1981
leinhauz, Moris; Beran, B. (1981). Misuses of hypnosis: A medical emergency and its treatment. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 29 (2), 148-161.
Hypnosis is an intense interpersonal relationship requiring 2-way respect and involvement. Inadequate understanding of this dynamic relationship, and a consequent inability to cope with its potential dangers, may result in posthypnotic trauma. Unless treated carefully by a hypnotherapist who is experienced in both the techniques of dehypnotization and the utilization of psychotherapy, such traumas may persist for a very long time. In this paper, one striking case illustrates mishandling of the hypnotic event and immediate posthypnotic treatment and details the procedure by which successful treatment was eventually determined.
1979
Kleinhauz, Moris; Dreyfuss, Daniel A.; Beran, Barbara; Goldberg, Tova; Azikri, David (1979). Some after-effects of stage hypnosis: A case study of psychopathological manifestations. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 27, 219-226.
Some deleterious effects of stage hypnosis are described through a case report. A middle-aged respected member of a kibbutz who became the subject of an evening’s entertainment by a stage hypnotist suffered a posttraumatic neurosis. The stage hypnotist, unaware of her traumatic childhood during World War II when she and her sister were hidden by Gentiles, requested her to regress to that age. This reactivated a former successfully repressed trauma and acted as a precipitating factor to the development of a traumatic neurosis which was left untreated. She was self-referred for adequate psychiatric treatment 11 years ater. This treatment successfully restored her to an adequate level of functioning.
1978
Pettinati, Helen M.; Evans, Frederick J. (1978). Posthypnotic amnesia: Evaluation of selective recall of successful experiences. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 26 (4), 317-329.
Following suggestions of posthypnotic amnesia, Ss who are unresponsive to hypnosis tend to recall those suggestions that they passed rather than the ones that they failed; similar trends in hypnotizable Ss have been equivocal (Hilgard & Hommel, 1961; O’Connell, 1966). Modifications on the present selective recall index were developed to take into account the differences in the total recall pools available to hypnotizable and unhypnotizable individuals (who also differ in the total numer of successful experiences), for the purpose of clarifying the amount of potential bias in the scoring procedure that may be accounting for previous ambiguous results. A sample of 88 volunteers were administered the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (Shor & E. Orne, 1962). Both high and low hypnotizable Ss recalled more passed experiences during posthypnotic amnesia than would be expected by chance when alternative scoring procedures were used. This result is in accord with findings in other contexts in the normal memory literature. Although highly hypnotizable Ss were less likely to selectively recall successful experiences than were low hypnotizable Ss using 5 different scoring procedures, the differences between high and low Ss were not significant.
1977
Anderson, J. W. (1977). Defensive maneuvers in two incidents involving the Chevreul pendulum: A clinical note. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 25, 4-6.
NOTES
“Hypnosis frequently facilitates increased access to the unconscious. In both of these cases, the hypnotized subject gained contact with a thought which otherwise would likely have remained out of awareness. Then the ego quickly resorted to defensive maneuvers in order to deny the thought” (p. 6).
Duncan, B.; Perry, C. (1977). Uncancelled hypnotic suggestions: Initial studies. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 19, 166-176.
Despite considerable anecdotal evidence of uncancelled hypnotic suggestions persisting posthypnotically, no laboratory investigation of the phenomenon’s parameters has ever been attempted. From the literature on posthypnotic suggestion, one might expect uncancelled suggestions to have a quasi-automatic component and to be affected additionally by social, expectational and interactional variables. The report summarizes three initial investigations of parameters that may affect the carry over of uncancelled suggestions into the posthypnotic period. IN the first two, the incidence of uncancelled suggestions influencing behaviour following hypnosis was low. In a third experiment, there was a marked increase in the number of Ss manifesting the phenomenon. This appeared to be related to the hypnotist’s instruction that Ss would experience all effects suggested for as long as the hypnotist asked them to. The finding is interpreted in the light of evidence indicating that highly hypnotizable Ss may imbue the hypnotist’s communications with special meaning. The role of Ss motives, attitudes and sets, and of differences in specialized skills among highly hypnotizable Ss are also discussed as a basis for future investigation of other parameters affecting the phenomenon’s occurrence.
