THE WORKS OF EDGAR A.

BARNETT: VOL 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(THE RAPID REINTEGRATION PROCEDURE: EDGAR A. BARENETT & JOHN R.
TKACH: JUNICA PUBLISHING CO: ONTARIO CANADA 2005)
INSIDE COVER OF BOOK / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS / INTRODUCTION

1
1. CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS HYPNOSIS?

2
A. HYPNOTIZABILITY

6
B. RESISTENCE

8
2. CHAPTER 2: THEORY OF EGO STATE HYPNOTHERAPY

8
A. THE HISTORY OF EGO STATE THEORY

8
B. THE EMOTIONS
 9
C. THE MOTHER'S ROLE IN EMOTIONAL DISORDER

10
D. THE CHILD / PARENT

11
E. REPRESSION

12
F. THE PARENT / CHILD CONFLICT

12
3. CHAPTER 3: EGO STATES
 14
4. CHAPTER 4: PRINCIPLES OF EGO STATE HYPNOTHERAPY

16
5. CHAPTER 5: UNCOVERING EGO STATES

17
A. IDEOMOTOR QUESTIONING / THE
AFFE
CT
BRID
GE

18
B. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS

19
6. CHAPTER 6: THE RAPID REINTEGRATION PROCEDURE

20
A. THEORETICAL CONCEPTS AND OVERVIEW OF RRP

21
B. RAPID REINTEGRATION PROCEDURE 11 STEP GUIDE

21
C. POST SCRIPT NOTES
 25
7. CHAPTER 7: ILLUSTRATIVE CASES

25
A. CASE 1: STAGE FRIGHT, MUSIC, TRUMPET: HISTORY

25
B. EXAMPLE OF A STAGE FRIGHT EPISODE

25
C. CASE 2: EMOTIONAL DISTRESS CAUSED BY
SPONTANEOUS MISCARRIAGE

29
D. CASE 3 OVEREATING: HISTORY

30
E. CASE 4: OVEREATING: HISTORY

32
F. HIDDEN EGO STATE
 34
G. CASE 5: PROBLEMS

36
H. CASE 6: FEELING OVERWHELMED AND EMOTIONALLY LABILE 37
I. CASE 7: PROBLEMS

38
J. CASE 8: ALCOHOLISM

42
K. CASE 9: PANIC ATTACK

46
8. CHAPTER 8: THERAPEUTIC FAILURES IN RRP INTRODUCTION

5
 3
A. UNMASKING THE VINDICTIVE PARENT EGO STATE

55
9. CHAPTER 9: THE NEGATIVE BIRTH EXPERIENCE

57
10. CHAPTER 10: PRENATAL TRAUMA IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE NEGATIVE BIRTH EXPERIENCE

58
11. CHAPTER 11: THE HUNT FOR THE ELUSIVE,
SYMPTOM-PRODUCING, SEXUALLY ABUSED, EGO STATE

67
A. THE HIDDEN OR ELUSIVE EGO STATE/REVIEW OF LITERATURE 68
B. PRIVATE PRACTICE EXPERIENCE

70
C. BRIEF CASE HISTORIES OF PEOPLE WITH VARIOUS PROBLEMS 72
D. GOALS OF THIS BOOK

77
12. CHAPTER 12: WHAT IS RRP?
 81
13. CHAPTER 13: RAPID REINTEGRATION PROCEDURE STEPS GUIDE

86
A. OVERVIEW OF RRP

86
B. A SAMPLE VERBALIZATION DEMONSTRATING RRP

91
C. QUIZ FOR RAPID REINTEGRATION PROCEDURE STEPS GUIDE 100
14. CHAPTER 14: IDENTIFICATION OF FEELINGS

102
A. THE SPECIAL ROLE OF DREAMS

105
B. IDENTIFICATION OF FEELINGS QUIZ

106
15. CHAPTER 15: THE INTAKE INTERVIEW

107
A. GOALS OF THE INTAKE INTERVIEW
 109
B. THE INTAKE INTERVIEW QUIZ

113
16. CHAPTER 16: CRIMES AND PRISONS OF THE MIND

114
A. CRIME 1: I AM HERE

115
B. CRIME 2: I AM A GIRL/BOY (PERSON OF THE WRONG
GENDER TO SUIT THE PARENTS)

116
C. CRIME 3: I AM ANGRY /
CRIM
E 4: I
AM
AFRAI
D

117
D. CRIME 5. I HURT / CRIME 6. I LOVE
 118
E. CRIME 7. I AM HAPPY / CRIME 8. I AM CURIOUS

119
F THE SPECIAL ROLE OF GUILT

120
G. CRIMES AND PRISONS OF THE MIND QUIZ

1
21
17. CHAPTER 17: FAILURE OF RESOLUTION

122
A. CLEAR SIGNS OF SUCCESS OF (280) RESOLUTION ARE

123
B. THE THREE COMPONENTS OF GUILT ARE

127
C. PRACTICAL FEATURES OF THE PARENT EGO STATE

131
D. EXCERPT FROM DONNA'S INITIAL SESSION WITH DR. BARNETT 133
 E. FAILURE OF RESOLUTION QUIZ

136
18. CHAPTER 18: IS YOUR RRP WHAT YOU THINK IT IS?

137
A. CONSIDER MAKING THREE PROMISES TO THE PATIENT

143
B. DENIAL OF AUTHENTICITY OF THE RRP EXPERIENCE

149
C. IS YOUR RRP WHAT YOU THINK IT IS? QUIZ

153
19. CHAPTER 19: GOALS TO ACHIEVE IN EMERGING FROM RRP

155
A. JOIN ALL THE DISSOCIATED EGO STATES TOGETHER

156
B. GOALS TO ACHIEVE IN EMERGING FROM RRP QUIZ

157
20. CHAPTER 20: THE SPECIAL SUBJECT OF FORGIVENESS

158
A. WHAT DOES FORGIVENESS MEAN IN RRP

159
B. THE SPECIAL SUBJECT OF FORGIVENESS QUIZ

161
C. RAPID REINTEGRATION PROCEDURE STEPS GUIDE

161
D. CHECK LIST OF RRP GOALS FOR THE INTAKE INTERVIEW

162
E. GOALS OF THE RRP INTAKE INTERVIEW SHORT CHECKLIST

163
F. SMOKING CHECKLIST

163
G. CHAPTER 1 QUIZ

163
H. ANSWERS TO CHAPTER 1 QUIZ

164
I. CHAPTER 2 QUIZ /
ANSW
ERS
TO
CHAP
TER 2
 QUIZ

165
21. TRIBUTE TO DR. EDGAR A. BARNETT: PAUL G. DURBIN, PhD

166
A. DR. EDGAR BARNETT, MD BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

167
B. THE PRISONS OF THE MIND

167
C. DISCUSSION OF THE CHARGES / HYPNOSIS CAN HELP

171
D. EXCERPTS FROM ANALYTICAL HYPNOTHERAPY

174
(#22 -33 EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE FREE: LANE &
ASSOCIATES: LE JOLLA, CA: 1979: CHAPTERS 1-12)
22. INTRODUCTION: EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE FREE 175
23. CHAPTER ONE: PRISONS OF THE MIND

177
A. THE PRISON OF FEAR PHOBIAS

177
 B. THE PRISON OF ANGER

180
C. THE PRISON OF PAIN AND SADNESS

183
D. THE PRISON OF GUILT

185
24. CHAPTER TWO: THE CRIME

188
A. I AM HERE

188
B. I AM A GIRL/BOY
 190
C. I AM ANGRY

191
D. I AM AFRAID

192
E. I HURT

193
F. I LOVE
 193
G. I AM HAPPY

194
H. I AM CURIOUS

195
25. CHAPTER THREE: THE COURT

196
A. THE COURT OF THE MIND

197
B. CHILD, PARENT, ADULT

198
C. ACCUSED, PROSECUTOR, JUDGE, DEFENSE
 199
D. VERDICT, EMOTIONS

200
26. CHAPTER FOUR: THE SENTENCE

201
A. THE VERDICT: GUILTY AS CHARGED

201
B. YOU MUST NOT EXIST

202
C. YOU MUST NEVER FEEL ANGRY

204
D. YOU MUST NOT SUCCEED
 205
E. YOU MUST NOT BE AFRAID

206
F. YOU MUST NOT LOVE

207
G. YOU MUST NOT THINK

207
27. CHAPTER FIVE: THE PRISON LOCKS-GUILT! EDGAR BARNETT

208
28. CHAPTER SIX: RELEASE FROM PRISON

209
29. CHAPTER SEVEN: REHABILITATION: LEARNING HOW TO REMAIN FREE 213
30. CHAPTER EIGHT: FALSE FREEDOM
 2
16
A. PRISON BREAKS

2
16
B. OUT ON BAIL

219
C. ON PROBATION

220
D. MINIMUM SECURITY

221
E. DEATH SENTENCE
 222
31. CHAPTER NINE: CONTINUED IMPRISONMENT - FAILURES OF THERAPY 223
A. INADEQUATE DEFENSE

224
B. FEAR OF FREEDOM / INADEQUATE REHABILITATION

225
C. APPARENT THERAPEUTIC FAILURE

22
6
32. CHAPTER TEN: THE KEY ANALYTICAL HYPNOTHERAPY

226
A. HYPNOANALYSIS LOCATE FIRST CRITICAL EXPEREINCE

229
33. CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE PRISONER

231
A. THE PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDERS
 232
B. THE HABIT DISORDERS

235
C. THE EMOTIONAL DISORDERS

236
(EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE FREE: LANE & ASSOCIATES: LE
JOLLA, CA: 1979: CHAPTERS 12-16 CONTINUED ON VOL 2 #1-7)
 THE WORKS OF EDGAR A. BARNETT: VOL 1
(THE RAPID REINTEGRATION PROCEDURE: EDGAR A. BARENETT & JOHN R.
TKACH: JUNICA PUBLISHING CO: ONTARIO CANADA 2005)
1. INSIDE COVER OF BOOK / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS / INTRODUCTION
INSIDE COVER OF BOOK: “Dr Barnett’s description of ego states and his “Rapid
Reintegration Procedure” should be taught in all hypnotherapy schools. People need to be
released from “the prison of the mind”. The effects of past traumas are addressed and helps to
release those effects so the client can live a more meaningful and happy life. I recommend Dr.
Barnett’s new book,
The Rapid Reintegration Procedure. In reading his book, you will recognize the genius of Dr.
Edgar Barnett and want to read his other book in order to enhance your personal and
hypnotherapy skills.” Paul G. Durbin, PhD: Director of Clinical Hypnotherapy, Methodist
Hospital, New Orleans, LA. (Durbin retired June 30, 2005)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: This book is dedicated to the many thousands of patients
from whom we have been privileged to learn from them of their inner strengths that have
enabled them to deal with much adversity. We have learned that this inner strength is God given
and universal. When harnessed, it can create amazing miracles of healing from the traumatic
effects of emotional and physical turmoil. We also dedicate this book to our fellow therapists,
who in their continued strivings to discover an inner peace for their clients, have so often found
these efforts fraught with misunderstanding,
In creating this book we, the authors, must acknowledge with deep gratitude the
assistance that we have received from so many. The encouragement and support of our families
and friends, and in particular that of our wives, Margaret and Karen, has been constant and
energizing for both of us.
We are particularly grateful for having had the good fortune in the production of this
book, to have had access to the skill and perseverance of Doris Rickard, the manager of Junica
Publishing Company. Her computing and artistic skills are evident in the creation of the cover
as well as in the structure of this book. To Dr. Michael Mason, who generously gave of his
skills as emeritus professor of English in editing the manuscript, we are also eternally grateful.
The authors thank the following reviews for their helpful and well considered comments
and participation. Gary Lande, M.D., William Kroger, MD, Jack Watkins, PhD, Frank Seitx,
PhD, Nancy Aaen, MD, Peter Rose, PhD, Aleks Tkach (Medical Student), Nancy Acord,
Dabney Ewing, MD. and Rev Paul Durbin.
INTRODUCTION: In the past twenty five years since I published “Unlock Your Mind
And Be Free” (1979) and “Analytical Hypnotherapy: Principles and Practice” (1981) workers
like myself who believe that the majority of emotional problems and behavior disorders have
their origins in earlier traumatic experiences have written of their approaches to these issues.
Before us there were many other thinkers such as Freud & Erickson who contributed to this
understanding. I have learned from all of these and have since modified my original concepts in
various ways.
 In Unlock Your Mind And Be Free (1979) it was proposed to a lay public that emotional
problems resulted from unresolved childhood conflicts that in turn caused parts of the
personality to be locked up or imprisoned. These parts (ego states) were presumed to have been
guilty of having broken parental laws and remained unforgiven. Therapy, through the use of self
hypnosis, was directed at recognizing that the supposed crimes were in fact erroneous thereby
enabling these parts to engineer their escape from the mental prisons in which they had been
incarcerated. They were also able to become liberated from the emotional distress of these
memories.
Analytical Hypnotherapy: Principles and Practice (1981) was written for the
professional hypnotherapist and introduced tools (including the induction of hypnosis) for
discovering and comforting these dissociated distressed ego states, thus enabling them to
become reintegrated into the host personality. Over the years since the publication of these
works I have been able to refine these tools with the objective of increasing their success rate
and of reducing the time required for a less complex therapy.
During these years the computer has come of age and now dominates a part of each of
our lives. From it we have learned that it operates by using complex programs. We have also
learned that these programs that were originally extremely effective can, when greater demands
than were originally conceived are placed upon them, become outdated and inefficient and
create new problems in the functioning of the computer. So it is that the tools described in this
book define and locate the kind of programs which were originally designed to deal with early
life problems but fail utterly to deal with the present. They require to be updated or replaced if
they are to be comfortably and fully effective.
This book documents this search for outdated programs and a more efficient process for
upgrading them. It is also the purpose of this work to present some revolutionary concepts in
the Rapid Reintegration Procedure to be detailed . It is my hope that these will facilitate an
ongoing exploration for an economical and effective means of delivering psychotherapeutic aids
to the many who may need it. The Rapid Reintegration Procedure retains all of the original
assets of both “Unlock Your Mind and Be Free!” And “Analytical Hypnotherapy” but utilizes
them more economically and effectively.
It is important, in learning to familiarize oneself with this unique procedure, to fully
understand the theoretical concepts on which it is based and which are essential for its success.
In producing this book I have had the great assistance of Dr. John Tkach who, as caretaker of
the late Dr. Newton's library of videotapes, discovered one that I had made in 1997 and was
very impressed by the rapidity in which the technique used was able to locate and deal with a
case of stage fright.
At that time (1997) RRP was in its infancy but has now evolved to the stage where Dr.
Tkach a dermatologist has found it very effective in curing cases of self excoriation. I have
asked him in Chapter seven, to contribute a description of these and others of his many
experiences in using RRP. He has also expanded this by writing a programmed text as a highly
efficient learning tool which is presented as the third part of the book. Together we have also
produced a DVD which we hope will clearly demonstrate how this technique is used effectively
in practice.

1. CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS HYPNOSIS?

Much of the controversy associated with hypnosis is concerned with the premise that
hypnosis is a recognizable state. In the face of Barber's (1969) constant and well constructed
attacks against this premise (i. e. that hypnosis is a state recognizable solely by certain specific
phenomena) this premise has become difficult to support. Indeed, all of the phenomena that
have been attributed to hypnosis can be produced without any formal induction. Moreover, they
can exist spontaneously. As early as 1823, Bertrand affirmed that 'the psychological phenomena
observed during the magnetic state are not exceptional phenomena but are normal or at least
phenomena which can be observed under various other conditions.' Orne (1959) also noted that
much of what passes for hypnosis is a normal response that might properly be expected in that
situation. He also pointed out that simulating subjects can successfully mislead experienced
hypnotists into believing that they are hypnotized. Subsequently, attempts to define hypnosis by
means of the phenomena normally associated with it are fraught with difficulties.
Barber et al (1974) demonstrated that these phenomena can be reproduced without
calling upon the concept of a `hypnotic state' or `trance.' They declared that the so-called state
of hypnosis was produced by the induction technique, and it was this technique with its content
of situational factors that determined the behaviour a given subject would manifest. Subjects
would carry out hypnotic behavior when they had positive attitudes, motivations and
expectations which led them to a willingness to think and imagine with the themes presented.
Barber et al demonstrated the ease with which a properly motivated subject can be persuaded to
develop many of the standard hypnotic phenomena without any evidence of the usual state of
hypnosis in which the subject appears asleep or unconscious. Skilled hypnotists make use of
hypnotic procedures to produce these positive attitudes, motivations, and expectancies.
London (1967) complicated the issue somewhat when he suggested that hypnosis could
operationally be defined as a set of (1) phenomena which a consensus of hypnotists concluded to
be hypnotic. However, he omitted to indicate how this consensus could be obtained. More
helpfully, he did identify the main issues as to what extent induced hypnotic behaviours are
unique to hypnosis and to what extent the induction process itself is necessary to elicit hypnotic
behaviours.
Not only is it difficult to define objectively a `state' of hypnosis, but even subjectively.
Barber (1979) pointed out that highly responsive subjects testify that they have no sense of
altered consciousness when responding to hypnotic suggestion and, therefore, do not believe
themselves to be in trance.
Presented with this very great difficulty of defining hypnosis as a recognizable state
(even though everyone is aware that hypnosis appears to be something different from ordinary
communication), it is helpful to turn to Hilgard (1977) and his neodissociation theory of
hypnosis. This theory mediates between the extreme positions of the non-state and the state
theorists by proposing that there are degrees of dissociative experience. These degrees depend
on shifts in voluntary and involuntary control systems from no dissociation whatsoever up to the
massive dissociations of very deep hypnosis. Only when these changes are profound can they
be described appropriately as alterations in consciousness.
It is well to pause here and note that no one denies the existence of hypnotic phenomena
themselves and even antagonists of the hypnotic state theory recognize that these unusual
phenomena are generally foreign to normal human behaviour. They contend, however, that such
phenomena can be produced without the necessity of postulating any specific mental or physical
state apart from the conditions necessary for optimum compliance.
The problem of what happens when we consider hypnotic phenomena to be present still
remains. Hilgard (1977) in his concept of a divided consciousness separated by an amnesic
barrier gave some clue as to a possible mechanism. He suggested that memories are present in a
divided portion of consciousness and are rendered accessible by the breaking down of the
amnesic barrier as it occurs in hypnosis (although this dissociation concept of part of
consciousness does not invoke the postulate of the deep unconscious held by Freud [1895]).
Memories heretofore (2) unavailable, which become conscious, can properly be described as
having been previously dissociated. However, if these memories are not directly available but
have to be inferred, they can be thought of as being repressed to the unconscious mind.
It can thus be seen how rapidly one can get caught up in the circuitous argument as to
what is conscious and what is unconscious; and yet we know that much of what occurs in
hypnosis is not normally conscious even though it may become so. Research into the different
functions of the cerebral hemispheres may cast some light on this problem. Gazzeniga, Bogen
and Sperry (1962) did exciting work on the functional effects of sectioning the cerebral
hemispheres in man, and discovered that the two halves of the brain are essentially two separate
brains. They found that, in right handed people, the left hemisphere is primarily concerned with
verbal behavior and analytic tasks, whereas the right hemisphere is concerned with more global
and patterned tasks such as are used in the imagination, in spatial perception, and in music.
Kinsbourne (1972) confirmed these findings when he analyzed the movements of the head and
eyes in response to questioning. Questions involving analytical thinking produced eye
movements to the right, indicating activation of the left analytical hemisphere; questions
involving imagination produced eye and head movements to the left, indicating activation of the
right hemisphere.
Blakeslee (1980) contended that each half of the brain has its own separate train of
conscious thought and its own memories. Whereas the right brain deals in sensory images, the
left brain thinks in words and numbers. The left brain also handles language and logical
thinking, the right brain controls nonverbal activities. The single brain concept tends to ignore
the right brain which appears to be the source of intuition, of creative thinking, and of the
imagination. The right brain activity matches the common concept of the unconscious mind. It
appears to be a parallel yet subordinate consciousness not usually accessible to awareness.
Stimulation of the left hemisphere affects both speech and the muscles; stimulation of the right
side produces hallucinations and feelings of double consciousness.
Those subjects who tend to activate the right hemisphere when dealing with problems are
found to be the more imaginative and also the more hypnotizable. Those who activate the left
(3) hemisphere are drawn more towards the sciences and are, as a rule, more logical in their
thinking. They are also less hypnotizable. These findings lend support to Hilgard (1977) and his
neodissociation theory of hypnosis. He pointed out that in well lateralized right handed males, a
preference for right handed function was associated with hypnotizability, and the hypnotizable
right hander tended to use his right hemisphere more frequently than the non-hypnotizable right
hander.
Can we then apply some of this information to a deeper understanding of the nature of
hypnosis? This author believes that we must accept the position of the nonstate theorists and
conclude that the so-called `state of hypnosis' is merely a variable set of phenomena produced
by the suggestible subject in response to requests by the operator. The standard descriptions of
the state of hypnosis are, therefore, no more than a description of a set of responses to a set of
specific suggestions; this state will inevitably vary from subject to subject simply because of
each subject's uniqueness, a uniqueness which naturally produces a different response to
suggestion. Furthermore, this response will also vary with the nature of the suggestions
initiating it.
 We need only to recall the hypnotic coma of Esdaile (1852) and compare it to the vastly
different convulsive states produced by Mesmer (which again were totally unlike the quiet,
cooperative, relaxed state so often seen in the modern hypnotherapist's office) to realize that no
particular state can be called the hypnotic state. They are all instances of hypnosis or hypnotic
states.
Each of these states represents one of a myriad of possible sets of responses to
suggestion. There is no typical state of hypnosis and the search for one must prove futile. Any
state labeled hypnosis is an artifact recognizable by a conglomerate of unconscious responses to
suggestion. The labeling of these responses as hypnotic carries with it the implication that other
responses are not hypnotic. Nothing could he further from the truth even though these responses
may have an involuntary quality about them which is distinctive. However, if our definition of
hypnosis is restricted to a specific set of responses to suggestion, we run the risk of assuming
that a given subject is not hypnotizable if the set of responses does not occur when requested.
But, if we accept any response to suggestion as (4) evidence of hypnosis (whether or not it be the
response we have been taught to expect), this is certainly not the case.
For the ego state hypnotherapist, the premise of hypnosis as a recognizable state has no
real validity since effective therapy can occur in the absence of any of the accepted signs of
hypnosis. It is for this reason that a more useful concept of hypnosis must be sought. We
believe that it is more useful to conceive of hypnosis as a dynamic process (Barnett 1979) rather
than as a state, and hence to forgo the compulsion to regard any given state as hypnosis. Any
unconscious response to suggestion is part of the hypnotic process and may he used as a part of
therapy. If a definition of hypnosis is demanded, then we can say that hypnosis is the process of
communication with the unconscious mind recognizable by an unconscious response to
suggestion.
We need now to clarify what is meant by unconscious. Here we simply refer to all that is
not normally conscious and, consequently, find that we are referring to much that appears to be
the function of the right brain. It would then appear that hypnosis can be considered to be the
process of communication with the right brain and, whenever we invoke the activities of the
right brain, we note that we are inducing hypnotic-like responses. !t is in the right brain where
much unconscious memory resides, as well as those mental activities which are not available to
conscious awareness for much of the time, and which are responsible for responses not
normally under voluntary control. It is probable that unconscious responses arise in other areas
of the brain apart from the right hemisphere and perhaps are then more deeply
un(not)conscious.
Every practitioner of hypnosis knows that there are experiences that, normally, are not
voluntarily accessible and remain out of awareness until techniques using involuntary responses
render them accessible. It must be assumed that these experiences are recorded in the brain
somewhere prior to their availability to conscious awareness and control. For the ego state
hypnotherapist the unconscious mind is the repository of all experiences and mental activities
which are normally not available to the awareness at any specific moment. The unconscious
mind is therefore responsible for those responses which are not under voluntary control.
A more specific definition of hypnosis which has been found (5) satisfactory for ego state
hypnotherapy (Barnett 1979) can be stated as follows: Hypnosis is the process of communication
with the unconscious mind recognizable by the presence of unconscious response to suggestion,
such response being characterized by lack of voluntary initiation. This means that hypnosis is
characterized by the acceptance of an idea or suggestion without conscious interference.
Conversely, it also appears to be unnecessary, for conscious thought processes to he interfered
with for hypnosis to he present, so long as there is no conscious blocking of this communication
with the unconscious mind. The therapeutic process of hypnosis formally commences as soon
as the undivided attention of the unconscious mind has been gained, and often the process may
be active long before it is recognized either by therapist or patient. As his experience with
hypnosis increases, the therapist learns to recognize earlier this untrammeled attention of the
unconscious mind of the patient and the unconscious responses characteristic of hypnosis.
Using this latter definition of hypnosis, it becomes clear that hypnosis is being regarded
as a continuous and ongoing process not limited by formal induction procedures, and that
hypnotherapy is merely the harnessing of this process for the purposes of therapy. Formal
techniques of induction of hypnosis are, essentially, methods of securing unconscious attention,
of establishing this unconscious communication, and of recognizing when this communication
has become operative. Furthermore, all kinds of unconscious mental activity can be included
within this simple definition of hypnosis. Such activities as meditation, deep thinking, day
dreaming, fantasizing and, of course, self hypnosis all find ready inclusion in this definition.
The popular image of the subject in hypnosis with eyes closed, head bowed and body
virtually motionless until directed, is simply the product of a series of suggestions which have
been accepted by the suggestible subject. It is no more representative of hypnosis than the
image of the chess master contemplating his next move, or of the pole jumper marshaling all of
his unconscious resources for his next jump. By ceasing to attribute to hypnosis any particular
state or phenomenon, the process of hypnosis can be more clearly understood.
In the procedure later to be described it is believed that communication with the
unconscious mind is made in precisely (6) the same way as a hypnotic state is produced. In this
procedure a direct request for a memory attached to a feeling is the route taken, whereas in the
traditional methods of producing hypnotic phenomena a memory (e. g. of relaxation, of
anesthesia, of lightness etc.) must be similarly invoked before the requested phenomenon and
the state of hypnosis can be produced. These phenomena are not necessary for the process of
hypnosis. It is entirely upon this process that the effectiveness of all ego state hypnotherapy
depends.
1. HYPNOTIZABILITY: We now need to consider the issue of hypnotizability in this
context. The word "hypnotizability" implies a variable innate ability to enter hypnosis. I believe
that all human beings have this ability as a natural and necessary accomplishment. In fact it may
be that all of our early thinking is at a right brain level and later becomes more or less left brain.
During our early upbringing and the development of left brain consciousness we constantly use
the process of hypnosis (i.e. the process of right brain communication) but later become more or
less left brained critical and analytical. Our subjects for hypnosis may therefore find it more or
less difficult to enter hypnosis (right brain unconscious communication) in our office. It is
indeed a fact that under a given set of conditions one individual will demonstrate a different
hypnotic response from another but it is a fiction that this different response represents a lesser
or greater hypnotizability or use of the right brain.
If we continue to consider hypnosis as a process of communication with the unconscious
right brain rather than a state resulting from the responses of the right brain to any such
communication, we can recognize how universal and constant hypnosis must be. Every day in
many ways this communication is being used. The common and universally recognized term
"power of suggestion" indicates that this communication is constant and indicates that
hypnotizability is universal.
 An article, "Not Seeing the Wood for the Trees", in the January 1988 issue of the
American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, pointed out that most susceptibility testing has been
based upon the Newtonian mode of thinking, which focuses upon specific elements of behavior
per se, and that this obscures the (7) interconnections between all the elements of the behaviors.
As a result susceptibility has become regarded experimentally as an unalterable entity.
Newtonian thinking assumes that the testing does not interfere with the response but merely
measures it. This paper asserted that this is a fallacy which has been perpetuated by all
susceptibility tests wherein the context of the testing has invariably been ignored.
There has always been disagreement concerning hypnotizability between the
experimental psychologist and the clinician. The experimental psychologist insists that all of his
experiments have conclusively demonstrated that there is a marked and consistent difference
between subjects' hypnotic responses that alters little from one experimental situation to another.
This is the basis of the several hypnotizability scales that have been constructed including my
own (now abandoned A.C.E.) for determining this mistakenly presumed innate response.
Clinicians, on the other hand, have frequently noted that subjects who have been defined
as poorly hypnotizable on some scale have responded to suggestion as if deeply hypnotizable
when these subjects have been highly motivated to use clinical hypnosis.
My own clinical experience has led me to abandon routine susceptibility measurements
which I performed for several years as a part of clinical research. Time after time I noted that
repeated hypnosis in the clinical context would lead to deeper levels of hypnosis. Unfortunately I
initially fell victim to the trap that susceptibility testing invariably sets, namely that one does not
ask for greater hypnotic response when testing indicates poor hypnotizability. When a good
response occurs spontaneously and unexpectedly, as it frequently does in these subjects, one is
surprised.
For those who respond poorly to hypnotizability tests therapeutic expectations are
frequently lowered both for the subject and also for the therapist. Results then tend to be self
fulfilling. On the other hand if initially poor responders are regarded merely as cautious
responders good hypnosis will result from proper techniques in most cases. I believe that deep
hypnosis is more likely to occur if the therapist believes it to be likely.
Subjects who are most responsive to suggestion are those (8) who have learned to use
hypnosis as part of their coping mechanism. They have frequently been exposed to much stress
in early childhood and have learned to dissociate into hypnosis in order to deal with such stress.
Their attributes are frequently those described by Spiegel as the "Grade 5 Syndrome",
consisting of:
a) high trust with a great desire to please;
b) a tendency to accept others' critical judgment rather than their own;
c) extreme em path - being deeply influenced by the mood of others;
d) very ready regression and e) an excellent memory. These people frequently have problems
because of their failure to use their own critical judgment. Most children who have not yet
become actively critical are likely to fall into this category, and are usually highly responsive to
suggestion.
Those people who are least responsive to suggestion are those who assess every event
critically and tend not to use their more creative and imaginative abilities unless encouraged to
do so.
The clinical hypnotherapist needs to be able to deal with these left brained people and
understand why they are not accepting suggestions for not entering hypnosis, and in so doing he
will be able to teach them to produce deep hypnosis as successfully as the right brained highly
responsive subject.
RESISTANCE: All resistance to the formal induction of hypnosis is due to fear. This is
the reason why hypnotic susceptibility has experimentally been found to be constant. The fear is
constant. In the clinical situation much can be done to deal with this fear, since when it is absent
the deeper levels of hypnosis become readily accessible.
Conscious resistance is a fear of loss of control, of being dominated and/or of
unconsciousness. These fears are usually worse at the first meeting with a formal induction of
hypnosis and can usually be decreased by judicious handling.
Unconscious resistance is frequently due to an unconscious fear of disclosure or of
relinquishing symptoms or behavior. This fear may even increase with therapy, and may
eventually obstruct it. It is the commonest cause of second session resistance. It is also the
commonest cause of therapeutic failure in using ego state (9) hypnotherapy.
All hypnosis is self hypnosis: when this is understood by the therapist as well as the
subject resistance is rarely a problem. In the very permissive procedure to be described this
resistance is rare and, if present, is rapidly overcome when it is recognized that it is totally non
threatening, and that the client retains total control at all times. (10)

