International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis - E-Lib FK UWKS

174 INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL HYPNOSIS
Abrams 1963) also described hypnotherapy work with a female inpatient diagnosed
as `schizophrenic reaction, chronic undifferentiated type'. Her symptoms
included hallucinations and delusions. During previous treatment, she had not
responded to psychotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy, or to drug therapy. With the
introduction of hypnosis into her therapy treatment the patient exhibited a reduction
of resistance which enabled her to discuss previously unapproachable/inaccessible
traumatic material. Subsequently all symptoms were eliminated and the patient was
able to establish an independent existence outside the hospital.
Illovsky 1962) reported interesting results utilizing hypnosis in group therapy
with 80 chronic schizophrenics. These patients had been hospitalized for an average
of 6±8 years. They were seen in large groups sometimes 100±150 patients at
a time) and were given suggestions for relaxation and ego-building. They were
treated with tranquilizers in addition to the hypnotic intervention. The convalescent
placement of the patients in the hypnotic treatment groups appeared to surpass the
placement rate of the non-hypnotically treated patients.
In addition, Milton Erickson 1964, 1965), while developing and publishing his
well-known work on the utilization of indirect techniques in hypnosis, also
contributed two clinical accounts of hypnotic work with psychotic patients. In 1964
Erickson reported a case of successful use of hypnotic intervention with a 24year-old
paranoid schizophrenic woman with complaints of visual and auditory
hallucinations. Utilizing the patient's resistance and employing indirect induction
techniques, Erickson was able to engage this highly resistant patient in hypnosis.
Subsequently, the patient was able to accept hypnosis as a positive resource for
therapeutic intervention. In a second reported case employing the use of hypnosis
with a psychotic, Erickson 1965) described his work with a 25-year-old psychotic
male, whose main symptomatology included confusion and word salad. Indirect
hypnotic techniques were employed to engage the patient in a relationship and
ultimately in therapy.
In 1967, Biddle described a successful example of hypnotic work with a
severely psychotic patient. The patient was a single woman in early adulthood at
the time of her psychotic break. She was admitted to a hospital with symptoms
of confusion, hallucinations, belligerent behavior, and generally inappropriate
behavior including: smearing her feces, crawling on her hands and knees, and
taking off her clothes. The hypnotherapy work focused on the exploration of
sleeping dreams and hypnotically induced dreams. A description of 15 months
of treatment was described by Biddle, with the successful reintegration of the
patient into a responsible life outside the hospital, including a job and later
marriage.
Guze 1967) formulated therapeutic guidelines for utilizing hypnosis with
schizophrenics. He saw hypnosis as useful in eliciting patient symptoms of hallucinations,
delusions and thought disorders and then reshaping them. He emphasized
the necessity of guiding the patient's imagery in a healthy direction as early
as possible. However, Guze also stressed that the patient should only move at a