International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis - E-Lib FK UWKS

TRAINING IN HYPNOSIS 23
In the beginning, time is taken to introduce participants to each other and to the
group leader. By sharing backgrounds together, the stage is immediately set for
sharing professional experience. Learning from each other begins immediately with
the group leader or faculty person facilitating the process. Each participant is
considered an authority in his or her own work, who is coming to learn new skills.
While it is beyond the scope of this chapter to discuss the training in hypnosis of
psychiatric residents and psychological interns Parish, 1975), these groups can be
effectively integrated into these workshops if the majority of participants are
already established in their postgraduate careers.
The ®rst topic purposely introduces the historical ®gures in hypnosis. By sharing
Mesmer's dif®culties in treating the 18-year-old blind daughter of a wealthy and
in¯uential civil servant whose family lost her disability pension on return of her
vision, the workshop participants can immediately relate to their own patients
whose initial recoveries do not last when the consequences of recovery are
outweighed by the loss of disability incomes. They can understand and relate to
Mesmer's moving to Paris from Vienna for a `deserved rest' following the
controversy surrounding his initially successful intervention Laurence & Perry,
1986). Each historical ®gure from Mesmer to Erickson is presented in personal
terms that relate to the current clinical issues facing each of the participants.
History becomes `us'not `them'and lives again.
After reviewing the myths and misperceptions of hypnosis and reminding the
participants that hypnosis is not a therapy itself, but rather an adjunct to therapy, I
demonstrate a typical induction using one of the participants who volunteers. The
induction is simple and straightforward while at the same time quite complex and
illustrative of hypnotic phenomena: eye ®xation, internal absorption, relaxation of
body, increasing quietness of mind, arm rigidity, imaging, and suggestions for
further success in learning hypnotic techniques.
Members of the group are reminded that the workshop is an educational format
and not a therapeutic one. Therefore, any interest in pursuing insights into personal
problems while in trance is strongly discouraged. In fact, I state that such material,
even if fresh from their own current therapist sessions, be `parked'at the door.
Participants welcome and value this important boundary reminder and understand
that unless the context is appropriate, as it is in their own therapist's of®ce, personal
therapy has no place in an educational format. Abreactions seldom if ever occur,
and are, in part, `screened'out by pre-registration interviewing of each participant.
Nonetheless, occasionally disturbing material surfaces and is handled by the leader
privately if possible after the session. Rarely, participants are asked to avoid
trancework during the remainder of the workshop or at least not to practice age
regression if that exercise created the initial dif®culty. Clinical judgment in the
group leader, who should be an experienced psychotherapist, is always valued and
useful. Such interventions are his or hers and not the responsibility of the group
members despite the previous discussion on equality in adult educational experiences.