Medical Hypnoanalysis can ease symptoms of a common intestinal disorder
known as irritable bowel syndrome. Other researchers reported that the method can benefit
people with asthma and mothers in labor. During the present study, reported in the December
issue of Gastroenterology, Whorwell and his group asked a collection of 126 patients with FD
to experience Medical Hypnoanalysis, supportive therapy or drug treatment for 16 weeks, then
followed them for an extra 40 weeks recording their evolution. Patients who received Medical
Hypnoanalysis and supportive therapy spent the same amount of time with health
professionals--twelve 30-minute visits--while those given the acid-suppressor ranitidine
(Zantac) attended only four visits. Whorwell and colleagues found that, while receiving the
diverse treatments, Medical Hypnoanalysis patients reported added improvements in symptoms
than did those given drugs or supportive therapy. 73% of Medical Hypnoanalysis patients said
their symptoms had improved, relative to 34% of those given supportive therapy and 43% of
those given drugs. Nine out of 10 patients given medication required other drugs during the
follow-up, as did 82% who received supportive therapy. No patient given Medical
Hypnoanalysis required added medication during the 40 weeks following treatment.
Dr. William E. Whitehead of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, wrote an
accompanying editorial, said he believed the present findings are "fairly dramatic," and
recommended that "it would benefit physicians to incorporate hypnosis much more frequently
than it is now." However, he noted that major obstacles must be conquered before FD patients
and others have effortless access to Medical Hypnoanalysis. Few patients are at this time
offered hypnosis for their pain, Whitehead said, many get no reimbursement for the service
from their insurers. Furthermore, relatively few health professionals are trained to administer
Medical Hypnoanalysis, he and his colleague, Dr. Olafur S. Palsson write.
Nevertheless Whitehead noted that he believed patients with other types of
gastrointestinal problems might benefit from Medical Hypnoanalysis,--such as people suffering
from rectal pain, milder forms of indigestion, and nausea or vomiting. "We think it can help
people with milder forms of functional dyspepsia," he said. SOURCE: Gastroenterology
2002;123:1778-1785, 2132-2147.
Hypnosis in addition to regular medical treatment has several advantages in pain
management. First, it requires no drugs. In fact, studies show that patients with chronic diseases
who practice hypnosis (as taught by a hypnotherapist trained in pain management) required
fewer analgesics to maintain pain relief. They also suffered less anxiety about their pain and
greater comfort during medical procedures. In a study at at Case Western Reserve University
Medical Hypnoanalysis was found useful as a pain management tool following such surgical
procedures as hysterectomy, coronary by-pass, hemorrhoid surgery and abdominal surgery.
The test patients also had shorter hospital stays less nausea and more rapid healing.
Twelve studies have proven Medical Hypnoanalysis to be the preferred treatment for reducing
migraine headache attacks. With such impressive results, why do we reach for the aspirin bottle
instead of the natural, relaxing, healing capacities within our own minds? The answer is
obvious. Most of us don't know how to practice self-hypnosis. Many of us are not aware of its
proven successfulness.
Still others of us hold outdated, fearful notions that hypnosis involves "mind control" or loss of
our own conscious will to another person. That's unfortunate because hypnosis - or Medical
Hypnoanalysis as it is often termed today to indicate the growing acceptance of its therapeutic
value - is a resource that should be explored by all who suffer pain.
It provides an ongoing method of pain management that, once established, can be
monitored and adjusted by the patient him or herself. It returns a sense of control back to the
patient and it has no side effects - except an overall increased relaxation
APPLICATIONS IN MEDICINE: Compiled by William C. Wester, II, Ed.D.
Addictions & Alcoholism
Allergies
Amenorrhea (absence or abnormal stoppage of the menses) Anesthesia for Surgery
Arthritis/Rheumatism
Bladder irritability
Bleeding control
Blushing
Burns
Cancer, Cardiac Neurosis
Cardiovascular disorders
Cerebral palsy (persisting qualitative motor disorder appearing before the age
 of three due to nonprogressive damage to the brain)
Condyloma (an elevated lesion of the skin)
Coronary disorders (psychosomatic)
Coughing
Crohn's Disease
Cyst copy (assisting in the visual examination of the urinary tract with a cyst scope)
Diabetes
Dietary problems
Eczema
Ego-strengthening
Encopresis (incontinence of feces not due to organic defect or illness) Enuresis (Bed wetting)
Epilepsy
Genitourinary disorders
Geriatrics (problems of the elderly)
Headaches
Hemorrhage (Bleeding)
Hemodialysis (removal of certain elements from the blood by virtue of
difference in rates of their diffusion through a semi permeable, membrane
while being circulated outside the body)
Herpes
Hiccoughs
Hyperemesis gravidarum (the pernicious vomiting of pregnancy),
Hypertension (persistently high arterial blood pressure),
Hyperthyroidism
Hyperventilafcion (abnormally increased pulmonary ventilation, resulting in
reduction of carbon dioxide tension, which if prolonged, may lead to alkalosis)
Itchyosis (any of several generalized skin disorders marked by dryness, roughness, and
scaliness)
Infections
Infertility
Laryngology (Problems having to do with the throat, pharynx, larynx,
nasopharynx, and tracheobronchial tree)
Mammary augmentation
Menstrual disorders
Metabolic diseases
Migraine headache
Nausea
Neurodermatitis (itching presumed to be due to emotional causes) Nutrition
Obesity
Obstetrics & high-risk pregnancy
Oncology
Orthopedics
Otology (dealing with the ear)
Pain
Phantom Limb Pain
Psychosomatic Gastrointestinal Disorder
 Raynaud's Disease
Rhinology (diseases of the nose)
Sleep disorders
Smoking
Surgical preparation
Tinnitus (a noise in the ears)
Torticollis (wryneck; a contracted state of the cervical muscles, with torsion of the neck)
Uterine bleeding
Vasectomy
Vomiting
Warts
Wound healing
Hypnosis: A safe and potent pain reliever
Physical pain may begin in the mind, study shows
Hypnosis shown to substantially help cancer patients tolerate treatments, side effects
HYPPNOANAESTHESIA: Susanna Grabinger, ready to operate having been prepared
with Hypnoanesthesia as the only anesthetic. The anesthesiologist was on hand just in case if
there was to be some problem. Just as with any anesthetic including chemical the results are not
known until the process is in motion. Fortunately with today's marvelous quick acting
anesthetics many patients could try this method knowing if it did not work up to total
satisfaction they, in a matter of seconds, could switch to chemical and be under right away. This
allows for many more patients to try this method and experience a pain free operation the quick
recovery associated with Hypnoanesthesia
During the operation the patient indicates no sensation of pain or discomfort while being
able to communicate and even argue with the doctor. Hypnoanesthesia allows for the patient to
be full aware of what is happening and to be prepared to make decisions along with the surgeon
regarding what should be done and how. Susanna was a Nurse and had her own opinions about
medical matters. Susanna, could fend for herself throughout the operation. It is only under
chemical anesthesia the patient does not have this advantage.
This particular operation was performed locally at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina.
It took about two hours. It consisted of a three inch deep incision that was six inches long. This
operation was the feature (Lead) story on KARE 11 News. It was also a feature on Channels, 4
and 9. Articles appeared in the "Minnesota Physician" and in the "Journal of the American
Academy of Medical Hypnoanalysis" Other operations have been performed at Methodist
Hospital in St Louis Park and North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale.
Trance in Dental Medication: This particular client sought to reduce her experience of
pain in the dental office. With a few sessions of hypnotic training she was able to accomplish
what you see in the photographs below.I have used self hypnosis in lieu of novacaine and other
analgesics for my dental work since I learned the hypnoanesthetic method many years ago.
My Own Operations - Achilles Tendon:
Patient: Medical Hypnoanalyst and Hypnoanesthesiologist: Bill Ronan, LICSW
What: Preoperative Diagnosis: Partial right Achilles tendon rupture as well as a large Haglund
deformity.
Postoperative Diagnosis: Partial right Achilles tendon rupture as well as a large Haglund
deformity.(A bursitis in the region of the Achilles tendon. Everything in italics and parentheses
is mine, BR)
Name Of Operation:
1. Excision of a large Haglund deformity, right calcaneus.
2. Repair of the right Achilles tendon.
Anesthesia: Hypnosis.
Operative Indications: Mr. Ronan presented with partial avulsion of the right Achilles tendon
secondary to a large Haglund deformity. Informed consent was obtained for the
above-mentioned procedure. He elected to do self-hypnosis for the procedure.
Operative Procedure: After adequate induction of a comfortable state of hypnosis, the right leg
was sterilely prepped and free-draped in the usual fashion. No tourniquet was used. An 8-cm,
midline, dorsal incision was made over the right Achilles and calcaneus. The Achilles was split
longitudinally. There was a large retrocalcaneal bursa (A sac-like cavity with fluid occurring at
the area of a tissue where friction would occur. There are hundreds of bursa all over and one
hears of Bursitis quite often when inflammation affects one or more. I had a bursa at the back of
my Achilles tendon adjacent to the calcaneus) that was excised. The tendon was partially
avulsed from the calcaneus, and there was a large area of calcification in the tendon. This
calcified piece measured 2.0 x 1.2 cm. This was excised in total. This was followed by using an
osteotome ( A knife or chisel to cut thru bone)to remove the large Haglund deformity. The
deformity was removed in total. Th is was followed by inserting 3 super Mitek anchors (they
are probably devices for bringing together separated tendon areas which have been avulsed that
is to say torn apart for whatever reason) into the calcaneus. The tendon was sutured down
securely to the calcaneus. A longitudinal incision into the Achilles was then also repaired with
the aid of 1 suture. The wound was closed in layers. A sterile dressing and a short leg cast were
applied with the foot in 5 degrees of plantar flexion.
He tolerated the procedure well and was taken to the recovery room in satisfactory condition.
Surgeon: J Chris Coetzee, MD
Where: Minneapolis Sports Surgery Center.
When: 3/26/03, 9:00am 9:40am
How: The only anesthetic was Ideas, supplied by the patient practicing self-hypnosis
Why: Reduce pain, and speed up recovery
This operation was covered on Channel 4 nightly local news, three nights in a row in May of
2003.
My Own Operations - Torn Meniscus: This is a picture taken from my last operation using
hypnosis as a general and local anesthetic.
The operation took place on October 3, 2005.
The Surgeon who is posing with me holding a bone fragment she had dug out of my knee
during an operation to remove a torn meniscus (A cushiony material that protects the bones
from wearing & injury)
Her name is Peggy Naas, MD
Positive Statements in the Operating Room: Can comments made during surgery by your
doctors, nurses and other staff affect the outcome of your operation? Can you hear their
conversations even while you're anesthetized? The answer to both questions is an emphatic
"yes," according to Dr. Henry Bennett, Ph.D.Dr. Bennett, a psychologist, has conducted several
experiments on chemically anesthetized patients. His findings convinced him that the operating
room environment itself can help or hurt the patient, depending on what is said there.
According to Dr. Bennett's findings, a chemically anesthetized patient is not "asleep."
The patient is aware of much more that even the operating room staff believes. The chemically
anesthetized state may be more like a deep state of hypnosis (without the benefits of actual
hypnoanesthesia) than it is like the "out" state we normally think of with total unconsciousness.
Because of this, comments made about the patient during the surgery can have a profound effect
on the outcome of the surgery. The last thing that a patient should hear, even in a stupor, is
"This looks bad," or "He's not going to make it." Instead, Dr. Bennett suggests that operating
room staff always speak positively about the surgery to the patient, "as if the patient were
awake." In addition. Dr. Bennett suggests using the anesthetized state purposefully, as a vehicle
to deliver even more positive suggestions, similarly as can be done in the hypnotized state.
Such suggestions could be as simple as "You are doing very well;" or the y could be more
elaborate and specific to the surgery, such as "When the doctor introduces the new organ, it will
be easily accepted by your body and will function perfectly."
In two different studies where such positive suggestions were made to patients during
surgery, there was a documented positive effect. In one case, a woman was instructed to have
her body move the blood away from her back during her spinal surgery. She experienced a
blood loss that was 50 per cent less than normal for this operation. In a different study a
researcher gave the suggestion to hysterectomy patients that they would feel like getting up out
of bed and walking around shortly after surgery. The patients receiving the suggestions
ambulated sooner and had fewer complications than the test group who did not receive the
suggestions.
This is reason enough to ask your doctor and his staff to monitor their "O.R. chatter."
But what if you want to go even further? You may not be able to convince your doctor to rattle
off a list of positive statements during your operation. (His mind might be, you hope, focused on
the more immediate task of performing the surgery itself).
Nonetheless, you can still obtain the positive effects of positive statements made during
surgery. Start by finding a qualified Medical Hypnoanalyst. Ask the Medical Hypnoanalyst to
create an audiotape containing positive statements about your surgery (the Medical
Hypnoanalyst may have one or more such tapes ready made, or they might make one up
specifically for you). Check with your doctor before showing up in O.R. with your tape; but
since more and more patients are listening to tapes during surgery, the doctor should not be
surprised at your request.
An even better idea would be to visit the Medical Hypnoanalyst one or more times prior to the
surgery to pre-program the mental suggestions for positive results even more strongly. Armed
with knowledge and a positive attitude, you will be ready for a successful operation and a
speedy recovery.
Patients and Doctors Talk About Their Experience with Hypnoanesthesia "I can't see giving
birth without hypnosis. I don't think I could really consider it."
Pam Alonso, birth mother
"I want to thank you for the Medical Hypnoanalysis, which was so effective in preventing my
usual nausea and vomiting and controlling my pain after my rather extensive surgery. "
Surgery Patient, Joyce E. Lindgren
"I appreciate your assistance during surgery. . . she was very pleased with her surgery,
anesthesia and hypnotic relaxation. I will certainly refer patients to you for benefits of
hypnosis.If asked my opinion, I would say all patients should have some hypnosis education
prior to surgery."
Allan Greenwood, MD, Hennepin Faculty Associates Dept of Anesthesiology, Fairview
Southdale Hospital
"Bill Ronan assisted in the management of one of my patients (Joyce E. Lindgren), I was
impressed."
Surgeon, Norman S. Solberg, MD, Ob/Gyn Dept, Methodist Hospital "It was indeed the best
surgical experience I had had in the past 18 months with five surgeries. I had minimal pain and
could move, turn and walk around without great discomfort! I actually had to remind myself I
just had a two-hour surgery."
"Would I do surgery again using hypnosis? Without a doubt! In my mind, it is the best thing I
could have done for myself. My thanks go out to Bill Ronan (for providing hypnoanesthesia for
my hernia operation) and a surgeon that believed in giving hypnosis a chance to prove itself."
Susanna Grabinger, RN, Quoted in: the Minnesota Physician and The Journal of American
Academy of Medical Hypnoanalysis
Featured story on KARE 11 News, Minnesota 9 News and Channel 4 News TopHome
Addictions Psychotherapy Self Improvement Medical Hypnosis Children
HYPNOSIS AIDS STROKE RECOVERY: As we age, we just naturally become
more vulnerable to disease processes such as high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. But
an interesting case study by two Los Angeles researchers sheds doubt on traditional views about
the chances for recovery from at least one of these dreaded diseases - stroke. Widely accepted
medical viewpoints claim that all recovery from a stroke will stop at about six months after the
occurrence of the vascular accident. But using hypnosis, a technique not normally associated
with the treatment of stroke, researchers helped a 66-year-old woman regain several physical
capacities, including limited use of a disabled arm and the ability to walk without a cane. The
Medical Hypnoanalysis began six months post-stroke and lasted for six months.
Keep in mind: your memory is great. Under hypnosis, the patient was guided through
imagery that recalled memories of previous abilities, including swimming in a river as a child.
In addition to the hypnosis sessions/ the woman was given audiotapes to practice with at home.
Follow-up one-year post-stroke showed verifiable improvement in the physical capabilities of
the patient.
Researchers Jean Holroyd of the University of California at Los Angeles and Alexi; Hill
of Permanente Center in Lomita, California speculated that even though therapy for strokes is
traditionally viewed as not being useful beyond six months post-stroke, the capacity of the mind
to learn new information and processes does not have an end point.
Imagery works on the mind in a way that is not yet clearly understood. But, as these results
show, the ability of imagery to push back traditional limits of effective therapy holds exciting
possibilities, and it is an area that merits further investigation.
As an interesting side note, the Medical Hypnoanalysis was instituted at the request of
the patient, after a neurologist had concluded that she would not likely gain any further
improvement in her physical condition. Sometimes, it seems, the patient knows best.
MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS FOR ADDICTIONS: The dangers of various
addictions including food, drugs, smoking and gambling have been studied and analyzed for
years. The detrimental effect of smoking, food and drugs on people's health and their activities
is now public knowledge, and many people who have become addicted to gambling, food drugs
or smoking are now looking for ways to quit.
