Forgetting Truma (PTSD)

Question

          I would like to know if you can perform hypnosis on someone to forget about a traumatic event. I have a part of my past that I would like to forget.

Answer

          It's my policy NOT to try to get someone to forget what's happened to them, because I don't know what doing that might mean for your overall spirit.  What I do with hypnosis is to assist the incident either to be changed into a happier result or to release its hold on you in some other way.  The "hold" over you is more the problem than the actual situation, which, now, remains a memory.  Memories can be changed or softened, at the very least. 

           The one time it is helpful to blank out memories is right after a trauma has taken place, until the person is ready to remember and release its influence upon them.  For instance, sometimes a hypnotherapist can help a person remember an attack right after it happens, in order to assist the police; and then encourage that person to forget the incident until ready to handle it.