2. CHAPTER 2: THEORY OF EGO STATE HYPNOTHERAPY

THE HISTORY OF EGO STATE THEORY: It is Freud to whom we probably owe
the original concept that the personality is made up of parts that usually work harmoniously
together. His ego, superego and id have been developed by later writers Beahrs, Jung, Federn,
Berne and many others. It was Berne's concept of the recognizable Child, Parent and Adult that
first enabled me to reach a logical understanding of human behavior. We can all observe the
emotional Child, the directing Parent and the wise Adult in each of us and it is easy to accept
that, if these parts are working congruently one with another, there is very likely to be internal
peace.
In theory, the location and uncovering of the original causes of emotional problems
would seem to be the logical first step to diagnosis and treatment in psychotherapy. However, in
psychotherapy as in much of orthodox medicine, treatment is usually mainly directed to the
amelioration of symptoms. If the uncovering of emotional problems is logical in theory, why is
it not then more widely practiced? It is because the analytical approach has often proved to be
inordinately time consuming and has not had the justification of results superior to those
therapies directed only at symptom removal. In 1935, Freud had already expressed
disappointment with his earlier use of the analytical approach. He had believed that the
presentation to the patient of recovered memories of childhood traumas would certainly bring
the neurosis and its treatment to a rapid termination. He stated that 'it was a severe
disappointment when the expected success was not forthcoming. How could it be that the patient
who now knew about his traumatic experience nevertheless still behaved as if he knew no more
about it than before?' It was this disappointment which encouraged him to look for other
approaches to treating neuroses, and to become entrenched in a system of therapy whose
duration is commonly measured in years.
Adler" (1924), Jung (1928), and Stekel (1940), all had (11) expressed their conviction of
the sterility of an approach which concentrated solely upon the uprooting of infantile memories.
Rado (1939) also stated that the retracing of early memories was discouraging, since, like the
fabled Hydra, as soon as one was dealt with, two others appeared in its place.
 Bibring (1937) also joined the forces mounted against uncovering old memories when he
questioned the value of abreaction. He believed that, although it lessened tension, it did not
necessarily influence the deep problems which continued to generate it. Often he found that
patients would uncover many interesting and crucial experiences but would, nevertheless,
continue to cling to their neurotic attitudes.
While Wolberg (1964) accepted the position that an exclusive preoccupation with the
past imposed definite limitations in therapy, and that a knowledge of the historical roots of a
disorder was in itself insufficient to produce a cure, he maintained t~at such knowledge was still
of tremendous value in therapy, because it enabled the neurotic individual to gain self respect
when he had mastered old fears. He believed such mastery of anxiety to be a great enhancer of
ego strength, and that hypnosis not only enabled unconscious material to be brought to a level at
which it could more readily be dealt with, but also that, as previously stated by Kubie and
Margolin (1944), hypnosis enabled the patient to gain strength directly from the therapist.
If hypnosis did nothing more than raise self-esteem and strengthen ego -- as Wolberg,
Kubie and Margolin state - it would be performing no small service to patients. But it is the
purpose of this book and the intention of this author to demonstrate that hypnosis can, if
properly practiced, do much more.
Hypnosis is unquestionably a powerful tool for the uncovering of memories, but such
uncovering is only the first step. Freud was right to observe that knowledge of a traumatic
experience is not sufficient in itself to provide a change of behavior. After identification of the
conflicts, the therapist and the patient must work through to a resolution of such conflicts so that
the symptoms arising from them can be removed. While it is freely admitted that, frequently,
this can be accomplished without the application of the direct techniques of ego state
hypnotherapy, this author would argue that the use of these techniques results in a far (12) higher
proportion of success than is achieved by non analytical therapies.
Every therapist strives to formulate a theoretical construct for his therapy, and the ego
state hypnotherapist is no exception. The failure of the psychoanalytical approach to produce
significant therapeutic results for patients presenting with symptom complexes has cast doubt
upon the value of uncovering the historical antecedents of such complexes. We shall demonstrate
that it is really the inadequate application of the information so gained that is responsible for the
poor results. In order to understand how ego state hypnotherapy can be effective, we need to
have an understanding of what is happening to those who are suffering from an emotional
problem. So that we can better do this, let us examine the function of normal emotions.
THE EMOTIONS:
* Hurt: Emotions are at their most primitive in the early stages of life and hence can be more
easily studied at this time. Immediately after birth, we can observe that the infant already has the
capacity to feel discomfort and gives evidence of this sensitivity by crying. This observable
response is clearly a protective one, essential for the infant's survival, since it enables him to
inform others of his discomfort in the hope that they will find the means of relieving it. His cry
summons someone to his aid, usually mother. If she is able to respond satisfactorily to his needs,
he will cease to cry. The infant has few other defenses at birth except for this obvious expression
of hurt or discomfort. In the majority of cases his crying will suffice; if he is cold, his mother
will wrap him up; if he is wet, she will change his diaper; if he is hungry, she will feed him. In
other words, whenever the infant is uncomfortable, his cry will lead to his obtaining the care
necessary for his survival. Mother represents security, comfort, and peace, and it is she upon
whom the helpless infant must rely to identify and rectify any problem that creates discomfort.
Any individual who in that instance responds to the infant's cry for help functions as a surrogate
mother.
* Fear: Sometimes the distress that the infant experiences may be (13) severe or prolonged
before the mother can intervene to relieve it. In this case the infant's cries become more insistent,
more shrill and more urgent. The infant's movements may become more vigorous, and it
becomes evident that he is experiencing something more than discomfort and hurt. We are
aware, perhaps by empathy, that the infant is experiencing another emotion, namely, fear. Fear is
that feeling which supersedes hurt when the source of the discomfort is perceived as life
threatening. The infant is helpless and can only cry more loudly and shrilly until mother comes
to deal with the source of the distress and the danger. She finally reassures the child that all is
well. An older child is able to take a more positive course of action when experiencing fear, and
move away unaided from the source of his discomfort. He will endeavor to crawl or run to a
place where he believes that he will be safe from the danger, but will tend to move towards
mother (or a mother figure) where he knows that comfort and security exist. Until he feels he is
safe from the danger that threatened him, his emotion of fear will persist.
* Anger: Still later in life, a third important defense mechanism appears. More certain of his
actions and their probable results, the child becomes venturesome, and will endeavor to deal
with the source of his discomfort and danger by attempting to destroy or repel it with whatever
means he has at his disposal. Yelling, hitting out, and other strategies are used to attain this end.
When the danger is no longer evident he once again feels comfortable; he has learned how to use
the emotion of anger for his own defense.
Thus it is that every human being has the three primary emotions of hurt, fear and anger,
each of which has an important role to play in maintaining the individual's survival. Hurt is the
awareness of discomfort and pain. In human beings, this is often experienced as sadness - an
awareness of persistent hurt. Feelings of rejection, loneliness, and isolation are manifestations of
this emotion of hurt. Fear derives its strength from the memory of hurt so that the individual
strives to avoid further hurt when danger is imminent. Fear can masquerade as anxiety, terror, or
panic, since these words merely serve to describe degrees of intensity of fear. Anger, the third
emotion, protects the individual by either scaring away the perceived danger or by annihilating
it. It is seen as aggressiveness, hostility or resentment. Each emotion is therefore (14) designed
to ern power the individual to deal with perceived danger, and each is vitally necessary if he is to
survive in a world full of hazards. When these emotions fulfill their rightful function there is no
emotional disorder. Thus if the child is hurt, he cries and obtains help. Or perhaps he is afraid
and runs away from the danger to a haven of security. If this is not advisable or possible, perhaps
he can use his third defense, anger, to destroy the source of danger so that all is well. However,
should these emotions be denied their rightful expression, they will persist unrelieved. Any
emotion is always accompanied by the physiological changes necessary for its functioning;
consequently, unexpressed emotion creates an emotional disturbance which can easily have
physical effects as well as mental ones.
THE MOTHER'S ROLE IN EMOTIONAL DISORDER: Normally, if he is not
successful in obtaining help when he is hurt or senses danger, the child can use the emotion of
fear to escape it or can become angry and repel or destroy it. The question that the
hypnotherapist asks is this: What happens if the source of the hurt or danger is mother herself?
In this context anyone who functions in the caretaker role of mother (e.g. father, grandparents,
siblings, etc.) in relationship to the child must be regarded as a mother surrogate. If mother, or
the mother surrogate, is the source of hurt or danger, the normal emotional (15) responses are
confused. They are no longer protective and become valueless. To cry will only attract more hurt
and so the emotion of hurt cannot be expressed. If the expected secure place has itself become
dangerous, the child cannot employ the emotion of fear since there is no secure place to escape.
Neither can he use the emotion of anger to destroy the source of his hurt since, even if it
were possible, he would, at the same time, destroy his source of security. He has no alternative
but to block his emotions - to repress them. Emotions, however, do not disappear when
repressed from awareness but remain to create the symptoms for which therapy is being sought.
For the ego state hypnotherapist it is the repression of normal human emotions which is
responsible for the emotional disturbances presenting for therapy. (16)
Sullivan (1953), in his discussion of the origin of emotional problems, concluded that an
infant learned to disown parts of itself as a consequence of mother's (or surrogate mother's)
disapproval. But we are more concerned here with maternal disapproval causing the disowning
of normal emotions. The mechanism for the repression or disowning of the emotional part of the
self needs to be better understood. Also, we need to understand how it results in emotional
distress.
Berne (1961) propounded a theory of human functioning upon which the therapies of
transactional analysis are based. In brief, he stated that each of us acts at different times with
separate viewpoints because of individual states of mind with their related patterns of behavior.
Each of us has been a child and retains substantial relics of childhood surviving as a complete
ego state. We also have a normal brain which is capable of reality testing and this functions as
another discrete ego state. Finally, each individual has had parents or others in loco parentis
(surrogate parents) and the information derived from our relationships with these important
people exists as another ego state. Thus each individual has at least three readily discernible ego
states: the Child, the Adult, and the Parent. In Berne's view, a happy person is one in whom each
of these three ego states has important aspects which are syntonic with one another. These ego
states differ from the Freudian concepts of superego, ego and id (Freud, 1933) in that they are all
observable manifestations of the ego representing visible behaviors rather than hypothetical
constructs. Since it is useful for our understanding of emotional disorders, we will here review
Berne's theory of ego states.
THE CHILD: The Child ego state results from the experiences the individual undergoes
in his early development probably dating from conception onwards. During this period he is
recording everything that he feels, hears, and sees, and thereby accumulates a body of
information which gives him his awareness as an individual. It is the Child that is the ego state
primarily concerned with the emotions and the awareness of them. It is the Child that is the
repository of these emotions and is directly affected by any repression of them. It is therefore the
Child part that feels disowned when any emotion is repressed. In order to adapt to its
environment, the Child develops an additional ego state whose (17) function is to gather
information about his immediate environment for his additional protection. This ego state,
initially part of the Child, becomes the Parent ego state.
THE PARENT: The Parent ego state records all of the information that can be gleaned
from those upon whom the child must be dependent. Thus it is that the Parent ego state models
itself upon the real parents (or surrogates). It gathers information from them, such as their
expectations of the child. This is done through all of the earliest parental communications (e. g.
their tone of voice, facial expressions, and all of the verbal and non-verbal rules and regulations
with which they surround him). Some of the information that the Parent gathers is positive and
approving of the Child; some of it may be negative and disapproving. Like the real parent, the
Parent ego state may be nurturing and loving, or it may be critical and punitive, depending on
the qualities of the true parent upon whom the Parent ego state is modeled. In ego state theory
and hypnotherapy we are mainly concerned with the negative attitudes of the Parent ego state
culled as they are from the real parent. These are the source of the motivation for repression of
the Child's normal emotions and they are responsible for its emotional difficulties.
The data in the Parent is taken straight and without editing from the parents. It includes
therefore all of the admonitions, rules and laws that the child hears from his parents and parent
surrogates. It includes, as well, all of the signs both of approval and disapproval. These are
recorded as truth, and this is a well entrenched recording that is often very difficult to erase.
Through its coercive, sometimes permissive, but more usually restrictive, pressures upon the
Child, such data have a powerful effect during his life. This voluminous collection of data is
essential to the individual's survival within the group, and helps him to avoid those dangers
which he has not experienced and of which he can have no personal knowledge. Much of the
data in the Parent appears in the 'how-to' category and is acquired by observing how the real
parents and parent surrogates deal with things. In this day and age it is of interest to reflect on
what influence the parent surrogate, television, might have on the development of the Parent ego
state. (18)
REPRESSION: So that the Child becomes and remains acceptable to the true parents,
the Parent ego state seeks to modify the Child's behaviour by repressing non-acceptable aspects
of it. This is an admirable and proper role for the Parent ego state since it thereby functions to
maintain the Child in such a way that the parents, upon whom the Child depends for survival,
will not abandon it. It is, in effect, protecting the Child from the wrath of the real parents. Thus a
critical and punitive parent will be reflected in a critical and punitive Parent ego state which
maintains the Child by repressing its unacceptable behaviour resulting from unacceptable
emotions.
* Guilt: The parent ego state maintains its repressive influence over the Child by means of its
constant reminder that some of the Child's behaviour and emotions are unacceptable to the real
parents and that any expression of these might well result in the abandonment of the Child. It is
this fear of abandonment which, often very intense, is expressed and felt as guilt. Whenever an
individual experiences the feeling of guilt, there is an underlying fear of abandonment.
Furthermore, whenever there is guilt, there is a repression by the Parent of part of the Child's
normal emotional functioning. This results in a persistent Parent/Child conflict. It is this conflict,
always accompanied by feelings of guilt, that may be deeply unconscious and only accessible to
skillful ego state hypnotherapy. This conflict is at the centre of all emotional disorders seen by
the ego state hypnotherapist; such disorders can be cured only after this conflict has terminated.
THE PARENT / CHILD CONFLICT: Branden (1972) held that repression began as a
flight from inner experience - from feelings of pain, fear, frustration, helplessness and rage, and,
in fleeing from these feelings, a portion of the being is denied or disowned. This self alienation
must be eliminated before self esteem can be reconstructed. It is this self alienation which is
typified by the Parent/Child conflict because the Child is being prevented from expressing his
normal emotions, whether they be hurt, anger or fear. He may also be prevented from expressing
pleasant feelings if these too are unacceptable. If his very existence is not acceptable, then all of
his feelings may be repressed. But unexpressed feelings are (19) never obliterated; they always
persist in some more acceptable form. For example, repressed anger can be responsible for
depression; repressed fear can be the source of anxiety and phobias; repressed sadness is also a
cause of depression. Any emotion, when repressed from normal expression, may seek an
abnormal expression via the body in the form of a psychosomatic illness. It is interesting to note
that Perls (1969) could not accept the term 'repression' since he was very much aware that
nothing can be totally repressed. For him, alienation of part of the personality was more of a
'disowning into the unconscious' than it was repression.
Resolution of the Parent/Child conflict, between parent and child ego states removes the
need for repression and a previously blocked emotion can once again be properly expressed.
When this occurs the symptoms directly resulting from the repression of emotion can be more
readily relinquished. How then can this stubborn Parent/Child conflict he terminated? For Berne
(1961) the answer was simple: deconfusion of the Child by using the decontcaminated Adult ego
state as a therapeutic ally was the course for the therapist to take. Consequently, ego state
hypnotherapists must take a closer look at the Adult ego state in order to make full use of its
potential. (20) early in life from the Child (although probably at a later date than the Parent). At
any rate its development in the early years is slower than that of the Parent. The infant begins to
learn that he can manipulate his environment. He learns, for example, that he can decide whether
or not a particular event will occur simply by initiating actions which are totally under his
control. This interaction with his environment gives him a self actualization which is the
beginning of the Adult ego state. Adult data accumulates as a result of the infant's ability to find
out for himself about life. This is different from the data so uncritically accepted from his
parents by the Parent ego state. It also differs from the instinctive and feeling data which are the
essential components of the Child ego state. In fact, the Adult develops a thought concept of life
based upon data gathering and data processing.
In early life, the Adult has little information with which to challenge the commands of
the Parent ego state or to aid the emotions of the Child ego state. In most people, however, the
Adult ego state matures by concerning itself with transforming incoming stimuli into pieces of
information which are stored and processed in relationship to other relevant previous
experiences. Thus the Adult serves as a means whereby the child can begin to recognize life as it
really is, instead of being restricted to evaluating it through the parents' eyes as the Parent does,
or through the eyes of the Child's make-believe world. The Adult is, in effect, a data processing
computer which can and does reach decisions after computing information from all available
sources including the Parent and the Child. It can reexamine data in the Parent to see whether it
remains applicable or whether it no longer matches with the facts. It can also examine the data in
the Child to determine whether or not the feelings there are still appropriate and relevant.
It is on the presence of an intact and mature Adult that all successful psychotherapy
depends. This is particularly true for ego state hypnotherapy which cannot succeed without the
aid of an effective and cooperative Adult ego state. It is upon the Adult that the ego state
hypnotherapist calls to examine the Parent/Child conflict and find new solutions to it. The
persistence of symptoms prior to therapy is probably due to the fact that the true nature of the
Parent/Child conflict has remained concealed from the wisdom of the Adult. It is the ego state
hypnotherapist's task to uncover that conflict and expose it to the understanding of the Adult.
This (21) kind of uncovering has hitherto demanded considerable skill and has taken the
therapist to the limit of his ability to facilitate the cure of emotional problems.
The ego state hypnotherapist, then, plays an important role, for without his or her
assistance, the deeply buried Parent/Child conflicts could remain beyond the reach of the Adult.
The Adult's immense resources, culled from the business of observing life realistically, would be
unavailable. The greater portion of this book is devoted to detailing the skills necessary for
locating these conflicts, thus ensuring that they are fully exposed to the resources of the Adult
ego state for their resolution.
The theory of ego state hypnotherapy may be succinctly summarized as follows: mental
illness and emotional disorders are assumed to be due to the ongoing but outmoded conflict
between the “I want (The Child) part of the personality” and the “I ought or I should (The
Parent) part”. This conflict can be resolved only by the application of the' I will or I can' (The
Adult) arbitrator in that conflict. The conflict is terminated when both the Parent and the Child
accept the arbitration. (22)
Szasl (1961) argued that the very concept of mental illness should be discarded since it
promotes a confusion with physical illness and assumes that an external event or possibly events
is responsible for the symptoms. He believes that mental disorders, unlike physical illnesses, are
not diseases, because they are internally determined. If he is correct in his assumptions, then ego
state hypnotherapy, by its emphasis on the use of internal resources for therapy, can properly be
regarded as a non medical therapy which accomplishes its results without direct external
intervention.
It is probable that, as a result of hypnotic suggestion, the Adult ego state points out to the
Parent ego state that the repression of the Child and his emotions (initially important for the
individual's survival) is no longer necessary. In adult life survival is no longer dependent upon
approval of parents; they are no longer in the protective and supportive position vis-a-vis the
child that they were in during the onset of the conflict. In fact it may be that the parents
themselves are in need of the child's protection, or that they no longer are alive. The Adult may
make it clear to the Child that the repressed emotion, although acceptable, is probably no longer
necessary and need not be retained since the experience responsible for it has long since been
completed.
Central to the whole concept of therapy is the b.elief that in the presence of an intact
Adult there are adequate resources for the resolution of the Parent/Child conflict. Once it is
resolved, we can reach the happy position in which Berne (1961) described the Adult, the Child,
and the Parent as existing with all important aspects syntonic one with another. At such time, the
individual can function as an integrated unit without any of the symptoms which had been a
necessary part of his existence prior to therapy. (23)

3. CHAPTER 3: EGO STATES

Although the concept of segmentation of personality has been referred to in the literature
for many years, commencing with Janet in 1902, the specific theory of ego state theory must be
attributed to Watkins (1978). We are here concerned with a general principle of normal
personality formation in which the process of separation results in discrete segments that we can
call ego states. Federn (1952) gave this name to his understanding of the personality being a
collection of perceptions, cognitions and affects organized into clusters or patterns.
THE NATURE OF EGO STATES: An ego state is a part of the personality which is
separate from the central conscious personality and may or may not communicate with it. It has
a coherent complex of feelings and beliefs which can motivate a separate behavior pattern
responsible for symptoms and/or an abnormal behavior.
An ego state usually remains outside the normal stream of consciousness unless it
becomes the executive personality as in Multiple Personality Disorder (Dissociative Identity
Disorder). Multiple personalities are completely dissociated ego states that are able to gain
executive power for recognizable periods of time. The power is the result of the reinforced
dissociation of repeated exposure to great emotional and physical trauma.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGO STATES:
Ego States appear to originate from three main sources.
a) normal differentiation by which the individual learns to discriminate (Adult)
b) introjection of significant others e.g. parents and parent surrogates (Parent)
c) during a critical experience -a time of crisis during which the available resources are
overwhelmed.(Child)
These ego states become reinforced and further separated (dissociated) by any repetition
of traumatic experiences. It is these (24) dissociated ego states that are the focus of ego state
therapy since they remain responsible for symptoms and behavior disorders. It is to these
dissociated and distressed ego states that this discussion is directed.
The Function of Dissociated and Distressed Ego States: A distressed ego state becomes part
of the mental survival mechanism in response to great emotional stress. It retains the memories
of the fears, hurt, anger and/or guilt associated with the critical experiences. Within the limits of
its available resources it seeks to protect the rest of the personality from the distress it
unconsciously retains through the mechanism of repression.
The Role of Distressed Ego States in the Development of Symptoms: When this mechanism
of repression is overloaded (usually by current experiences reminiscent of the original trauma),
symptoms and abnormal behaviour appear. No matter how destructive these may seem, the
original unconscious protective intention (e.g. avoidance of an environment perceived as
dangerous, seeking parental approval etc.) always remains as its motivation.
Symptoms and abnormal behavior therefore remain the therapist's best means of locating the ego
state responsible for them. However, an ego state may be reluctant to relinquish symptom
maintaining behavior when such behavior has obtained useful secondary gains. Such secondary
gains, along with the repressed memories of trauma, must also be addressed by the therapist if
therapy is to prove successful.
Ego State Hypnotherapy: Analytical Hypnotherapy (Barnett1981) is Ego State Hypnotherapy.
Ego states are usually identified by age (e.g. five year old John) but may also be identified by
the symptoms associated with them (e.g. scared part) or perhaps given an acceptable name (e.g.
Little Mary). In order that symptom producing ego states may be
persuaded to relinquish symptom producing behavior, therapy must locate and identify the
responsible ego states and avail them (25) of access to new (Adult) resources. These resources
are present in the more mature ego states who possess modern information that enable them to
discover new solutions to old Parent/Child conflicts. These solutions render it possible for
symptoms and abnormal behavior that are deemed to be no longer useful or necessary to be
relinquished.
Symptom producing ego states are usually Child ego states remaining in unconscious
conflict with antagonistic Parent ego states. This conflict requires the assistance of the wiser and
more knowledgeable Adult ego states for resolution since the controlling influence of the
Parent ego state persists until it can be convinced that its mode of protection is no longer
necessary.
These distressed ego states will remain separated from the main personality as long as
they continue to retain discomfort. It is only when this has been relinquished that reintegration
into the prime personality can be attained. This is the declared aim of ego state therapy. When
we accept that this process requires unconscious communication we can rightly term it ego state
hypnotherapy. (26)
4. CHAPTER 4: PRINCIPLES OF EGO STATE HYPNOTHERAPY
1. Identification of the Critical Experience: We have presumed that a distressed ego state has
become so because of an experience that has not been adequately dealt with. Thus a part of the
personality has been assigned all of the information associated with that experience. It therefore
has the memory of it and the emotions that have remained unresolved. Its task is to protect the
individual in the best way it can from any recurrence of the original traumatic experience. The
distressed ego state will recall any disapproval that was experienced during that critical
experience as well as the feeling of guilt that this disapproval and the fear of possible
abandonment created. It is essential therefore to identify the critical experience responsible for
the origin of the distressed ego state if in turn that ego state is to be located and defined. It
should be noted here that a critical experience is one that, for the individual, has been
responsible for a crisis in which a critical decision has been made upon which future behaviour
will depend. Hypnosis has long been recognized as a tool for facilitating regression through the
memories to previous experiences. Memories are stored somewhere in the brain and are
sometimes retrieved effortlessly, but there are others, particularly those that are unpleasant,
which tend to resist conscious efforts at retrieval.
2. Adult Understanding of the Repressed Emotion and the Associated Feelings of Guilt:
The behavior and symptoms resulting from the ongoing internal conflict within the dissociated
ego state have not hitherto been properly understood at a conscious adult level because the
complete information about the critical experience has been concealed from the adult. Therapy
is directed at bringing this (27) information to the understanding of the adult and its wisdom.
The adult is then able to recognize that there was originally no satisfactory solution to the
problems posed by the critical experience except that of repression of the emotions and the
memory. However, although time has moved on, the dissociated ego state has remained locked
in the past. It remains totally unaware of any possible new solutions to its conflict. However,
once the adult is able to fully understand the repressed ego state's problem it can frequently
offer a new and acceptable solution to the dissociated ego state‘s conflict.
3. Recognition of the Current Irrelevance of the Repressed Emotions: It is the task of the
Adult to recognize that the emotions that have been repressed are no longer relevant to the
present and should be relinquished. Either there are new solutions to the old problems or they
in fact no longer exist. Only when the distressed ego state can completely accept these solutions
can it relinquish its discomfort, which in most cases it is most eager to do.
4. Relinquishing the Repressed and Repressing Emotions Permanently: The formerly
repressed and dissociated ego state needs to be completely convinced that it no longer needs to
carry the burden of pain, fear and/or anger that has been its lot before it will do so. When it is
ultimately released from all of its old tension there is always considerable relief, which is often
expressed as a smile.
5. Recognition that the Parent/Child Conflict Has Been Permanently Resolved: At this
stage there has to be an assurance that this conflict that has been at the basis of ego state distress
is at an end. Adult review of the origin of the conflict is repeated until there is no longer any
evidence of distress remaining. This is also an important first step in recognizing that any
secondary gains can be obtained in more mature ways.
6. Rehabilitation: Therapy can only remain successful if the individual can experience total
reintegration with the dissociated ego states. To (28) assure this the adult needs to determine new
ways of dealing with the world without the previous maladaptive behavior or symptoms. It is at
this juncture that ego strengthening suggestions and assertiveness training provides the ego state
with the strength and the wisdom to deal with the problems that formerly beset it. This is the
final stage and involves further dealing with better ways of achieving secondary gains. (29)