Ryken, Klazina; Coe, William C. (1977, August). Sequelae to hypnosis in perspective. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco.
Sequelae associated with hypnosis are generally described in clinical contexts. The present study, however, examined the aftereffects of hypnosis in an experimental context, using appropriate control groups for comparison. A standard, self- report questionnaire was administered to six groups of subjects: two groups had been hypnotized and four groups had not been hypnotized. The results indicated that hypnosis created no more negative sequelae than most of the non-hypnotic conditions and actually resulted in more positive outcomes than some of the non-hypnotic conditions.
1976
Stewart, C. G.; Dunlap, W. P. (1976). Functional isolation of associations during suggested posthypnotic amnesia. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 24, 426-434.
A search was made for functional isolation effects of hypnotic amnesia that do not derive directly from either the explicit content or simple demand characteristics of amnesia instructions. The frequency of response repetition on a word association task was investigated as a function of posthypnotically suggested recall amnesia during the normal waking state. A trace of evidence for predicted amnesia effects occurred with only 1 out of 6 intensively trained, highly susceptible subjects. The results are compatible with the view that (a) suggested recall amnesia produces a disturbance of the retrieval process similar to source amnesia, and (b) indirect associational measures then merely serve to stimulate retrieval.
1974
Hilgard, Josephine R. (1974). Sequelae to hypnosis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 22 (4), 281-298.
An interview sample of 120 university students yielded evidence that 15% had some kind of reaction to hypnosis that endured an hour or longer following an individual Form C session subsequent to group hypnosis. If those with short-term reactions lasting from 5 minutes to 1 hour are added, the number with some lingering effect rises to 31%. Although these symptoms following laboratory hypnosis were not found to be severe, their presence is of importance both for theoretical and practical reasons. Although as found in an earlier study, sequelae to hypnosis were more frequent among those with unpleasant reactions to earlier childhood anesthesia, the difference did not reach statistical significance.
1970
Fromm, Erika (1970). Age regression with unexpected reappearance of a repressed childhood language. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 18, 79-88.
Describes the case of a 26-yr-old, 3rd-generation Japanese-American who thought he knew no Japanese. When hypnotically age-regressed to levels below age 4, he spontaneously and unexpectedly spoke Japanese, while only English was spoken at the adult and age-regression levels above 4 yr. The psychodynamics of the S”s repression of the childhood language and questions pertaining to the nature and theory of age regression are discussed. (Spanish & German summaries) (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2003 APA, all rights reserved)
1968
Faw, Volney; Sellers, David J.; Wilcox, Warren W. (1968). Psychopathological effects of hypnosis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 16, 26-37.
The probability that hypnotic induction produces psychopathological effects has not been experimentally determined. The present study hypothesizes various negative effects following hypnosis such as increased signs of personality disturbances, increased need for medical attention, greater tendencies toward suicide, and negative effects among the more maladjusted persons of the population sample. 107 college students were assigned at random to experimental and control groups. The experimental group was hypnotized 3 times in successive weeks. A comparison between control and experimental groups in respect to pre- and post-MMPI score differences plus a follow-up with the college counseling center and infirmary for a 90-day period following induction led to the rejection of the hypotheses. A comparison of measures yielded some significant differences in favor of the experimental group. It is concluded that there are nondetrimental effects when hypnosis is used with a normal college population.
Sakata, Kenneth I. (1968). Report on a case of failure to dehypnotize and subsequent reputed aftereffects. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 16 (4), 221-228.
