(This blog was
originally posted on August 1, 2016)
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| Photo by Rick Hustead |
When trauma or extreme emotional distress occurs, if the person cannot
(verbally) express and work through and resolve feelings about the event, these
emotions may be manifested as physical symptoms. As I explained in a previous
blog titled Body
Syndromes, these symptoms are likely to occur in areas of the body that
correspond to the trauma or presenting issue. For example, if a woman is raped
she may subsequently experience vaginal tightness that prevents any kind of
sexual pleasure and even find intercourse painful.
When psychologist and hypnotherapist John Kappas, Ph.D., treated these
symptoms in hypnotherapy, the Hypnosis
Motivation Institute founder recommended explaining how the client’s subconscious
denial of the rape may have contributed to these symptoms. If appropriate and if she
was ready to deal with the trauma, a hypnotherapist could help her go through
the stages of loss during hypnotherapy, he said.
Dr. Kappas also advised including the client’s husband/partner in the
therapy using the Systems
Approach even if the other person is not present during the sessions. This
inclusion is necessary because the client’s past trauma is likely affecting
their sexual relationship; or, finally confronting the emotional trauma caused by the rape, in therapy, may have
repercussions on the current relationship.
“It’s possible that removing the denial will reveal traumas,” the HMI
founder warned. Therefore, the hypnotherapist must correct the client’s denial
mechanism but not remove it completely. The hypnotherapist would also need
to bring up more of her physical
suggestibility to help her work through her physical symptoms*, he added.
*California
law allows access by California residents to complementary and alternative
health care practitioners who are not providing services that require medical
training and credentials. The purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for
vocational and avocational self-improvement (Business and
Professions Code 2908) and as an alternative or complementary
treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is
not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not
licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not
include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered a
substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.
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/.
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