Perceptual Reconstruction in the Treatment of Inordinate Grief

Abstract

Troubled by continuing emotionally painful memories of her ill mother's face as she struggled to breathe during her terminal days in the hospital, an adult daughter requested hypnosis to "erase" those images from her memory. Since that is not feasible, the subject instead was provided in a single session with a hypnosis-based, imagery-focused strategy in which the disturbing images of her mother were replaced by hypnotically reconstructed positive memories as she had appeared in prior, happy times. This was successful: the restructured images were maintained and grew stronger over time as reported four months post-session. It was concluded that hypnotically restructured memories can be useful techniques in the management of inordinate grief.

Memory Focused Interventions (MFI) as a Therapeutic Strategy in Hypnotic Psychotherapy

“…), have common essential elements of telling and retelling the story of trauma (Spigel, 2001). Milton Erickson (Erickson & Rossi, 1989) and after him contemporary hypnotherapists (Baker & Boaz, 1983;Chen, Zeltzer, Craske, & Katz, 1999;Gravitz, 1994Gravitz, , 2001Lamb, 1985;Miller, 1986) took this orientation a step further. They not only accessed traumatic memories by helping their patients relive the traumatic events but also inserted some changes (sometimes dramatic ones) in their remembered past during the therapeutic processing of traumas.…”

“…Baker and Boaz (1983) treated dental phobia by "reformulation of traumatic memory", and Lamb (1985) and Miller (1986) utilized hypnotic regression, reconstruction and reframing in cases of simple phobias and anxiety reactions. In addition, Chen and colleagues (1999) used "alteration of memory" for reduction of children's distress during repeated aversive medical procedures and lately Gravitz (1994Gravitz ( , 2001 has shown how to use paramnesias in treating phobias, social inhibition, depressive reactions, traumatic grief and post-traumatic reactions.…”