The failure of a hypnotized S to execute a suggested task may have contributed to a failure to dehypnotize, the repression of the unsuccessful task after awakening, and a prolongation or reinstatement of hypnosis 3 days later. Some interview material and procedures utilized in handling the problems encountered are presented. (French & German summaries) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
1966
Cooper, L. M. (1966). Spontaneous and suggested posthypnotic source amnesia. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 14 (2), 180-193.
The occurrence of spontaneous and/or suggested posthypnotic source amnesia was investigated in a sample of 93 introductory psychology students. Ss were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups, served as Ss on 2 successive days, and were administered the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, Form C. For 1 group, source amnesia was suggested on 1 day and was not suggested on the 2nd day; this order was reversed for the 2nd group. 2 Ss (2%) showed spontaneous source amnesia on 1 of the 2 days and a significantly larger number, 8 (9%), showed suggested source amnesia. With a less rigid criterion of scoring source amnesia, the frequency of spontaneous source amnesia increased to 15% and suggested source amnesia to 11%. Spontaneous source amnesia correlated .57 with susceptibility, and suggested source amnesia, .34 with susceptibility. A correlation of .48 was found between recall amnesia and spontaneous source amnesia and .49 between recall amnesia and suggested source amnesia. (Spanish & German summaries) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)
1965
Kost, Paul F. (1965). Dangers of hypnosis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 13 (4), 220-225.
The various kinds of complications which have been associated with hypnosis are reviewed, and it is concluded that they have been greatly exaggerated. The dangers that are involved in hypnosis occur through ignorance, overzealousness, lack of understanding of the bases of interpersonal relationships, and the irresponsible acts of those who would use the technique for entertainment. [Author”s Abstract]
Orne, Martin T. (1965). Undesirable effects of hypnosis: The determinants and management. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 226-237.
Various kinds of complications arising from the use of hypnosis are reviewed. The distinction is drawn between the induction of hypnosis when it is perceived as an episodic event, as in a laboratory context, versus the effect when it is perceived as leading to permanent changes, as in a therapeutic context. An attempt is made to draw these and other distinctions in order to understand better the possible sources of difficulties. [Author Abstract]
SEXUALITY
2001
Gibbons, Don E. (2001). Experience as an art form: Hypnosis, hyperempiria, and the Best Me technique. San Jose CA: Authors Choice Press. (([available online:] http//www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/marketplace))
NOTES
The Best Me Technique is a procedure for constructing suggestions which incorporates many different dimensions of experience — beliefs, emotions, sensations, thoughts, motives, and expectations — for maximum involvement and effectiveness. Best Me suggestions may be used with either hyperempiria, an alert induction based on suggestions of mind expansion and increased alertness and sensitivity, or with more traditional forms of hypnotic induction.
1999
Kirsch, Irving; Lynn, Steven Jay (1999). Automaticity in clinical psychology. American Psychologist, 54 (7), 504-515.
The authors provide an overview of the literature on the ability of response expectancies to elicit automatic responses in the form of self-fulfilling prophecies and link it to the broader psychological investigation of automatic processes. The authors review 3 areas of research in which response expectancies have been shown to affect experience, behavior, and physiology: placebo effects, the effects of false biofeedback on sexual arousal, and the alteration of perceptual and cognitive functions by hypnotic and nonhypnotic suggestion. Also reviewed are data suggesting that all behavior, including novel and intentional behavior, is initiated automatically. Following this review, the authors summarize some of the ways in which knowledge of response expectancy effects and other automatic processes that influence experience and behavior can enhance clinical practice.
NOTES
Although expectancy accounts for some variance in the development of classical hypnosis effects, it is also true that “experimental data suggest that faking accounts for relatively few of these effects” (p. 507). “The best predictors of hypnotic suggestibility are waking suggestibility and response expectancy, and expectancy remains a significant predictor of hypnotic response even with waking suggestibility controlled (Braffman & Kirsch, in press; Kirsch, 1997)” (p. 508). The authors theorize that automatisms (like Chevreul pendulum) are “responses that are primed for automatic activation by two response sets: an intention and an expectancy for their occurrence” (p. 508). They suggest that most behavior is routine, virtually automatic, because cognitive structures like schemas, scripts, or plans that are outside immediate awareness trigger the behavior. They cite research by Libet (1985) and hypotheses developed by Nisbett & Wilson (1977) and Dennett (1991), concluding that “the feeling of will is a judgment, rather than an introspected content” (p. 509). The authors discuss the Chevreul pendulum phenomenon in terms of expectancy theory and explore how their theory would apply to psychotherapy.
