Sharpening the Focus on Trauma

A few years ago, I decided to deliberately target and resolve traumatic memories early on in my client interventions, rather than waiting for them to arise. Doing so allowed me to deliver more complete results even more quickly than before. I have also learned to look for possible secondary gains upfront, especially with clients who seem inexplicably stuck in a “self-destructive” state. Removing the benefit provided by a chronic problem can facilitate its resolution.

Since then, I have tightened the focus of my one-on-one client work to address trauma resolution exclusively. I can say with certainty that trauma, of any size, type, or frequency, has been the foundation of many of my clients’ emotional and behavioral challenges. Selectively focusing on trauma cases is extremely rewarding, as it represents an opportunity to make the greatest difference to one person in the shortest amount of time.

Conclusion

One objective of my writing this paper is to challenge and inspire hypnotists and psychotherapists to dramatically improve their effectiveness with clients. Such improvement requires an understanding of the full spectrum of causes and symptoms, the recognition that trauma is an unrecognized factor in many emotional and behavioral issues, and the application of the most advanced and effective techniques.

It also requires therapists to rethink the conventional treatment model and its inherent conflicts of interest. Ask honestly, “Am I willing to relearn or unlearn much of what I was taught in school to become more effective and efficient, and am I willing to break any financial dependency on my clients’ long-term dependency on me?” Strong ethics and significant courage are needed to answer “Yes” and take a bold step forward and lead other health and wellness professionals.

It is also my hope and expectation that readers who have been impacted by trauma will be empowered to successfully remove their thorns and uproot their weeds so that their garden of life will be a beautiful place to visit and enjoy.

I believe that our birthright is to shed the unnecessary baggage we have picked up along the way, so we can blossom fully as individuals and share our unique gifts with the world.