International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis - E-Lib FK UWKS

164 INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL HYPNOSIS
· Post-hypnotic suggestions: at the end of the session, the post-hypnotic suggestion
is made that the patient will be able to continue dealing with the emotions,
e.g., at night during sleep in the form of dreams.
· The use of direct and indirect suggestions to reduce the symptoms.
· Training in autohypnosis using audio-cassettes.
· Face saving: this can be ensured by emphasizing the importance and gravity of
revivi®cation, preferably in the presence of the partner or parents of the patient.
Giving the treatment an aura of importance and gravity ties in with the rationale
of the patient's being unable to deal with such intense emotions earlier.
· Rehabilitation: when improvement occurs in symptoms which have existed for
years, good physiotherapeutic rehabilitation and guidance are essential.
· In¯uencing stress factors which have contributed to the onset of the disorder.
· In¯uencing any possible reinforcement of the disorder by those close to the
patient. This often involves correcting the attitude of the partner or parents who
often play a signi®cant role in sustaining the notion that the disorder is physical
Taylor, 1986).
· When no indication is found that revivi®cation is necessary, this element is left
out of the procedure. The rest of the treatment strategy remains the same, i.e.,
direct and indirect in¯uence of the symptoms, a plausible rationale, formal
trance-induction and post-hypnotic suggestions. Face saving, rehabilitation and
in¯uencing any possible antecedent or consequential factors also remain part of
the treatment strategy.
THREE CASE HISTORIES
Treatment, by Revivi®cation, of a Woman Suffering from Flaccid
Paralysis of Both Legs
Mrs A is a 40-year-old teacher who feels that her life has not been easy. She sees
her marriage and family as a heavy burden. Her relationship with her partner had
been bad for about ten years. During this time, Mrs A had had back trouble and had
undergone an operation for a slipped disc, but even after the operation, she had
continued to feel pain in her back.
After a fearful argument one day, her husband decided to leave her. In desperation
she went to run after him, whereupon she became paralysed in both legs and
fell. Her husband came back to her that evening and there was no more talk of
separation. The paralysis nevertheless persisted.
Various admissions to hospital and inpatient treatment for a year in a rehabilitation
centre were of no avail; the patient was con®ned to a wheelchair and eventually
moved into a house specially designed for people in this condition.
The years rolled by. Then, almost 9 years after the onset of the paralysis, a social
worker who had heard that the condition of such patients can often be improved by
the use of hypnosis, registered Mrs A for treatment.