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| Photo courtesy of Microsoft Using hypnosis to help someone remember details about a past trauma is like pulling a scab off of the mind. |
We often see characters
on television or in the movies use age regression to solve a crime or resolve a
mystery in a protagonist’s life. During the 1970s and 1980s, hypnosis was used
as a crime-solving technique. During this period, there was a widely held
belief that all psychological problems were caused by sexual abuse. Some people
theorized that hypnosis would be a useful technique to rewind a person’s memory
of a traumatic incident to discover what had happened. Once this information
was revealed, hypnosis could also help the person to vent out these memories
and resolve his or her feelings about and reactions to the issue. Eventually,
experts realized that this technique did not help either the client (alleged
abuse victim) or lawyers to prosecute their cases. Memories are filled with
distortion and amnesia; furthermore, a person under hypnosis is highly
suggestible and becomes very eager to please the hypnotist. A highly emotional-suggestible
client will infer that the hypnotist wants to hear certain information, and
will duly provide those details.
In some
situations, age regression is considered a therapeutic technique: to help an
adult remember a license plate after a car crash or to find a personal item
that he or she lost several weeks ago. I also use it as part of an imagery
exercise to remember every cigarette that the person has smoked when I help a
client quit smoking. However, I do not
use age regression to discover (or help my client discover) information or
memories that the person is not ready to address. When a terrible trauma has
occurred, a person knows how to breathe, sleep, eat and eliminate. If a memory
is too traumatic, the mind creates a “scab” over that memory to protect the
individual from further trauma or stress. Just like you wouldn’t pull a scab
off of an abrasion, I do not use hypnosis to rip a similar scab off your mind. Again,
since there is no way to prove the veracity of any memories that a person regains
while under hypnosis, this information would not be allowed in a court of law.
My first
responsibility to my clients is to do no
harm. As a certified hypnotherapist, my role is to help them achieve a
vocational or avocational self-improvement goal. However, if a client
spontaneously remembers a traumatic incident, I will use hypnosis to help him
or her present reality more powerful than the past, and refer the person to a
licensed psychologist or other medical professional for additional professional
support in areas that are outside my own scope of expertise in hypnotherapy.
Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in
Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation
Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy®
and to set up an appointment, please
visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2014