Most addiction programs work at increasing the individual's strength to resist the desire
to do the unwanted behavior. They rely on willpower, and for most people that is the worst
method for quitting addictive behavior. Willpower fluctuates like moods and emotions. One day
it may be strong, the next day it may be weak.
 Medical Hypnoanalytical treatment works at eliminating the desire to engage in the
addictive behavior, whether it is from identification or replacement, the two principle reasons
for addictive behavior. Identification is when the addict indulges in the habit because he admires
(or associates) with others who have the same addiction, i.e. parents, peers, or celebrities.
Identification addiction is the most common and the easiest to eliminate. Replacement is when
the addictive behavior takes the place of a previous habit (such as one of the other addictions),
is used to replace something that is missing, (such as companionship, love, acceptance,
self-esteem, security, independence), or when it fills a void created by anxiety or boredom.
Replacement addictions often receive sensual gratification from their addiction. They enjoy the
feeling of the addiction. For all types of addicts, the addiction is both a physical and mental
process. So to be effective, the addiction treatment program must address both aspects.
To address the psychological aspects of addictive behavior, the Medical Hypnoanalyst
will include an evaluation of why the person started the addictive behavior. "What purpose does
it serve in their life?" For the Identification Addict, suggestions can be given to help strengthen
a person's perception of the individuality, i.e., not needing to submit to the addiction to be
accepted. For the Replacement Addict, a more detailed analysis of their motivation is required.
To address the physical aspects of any addiction, the medical hypnoanalyst may include
hypnotic suggestions that change, via increasing awareness and strengthening contact with
reality. The individual can imagine the reality that the addiction is unappealing, bad for them,
foul and revolting in every sense of the word. This makes quitting easier.
The Medical Hypnoanalyst takes advantage of the mind's natural ability to imagine and
visualize. The client pictures himself or herself free from the habit, filled with new health,
energy and vitality. They can see themselves as looking healthier, more attractive, freer, and
being more active. Once an addict has achieved success in a Medical Hypnoanalytic Addiction
Treatment Program it is still necessary to reinforce the programming that led to quitting.
Addictions are a habit that is acquired and built over time. It can rarely be completely
eliminated in just a few sessions. Even though they may have stopped the addictive behavior
temporarily, the behavior pattern still remains. Fortunately, it fades with disuse. Hypnotic
conditioning with cassette tapes can be used to reinforce the changes until they become
permanent. How to . . . Break a bad habit. Planning, practice and patience are the keys to
eliminating undesirable behaviors
THE HARM CAUSED BY PROBLEM GAMBLING: Opportunities to gamble have
increased significantly over the past decade. Along with the rapid expansion of legalized
gambling has come an increase in the number of gambling problems. For most people,
gambling is a social or recreational activity, something that is fun and entertaining. But for
others, gambling causes problems and, for some, it becomes uncontrollable and is no longer a
choice.
Compulsive gambling is not a bad habit but rather a life-threatening disorder.
Compulsive gambling is destructive to families, friendships and careers. Bills go unpaid. Basic
needs like money for food and rent are neglected. Some gamblers become suicidal. Most will
need help to change their gambling behavior. The good news is that there is help available here
in Hennepin County and throughout Minnesota. State funds are available for treatment services
for compulsive gamblers and their families. If you are concerned about your own gambling or
the gambling of a family member Minnesota residents who qualify can have all or part of the
cost of outpatient treatment paid. Treatment for people with gambling problems has been
successful for hundreds of Minnesotans. They are involved in ongoing programs of recovery as
they rebuild their lives. For many it began with a call for help by the gambler or family
member.
Achieve Your Goals to Quit Gambling Quickly: Through Medical Hypnoanalysis
Whatever your goals are, Medical Hypnoanalysis can help you achieve them more easily and
more quickly. Many people don't realize the awesome power that their subconscious mind has
over their lives. The causes of so many "bad habits" are rooted in memories or perceptions that
may be forgotten by the conscious mind but retained in the subconscious. Medical
Hypnoanalysis helps to access the subconscious mind and affect the desired changes more easily
and more quickly. Unfortunately, many people refuse to consider Medical Hypnoanalysis
because of their fears and misconceptions. They may believe the hypnotherapist will control
them, they will tell their hidden secrets, or be made to do ridiculous things. These
misconceptions might be the result of watching old vampire movies or cartoons on TV. These
fears and misconceptions are completely unfounded. The individual is always in control, and in
fact, is more aware of what is happening while in the hypnotic state.
Although Medical Hypnoanalysis is not a panacea, there are many areas where it has
proven to be tremendously helpful; these include gambling addictions, memory enhancement,
improving concentration, relieving insomnia, eliminating nail biting, reducing stuttering, sales
and sports achievement. However the most common reasons for visiting a hypnotherapist are
loosing weight, quitting smoking, and managing stress.
Many overweight people who fail with diet programs turn to hypnosis, just as problem
gamblers are now seeking out Medical Hypnoanalysis as a safe and reliable alternative. For the
dieter, dieting never eliminated the subconscious need for excess food. Just as the dieter has
these problems it is true of most addictions including gambling. Both are just a form of torture
they go through, until they eventually give into their subconscious desires. So they
continuously went up and down the weight and gambling scale, never letting go of the desire for
either the self-defeating behavior of gambling or eating of excess food. The reasons for their
desire were often anchored in a memory of some past emotional event that caused them to
overeat or gamble etc. for security, self-preservation or protection. The memory of the event
remained sealed in their subconscious, even if it was consciously forgotten. The Medical
Hypnoanalyst locates the event, which triggered this behavior, and changes the individual's
perception of that event; thus eliminating it as a problem source. Once this is accomplished, the
individual can eliminate the desire for gambling and or excess food and the person begins to
operate in their own best rational interest and/or the weight comes off easily, and stays off. This
same technique is effective for quitting smoking. When an individual relives the horrible
experience of taking that first puff, and remembers the events that caused them to continue
smoking, the habit is easily eliminated. Phobias such as the fears of water, flying, driving and
claustrophobia are easily treated with the same technique, and can frequently be overcome in
many cases in just two or three sessions. "What the mind causes, the mind can cure. Wellness
begins in the mind!" Every problem has a cause, and when you eliminate the cause from the
computer we call the subconscious mind, the problem disappears.
Treatment for Gambling Problems Minnesota State Funds Available: There are
fewer activities that have seen more growth and change in the past 10 years than gambling.
Winning lottery numbers are drawn on television. Odds on sporting events, results of horse
races and advertising for casinos are carried daily in our newspapers. Outdoor billboards, T.V.
and radio ads communicate the easy availability of gambling. In just a few short years gambling
has become part of our daily lives.
 For most people, gambling is a social or recreational activity that doesn't cause
problems. But for others gambling creates serious personal, family, employment, legal or
financial problems. For some it becomes uncontrollable and is no longer a choice. Compulsive
gambling is destructive to families, friendships and careers. Some gamblers become suicidal.
Most will need help to change their gambling behavior.
Financial problems are always an issue for the gambler. Many problem gamblers say
they can't afford to get treatment. There is good news, the lack of money for treatment does not
have to be a problem. State funds are now available for treatment services for compulsive
gamblers and their families. Minnesota residents who qualify will be able to have all or part of
the cost of outpatient treatment paid if they meet the clinical diagnosis for compulsive gambling
and demonstrate financial need.MMNow, with State funds available, gamblers and their
families can get the help they need. Help is only a phone call away.
The Gambling Crisis in Minnesota: An Interview with Bill Ronan, LICSW Minnesota
State Gambling Counselor How many people in Minnesota gamble? The Minnesota State
Lottery in conjunction with St. Cloud State University has conducted a number of surveys on
Minnesota adult gambling behavior since 1993. The most recent study was completed in 1999
and it found that 91% of adults in Minnesota gambled at some time in their lives and that 78%
gambled within the last year. The study also found that 55% of adults played the lottery during
the past year, 38% bet at the casinos and 26% had played pull-tabs. The average Minnesotan
wagered on five kinds of gambling activities in their lifetime. This study also showed that
gambling occurs among all age groups, income levels and educational backgrounds. Clearly,
gambling is a part of the lives of a vast majority of Minnesotans.
What exactly is problem gambling? Problem Gambling is gambling behavior that
causes problems in any major area of a person's life: personal, family, employment, legal,
financial or a combination of all of them. It is a progressive addiction. Problem gamblers
spend an increasing amount of time thinking about gambling or ways to get money to gamble.
They bet more frequently. They chase their losses trying to win back money that has been lost.
They continue to gamble in spite of mounting, serious negative consequences. In short, a persons
gambling is out of control.
Are there a lot of people who are problem gamblers? According to the National
Research Council, it is estimated that approximately 0.9 percent of the adult population in the
U.S. has a gambling problem. Although the percentage does not seem high, it amounts to
thousands of Minnesotans. The truly serious nature of problem gambling merits programs of
public education, prevention, intervention and treatment. How many problem gamblers there are
in Minnesota? Although there has not been a study of gambling problems conducted in
Minnesota since. 1994, we can estimate that approximately 1-3% of the adult population has a
problem with their gambling. It is important to remember that not only does the problem
gambling affect the gambler; it also affects those around them. It can have a devastating affect
on family members, loved ones, friends and concerned others.
What types of gambling cause the most problem gambling? Most researchers and
mental health professionals believe that different types of gambling cannot be said to "cause"
problem gambling. Problem gamblers are attracted to different forms of gambling for different
reasons. Some are attracted to the sensory stimulation of video games of chance, while others
to the perception of skill in cards or sports betting. Still others are drawn to the seemingly easy
money of high-risk investments. Many, if not most, problem/compulsive gamblers indulge in
more than one form of gambling. However, studies of compulsive gamblers have found that the
most frequently cited games of preference are slot machines, card games, and sports betting. A
Minnesota study of 944 gamblers in treatment found that 37 percent listed slot machines as their
preferred game and 37 percent listed cards. Lottery games, dice games and games of skill were
each cited by less than 1 percent of those in the study. (Stinchfield and Winters, 1996).
Who becomes a problem gambler? Problem gamblers can be male, female, young,
middle-aged, old, wealthy, poor, white, or people of color. Problem gambling crosses all
social-economic levels, cultures, races, ages and gender.
How can you tell if someone has a gambling problem? Some signs that may indicate
there is a gambling problem are:
Increasing the frequency of gambling activity.
Increasing the amount of money gambled.
Spending an excessive amount of time gambling at the expense of job or family time.
Being preoccupied with gambling or with obtaining money with which to gamble.
Gambling creates a special and intense pleasure, an aroused sense of being in "action."
Continuing to gamble despite negative consequences such as large losses, financial problems,
absence from work, or family problems caused by gambling.
Gambling as a means to cope with loneliness, anger, stress, depression, etc.
"Chasing" - the urgent need to keep gambling-often with larger bets-or the taking of
greater risks in order to make up for a loss or series of losses. Borrowing money to gamble,
taking out secret loans, cashing in or borrowing on life insurance policies, or maximizing credit
cards. Bragging about wins but not talking about losses.
Frequent mood swings, higher when winning, lower when losing. Gambling for longer
periods of time or more money than originally planned. Secretive behavior such as hiding lottery
tickets and betting slips, having mail, bills, etc., sent to work, a P.O. Box, or other address.
Can problem gamblers be helped? Does treatment work? Yes, studies have shown
that treatment is effective in a great many cases. A study commissioned by the Minnesota
Department of Human Services to evaluate Minnesota's state-funded problem gambling
treatment programs concluded in a 1997 report that people who participate in treatment reduce
their problem gambling behavior and its negative consequences, and that the state's investment
in funding problem gambling treatment is having positive results. Seventy percent of those who
completed treatment had a greater reduction in their gambling behavior than those who were
partially treated or received no treatment. Those who completed treatment were also less likely
to have legal or personal problems than those untreated.
You work with problem gamblers in your clinical practice. What goes on in
treatment for problem gambling? Treatment for problem gambling consists of many different
components including an in-depth assessment, group counseling, individual therapy, educational
seminars, financial counseling, family therapy and aftercare group meetings. Attendance at a
Gamblers Anonymous meeting may also be a requirement during treatment. The time a person
spends in treatment varies, depending on the individual treatment plan for each client. I use an
eclectic approach called Medical Hypnoanalysis, which is designed to get at the causes of the
problem and resolve it. It is a short-term effective cognitive-behavioral psychology that treats
problems at their root level.
What makes a practitioner of Medical Hypnoanalysis different from other
therapists and other psychotherapists? The practitioner of Medical Hypnoanalysis requires a
training background in the basics of psychology, developmental psychology, psychopathology,
and psychotherapy as well as in hypnosis.
 Medical Hypnoanalysis is dynamic, short term, and directed. It is dynamic in that the
treatment approach emphasizes causes rather than symptoms, explanations rather than
descriptions, and unconscious forces rather than conscious forces as being the ultimate origin of
the psychopathology.
It is short term in that in most of the situations thirty or less sessions are required for the
completion of treatment procedure. It is directed therapy in that the psychotherapist, upon
making a diagnosis, follows a medical model of psychotherapy aimed at alleviating the
symptoms by means of resolving underlying unconscious causes.
Medical Hypnoanalysis first examines the presenting symptoms of the patient by means
of a case history, observing verbal and non-verbal communication, while seeking unconscious
clues to the ultimate causes of the symptoms in order to make a psychodynamic diagnosis. After
the patient is introduced to hypnosis, the majority of the therapeutic sessions are conducted with
the patient in the hypnotized state.
Such procedure allows identification and re-interpretation, adjustment or re-evaluation
and desensitization of the specific causal events. This procedure is directed at correcting the
symptoms and the unwanted behavior, which causes suffering and disease. For example,
addictions, depressions, phobias, obsessions, psychosomatic disorders, self-destructive and
anti-social behavior and other emotional and psychological problems can be relieved.
There are a variety of methods and procedures of applying the basic hypnoanalytical
method. Individual varieties are based on the specific training and treatment circumstances of the
clinician.
What should a person do if they are worried about their own gambling or someone else's?
Seek help immediately. Problem gambling is a progressive disorder or addiction. Many gamblers
are not able to stop gambling without professional help. For those that do seek help, many are
able to stop or reduce their gambling.
MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS FOR WEIGHT LOSS: Hypnoanalytically Enhanced
Eating Awareness Training (H.E.A.T.) We have found that many people become overweight
when they begin to use food to satisfy an emotional need; to compensate for something they feel
is missing in their lives. Some people overeat to compensate for an unpleasant experience.
Others eat to reward themselves, or possibly for entertainment. Some want to be noticed, and
many use a large body to offset a small ego. Food can be used to compensate for a lack of love,
to offset fear, to overcome frustration, to deal with boredom, or sometimes even to avoid sex.
Often, the reasons they began overeating are anchored in their past; some emotional
event that caused them to begin eating for security, self preservation or protection. The memory
of the event remains sealed in the subconscious mind, even if they have consciously forgotten it.
For these people, dieting alone will not be enough to lose the weight and keep it off. They often
view the diet as a short term program; and look forward to achieving their weight goal so they
can return to eating "normally". Once they meet their goal, they reward themselves with the
huge meals or heavy deserts that they have been craving; and the weight quickly returns.
Dieting never eliminates the subconscious need for excess food. It's just a form of
self-torture they go through, until they eventually give in to their subconscious desires. They
may go up and down the scale continuously, never letting go of the desire for excess food.
A Medical Hypnoanalytic program, based on the principles of "Hypnoanalytically
Enhanced Eating Awareness Training" (HEAT) will do more than just modify an individual's
behavior. It address all issues which may be affecting their eating habits. The Medical
Hypnoanalyst will ask: "When do you overeat? Where do you overeat?" and most importantly,
"Why?" We will also help examine your self-esteem and self-confidence. We need to know if
these areas require strengthening?
The HEAT sessions will help you to look back on your life, and locate the event (or
events), which led to your current attitude toward food. This is the first step in eliminating the
subconscious desire for excess food. The second step will be to instill a new attitude toward
eating, such as "I am satisfied with smaller amounts of healthy food". Hypnotic conditioning
with cassette tapes are used to reinforce the new attitude. When used for 30 days, the attitude
becomes a permanent part of the your outlook on life. New eating habits are formed, that will
last a life time. The weight easily stays off; and the roller coaster ride is over.
Why be Fat? Being substantially overweight is physically dangerous, placing strain on
the heart and other organs. Overweight conditions also detract from appearance and
attractiveness, and can adversely affect career advancement, social desirability, relationships
and other factors pertaining to life enjoyment and progress.
