Behavioral Health Central points out a study that demonstrates that relief from post-traumatic stress may be hours away (http://www.behavioralhealthcentral.com/index.php/20110119244564/Latest-News/relief-from-post-traumatic-stress-may-be-hours-away-moscow-pullman-daily-news-moscow-idaho.html).

From the original Moscow-Pullman Daily News (http://www.dnews.com) report:

Since July, a Washington State University doctoral student and an education professor have treated more than 30 adults with a form of hypnosis as part of a study to improve the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD doesn’t just affect soldiers. Witnesses to violence, survivors of life-threatening diseases and victims of abuse can have it, too. Many of the study participants underwent severe sexual abuse as children. Prof. Arreed Barabasz said that while veterans of trauma survived the act — be it watching a fellow soldier die in Afghanistan or enduring years of sexual abuse — they will relive and survive it many times in their minds for years to come. Flashbacks of the traumatic event can be triggered by many things, such as a door slamming or a whiff of a stranger’s cologne, Barabasz said. Ciara Christensen, 30, a counseling psychology doctoral student, said seeing an abused or neglected animal can also trigger flashbacks in someone because the person may feel as if they relate to the animal. Christensen said her undergraduate work also focused on hypnosis because she likes the idea of giving people an alternative to prescription drugs to combat mental issues. The manual she and Barabasz co-authored with psychologist John G. Watkins has been used for about six months in Afghanistan in treatment of Acute Stress Disorder. “People get re-traumatized when they have all these PTSD reactions all the time, but they don’t overcome the trauma,” Barabasz said. Participants in the study receive either the Veterans Administration-approved method of PTSD therapy, or what’s called Ego State Therapy. The ego state therapy is where the hypnotism comes in, with Barabasz taking the client’s imagination back to a traumatizing incident and then, with Christensen supporting the client, helping them work through it. The therapy, which takes five to six hours, usually requires only a single session in Barabasz’ office in Cleveland Hall. Most people have many ego states, Barabasz explained. “You’re going to be different at a party or sitting in a lecture,” he said. “They are different parts of us, and we’re aware of them.” He defines hypnotism as making them able to pay attention and concentrate, which leads to controlled imagination. Imagination is controlled by the participant, not the hypnotist. Participants for the EST portion of the study need only a moderate ability to experience hypnosis, Barabasz said. During the therapy, they are taken back to the incident in their mind. Barabasz plays the role of the antagonist — the abuser, for instance — while Christensen provides encouragement to the ego state that was weakened at the time of the incident. “Essentially, Arreed becomes the (abuser),” Christensen said. “The client transfers that emotion, which they weren’t able to express at the time, … to (Barabasz) now with the added strength of me as well as their other (ego states).” Christensen said each person experiences hypnotism differently, and while some are more animated when experiencing hypnosis, others speak slower and have more limited movements. Some cry out in anger or beat the pillows on the couch.”

The Barabasz-Christensen-Watkins protocol used for their brand of Ego State Therapy can be effective in helping folks suffering from PTSD, do note that typically only one five-to-six-hour session is required. In my own hypnotherapeutic approach to similar issues, I use some components that would be similar to their approach, however, I tend not to use an “abuser” approach and when I use hypnoanalysis with regression to cause, I use a very different orientation. However, other components are similar. Of course, I tend to use a different orientation as to what hypnosis is and prefer an experiential hypnotic state when possible and have a number of other processes included in my own work that have been shown to have effectiveness.

In any case, their data does seem to strongly support the use of hypnotic methods of this type over less effective forms of cognitive or behavioral therapy. Certainly, a LOT of military personnel and others who would not otherwise be helped are receiving valuable and effective help to overcome what can be an incredibly overwhelming issue that can greatly lower the quality of life of trauma survivors as well as their families, friends, and others.

This is very important as even though there have been a number of previous projects – some dating back as far as World War Two – that have shown that hypnosis can be very helpful in helping soldiers overcome shellshock or PTSD, there was a period in the midcentury that all but erased legitimate research efforts in this area and even today there are those who still – wrongly – consider hypnosis to be a fringe research area despite numerous studies and neurological experiments verifying its validity and primary effectiveness in this and similar applications.

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