1995
Kirsch, Irving; Lynn, Steven Jay (1999). Automaticity in clinical psychology. American Psychologist, 54 (7), 504-515.
The authors provide an overview of the literature on the ability of response expectancies to elicit automatic responses in the form of self-fulfilling prophecies and link it to the broader psychological investigation of automatic processes. The authors review 3 areas of research in which response expectancies have been shown to affect experience, behavior, and physiology: placebo effects, the effects of false biofeedback on sexual arousal, and the alteration of perceptual and cognitive functions by hypnotic and nonhypnotic suggestion. Also reviewed are data suggesting that all behavior, including novel and intentional behavior, is initiated automatically. Following this review, the authors summarize some of the ways in which knowledge of response expectancy effects and other automatic processes that influence experience and behavior can enhance clinical practice.
NOTES
Although expectancy accounts for some variance in the development of classical hypnosis effects, it is also true that “experimental data suggest that faking accounts for relatively few of these effects” (p. 507). “The best predictors of hypnotic suggestibility are waking suggestibility and response expectancy, and expectancy remains a significant predictor of hypnotic response even with waking suggestibility controlled (Braffman & Kirsch, in press; Kirsch, 1997)” (p. 508). The authors theorize that automatisms (like Chevreul pendulum) are “responses that are primed for automatic activation by two response sets: an intention and an expectancy for their occurrence” (p. 508). They suggest that most behavior is routine, virtually automatic, because cognitive structures like schemas, scripts, or plans that are outside immediate awareness trigger the behavior. They cite research by Libet (1985) and hypotheses developed by Nisbett & Wilson (1977) and Dennett (1991), concluding that “the feeling of will is a judgment, rather than an introspected content” (p. 509). The authors discuss the Chevreul pendulum phenomenon in terms of expectancy theory and explore how their theory would apply to psychotherapy.
1995
American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs (1995). Report on memories of childhood abuse. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 43 (2), 114-117.
NOTES
“The AMA considers the technique of ‘memory enhancement’ in the area of childhood sexual abuse to be fraught with problems of potential misapplication” (p. 114). “Most controversial are those ‘memories’ that surface only in therapy and those from either infancy or late childhood (including adolescence)” (p. 114)
Ganaway, George K. (1995). Hypnosis, childhood trauma, and dissociative identity disorder: Toward an integrative theory. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 43 (2), 127-144.
It is contended that prevailing exogenous trauma theory provides in most cases neither a sufficient nor a necessary explanation for the current large number of diagnosed cases of dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder) and related dissociative syndromes purported to have arisen as a response to severe early childhood physical and sexual abuse. Relevant aspects of instinctual drive theory, ego psychology, object relations theory, self psychology, social psychological theory, sociocultural influences, and experimental hypnosis findings are drawn on to demonstrate the importance of adopting a more integrative theoretical perspective in the diagnosis and treatment of severe dissociative syndromes. Further cooperative experimental and clinical research on the etiology, prevalence, and clinical manifestations of the group of dissociative disorders is strongly encouraged.
Guyer, Charles G. II; Van Patten, Isaac T. (1995). The treatment of incest offenders — a hypnotic approach: A brief communication. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 43 (3), 266-273.
Incest has become more prominent in public awareness over the past 15 years. The major focus of this interest has been on the incest survivor. The incest offender has received less attention. A hypnotic approach to treating incest offenders is outlined that involves a seven-stage approach. A case example is presented and future research directions suggested.