The question, then, is Why Be Fat? In most cases it is really unnecessary. Many people
overeat to compensate for something in life, which is undesirable; fear, anxiety, anger, hurt,
home/family problems, job/career problems, losses or defeats, loneliness. HEAT can uncover
and reveal the problem, resolve difficulties, change attitudes, reduce the need and desire for
excessive food intake. As weight is lost, appearance improves, self-esteem advances, and
confidence develops. Life becomes enjoyable. Personal progress returns.
Can H.E.A.T. Make you Thin? Tired of carrying around those extra twenty pounds?
Sick and tired of diets that don't work? Are you ready to shed that flab once and for all? HEAT
may be the answer for you. But not if you're expecting miracles. HEAT is not a magic bullet. It
cannot make you stop craving potato chips or never feel hungry again. It can't make you
exercise or make you like vegetables or make you do anything.
What, then, can HEAT do that "will power" can't? Hypnosis, a state of deep
relaxation and intense mental focus, can help you "re-program" old attitudes and beliefs about
eating. While in the state of hypnosis your subconscious (inner) mind is more available to you,
more open to receive suggestions that will then become a part of those messages in the "back of
your mind" that nudge you toward new behaviors. Like a modern day Jimminy Cricket,
hypnotically implanted messages urge you to "do the right thing" - to follow through with the
changes that you decided to make in your life, simply by increasing awareness.
You eat only in response to your body's natural need for food as fuel" can help
re-program bad eating habits. Repetition of such suggestions, especially if listened to regularly
on a taped message, can boost your determination, because it works naturally without effort
because you will be eating in agreement with yourself instead of fighting with yourself.
It takes a combination of eating awareness training, exercising regularly and
psychological education (understanding why you have certain eating patterns and how to change
them) in order to achieve permanent weight loss. Not only will you receive mental suggestions
for awareness enhancement and lifestyle changes, we will explore with you any emotional
connections to food and eating habits. Once you realize why you are eating when you are not
hungry (If we all ate only when we were hungry there would be no need for any weight loss
programs) you can begin to change that behavior.
A Medical Hypnoanalyst will work with positive programming, in part using your own
natural success to spur you on and not rely on "aversion therapy," "positive" or "negative
conditioning" to achieve results. Suggestions that stress positive changes (looking the way you
want to look, feeling the way you want to feel) and that increase self-esteem can help you
succeed not only in your weight loss, but in other areas of your life as well. Mental imagery is
another important part of Medical Hypnoanalysis. Using hypnosis for weight loss, after
achieving a deep state of relaxation your Medical Hypnoanalyst might lead you through an
imaginary journey where you might imagine yourself wearing a dress or suit you've grown out
of. You might imagine the positive comments of your friends or co-workers. You would be
encouraged to use all five senses in your imagery, seeing and feeling yourself grow thinner,
stronger, more healthy and vital. Studies show that the more real your inner experience, the
more likely the final results will match your mental "program." "Via HEAT you can achieve
long term success. While not magic, HEAT can provide powerful tools to help you fight the
battle of the bulge, tools that just may make the difference between success and failure.
MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS OVERCOME INSOMNIA: You don't need
hocus-pocus to benefit from Medical Hypnoanalysis! Psychotherapy via Medical Hypnoanalysis.
Medical Hypnoanalysis is a search of the subconscious mind through the use of Medical
Hypnoanalysis. This helps to identify the origin of the problem and redirect the emotional
energy that sustains the problem toward a solution. Medical Hypnoanalysis opens the door to
the subconscious; analysis helps you to understand the root cause of the problem. Hence the
term, Medical Hypnoanalysis. Patients are treated individually with Medical Hypnoanalysis for
concerns such as migraine or tension headache, anxiety, depression, pain modification,
impotence, low self-esteem, irrational fears, dependency, stress, and compulsive behavior. All
treatment is strictly confidential.
Medical Hypnoanalysis is used for self-improvement, visualization and mental imagery
for sports, memory training, and business success. Hypnoanalysis and visualization air also used
as adjunctive therapy for cancer patients. Touching Every Facet of Our Lives As we learn more
about the power of the subconscious mind, we can see just how hypnoanalysis can improve the
quality of our lives both physically and emotionally.
The initial consultation allows us to get acquainted, establish rapport, and provide
necessary information to treat your specific problem Bill will discuss with you whether your
problem can be treated with medical hypnoanalysis and, if so, estimate how many sessions of
Hypnoanalysis will be required to help you resolve your problem.
What Happens In Therapy? You can be assured that you will be guided by a reputable,
dedicated professional who will put you at ease, offering personal care every step of the way.
You remain aware and in control during all hypnotic sessions. The therapist guides you into a
state of deep relaxation and helps you, where needed, to find the root cause of your problem. As
a result, you and the therapist have greater access to the subconscious attitudes and feelings that
shape behavior. Once the underlying reason of the problem has been defined, gentle suggestions
are used, helping you to untie the subconscious knot and free you to live a healthier, more
productive life. The old negative thought patterns are replaced using positive suggestions,
which, in turn, can lead to a well, emotionally balanced, mature individual.
THE 5 "R"S OF MEDICAL HYPNOANALYTIC TREATMENT
Relaxation: By learning to relax and letting go, you can concentrate your mind better and
become receptive to new and helpful suggestions.
Realization: By realizing that some of your difficulties stem from negative thinking and feeling,
you can learn to restructure those negative attitudes and create a more positive outlook and
frame of mind.
Repetition: In order to implant positive suggestions in the soil of your subconscious mind,
repetition is necessary. The more you repeat something, the more it becomes permanently
implanted in your mind.
Rehabilitation: You are able to use new information, new suggestions, and have time to
rehabilitate your own thinking and incorporate it in your daily life.
Reinforcement: Through Hypnoanalysis and mental concentration, you apply the positive
suggestions you receive. All patients are taught self-Hypnosis to further enhance their
self-control.
General Summary of Medical Hypnoanalysis: Hypnotic Suggestion, which, according
to Ivan Pavlov, Nobel Prize winner is the most direct form of Classical Conditioning, plays a
major role in the etiology of psychosomatic, psychoneurotic and psychotic conditions.
Hypnoanalysis is viewed as a form of super-concentration, (hyper-focus, fascination or
mono-ideism) of the mind, which is especially likely to occur as the result of induction
procedures, meditation or emotion. In all probability everyone can concentrate their mind
through one of these modalities and/or feel emotion. Anyone capable of this can be affected by
hypnotic suggestion (Classical Conditioning).
The phenomena of Hypnoanalysis, research shows, can mimic in every way the actual
signs and symptoms of virtually every psychosomatic, psychoneurotic and/or psychotic
conditions. The state of Hypnoanalysis (heightened suggestibility) can be induced deliberately
or accidentally. Accidentally is true especially in negative programming. An emotional incident
or idea is thought to concentrate the mind, producing a condition of Hypnoanalysis, and any idea
or thought then introduced acts as a hypnotic suggestion, so that many psychoneurosis,
psychosomatic and psychotic conditions are, to all intents and purposes, the same in its structure
as the behavior and symptoms arising from a hypnotic or post hypnotic suggestion. The role of
Medical Hypnoanalysis in the treatment process deals with Relaxation to be able to confront
the problem. Realization of the "root cause" on an emotional or subconscious, (visceral) level,
followed by Re-education under Hypnoanalysis.
AN EXAMPLE: INSOMNIA: You've had a stressed and complicated day. The troubles
are not resolved, and tomorrow promises to be shoddier. You require nighttime of revitalizing,
rejuvenating slumber. But you recognize you are apprehensive, distressed, disheartened, and
nervous or bothered with any of innumerable other feelings. You know you face one more
restless night.
Of course, your own conviction of an incapability to sleep is a hefty component of the
predicament. A small number of sessions of Medical Hypnoanalysis could transform your
outlook, eradicate your worries and instruct you on a self-Medical Hypnoanalysis process,
which may well eliminate the dilemma from your life and in the procedure allow you to handle
troubles in a way less apt to manufacture sleep-destroying anxiety.
How does sleeplessness have an effect on you individually? Do you feel fretfulness and
lie wide-awake for hours before at last sleeping erratically for a short time before starting the
new day? Or do you fall asleep at the appointed time, then rouse later with mind churning and
thrash around for the rest of the night? Or do you float in and out of sleep all night long, and
arise in the dawn thoroughly done in?
Sleeplessness has a precise origin. Liberation may well entail looking for the reason if it
is unidentified. Medical Hypnoanalytic regression may be accommodating in such cases. In
addition various stimulating beverages may be factors - coffee, tea, cola drinks, etc. Arduous
physical or mental activity previous to bedtime can hinder sleep-workouts, demanding games,
disturbing conversation can be culprits. Slumbering during daylight hours will have an effect on
nocturnal rest. It may be essential to reflect on your life and habit patterns, discuss them then
utilize Medical Hypnoanalysis to fashion favorable changes. Simply learning Hypnotic
relaxation can produce physical and mental conditions favorable to achieving the indispensable
rest patterns. From time to time sleep is forfeited due to exhilaration. Expectation of a significant
happening, joyful or otherwise, can disturb the sleeping process. Such intermittent restlessness
is rarely a reason for alarm. But when an over-active mind attempts to deal with tensions,
anxieties, pains and troubles, restless nights are unsurprising.
What's the Answer? Old time remedies, such as lukewarm milk, counting sheep, reading,
exercise, etc., are at best momentary solutions. Yet sleeplessness responds amazingly well to
Medical Hypnoanalysis. Frequently, subsequent to a Medical Hypnoanalytic session and still
devoid of suggestions, the subject will sleep reasonably deeply due to the deep relaxation
achieved during the sitting itself. Direct suggestions, also, can be given to the subject with
astonishing success. Post-Medical Hypnoanalytic suggestion; can be given during a Medical
Hypnoanalytic procedure, resulting in sleep at a particular point in time for a specific time.
Individuals can give post-Hypnotic suggestions to themselves after instruction by the Medical
Hypnoanalyst.
Suitable suggestions for Self-Hypnoanalysis may contain directions to give attention to
relaxing on a daily basis. Removal of uncertainties about the capacity to sleep can be achieved
in the course of Medical Hypnoanalysis. Remaining in one relaxed pose can be useful-tossing
contributes to the incapability to sleep. Not natural sleep aids ought to be avoided. Further, it
can be useful to put into practice resting and/or relaxation in the company of noises, aches or
other turbulence, for trouble-free sleeping can be learned and can become a valuable habit.
For those who wake up at night and cannot get back to sleep, a straightforward but
valuable technique is to count backwards from 100. The count ought to be unhurried-very
unhurried-as follows: 100 (silence) "sleep." 99 (silence) "sleep." 98 (silence) "sleep." et cetera.
Subsequent to each count, speak or imagine the expression "SLEEP." It is essential to get at ease
before starting, but having done so, few counters are able to stay wakeful to number 90. It could
prove helpful to adjust physical ambiance. It is important to agree on the precise
annoyance-whether it is a noise, an emotion or a bodily strain. A negligible quantity of coaching
in Self-Hypnoanalysis can allow an individual to live and sleep well with those elements he
cannot modify, after altering those, which he can. Faint light or darkness, circulating air and
suitable temperatures are essential.
Your Medical Hypnoanalyst Can Help: Those in search of fast, successful help may turn
to Medical Hypnoanalysis. In addition to programming a client with suggestions favorable to
soothing sleep and teaching Self-Hypnoanalysis, the Medical Hypnoanalyst can fashion a
custom-made tape calculated to deal with individual problems. The tape can cleanly lead the
client into profound, contented relaxation with directives at the end of the tape to take pleasure
in peaceful sleep all the way through the night and in the dawn wake up invigorated and excited
about the new day. The insomnia suggestions probably will involve permission given to the
subconscious to take pleasure in relaxation, to be conscious of past accomplishments and the
comfort of having practiced triumph jointly with the acknowledgment that success is
communicable, generating feelings of comfort. Your Medical Hypnoanalyst will be predisposed
to substitute pessimistic thinking and attitudes with optimistic viewpoints, resulting in mental
conditioning favorable to relaxation, tranquility and ease. Problems of import can be set to the
side, as the conscious mind is in essence detached to permit sleep to take place. Which the
troubles of the day can be stored for the night, safe and locked, in a way which will prove
valuable for the duration of sleep hours yet accessible as wanted on arousing. The revitalized
awakening will augment much better treatment of disturbing elements as a brilliant fresh day
begins.
Psychotherapy References: "His areas of professional practice . include, psychotherapy,
anxiety, stress management, smoking cessation, age regression, panic attacks, phobias, PTSD,
abuse survival issues, recovery of memories, pain management and Medical Hypnoanalysis. I
find him to be highly ethical." Myles Johnson, PhD, Psychology
". . . not only is he an effective therapist in his specialty, but he is a sensitive and caring human
being." Judith Razieli, MA, Psychology
"I have known Mr. Ronan since 1982 and I have regularly referred patients to him over the
years because of his specialty: Medical Hypnoanalysis. I have also, with confidence,
recommended his services to quite a number of physicians and other mental health
practitioners."
" Having fairly extensive training in Hypnoanalysis myself, I can appreciate this man's skills
and knowledge of his specialty, and I consider him to be one of the foremost experts and
better-trained practitioners in the metropolitan area in the field of Hypnoanalysis. I have no
hesitation giving William J. Ronan my highest recommendation." Paul Arnold, PhD,
Psychology
Excellent therapist . . . kind and gentle."Mary Moriarty, Licensed Independent Clinical Social
Worker & Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
"I am pleased to recommend Bill Ronan.as a hypnotherapist." Al Levitan, MD, Oncologist and
Past President: American Society of Clinical Hypnoanalysis I am impressed!
Thank you for being an outstanding example of Hypnoanalysis in action. Karen Kieffer, DO,
Psychiatrist and Past President: American Academy of Medical Hypnoanalysis
STRESS, PANIC & ANXIETY TREATMENT WITH MEDICAL
HYPNOANALYSIS: Over six million people in this country suffer from uncontrollable fear
that causes them to be anxiety-ridden and to have what is known as a "stressful personality."
This type of personality may be expressed in a variety of behavior patterns that may become so
restrictive that they literally ruin a person's life.
Symptoms may include a gnawing fear that something terrible is about to happen, a
sudden wave of panic with rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, breaking out in a cold sweat,
and a feeling of impending death. These attacks can be triggered by large crowded places such
as theaters, supermarkets, restaurants, or churches and are accompanied by an overwhelming
need to get out. Other situations that may cause anxiety attacks are: being in small, enclosed
places, such as elevators or cars, driving through tunnels or going over bridges, or boarding an
airplane. Anxiety attacks may occur when least expected or "out of the blue" and therefore may
limit a person's ability to go anywhere or to live a happy and productive life.
Some victims may eventually become unable to leave their own home. "We were all
designed to be normal, and, if it were not for inappropriate thoughts introduced into the
subconscious mind, we all would be." The Stressful Personality The stressful person lives in a
constant state of anxiety, which may worsen when there is a duty to perform, a challenge to be
met, a trip to be taken, or a responsibility to be accepted.
Some tasks become so frightening that they are almost impossible to perform. Such
situations are not seen as exciting challenges, but as fearful undertakings. In time, the increasing
sense of pressure can become emotionally and physically destructive. Some victims may have
recurring headaches, periods of insomnia, and outbursts of anger for no reason. This may result
in depression, fear of failure, fatigue, high blood pressure, indigestion, gastric ulcers, or colitis.
 All of these symptoms can be part of the stressful personality. Treatment Until recently
it was believed that this type of personality, with its related problems, was inherited. For this
reason, treatment was directed toward changing the symptoms or the behavior in a number of
ways. These treatments included heavy usage of drugs to ease the feeling of anxiety, lift
depression, lower blood pressure, heal ulcers, and, in general, change the internal body
chemistry.
Other treatments stressed relaxation techniques, using medication or biofeedback. The
concept of a health-oriented lifestyle, proper diet, exercise, and avoidance of smoking has been
another form of treatment for these types of symptoms. While these forms of therapy can be
beneficial, there remains a threat of a recurrence of the problem under traumatic circumstances
or when the treatment is discontinued. Consequently, stress and anxiety may continue to
dominate the personality because all of these forms of therapy fail to do what is necessary-that
is, to remove the cause.
Treating the Cause We know that there is a cause for having a stressful personality and
that this cause can be identified and removed. Most aspects of the personality are created rather
than inherited. They are created by the accumulation of thoughts and experiences, both positive
and negative, in the subconscious mind, beginning after conception, and create our emotional
reactions and behavioral responses throughout life.
Analysis All feelings come from thoughts, either conscious or unconscious. If there were
a tiger ready to attack you, you certainly would get nervous. If the "tiger" is a thought, buried in
the subconscious, you would still be nervous but would not know why until that thought had
been identified. In experienced hands, this can be accomplished in a relatively short period of
time. After that, there is no further need to live in dread of anxiety attacks.
