NCJ Number
144834
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 1 Issue: 2 Dated: (1992) Pages: 17-31
Date Published
1992
Length
15 pages
Annotation
A frequent need of adult patients who have been traumatized in childhood is to recall and work through experiences that have been blocked out of awareness but continue to exert negative influences, and hypnosis may be an effective approach with such patients.
Abstract
Clinical hypnosis continues to gain acceptance in the mental health field, and its application in psychotherapy is broadening. Three related components of the hypnotic state make it particularly suitable for trauma patients: selective attention, dissociation, and suggestibility. Selective attention is the ability to focus on one segment of an experience while blocking out the environment in general. Disassociation, a related component of selective attention, involves the ability to break down an experience into segments, separate out parts of it, and amplify others. Suggestibility involves the ability to selectively attend to input and separate disruptive aspects of an experience. Hypnotic processes and therapeutic techniques are based on relaxing, remembering, re-experiencing, and reconstructing. Case studies illustrate hypnosis concepts and procedures used with trauma patients. 24 references