Healing Scripts (eBook)

Marlene E Hunter (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2007
184 Seiten
Crown House Publishing (Verlag)
978-1-84590-520-0 (ISBN)

Infos

Healing Scripts focuses on the use of hypnotherapy to help trauma victims recover as well as helping individuals who are suffering from acute stress disorders. The field of trauma and stress treatment is constantly searching for new ideas and solutions and the hypnotic interventions detailed in this volume are designed to treat the source of the pain and the anguish of trauma so that clients with long term problems can finally be offered some relief.

Marlene E. Hunter, MD is a family physician who began to work with highly dissociative patients in 1977. She is a Certificant and Fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and a past Associate Clinical Professor at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Family Medicine. She is a past president of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, the Canadian Society of Clinical Hypnosis (B.C. Division) and the B.C. College of Family Physicians.

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Section I

Pain

Hypnosis and the relief of pain

For many decades, hypnosis as a means to relieve pain has been a very useful tool. Pain, itself, is a common experience in all walks of life and in all ages and populations. Pain can be a warning signal that something is wrong—injury, infection or a severe allergic response during which the person cannot easily take a breath. In all of these situations, hypnosis, when carefully done by a therapist who is well-trained in the various hypnotic techniques, can bring comfort.

Pain that is part of (or the result of) various kinds of trauma, however, has an added component—one that is important for us to recognize. That component is the emotional response to the situation in which the pain is experienced, or from which it is derived. The use of hypnosis as one—but only one—of the techniques that can be useful in psychotherapy is exemplified in the following scripts. Perhaps the client (or the therapist) is feeling stuck for some reason; perhaps the emotional aspect has become too intrusive or needs to be recognized. A session, or several sessions, of hypnosis may open the gate again, offering new insights or alternative ways of managing the situation.

Pain and dissociation

Pain is a dissociative experience. It can be dissociative in the sense that we put distance between ourselves and how we are experiencing the sensation itself, which is what we might do in the dentist’s chair. It could also mean that we distance ourselves from what is going on around us and focus instead on the pain. The former is useful insofar as it alleviates the physical discomfort; the second, however, could precipitate far more distress than one would ordinarily expect in any given situation.

When the latter occurs, careful hypnosis can be very helpful. We need to remember the role of hypnosis in relieving pain. It is not that hypnosis causes pain to disappear—often it doesn’t do that at all. What it does do is to help put some distance between the self and the pain, so that the pain per se doesn’t matter so much. The client is no longer so bothered by the pain and can therefore get on with whatever is happening in their life.

There are also situations during which the dissociation from pain is crucial—for example, there is a fire and the most important thing is to get the children out of the house. The sensation of pain is disregarded because the children take 100% precedence. However, later on, when the children are (hopefully) safe, then the sensation of pain can be overwhelming, even to the point where others cannot understand why it should be so overwhelming. It is so because the emotional aspect of the situation (“my children are in danger”) is then superimposed on the physical pain, even though the danger is no longer there. It is as if the subconscious is saying, “but what if—but what if—”, over and over again.

It is important to find out as much as possible regarding the origin of the pain. We need to remember that the client’s perception of the origin of the pain may not be the true origin of the pain. Does the dissociation mask an important part of the pain which would be crucial to an appropriate diagnosis? These are aspects that may need to be discussed with the family doctor or specialist, with the client’s permission.

Does the client’s lifestyle exacerbate mental or emotional pain? Are they in financial crisis? In trouble with the law? Alone, with no support from, for example, an estranged family? Are they ignoring another—possibly important—physical problem?

How we, as physicians and / or therapists, approach these possible problems may have a profound impact on the future health—emotional and physical—of the client.

Taking all of this into consideration, make the initial hypnotic intervention very generic, rather than explicit. The following two scripts describe this.