5. CHAPTER 5: UNCOVERING EGO STATES

It is a fundamental premise in ego state hypnotherapy that the brain can and frequently
does permanently record significant events perceived by the individual throughout his life. These
recordings may be stored essentially unaltered. This assumption is supported, not only by the
clinical experience of every hypnotherapist, but in particular by the work of Penfield (1952 ) in
which stimulation of the cerebral cortex evoked intact memories. This evocation indicated that
everything can be stored in detail in the brain and is capable of being played back in the present.
Not only are the past events themselves recorded but also the associated feelings occurring at the
time. It is this seeing, hearing, and feeling body of data that comprises much of the Child ego
state.
Another fundamental premise is that the persistence of the strong emotion associated
with the critical experience is responsible for the symptomatology. Thus it is that the prime task
of the ego state hypnotherapist is to locate the experience responsible for the symptoms in order
that appropriate therapy can be applied to modify them. There have been many techniques, using
hypnosis, which have been devised to accomplish this objective. Although the critical experience
is always one associated with much distress, for unconscious reasons, the memory of part or all
of it has usually been deeply buried in the unconscious mind, with barriers of amnesia erected to
prevent its recovery. The techniques to be described here have been designed either to
circumvent these barriers or to persuade the unconscious mind to remove them.
Memories would seem to have been filed chronologically; yet the unconscious mind does
not appear to do what we are consciously aware of doing when attempting to retrieve a memory
of a specific experience. At a conscious level we use the process of association to bring a
forgotten memory to consciousness. We start off with one remembered event and gradually, by
process of association with other events, rebuild the lost memory to a greater or lesser degree of
completeness. (30)
For example, if we are trying to remember what occurred on a certain day, we first recall
something significant about that day; other events associated with that day will then come to
mind until the event that we are seeking is recalled. The unconscious mind, on the other hand,
seems to require only one specific detail about an event in order to gain immediate access to all
of the other relevant aspects of it.
For the ego state hypnotherapist, this ability is of great importance since the one essential
aspect of the critical experience readily available is the emotional disturbance associated with it
which is responsible for the presenting symptoms. All uncovering techniques depend on the
association of the concealed experience with either a particular emotion or a specific time. The
techniques to be described owe their effectiveness to their ability to locate either an emotion or a
specific time. This location in turn unconsciously isolates the associated experience and
therefore permits it to be subjected to the examination necessary for therapy.
Every uncovering technique relies upon communication with the unconscious mind and
is therefore a manifestation of the hypnotic process. All emotions arise from a deeply
unconscious level and, whenever experienced, indicate that unconscious communication has
been established. It is part of the hypnotherapist's skill to be able to recognize when an emotion
is being experienced, since this immediately puts him in touch with his patient's unconscious
mind. Such physiological signs of emotion as flushing of the cheeks, watering of the eyes,
increased respiration and nervous body movements indicate to the therapist that an emotion is
being experienced, and such signs can then he used to identify the memory of the experience
responsible for them.
IDEOMOTOR QUESTIONING: Most of the recent advances in ego state
hypnotherapy can be directly attributed to the increased use of the ideomotor questioning
techniques. They provide the basis upon which the philosophy of ego state hypnotherapy is
currently established, and so will be described here briefly. In this technique, unconscious
signals of 'yes' 'no' and '1 don't want to answer' are established. As a result, a direct
communication with the unconscious mind which is clear and (31) unequivocal (a feature not
always present in other uncovering techniques) is established. Much skill is required in the
framing of suitable questions which can he answered with a yes or no, but all of the resources of
the unconscious mind become readily accessible to this approach. More importantly, the degree
of hypnotic involvement necessary for the effective performance of this technique is much less
than that required for other hypnoanlaytical uncovering techniques, and is consequently more
likely to be successful with those subjects who would not be able to respond to other techniques.
To be maximally effective, every ego state hypnotherapist should become familiar with
this ideomotor questioning technique. Its use in light hypnosis with minimal
conscious/unconscious dissociation makes it possible to accomplish satisfactory uncovering in
almost every case presenti ng for therapy. Previously it was only those subjects able to
accomplish the significant conscious/unconscious dissociation normally recognized by the
phenomena of medium or deep hypnosis who could benefit from the available hypnoanalytical
techniques, but the ideomotor questioning techniques require very little dissociation to be
effective. These techniques are able to locate very deeply buried unconscious memories and
resources, rendering them readily accessible to the hypnotherapist and his patient.
THE AFFECT BRIDGE: Watkins (1971) gave the name affect bridge to a technique in
which regression following a formal induction of hypnosis is accomplished by establishing a
direct connection between the present, in which an uncomfortable emotion exists, and the earlier
situation in which this same emotion was first experienced. In practice the hypnotherapist draws
the patient's attention to the emotion that he is feeling or to the symptom that is present; such
emotion is enhanced by Increasing the focus of attention, and when this is sufficiently strong, the
therapist is able to lead the patient back to its origin and effectively bridge him from the present
to the past causative experience. In this manner the patient is then encouraged to deal with the
original experience which is really responsible for the current uncomfortable tensions. It is to be
noted here that The Rapid Reintegration Procedure utilizes the affect bridge without a formal
hypnotic induction. (32)
The affect bridge is indirectly an important factor in many uncovering techniques, and
involves the use of emotion to track down the original experience responsible for it. In each case
the therapist is seeking associations in the past for present uncomfortable feelings.
In using the ideomotor questioning techniques, an affect bridge is constantly being
employed to locate the origin of tensions which may be only partly perceived at a conscious
level. The affect bridge technique illustrates very clearly how the ego state hypnotherapist
depends entirely upon the associative mechanisms of the mind in his task of uncovering the
unconscious origins of problems.
The ideomotor questioning techniques are undoubtedly the uncovering techniques of
choice. In the hands of the skilled ego state hypnotherapist, these techniques have the advantages
of accuracy, versatility, and a simplicity unmatched by any other uncovering method.
Furthermore, no additional equipment is required. With the use of these techniques, access to
unconscious information (normally associated with age regression in deep hypnosis) is
facilitated. This can be accomplished in relatively light hypnosis, in which there is little
conscious/unconscious dissociation and frequently no other evidence of hypnosis.
Erickson (1961) first observed that certain patients, while explaining their problems,
would unwittingly nod or shake their heads in contradiction to their actual verbalizations. He
surmised that the head movement was an unconscious ideomotor response indicating
unconscious communication. He utilized this observation as a basis for an induction technique,
particularly with resistant or difficult subjects. As a simple variation, he suggested that the
levitation of one hand could signify yes and the levitation of the other, no. Hypnosis is present
whenever this ideomotor activity occurs. Erickson also noted that when patients were asked to
review past events, their recall was often accompanied by unconsciously produced ideomotor
activity. James (1890) had earlier noted that' every representation of a movement awakens in
some degree the actual movement which is its object, I thereby recognizing that ideomotor
responses can be associated with unconscious memory. Erickson was more concerned with using
ideomotor responses as an induction technique, although he recognized that different responses
could be assigned different (33) signals very readily. He also noted that the character of these
responses was likely to be slow and deliberate
LeCron (!954, 1968) favored the use of Chevreul's pendulum to establish ideomotor signals
in response to questions. Thus the responses yes, not I don't know and I don't want to answer
would be assigned to each of the four possible movements of the pendulum. In this manner, by
judicious questioning, LeCron found that he could make excellent unconscious communication
and thereby uncover relevant information quickly and easily. Later proponents of this method of
uncovering have tended to eliminate the signal for I don't know since questions must be those for
which the unconscious mind has an answer.
Cheek (1968) found that he could achieve identical results by assigning signals to
individual fingers which would lift as an ideomotor response to questioning. This ideomotor
finger questioning technique is probably the most widely used of the ideomotor techniques at
present. In theory, almost any muscle of the body can be adapted to form an ideomotor
questioning technique, but the hands and the head are normally used since, in the usual
therapeutic encounter, they are the most readily observable parts of the patient's body.
THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS: As has already been stated, it is only through
the observation of a response to suggestion that the unconscious communication of hypnosis can
be recognized. Such a response may either be sensory or motor, and since it is consequent upon
an idea (or thought) evoked by the suggestion, it is termed an ideomotor or ideosensory
response. Ideosensory responses cannot in themselves be observed, although the patient is aware
and able to comment upon them. Ideomotor responses, on the other hand, do not require any
conscious intervention for them to be accessible to visual monitoring by the therapist.
It is probable that all suggestions elicit an idea, the content of which will depend upon
the individual's previous experiences and his understanding of the given suggestion. For
example, should the suggestion for lightness be given, the individual's idea of lightness will be
unique to him and will be dependent upon his previous experiences associated with the word
lightness. If the idea of (34) lightness is sufficiently strong, it will evoke memories of lightness
which are given substance by a recollection of the sensation of lightness. Again, if this sensation
of lightness be sufficiently great, muscular movements associated with the lightness ensue, and
an ideomotor response has been induced. This cycle of events can be interrupted by conscious
intervention which is one of the factors modifying suggestibility.
In the Rapid Reintegration Procedure the only ideomotor signal recommended is the
ideomotor head signal, which has proved to be sufficiently effective in the great majority of
cases and has the enormous time saving advantage of being already established. Its common use
as a conscious means of signaling yes and no may permit it to be subject to conscious influence
and control. However when they are monitoring unconsciously perceived emotions this does not
present a problem. In the rare situations where the ideomotor head signal is ineffective the
ideomotor finger signal may be substituted. (35)

6. CHAPTER 6: THE RAPID REINTEGRATION PROCEDURE: (A Revolutionary Approach

to Analytical Hypnotherapy and Ego State Therapy)
INTRODUCTION: This procedure is the result of a constant search for a rapid and
economical application of the Analytical Hypnotherapy and Ego State Hypnotherapy
principles1 in dealing with emotional and behavior problems. It retains the basic concept that
these problems are the result of past traumatic experiences that were initially dealt with by
assigning them to the care of parts of the personality. These parts, or ego states, eventually
became separate, dissociated or disowned while attempting to serve and ensure the well being
and survival of the main personality. Repression of these parts is frequently incomplete and the
emotions associated with them can then be triggered in the present by events reminiscent of past
trauma. Ego State Hypnotherapy is directed at identifying these parts, and enabling them to
access adult resources that will facilitate release of these outdated tensions, and promote the
reintegration into the prime personality.
In this streamlined analytical procedure no former analytical feature has been retained
that is not considered to be absolutely necessary. Thus there is no formal hypnotic induction, no
finger signaling, and no verbalization of memories.
The objective at the initial contact with the patient is to discover the most important
change that the patient wishes to make: e.g. to get rid of anxiety, depression, headaches etc. or
to lose weight, stop smoking, become more self confident etc. In doing this an effort is made to
identify any unreasonable feeling that prevents those changes. It can be a fear, sadness, anger,
guilt or some other noticeable distressing discomfort. It is this uncomfortable feeling that
determines the symptom or the behavior that in turn is designed to reduce it in some way.
Much of the initial interview is directed at identifying the uncomfortable feeling that the
patient experiences prior to any behavior or symptoms that he/she wishes to change. This
following procedure appears to rapidly locate and eliminate this controlling feeling in a majority
of instances. It accomplishes this by facilitating the identification of symptom producing and
distressed ego states. It detaches them from their imprisoning memories and avails them of rapid
access to present-day problem- solving resources. It also ascertains that these solutions will be
effective.
THEORETICAL CONCEPTS AND OVERVIEW OF RRP: Both analytical
hypnotherapy and ego state hypnotherapy consider that current adverse symptoms and behavior
disorders are always post traumatic in origin. During infancy, childhood and adolescence
traumatic crises are normally dealt with by protective behaviors directed by the emotions.
When these behaviours fail to provide adequate protection, the associated emotions are repressed
and contained by parts of the personality that are referred to as ego states. These parts
frequently become separated from the main personality but exist at an unconscious level and
continue to attempt to protect the individual with the emotions that they have retained. At the
time of therapy these emotions are frequently no longer relevant to the present, and so therapy is
directed at locating them and finding means of relinquishing them.
In The Rapid Reintegration Procedure the first step is to define the emotion that is
responsible for current symptoms and unwanted behaviors, and in order to do this the client
needs to be made aware of this emotion.
Once this is determined he/she is encouraged to use the affect bridge to lead to the
critical experience where the defenses were overwhelmed and the protective emotions
repressed. The ego state retaining these feelings is identified by its age, and encouraged to
leave the past original traumatic experience and memory, and advance to the protection of the
present adult ego, where it is welcomed and accepted. (38)
It is then encouraged to share the memory in the security of the present where it can
access adult re-evaluation. It is at this time that the knowledge, wisdom and compassion of the
adult can enable the traumatized ego state to recognize that it can now be relieved of its burden.
When successful there is a feeling of relief which can and should be consolidated by a return to
the original traumatic experience to ensure that it no longer has the power to affect the present.
The final stages of the procedure are to ensure that the secondary gains that the
symptoms and behavior complex obtained can be achieved in more productive ways. (39)
RAPID REINTEGRATION PROCEDURE 11 STEP GUIDE
Step 1. Symptom Orientation: "Before we do any hypnosis [Although no formal induction of
hypnosis is used I believe that whenever anyone goes back in the memory they enter hypnosis (?
right brain)] I would like to try something that might help. I would like you to close your eyes
(eyes close) and I would like you to go back in your memory to the last time you had that
uncomfortable feeling and when you are there simply nod your head to let me know. [Once
again although no ideomotor signal has been established the head nod is unconsciously
motivated when in hypnosis and is a valid ideomotor response.]"(head nods) [This may take a
few moments or several minutes.]
Step 2. Affect Bridge: [In a minority of cases the feeling fades instead of increasing presumably
because of a resistance to experiencing the original trauma and connection with the
uncomfortable ego state is deferred.] "Now, what I would like you to do is to let that feeling get
stronger and stronger until it becomes so strong that it takes you back to the very first time that
you had that feeling and when you are there you can nod your head "(head nods) [This may take
a few moments or several minutes.]
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State: "Right there you have the memory
that gives you that discomfort and I would like you to go through that memory and when you
have done that nod your head (head nods) Now that is a very uncomfortable memory. Does it
happen before the age of ten? (Head responds) Before the age of five?" (this process proceeds
until the age of the traumatized part is determined) [Sometimes the origin is hard to find, and
some assistance is necessary, e.g. "is it there at six? etc" Occasionally it is not found until the
question "is it there before birth?" is asked.] (40)
Step 4. Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience: "I would like you to take
five year old X [The age is that arrived at and X is always the most favored Christian name.]
away from that memory and bring him/her right here and when he/she is here please give
him/her a great big hug [This detachment from the past with stabilization in a secure (hugged)
present is a necessary step before integration with the present is attempted.] and when you have
done that nod your head (head nods). S/he really needs it. You can feel that very uncomfortable
feeling that s/he has. It is his/her feeling and s/he has a perfect right to it. [It is this full
acceptance of the uncomfortable feeling and its right to be there that promotes good
communication with the distressed ego state.] Perhaps s/he will be able to tell you exactly what
happened back there to give him/her that very uncomfortable feeling. I want you to listen
carefully and when you have heard all that happened to him/her let me know by nodding your
head. (head nods)
Step 5. Communicating with Distressed Ego State: "You are now able to understand just how
uncomfortable that experience was and that five year old X had a right to the feeling it caused
and that s/he had no alternative but to lock it inside him/her ever since then. It is his/her feeling
and s/he has every right to it. [Again this acknowledgment of the right to his/her feeling
increases internal rapport.] Perhaps you need to thank him/her for taking care of that feeling for
you." [The repression of old tensions into the memory of the distressed ego state is always for
protection and deserves thanks.]
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution: "With your present knowledge,
understanding and compassion do you believe that the feeling that is still locked up inside five
year old X is still necessary, useful or helpful? If so nod your head for "yes" or shake it for "no"
(head shakes) [It may take a few seconds or a few minutes before there is a response. During this
time there is presumably an internal dialogue going on between the distressed ego state and the
adult when information is being exchanged and new decisions are being reached.] (41)
Step 7. Resolution: "Well then, you need to convince five year old X that the uncomfortable
feeling is no longer necessary and that s/he can now let go of that discomfort, can say goodbye
to that feeling and become completely relieved of it. When s/he has done that and can feel that
relief, nod your head to let me know. S/he may in fact feel so relieved that s/he will get his/her
smile back that was taken from her." (head nods and there may be a smile)
Step 8. Confirmation of Resolution: "What a relief! That feels so good! However, we want
that smile to be permanent, so I would now like you to leave the present and go back with five
year old X all the way back into that memory so that s/he can feel that you are there with
him/her. S/he is no longer alone. When you are there I want you to use your present knowledge
and understanding to help him/her fix things so that the memory will never bother him/her ever
again. When you have done that nod your head again." [The dialogue continues, but this time in
the formerly stressful surroundings of the original critical experience until all objections to
relinquishing the distress are dealt with.] (head nods)
Step 9. Reintegration: "Now that five year old X is feeling so good bring him/her back here
with you and s/he can now occupy that empty space in your heart that is his/hers. It belongs to
him/her. It is his/her space and s/he can now remain there permanently. If that is O.K. with you
when s/he is there permanently in your heart nod your head again... [It is here that the feeling of
integration becomes reinforced and feelings of security are enhanced. The ego is immeasurably
strengthened.] (head nods)
Step 10. Confirmation of Reintegration and Future Pacing: "Notice how good that feels but
we would like to be absolutely certain that the good feeling remains permanent so I would now
like you and five year old X, who is now secure in your heart, to go forward together in time to a
situation where previously the uncomfortable feeling would usually have been present. I want
you to prove to yourself and to five year old X that you can now handle it comfortably without
any of that old discomfort. (42) When you have done that to your satisfaction nod your head.
(head nods) That is so good. Now you can really enjoy those positive feelings. [Here there has
been an unconscious rehearsal of new attitudes such as self assertion and self confidence.]"
Step 11. Ego Strengthening and Assertiveness Training: "Now that you have freed yourself
from that old discomfort you can now be the X you were meant to be. I believe X is just as good
and important as any other human being. S/he is not perfect and neither is anyone else. S/he is
not infallible and makes mistakes like any other human being. If you agree nod your head. (head
nods) That means that you have the duty to love and protect him/her. Do you agree? (head nods)
Then there are some undertakings you must make. First, you must never let anyone put him/her
down because no one has the right to do that. They are no better than him/her. They are not
perfect. They also make mistakes. Do you agree? (head nods). Second, you must never put
him/her down yourself. You did not make him/her so you do not have that right. Do you agree?
(head nods) Thirdly, you must never give way to the temptation to put anyone else down since
you are no better than they are. Do you agree? (head nods). If you keep these three
straightforward undertakings you will discover that you will find yourself handling life
comfortably and peacefully. You are now able to forgive yourself for the mistakes you have
made and may even be able to forgive those others who have made their mistakes that disturbed
you. When you are sure of this your eyes will open and you will feel very positive and very
calm. [This eye opening signals completion of the procedure for this particular problem.
However, the eyes can be kept closed and the procedure repeated as often as necessary to
eliminate other sources of tension.]
Note: The above verbalization is a basic one that, in this example, has not met with any
objections. This does obtain in a majority of cases and is rewarded with a rapid and effective
outcome. However, I find that a common objection arises at #6, when the protecting ego state is
not convinced that the negative feeling that has been its lot can and ought to be surrendered.
I believe that the main reason for keeping these tensions is (43) for protection and that
the young ego state has not been persuaded to understand that the adult can now provide
adequate protection. This may be because some elements of the critical experience have
remained concealed from the adult, and the young ego state believes the old danger to be
unaffected and still present. In this case I would request the adult to review the memory again,
and to persuade the young ego state to compare the original danger with any present one, so that
it can at last know that the old danger, whatever it was, is past or is in some way different from
the present, and therefore less to be feared. Only when s/he is convinced that the old protection
is no longer needed, or that the present adult can provide adequate protection, will sjhe agree to
relinquish it. The adult must now take on the role of protector and convince the young ego state
that the adult can (with its help) effectively assume this role.
Another reason for keeping old negative feelings is a self punitive one. That is to say that
the punishing ego state believes that it must continue to retain its distress in order to fulfill its
role as a punisher. [This role is usually modeled on that of an abusive and rejecting caretaker.]
This role is intended to protect the personality from a much feared and imagined greater
punishment (e.g. by God). Again, access to the adult's wisdom and compassion provides an
immense resource for the recognition of persistent and undeserved shame and guilt in order that
these negative feelings can be permanently discarded. A further reason for continued self
punishment is a paradoxical conviction that only a total rejection of the self will be rewarded
with the approval and acceptance that it craves (usually from a rejecting former caregiver). It
must therefore be convinced that this belief is erroneous, and that the adult will provide all of the
approval and acceptance it craves.
A final reason for keeping negative feelings is occasionally due to a belief that the
critical experience must be and can only be remembered by keeping discomfort (e. g. when there
is still grief at the death of a loved one.) I pose the question "Do you really think that if you let
all those tensions go, you will forget?" This usually works well.
Sometimes emotions emerge spontaneously during the initial interview. This is a good
time to initiate the procedure and to ask the patient to close his/her eyes and then to immediately
proceed with #2 Affect Bridge (44)
In the preliminary talk about the presenting problem one can introduce the concept of
parts which can retain old uncomfortable memories. This is usually readily accepted and
understood, and paves the way for this procedure. This procedure should be repeated as often as
necessary until future pacing indicates a complete freedom from former outdated negative
feelings.
CONCLUSION: Much of our behavior is controlled and directed by feelings a great
deal of which probably remain unconscious. Unwanted behavior and symptoms frequently arise
from repressed uncomfortable feelings and it is only by identifying these and dealing with them
that we can regain control and promote changes. Since this procedure deals only with feelings,
the memories associated with them do not need to be validated. Feelings that are discovered to
be no longer necessary or relevant to the present must be permanently discarded in order for life
to resume a comfortable direction. Hypnosis always infers communication with unconscious
processes: and in Ego State Hypnotherapy, from which this procedure has evolved, this has
always meant communication with outdated and currently irrelevant unconscious discomforts
that have been responsible for the persistence of unwanted behaviour and symptoms. In this
procedure it is presumed that these feelings are housed in protective ego states.
It is remarkable how frequently the direction to "close your eyes" followed by the
direction, "let that feeling take you back," enables clients to rapidly enter an inner focused state
that we hypnotherapists would readily label as hypnosis. This then is a rapid induction technique
unaccompanied by suggestions for relaxation which mayor may not spontaneously occur.
Regression, which is usually recognized as a deep hypnotic phenomenon, is a feature of this
procedure and illustrates that this is a normal response and an essential part of remembering. We
should therefore be aware that the hypnotic process is taking place whenever we ask someone to
remember. (45)
It is also equally astonishing how rapidly this technique discovers important critical
experiences, and permits an early understanding of the associated tensions that have been
responsible for ongoing problems. One has however to accept the fact that these tensions cannot
always be as rapidly discarded and it may require several sessions to accomplish this goal. It is
equally gratifying to note how readily a subsequent relaxation hypnosis induction is accepted
following this procedure. This is probably because this procedure rapidly establishes an
excellent rapport in which unconscious ego states are contacted, understood, acknowledged and
accepted. They then become trusting allies in subsequent therapeutic interactions.
POST SCRIPT NOTES:
1. We believe that at all times during RRP there is an observing wise part that can be called
upon to assist the adult when the problem seems to be insoluble.
2. We have also confirmed that other ego states, particularly Parent ego states, can readily be
summoned and interviewed in RRP
3. If any of the original body discomfort persists, then there must still be a distressed ego state
responsible for it that needs to be comforted and completely reintegrated.
4. If a Parent ego state is responsible for continued discomfort then it must be accessed and
persuaded that it can now become a loving and nurturing Parent because the real parent could
not do so. Scared ego states are usually being scared by hostile Parent ego states who must be
persuaded to erase the scary messages and recordings they have made.
5. Complete forgiveness of the self and of others is the ultimate objective of RRP. It does not
sanction condoning. Instead, forgiveness flows from the recognition of universal human frailty.
Forgiveness is only possible when the distress from the past has been fully dealt with and
replaced with self love and acceptance. (46)