Negative thought patterns are replaced with positive suggestions, which lead to a
normal, emotionally balanced, mature individual. We were all designed to be normal, and, if it
were not for inappropriate thoughts introduced into the subconscious mind, we would be. More
than twenty years experience in communicating with the subconscious in the hypnotic state, has
enabled us not only to bring these facts to light, but has given us the tools to identify, expose,
and remove the inappropriate thought.
This process is known as analysis. Our knowledge and experience is centered in an
important new specialty named, Medical Hypnoanalysis. Hypnosis opens the door to the
subconscious; analysis helps you to understand the origin of the anxiety. Medical Hypnoanalysis
deals with the problem in the model of General Medicine, that is, a diagnosis is made, a direct
removal of the cause is performed, followed by a short period of rehabilitation. "All patients are
taught self-hypnosis so that a relaxed state can be achieved at will" Treatment Program In my
office, treatment for Stress and Anxiety problems is usually completed in 12-20 visits. Sessions
are generally scheduled weekly and last approximately one hour. The first step is a consultation
visit. A complete and confidential history is taken. At this time a determination is made as to
whether the problem can be treated with medical hypnoanalysis and an estimation is made of
the number of visits required to resolve the problem. The second visit consists of teaching
hypnosis and determining how we can best work together. The next three or four sessions may
well be diagnostic in nature, helping to pinpoint the origin of the stressful personality, remove
the negative thoughts, and replace them with positive thought patterns. The remainder of the
visits are used for rehabilitation and reinforcement that create a pattern of positive thinking. All
patients are taught self-hypnosis so that a relaxed state can be achieved at will. All treatment is
strictly confidential.
 You can Increase your effectiveness and avoid burnout: The human brain receives
messages from numerous sources, every one dealing with separate types of information. Input
dealing with daily matters such as news, music, jobs, relationships, weather, etc., come from the
outer surroundings. Our own bodies give information pertaining to movement, digestion, strain,
pain, etc., all in the structure of messages, sent to the brain. The conscious mind deals with
reasoning and reason, decisions, goals planning and conscious action. The unconscious mind or
the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) wields the greatest influence. It receives all the
messages from our social, and genetic backgrounds and all the conflicts, which go into our
consciousness each day. The unconscious mind (ANS) receives and holds its information,
neither accepting nor rejecting the messages. The ANS does not evaluate. That procedure is
reserved for the conscious mind.
From prehistoric times the human animal has possessed an escape device that even
today, under harshly hostile circumstances, can cause regression to primal behavior. The
fight/flight syndrome, forever a way of dealing with fears, and other turbulence, has gained
tolerance through evolution with the addition of "reaction vs. action" and "repression vs.
depression". Without these, when the message input reached excess circumstances, the fleeing
would be on the road to the rejection of reality. On the other hand, the yearning for social
approval provides stimulus to manage and adjust to reality.
On the other hand, when the conscious mind can no longer handle the message units
overfilling the brain, the subconscious (ANS) prepares us for fight or flight-the heart pumps
harder, blood pressure rises, super-strength can be generated. But at times there is nothing to
fight. We can't exchange blows with the surroundings. We can't exchange blows with a job, a
calamity, or a bad choice. What now?
Enter Stress and Anxiety: Powerless to battle, the response turns to the alternative of
flight, which in present day life can prove impossible. Often a state of apathy, depression
and/or hyper-suggestibility ensues. Negative input finds acceptance. Futility and melancholy
develop and an overreaction to the senses develops together with a loss of tolerance. The road
turns downhill.
A person experiencing long-lasting stress may well become subject to frenzy, in the process
developing several forms of stress-related illness. While some stress is sought-after (loving
stress, job promotions, winning a lottery), stresses that produce debilitation, hopelessness,
unnecessary smoking, overeating, irritation, misery, and comparable reactions need
consideration and frequently qualified help.
The initial recognition of a therapist dealing with stress is likely to be that, while the
world, or the past, if it is a feature in the circumstance, cannot be altered, it is feasible to modify
the client's view of and response to them. Again, contributory factors need to be investigated.
Often regression can be useful in this procedure. Stress may be a response to people, places,
events, or things.
The fear may be genuine or imagined. Remember, the subconscious mind ANS does not
question, and more often than not by the point depression appears the conscious mind has lost
its capacity to do so. However, there are more than a few frequent fundamental causes of stress,
which can be acknowledged, defined and regularly eliminated.
Why Me? What's Behind It All? Stress victims ask these questions quite frequently.
Many factors enter into the picture of possibilities. Overachievers, typical Type A personalities,
are hyper-competitive. They can be obsessed with stress. They can take pleasure in it, until it
gets out of control. Sufferers can learn stress early in life from parents, teachers, relations and
others. In the path of early experience they merely think about stress as a customary part of life;
they witness it all the time.
Fears legitimate or otherwise, can lead to the growth of symptoms of stress. They can
develop into full-grown phobias. Pounding pain or uncertainties over health situations are
factors, as are repressed emotions such as upset, resentment, sorrow, etc. Specific incidents are
often implicated, such as the obligation to address a group in the course of job performance
when such goings-on is uncomfortable.
Medical conditions, together with nutritional deficiencies can lead to stress, as can such
womanly occurrences as PMS. Peripheral factors, such as unremitting or sporadic troublesome
noise levels, can create or add to stress levels. Every person is special in tolerance levels, coping
abilities, reactions and therapeutic needs. Dealing with stress is best accomplished through a
trained, experienced and sensitive professional who can determine causes and evaluate
reactions.
Willpower is not the therapy in stress cases. Successful and enduring relief responds to
desensitization, which can be brought about in the course of Medical Hypnoanalysis.
Stress and/or anxiety can be caused by factors, which are known, or unknown. Problems
or insecurities involving relationships, employment, health situations and other disturbing
factors can foster mental and physical conditions which adversely affect the progress and
enjoyment of life.
Other causes may include events, contacts or traumas which may be repressed or suppressed,
creating anxieties the sources of which appear totally unknown; stress inclination also can be
inherited by children from parents. Stress that begins to debilitate or produce depression needs
attention. It is important to analyze the stress stimuli and the physical and/or emotional
responses, which they bring about. Through Medical Hypnoanalysis positive original responses
can be fashioned to substitute the destructive reactions of the past. Obscured feelings can be
brought to the surface and released. Exterior pressures can be calmed. And in conclusion, new
responses to previous turbulence can be induced with major changes in attitudes and reactions.
Stress management Medical Hypnoanalysis is powerfully effective. Causes can be revealed. In
cases where stress-causing situations cannot be changed, Medical Hypnoanalysis can modify
perceptions so as to make possible tolerable living conditions. It works!
Stressed Out? Relax - With Medical Hypnoanalysis: John used to down two scotch
and waters before dinner every night just to relax enough to make the transition from work to
home life. But after dinner he would be so relaxed he'd nod off while reading the paper and find
himself unable to go to sleep upon retiring. He desperately needed to unwind after a stressful
workday as a management executive and was looking for an alternative to "social drinking"
when he stumbled upon Medical Hypnoanalysis.
Now after work John takes a fifteen minute "transition break" by closing himself off in
his bedroom, turning off the lights and the phone and putting on some soft music. He slips into
comfortable clothes and stretches out on his bed or recliner. As the music begins to soothe his
nerves his thoughts turn to his "safe place," a mental haven where he has gone many times to
escape from the stresses of the outer world. Here in his own imagination John is in complete
control. He can visit his favorite location - a stretch of deserted beach - or another safe place in a
cool pine forest where he listens to the tinkling of a nearby waterfall. Wherever he is, John
knows he is safe, comfortable, and in complete control, with no one asking anything of him or
wanting anything from him. Here he can - and does - imagine himself as he desires to be -
healthy, happy, relaxed and at peace with himself and everyone around him. If he experienced
any difficulties at work, he puts these problems into the basket of a hot air balloon and watches
them gently blow away, knowing that they will be taken care of in the best possible way. John
may take a dip in the ocean or playfully dance under a gentle waterfall, cleansing both his mind
and his body of all stress, all tension, all negative emotions, and feeling a restorative healing
energy take their place as he continues to enjoy this peaceful, relaxing state.
After about fifteen minutes, John instinctively ends his imaginative journey and slowly
returns his thoughts to the present, reminding himself that he is back in his room feeling
refreshed and revitalized, yet completely and fully relaxed and ready to enjoy his evening with
the family. The relaxed, good-natured John who emerges from the bedroom is a completely
different person from the harried, stressed and sometimes short- tempered man who went in.
John's family members, as well as John, are grateful that he has discovered Medical
Hypnoanalysis. John is just one of a growing number of people who find that Medical
Hypnoanalysis works for them as an effective, non-drug alternative for stress reduction. With
stress an ever-present part of the 90's lifestyle and the growing evidence for the link between
stress and illness - including such condition as hypertension, heart disease, ulcers, immune
deficiency diseases and even cancer - Medical Hypnoanalysis provides welcome relief with no
side effects. Medical Hypnoanalysis, simply put, is a relaxed and focused state of mind. Most
people can be trained to enter this state of deep relaxation and purposefully narrowed attention.
The Magic of Meditation Enhanced by Medical Hypnoanalysis: Meditation and
self-hypnosis, as taught by a Medical hypnoanalyst have a certain synergism. Meditation has
been described as a process of freeing the mind of its normal clutter to allow creative or
supportive thoughts and visualization to flow in.
A person trained and skilled in self-hypnosis can use such abilities to add power to
meditation. Further, using techniques of self-hypnosis meditation can be directed rather than
merely allowed to "flow in" at random. Meditation and its powerful impacts have captured the
attention of the work, filling books, videos, lecture programs, seminars, schools and homes. The
world is beginning to discover the tremendous power of the mind, and to use it. Meditation
permits us to establish communication with our own instincts and intuitions. Medical
Hypnoanalysis adds direction and power.
Relax: Learn to let go! Refresh yourself with self-hypnosis: There are innumerable
books on self-hypnosis what it does, how it works, techniques for use, etc. There are still more
books on relaxation, meditation, self-help and related subjects. A lot of Medical Hypnoanalysts
teach self-hypnosis as a component of their existing services. Others use it as an optional extra
to therapeutic procedures in particular cases. One factor is decisive-the user of self-hypnosis is
prone to fare better if the procedure is taught by a Medical Hypnoanalyst than if it is attempted
experimentally from, lesser trained professionals, lay professionals or printed directions. Many
Medical Hypnoanalysts maintain that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, referring first and foremost
to the fact that hypnosis cannot be compulsory. An individual who does not desire to be
hypnotized cannot be hypnotized. A person who requests to be hypnotized can take
himself/herself into any of more than a few depth levels of hypnosis. But the procedure is more
effortlessly learned under Medical Hypnoanalytic supervision. The learning is not hard, and the
necessary skills get better with every individual self-hypnosis practice. For the most part
well-informed people will be in agreement that the psyche is an exceedingly potent
power-perhaps the most dominant power in the cosmos. Self-hypnosis provides a way of using
this influence to individual benefit: to attain self-mastery. Psychologists have claimed that each
human has, conceivably subconsciously, the same goal-the realization of self-actualization, the
attainment of an individual maximum potential, or in sports jargon, the realization of the
"personal best."
Hypnosis can help bring about key changes in imperative areas of living: habit control,
emotional strength, motivational development, physical condition and pain management, sexual
tribulations and others. One of the great benefits of hypnosis is its use in psychotherapy to
disclose causes and trim down the time of treatment.
At the same time as hypnosis is powerful and effective in Medical Hypnoanalysis,
psychology, psychiatry, medicine and other specialized fields, it can generate remarkable results
when independently used by those who master the techniques of self-hypnosis. It can be above
all helpful in altering attitudes, escalating self-assurance, learning enrichment, memory
enhancement, stress and pain management, habit control, bedwetting, enthusiasm and
innumerable other areas of individual concern. Self-hypnosis has proved successful in
advancing athletic skills and is used by Olympic contenders in more than a few nations. The use
of imagination is important, and efforts become much more productive as skills in imagination
and visualization are acquired. Most people, though they may be unaware, have experienced
hypnosis. Daydreaming is a form of hypnosis. Becoming deeply involved in a book, movie, TV
program, musical performance or play can be a hypnotic experience. Missing a turn while
driving may result from "the mind being elsewhere," which can be hypnosis. Hypnosis is not
sleep. It is not unconsciousness. It is often described as an altered state of consciousness, where
the conscious mind is attending to other things, allowing the body to operate on what might be
called "automatic pilot "
Authorities have described hypnosis as "something that you DO," not as something that
is done to you. Self-analysis, under hypnosis, can reveal the direction needed for forward
progress. Self-motivation, under hypnosis, can start the forward movement. Self-suggestion,
under hypnosis, can provide the reinforcement necessary to achieve specific goals. Every
individual has tremendous sources of power available on demand, once the means of accessing
such power are understood and utilized.
Autosuggestion: The Key: It has been pointed out by many speakers and many writers
in many different word formations that "what your mind can conceive, you can achieve!" This
form of positive thinking or statement of affirmation dates back to biblical times (As a man
thinketh, so shall he be, etc.).The same basic thought has been the theme of countless books on
self-improvement, all of which deal with the power of the mind. Self-hypnosis can be the
afterburner of positive thinking-the super power-thrust which can blast a dream into reality.
Self-hypnosis, used in conjunction with imaging and visualization, can generate the
power to change, the power to create, the power to progress toward self-actualization. One of
the world's greatest problems is the acceptance by people of self-imposed limitations: "I'm too
old!" "I'm not educated enough!" "My wife (husband, mother, teacher or whoever) wouldn't let
me!" "I'm too sick!" "I don't know how!" etc. These restrictions, limits, bonds, ropes or chains
can be removed and progress resumed through the powel of self-hypnosis. Preventive and
restrictive emotions-anxiety, fear, depression, grief, anger, hate and other negatives-can be
overcome by the person willing to meet the four basic requirements for success:
Desire, Belief, Expectation and Demand. Self-hypnosis can provide the nurturing to
enable these requirements to advance to the power levels necessary for fulfillment. There are
four elements in achieving a preplanned state of self-hypnosis. They can be learned by study or
through instruction. They are: Fixation- which clears the mind and prepares it for the work
ahead; Relaxation: which diverts the conscious mind and enables the unconscious mind [far
more powerful) to provide or absorb information; Suggestion: which implants the instructions
into the unconscious mind; and Visualization: which is the power source for change,
development, modification 01 whatever is necessary to fulfill achievement of the individual
goals.
Stress Test: Each of us reacts to stress differently. Some of us tighten our muscles,
others dump more acid into their stomach, still others have freezing cold hands or feet, can't
sleep, headaches, ......... That's the bad news and, of course, it gets even worse as things get out
of hand. Stress, unchecked, can make you ill and can even kill. Not news to you, I'm sure. What
you can do is learn to detect your own level of stress accurately. Even more impressive is when
you learn to master your own response to stress. Don't panic, kids learn this easily and so can
you.
This is a simple test of your stress level. Not all stress or tension is bad. You need to have some
to drive a car safely down a city freeway or watch a two year old at the playground. But too
much stress can slowly build like a kettle on the stove. Within minutes it is hissing. After a few
more minutes it is bubbling with the lid rattling. This can happen in a few minutes, a few years
or over a lifetime. Now you can learn to check your body to get an idea of the Stress Factor.
Body temperature is the simplest way to determine your level of stress. To better
understand the relationship of stress and body temperature read - stress and body temperature.
Part 1 Finger & Neck Stress Test: A simple way to test your stress level is by
comparing your hand temperature to your neck temperature. Neck temperature is typically
around the high 80's to low 90's F. Hand temperature can vary from 60 degrees to 99 degrees in
a normal room temperature. So you can test your hand temperature by touching your neck with
the fingertips of both hands.
Do your fingers feel colder than your neck? How much colder? Allot or just slightly?
Do your fingers feel warm like your neck?
Remember "Warm Hands are Relaxed, Cold Hands are Tense!"
If your fingers feel really cold, then you are showing extra tension perhaps too much stress.
If your fingers feel cool, then you are showing some tension.
If your fingers are warm like your neck, then you may be relaxed and comfortable.
If your fingers feel hotter than your neck, then you may be deeply relaxed.
This is a simple test. Some people feel stress in muscle tension, sweaty hands or other ways that
may be more apparent than hand temperature.
Part 2 Make Yourself Tense: Close your eyes and check your finger/neck temperature again.
Make yourself Stressed Out! Now sit and think of something really upsetting - a divorce,
problems at work, a death, children problems, a bad experience in childhood, credit card bills,
loneliness, etc. Really think about that problem for 3 minutes until you can feel your body
change and react to that pressure.
Check your finger/neck temperature again.
Did your fingers get colder? What else happened inside your body? If were not able to make
yourself feel tense then try this. Sit and imagine putting your hands in ICE COLD WATER.
