A case study is presented of a woman suffering from global amnesia so profound that she had lost all sense of personal identity. Hypnotherapy was used to establish, through imagery, a solid inner core on which to rebuild a sense of self. From the image of a strong column on which rested a book with a golden lock (her history), to reading about other lives, books and stories were utilized to establish a safe external environment in which the reawakening of repressed memories was no longer perceived as dangerous. A discussion of relevant literature on the subjects of global amnesia, loss of personal identity, and post-traumatic stress is offered as a basis for discussing the present case.

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There is a strong historical precedent for the use of hypnosis as a therapeutic modality. Freud studied with two early hypnosis practitioners, Charcot and Breuer, and used this art in his practice. In discussing the idealization of the object (i.e., the image of the significant person in the mind of the individual), Freud (1905/ 1953b) was impressed by hypnotized subjects' credulous submissiveness to the hypnotist. Comparing hypnosis to being in love, Freud pointed out that just as the loved object often stands in the place of the idealized aspect of the self, the essence of hypnosis resides in an unconscious fixation of the subject's libido to the hypnotist as an ego ideal.Schilder and Kauders (1927/1956) agreed with Freud that hypnosis and suggestion have an erotic root. Submission to authority has an eroticmasochistic component. Subjects project their desires for magical powers onto the hypnotist and, subsequently, by the process of identification, attain those powers that they would not otherwise be able to ascribe to themselves.

In this article, three cases of sexual abuse are reviewed in the context of age, intensity and duration of the trauma. The questions explored concern the prognosis for positive therapeutic outcome. Crucial factors appear to include the meaning of the experience for the individual involved, the identity of the abuser and the level of autonomy exerted or regained in reworking memories or reframing the experience in the therapeutic setting. An examination of the literature on childhood trauma and sexual abuse provides a framework for the discussion of these cases. Hypnosis is found to be a valuable tool for helping the patient revivify the experience, replacing feelings of shame and guilt with a sense of efficacy and autonomy. e 1992, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.