Explain the Origins of Symptoms for Which Hypnoanalysis Is Appropriate and Analyse the Different Techniques Learnt in Class (rgression, Free Association and Inner Child)

Explain the origins of symptoms for which Hypnoanalysis is appropriate and analyse the different techniques learnt in class (regression, free association and inner child)

Hypnoanalysis is a specialist area.  It is a combination of hypnosis together with investigative analytical techniques in order to discover the initial sensitising event that has created the symptoms that the client has come to the therapist to address.  In many situations the initial sensitising event is obvious to the client, and in these cases hypnoanalysis is not necessary, but in other situations the initial sensitising event is not clear.  In these cases hypnoanalysis can be used to uncover the primary cause of the issue and then treat that root cause.  (Hunter 2012, Chrysalis course notes, module 7)

Hypnoanalysis was first used in 1880 by Dr. Joseph Breuer who was treating an hysterical girl who had an inability to drink water from a cup.  Direct questioning in the waking state did not uncover the cause of this issue but direct questioning under hypnosis revealed that the primary cause was watching a dog drinking from a cup that she had used.  Following hypnoanalysis the girl could remember the incident in the waking state and her symptoms vanished.  (Hunter 2010).  

Hypnoanalysis is useful in a variety of issues including cases of panic attacks, phobias, anxiety and irrational fears, low self esteem, sleeping difficulties, stuttering, relationship issues, and addictions.  The use of direct or indirect suggestion during hypnosis may be sufficient to deal with a problem if the motivating desire of the client is strong and the initial sensitising event is clearly identified by the client, but if the problem originates from a traumatic experience where the initial sensitising event is not clear, this will seldom be enough and hypnoanalysis is required to find the cause of the behaviour the client wishes to change.  (Hunter 2010).

The subconscious mind is the origin of the symptoms or behaviours for which hypnoanalysis is appropriate.  (1.1) The mind is a sum total of our belief system.  Whatever we believe is our reality, and nobody can change our belief system except ourselves.  If we feed our subconscious mind with negative impressions we build a negative belief system and vice versa.  The subconscious mind does not argue or analyse its contents for merit or demerit.  (Nair, 2013)   Consequently our beliefs may or may not be valid and may be in conflict with our conscious mind. When the conscious mind is in conflict with the subconscious mind the subconscious always wins.  This is the reason willpower is generally insufficient to overcome neuroses that clients come to hypnotherapists to treat.  (Hunter 2012).  Traumatic events in the past can create conflicts between our subconscious and conscious minds and result in behaviours that are not useful and which we wish to change. (1.1)

Different people will respond in different ways to traumatic events. Some people will have the resilience to deal with the emotional aftermath of a trauma whereas others will repress the memories and emotions.  Sigmund Freud originally identified repression as the corner stone of the ego defence mechanisms.  These ego defence mechanisms provide a coping strategy to reduce the stress and anxiety a person feels around a particular situation.  Repression describes a kind of forgetting that creates a defence by pushing away something so that it does not create intense anxiety in the present, but the underlying anxiety will not go away until it is resolved.  (Vaillant 1992)  This then creates some form of neurosis such as a fear or phobia, stress and anxiety for which the client has come to the therapist to help address.  Hypnoanalysis involves searching for repressed memories or emotions so they can be resolved and the initial sensitising event identified.  (Chrysalis notes module 7).  (1.1)

When clients have a problem caused by past events that were painful either emotionally or physically there are usually several different causative incidents.  One of these incidents will have caused the problem, the initial sensitising event (ISE), and another will have activated the problem, the activating event (AE).  The ISE often has a direct and obvious connection to the presenting problem but sometimes there is no apparent connection to the presenting problem.  In these instances we have to uncover an activating event that may have happened many years after the ISE.  (Hunter 2012) (1.1)

Cumulative trauma describes cases where the initial sensitising event is be made up of several events rather than one single event.  This is often the case in clients who present with deep seated low self esteem.  This can occur as the result of many years of damaging comments creating a build up of many similar traumas.  (1.1)

Cumulative trauma can be divided into two types; simple cumulative trauma and compound cumulative trauma.  Simple cumulative trauma occurs where there is a repetition of a negative idea or situation and often occurs in childhood.  Compound cumulative trauma occurs when someone experiences a series of events in their life that cause similar feelings of insecurity resulting in a deep sense of insecurity and a lack of faith in life.  (Chrysalis Course Notes Module 7).  Identifying the ISE and AE and releasing these is generally sufficient without having to release any subsequent sensitising events.   (Hunter 2012)

Regression, free association and inner child therapies are used in hypnoanalysis.  Free association was originally conceived by Sigmund Freud.  (1.2) Under hypnosis the client is encouraged to talk freely about any memories that come to mind, regardless of how trivial or embarrassing they seem.  The method of free association has no pre-planned agenda and works by intuitive leaps and linkages which can lead to new personal insights and meanings, a form of unconscious thinking.  (Wain 2012) The therapist listens and absorbs what is being said and searches for the emotions attached to the situations the client describes rather than simply the facts.  The therapist will attempt to interpret what the free association has revealed, but the client will have to work on their own interpretations too as they will need to accept what the therapist interprets if the behaviour they wish to address is to be changed. One of the downsides of this method is that it can take a long time to get to the memories linked to the problem the client wishes to address and techniques such as asking the client to imagine certain feelings of embarrassment, loneliness, guilt or sadness and link those feelings to something that happened in their life can be used to get to the important material.  (Pfeiffer 2013)  Another issue is that clients may be resistant if not at a deep enough level of hypnosis. (Watkins, Barabasz 2008) (1.2)