Holroyd, Jean (1995). Handbook of clinical hypnosis, by Judith W. Rhue, Steven Jay Lynn, & Irving Kirsch (Eds.) [Review]. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 43 (4), 401-403.
NOTES
“This is a book for the thinking clinician” (p. 401). “The editors are to be congratulated for making this volume much more coherent than most edited books” (p. 402). “My impression is that the book is best suited for an intermediate or advanced course on hypnotherapy, or for people who are already using hypnosis in treatment. Although there is some material on the basics of hypnotic inductions and a few introductory sample scripts for inductions, a beginners” course should probably use a different book, or this book could be accompanied by an inductions manual. … I recommend it very highly” (p. 403).
Levitt, Eugene E.; Pinnell, Cornelia Mare (1995). Some additional light on the childhood sexual abuse-psychopathology axis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 43 (2), 145-162.
This exposition is an attempt to unravel the complexities of the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and adult psychopathology. Four facets of the relationship are examined in some detail: (a) the extent of childhood sexual abuse; (b) the probability that sexual abuse in childhood will result in psychopathology in the adult; (c) the reliability of early life memories in later life; and (d) the role of recovered memory of trauma in the healing process. The conclusions of this logico-empirical analysis are that first, government statistics tend to underestimate the extent of childhood sexual abuse, whereas independent surveys tend to overestimate it. Estimating prevalence is further complicated by variations in the definitions of key terms. Possibly the only safe conclusion is that true prevalence cannot be reliably determined. Second, empirical investigations of childhood sexual abuse conclude that not all victims are emotionally injured. A substantial number of these investigations find that a majority of victims suffer no extensive harm. Other variables such as family dynamics are involved; there may be only a few cases in which emotional harm results from sexual abuse as a single factor. Third, memory research suggests that memory in general is a dynamic, reconstructive process and that recall of childhood events is particularly vulnerable to distortion. Memory cannot dependably produce historical truth. Last, there is some clinical evidence that abreaction of a traumatic event in adulthood may have a remediative effect. Similar evidence for childhood trauma is lacking. The belief in the healing effect of recalling and reliving a childhood trauma depends on the therapist’s orientation
Nagy, Thomas F. (1995). Incest memories recalled in hypnosis — a case study: A brief communication. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 43 (2), 118-126.
Accuracy of repressed memories recovered in hypnosis cannot be reliably determined with any greater certainty than non-hypnotically recalled events. Therefore, the practice of therapists’ accepting hypnotically enhanced memories as veridical, absent corroborating evidence, is not advocated. A 52-year-old woman with a 27-year history of panic attacks and sleep disorder inadvertently recovered incest memories in hypnosis. Photographs and remembered events by other family members were thought by the patient to provide general support although they did not constitute actual proof of abuse. Implications are discussed.
Smith, William H. (1995). Hypnosis in the treatment of sexual trauma: A master class commentary. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 43 (4), 366-368.
NOTES
Author was asked to respond to two questions:
Is there a role for hypnosis in work with rape victims?
How does the therapist avoid the pitfalls of voyeurism and revictimization?
1994
Adrian, Cheri (1994, August). Sexual feelings in hypnosis: Managing therapeutic boundaries in hypnotic work. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles.