7. CHAPTER 7: ILLUSTRATIVE CASES

INTRODUCTION: The following nine cases will give you a feeling for what the practice of
RRP looks like. These are all Dr. Tkach's patients. These cases demonstrate the ease and
effectiveness of RRP. Dr. Tkach is a dermatologist in a small town of 27, 000 people. He
became interested in RRP in order to treat four patients with neurotic excoriations, a condition
viewed by dermatologists as very hard to treat. He is not trained as a psychiatrist or clinical
psychologist. These cases also demonstrate that the average physician can learn and
productively use RRP in his/her office.
CASE 1: PROBLEM: STAGE FRIGHT, MUSIC, TRUMPET: HISTORY:
Q. is a 27 years old married personal banker. He does not like this job and would prefer to be a
professional musician, jazz trumpet player. He has a very religious background and describes
himself and his whole family is very smart. He thinks he is musically gifted, and that this gift
comes from God. His performance on the Trumpet is, therefore, an expression of glory to God.
He has tried to cope with his stage fright by praying to God before the performance, but this
has been of limited effectiveness in solving his stage fright problem.
Q. is the middle of three kids. V, the oldest, is now 29. Q. is 27, and D is 25. V. is distant. V. is
two years older than Q. Q. can share anything with V. (48)
Q. was closer to Mother than to Father. He describes Mother as loving and nurturing. "I'm glad
she stayed home with us when we were kids. She hugged us all the time. I went out of my way
to tell her I loved her. I am a pretty touchy-feely person. I like to express my love when I love
people. There was never a shortage of hugs. She used to put us to bed at night and to pray with
us."
Mother and Father have been married 30 years.
Both sides of the family are musical. Mother is musical and very smart. She was valedictorian
of her high school class. She went to college and got a teaching degree. She taught for four or
five years and then she started having a family. She stayed home with the kids. "My mother
and I, out of us three kids, we were the closest I think."
Q. describes himself as very smart but not motivated while he was in school. It took him seven
years to complete college. He majored in liberal arts, with concentration in music, business, and
social science.
Q's description of his problem:
His stage fright is not limited to music. Three weeks ago, there was a business meeting at his
church. He had things he wanted to say. But when he tried to speak, his voice got shaky, and he
got really nervous.
"It's the same as when I am playing my horn. With my horn, I am such a perfectionist and I
want it to sound so good. I work myself up into this knot. When I get out there, I am so nervous
that I am going to mess up. I shouldn't be, because I'm a really good player. I know my stuff
well and I always prepare well. But I am so afraid I am going to screw up, and people are going
to be disappointed when I play."
"I get nervous, and my heart starts beating', and I can't breathe normally. It's not that I am short
of breath. It seems like I am taking in and taking in, and I can't rid of the air. I have always had
this feeling”. Sometimes his jaw shakes, especially when in church he plays slow melodic parts
of hymns.
He feels that his solo performance in college was getting better. He was gaining ground.
"For me it was always worst at first, and, as I got into the song, my nerves did settle.” (49) He
has done 2 or 3 student juries. They were not a problem. Auditions were not too bad. He is not
nervous with his music lessons from his teacher or from previous teachers. He gets a little
nervous the first few minutes with a new teacher.
Solo practice at home is his favorite time to play because he can play as loud as he wants
and whatever he wants. He does not need to worry about annoying anyone. "It is kind of
therapeutic for me. When I need to release frustrations, I pick up my horn. Playing loudly
sometimes makes me feel better."
When playing or speaking before a group of people, he feels as if he is being scrutinized.
"Are they judging me or do they think what I am saying is intelligent? Am I an idiot for what I
am saying? I am thinking do they hear that little squeak here, that little bloop there?"
He is concerned that he might let them down. "This is a common thing through college.
My first two years of college were my best years, grade wise, and being responsible. As I got
further on, I kept feeling like I was letting people down. I never had a straight path that I felt
passionate about following. I went the direction I did because it was the fastest way out. I just
wanted to be done. I needed to be done. My heart was just never really in it. I was there
because I felt like it was good for me to be there." "I know my parents wanted me to go (to
college). I knew I should go. I was never convinced that I wanted to go. I am glad now that I
have the degree."
He took speech class in high school. That was a good experience. "I used humor to make
myself comfortable. People laughed. I felt they weren't laughing at me, they were laughing with
me. That helped me be comfortable up there. That was my trick to not being nervous.”
Both sides of his family are musical. Mother was the one who pushed it. She made all
three kids take piano lessons starting in the 2nd or 3rd grade (age 8 or 9). The piano teacher was
a teacher from his church. "I hated piano. I felt like she was forcing me to take piano. As soon
as I got to 5th grade (age 11), my way out of the piano was playing trumpet. I enjoyed playing
the trumpet. I didn't enjoy playing the piano. (50) "I don't want to disappoint the audience. I just
want to be the best. I've always felt very highly about my playing. I enjoy hearing myself play.
I want them to hear how well I can play. I so much want them to hear how well I can play that I
mess up."
ROLE OF BREATHING: He has always felt that his breathing gets in the way of his
playing. "I take a breath of air to play, and even though it seems like I am out of breath, and I
take another breath, it's like my stomach is always full of air. And it just gets in the way. I've
always noticed that." If he has four measures of rest, he tries to breathe out because he feels he
has too much air in there.
"The breathing is the main thing. I want to play it perfect. I don't want to screw up.
Before I start playing, my breathing starts to change. The breathing is the key component. When
I am up on stage, I get too much air, and it's in the way. The air gets locked in my lung cavity.
There's too much air in there. The air I'm trying to take in is never enough, and I can never get
rid of the old stuff. It feels like I am not getting it out. When I am done breathing out,
everything feels tight. It's uncomfortable. It's tight. When I take another breath, it's like I am
taking a breath on top of a breath I already had. When I don't need as much air, it's like I can't
get rid of it. It messes up what notes I am trying to play. I try before I get out there to control
my breath. It starts while I am waiting to go on stage. That's the fast heart beat. It starts an hour
or two before performance. The nervousness interferes with my endurance.
My warm-up before a performance tires me more than my warm up before practice. I
warmed up like I always do and now I have to go out there and I feel like my lip is gone. When
I practice, I know that first note is going to come out right. When I am performing, that changes
for some reason." It is easier for him when he plays with a bigger group. He is more relaxed.
"Everyone's eyes are not on me. They are on the group.” The problem started in college. "That's
where it really started (51) mattering to me, I wanted to sound really good.”
EXAMPLE OF A STAGE FRIGHT EPISODE: An example of his stage fright
experience is a performance a year ago when he was part of a seven piece Jazz band playing to a
packed house in a huge auditorium at the school of music. "I had performed in front of people a
lot of times. But it had been a while since I had been in front of a big crowd. I got myself all
worked up. I was nervous. I wasn't even in the spot light."
"Finally, when we got on stage, the first piece we were playing, my first few notes were
F, A flat, A. I came out there, I was at least a step or two above that. I couldn't even play the
right notes. For the whole piece I was just off. I think the adrenalin was making my lips really
tight. When you are playing and you want to be in the upper register, you kinda need that. I was
so tight and so pumped up to make those notes, I went way above them. I don't know if people
noticed it all that much, but I sure did and I felt really terrible."
RRP SESSION:
Step 1. Symptom Orientation Feelings associated with stage fright:
1. Anxious
2.Nervous
3. Worried
4.Frustrated
5. “Embarrassment if I
6.”I may be scared of being screw up.” rejected if I don't play as
7. “The breathing is the main well as I like to.” thing.”
8.“I don't want to disappoint the audience.”
Step 2. Affect Bridge: I directed Q. to the last time he had those uncomfortable feelings, and
then let affect bridge take over.
First dissociated ego state: (52)
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State: The feelings led him to a critical event at
age 15.
Step 4. Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience: He was brought to the safety
of the therapist in the present.
Step 5. Communication with the Distressed Ego State: 15 years old Q. told 27 years old (Adult)
Q. what happened.
Step 6 . Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution: 15 year old Q. was not able to let go of the
uncomfortable feelings. Exploring the resistance revealed that the 15 year old was trying to
protect the Adult. The Adult thanked the 15 year old for protecting him for 12 years.
Step 7. Resolution: The Adult convinced the 15 year old to let go. He got his smile back. The
uncomfortable feelings were gone.
Step 8. Confirmation of Resolution & 9. Reintegration
Past testing showed the uncomfortable feelings were gone.
Second dissociated ego state and return to: N.B. not all steps are repeated
Step 1. Symptom Orientation: Future testing showed a "smidgen" of uncomfortable feeling.
Step 2 .Affect Bridge and
Step 3. Critical Experience and Second Dissociated Ego State: The feeling carried him back to
age 11.
Step 4. Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience (53) The Child was brought to
the present and
Step 5. Communication with Distressed Ego State: The Child told the Adult the memory.
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution: The Child let go of the uncomfortable
feeling.
Step 7. Resolution: The 11 year old got his smile back. The patient smiled when he said that.
Step 8. Confirmation of Resolution and
Step 9. Reintegration: Past testing showed the uncomfortable feeling was gone.
Step 10. Future Pacing: Future testing: performing in front of a crowd showed the
uncomfortable feelings gone: no air locking, no chin quivering, and no being anxious. Future
testing at Church, he was able to talk in front of the group of elders without feeling
uncomfortable.
Step 11. Ego Strengthening and AssertivenessTraining:
I did ego strengthening. Q. was invited to come out of RRP at his own speed. It took
him about 30 seconds. He described the critical events as trivial but offered no detailed
description. Q. played his trumpet. He said he felt comfortable, but wished he had had warm- up
time. We discussed RRP a while. He said he was comfortable with RRP. He thinks he can do it
on his own. I urged him to try doing RRP on his own when he gets uncomfortable feelings.
I asked him to let me know in a few months how he is doing. A few weeks after RRP, Q said he
played his trumpet at the Easter services for his church and was not bothered by stage fright. He
has a small amount of anxiety which we commonly see as normal in most musicians. (54)
CASE 2: PROBLEM - EMOTIONAL DISTRESS CAUSED BY SPONTANEOUS
MISCARRIAGE: History: A 34 year old lady and her husband were elated to learn she was
carrying her first pregnancy. At 12 weeks gravid, something seemed wrong. It was determined
the fetus had died probably at 10 weeks. At week 13, she was treated with a D & C. Over the
next three weeks, her unhappiness was compounded by progressive fatigue and trouble getting
through the day.
Step 1. Symptom Orientation: This lady was asked to close her eyes. She was asked to identify
the uncomfortable feeling and to let it grow stronger, to concentrate only on the uncomfortable
feeling.
Step 2. Affect Bridge: She was told the feeling would carry her back to the memory of the
event. This procedure called "affect bridge" is the cornerstone of RRP.
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State: She was asked to remember the last time
she had these feelings. Then she was instructed to concentrate on the uncomfortable feeling,
and to let it carry her back to the first time she ever experienced that feeling. She quickly and
easily regressed, surprisingly, to age four or five and not 34.
Step 4. Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience: She was asked to bring the 4
year old to the safety of the present with the therapist and her Adult self. She was asked to give
the little child a big hug. (55)
Step 5. Communication with Distressed Ego State: She listened while the four year old told her
what happened that made things so bad. The four year old was asked to let go of the
uncomfortable feelings but could not. She indicated that the 4 year old was hanging on to those
feelings in order to protect the 34 year old Adult.
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution: When people have trouble letting go of old
uncomfortable feelings, it is usually for one of three reasons:
1. So as not to forget something.
2. To protect the ego from something or
3. To punish the self for some reason. Punishment usually carries a hidden hostile Parent ego
state.
In this case, a reverse psychology was used. "Okay, now we know. She is trying to protect you.
Thank her. She's kept it bottled up for 30 years. But now could you protect her? She four.
You're 34. You have a great wisdom and experience she does not have. Can you convince her
of that?"
Step 7. Resolution and
Step 8. Confirmation (Smile) of Resolution: Using standard RRP techniques, the four year old
was able to let go of the uncomfortable feeling and finally to get her smile back.
Step 9. Reintegration: The Adult made room in her heart and welcomed her back (to the main
personality.) It is not necessary for the patient to relive the trauma, just to identify it. Reliving
the trauma is avoided to prevent abreactions.
Step 10. Confirmation of Reintegration: She was told, "We want to make sure this
uncomfortable feeling will never bother you again. Let's go back to age four. Is that
uncomfortable feeling still there? Nod your head for yes, shake your head for no." She shook
her head no. "Let's move forward to the present. Is that uncomfortable feeling still there?" She
shook her head to indicate no. "Can you see yourself going forward into the future without the
old uncomfortable feeling?" She nodded yes. This entire procedure took 26 minutes. (56)
Step 11. Ego Strengthening and Assertiveness Training: The final step in RRP is to give the
patient suggestions for ego strengthening. At no time is any formal hypnosis induction
performed. RRP grew from analytical hypnotherapy, the patient is alert but focused internally
and remains in control at all times in RRP. The patient is not required to tell the doctor
anything private or personal. This makes RRP non-threatening. Monthly follow-up
conversations for six months revealed a happy smiling patient not bothered by the previous
anxiety.
Until now it has been difficult, uncertain, and time consuming to deal with the post
miscarriage anxiety. This is the first published use of RRP for treatment of the emotional
distress associated with spontaneous abortion. RRP is fast, cheap, and safe. No pharmacological
intervention is used in RRP. We are writing a lengthy programmed textbook to help others
easily to learn RRP. In addition to the obvious benefit to the distressed patient, we believe RRP
will allow surgeons to avoid some unfortunate legal entanglements resulting from the emotional
trauma of some surgical events.
With RRP, we physicians can comfortably and profoundly help patients with problems
that we previously would have bemoaned. It is possible to regain self-confidence when dealing
with such patients, and to experience the close bonding that occurs between people who shared
an emotional event. It is important that we as doctors not blame the patients for their fear,
sadness, and anxiety. They do not want to be fearful. Such symptoms are a defense mechanism
to help them cope with the situation. About 6 months later, she had a second pregnancy that also
ended in spontaneous abortion. This experience was far more painful. However, she was able to
cope with it and was not depressed. (57)
 CASE 3 PROBLEM – OVEREATING: HISTORY: B is a 29 year old married lady
with no children who has a long list of medical problems such as hypothyroidism, depression,
chronic fatigue, palpitations, chronic sore throat, chronic headaches, connective tissue disorder
NOS, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erythematosus, Hashimoto's, low grade fevers, endometriosis,
Vit. B12 deficiency, and lack of exercise. No diabetes. B is the third of three children. B was the
kid sister.
Dad is 65. B gets along well with Dad. Dad gave her love and hugs as a child. Mom is 60, and
B describes her as "the most amazing woman I know, my best friend. She is an incredibly
giving person. Though she does have a penchant for guilt. She's very good at the mother guilt
thing.”
B's description of her problem: B seeks help with overeating and bingeing. B weighs 286 and
would like to get down to 200. “I don't exercise like I should. I find myself eating much more
than I should. I never really have a full feeling. When I go to bed at night, my last thought is,
Ooh. What should I have for breakfast tomorrow? Food should not rule my life." She is living
from one meal to the next. "It feels like a stress reaction. I come home and there's a whole
bunch of bills and bills I cannot afford to pay. So, I open the fridge. I get something out, and I
start eating. It's hard to stop, that's for sure." She was always chubby even as a small child. "I
was very active. Sweets and junk food were not a part of our life. My parents, we'd go out to
eat pizza every couple of weeks."Eating was not a problem until puberty about age 11 or 12.
(58) B arrived accompanied by her friend T for moral support. They both had sessions, and
chose to be in the room at the same time. For this session, B felt better to have T present.
RRP SESSION:
Step 1. Symptom Orientation: I asked B to close her eyes, which she did easily. I asked her to go
back to a recent episode of overeating and to feel that feeling. We did not name the feelings. I
simply referred to them as those “uncomfortable feelings”.
Step 2. Affect Bridge: I asked her to let that strong feeling carry her back to the very first time
she had that uncomfortable feeling.
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State: She quickly regressed to age 7.
Step 4. Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience: Adult B brought 7 year old B
to the present, gave her a hug, and felt the 7 year old's feeling.
Step 5. Communicating with distressed Ego State: The seven year old told her what made her so
uncomfortable.
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution: During confirmation of resolution, A
reported that the old uncomfortable feeling was still there in the seven year old. The seven year
old had not let go of it completely. The Child explained to the Adult why she could not let go of
the feeling. Hanging on to the old feeling was serving the purposes of not forgetting and to
protect B. (59)
Step 7. Resolution: I asked the Adult to tell the Child that she could let go of the uncomfortable
feeling without forgetting. The child accepted that. The Adult thanked the Child for protecting
her. The Adult agreed to protect the Child. That seemed to go well.
Step 8. Confirmation of Resolution and
Step 9. Reintegration: Adult B made room in her heart for Child B in the present. Confirmation
of resolution at age 7 showed the uncomfortable feeling was still there. When asked if the
feeling was still there, Adult B's face winced.
Second Dissociated Ego State:
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State: There was someone there that child
needed protection from, a 17 or 18 years old girl. The 17 year old girl was telling Child B
something bad, and was hurting Child B. I asked to talk to that person. The response was no. I
pointed out that that person is not really that old. Adult B could not see that.
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution: I enlisted the help of Adult B to protect Child
B from the 17 year old girl.
Step 7. Resolution: The child let go of the feeling and got her smile back.
Step 8. Confirmation of Resolution and
Step 10. Future Pacing were successful.
11. Ego strengthening and Assertiveness training were done. The eyes opened as suggested. B
said, "Wow." I feel that "Wow" response confirms the validity of the RRP. She said B has her
smile back. Now B realizes that her overeating was a response to stressful events at age 7. I told
B that if the old urge to overeat comes back, it is the 7 years old asking the Adult B to (60)
protect her. B said she was not aware of this critical event until she did RRP. I explained to B
that she can do a lot of this on her own. I asked her not to actually relive traumatic events.
B returned one week later for a second session. She said the RRP allowed her to eat normally
for 2 days, and then her urge to overeat returned. B's second session was deepened, more
thorough, and more productive. She felt she could do more by herself by being alone for the
session.
CASE 4: PROBLEM – OVEREATING: HISTORY: T is a tall attractive young lady
who does not appear overweight. Nevertheless, she describes herself as having uncontrollable
eating and a tendency for a yo-yo weight problem. She is accompanied today by B from Case
3. She is the eldest child or divorced parents. Non of her siblings are overweight. She is married
with children. T feels she was greatly loved as a child and was hugged a lot by both parents and
grandparents. When she was a young child, Dad did giver her love and tell her that he loved her.
After the divorce she did not have a strong relationship with Dad as he was never around. Dad
was physically abusive to T a couple of times. Currently, Dad is 50 years old and teaches
Medical Terminology at a university He moved there two years ago. She gets along well with
him now. "He's crazy. He's fun. He has a feeling that he is younger than he is. He's a great
grandpa". Dad is strong willed. Mom is 57 years old and in good health. She and her mom are
close. T gets along well with her mom. T was loved and hugged by her mom. No one else in the
family is overweight, only T. Mom and Dad divorced because Dad was cheating, abusive
verbally and physically, and used drugs. Mom divorced him. Dad was physically abusive to T a
couple of times. "The divorce was a catastrophe at the time. Now I wish it would have been
earlier. I (61) think we would have avoided a lot of really bad memories." T being the eldest
child, a burden of work fell upon her. She had extra responsibility. She did baby-sitting,
laundry, and ironing, starting at age 5. She was angry about this. There was a stretch of 4 years
or more when T had to do the work.
T.'s description of her problem: "I am here to get help with my overeating problem. I have
battled with yo-yo-ing weight for a long time. I have gained 15 lbs in the last three months,
which is a concern to me because I used to be 240 lbs. That's the heaviest I have ever been, at
age 19 in college. I stayed at 215 for a while, and then went back up to 240. My highest weight
was 243. According to my physician I should be 160 lbs. I am currently 25 lbs overweight. I
feel bad. I can tell my body is not taking it well. I have a heart murmur. There are other
medical issues in my family." "I don't feel good when I am done eating. I feel sick. But, I can't
