ABSTRACT
It is important to note that the therapist had a “working map” relating to the hypnotherapy session, although it should be emphasized that this was regarded only as a general and approximate guide, with creativity and utilization being important aspects of the developing therapy. The overall approach, hypnoanalysis, can be conceptualized as a form of short-term psychodynamic therapy where hypnosis was the facilitating modus operandi. The therapist helped to facilitate the process of the “unconscious search” for the “inner healer” and for the underlying repressed dynamic that was maintaining the symptom and preventing solutions. In the “hypnosis environment”, a number of important facilitative processes are utilized. These, along with the principles of the unconscious resource or “inner healer”, make hypnoanalysis a potentially very powerful short-term dynamic psychotherapy. This chapter presents a case study that recognizes the importance of the major curative factors, for example, the therapeutic alliance, emotional catharsis, cognitive restructuring and provision of new learning experiences.