Therapist countertransference has been little addressed in discussions of hypnosis, particularly the sexual feelings that may be evoked in therapists in the hypnotic context. These are some of the most disturbing and problematic feelings therapists can experience toward patients, and they are little addressed in training. This issue is important both because of our increasing efforts to prevent sexual boundary violations in therapy and because therapist sexual feelings, like other countertransference feelings, can have important clinical meanings that are often avoided or ignored. This discussion defines the nature and purposes of patient-therapist boundaries. It describes the various dynamics which have been identified in therapists who become confused about sexual boundaries and proceed to mismanage them. It then elaborates the ways that using hypnosis may create special vulnerability for the therapist, not only to experiencing sexual feelings toward patients, but to becoming confused about their meaning and relevance to treatment. The discussion focuses attention on the origins and clinical significance of therapist sexual feelings, and acknowledges that such feelings may serve both awareness enhancing and defensive functions in the therapeutic process. A clinical case example illustrates various kinds of sexual feelings therapists may experience, the many meanings therapist sexual feelings may have, the various discomforts they typically generate, and the impulses to avoidance or acting out they may provoke. Further discussion addresses both clinically appropriate and inappropriate ways of managing boundaries in the presence of sexual arousal, and of utilizing sexual feelings as a means of deepening clinical understanding and of directing treatment. (ABSTRACT from Bulletin of Division 30, Psychological Hypnosis, Fall 1994, Vol. 3, No. 3.)
Bloom, Peter B. (1994). Clinical guidelines in using hypnosis in uncovering memories of sexual abuse: A master class commentary. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 42 (3), 173-178.
NOTES
Gives case example and clinical guidelines for using hypnosis in uncovering memories of sexual abuse. 1. In medical practice, “Primum non nocere,” i.e. “First do no harm.” 2. “No therapist should ever, either directly or indirectly, suggest abuse outside of a specific therapeutic context–certainly not to a client who is on the phone making a first appointment!” 3. “A therapist must not jump quickly to the conclusion that abuse occurred simply because it is plausible.” 4. “A therapist should never simply assume that a client who cannot remember much from childhood is repressing traumatic memories or is in denial.” 5. “Remember ‘a client is most vulnerable to suggestion and the untoward influence of leading questions when therapy begins to delve into painful life situations from the past, particularly from childhood.'” 6. “Therapists … should be cautious about suggesting that clients cut off communication with their families.” 7. “Therapists should reconsider the ‘no pain, no gain’ philosophy of treatment.” 8. “The context of therapy is as important as the content.” 9. “Tolerate ambiguity.” (Sincerity and conviction on the part of the patient reporting abuse are not in and of themselves reason to believe the material.) 10. “Respect the current science of memory.” 11. “Maintain responsibility for making the diagnosis and choosing the treatment.” 12. “Pursue alternative diagnoses to account for the symptoms.” 13. “Historical and narrative truth: Understand the difference.”
COMMENT
The tenet that insight is necessary for change and growth is not true. Change can occur without insight, although insight may be helpful in maintaining change once it has occurred.
SUMMARY
These guidelines are presented to enhance safe practice, however, clinicians should use their own judgement to determine the best path to follow with each patient.
NOTE
Guidelines 1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 are those of Peter B. Bloom. Those labeled as Guidelines 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 were taken with permission from Yapko, M. (1993 September/October). “The seductions of memory. The false memory debate.” Family Therapy Networker, 17, pp. 30-37. All discussions, however, are those of Peter B. Bloom.
Bowers, Kenneth S. (1994, October). Bringing balance to controversy. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, San Francisco.
NOTES
Skeptics argue that concept of “repression” has no scientific merit, though even if a valid concept, it wouldn’t validate all memories recovered. Skeptics regard laboratory evidence as essential, while clinicians are impressed by case reports. See Polonyi, _Personal Knowledge_.
It is not reasonable to say there is no evidence for fugue states, when seeing one, if it has not been demonstrated in the laboratory. But you can investigate some of the phenomena in the laboratory.
Most of the time it is an affectively loaded idea that is repressed; in contrast, trauma usually lead to intrusions into consciousness. So repression of a traumatic event may be a rare way to deal with the event.
Claims for repression and ESP differ in that there are probably observable mechanisms in the former (e.g. thought avoidance). If a person ejects thoughts about a topic frequently enough, the ejections become automatic. Freud’s original description of repression used the word “intentional” and it was a footnote that took out that idea. (See Erdelyi’s publications).
Recent research we conducted on intuition and on problem solving is relevant to this problem.
[The remainder of Bowers’ presentation is not summarized here.]
