Hypnotherapy for Traumatic Grief: Janetian and Modern Approaches Integrated
Traumatic grief occurs when psychological trauma obstructs mourning. Nosologically, it is related to pathological grief and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Therapeutic advances from both fields make it clear that the trauma per se must be accessed before mourning can proceed. The gamut of psychotherapies has been employed, but hypnosis appears to be the most specific. Pierre Janet provided a remarkably modern conceptual basis for diagnosis and treatment based on a dissociation model. His approach is combined with contemporary innovations to present a systematic and integrated account of hypnotherapy for traumatic grief.
Hypnosis is widely used in the treatment of pathological grief but is much underreported. It speeds and facilitates mourning and makes possible a personal reorientation to the future (Fromm & Eisen, 1982; Yager, 1988). Hypnosis is specifically indicated in the resolution of traumatic grief. Grief is traumatic when it follows objective and severe subjective trauma and when posttraumatic reactions inhibit mourning. In recent years, reports of traumatic..