stop it. I just keep eating. I don't want to teach my child that. I constantly worry about my health
status." She recently quit smoking by using Wellbutrin, visiting her family for two weeks, and
avoiding triggering factors such as being around neighbors who smoke. “I worry about my heart
murmur, problems with my legs, and with my energy level." She had exacerbation of the
murmur with weight gain and with pregnancy.
I sit down to eat dinner. I just cannot control myself. My lowest weight was 163. I felt
my most comfortable weight was 170. That was when I felt the healthiest. I could hike. When I
finally get to lunch time, I can eat endlessly. I'm never full. I have never had that full feeling.
After 45 minutes I feel sick, because I have eaten too much. I can feel my food up to my chest.
It's a very uncomfortable feeling as if I had a 50 lb rock inside my stomach. I feel embarrassed
to go out to eat with other people. I look at what I've just eaten, and it scares me. The more
stressful my day goes, the more I eat. It makes me feel better. I am done with the meal and an
hour later I feel full, but I crave sweets. I feel like I need to keep eating. I can't stop." (62)
T's feelings associated with the urge to over eat.
1. Anxious
2. Scared after overeating
3. Worried
4. Fearful
5. Sad
6. Hurt emotionally
7. Angry
8. Guilty
9. Ashamed
10. Embarrassed
11. Rejected by myself
RRP SESSION:
Step 1. Symptom Orientation: T was sitting with her shoulders all scrunched up against her neck.
I pointed that out to her and asked her to relax herself from that position
Step 2 Affect Bridge: T successfully maneuvered affect bridge
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State which took her to an ego state at five
years old.
Step 4. Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience: I asked her to bring 5 years old
T here with us and to give her a big hug.
Step 5. Communicating with Distressed Ego State: Adult T got a big smile when I suggested
that. I asked Adult T. to ask 5 years old T to tell her what happened without actually reliving it.
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution: Adult T got a very strong emotional
contraction on her face and cried. It was dramatic. I stopped my talking and let her cry for a
while. (Comment: This strong emotional reaction seemed to me to be confirmation of the
validity of the RRP experience.) (63) At this point it was difficult to know what to do next. I let
her express this emotion a short while, about 30 seconds. She covered her face with her hands.
My feeling was she was letting out emotions that had been bottled up for 23 years, and to give it
a little time. I waited a little longer and suggested to her that when she was ready to continue,
her head would nod, which it did immediately.
(My feeling about this aspect of RRP is as follows. Many forms of psychotherapy ask
the patient to relive traumatic events in a sort of desensitization process or catharsis. I think that
is painful for people and do not support that approach. Perhaps that approach works, but I think
the cost of re-experiencing all the pain is not worth it. RRP can do a good job more gently, and
with less pain and distress to the patient.)
 I asked Adult T to talk to Child T to convince her to let go of those uncomfortable
feelings. She shook her head, indicating No. We explored why. She was holding onto those
uncomfortable feelings so she would not forget something. Child T explained to Adult T why
she wanted not to forget. Adult T could not understand why Child T would not let go of the
feelings.
I asked her if Child T was hanging onto the uncomfortable feeling to protect her
somehow. She nodded yes. I asked Adult T if that was still necessary. She indicated no. I asked
Adult T to thank Child T for protecting her all those years, 23 years. I asked Adult T to tell
Child T that she would protect her now and take care of her now. Child T was able to accept
that, but there was still something wrong.
HIDDEN EGO STATE. I asked if there were still somebody there telling T something
bad. She smiled and nodded her head yes. It was Father. I asked to talk to Father and confronted
him. He admitted he was telling T she was bad. I asked if she was really bad. He nodded yes. At
this point, T started crying again. I let her cry. I confronted Father, and Father admitted that T
is not really bad. Father agreed to stop torturing T. Father agreed to tell T she is not bad and
stop doing that to her. I told Father, "There's something you went through that made you feel
bad. You can let go of that and you can free T from that (64) too. She's just five years old."
Father agreed to stop doing that to her.
Step 7. Resolution: Five years old T. now could let go of the bad feelings, but she did not have
her smile back. I asked Child T. to tell Adult T. what the other uncomfortable feeling was. She
did. I asked T. to use her Adult resources to convince the Child to let go of the uncomfortable
feelings. She did. There we no other uncomfortable feelings to work on. We did Step 8.
Confirmation of resolution and
Step 9. Reintegration: We did confirmation of Step 10. Future pacing,
Step 11. Ego strengthening and assertiveness training. T was invited to visit the other ego states
and to open her eyes. She was still crying. She blew her nose and wiped her eyes. Post RRP she
said she had made a connection she had not made before. She confirmed the events of the RRP
session. She said she feels like things are going to be better now. "I do feel different now. I'm
scared, but..." T understands that the problem was not eating. It was the five year old T trying to
get attention. I explained to T how to do some of this on her own, and assured her I am here for
her if she needs me.
T said she felt comfortable most of the time in RRP and that she was in control and
could get out if she wanted to. "There was one time when I did stop. It took me a little while to
go back." T felt the RRP experience was exhausting. I asked T how she felt about having B
present during her RRP. She said, "It felt good having a familiar person here. I felt very
comfortable actually. T did not respond to 3 phone calls asking how she was doing. She
scheduled a second session for 1 week later and was a no show. She did not respond to the
invitation to join in an evaluation group. We find that sometimes, when the patient needs a
second session, he/she may take as long as 25 years to return or may never return. We take this
to be a sign of resistance, and usually (65) it signals the presence of a hostile Parent ego state
that was too threatened.
CASE 5: PROBLEMS:
1. Overeating -He has gained 30 lbs in the past ten years.
2. Panic episodes
3. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
4. Fear of public speaking
 HISTORY: U sent me a handwritten letter listing 4 problems he wanted help with. In
RRP session he worked on the first three problems. U is a 58 year old man who is married to an
ex-intensive care unit nurse and has a 15 year old daughter K. His father was a farmer and
bulldozer operator for a sand and gravel company. He was a serious man of German ancestry
with values of hard work ethic, and he instilled those values in his three sons. As a teen, U
worked with his dad driving bulldozer. Dad's values were to work hard and to be truthful. U's
dad may not have been demonstrative of affection to the boys. Dad did not hug the boys, but
mother did. Dad had to quit school in the 8th grade and had to farm because his father (U's
grandfather) lost his arm in a corn husker. Because dad had to quit school, he did not want his
kids to stay on the farm. He wanted them to get an education, and “if we failed at that we could
always come back to farming.”
U's mother, a housewife, on the other hand, was warm, caring, and supportive. "She
always got along good with everyone." U. felt he was loved as a child. Mom is 83 and living.
Dad died at age 79. U. says he got along fine with his father, "as long as you did everything the
right way and did it honestly.” Dad was directive about expecting the kids to get an education.
U's description of the problems he seeks help with:
1. Overweight. He has gained 30 lbs over the past ten years. "I find myself eating a lot at the
office. Things are brought in. If I walk by it, I feel this need or urge to eat it, and I know I'm not
even hungry. Then I have guilt about eating it. (66) It seems like I continue to eat, that my brain
doesn't shut things off. I don't recognize that I am full, and I continue to eat." Feelings associated
with the urge to overeat:
Anxiety Frustration
Guilt Shame
Worried-overeating is a response to worry.
Embarrassed with himself.
2. Panic disorder. There is a family history of this. For U, it started when he was riding the
chair lift at a ski slope when it stopped and he was high above the ground. "I had this urge to
jump off just to escape the situation, but it wasn't realistic because it was too far to jump." Now,
when he gets on the chair lift, he has a lot of anticipatory anxiety about it. He skied for one year
after that, but stopped because his back surgeon warned him not to do it because of neck
problems. "Now I do cross country because it is safer."
Family History of Panic Disorder: "My grandfather, for many years, was not able to go to
church. Whenever he got around large crowds, he felt closed in and had to get out of there. He
avoided all those situations." "I've had a few panic episodes during flying on planes. I was
flying home, and the plane was full. I was in a middle seat, and I suddenly felt very closed in. I
had to get up and walk up and down the aisle."
Feelings associated with panic (boxed in on a airplane):
Anxious Nervous
Scared Worried
Fearful Resentful-about loss of control
Frustrated Guilty
Ashamed Embarrassed
Post traumatic stress disorder: He was robbed at work. He worked at an industrial clinic at
night. He was the only one there. There were two guys and one was holding a tire iron. He saw
the suspicious characters coming (67) and called the police. They came in and threatened him
and forced him to open the cash drawer. (Comment: instead of using the term "threatened me,"
he says "confronted me." I find that choice of words curious.) Just as it opened, the police
pulled up. They ran to the back, and the police got them
Results of being robbed: "Especially at night, if I hear a sound, I have an exaggerated
startle response. If I am trying to fall asleep, and I hear a noise, I'm quite awake and I listen
intently for a long time until I can explain the noise or learn that it is nothing threatening like
someone breaking in. It triggers some sort of anxiety situation, and it takes me a lot longer to
get to sleep."
He does not normally sleep well. He feels like he has trouble getting to sleep. It take 30 minutes
to get to sleep. He had soft palate surgery years ago for sleep apnea.
Feelings associated with PTSD- Robbery
Anxious Nervous
Scared Worried
Fearful Resentful-about loss of control
Frustrated Guilty
Ashamed Embarrassed
4. Stage fright. "That's been present as long as I can remember." He took speech class in high
school to overcome it. It only helped a little bit. "It's a feeling of vulnerability."
Feelings associated with stage fright (public speaking):
Anxious Nervous
Scared Fearful
Worried Guilty
Frustrated Embarrassed
Ashamed-"I guess"
Additional observations: when U came in, I think he was feeling guarded. By this part of the
visit, he was more relaxed. The tension was quite palpable at first. I think going through the
feelings checklists somehow freed him up from something that had been interfering. (68)
RRP SESSION
Step 1. Symptom Orientation: U chose to start with the feeling of panic.
Step 2. Affect Bridge, Step 3.: He achieved affect bridge rapidly and regressed to a critical event
at age 6 years.
Step 4. Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience: I asked him to bring that 6
year old here with us. When I asked him to hug 6 year old U, he crossed his arms grabbing his
elbows with his hands.
Step 5. Communicating with Distressed Ego State and 6. Accessing Adult Resources: Adult U
was not able to convince the 6 year old to let go of the uncomfortable feelings. We established
that 6 year old U was holding onto the uncomfortable feelings in order to protect the main
personality.
Step 7. Resolution: Adult U was able to convince the 6 year old to let go of the uncomfortable
feeling by convincing the 6 year old that the Adult will take care of him and to protect him.
(Comment: at no point did U. ever describe to me what any of the critical events were.)
Past and future confirmation and future pacing were done.
Step 1. Symptom Orientation: I asked U. if there was another uncomfortable feeling that he
would like to work on. He nodded yes and described it as fear at night or fear of confrontation.
(Comment: U had previously used this term "confrontation" in a way to describe "threat or
danger.") (69)
Using Step 2. Affect bridge,
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State: U. regressed to age 23, the time of his
victimization by the robbers. I confronted him to make sure that was the very first time he had
that feeling. He said it really was at 23.
Steps 4, 5, 6, & 7, Adult U was able to convince the 23 years old U. to let go of the
uncomfortable feeling.
Steps 8, 9 & 10: This was confirmed in the past and in future pacing. He was able to see himself
reacting differently to night noise, and was unable to replace the new feeling about it with the
old feeling. Adult U felt that the old uncomfortable feeling really was gone. At this point, U let
go of his elbows and uncrossed his arms.
Step 1. Symptom Orientation: I asked U if there was another uncomfortable feeling he would
like to work on. He said, "Eating, being full (meaning overeating)."
Step 2 Affect bridge: U regressed to age 12. Past and future testing confirmed that the old
uncomfortable feeling was gone.
Dr. Tkach, "Are there any other uncomfortable feelings U. needs to work on?" U. indicated no.
This was a surprise because we did not get to stage fright. I must assume that something about
what we had already done solved the stage fright problem or that the stage fright problem is
especially well defended. More than likely, it is the latter.
We did Step 11. ego strengthening and assertiveness training. U. made room in his heart for the
other three U's and they got their smiles back (70)
Step 9. Reintegration. I used the expression, "Don't let people put U down, etc." U assured the
other U's that there was a place in his heart for them. In post RRP discussion, U said that he was
not previously consciously aware of the events at ages 6 and 12, but they made sense, and that
they were trivial events. He said RRP was comfortable for him and did not threaten him. U did
not feel that he was hypnotized, but he did experience himself in the past, which he had never
done. He experienced himself talking to the young Us and their looking at him and listening to
him. "I saw myself in a different light. What that person felt like at that time."
U indicated that he can try to do some RRP on himself.
CASE 6: PROBLEM - FEELING OVERWHELMED AND EMOTIONALLY
LABILE: History: F is an 18 years old high school senior who has been accepted at a
prestigious university. F's chief complaint is acne of 4 years duration which has become much
worse for 6 months. She wears heavy make up to hide it. Her 20 year old brother had acne
helped by antibiotic pills. F. emphatically identifies stress as making her acne worse.
Previous treatments included strong topical medicines which did not help. F is an
overachiever who places unrealistic pressures and demands on herself. Her day starts a 4:15 AM
and goes intensively with no let up until bedtime. She is practicing sports at 6AM and then
does class preparation until 8 AM. Her day is non-stop.
Over the past 6 months, she has become increasingly emotionally labile. And now she
cries often and cannot control the urge to cry. While doing the acne interview, she cried
multiple times. Her eyes turned red many times. She seemed terribly unhappy. (71) Mother
thinks the acne flare-up and the emotional lability correspond with the stress of trying to get
accepted into college, and getting a presidential scholarship. She is successful at all things she
does. She overextends herself and takes on activities she does not need to engage in. She works
so hard with the sports team because she is the best, and owes it to the team.
I suggested we talk about her feelings. Mom got up to leave. I explained that from my
point of view, Mom was welcome to stay. I suggested she stay. Mom said it would be easier on
F if she were not present. I told both of them that F did not need to tell me anything personal,
private, or embarrassing. F. asked Mom to stay. Mother did stay. F. said, "I have trouble not
picking at it (acne). Mom said, "She's under too much stress."
RRP SESSION:
Step 1. Symptom Orientation: I asked her to close her eyes. She identified the uncomfortable
feeling as "being overwhelmed."
Step 2. Affect Bridge: I asked her to experience that feeling and to let it carry her back to the
first time she ever had it.
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State: She quickly regressed to the fifth grade at
age 10.
Step 4. Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience: We brought 10 year old F to
the present, where F gave her a big hug, told her she loved her, felt her uncomfortable feeling,
understood it,
Step 5.Communicating with Distressed ego State and listened as the 10 year old described what
happened. (72)
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution: 18 year old F talked to 10 year old F and got
her to let go of the uncomfortable feeling.
Step 7. Resolution: 10 year old F. got her smile back.
Step 9. Reintegration: 18 year old F made room in her heart for the 10 year old and promised to
take care of her and be there for her. 18 year old F welcomed 10 year old F back to the empty
place in her heart.
Step 10. Confirmation of Reintegration and Future Pacing: Going back to age 10, the
uncomfortable feeling was gone. Future testing showed it to be gone.
Step 11. Ego Strengthening and Assertiveness Training: I did ego strengthening and
assertiveness training. I let the F's talk until her eyes opened.
She was much happier. I asked her what it was like. She said it was so real and vivid. I
instructed her self RRP. F did not offer to tell me what happened at age 10. Mom and F pointed
out that F had worked with an adolescent clinical psychologist. F did not want to go back to
him, much to Mom's discomfort.
After RRP, F stopped crying and her eyes did not turn red and teary anymore. The RRP
part of this visit was about 10 minutes. I pointed out to her that what she had just done in 10
minutes would take 2 years of regular therapy. Mom chimed in and said "Longer." F's previous
work seemed to allow her to feel a sense of accomplishment about what she had just done in
RRP today. F and Mom did not want to leave. They went on and on about how impressive the
session was. We were 45 minutes into a 30 minute visit and there were patients in the waiting
room. I assured them we could do more at my home on a weekend if she needed more (73)
help, and at no charge, but I would videotape it. I explained that RRP is completely the
invention of Dr. Barnett. My secretaries commented to me later that when F left, she was like a
different person than when she came. She had gone from enormously weeping to very happy.
Post session conference revealed that F was a wreck when she came in to see P today. That's
why P sent her to me as an emergency. P has been aware for a long time that F was emotionally
labile and crying a lot.
F's drive for perfection and overachieving has been robbing her of being a teen. It will
be interesting to see how this session affects her a month from now when she returns for acne
follow-up. F returned one month later. She was happy and smiling. Her terrible acne had
completely cleared up. She was functioning at the same activity level, but she said it did not
bother her any more (74)
 CASE 7: PROBLEMS:
1. Test Anxiety/ Stage Fright-T. thinks these two are linked.
2. OCD-obsessive compulsive disorder
3. Depression in senior year of high school
4. Discord between parents.
The OCD and depression were treated in long-term talk therapy by a psychiatrist in Helena when
she was about 17 years old in high school. This was followed by several years of counseling.
The Problem today - Test Anxiety : T arrived on time accompanied by her friend K. T
arrived wearing a jacket and a black knitted stretch cap. She kept these items of clothing on the
entire visit. John T, 13 years old 8th grader, a patient of mine who was helped greatly by RRP
with his test anxiety, sat next to T for a few minutes and explained his experience with RRP and
test anxiety. T seemed to relate to that except that she gets so nervous she shakes, and John did
not experience that. John reassured T that RRP is easy to do. I asked John to tell T what RRP is
like. He said, "It was just going back and figuring out where it started, and just getting rid of it
pretty much."
HISTORY: T is a 22 years old single lady who is finishing her senior year in Art at a
university. She intends to do one more year of art. Her interests are ceramics (pottery) and metal
(jewelry). T was the first born, followed by twins who died the day of birth. T was 5 years old
when the twins were born and died. T had no problem with that but Mother did. When T was 7
years old her brother J was born. T was excited about J's birth and continuing through the baby
stage, when she considered him like a doll. As he grew older, he became "a pain in the butt." T
has tried to get close to J, but there is a problem. Now 15 years old, J just wants to play video
games and does not want to study or go to school, and this irritates T. (75) Father is about 54
years old. "My dad is my best friend in all the world. He's a very meticulous worker. He's a very
honest man. T and J agree that Dad exaggerates by 67%. Dad hugged her as a child.
Mother is 51 and works as an RN. Mom developed breast cancer over the past year and
is in chemotherapy. Generally, mom was nice to T and gave her hugs. "My mom is the most
caring person I know." T is close to her mom. One day her mother failed to hug her when she
dropped off T for day care, and T cried all day. Maternal grandparents live in another state, and
paternal grandparents live in yet another state.
Mother and father just moved to another city. They are in the process of getting a
divorce. T says her parents have been fighting as far back as she can remember. Mostly they
fight about money. T thinks they should have gotten divorced a long time ago and her brother J
agrees. The pattern of the parents' fighting was predictable, and T could tell when a fight was
coming. "I knew every little thing about our financial situation.” The fighting between the
parents got worse as J got older. T tried to protect him by taking him outside the house and
talking about it with J. This fighting between parents was very upsetting to T.
T's Description of Her Problem: T seeks help for test anxiety. "I get really shaky
before I take tests." T's friend K said of T's problem, "She's not to be calmed down basically. In
that state of mind, I can't talk to her. After the test, you can see the change in her facial
expressions like a total 180 degrees difference than 50 minutes before." T agrees with this
statement. "Right before I take a test, the night before, I start getting a little bit of nervousness
going on. Thirty minutes before I take the test, I get there early to study my notes. I start
freaking out. All I can think about is how upset and nervous I am. The test at that point is pretty
much blanked out." (76) "I have learned to cope with it as far as taking the test. I am able to get
A's if I work on it. I have to calm down consciously throughout the whole process of taking the
test. I'm shaking through the whole thing. My writing on essays is shaky writing (shaky
penmanship). You can tell." "I have stage fright too. I don't like getting up and talking unless it
is something I feel passionate about. I used to play alto sax, but I did not want to march in front
of people. "This test anxiety has been going on all my life. I try relaxation techniques.” No
therapy for this problem.
