International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis - E-Lib FK UWKS

HYPNOSIS AND RECOVERED MEMORY 107
refusal?' p. 126). An additional question, of course, is whether the use of hypnosis
will add anything to the treatment of the client.
CONCLUDING COMMENT
Overall, we need to recognize that work with individuals who report recovered
memories of childhood abuse should be undertaken with an open attitude, a
commitment to evidence-based therapy, and an acceptance of their experience in a
way that conveys the concern and care that is needed when dealing with any
possibility of childhood abuse McConkey, 1997). In doing so, however, we need to
maintain appropriate boundaries and use justi®able methods of diagnosis and
treatment. If clinicians engage in evidence-based practice, then they will provide
better treatment to their clients and will reduce the professional and legal risks to
themselves Knapp & VandeCreek, 1996). Kirsch, Montgomery & Sapirstein
1995) reported that in general hypnosis can enhance the effectiveness of therapy,
but we must recognize that hypnosis also has a long history of misuse and a
tendency toward controversy. Because of this, clinicians who use hypnosis must be
especially careful not to engage in substandard thinking and practice. As Bloom
1994) and London 1997) noted, how a clinician behaves may profoundly shape
the nature of any recovered memory as well as how that memory is subsequently
used in the clinical setting and beyond. Given the importance of sound professional
judgment and practice, the behaviour of the clinician must be consistent with
scienti®cally based and clinically sound therapeutic intervention.
The use of hypnosis can lead to changes in memory, and this can lead to changes
in our sense of self and our view of others. In other words, in altering memory,
hypnosis can change how people think about themselves and others. This can be
positive; it can also be negative. As clinicians, we need to keep in mind that
individual memory serves a major role, and that `lives would be intolerable without
some predicate, some ballast of identity, to provide a context for the wisps of
thought and action that constitute our instantaneous selves' Albright, 1994, p. 21).
When seeking to recover the past, with hypnosis or without, we need to appreciate
that it is not just memory that we are dealing with, but rather the past and the future
of a human life. That is the reason we need to know why and what we're doing if
we choose to use hypnosis to recover memory.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The preparation of this chapter was supported in part by a grant from the Australian
Research Council to the author. I am grateful to Amanda Barnier for assistance in its
preparation.