Feel the ice cubes rubbing against your fingers. Hear the freezing cold cubes clang against the
glass bowl. Or imagine making snowballs or a snowman [person] with NO GLOVES. Imagine
this for 3 minutes.
Check your finger/neck temperature again.
Did your fingers get colder? What else happened inside your body? Part 3 Make Yourself
Relaxed
Close your eyes and check your finger/neck temperature again. Now let us test to see how well
you can relax and make your hands warmer. Sit with your eyes closed. Take long, slow, deep
breaths. For 3 minutes imagine that you are laying in the warm sunshine or under a heavy
blanket in front of a fireplace. Feel the warmth flowing down your arms and into your hands.
Feel the warmth pulsing and throbbing over your entire body.
Check your finger/neck temperature again.
Did your fingers get warmer? What else happened inside your body? By doing this simple test
and then practicing 5 minutes of deep relaxation, I have had people report that headaches left,
pain subsided and they felt much better. Years later people still use this simple method to
relieve pain and pressure! You can make yourself ill and you can make yourself well.
Permission was granted to reprint the Stress Test and Life Stress Test by Dr. Tim Lowenstein,
of the Concious Living Foundation.
REGRESSION: A KEY TOOL OF THE MEDICAL HYPNOANALYST: Age
Regression is one of the most powerful tools available to the Medical Hypnoanalysst. But lately
it has come under fire for creating false memories. The truth of the matter is that it does work,
but the Medical Hypnoanalyst must be very careful when directing the regression.
Many therapies involving hypnosis take advantage of the mind's ability to visualize. And
this ability can be very useful when treating someone for overeating, or helping them achieve
athletic and career goals. But combining age regression and visualization must be done very
carefully.
The subconscious mind retains every bit of information that it receives. If someone is
having trouble retrieving a memory, the Medical Hypnoanalyst may suggest that they visualize
something that will help them retrieve it. If the suggestion is not carefully worded the mind may
confuse the image with the memory. For this reason it is very important to use Non-Directive
Medical Hypnoanalysis.
A good example is the case of "Cathy". She recently came to a colleague to discuss a
personal development, which she did not understand. As far back as she could remember, she
had always felt a certain sadness when visitors left her home; but the situation was becoming
increasingly troublesome. The emotional upsets were no longer limited to loved ones, but
happened whenever anyone went out the door. The feelings were growing stronger, and now
also resulted in tears and severe crying spells bordering on hysteria. The situation seemed to be
out of control and she felt it demanded attention. A friend suggested Medical Hypnoanalysis.
After interviewing her, and testing her for suggestibility, the Medical Hypnoanalyst
decided that some event in her childhood had resulted in a psychological imprint which had
either been forgotten, or had not been consciously recognized as the cause.
The subsequent meeting was designed to make use of techniques of hypnotic regression,
the reason being to search for the Initial Sensitizing Event (ISE) involved in the development of
the predicament. The Medical Hypnoanalyst felt that something had occurred which produced a
psychological imprint, which afterward had been forgotten or had been unrecognized for the
effect it could produce. It might have implicated parents, teachers, relatives, siblings or some
unique event independent of other human connections. Regression could pull back the covers of
the past to disclose the underlying factors. The Medical Hypnoanalyst instructed her to go back
to the time and place where she first remembered the problem happening. The regression
proceeded normally. Since the Medical Hypnoanalyst had no information of either the age or
conditions implicated, the client was merely instructed to go back in time to the year and place
where the dilemma originated. Programmed to view the occurrence as if it were a television
show and to be able to talk about it, the client was asked what was going on.
He suggested that she view the event as if it were a television show and to describe what
she saw. "Cathy" explained that she was three years old, sitting on the stairs in her home,
looking down into the living room. Her father had just died and was lying in the living room.
She was called down and instructed to kiss her father good-bye, which she did. Bingo! The
clarification and the impression of doors were locked subconsciously into the three-year-olds
mind. There was no understanding, simply an authoritative declaration that going out a door led
to something dreadful. Parents, teachers and others often have no idea that an explanation
comprehensible and well intended to adults can prove overwhelming to a child's psyche.
The well-meaning family wanted to avoid a situation where a child, not understanding
what death was, would not constantly be expecting her father to return. They explained that
when her father would be taken out through "the door", he would be gone forever and would
never return.
Without realizing what they had done, they had created an association between death and doors
that remained locked in her subconscious. To her three-year-old mind, there was no
understanding, only an authoritative statement that going out the door would lead to something
terrible.
As with most cases of this sort, understanding the cause was enough to solve the
problem. While traditional psychoanalysis might have required years to discover the cause of
the problem, a Medical Hypnoanalyst solved in it just a few sessions.
Having discovered the casual factor and adjoining state of affairs, the Medical
Hypnoanalyst in the course of Medical Hypnoanalysis guided the client into releasing the past to
the past where it would have no additional effect on the present or the future. This was in itself
adequate to resolve the predicament. From that moment of understanding the difficulty vanished
immediately. In three years it has not returned.
Age regression has proved priceless in Medical Hypnoanalysis. Its use in psychotherapy,
following the work of the late internationally recognized psychiatrist, William J Bryan has been
expanding steadily. Regression, as in the case cited, has proved an excellent medium for rooting
out causes. In numerous cases of stress or anxiety, the causing factors are unidentified to the
conscious mind. But the unconscious, immeasurably larger and more influential, is the seat of
all remembrance and can bring forth from memory information and proceedings related or
relevant to the tribulations at hand. Fears and phobias often have veiled, repressed or concealed
causes which can be ferreted out in the course of Medical Hypnoanalytic age regression.
Hypnotic journeys into the times of yore can come across very sensitive and delicate
revelations, and solid trust and comfort involving the participants is indispensable to the
realization of goals.
Substantial consideration has been given in current years to the experience of "past life
regression." Regrettably a number of individuals, unqualified in Medical Hypnoanalysis,
psychology, psychiatry or related fields, present group programs in what they term "past life
therapy." But the trained professional can resolve many problems using this type of therapeutic
procedure. Such professionals typically do not assert that the experience recalled in such
regression is automatically legitimate, noting that regression could call up past fantasies,
imaginings or dreams. The consensus seems to be, however, that whether the recalled
experience is real or imagined is really not important if it solves the problem, which is often the
case. However, it can run a risk if the client were to believe some to be true that is not true.
Regression, of any kind, presents no particular risks in the hands of a competent and trained
Medical Hypnoanalyst. It can offer major advantages in illuminating the sources of troubles.
Door To The Past: Perhaps you have a habit, a fear or phobia, a reaction or an attitude,
which creates a problem in your life. It may be that you have no idea why this problem exists
or where it came from. But problems tend to have had beginnings or causes. Quite often, simply
knowing and understanding the cause is in itself sufficient to effect a cure.
Medical Hypnanalytic regression can ferret out causes of problems even when the causing
event, experience or trauma has been suppressed, repressed or forgotten, by the light of
understanding, appropriate Medical Hypnoanalysis can be undertaken to resolve, explain or
otherwise deal with the problem. And Medical Hypnoanalysis, by its own nature, is short-term
therapy. The treatments do not go on endlessly. Results are often rapid.
RELATIONSHIP THERAPY: All human beings are involved in relationships, often
several simultaneously. Whether such involves child-parent, husband-wife, employer-employee,
teacher-student, lover-lover, friend-friend or individual-group, relationships can and do develop
problems, mis-understandings, differences, changes of feelings or other disturbing elements.
Relationship problems can affect home life, work, education, health, attitude, and motivation,
even the desire to live. Symptoms may include anger, sadness, hurt, and loss of self-esteem,
depression and even violence.
Medical Hypnoanalysis can ferret out the causes of such problems, bringing the healing
power of understanding. Medical Hypnoanalytic therapy can eliminate feelings of rejection,
hurts, frustration and resentments. Communications can be re-established, confidence required
and creative solutions developed. Perhaps the most important problem in relationships is
communication. Merely talking things out is an indispensable feature, but it is much more
simply said than done. Why? The response is that numerous people do not communicate
efficiently. It is not that they don't desire to-they may urgently desire to work out problems,
clarify viewpoints, and talk about differences. The difficulty may be that they cannot
communicate since even with sensitive ears they cannot hear!
For the most part people fall into one of two likely categories of suggestibility-active
suggestibility or passive suggestibility. In point of fact, each person has characteristics of both,
but one is usually dominant. These characteristics have a great deal to do with how people hear.
Some Medical Hypnoanalysts deem active suggestibility to be to some extent parallel to an
extrovert type of personality, while passive suggestibility relates more to the introvert type. The
point is that people tend to listen in agreement with their personality make-ups. People hear in
the same way in which they speak. Those with conflicting types of suggestibility have more
difficulties with communication.
One couple came into a Medical Hypnoanalysts office to talk about grave relationship
problems. The husband proved to be a genuine loudmouth, shooting at his wife as well as the
Medical Hypnoanalyst. When his shy and gentle wife asked him if we could discuss this matter
quietly, he simply continued to shout. He didn't hear her request. And she certainly was not
hearing (in the sense of comprehending) his message. The Medical Hypnoanalyst asked the
husband to speak more softly. The shouting continued. Finally the Medical Hypnoanalyst
shouted in an equally loud voice: "Now just shut up for a while or get out!" There was the risk
that the client would become annoyed, get up and walk out-a premeditated peril. Nevertheless
the husband looked around piercingly and asked, "Was I speaking too loudly?" He had no idea
how he sounded. His temperament was to converse at full volume, and while his wife (trying to
shun what she felt would be a conflict) failed to respond, he assumed she was not hearing him
and shouted even more vociferously.
 Suggestibility can be altered: After illuminating the communications problems- the
wife could not respond to loudness and the husband was unresponsive to softer language-the
two were hypnotized sitting side by side. They were regressed to the early days of their
marriage allowed to feel again the caring feelings and love that existed in the establishment of
the relationship. They were programmed to comprehend and modify their mode of listening and
communication. As a final point, under hypnosis, the husband was instructed to reach over, take
his wife's hand, while both of them re-lived the experience of early love.
The Medical Hypnoanalyst anticipated that five or six sessions would be required to
resolve the feelings, adjust the suggestibility and institute solid communication. The clients
cancelled their following meeting, advising that they had re-discovered each other, and
considered the predicament resolved. It is essential to keep in mind that every one receives
communication in much the identical form that is used to send them. Bearing in mind the
magnetism of opposites, it is not to be unanticipated that actively suggestible people often
marry passively suggestible partners.
As the preliminary novelty and gentleness fade with passing time, the predisposition grows to
lapse to the form that is distinctive for the suggestibility type. Communication troubles turn out
to be in effect unavoidable. Problems as expected can amplify further with the awareness that
people, in addition to active or passive suggestibility, are affected by the reality of active and
passive sexuality.
Sexuality vs. Suggestibility: Suggestibility reflects learning characteristics. Sexuality
reflects performing distinctiveness (sexual or otherwise). Where partners have visible sexual
incongruity, an appraisal of sexuality type is reasonable. Where the types of sexuality fluctuate
considerably, response tendencies have a propensity to generate troubles.
In the endeavor to evade hurt, misunderstanding or disagreement, an individual may
intentionally adjust either sexual or suggestible behavior and develop incongruent behavior
(where suggestibility is in the unnatural position of being contrary to the person's sexuality),
This can produce misunderstanding and communication collapse resulting in severe relationship
conflicts plus inner chaos within the individual exhibiting the incongruent actions. The Medical
Hypnoanalyst can gauge both sexuality and suggestibility, and where differences are
comparatively negligible, partners will have an adequate amount of flexible - communication in
the course of periods of strain or turmoil. Where one partner, for instance, is 80% active and the
other is 80% passive, difficulties are practically predictable.
Medical Hypnoanalysis may consist of measuring suggestibility and sexuality, seeing
partners independently at first. If not the participants may differ on the evaluations, in view of
the fact that they will see responses in a different way. Consequently the partners may be seen
jointly, at which time suggestibility and sexuality may be explained, so that partners appreciate
why they see or hear things in a different way, discussing the literal style of communication of
the actively suggestible and the inferential style of the passively suggestible. Medical
Hypnoanalysis can bring about an understanding of relationship communications, attentiveness
to the promise of modifications of attitudes and suggestibility and sexualities, and the
significance of and need for creating feelings of confidence and security in and concerning the
relationship itself.
SEXUAL DYSFUNCTIONS: As in many other cases, discovering causes is important.
Medical factors must be checked. Non-medical causes may include childhood punishments,
early religious background and training, poor handling of childhood curiosities by parents or
teachers, life experiences, trauma, etc. Therapy for the female may require cooperation of a
male partner, development of understanding of response, needs for attention, security, comfort,
foreplay.
Male problems include impotence, premature ejaculation, and fears about physical structure,
masculinity and rejection. Suggestion therapy, de-sensitization and re-education can prove
effective. Medical Hypnoanalysis provides an ideal approach.
One Medical Hypnoanalysts commented that good sex is merely an erotic trance. When
the similarities between hypnosis and gratifying sex are considered, he is quite right. Effective
hypnosis involves high focus and concentration on the matter being dealt with. So does effective
sex. In hypnosis there is a strong response to suggestion. In sex there is a strong response to
verbal and physical stimulation. Sex therapist may not know much about hypnosis. But Medical
Hypnoanalysts know about sex.
The basic effort, from any approach, is to liberate clients from reservations, distractions,
emotions or other conflict so as to develop a focused state of awareness. Orgasm may well be
the definitive trance-sensations are powerful, exceedingly intense to the point where all other
thoughts, feelings, sensations or emotions are obliterated from the psyche.
When troubles develop in sexual performance or enjoyment, a logical approach is (as in
many other problem areas) to look for causes. What has happened? When did problems begin?
How did they progress? Quite often Medical Hypnoanalytic regression may prove illuminating,
locating sources of problems and indicating the appropriate therapeutic procedures to resolve
them.
It is valuable at the outset to determine the client's dominant type of sexuality- active or
passive. Normal people are a blend of both, though one is usually a bit stronger. Sexuality, as
with suggestibility, can be measured to determine the dominant type and evaluate its relative
factor of strength. The active sexual person is likely to be a bit more outgoing, even aggressive,
sexually. To the passive sexual person, feelings are probably more internal. For effective
therapy it is important to identify sexuality type in order to understand response. While marital
compatibility has been studied, reported and written about in volumes, personality compatibility
has received negligible attention. It has long been known that opposites attract-this feature is
more often than not accountable for the "spark" that draws people together. Yet the same
"opposite" element provides the breeding ground for potential clashes, communication
problems, lack of understanding of intents and emotions and other factors, which mature into
insecurities. Understanding sexuality types, then, can smooth the progress of compatibility.
Viva La Difference: There is a story told about a meeting on sexuality at which a
celebrated university lecturer explained to the listeners "there is in actuality very little
difference between the male and the female." Before he could progress more a booming male
voice called out from the back of the hall in an unquestionably French accent: "Vive la
difference!"
Sexuality type refers to behavior-performance-not simply in sexual matters but in all
aspects of life, dealing with situations as well as relationships. Medical Hypnoanalysis can offer
opportunities and means to make directional changes that can evade damaging life patterns and
open doors to triumphant and pleasurable living.
A client who, for example, is 60% active suggestible is as a result also 40% passive
suggestible, and has sufficient emotional suggestibility to comprehend, and amend to the
requirements and personality of a partner who is dominantly emotionally suggestible. On the
other hand, a client who is 80% active suggestible is likely to have a great deal more difficult
time either understanding or adjusting to a passive suggestible mate. Some work is almost
certain to be needed to modify the suggestibility implicated so as to bring them within ranges of
compatibility, saving the relationship and making it more agreeable.
Determining Factors: Some authorities on sexuality claim 'a person's type of sexuality
is determined by the father (or father figure) in a family, usually in pre-teen or early teen years'.
Children who have fathers who are actively oriented-demonstrative, verbal, outgoing-are likely
to emerge with active sexual characteristics. In cases where the mother is of the active sexual
type, and the father is not, passive sexuality is likely to develop.
However, the above is not always the case. Sometimes a boy will develop conflicting
sexuality from the father because sexuality is affected by how the boy perceives the father's
behavior and an erroneous view can amend the development process.
Major differences in types of sexuality can be relationship shattering. The most stable
solution to such problems lies in behavior modification. Medical Hypnoanalysis can aid clients
with excessive differences that may exist out of lack of knowledge and/or half-truths.
Understanding is essential to eradicate fears and allow for relaxation so as to accept some of the
necessary behavioral patterns important in achieving meaningful and emotionally bonding
sexual intercourse.
As modification enables behavior patterns to become less intense on either side of the
center, a sense of balance can grow connecting nearness and detachment, which are essential in
satisfying relationship This results from the attainment of an improved stability between the
active and passive sexuality characteristics of the partners concerned, and leads to appreciation
and communication levels which can prove equally gratifying while increasing relationship
bonds.