She knows the material. She has studied. "But when I go to take the test, I just blank a
bit." One of the ways of making myself feel better is reviewing the material "right up until we
have to put all our notes away. I make big sheets of information and just scan through them.
That helps me not to think about how upset I am. I don't know where this comes from. I've had
it so long. In 4th grade we had to recite poems from memory. I'd freak out. It's probably
memory based. I doubt my memory a lot of times. I just gave up and cried on my desk one
day." T said this problem comes from something inside her. It was not that the other kids in 4th
grade were giving her trouble."
T's description of her OCD: "Depression runs in the family. I have obsessive
compulsive disorder treated with Luvox. I am very perfectionistic. Things have to be perfect.
I'm pretty much over that now. If there's a bunch of coins sitting out on the counter, I'll put them
in rows, just automatically. I organize things. With school, I used to redo my math papers 5
times and made sure they looked perfect. Homework used to be a big trial for me, but I've
learned to cope with it." She was diagnosed with OCD by her psychiatrist in Helena. Sometimes
she is depressed. In high school, she got depressed when she could not keep up with her OCD
demands. She recognized they were excessive. (77)
RRP SESSION: T has no previous experience with hypnosis. T selected test anxiety as the
problem most urgent to her. "That's the number one thing that gets me most upset."
Step 1. Symptom Orientation: T identified the following feelings associated with her test
anxiety symptoms:
Anxious Anger
Nervous Resentful
Scared Frustrated
Worried Embarrassed
STEP 2. AFFECT BRIDGE: T identified the feelings she experiences with test anxiety. I asked
her to let that feeling carry her back to the very first time she experienced it. T had trouble
keeping her eyes closed. She pulled her black knitted cap down over her eyes. Using affect
bridge,
First Dissociated Ego State
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State: T very quickly regressed to second grade
at age 7. (Later she said she was not aware of this critical event.)
Step 4. Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience: I asked her to review that
memory, and then to bring 7 years old T to the present and give her a big hug and feel the
uncomfortable feeling.
Step 5. Communication with Distressed Ego State: I instructed Adult T to ask 7 years old T to
tell her in detail what happened.
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution: 22 years old T determined that the 7 year old
no longer needs to hang onto those feelings. (78)
Step 7. Resolution: The 7 years old T could not let go of the uncomfortable feelings. T was
able to dismiss the need to hang on to the feelings so as "not to forget." There was still
something keeping her from letting go of the feelings. 7 years old T told Adult T it was rooted
in perfectionism. The need to be perfect was necessary to gain the respect of the fighting
parents. The 7 year old said her parents love her. Adult T was able to uncover the fact that the
problem was not that 7 years old . was not perfect. The problem was that the parents were
fighting, and the parents did not have respect for each other. Adult T convinced the 7 year old
Child that the problem was her parents' problem and not her fault. The 7 year old wanted the
good grades. Adult T convinced the 7 years old Child that she does not have to be perfect. The
Child accepted this and got her smile back.
Second Dissociated Ego State
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State: We went back to second grade. Past
testing revealed that there was still some uncomfortable feeling there.
Step 4. Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience. T was instructed to bring that
T to the present and to give her a big hug.
Steps 5, 6, & 7: T said no one else was telling the Child she had to be perfect. The person telling
7 years old T that she had to be perfect was just herself. The motivation was protection. Adult T
thanked Child T for protecting her for 15 years and told the Child that she would protect her
from now on. Child T seemed to accept Adult T's promise to take care of her. The Child got her
smile back.
Steps 8, 9, & 10: To test the results, we went back to age 7, and the uncomfortable (79) feeling
was completely (and convincingly) gone. The Child had her smile back.
We did future testing using the upcoming History final exam. The uncomfortable feeling was
gone.
Step 11. Ego Strengthening and Assertiveness Training. We did ego strengthening and self
assertiveness training. I gave her a post hypnotic suggestion to facilitate possible future RRP
sessions. I instructed her in self RRP. There were no other uncomfortable feelings to work on.
The Adult and Child talked and then T pulled her cap back and opened her eyes. T talked about
her experience. She felt very positive about it. T was all smiles and expressed strong positive
feelings. We talked about her need to arrange pennies on the table, and T said that there is no
longer any reason for her to do that. I taught her how to handle future uncomfortable feelings.
T said she felt okay about having K present. K spontaneously said that she thought what
T just went through was genuine. K promised to help T with her feelings. Both T and K felt it
was helpful to have John there. T said that she previously was not aware of the events at age
7.T said she likes to have her eyes open because she is an artist, but she admitted she can
concentrate better with her eyes closed. We discussed the effect RRP will have on her OCD and
how improving the OCD problem may affect her artistic creativity. Letter from T. to Dr. Tkach
I want to thank you for your help with my test anxiety through my RRP session. It made
an immense difference in the way I feel when taking tests of any sort. During finals week at the
university, I was extremely calm, whereas previously I would have been a nervous wreck for at
least a week and a half. This unfortunately, made studying for my tests close to impossible, and
getting through the test quite unbearable. For my History final, the first test after going through
RRP, I found myself to be extremely calm right up until an hour before the test, making study
time before the (80)test to be carefree and informative. However, I did experience a little
anxiety right before the test, simply in my worries about the outcome of my grade. Though, I
did mentally refer back to the RRP session and found the calm understanding of my anxiety and
it seemed to help the anxious feeling. As the test was handed out I calmed down immensely and
the test was, much to my surprise, quite easy. It was like I was able to access all the information
I had studied, as well as information that I had stored in the recesses of my brain from earlier in
the semester. This was very helpful in the fact that this test was cumulative and I could apply all
the concepts from the whole semester. I doubt I would have been able to do this effectively
without the RRP. Cumulative tests have never been positive for me until now.
It ends up I received an A on the test and an overall A for the class. I am very pleased
with the results of RRP. I would also like to let you know what a positive experience I had
while doing the RRP session. I was, in fact, a little nervous beforehand but hopeful that it
would help me. I was also pleased that I was able to bring my friend K along, partially to help
make me more comfortable and also to explain a little bit about how anxious I used to get
before and during a test. The process of RRP itself is a very relaxing procedure and requires the
introspection that only I can give myself.
An interesting thing about RRP is how it helped a number of other anxieties in my life.
By nature, I used to be a very anxious person about numerous things such as what other people
think of me, if I wore the right outfit for the day, to how many things I have to complete that
day and how to do them just right. Many of these things seemed to get a lot easier after the RRP
session. It's hard to explain how comfortable and relaxed I feel now compared to my previous
anxious life. I think it had a lot to do with talking to little T about the expectations of others, my
parents, and respect issues. It seems these things affected a lot more than just my test anxieties.
I just wanted to thank you again Dr. Tkach. I feel RRP is a very successful method, perhaps
more so than other methods I have experienced such as psychiatry and counseling. Thanks.
CASE 8: PROBLEM - ALCOHOLISM: (81) L describes herself as an alcoholic who
has been sober 23 years. Some emotions trigger her and trap her. "They get me stuck."
History: L is a 53 years old widow. She works at something akin to being a case worker for
people with alcoholism. There are some
unrealistic problems associated with her work.
Education: Her highest level of education is a year of university for alcohol and drug studies, a
year at the hypnosis motivational institute, and years of continuing education.
Marriage: She has been married once. Her husband U. was everything she wanted in a
husband. His death devastated her. He died
unexpectedly of a heart attack. They were married in 1999 and he died in October 2001. L.
describes her husband as a spiritual man who did appliance repairs to make a living and taught
outdoor skills, which is where his true interest lay. "It felt like home, I mean like a real home
place. Our relationship felt like home and safety. He was a smoker and would not stop
smoking."
The day U died he was having chest pain. L tried to get him to go see a doctor. She was
crying. He knelt down by her and said, "I'll never leave you." He died later that night. She did
CPR. It was hard to let go of him. L currently is in a relationship of three years with a man she
wants to break up with. Things she liked about her husband were, "his wisdom and spirituality,
strong yet gentle, unconditionally loving." L was his 5th wife. He liked her spirituality and the
fact that she was a recovering alcoholic. U had previously been married to an alcoholic who
belittled him. L appreciated him. "I loved him unconditionally. We were both service oriented,
being of service in the world."
Family and Childhood: L admits that there are big gaps in her memory. Her memories (82) of
childhood occur as isolated incidents such as an electric shock when she was in a crib. There are
two siblings who were adopted from Korea. L had a good relationship with her sister K, who
lives in Hawaii. Her brother F is missing off the streets of L.A., but L thinks he is still alive. He
is alcoholic. She did not interact with them because she was not around them. There is a half
brother E from her biologic father, who left when L was 2. Mother and father divorced. She
does not remember that. Her birth father killed himself in 1966 at age 41. He was an alcoholic.
The great trauma of L's life is that she was sent away from home to boarding schools,
starting in the third grade at the age of 9. She cried and yelled and "they would not listen to
me." She begged not to go. "My mom did not know how to raise kids. Her mom did the same
thing to her."
L describes herself as a child as a little challenging to raise, but a good kid. "My friends'
families liked me a lot." As she grew older in boarding schools she spent progressively less time
at home. She was only home at summers and holidays. "My mom did not want me being around
my brother and sister. She thought I was a bad influence, because my brother had trouble
adjusting when I went off to school. We got F one summer when I was home. He was 4. We got
really close for that summer, and then I went away to school. Evidently that was really hard on
him. My mother made sure we didn't have much contact after that. She kinda kept me away
from the kids.”
"Once I snuck them out to dinner. K was co-dependent with my mother. She spilled her guts the
minute Mom got home, that we had snuck out and had dinner. I got in trouble. I didn't do that
anymore.”
Step father came on the scene shortly after the biologic father left. L was 3 or 4. The
step father told her not to complain because she was getting a good opportunity for a better
education. He did music orchestration and arranging for TV shows. He was a music (83)
arranger. Step father was not alcoholic and "very devoted to my mother, codependent." He was
always working, worked long hours, and took amphetamines to work those long hours. Step
father blamed L for his need to work long hours because he needed to make enough money to
pay for her boarding schools, which she did not want to be sent to anyway. She had to earn
some of the money, and worked cleaning horse stalls
L was not loved as a small child or as she grew older. "My aunt loved me, but we did
not have a lot of contact. When she put me on a plane to go to see my parents, she cried at the
airport, and that was the first time anyone had ever done that. (Age 11-13.) My aunt praised
me. We would go over to her house, and she wanted me to sing for everybody. I had stage fright
but I did it anyhow to please her."
Her parents did not give her hugs. If mother imitated hugging, it was a protected hug,
keeping L at a distance. Step dad occasionally hugged her. She remembers once that he stood up
to mother, "which was really cool. Once driving me back to private school, telling me I could
charm the birds off the trees. He was pussy whipped by my mom. He did what she said."
Stepfather is dead. He died in his 70's of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and he was legally
blind. She took care of him for a long time. Mother is alive and is about 79 or 80. She was born
in 1926 or 1927. Mother was not affectionate. She was very independent, busy a lot, cold and
distant, not warm, was very secretive. Mother did some volunteer work. Now she works for
UNICEF and drives people around. Mother is hard to communicate with, and only allows
superficial conversations. When L tries to talk to mother at a deeper level, she gets shut out.
Source of parenting: there was no one particular adult who parented her. Her aunt was
supportive She had occasional teachers who were nice to her. At age 7, she was not doing
something the way her mother wanted her to. She told her mother, "I hate you." When step
father came home he got mad at her. (84) In the 7th grade, father pulled her off the bunk bed,
got on top of her and started hitting her. L resolved not to let that happen again. The next time
he tried to hit her she swung at him and said, "Don't you ever touch me again," really loud, and
he never did.
L views her time spent at boarding schools as something like a juvenile delinquent
having been sent to reform school. Some of the girls at these schools were there by court order.
The girls slept in bunk beds. In the worst year, two girls, T and D, who were in her dorm room
threatened daily to kill her. They threatened her verbally and abused her verbally, but never
physically. Oddly, at a later time at a different boarding school, L. became friends with D.
These experiences influenced her choice later to study Shodokan Karate and Full Power Self
Defense. She became an instructor in Full Power Self Defense. L. says, "She (D) made me into
the strong woman I am today, because I had to learn how to take care of myself."
L's Description of Her Problem: L seems to view her alcoholism as one end of a continuous
spectrum that began as a small child with what she calls "my eating disorder." By that she
means craving candy, which she calls "sugar." She had an eating disorder starting at age 3. In a
photo of herself at age three, "I looked pretty big. Later, when my step father came into the
picture, I shrunk down." However, the urge to eat candy persisted. "I like sugar. My first
addiction was to sugar. I even stole for it when I was a kid. We had this house keeper. I stole a
dime from her purse once to go and get candy."
From ages 5-7 an elderly couple apparently took care of her from time to time. The man
sexually abused her, and this is the only physical abuse in her life. He did not hurt her or
threaten her. He got her to masturbate him by hand ("I jacked him off") in the bath room in a
game he called "helping him pee.” In return, he bought her candy. At the time, she did not know
there was anything wrong with this behavior. (85) L started smoking at age 13 and describes
herself as not popular at boarding school until age 15, when she started drinking and using diet
pills. Both of these substances were "Wow" experiences. She started drinking while at a
boarding school called Desert Sun. She ties this in somehow with her "eating disorder," which
she describes as over eating, "stuff down my feelings." She also started smoking pot.
That year and the next she was doing injectable drugs, but she never injected herself.
She had someone else inject her. "I planned to be dead by the time I was 30, and I was working
really hard at it. I woke up one day, and I was 30 and I was still breathing, and that's what got
my attention. I had no skills at all because I planned to be dead by then. I realized this was
going to get really ugly." She went through detox followed by a recovery house, and followed
up with the 12 step meetings of AA. She continues AA today.
She specifically identifies that she is not suicidal. She takes care of herself paycheck, to
paycheck but has no long term stability in her life or achievable goals. She is currently living
with a friend who is free to kick her out anytime. This setting evokes the feelings that drive her
to drink, but she is able to control that urge.
She has been in some “soul mate” relationships that have helped to heal her spirit. Her husband
U was one of those.
Feelings Associated with the Urge to Drink: I asked her to identify the feelings she has that go
with the urge to drink alcohol. She has worked on this with Dr. C Inadequacy Hopelessness
Loneliness Depression (86)
RRP SESSION:
Step 1. Symptom Orientation: From the emotions checklist, she identifies with all feelings on
the list.
Anger Sadness Frustration
Nervous Pain Guilt
Hurt Ashamed Embarrassment
Worried Resentment Rejection
Fearful
L is familiar with hypnosis induction techniques and regression. She can do both direct
suggestions and indirect suggestions and mixes them. She does hypnotherapy, but does not
consider herself a therapist. She would like to learn EMDR, but does not qualify for the
training. I explained to her that I am not a therapist and do not do cognitive therapy, analytic
therapy, prescribe psychotropic drugs, or give interpretations.
First Dissociated Ego State at age 9:
Step 2. Affect Bridge &
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State
In RRP, L quickly and easily regressed to age 9 about to enter fifth grade.
Step 4. Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience
I asked her to bring 9 years old L here to the safety of being with us, to hug the 9 years
old L., and to ask her to tell her what happened in detail. When I asked Adult L to hug the 9
years old child, she crossed her arms in a hug and held that position for the rest of the RRP
session. (87)
Step 5. Communicating with Distressed Ego State : Adult L reported that Child L was going to
be sent away to another boarding school where she was going to be gone longer. "No one's
listening to her, and she's crying, and her opinion doesn't count. They don't want her there. She
all alone, and no one cares."
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution: I asked Adult L to draw upon her Adult
resources, experience, and wisdom to give Child L a big hug and promise to love her and take
care of her. To make a place in her heart for her and to welcome her back. The Child accepted
this.
Step 7. Resolution: I asked if the Child could let go of the uncomfortable feeling. "She wants
to." I guided the Adult to convince the Child that it was now safe and okay to let go of the old
uncomfortable feelings that have been bottled up 44 years. Adult L was able to convince 9 years
old L to let go of the uncomfortable feelings. This was quite a relief.
Step 8. Confirmation of Resolution and Reintegration: I then asked Adult L to make a place in
her heart for the child and to welcome her back. She nodded her head to indicate this had been
done. I Asked if 9 years old L. had her smile back. By head nod, she indicated yes.
Step 9. Confirmation of Reintegration and Future Pacing: We went back to the fifth grade to see
if she had let go of them. "She let go of them. She's hugging' my leg." We did future pacing,
and the old uncomfortable feelings were gone for similar future events. The reintegration was
confirmed.
Step 1. Symptom Orientation: I asked if there were other uncomfortable feelings that needed to
be worked on. She said she was trying to break up with her boyfriend.
Step 2. Affect Bridge: Using Affect Bridge, she used that feeling to regress her to age 9 in (88)
the fifth grade. "Somebody's not listening to me, and my opinion doesn't matter, and they want
to be right."
Second Dissociated Ego State Age 9: L had a lingering uncomfortable feeling related to her
wish to break up with her boyfriend. That uncomfortable feeling led her back to age 9 again,
where there was another little L distressed by the same type of situation as the first 9 year old L.
Adult L acknowledged to the child that the grown ups had treated her unfairly and did not
appreciate her or take her seriously. Adult L convinced the Child to let go of the uncomfortable
feeling. Adult L convinced the Child she will take care of her now. The Child got her smile
back. Going back in time to the 9 years old Child showed that the uncomfortable feelings were
gone. Coming back to the present and future testing showed the uncomfortable feelings gone.
11. Ego Strengthening and Assertiveness Training: I did ego strengthening and self
assertiveness training. L agreed not to let anyone put L down, agreed not to put L down, and not
to put other people down. I gave her suggestions to facilitate future RRP. I asked her to take a
moment to talk to the two L's and to hear what they needed to say, and when they were done,
the eyes would open. Her eyes opened after a few seconds. She seemed happy and recharged.
Post RRP, L said the experience was good. She said the pivotal spot problem is now okay. L
gave me a tutorial on alcoholism with a hand-written chart. We discussed the possibility that L
could do some of the RRP herself.
Future Work: I am disturbed by the terrible way little L was rejected by her parents and
deprived of love. It is distressing. I felt the RRP work was genuine. I predict L will select a man
that will love and protect (89) her, and that this will bring out a different part of her personality.
What emerged is that L can take care of herself, but it seems that the resultant L is not happy.
She may be freed up enough now. I suspect additional dissociated ego states at ages 2-3, 5-7, 7,
11-13 (?12), 15, and related to U's death. There is also a hostile mother ego state that may be
hidden or not.
L reported that an hour after her visit she broke up with her boyfriend. She had been
building up to this for months, but had been unable to do so. Over the next three weeks, L did
very well. Her experience with RRP was positive, and as a result she referred three other people
for RRP. L accompanied all the people she referred to their RRP sessions. One of the people she
referred was the boyfriend she had broken up with. She accompanied him to the session and felt
more comfortable with him.
CASE 9: PROBLEM -PANIC ATTACK: History: H is a 63 years old married man
who has helped his employer a lot. H's wife phoned me at home Saturday AM because H and
she were in a state of near panic. H had been to sleep lab for a sleep apnea workup. He tried the
breathing machine and developed a severe claustrophobic panic attack Friday evening. His wife
asked me to see him. They decided to come to my house at 7:30 PM Saturday night.
H. listed the following problems:
1. Overeating. He weighs 210 lbs and wants to be 160-165.
2. Hypertension. He is running 194/114
3. Hyperlipidemia. Elevated cholesterol and triglycerides.
4. Claustrophobia since age 4-5, probably 4.
5. Sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. His wife, M, said "He has always snored loud and
thumped his leg."