First script

Jane, we haveSetting the scene talked about the misery of the pain you experience when (carefully refer to the situation(s) that Jane has described in as few words as possible)Offering a possible escape Would you like to explore a possible helpful solution? (Yes)

Alright, then just settle into your hypnosis, as you know how to do, knowing that you are here, safe in my office.“Here, safe in my office …” is very important Let me know when you reach the level of hypnosis that you think would be useful today. (Signals)

Good. Now, begin to create a wonderful, safe barrier or shield of some kind, around you.This is the important suggestion, offering possible ways to do this It could be a cloud, or a colour, or warm, or music, or a magic fence—whatever you just instinctively know is the right one for you. Let me know when you have done that. (Signals)

That’s right. And now that you know that you are safe behind that wonderful barrier of your own choice,She now has created her own safety shield, not somebody else’s shield now you can allow yourself to recognize that pain, while knowing all the time that you have that strong, safe barrier between you and the experience of that past discomfort.Shifting to the word “discomfort” will alter the perception Let me know when you have allowed that to happen, under your own control. (Signals)

Excellent. You can stay there, in that same experience, for a few more moments—as long as you like in hypnosis time but just a very short time by clock time. That’s right. Good.

Now, in your own way, do what you needShe can do it herself to do to make the uncomfortable situation dissolve, and then let me know when have done that.Still protected—very important You will still be safely behind your protective barrier or shield. (Signals)

Excellent. And you can appreciate your own strength, in the way you managed that situation.“… your own strength …” gives her the sense of self-sufficiency And now you know that you can do that.

When I make the suggestion, you can bring yourself out of hypnosis in your own way.

Second script

(Note: Whilst the first script, above, has to do with safety, this one offers more variations, for example, a metaphor or simile that is appropriate for the client. The one below is offered as an example, with the suggestion that the client consider further possibilities that are specific for him.)

Jim,Offering another possibility it seems as if you need a more specific type of suggestion, one that is personal for you, to get you started. Is that right? (Nods)

That makes sense for you, so find out if this suggestion could help. You can go into hypnosis,Many people will go into a light trance anyhow, when offered this opportunity or just close your eyes and take the suggestion into your mind, to ponder on it, when and how you choose.

Some people find that they can link the pain with similes that relate to their own past experiences. For example, you might say to yourself,Offering a specific example “This pain is like a vise, gripping me just like the vise in my home workshop grips the (wood, metal, etc.) that I am working with. It is very, very strong, and feels like it will never let me go.

But you are also aware that, when you are ready to do so, you can release the pressure in the vise so that you can extract theMaking the connection between the simile and the situation (wood, metal, etc.) and begin to work with the object, maybe to fine-tune it, or to give it a finishing polish.

You can do the same sort of thing—releasing the pressure—when the intense discomfort becomes too much.Adapting the simile to the real situation Just work with the internal pressure in the same way that you would work with the object in the vise.

As I said at the beginning, it is important that the simile you use has meaning for you personally,Very important! so experiment, and next week we can work a little further in this direction.

Mind–body communication

Of all the things we know (but maybe used not to know), one stands out clearly: we are never disconnected at the neck.

Pain has many components; two of the most obvious are the physiological component and the emotional component. These are inextricably joined. At times the physiological response is foremost, at other times the emotions take precedence in the awareness and response of the person.

Many years ago, at a meeting in Vancouver, Dr. Barry Wyke, a neurophysiologist from the UK, offered this opinion: “Pain is an emotion”. It created quite a stir in the room as it was immediately interpreted as meaning “… and therefore not real”. The immediate implication, to many in the room, was that “emotion” was equated with the pain being unimportant or even malingering. He did not mean that; what he meant was that our minds, as well as our bodies, were responding to the awareness of pain.

In fact, pain can indeed be equated with emotion, if one recognizes the close relationship between mind and body. We respond to pain, and we respond emotionally, perceptually and with immediate mind–body interaction.

What happens in our minds—emotions, thought processes, perceptions, the...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 27.2.2008
• Verlagsort: London
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Psychologie ► Allgemeine Psychologie
• Themenwelt: Medizin / Pharmazie ► Gesundheitsfachberufe
• Themenwelt: Medizin / Pharmazie ► Medizinische Fachgebiete ► Psychiatrie / Psychotherapie
• Themenwelt: Medizin / Pharmazie ► Naturheilkunde
• ISBN-10: 1-84590-520-2 / 1845905202
• ISBN-13: 978-1-84590-520-0 / 9781845905200