Medical Hypnoanalysis has proven wonderfully useful in dealing with psychosomatic
sexual problems-impotence, frigidity, etc.-and in enhancing self-esteem and confidence where
needed. The development of a positive self-image is at all times an essential issue in adjusting to
the requirements and wishes of partners and achieving the ultimate in relationship protection.
HYPNOSIS RECOGNIZED BY AMA: In 1958 Hypnosis was recognized by the
American Medical Association as a legitimate, safe approach to medical and psychological
problems. Today more people recognize that the mind and body interact. Mind and body are
integrated parts of a whole being; a change in one part affects the other. Hypnosis is a normal
state of consciousness. Hypnosis can be defined as concentrated and directed daydreaming.
A person in Hypnosis does not lose control. Whereas the word sleep is sometimes used
to describe the trance state, the patient is far from being asleep. A person in Hypnosis is aware
of his surroundings in a detached sort of way and is more receptive to acceptable suggestions.
There are many misconceptions about Hypnosis.
Hypnosis is a natural state that we have all experienced. An example of this is whenever
it is really important for you to get up at an unusual time and you wake up ten minutes before
the alarm goes off you are responding to a post-hypnotic suggestion. A mother who sleeps
through a thunderstorm but awakens when her sick child moans, again, responds to a
post-hypnotic suggestion. Actually, all Hypnosis is self-Hypnosis. Anyone who wants to be
hypnotized can be hypnotized. A hypnotized person will not accept any idea or suggestion that
is against his/her religion, upbringing, morality, or against 'his grain." The patient achieves
his/her own hypnotic state. The Medical Hypnoanalyst is the guide.
Professional Seeking to Learn? Other professional organizations that are open to
training qualified (usually meaning licensed) professionals in Hypnoanalysis view the modality
as something that should be dabbled in only as an adjunctive part of one's profession. This
organization sees Medical Hypnoanalysis as a primary treatment that compares favorably with
other fields of health care.
Founded in 1974, the American Academy of Medical Hypnoanalysts is a non-profit
organization. Under the umbrella of AAMH, hypnoanalysis is used by qualified persons in
medicine, psychology and other scientific fields to decrease human suffering and promote
human welfare.
This organization requires the same academic training and licensing background as
others, but views the profession as being one of its own. That is the preponderance of one's
work week is to be in the field of "Medical Hypnoanalysis" in order to be a clinical or board
certified member. If you are a professional with a Masters degree or above in the field of
medicine or human services and would like to learn more about training in this modality, the
most extensive of any training in the country, you can either contact me directly or the:
American Academy of Medical Hypnoanalysts at www.aamh.com or call at 1-888-454-9766
(1-888-4HYPNO)
Areas of Application for Clinical Hypnoanalysis from William C. Wester, II, EdD: Addictions
& Alcoholism, Age regression (trauma), Amnesia, Anger control, Anxiety, Anorexia Nervosa,
Assertiveness, Behavior disorders, Biofeedback, Borderline Personality, Bulimia, Childhood
fears, Concentration, Conversion Disorders, Crisis intervention, Depression, Dissociation
Disorders, Dyslexia, Ego Strengthening, Enhancing social skills, Family Therapy, Forensics
(Recall, enhancement of memory), Fugue states, Grief/Loss, Group Hypnoanalysis,
Hypnodrama, Hypochondriacal, Hysterical symptoms, Impotence, Inhibited Sexual Desire,
Juvenile delinquency, Learning disorders, Low self-esteem, Management training, Mentally
retarded patients, Dissociative Personality disorder, previously know as Multiple Personality
Disorder, Munchausen's Syndrome, Nail biting, Obesity, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,
Orgasmic Dysfunctions, Paraphilias (Exhibitionism,Voyeurism, Pedophilia, etc.)"Pee-Shy"
problems, Performance anxiety, Phobias, Post traumatic Stress Disorder, Premature Ejaculation,
Psychogenic pain, Psychotic patients, Rape victims, Reading problems, Recovery of repressed
material, Retarded Ejaculation Self-Hypnoanalysis, Severely Disturbed, Sexual Addiction,
Sexual Aversion, Sleep disorders, Smoking, Social skills training, Speech Disorders,
Sports/Athletic performance, Stress Management,
Test Anxiety, Thumb sucking, Tics, Tourette's Syndrome, Trichotillomania (hair pulling),
Type-A Behavior, Vaginismus.
A Meta-Analysis of Antidepressant Medication: Abstract: Mean effect sizes for
changes in depression were calculated for 2,318 patients who had been randomly assigned to
either antidepressant medication or placebo in 19 double-blind clinical trials. As a proportion of
the drug response, the placebo response was constant across different types of medication
(75%), and the correlation between placebo effect and drug effect was .90. These data indicate
that virtually all of the variation in drug effect size was due to the placebo characteristics of the
studies. The effect size for active medications that are not regarded to be antidepressants was as
large as that for those classified as antidepressants, and in both cases, the inactive placebos
produced improvement that was 75% of the effect of the active drug. These data raise the
possibility that the apparent drug effect (25% of the drug response) is actually an active placebo
effect. Examination of pre-post effect sizes among depressed individuals assigned to
no-treatment w ait-list control groups suggest that approximately one quarter of the drug
response is due to the administration of an active medication, one half is a placebo effect, and
the remaining quarter is due to other nonspecific factors. Irving Kirsch, Ph.D., University of
Connecticut, Storrs, CT, Guy Sapirstein, Ph.D. Westwood Lodge Hospital, Needham, MA .
Prevention & Treatment, Volume 1, Article 0002a, posted June 26, 1998 Copyright 1998 by the
American Psychological Association
The Serotonin Surprise: Harvard psychiatrist Joseph Glenmullen finds such
brain-altering effects more disturbing than captivating. In 2000 he published "Prozac Backlash:
Overcoming the Dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Other Antidepressants with Safe,
Effective Alternatives", a book that fine points his brief against the drugs: They cause far more
serious and widespread side effects than their manufacturers report; the Food and Drug
Administration has failed to adequately look into these reports; patients' complaints about the
drugs are for the most part ignored; and the drugs are prescribed too frequently and for far too
wide a range of distress.
Conceivably most imperative, Glenmullen believes the way the drugs are marketed
suggests that depression is first and foremost a biological problem to be solved by biochemical
means, instead of a multifaceted biopsychosocial phenomenon that can be resolved in many
cases with traditional psychotherapies and not including drugs. Glenmullen, who does prescribe
serotonin enhancers when he deems it suitable, likens them to such stimulants as amphetamines
and cocaine--drugs that were once used extensively, without apprehension of side effects, to
give people additional vigor, enhanced mood, and improved focus.
Glenmullen long suspected that drugs that modify serotonin metabolism cause profound
changes in the brain. He bases his suspicion on a body of research during the last 20 years by
scientists investigating another class of drugs that includes MDMA (Ecstasy) as well as
fenfluramine, the diet drug recently removed from the market because of its relationship with
heart valve troubles. These drugs do more than just obstruct serotonin reuptake; they first and
foremost stimulate the release of large quantities of serotonin from nerve endings into the brain.
The consequential deluge is thought to cause the mind-altering effects of MDMA. And that
deluge, some scientists quarrel, leaves brain damage in its wake. When monkeys and rats are
given high doses of serotonin releasers--up to 40 times the dose that people usually take--the
microscopic structural design of their brains looks dissimilar from normal brains.
The nerve fibers (axons) that carry serotonin to the target cells seem to change their
form and reduce in number--effects some scientists claim are appropriately understood as brain
damage. Glenmullen is persuaded these results raise questions about other serotonergic drugs
like Prozac, and a modern study has only amplified his concern. Research conducted by
neurologist Madhu Kalia at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and scientists at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that the rats given especially high doses
(up to 100 times the human dose, by body weight) of Prozac and Zoloft contained the same
kinds of brain abnormalities--neurons with swollen or kinked tips--as rats who were given high
doses of serotonin releasers.
Jim O'Callaghan, a, Centers for Disease Control neuroscientist and a coauthor of the
study, doesn't assume the results indicate that Prozac causes brain damage. To the contrary, he
and his team believe that neither serotonin enhancers nor serotonin releasers are appropriately
understood as neurotoxic. According to O'Callaghan, the point of the study was to show that
even a drug like Prozac, which practically no one claims is neurotoxic, could produce some of
the same abnormalities as the serotonin releasers.
Other scientists, in his view, have been too fast to "deduce what they think is going on in
the [nerve] fibers" from two pieces of data: The serotonin releasers deplete serotonin, and the
microphotographs of brains exposed to high doses of these drugs look abnormal. O'Callaghan
believes that scientists should rethink their definition of neurotoxicity, because elevated doses of
Prozac and Zoloft, which do not reduce serotonin, cause the same transient abnormalities as do
high doses of drugs such as MDMA. (Blair Austin, a spokesperson for Eli Lilly, producer of
Prozac, points out that the abnormalities have not been connected to any physiological result.
Furthermore, he says, based on the high dosage and other circumstances of the study, "the
findings are only of minor toxicological importance and pose no risk to human safety.")
The perhaps surprising fact that scientists don't have the same opinion on what
constitutes brain damage shouldn't, according to Glenmullen, distract us from what he thinks are
the crucial implications of this study. "I'm not saying that Prozac is neurotoxic," he told me.
"But it should be public policy with a neurotransmitter booster to look for neurotoxicity. And if
that information is out there, the people ought to have it."
Glenmullen points out that street drugs are much more carefully scrutinized for potential
harmful effects than pharmaceutical drugs, which are studied for their relative risks and benefits
rather than for all imaginable dangers. In addition, toxic effects that are observed only at high
dosages in short-term tests may also occur over long periods of time at much lower dosages.
But once a drug is approved, a critical chance for turning up evidence during testing has
vanished. Furthermore, the manufacturer gains a strong interest in controlling what consumers
know about drugs.
In Glenmullen's analysis, regulatory agencies don't always do an adequate amount to
help consumers either. He dedicated a chapter in his book to the FDA's choice to permit Lilly
not to incorporate a word of warning with Prozac that the drug can cause or exacerbate suicidal
symptoms--despite studies that indicated that up to 3.5 percent of patients may experience such
effects. Add the marketing campaigns by the drug companies, he says, and you have a social
climate in which "everyone wants a serotonin booster" and everyone believes in a
"pharmacological fantasy" that we can use mood-altering drugs for an assortment of ills devoid
of giving solemn thought to the impending danger.
Glenmullen offers a different Rx: less drugs and additional therapy. He believes
numerous people taking serotonin-enhancing drugs would react as well to talk therapy. And talk
isn't the only alternative. Aerobic exercise, such as jogging or dance, also combats less severe
cases of depression. Studies in rats suggest that exercise boosts serotonin and neurogenesis as
well.
Of course the use of any drug, in particular one that tinkers with the brain's equipment, involves
peril, the full scope of which can't be identified until a large number of people have used it for
many years. This known caution may take on a new importance when we grasp that research
about serotonin enhancers still offers more questions than answers.
Reference: Mike Cohen, DISCOVER Vol. 22 No. 7 (July 2001)
As a potential consumer of Medical Hypnoanalysis, in a consumer beware environment,
you might be interested in the following article exposing the various certifications in the field of
hypnosis.
IMAGINATION: WHAT YOUR MIND CAN CONCEIVE, YOU CAN ACHIEVE:
The remarkable and extraordinarily genuine supremacy of the mind has been accessible since
ancient times. "What your mind can conceive, you can achieve"-presents in eight words the
most significant message that any human being will be given in a lifetime. It can be found in the
Bible, in literature, in studies and reports on psychology, philosophy, medicine, history and a
myriad of other disciplines. Incalculable contemporary books present the identical message in
varying forms and on a variety of subjects.
 Recognition and employment of that eight-word communication has fashioned apparent
miracles, provided solutions to troubles in nearly every area of life experience (relations,
well-being, learning, individual improvement, commerce, etc.). The knowledge is accessible to
one and all; the skills are without difficulty acquired; the incredible power is hardly ever
acknowledged or used.
How Does it Work: Children have fantastic powers of imagination. A youthful girl
playing with a doll becomes a mother-an extremely genuine mother, with a doll, which is a
extraordinarily bona fide babe. She dresses it, talks with it, provides direction, and even
punishes it. The imaging of this playtime can have an effect on the potential handling of
children as a fully developed mother. A little boy plays with a car in the sand. It becomes a
genuine car, and he is a bona fide worker. Or a child plays with a toy plane. He becomes a
genuine pilot. The takeoff and landings are authentic. They are pictured in the mind. Thinking
about the actions that are being performed is imagination. Picturing them in the mind, colorfully
and sensibly, is visualization. The child doesn't comprehend the power he is using. But as he
grows into maturity, the motivation to imagine and visualize often fades and the innate power
declines.
Luckily, not all children drop their powers to imagine as they mature and grow. Certain
professions have need of these abilities. The fields of artistic creation-painting, sculpture,
architecture, decorating, and advertising-all require powers of visualization. So also does music,
for senses other than sight can be involved in imaging. A composer images the sound of his
music. A sightless person, (and many others) image by feel. A lover can image by aroma. A
connoisseur or chef images by flavor.
Differences involving people can be striking. One homebuyer can gaze at a lot and
visualize a fine looking home, with attractive style, landscaping, locality of the lot, even floor
plan and doors and windows. A different shopper can see only prairie, weeds and dust and must
be shown renderings to seize the idea of what can be developed on the land.
A youthful person can picture the improvement of a creation, the early stages of a
business and the evolution to an industrial giant...and can make it come to pass. An additional
one can visualize zilch, can get a job to make a livelihood, and may well question why progress
never comes. The powers of visualization are adequate to merit the exertion necessary to master
them. Once the aptitude is acquired to picture goals, imaginings and ambitions in the mind, four
essentials are required to produce the power to bring them into realization: WANT-the desire
must be genuine and deep and enduring; CONVICTION-it is important to accept as true that the
most wanted attainment is doable... feasible; ANTICIPATION-it is imperative to look forward
to accomplishment, allowing for it as an inescapable conclusion; DEMAND-the last prerequisite
is self-demand, a personal obligation that those things essential to victory will be accomplished.
Cheerfulness, half-heartedness, going-through the motions is not sufficient. To those who
increase the mental attitudes and aptitudes to make things come about, the procedure is serious
business. It is crucial to provide the moment, attention and mental vigor indispensable for the
purpose. State of mind is decisive. On the other hand, once mastered, the possible consequences
are hard to believe.
Little by Little, Onward and Upward: Internal power does not come without
problems-nothing meaningful ever does. But for those who do not have the essential
fundamental rudiments in good working order, Medical Hypnoanalysis may be the shortest and
most efficient means of acquiring them. Self-Worth: This building block is required for in effect
everything worth having. Scores of people, regrettably, have low opinions of their own
self-worth. Self-respect can be damaged by unfavorable events in life, by childhood imprints
involving parents, teachers or other authority figures, by illness, by guilt or any of countless
other causes.
Medical Hypnoanalysis is a way by which a person can attain a fresh self-view,
recognizing the affirmative essentials in life (there are at all times some) and building on them.
Improving self-esteem is an indispensable first step. Self-Confidence: Not the same as
self-worth, self-confidence is the building block that makes achievable the undertaking and
achievement of the things enhanced self-esteem bring "belief" factor discussed previously.
Motivation: This component is needed to power the enthusiasm to put into practice and perfect
the mental picture capabilities, to bring about the staying power to maintain visualizations on a
habitual basis for the duration of whatever time is necessary to manifest them, and to deal with
and prevail over periods of discouragement.
Each and every one of the preceding can be improved through Medical Hypnoanalysis.
And for those who choose to make the most of self-hypnosis, a small number of sessions of
guidance can help increase such skills to perceptibly useful levels. The most central factor is the
recognition of the assertion that "What my mind can conceive, I can achieve!" The human mind
has unbelievable power, but if this power is denied or discarded, it will not be there for use. A
beginning step in an attempt to be acquainted with and appreciate mind power is the exercise
and of the legendary ex-pharmacist's Emile Coue's well-known statement: "Every day in every
way, I'm getting better and better!"
Control Habits: Most people are aware that Medical Hypnoanalysis is one of the most
effective means of overcoming the habits of smoking and excessive eating. These same people
often do not realize that Medical Hypnoanalyst is also highly useful in dealing with addictions
to drugs or alcohol, bedwetting, nail biting, gambling and other habits or compulsions.
Medical Hypnoanalysis is rather unique in its ability to ferret out causes of problem
behaviors, using where appropriate the techniques of regression therapy. Procedures that fail to
deal with causing factors often prove to be "band-aid" therapies. Healing often requires the
causes to be known and understood. Medical Hypnoanalysis can deal with the causes of
problems, with related feelings and anxieties, replacing the emotional satisfaction the habit
provided with desirable, beneficial alternatives.
