Fear of Unlocking the Cause

QUESTION:

I am curious about hypnotherapy for my 13 year old son, and wondering if you think it could help him. I was told you are excellent with kids. My son has quite a wide range of problems and has had many different diagnoses over the years. I have taken him to counselors, psychiatrists and regular medical doctors. He is on medication for "mood disorder not otherwise specified" and has ADHD. He has also been said to have had Dysthymic disorder, ODD, PTSD, and conduct disorder at one time or another. He is currently taking Adderall for ADHD and Risperdal for "mood disorder". He does have a psychiatrist and separate therapist but he continues to have difficulty with anxiety, behavior, anger, focus, auditory and visual hallucinations, and hyper-sexuality, which he has unfortunately acted out.

I feel very strongly that he has been subjected to some kind of trauma early on in life and that he cannot or does not want to remember it. I also feel that until he discovers what the core issue is he will be unable to be healed and will continue to be plagued by his symptoms. Simple fear has kept me from contacting you up until tonight. I am concerned that even though my son is willing to give hypnotherapy a shot that whatever gets unlocked could be devastating. I just want to make sure that he is able to face whatever "it" is. I don't know much about how hypnotherapy works firsthand but even if you were able to relieve some of his anxiety and give his mind some rest, it would be worth it. Please let me know what you think. Thanks so much.

ANSWER:

A lot of the time, I find that negative imprints on the mind can be changed or removed without the client having to go back to the source. This means that neither the client or the therapist has to know what the cause of a problem is.

 If I find it necessary for a client to the origin of a trauma, I make sure that he or she is comfortable and will look on the incident as an objective reporter.  I believe that the unconscious-subconscious, or deeper mind will only elicit what a person is able to deal with at the time. Even if he should become upset (we call it abreaction) I'm skilled to deal with it.  Often times, I let the client create a place in their imagination that feels comfortable and safe, and then suggest they return to that place, in their mind, at any time during our session, should they feel in any way anxious. So there are several ways to help someone like your son feel good throughout any session he might have with me.

I find that most children and youth, regardless of the anxiety they might have, enjoy hypnosis far more than regular counseling.  It works quickly, they don’t have to talk a lot about their situation, and they feel relaxed and pleasant after each session.  The major thing is that your son must be willing to come to me.  I don't try to repeat what his other therapists are doing, and I am most willing to be in contact with his counselors, should that be helpful, as long as he give permission to do so. If there is any concern as to whether he would agree, I provide a complementary 15-minute consultation, in which I would discuss with both of you as to whether I can be helpful.