Loftus, Elizabeth; Polonsky, Sara; Fullilove, Mindy Thompson (1994). Memories of childhood sexual abuse: Remembering and repressing. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18, 67-84.
Women involved in out-patient treatment for substance abuse were interviewed to examine their recollections of childhood sexual abuse. Overall, 54% of the 105 women reported a history of childhood sexual abuse. Of these, the majority (81%) remembered all or part of the abuse their whole lives; 19% reported they forgot the abuse for a period of time, and later the memory returned. Women who remembered the abuse their whole lives reported a clearer memory, with a more detailed picture. They also reported greater intensity of feelings at the time the abuse happened. Women who remembered the abuse their whole lives did not differ from others in terms of the violence of the abuse or whether the violence was incestuous. These data bear on current discussions concerning the extent to which repression is a common way of coping with childhood sexual abuse trauma, and also bear on some widely held beliefs about the correlates of repression.
NOTES
In previous research, it was reported that violent or incestuous abuse is particularly susceptible to repression. This study differs from previous investigations in the definition of violence. In the present study, ‘violence’ is defined as any act involving vaginal, oral, or anal sex. Earlier research defined ‘violence’ as involving sexual assault with physical injury or fear of death.
Depending on the definition of repression, a sizeable minority (31% or almost 1/5) of this sample forgot their earlier abuse for a period of time. The authors state that this suggests there is little ‘robust repression’ in this sample. They cannot rule out the possibility that some women who were abused still, to this day, do not recall the experience; or that some who continue to have memory loss based on organic causes, including blackouts.
The authors suggest that future research in this area use more specific questions, including assessing whether Subjects respond to statements like: “There was a time when I would not have been able to remember the abuse, even if I had been directly asked about it,” or “There was a time when I would not have been able to report the abuse because I had no idea that it had even happened to me.” Also, when Subjects report that a memory had emerged after a period in which they had no recall, the Experimenter should enquire about how and when the recovered memory occurred.
The authors conclude that remembering abuse is more common than forgetting it.
Mulhern, Sherrill (1994). Satanism, ritual abuse, and multiple personality disorder: A sociohistorical perspective. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 42 (4), 265-288.
During the past decade in North America, a growing number of mental health professionals have reported that between 25% and 50% of their patients in treatment for multiple personality disorder (MPD) have recovered early childhood traumatic memories of ritual torture, incestuous rape, sexual debauchery, sacrificial murder, infanticide, and cannibalism perpetrated by members of clandestine satanic cults. Although hundreds of local and federal police investigations have failed to corroborate patients’ therapeutically constructed accounts, because the satanic etiology of MPD is logically coherent with the neodissociative, traumatic theory of psychopathology, conspiracy theory has emerged as the nucleus of a consistent pattern of contemporary clinical interpretation. Resolutely logical and thoroughly operational, ultrascientific psychodemonology remains paradoxically oblivious to its own irrational premises. When the hermetic logic of conspiracy theory is stripped away by historical and socio/psychological analysis, however, the hypothetical perpetrators of satanic ritual abuse simply disappear, leaving in their wake the very real human suffering of all those who have been caught up in the social delusion.
Nash, Michael R. (1994). Memory distortion and sexual trauma: The problem of false negatives and false positives. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 42 (4), 346-362.
Logically, two broad types of mnemonic errors are possible when adult psychotherapy or hypnosis patients reflect on whether they were sexually abused or not as a child. They may believe that they were not abused when in fact they were (false negative error), or they may believe they were abused when in fact they were not (false positive error). The author briefly reviews the empirical evidence for the occurrence of each of these types of errors, and illustrates each with a clinical case. Further, in considering the incidence, importance, and clinical implications of these errors, the author contends that clinical efficacy in no way assures that a false negative or a false positive has been avoided. A plea is made for theorists and researchers to acknowledge that both categories of errors can occur and to conduct future clinical and laboratory research accordingly.
Nash, Michael R. (1994, October). Reports of early sexual trauma: The problem of false negatives and false positives. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, San Francisco.