Emotions and Reactions: When anger consumes you, anger controls you. Words spoken
in anger usually are regretted. Actions prompted by anger likely will prove to be ill advised.
The same applies to bitterness, jealousy, guilt, desires for revenge. Emotions and reactions
cloud issues, obscure causing factors, destroy wisdom and judgment. Out of control emotions
compound problems. Medical Hypnoanalysis is a highly effective means of recapturing lost
emotional control, and in the process avoiding further complications, achieving mental balance
and assuming control of whatever the problem situation.
Learning self-hypnosis from a Medical Hypnoanalyst can enable the subject to recognize and
deal with emotional distress at the onset, which is of course a major advantage maintaining
control in relationships.
Look in the Mirror: A wise person once said, "When you point your finger at someone,
look at your hand. You'll find three fingers pointing back at yourself" When you look in a
mirror, your life and your future depends on whether or not you like the person you see. A
sizable percentage of our problems, hurts, attitudes, frustrations and failures are born and
nourished within ourselves. So are our achievements and successes.
A low or negative sense of self-worth may be a response to an unfortunate event or
experience in life, as child or adult, which takes root, festers and grows within, creating
attitudes and behaviors damaging to self-esteem. Medical Hypnoanalysis can bring these causes
into focus, permit understanding and healing, thereby enabling us to learn to like and respect
ourselves, opening the doors to progress, success and satisfaction.
Secrets of Self-Hypnosis: Self-hypnosis refers to an application of Medical
Hypnoanalysis in which the subject is also the hypnotherapist. Once learned, it is a powerful
skill that can produce innumerable benefits and last a lifetime. It usually involves a
combination of fixation, attention, relaxation and suggestion. There are numerous books, tapes
and videos advocating or explaining self-hypnosis. However, one-on-one instruction from a
Medical Hypnoanalyst may produce the best results. There are special techniques and
reinforcement strategies that can substantially increase and accelerate effectiveness.
Uses of self-hypnosis include self-anesthesia (such as controlling pain in dentistry),
reducing insomnia, control of several organic functions (such as blood flow and pressure),
increased abilities in concentration, learning and memory, and dealing with self-esteem, fears or
frustrations.
LEARNING AND MEMORY ENHANCEMENT WITH MEDICAL
HYPNOANALYSIS: Learning should be a lifelong process for everyone. The potential rewards
of continuously learning new things cannot be overstated. Whether learning new skills for the
job, or studying a topic of personal interest, everyone can benefit from continuing their
education. There are many factors that may impede the learning process. The two most
important factors are low self-esteem and lack of motivation. Poor study habits, poor memory,
lack of reward, poor nutrition, and even medication can also adversely affect an individual's
ability to learn new things. Fortunately, Medical Hypnoanalysis can help with all these things.
Motivation is emotional, and comes from within. Knowing the benefits of success is not
enough. Feeling a strong desire to acquire those benefits is essential. If too many desires
compete for the individual's time and attention, he may not be able to focus. The desires can
loose their strength, and less will be accomplished. The individual should set priorities. Once
that is accomplished, Medical Hypnoanalytic therapy can reinforce those priorities and
strengthen his focus.
Self-esteem is built up with a series of successes and rewards. Setting interim goals as
steps to achieving an ultimate goal can help. Each time a goal is achieved, the individual should
recognize their success and reward themselves. Medical Hypnoanalysis can help establish this
type of pattern in a person's attitude.
Good study habits include time management and elimination of distractions. Bad time
management can drain a person's energy and emotions. Good time management consists of
organizing the work; breaking large jobs into smaller, easily accomplished tasks. Selecting a
location that is devoted exclusively to study can eliminate distractions. Going there only to
study, and leaving when concentration becomes difficult or when done studying for the day.
The location should be as free from distraction as possible, i.e., no TV or radio and no family
and friends running in and out every few minutes. People use three types of memory when
learning: Sensory Memory, Motor Skill Memory, and Concept Memory. Sensory Memory deals
with sights, scents, sounds, tastes and touches. Motor Skill Memory deals with movement and
coordination such as riding a bicycle, typing or dancing. Concept Memory deals with words and
ideas. Written material must be meaningful and organized. A good way to study is to read the
broad concepts f rs then narrow in on the specifics. This helps with comprehension, and also
helps to avoid reading irrelevant material.
Poor nutrition and medications pose a different problem. Lack of protein in a diet may
sometimes cause concentration and retention problems. Antihistamines and many other
medications can cause drowsiness, also making concentration difficult. "Ritalin," according to
Ritalin Researcher Joan Baizer, with a team at the University of Buffalo, "produces changes
similar to those seen with other stimulants such as amphetamine and cocaine. That it has the
potential for causing long lasting changes in brain cell structure and function. Children have
been given Ritalin daily for many years. . . but it's not quite as simple as short-acting drug. We
need to look at it more closely. Some medications even block the neural-pathways in the brain."
But for most people Medical Hypnoanalysis can provide insight, guidance and direction to
establish personal learning goals, boost self-esteem and create motivation. Enhanced learning
and improved memory result.
Make Learning Easier: Poor study habits, poor memory, absence of reward, effects of
medicines and drugs, and fear-these are the elements that adversely affect learning; resulting in
poor comprehension, slow progress and low grades.
Medical Hypnoanalysis can help reduce or eliminate problems in any or all of these
areas. Study habits, including time management, can be improved through hypnotic suggestion.
Retention of words, ideas and concepts can be enhanced along with overall functions of
memory. Medical Hypnoanalysis can stimulate the desire to learn, to progress, to achieve one's
full potential. In the utilization of Medical Hypnoanalysis for learning improvement,
self-hypnosis skills can be acquired which will provide lifetime benefits useful in achieving
goals in the future.
Study Habits: Both external and internal conditions affect study habits. Among external
factors are included the physical location of the study area-a setting that is used time and again.
A learner who has a precise place in an area where peripheral diversion is eliminated [no TV,
CD's or radio, no running in and out by relatives and friends) will study much more efficiently.
Attentiveness is indispensable, and the learner should depart the chosen spot when attention
becomes easier said than done. In any case, a five-minute break every twenty minutes will
improve learning. Self-Hypnosis can be used to help block out outside distractions.
On the inside, time managing (or need thereof) can generate an avoidable drain on vigor
and emotions, adversely affecting the education procedure. The response, of course, lies in
organization of work to be completed-breaking it down into minute, effortlessly accomplished
segments. Medical Hypnoanalysis can help program such actions into a learner, frequently with
near-miraculous results.
The five-minute breaks at twenty-minute intervals, then, may be synchronized with
subject matter under study, so as to be taken at the termination of a section, with a novel and
brand new section to embark on following the break-to keep study fresh and appealing.
Your Memory is Great: Three types of memory are said to be involved in human recall.
Sensory memory deals with functions like seeing, smelling, feeling, hearing and tasting. Motor
skill memory involves remembering how to carry out physical actions-riding a bike, driving an
automobile, swimming, dancing, etc. Third, and most fundamental to learning, is memory of
vocabulary, thoughts and concepts-the least retentive type of memory and perhaps the most
complex.
In spite of the claims of some memory trainers, the meaningfulness of material has been
demonstrated in testing to be more significant in memory improvement than the memorization
of gibberish or unconnected words. The key first step is the association of the important
material to be learned into a commonsense pattern, emphasizing the broadest idea-the
premise-then tightening the center of attention to suitable particulars.
Where did you put your keys, your watch, your notations, the item you had in your hand
just moments ago ... or maybe last week? What was the funny story your friend told you - it was
great and you want to share it. What were you supposed to bring home from the store? Who
were the people you met at the party? Your mind has gone blank. The harder you try to
remember, the more forgetful you feel. You get mad at yourself. But you don't need to.
Every event or experience of your life is engraved in your subconscious mind. Through
Medical Hypnoanalysis you can become able to recall short term memory, and if desired
re-experience long term memories. Learn self-hypnosis and you can do it all by yourself. The
memories are there. You can learn to access them. It really boosts self-confidence.
Medical Hypnoanalysis helps kids reinforced with specific Medical Hypnoanalytic
conditioning tapes designed especially for that child and hitting the target for those particular
aspects he/she is having trouble with, resulting in a much happier child and homelife.
The human mind is capable of recalling virtually any information that it desires to
remember. The most important word in the process is DESIRE. The human mind is of such size
that it could not be filled in a total lifetime. It is capable of remembering everything that has
ever been seen, heard, read or experienced.
Medical Hypnoanalysis can be a highly effective procedure for stimulating the learning
process-increasing motivation, establishing beneficial study habits, boosting confidence,
reducing study and examination tensions and accessing memory.
Therapy dealing with memory and learning can also be combined with goal-setting and
achievement. Students in school can advance their scholastic standing positions to a substantial
degree while acquiring habits that will provide benefits for a lifetime.
Adults and working people in all occupations can gain the motivation to undertake
continuing education studies, adding to existing knowledge/skills or developing new fields of
interest for income generation, recreation, or personal satisfaction.
People with cluttered minds can emerge from Medical Hypnoanalysis with purpose,
direction and organization, acquiring rewarding efficiencies which can change life directions.
Attitudes and interests can be changed, poor habit patterns can be overcome, enthusiasm can be
developed. Self-respect can increase. In the field of memory, forgetting can be reduced lost
items can be found more easily, names and, dates and numbers can be remembered, frustration
can be avoided. The subconscious mind knows everything that has happened and can recall it
on request whether it be memory of a past event, location of a misplaced item, material to be
studied in the educational process or names, addresses, telephone numbers or other information
which is needed at a specific time for a specific purpose.
Two major factors that adversely affect learning processes are low self-esteem and lack
of motivation. Additional elements which can contribute to the problems include poor study
habits, poor memory, absence of reward, medicine and/or drugs, and fear.
Rewards: A potent ingredient in education is self-reward-recognition of individual
success, self-congratulation, self-appreciation expressed through reward. Advance resolves of
self-reward
Plans create expectation, motivation, and personal aspiration. Minute rewards at a variety of
levels of improvement have a propensity to preserve enthusiasm and incentive, particularly
where a catalog of predictable rewards is maintained with a conclusion calendar.
The presence or use of medicine and/or drugs in a Medical Hypnoanalytic case would
indicate contact and conversation with a suitable medical doctor.
 Fear: Fear, so significant in self-esteem and motivation, may be imperceptible, but it
remains a prevailing power. When it obstructs education the student is a key candidate for
Medical Hypnoanalysis. The learner, whether apprentice or functioning adult, through being
induced into relaxation, can obtain the capacity to relax at will, to experience feelings of
confidence, to use a signal to bring consciousness of control, motivation for success, or
capability to neutralize a fearful state of affairs.
Positive help can be derived from creating a special plan for achievement that involves
three steps: To accept the learning experience as an occasion; to amend behavior and actions
unfavorable to education; to develop confidence and self-esteem.
Medical Hypnoanalysis can offer the insight, and direction to set up individual learning
goals, increase self-esteem and create motivation, Improved learning and enhanced memory
result.
For those seeking information about Stimulant drugs used to treat ADD/ADHD please see our
section on ADD/ADHD, under Psychotherapy.
As a potenial consumer of Medical Hypnoanalysis, in a consumer beware environment,
you might be interested in this article exposing the meaning of various certification in the field
of hypnosis.
ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE: U. S. teams and those of other nations recognize that
the influence of psychic preparation is just as essential as physical practice. Olympic athletes
use self-hypnosis to help them attain top performance. Russian teams are taught mental
conditioning from the beginning of training. For the typical person, Medical Hypnoanalysis
cannot turn a golfing duffer into a global champion. Factors, skills and abilities other than
mental are implicated. But hypnosis can be used to allow a player to realize his or her personal
best! Time magazine reported, in a cover story on the 1984 Olympics, that on the darkness
before the finals in women's gymnastics Mary Lou Retton, at that time age 16, lay in bed at
Olympic Village mentally rehearsing her routine ritual. She had done the same on hundreds of
preceding nights, visualizing herself performing all her routines flawlessly in her mind all the
moves and rehearsing them yet again and over again. The end result was a routine of
flawlessness, presented with charisma, composure and coolness, culminating in a gold medal.
"What the mind can conceive, the body can achieve!" Evidence of that declaration has been
provided innumerable times. Mary Lou pictured a faultless routine in her mind. Her body
fashioned it. The same capability is accessible to any sports devotee. If the skills and
synchronization abilities do not come to Olympic levels, they can bring the player to the heights
of personal best, providing new levels of attainment and fulfillment.
To prepare the body to the limits of its capabilities not including concurrently exercising
the mind is to invite, at best, mediocrity. Sports psychologists have claimed that for Olympic
teams 80 percent of an athlete's performance is in the mind. Championship players in nearly
every type of competition have echoed this conviction.
What The Mind Can Do: Mental practice, also termed visualization, can generate and
confirm the self-assurance needed to realize top performance. The picture visualized in the
mind can prove to the subconscious that attainment is achievable. The automatic nervous system
performs in precisely the identical way followed during a physical rehearsal. Neuromuscular
synchronization improves. What your mind can conceive, you can achieve. If you can think it
and see it in your mind, you can do it!
What can be accomplished through the powers of the mind? Perhaps most important is
the improvement of positive attitudes. Negative thoughts pertaining to performance skills can be
altered or eliminated. Enjoyment of the sport will be improved to a key point as skills get better
to the point where irregular incidents of poor performance no longer provoke frustration, rage,
dissuasion or damaging emotional reaction. Concentration, coordination, technique all can
improve as well as awareness of proper form and posture.
Sports enthusiasts face the same stumbling blocks that people have to deal with in other
areas of life - business, personal relationships, and achievement of goals and ambitions. The
biggest of all is fear, and fear comes in countless forms. Fear of failure is at all times restraining
and is extremely widespread in sports, as is its concealed colleague, fear of success-an
apprehension that accomplishment can produce the anticipation (among others) of additional
enhancement. Fear of embarrassment can be strong. Many golfers experience near terror on the
first tee where people may be watching the first drives. Competition can produce sensations of
intimidation resulting in deterioration of skills.
Medical Hypnoanalysis, or properly learned and applied self-hypnosis, can work to
reduce or eliminate the mental obstacles to peak performance in sport activities. This is an area
in which the truth of the phrase "what the mind can conceive, the body can achieve" becomes
highly evident.
The Steps To Achievement: The goal of hypnosis in its applications is not the learning
or acquisition of the basic skills involved though these could be helped through hypnosis as
used in enhancing learning skills. The goal is to enable the athlete to achieve the best personal
level, performing at peak. As with virtually all hypnosis, the first step must be relaxation.
Relaxation to a level appropriate for the implanting of hypnotic suggestion is not really resting.
It is deep, and can be brought about through a hypnotherapist. Or it can be learned from a
teaching hypnotherapist or even through study and practice using any of several excellent
books on the subject.
Goal-setting is essential. Without having an objective, it is pointless to begin a task,
project or trip. Goals may be set by athletes, coaches or therapists or a combination thereof. It is
important for goals to be specific, focussed on the area in which improvement is desired.
Playing better tennis is not a valid goal. Improving a serve or backhand is a goal. Goals must be
short-term achievable and step by step, so that both success and completion are experienced.
Concentration is vitally important, and sometime difficult to develop. Medical Hypnoanalysis
has long been an effective means of improving concentration capabilities. Distractions must be
eliminated. Post-hypnotic cues may prove useful in stimulating both concentration and specific
skills. Visualization, not just in mental rehearsing, but at the moment of performance can
produce dramatic results.
Training only the body and ignoring the mind invites a mediocre performance. Hypnosis
won't turn the weekend warrior into a national champion, but it can help anyone achieve his or
her personal best. How? By arming them with improved concentration, a clearer focus on goal
achievement, the ability to visualize, and most importantly, a strong positive attitude.
Most sports psychologists will agree: 80 percent of an athlete's performance is due to
attitude and mental conditioning. Concentration is vital, but sometimes difficult to develop.
Medical Hypnoanalysis has long been an effective means of improving concentration skills.
Post-hypnotic suggestion can help. Goal setting is also essential. Without a goal, it is pointless to
begin any task. A goal must be specific. Otherwise it would be impossible to tell when the goal
was reached. Playing better tennis is too general, but improving a serve or backhand is easily
attainable, and successful attainment is easily recognized. Visualization can also provide an
essential element to achieving success. Mental rehearsal before the performance can lead to
increased confidence during the performance. Visualization at the moment of performance can
also produce dramatic results.
In 1980, tests of world-class Russian athletes showed that mental training was far more
productive of improvement than physical training! Electro-physiological testing had indicated
the dramatic value of mental imaging as early as 1932. Hypnosis cannot make unskilled people
into champions, but it can generate performance at or near "personal best" levels. Hypnosis to
improve athletic performance deals with four categories: goal setting, relaxation, concentration
and rehearsal. Goals need to be written down; relaxation relieves tension; concentration
removes distractions; mental rehearsing has proven more productive than physical practice.
