1st Flr 302 Pacific Hwy Lindfield NSW 2070
Telephone: (02) 9415 6500
Fax: (02) 9415 6588
ACN: 001 173 100 ABN: 41 001 173 100
Website: www.aah.edu.au
Email: admin@aah.edu.au
Executive Director: Leon W. Cowen
DCH, Dip Hyp Mast (USA), Grad Dip App Hyp, Mast CH MAHA, MATMS
AHA Phobias Workshop 29-5-04
Presented by
Leon W. Cowen
Workshop Outline
Aim:
To provide information regarding a varied therapeutic approaches to assisting clients with phobias.
Learning Outcomes:
Demonstrate a basic understanding of the therapy process.
Demonstrate a basic understanding of phobias.
Demonstrate a basic understanding of possible therapeutic interventions to be used with a phobic client.
Teaching Methods:
Lectures, Class Discussion, Role Plays
Suggested Reading:
Robert Rainey (1997) Retrieved : May 5, 2005, from http://www.phobialist.com/treat.html
Kraft, Tom; Kraft, David Creating A Virtual Reality In Hypnosis: A Case of Driving Phobia. Contemporary
Hypnosis. 21(2):79-85, 2004.
Moore, Rod 1; Brodsgaard, Inger 1,2; Abrahamsen, Randi 1 A 3-year comparison of dental anxiety treatment
outcomes: hypnosis, group therapy and individual desensitization vs. no specialist treatment.
European Journal of Oral Sciences. 110(4):287-295, August 2002.
The Phobia List. (2005). Retrieved: May 5, 2005, from http://www.phobialist.com/
Kluger, J. (2001).Fear Not! Retrieved: May 5, 2005, from http://www.ocdonline.com/timearticle1.html
What is a Phobia?
How do clients acquire Phobia’s?
Leading
When dealing with clients it is extremely important that the therapist uses the client’s reality. If the therapist
leads the therapy is made significantly more difficult.
Definition: A lead is giving the client more or different information than they have supplied pertaining to
their personal psychological structures or situation. i.e. defining the clients problem by imposing the
therapist's reality onto the client's reality.
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Types of Leads
Client says: ‘ I'm confused, my wife says she loves me but I just don't know any more.’
Obvious
Not Obvious
If you're confused she might be as well? Does don't know any more mean you
Heard the client
don't want to stay in the relationship?
It's hard to know what to do?
Not heard the Client How long have you been married?
A false memory can also be implanted when a therapist tries to change a previous event. Even if the client
makes a statement ‘ I wish it didn't happen that way’ or ‘I wish I could change that’ realise that you cannot
change the event. The only thing that can change is the attitude of the client to the event and only if the
client wishes to do so. Leading is how false memories are implanted. Be very careful
Therapy Process
This model represents the potential treatment pathways when treating a client. The demonstrates 3 possible
approaches (although more do exist) for the Clinical Hypnotherapist.
Client Presents with Symptoms – Feelings / Logic
Counselling
Identify symptoms
Identify the issue
Explore the feelings & emotions
What do they want to do
How will we know when we have achieved our outcome
Any Paradoxes
Feelings / Logic
Analytical
Feelings / Logic
Awareness
What do these techniques do?
What do these techniques do?
What techniques can be used?
Progression, Regression
Automatic Writing,Ideomotor
Quest, Dream Therapy
What techniques can be used?
Hyp Empty Chair, Empty Chr,
Counselling, Mini Script Life
Script
Why choose this alternative?
Why choose this alternative?
Feelings / Logic
Behaviour Modification
What do these techniques do?
What techniques can be used?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Cognitive Thpy, Behaviour Thpy
Rational Emotive Therapy,
Anchoring and Collapsing Anchors
Why choose this alternative?
Resolution of Issue
Notes:
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Therapeutic Approaches
Depends on the client’s requirements.
1
Hypnoanalysis: If the client wants to find the cause hypnoanalytical techniques are best. These
techniques (commonly referred to as PRAID) are:
Progression.
Regression (not age regression. Age regression is one form of regression.)
Automatic (Autonomic) Writing
Ideomotor Questioning
Dream Therapy
The aim of the Hypnoanalytical Techniques is to find the cause. E.g. Regression to the first time the client
experienced this specific fear. Be very careful, if your regression places the client back in the traumatic
situation you could re-traumatise the client.
2
Awareness: If the client wants to understand the phobia then humanistic / existential techniques are
best. E.g. Hypnotic Empty Chair – where the figure (the client’s main focus) is placed on the
imaginary chair and the client discusses their phobia
3
Behaviour Modification: If the client just wants to change their behaviour. E.g. no fear when they
are confronted with the stimulus. Techniques could be Systematic Desensitisation or Anchoring and
Collapsing Anchors. Anchoring and Collapsing Anchors can look like magic when done correctly.
Systematic Desensitisation is the practical therapeutic application of classical conditioning.
Systematic Desensitisation is where a hierarchy of fear responses is established. E.g. a list is
established from the stimulus which elicits the least amount of fear to the stimulus which elicits
the greatest amount of fear. The list may have 100 components.
Each step in the list is then paired with the relaxation response. This means the client learns to
relax and in the safety of the therapy room the therapist helps them achieve the lowest level of
phobic fear and then links it to relaxation. In this way the fear disappears and is replaced with
the relaxation. This process is continues until all steps in the list have been nullified by linking
the fear to the relaxation.
Notes:
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Anchoring and Collapsing Anchors is an NLP technique.
This technique is extremely beneficial for clients who have a concept that there are alternatives to their
current behaviour. Although not essential opposing, awareness's of the same incident are often the best as it
is easier to show the distinction between the awareness's.
e.g. Phobia: Awareness 1 (unwanted behaviour) Fear, heat, nausea
Awareness 2 (wanted behaviour)
Illogical to be scared
What you are doing is giving the client a choice of a new response from the unwanted stimulus. You will
often find you are blending feelings and logic (possibly ‘Reparenting). This outline is a Kinaesthetic Anchor
and Blend. The ‘Swish’ technique is a visual method of Anchoring and Blending.
Because this technique can involve touching the client you must get permission prior to using the technique.
Only touch in safe places e.g. hands or feet.
1
Warm up ‘Awareness 1’ then give suggestions that when I touch this finger (select a finger)
you will experience the fear, heat, nausea. Always institute the anchor as the feelings are
rising and just before they reach their apex.
2
Check that the ‘anchor’ (post hypnotic trigger) is effective by touching the trigger and
observing the conditioned response. The response needs to be strong which can be
distressing for some clients so take care. If it is not strong enough then repeat Step 1
3
Repeat steps 1 and 2 for awareness 2 till both anchors are very strong.
4
‘Blend or Collapse’ the anchors by triggering the responses simultaneously. It may be
necessary to remove the stimulation from one trigger to allow the desired behaviours to
increase in their potency thereby giving more equal stimulation.
5
Once the reactions have ceased return the anchors to normal. Give the appropriate positive
suggestions and check if the warming up of ‘Awareness 1’ has the original effects. It would be
expected that the client would have a different awareness and behaviour than they did initially.
Applying the Technique
1
Warm up awareness 1.
2
Anchor it to the selected location
3
Check the anchor for awareness 1 is responsive
4
Release the anchor for awareness 1
5
Warm up awareness 2.
6
Anchor it to the selected location
7
Check the anchor is responsive for awareness 2 is responsive
8
Trigger both anchors individually to ensure the required responsiveness is present.
9
Trigger both anchors simultaneously (Collapsing) until the response subsides
10
Return the trigger points to normal and check the response to the technique.
Notes:
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