While she was in Haiti reporting on the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, Mac McClelland witnessed a brutal rape with beating and mutilation. The experience traumatized her to the point that she lost the ability to connect emotionally with her own partner.

Her solution?

She staged her own rape in order to come in contact with and to control her own response. The change in locus of control was important for her and this allowed her to work through her issues.

Now, the headline at the ABC story on her experience at http://abcnews.go.com/Health/reporter-mac-mcclelland-stages-rape-cure-post-traumatic/story?id=13995013&singlePage=true and even McClelland’s own story at http://www.good.is/post/how-violent-sex-helped-ease-my-ptsd/ give the impression that the staging was as intense an experience as a genuine rape . . . far from it.

Keep in mind that McClelland had control in the enactment and that while the sex was rough, it was not outside her zone of tolerance . . . genuine rapes do NOT cure post-traumatic stress disorder, they make such things much worse. This was a different sort of animal, one that helped McClelland come to terms with issues she was experiencing.

Honestly, while I am very happy for McClelland and her ability to move on . . . I do not recommend this sort of an approach. There are therapeutic approaches that can reach the same outcome without the pain and humiliation.

Appropriate hypnosis methods – note the key words – with a competent qualified guide – note those key words – can be very helpful.

All the best,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com