Night Terrors

July 2005

DEAR DEL,
I have a 6-1/2 year old daughter who has terrible night terrors every night and has been having them for two years now. What can be done to help her with these?

ANSWER:
Hypnosis and other methods that use one's imagination are exceptionally helpful in helping children conquer their fears. Night terrors can come from various sources: a television program, hearing about a child kidnapped from their home or other bad news concerning children, fear of the loss of a parent or both parents, or perhaps a scary story. Night terrors that begin suddenly can also be caused by molestation - sexual abuse is far more frequent than we can ever imagine. Get your child to a good counselor who is also a qualified hypnotherapist, especially one used to working with young children, or to a certified "play" therapist. As for what a parent can do, once you've ruled out the above possibilities, you can ask your child what animal she thinks is the bravest of all animals. Once you have her tell you why she feels that animal is so brave, then suggest that whenever she goes to bed she imagine that she has changed into that animal. You'd be surprised at how something so simple can often help a child feel they have power over something they didn't feel they could conquer before. I hope this is helpful to you.

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