NOTES
The problem of false positives and problem of false negatives are distinct and should be treated differently. The question involves pseudomemories vs repression.
Evidence for false positives: 1. Memory research 2. Developmental psychopathology 3. Contemporary psychoanalytic theory 4. Clinical field studies
No laboratory researcher has produced false memories that are as gravid, or as emotionally loaded as early abuse.
Evidence for repression: 1. “Repressor Personality” research (Weinberger & Schwartz, who view it as a trait rather than a state). 2. Implicit memory research 3. Hypnosis research on memory (see Nash chapter in Fromm & Nash book on research in hypnosis) 4. Clinical field studies
Spanos, Nicholas P.; Burgess, Cheryl A.; Burgess, Melissa Faith (1994). Past-life identities, UFO abductions, and satanic ritual abuse: The social construction of memories. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 42 (4), 433-446.
People sometimes fantasize entire complex scenarios and later define these experiences as memories of actual events rather than as imaginings.
This article examines research associated with three such phenomena: past-life experiences, UFO alien contact and abduction, and memory reports of childhood ritual satanic abuse. In each case, elicitation of the fantasy events is frequently associated with hypnotic procedures and structured interviews which provide strong and repeated demands for the requisite experiences, and which then legitimate the experiences as “real memories.” Research associated with these phenomena supports the hypothesis that recall is reconstructive and organized in terms of current expectations and beliefs.
1993
Hawkins, Russell (1993). An analysis of hypnotherapist-client sexual intimacy. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 41, 272-286.
While sexual interaction between psychologists, physicians, and other health therapists of all kinds and their clients is typically condemned by professional bodies as unethical, the controversy regarding the potential for hypnosis to produce compliant behavior in unwilling or nonconsenting subjects suggests that hypnotherapist-client sex may warrant special attention. Because the experiments required to clarify the potential for hypnosis to potentiate nontrivial compliance are themselves unethical and/or inconclusive, experimental methods cannot be adequately used to clarify this issue. Instead, the matter can be addressed by reference to other forms of evidence, such as the responses of therapists and clients to anonymous surveys and the analysis of cases, that have reached the courts. Consideration of this qualitatively deficient evidence suggests that even if the use of hypnotic suggestion can lead to compliance to sexual demands, overt coercion is seldom used in practice. Social psychological and situational factors are particularly salient in understanding therapist-client sex. The question of whether there are special properties of the dynamics of the hypnotic experience, other than specific coercive suggestion and beyond those typically found in other forms of therapy, is considered. Comparisons are drawn with other examples of socially condemned sex, such as teacher-student sex, sexual harassment in the workplace, incest, and extramarital sex.
London, Ray William (1993, October). Refreshed adult memories: Abuse survivor or therapeutic victim?. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Arlington Heights, IL.
NOTES
The author addresses four areas: 1. public policy 2. psychological issues 3. legal issues (evidence) 4. how to properly deal with it
A definition of sexual abuse is being applied to behaviors that for years were not considered out of bounds (e.g. entering a bathroom where someone else is). Furthermore, using the word “survivor” for abused people equates patients with survivors of concentration camps, who do not present with repressed memories typically. National incidence of child abuse remains unclear estimates are 6 to 60% of females. In Florida, only 13% of cases reported are confirmed.
Some therapists who specialize in this area in surveys indicate that they have false beliefs regarding memory and effects of trauma.
[These represent only partial notes on a lengthy and substantial paper.]
Perry, Campbell (1993, October). A case of multiple allegations of masturbation by a psychiatrist during hypnotic and/or sodium amytal therapy. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Arlington Heights, IL.
NOTES
This is a case study of a Canadian psychiatrist accused by 5 women of masturbating during therapy.
Rhue, Judith W.; Lynn, Steven Jay (1993, October). Dissociation, childhood sexual abuse, and fantasy. [Paper] Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Arlington Heights, IL.