NCJ Number
219404
Journal
Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Dated: 2006 Pages: 75-85
Date Published
2006
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article examines the variety of therapeutic goals served by altered state methods and justifies their use in the framework of an information-processing model trauma and dissociation, such as in the case of child abuse survivors.
Abstract
The use of altered state methods raises challenging and important issues, but these same issues permeate every interaction between survivors and their therapists. Recently, researchers have criticized these interventions on the grounds that they may create false memories. In this paper, the author places the controversy in the context of a larger issue: the misuse of therapist suggestion, and argues that respect for a client’s experience, rather than procedures, ensures safety in the psychotherapy relationship. It is also argued that some form of altered state methodology, such as imagery, hypnosis, or dramatic enactment is not only beneficial but probably necessary for effective trauma treatment. Ultimately, therapists must work wisely and with self-awareness, or they will not work well. Guided imagery, role-play, dramatic enactment, and similar techniques are widely used by psychotherapists in the treatment of child abuse survivors. These methods invite clients to enter an altered state in which they relax critical judgment and attend closely to internally generated sensory experience. References