Olympic athletes use it often with superb results. Mental processes do not remove the need for
physical training and practice, but can maximize productive results.
Imagery should include all the senses, and not be limited to just the visual. A diver, for
example, would "see" the form of the dive, "smell" the chlorine, feel the wetness of entering the
water, and hear the cheers of the crowd. Perfection requires the use of all senses.
Many professionals employ some form of self-hypnosis to help them achieve their
success. Mary Lou Retton, for example was only 16 when she won the gold medal in1984. The
night before the competition, she laid in bed and mentally rehearsed her performance. Just as
she had many times before, she imagined herself going through the routine. She saw her body
performing the moves; she felt the impact as her hands grabbed the bars. She imagined herself
performing all her routines perfectly-seeing herself in her mind, going through all the moves
with charm, poise and confidence. The result was a perfect performance, and a gold medal.
Most important is the positive attitude. Medical Hypnoanalysis can change negative and
eliminate performance anxieties. The occasional poor performance will no longer cause
irritation, anger, discouragement or any other detrimental emotional reaction. Performance
anxieties related to fear of failure, fear of humiliation or even the fear of success (the
apprehension that success will cause others to expect even further improvement) can also be
dealt with and eliminated. As a result, concentration, coordination, and technique will all
improve. Enjoyment will be greatly enhanced.
Finally, mental rehearsal is the ultimate key to superlative performance. It can prove
more productive than physical practice. Imagery is not merely visual in nature; it can include all
the senses. In a diving competition, the form of the dive is visual; the smell of the chlorine
water is olfactory; the wetness of the entry is sensory, the cheers of the crowd are auditory.
Perfection requires the use of all senses.
WHY GROW OLD? It is important to recognize aging not as a chronological
development, but as a mental acceptance of deterioration. Old age has been defined as a loss of
desire to learn. Many seniors, failing to comprehend computers and recent scientific
innovations affecting all our lives, feel left behind, no longer able to be interesting to others. In
effect, they tend to drop out of life, suffering from a sense of low self-worth, adopting a
hermit-like lifestyle. It is all unnecessary. Hypnosis can regenerate interests, restore awareness
of self-worth, review and rediscover talents and abilities sought, needed and valued by fellow
humans. It can light the fires necessary to get back into life and take advantage of opportunities
that may not have been readily apparentSeniors: How to stay young.
It has been assumed that old people are frequently poor subjects for hypnosis. This is not
inevitably the case. Age tends to be more a mental state than a state of the body. The public
abounds with people of older years who sprint circles around their counterparts in intellectual
vigilance, recall, judgment, business and managing abilities, writing or verbal communication.
In a number of areas they can even do extremely well at sports.
Even as we have large numbers of "youthful oldsters," there are countless more who
have reached the distinction of maturity who have the capacity to think, act and - give the
impression of being younger, but for the most part lack the inner conviction and enthusiasm
essential to do so. A feature worth noting is that quite a few of the world's most exceptional and
adept Medical Hypnoanalysts are in their seventies, eighties and even nineties.
What Are The Problems: Seniors, essentially, face the same troubles that affect
younger people. They have hopes and ideas and plans and when these weaken or stop working
they are subject to worry, tension, despair, irritation and related emotional difficulties. Older
people have feelings and desires, which younger generations frequently do not appreciate.
They are subject to harm, resentment, anguish, bitterness, etc., and respond accordingly.
They can fall in love, and when a relationship is finished either by preference, or passing away,
their ache is no less severe than that of younger people For most of these tribulations Medical
Hypnoanalysis is as suitable and relevant as it would be for members of former generations.
Seniors must deal with pressure, habit control, (overeating, smoking, alcohol, etc.), attitude
modification, phobic reactions, and uncertainties of poor health or loss of self-determination. As
their earning years draw to a close, concerns over material goods and liabilities as well as
earnings stream pierce the picture powerfully.
For some seniors advancing years bring self-doubt-feelings that new trends and
developments date them, place them out of date. Scientific and hi-tech advancement is not
understood, and not being up to date with present times, seniors can feel, from the perspective
of communications, inadequate. Self-worth and assurance go into a decline and those in this
kind of downtrend condition have a tendency to believe they are no longer interesting to others.
Withdrawal follows, accompanied by loss of the sense of self-esteem, which increases
withdrawal tendencies and enters into a phase that can be psychologically overwhelming.
One at a time activities are dropped; links with other people, whether relatives or
friends, lessen. Frequently, an unjustifiable sense of being unloved and the perception of being
unaided can lead to discouragement and depression. Psychological and psychosomatic problems
come into view. Deep loneliness, with no will to seek out friendship, can become an obsession.
It's All So Avoidable: Medical Hypnoanalysis has some special capabilities in such
cases. Attitude and behavior modification, the rejuvenation of self-worth and self-assurance and
motivation are essential, and every single one are among the most valuable the most beneficial
therapies available through hypnosis. Clients can be brought to grasp that they don't need
scientific know-how to be interesting people. They can realize that younger generations have a
great deal to find out, and must of necessity turn to the "older and wiser" seniors for information
and direction. They can reveal opportunities in part-time jobs or volunteer work that will
promptly convince them that they are wanted and have worth. They can be motivated into
getting back into circulation through contact with churches, countless ' organizations, leisure
pursuit or special interest groups, where their help is priceless and they re-experience positive
reception. As all this takes place, self-respect, self-confidence and enthusiasm will amplify
spectacular ly, melancholy will lighten, and smiles and happiness will brighten in newly
revealed usefulness.
Most Medical Hypnoanalysis achieves success by focusing on one difficulty at a time.
Dealing with what has been sometimes referred to as "The Fountain of Youth" program can take
a broader approach in that while quite a few essentials can be implicated they all add up to a
sole quandary-feeling old. As in all psychotherapy, the first step is the establishment of
trust-development of a relationship in which the client is disposed to take note without
pre-established doubt.
Once participants become comfortable Medical Hypnotherapeutic programming, can use
regression to bring to mind periods of high self-esteem, bringing into memories successes of the
past. Suggestions that acknowledgment, approval and contribution are still achievable, with
illustrations of types of opportunities, can spawn attitude changes from hopelessness to hope.
With progress, come increases in self-worth and with contact comes the growth of
self-assurance. The powers of visualization can then be used to generate mental pictures of
success, accomplishment of goals, and fresh levels of approval and individual appreciation of
self-esteem.
People who have mentally put themselves out to pasture, in essence becoming a Walking
Zombie, can feel, think, act and look younger, welcoming an enthusiastic world anew and
welcoming its challenge.
THE SECRET OF VISUALIZATION WITH MEDICAL HYPNOANALYSIS: It
has often been said, "What your mind can conceive, you can achieve!" The same thought is
expressed throughout the centuries from the Bible to present day motivational writers and
speakers. It is true. It has been demonstrated. What you can picture in your mind, you can bring
into your life. You have the power. We all have the power to make things happen in our lives.
But few of us ever learn how to use it. Medical Hypnoanalysis utilizes the powers of
visualization. If you have the ability to create thought-pictures in your mind, you can learn how
to use this priceless capability. If visualization is difficult, as it is for some, you can learn how
to develop the capability. The benefits of acquiring these skills will last a lifetime. Imagination
Engineers
"The Power, which a man's imagination over his body to heal it or make it sick is a force
which none of us is born without. The first man had it; the last one will possess it. If left to him,
a man is most likely to use only the mischievous half of the force-the half that invents
imaginary ailments for him and cultivates them; and if he is one of these very wise people, he is
quite likely to scoff at the beneficent half of the force and deny its existence. And so, to heal or
help that man, two imaginations are required: his own and some outsider's. The outsider's work
is unquestionably valuable; so valuable that it may fairly be likened to the essential work
performed by the engineer when he handles the throttle and turns on the steam; the actual power
is lodged exclusively in the engine, but if the engine were left alone it would never start of
itself. His services are necessary. He is the Engineer; he simply turns on the same old steam and
the engine does the whole work." Mark Twain.
CHILDREN LIVE HYPNOSIS: Children live in their imaginations. As they play and
dream they become pilots, doctors, firemen, tractor or truck drivers, mothers: their worlds are
unlimited and very real. Vivid imaginations and mental pictures make them ideal subjects for
hypnosis, provided they are old enough to maintain an attention span. Many inhibitions, which
later affect adults, will not have yet developed in children. They are open and moldable.
How can hypnosis help? Try childish habits: bedwetting, nose picking, undesirable
mannerisms and attitudes. As they grow older: attention problems, learning enhancement, study
habits, anxieties (home & school), self-esteem and confidence, motivation, athletic
performance, creativity, even grief from loss or separation. Children respond wonderfully to
hypnosis.Children: Super Subjects Once old enough to develop an attention span, children are
usually very responsive to hypnosis. Communication must be at the child's level of perception
and understanding, but results can be rapid and dramatic.
 Hypnosis can be highly effective in dealing with many problems such as bedwetting,
grief, pain, anger, school adjustments, study habits, memory, motivation, habit control,
relationships, self-esteem and many others. Children often enter hypnosis readily without outside
influence Imaginative play, fantasies, daydreams, even punishments may involve automatic
hypnosis. Strong or unwarranted criticism by parents or teachers can produce imprints in a
child's mind that will create fears, phobias, habits, attitudes, etc., which can later require intense
therapy. Hypnosis can convert potential dropouts to honor-roll students with its dramatic power.
Kids, once they have developed to the stage where they have an ample attention span they have
a tendency to be spectacular subjects for hypnosis. This may be owing to the reality that a great
deal of early childhood is spent in hypnosis. kids play games that embrace profound
participation, which is a type of hypnosis. They indulge in fantasies and make-believe
experiences, which are forms of hypnosis.
Kids are furthermore benefited by the reality that various inhibitions, which frequently,
have an effect on adults, have not yet developed. Kids also have incomplete capacities for
critical judgment. Reliance and affirmative rapport are indispensable and bringing out these
traits can be easier said than done, particularly in cases where a kid is presented by a feared
authority figure. Confidence must be earned. Apprehensions must be allayed. Communication
must be established.
Appropriate Utilizations: Why would a kid need or be benefited by Medical
Hypnoanalysis? Like the well-known reply to the query, "How do I love thee?" let me count the
ways! Surely along with essential usages have to be the early on control or eradication of
childish behavior-bedwetting, nose picking, mannerisms and frequently attitudes. As kids
mature hypnosis can spectacularly have an effect on attention problems, learning enrichment,
study procedures, anxieties (whether from home, school or other sources). Self-respect,
enthusiasm, athletic performance, imagination, non-understood grief, loss or separation-the
inventory is in effect never-ending.
To a Medical Hypnoanalyst it is hard to believe the quantity of emotional harm that can
be and is done to kids by parents, relatives, siblings, teachers or authority figures. Much of it is
well meaning labors intended to offer direction and incentive, coming from a trusted source that
intends no injury. Nevertheless, kids vary (just as adults do). Several are introverts, several are
extroverts; several come from homes that put forward praise and support, others come from
environments where disapproval and lack of appreciation are considered proper; some come
from environments of love, some come from environments of conflict and maltreatment. One of
the best gifts a kid can be given is extended contact with an individual (whether teacher, parent,
older sibling, coach or therapist) who can and will offer compassion, understanding and
appreciation of worth.
Kids react to comments by authority figures in contrary ways. A parent or teacher, on
viewing a poor report card, might remark: "You are going to be the dumbest kid in the class all
your life!" The objective might well be to stimulate the kid to amend this harmful characteristic
by trying harder. A self-assured kid might react in that way. However an self-doubting kid
might well understand the declaration plainly as a true prognostication and experience a
psychological inner flip which locks in place acceptance of the self as worthless, incompetent
and condemned to carry out the acknowledged fate. The records of Medical Hypnoanalysts,
psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists and Medical Hypnoanalysts are overflowing with
cases of adult clients who have sought after psychotherapy to get out from under
self-deprecating childhood imprints imposed by well-meaning (and frequently not so
well-meaning) guardians.
The Endowment Of Imagery: Young kids are not typically conscious of the
complexities of the mind, or of its incredible assortment of powers. They do not understand
that, "what the mind can conceive, the body can achieve." They do not comprehend the
remarkable capabilities of visualization. Nevertheless they have the kid's innate endowment for
dreaming- for picturing achievements of childhood hopes; in their minds. It is this feature that
the Medical Hypnoanalyst can use to overcome the afflicting troubles and liberate kids from
bonds, which limit them from achieving their potentials.
Kids more often than not are extremely visual. They react wonderfully in the direction
of tales, bedtime stories, and allied communications with which they can identify. They are
rather self-important-they like to have a piece in a story that is being related and have a
propensity to slide into hypnosis without difficulty.
Kids in the six or seven age range have little difficulty. Those in the four to six range,
with shorter attention spans, may react to induction techniques which are less formal or
directive. Preschool ages may merge the worlds of daydreams and reality. Pre-induction data
ought to center on gathering information about a kid's likes and dislikes, fears, imagery
experience, and social surroundings-all in a style in charge with the kid's communication level
and oriented in the direction of building empathy. Being familiar with and participating in the
kids' play therapy may help increase rapport, illuminating the kid's interests and imaginative
capabilities. Play can be a superb medium designed for implementing beneficial suggestions.
Along with older kids and teenagers Medical Hypnoanalysis has been valuable in
dealing with behavioral problems and delinquency. Clinicians unfortunately, frequently turn to
Medical Hypnoanalysis as a very last resort. Experience indicates success is better when the
patient acknowledges suffering and has personal incentive to amend. The truth remains that
hypnosis is in effect unfeasible in cases where the client does not desire to be hypnotized.
Successful therapy demands patient consent and collaboration. Medical Hypnoanalysis for drug
abuse, for instance, virtually requires that the client be conscious of and concerned with the
potential for harm and have an articulated need for change. Therapists have got to be conscious
that adolescents with behavior problems may be struggling for independence; therapists need to
assess and appreciate the degree of the client's impetus for change, and the cognitive, social,
emotional and psychosexual growth factors, which have a say, with attitudes and behaviors.
Children (and animals?) Often Benefit Most From Medical Hypnoanalysis: How
can children benefit from Medical Hypnoanalysis? In more ways than you might imagine.
Medical Hypnoanalysis can help to eliminate childish habits such as bed-wetting and
nose-picking. It can help develop good study habits, improve concentration and learning ability,
develop motivation, creativity and self-esteem. It can help deal with grief or loss. Most
importantly, it can head-off potential psychological damage that might be caused by
misunderstanding the words of an adult.
See the picture of Medical Hypnoanalyst Bill Ronan and his dog Sam, with whom he is
demonstrating animal hypnosis to children and adults as he explains the nature and principles of
hypnosis.
Medical Hypnoanalysts have file cabinets filled with case histories of adults who have
sought help understanding childhood memories. It is really amazing how much damage can be
done by a well-meaning, but misunderstood remark. Especially when it comes from a trusted
source like a parent or a teacher. Children all have individual personalities, just as adults do.
They each respond to comments by authority figures in their own way. For instance, a parent
might see a poor report card and try to use reverse psychology to motivate the child. The parent
might say something like: "I can't believe any kid of mine is this dumb." If the child has enough
self-confidence, it might provoke him into trying harder; but if the child is insecure, a statement
like that could make him believe that he really is dumb, or worse, that his father or mother
doesn't love him. Medical Hypnoanalysis can help children to understand what was really meant,
and prevent the misunderstanding from becoming an emotional scar that would limit their
personal growth or performance throughout their life. Children are actually the best subjects for
Medical Hypnoanalysis. Prior to beginning any program, a hypnotherapist should take the time
to interview the child; to find out what the child likes and dislikes. This will ensure that the best
imagery is used, and the child will have a positive response to Medical Hypnoanalysis.
Once they develop an adequate attention span, children are easily hypnotized. Children
spend most of their waking hours playing games and indulging in fantasies or pretend
experiences; in which they become totally absorbed. For this reason, play can become an
excellent method for implementing therapeutic suggestions. Hand puppets and stuffed animals
easily capture a child's attention and therefore make excellent tools for implementing
therapeutic suggestions. Children may not realize the potential power of visualization. Yet they
have this natural talent for dreaming and for picturing things in their minds. They respond
beautifully to fairy tales and bedtime stories. They like to imagine that they have a pan in the
story being told, and they slip into hypnosis easily.
Teenagers can also benefit from Medical Hypnoanalysis. It can be effective in improving
concentration and learning ability. It can also be helpful in dealing with behavior problems such
as delinquency and drug addiction. With teenagers, however, motivation plays a much larger
roll. It is essential that they understand and want the change.