6. Ocular migraines.
7. Gout-controlled with medicines. (90) Childhood Medical History: At age 7, an accident left
him totally blind. Surgery eventually restored vision to the left eye but not the right. His
brothers took advantage of his blindness to torture him by placing toys in his path and then he
fell down the stairs.
Family and Childhood: It is significant that H. cannot remember anything before age 8. H. is
the third of 4 boys. C. is the eldest and is 6 years older than H. K is 3 years older than H. D is 2
years younger than H. "The boys always fought and never got along. We always were in
competition. They were not too good to me. There was no love in the family. We never hugged
each other. There was absolutely no love at all in the family, none whatsoever. That includes
my mother and my father."
 Mother praised H only once in his life. "The only time she ever praised me was when I
was teaching computer sciences at the university. It was a job that paid $8 an hour. It was a part
time job. She was like that with all the kids, and she used each child against the other. She
would not praise a child to his face. Instead she would tell the other son that the one being
praised was doing something really good. This fanned the jealousy.”
The siblings always took financial advantage of H. "That happened a number of times. I
was the family banker." (H means that they all came to him for handouts.) They borrowed
money and never repaid him, especially C. H ended that in 1988. "I kept them out of IRS
problems. I financed two of my brothers through optometry school and dental school. C was
always a taker and never paid back his debts until I got married and my wife came into the
picture and collected for me. "In 1988, my brother (C) got into some real deep financial trouble
and asked if he could borrow $50,000 and have a line of credit for another $50,000 anytime he
needed it. We put a stop to it. That money was needed for our retirement. He wrote back that
he no longer had a brother, that as far as he's concerned his brother is dead." This statement has
special meaning among Jews. That attitude from C continued 12 years until H's 60th birthday.
"We never corresponded after that." (91)
Mother died at age 83. She was a beautiful woman. She was self- centered and came
from a very poor family which she would not discuss. Mother did not hug the boys. It is H's
impression that she disliked her boys. Oddly, she was loved by her nieces and nephews, but not
by her boys. "At her funeral, the people who cried and missed her the most were her
grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, because she treated them so magnificent. But her boys, she
just didn't treat well at all. The boys didn't shed a tear at her funeral. We were relieved,
especially after my father died."
Father died in San Diego, at age 67 from a stomach ulcer misdiagnosed as a heart attack.
Before that, he had had several heart attacks and a stroke. "My father, I believe, was a kind man.
He always would go to my baseball games or my basketball games. He encouraged us and
particularly me because I was the only boy of the four that did athletics." Father would praise
the boys but never hugged them. "I never knew him, even though I was 32 when he died. I
never really knew him. He was a heavy drinker. He was a very poor businessman. He was angry
and sarcastic, but he was personable.
"My mother beat him down because he was not a successful businessman. Everything he
touched turned to crap. He was in a partnership in a clothing store. He bought out the store from
his partner, moved into a beautiful new store that probably he shouldn't have. He worked there
a number of years, and then sold it, and moved to Arizona. In Arizona, he was in the awning
business. He bought a new business with all the money he had made from his other business.
Within three years, he and my brother (C) had drained it to nothing and went bankrupt. Then he
became a manager of apartment buildings. He did very well.
My father was extremely personable. He was very talented with his hands. He has a
degree from the university in auto mechanics. He never used it. He could build things. He built
model trains, cabinets.” Mother came from a very poor family. She had to work to support the
family. "My mother would never talk about her family. She wouldn't talk about her mother. She
wouldn't talk about her father. She wouldn't talk about her sisters or brothers. The only time we
ever talked to them was by accident when they would come for a holiday." H's family got
together for religious holidays. (92) Until H.'s father, the family was a long line of rabbis going
back hundreds of years. H routinely has non-Jewish friends to his house to celebrate various
Jewish Holidays.
Highest Level of Education: B.S. in accounting
H.'s Description of His Problems
1. Overeating: "Basically I have an eating disorder. I gain weight frequently. I've been on a
yo-yo diet, up and down, up and down. It doesn't seem to be working at all. It's been more
serious in the last few days because of high blood pressure. My doctor thought it was either
weight or a combination of weight and sleep. I'm not sure I overeat. I think I just eat the wrong
things. I want to eat when I get lightheaded. No binge eating. "I'd like to see if there isn't some
way I can change my eating habits, not for just next month but forever, so that I can maintain a
safe weight.” H's doctors have told him that most of his problems are weight related. "Ever
since college, when I played basketball, I've had a weight problem. Before that I never had one.
When I graduated college, I was 5' 6" and weighed 130 lbs. I weigh 210 and want to weigh
160-165.
2. Hypertension: H had no past history of hypertension. In Dr. D's office for workup of ocular
migraines, his BP was 194/114. Dr. H did the workup and treated him. He started monitoring
his BP at home. When his BP went over 200, Dr. H started him on medication, but he had
swelling from edema. A second medication caused a rash. That may have been an interaction
with his gout medicine.
3. Sleep apnea and claustrophobia: H went to the sleep lab at the hospital Thursday, and they
told him he has sleep apnea. "That's part of my problem." He was told that 30% of people who
lose weight will no longer have sleep apnea and that his blood pressure will go down. (93) "At
the sleep lab, I explained to them that I am claustrophobic. I am absolutely claustrophobic. They
gave me sleep medication and put this mask on me. I had a bad reaction to the medicine.
"Last night I tried it with the mask on. It didn't take me 15 seconds. I just flew out of bed
with a panic attack I haven't had in years. My heart was racing. I was sweating. I flew out of
bed. I ripped at the mask. I walked around 15 minutes before I could calm myself down. My
stomach was upset. I could not go back to sleep. I worked on the computer on work I had to do
at the office. In the kitchen I had a whole or a half a cantaloupe and some bread." (Comment:
This ties the claustrophobia to eating. This seems odd, but it is something that may come up in
RRP.) "It was terrible. I couldn't breathe. I had tears in my eyes. Fortunately, my wife was
there to calm me down. The last time I had an attack like that I was 4 or 5."
(Comment: H is pegging the claustrophobia and overeating here to some critical event
that occurred at age 4-5, although he is not consciously aware of this. The machine for sleep
apnea was only on him 15 seconds. That is such a short time that the sleep apnea machine is
unlikely to be the source of his panic. However, we can see here that it triggered a full blown
extreme panic attack, and it has something to do with covering his nose with the mask. This is a
classic textbook example of a panic attack. RRP is especially good for this sort of problem. The
traditional medical approach is to use psychopharmacology and, if the patient is lucky, to
combine that with psychotherapy.)
"I have had claustrophobia since I was 4 or 5 when I was a little kid, and that was a
terrible event. When I sleep, I never put anything on over my head. I prevent myself from going
into a place where I cannot escape. I went to the Lewis and Clark caverns, but I didn't enjoy it.
I was pretty happy to get out of there. I always knew how to escape from the way I came in. I
know directions."
"If I'm going in some place, I know how to get out because I knew how I got in . I can
feel claustrophobic outdoors. I don't think it really affects my life that much. I've lived with it so
long, it's part of me now."
 H was not aware of his sleep apnea. H experiences the sleep apnea as feeling tired. "I
thought the pressure at work caused me (94) not to sleep. Anxiety or something of that nature. It
surprised me because I've never had a sleep problem. I've been retired 20 years. When I started
back to work, I couldn't sleep very well. I couldn't believe it was the job. Other jobs I have had
had more pressure. This job is the easiest job I have ever had. There can be pressure."
Wife: "See, I didn't know what it was. He's always snored. He always thumped (leg
thumping). I'd put my leg over his leg so he didn't thump. He sleeps okay in the afternoon, but
it's at night he has trouble sleeping. Sometimes I go in to make sure he's still breathing." She
thinks the sleep apnea is causing high blood pressure.
H: "I cannot sleep sitting up. I have to be horizontal. I cannot sleep in a car or an airplane.”
His sleep is disturbed by restless leg syndrome, and a pill helped that a lot. It let him sleep
better, but he stopped it because he thought it was causing his high blood pressure.
4. Hyperlipidemia: "It's in the family. My mother and my father had it. My three brothers have
it. I've been taking Crestor for a year. It's kept it down. My HDL is in the 30's, my LDL is in the
90's. It's controlling it. My triglycerides were over 350. Now they are down to 190. They are
under control, but I need medicine to do that.”
5. Ocular Migraines: H is blind in the right eye. He can identify light and some movement, but
cannot really see an image or even a blur. In midyear 2004, he had an episode of kaleidoscope
colors in his right eye. He was at first excited and hoped it meant his vision was miraculously
coming back. These flashes occurred in bursts of 5-10 seconds every few months. It did not
seem associated with stress. There were four episodes over 4 months. Dr. C evaluated him. She
suspected hypertension. H. had no past history of hypertension. In Dr. C's office, his BP was
194/114.
6. Gout: Gout is controlled with medication. When he gets gout (95) symptoms, he takes his
gout medicine, and it clears him up fast.
Professional Career and Associated Stresses and Symptoms: H is a CPA. He cannot get it
out of his blood. He has retired several times, but comes back to it. When not working as a
CPA, he teaches classes in accounting. H describes himself as a CPA who is an expert in the
field of internal control and preventing people from stealing from companies and corporations.
H invented systems for preventing employees from stealing from a corporation. These are still
used today. In his work he was under tremendous pressure, his life was often at risk, and he had
confrontations with criminals who threatened to kill him. Over a period of time, he was able
gradually to impress them that management had the right to profits first. He was able to shift
their thinking somewhat away from the criminal mentality to seeing their activity as a business.
He brought them into legitimate ways of running corporations, and made them see there was
more profit in doing things legally than in the old criminal style.
When under the stress in that job, he handled it better than now. He describes himself as
young, brash, and fearless at age 24-26. "I handled stress better when I was younger than I do
now. I had complete control over my actions. I dictated what I was to do. Some of the things I
did when I was in my 20's, I look at today, and I can't believe I did it. I just had no fear. I had
no fear of anything. I I did things that I thought were right and never worried about it. It was a
massive responsibility. Later I matured.
I was an executive of a corporation for years." Also, he and his wife N, owned and ran a
liquor store for years. He retired in 1984. They bought the liquor store in 1977 and sold it in
1988 and both became full time retired. "We bought an RV and traveled the country for years.
Driving the gigantic RV (56' long) was stressful. He handled the stress by planning ahead. "As I
got older and more mature, I got more serious with life than when I was younger." (96) His
blood pressure was fine during retirement. The hypertension started in 2001. He had an event in
which he thought he was having a heart attack in the evening. He did family accounting on the
computer all night, woke N up at 6 AM, drove both of them to the hospital. His blood pressure
was elevated to 240/? He was 50 lbs overweight. He did not have a heart attack, and no physical
cause of the attack could be discovered. Apparently, lab studies were negative for blood
chemistry for M.I.
In the summer of 2002, he was hired to bail out a corporation. It was about to go
bankrupt. They were within 15 days of filing for bankruptcy. H. turned things around, saved the
company, and brought them to $1 million profits this year. He is the most valued person in the
company, and they are afraid he will retire.
(Comments: H has had a long career of dealing with enormously difficult and dangerous
situations without experiencing fear. The recent panic attack does not fit in with his personality.
I believe his panic goes back to a childhood critical event and a dissociated ego state that is still
suffering from some trauma.)
Wife's Role: N is supportive of H in his efforts to deal with all his health problems. She cooks
according to his health needs. Her fear regarding his health is that something will happen to him
like a heart attack or stoke and then he won't be able to have a good life. "I want him to have a
good life because he wants it, and he deserves it. He's earned it." H said that she fears his death
because she would be alone. She is an only child. She said she has friends she can turn to.
Feelings List
Anxious Angry
Nervous Resentful
Fearful Frustrated
Sad Rejected
Pain (Comment: Significance of feelings list. There are probably several or many dissociated
ego states that need to be worked on.) (97)
Feeling Associated with the Urge to Overeat: H denies that he overeats. "I eat the wrong
things." I want to eat because I get very light headed. This happens frequently. All I want to do
is to eat a piece of fruit. I eat three meals a day. Lunch is my main meal. I don't binge. This
morning I had 4 eggs, 4 pieces of bacon, a bagel, and mashed potatoes, and that was my total
meal until dinner." H could not identify the feelings associated with the urge to overeat because
he denies that he overeats.
RRP SESSION: I told H. that I am not a psychotherapist, do not give interpretations, and do
not prescribe psychotropic drugs. I also told him that he does not need to tell me anything
personal or secret or private.
Problem – Panic Attack
Step 1. Symptom Orientation: H identified his feelings of claustrophobia as the most intense
right now and as the strongest feeling he wanted to work on.
First Dissociated Ego State
Step 2. Affect Bridge: I asked H to close his eyes, to identify the feelings he had last night when
he experienced claustrophobia and panic and to let those feelings get stronger so that he could
be sure what the uncomfortable feeling is. I asked him to nod his head when he had it. He did
this quickly. I employed affect bridge to uncover the first time he had that strong uncomfortable
feeling. This was accomplished quickly and there seemed to be no doubt in his mind what the
repressed memory was.
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State: H. regressed to age 4-5.
Step 4. Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience (98) I told H that is not a safe
place for 4 year old H to be and asked him to bring the Child here with the three of us where it
is safe. I asked Adult H to give the 4 year old H (Child H.) a big hug and to tell the 4 year old
H that he loves him. Tkach: "No one loved him, no one hugged him. No one praised him. He
needs a really big hug. Give him a big hug, tell him you love him, that you have made room in
your heart for him." I asked him also to feel that uncomfortable feeling the 4 year old has while
hugging him. Based on watching his face and body I believe H genuinely accomplished this
step.
Step 5. Communicating with Distressed Ego State: I asked Adult H to ask 4 year old H to tell
him in detail what happened to make him feel so uncomfortable. H grunted after 20 seconds
and nodded his head and looked distressed. I pointed out that these uncomfortable feelings have
been bottled up inside for 58 years. H spontaneously nodded his head and said, "Yes, it has."
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution: Using standard RRP procedures, H decided
that it was not necessary for the 4 year old to have those feelings today, but he realized that the
4 year old did not know that. "It's so so deep, poor little H cannot forget it." I asked Adult H to
talk to 4 year old H to convince him that it is safe to let go of the uncomfortable feeling. The
answer was no, the 4 year old could not let go.
I asked Adult H to tell 4 year old H that he will take care of him. "I can't do that." I told
H that when people can't let go of an uncomfortable feeling, there is usually a reason for it. I
asked if it was so he doesn't forget. He said, "No, it's fear." I asked him to ask the 4 year old H
to tell him what he's afraid of, in detail. Adult H indicated that he does understand what 4 year
old H is afraid of. "It's darkness, it's control, inability to escape." I asked H, "Did somebody do
something bad to H when he was 4?" H. said, "Yes." I asked H to ask the Child who did that to
him. He identified, "We were in a room of 4 beds, 4 boys. One evening, the three boys jumped
on top of me, covered my head with my blanket, tied it to the bed, and I was unable to get out. I
screamed, I yelled. No help came. Finally, my mother came to my rescue. It seemed like it was
hours. That fear, that darkness, has been with me forever. Inability to escape. (99) It wasn't the
attack as much as it was the inability to escape."
I told Adult H that Child H needs someone to protect him. He's stuck back then. He's
keeping that fear. I asked him to see if he can get little H to turn over the role of protection to
Adult H. To tell him that he will make a place in his heart for him and that he will be safe with
big H, and that big H. will protect him now. H nodded his head. Little H was still concerned
about the fear and the lack of control. H said, "I don't know how I can ask him to forget it." I
said, "No. We're not asking him to forget it." I pointed out that he will not forget it." H seemed
to accept that and asked, "How can he feel safe?".
Step 7. Resolution: I asked H if can use all his adult, experienced, sophisticated resources to
convince little H that he will take care of him now and protect him. I asked him to call upon his
adult resources to protect the little kid. This was difficult, but little H was able to let go of the
fear.
There was still a problem with control. I asked H to ask little H. about the control and what it is
he's afraid of about letting go of the control. "His problem is he's afraid that could happen
again.. I'm supposed to protect him."
Step 8. Confirmation of Resolution: Big H talked to little H and convinced him that Big H would
take over these functions and would be in control for him. He indicated that that was acceptable
to little H. Little H got his smile back.
Step 9. Reintegration
Step 10. Confirmation of Reintegration and Future Pacing: I asked Adult H to come to the
present and look around to see if that fear is still here. He said convincingly, "No." I did past
testing. He said convincingly, "No." We did future testing. I asked him to place himself in a
situation where he previously would have had that fear. (100) He said darkness and lack of
control were still a problem. That issue was from his blindness.
Step 11. Ego Strengthening and Assertiveness Training: I decided to fractionate RRP and did
ego strengthening, assertiveness training, and gave him a post hypnotic suggestion to facilitate
future RRP sessions. H agreed not to let anyone put him down, not to put himself down, and not
to put anyone else down.
I told H, "The two of you talk and say what you need to say to each other, and when you
are done your eyes will open." When H's eyes opened, he had that convincing post-RRP look.
He sat staring at me for 44 seconds. H discussed the RRP experience and the blanket
experience. "My brothers were very mean to me." I asked him about the darkness. It was due to
being trapped under the blanket that was firmly tucked under the mattress. He did not have the
strength to pull it out. "It was dark, and I was trapped. And there was no way out. As hard as I
fought, it became worse and worse It seemed like it was for hours. It might have been seconds.
I was an upset kid. You've got to remember my brothers were very mean to me." He talked
about how they would put toys on the floor in front of him, he could not see them, and he would
roll down two flights of stairs because he could not see. If he had a glass of something, they
would switch the glass with some terrible thing in it. These events were when he was 7 years
old. "It mentally has affected me. My house has a night light on. I don't have fear of darkness if
I know where I am. In hotel rooms, I like to leave a light on. I've lived with it for years. I was
okay until last night."
Dissociated ego state 2 at age 4: (101)
Step 2. Affect Bridge and
Step 3. Dissociated Ego State: I asked H to go back to last night and to experience the
uncomfortable feeling he had last night. He regressed to age 4, same event. He had trouble
breathing under the sheets, and he had a hard time breathing with the sleep apnea machine mask
over his nose. He became agitated at this point. I asked H to bring the four year old here and to
tell him that he, Adult H, will take care of him and will make a safe place in his heart for the 4
year old. "Okay, and he believes it too." I asked Adult H to discuss this with Child H. "He trusts
me." H indicated that Child H will let go of the feeling. He said Child H had his smile back.
Past testing indicated ego state reintegration was successful. Future testing indicated successful
resolution. I instructed H in self-RRP if the uncomfortable feelings come back. He says this
example he can handle, but does not know about other settings.
Dissociated ego state 3 at age 13-14: Other uncomfortable feelings emerged, mostly lack of
respect, lack of appreciation, lack of understanding and recognition of his achievements. H. had
trouble identifying the first time the feeling happened because he was approaching it
intellectually. I contracted with the unconscious mind, and reapplied affect bridge. H regressed
to age 13-14. Adult H was able to get Child H to let go of the uncomfortable feelings. There
was confirmation of
resolution, confirmation of reintegration and confirmation of future pacing.
H was unable to identify any other uncomfortable feeling to work on. I again appealed
to the observing ego. There were no other uncomfortable feelings to work on. I did ego
strengthening and assertiveness training. I asked H to gather together all the H's and talk to
them. He said "There's a whole bunch of them."
Post RRP: "The four year old is safe now." I suggested he give it time and see how it goes. His
wife N rejoined him and they held hands. H asked me how this helps (102) overeating. I told
him it was never about eating. It was about an uncomfortable, traumatized 4 year old.
Overeating is just how it came out. I instructed him in self-RRP.
Dissociated ego state 4 at age 14: With discussion, he identified a problem with anger at his
brothers. Using affect bridge, H regressed to age 14 year old. There is a dissociated ego state
associated with one of his brothers stealing a coke from him. Child H could not let go of the
uncomfortable feeling. He was holding on to it so he would not forget. H said, "That H went
into the bedroom and locked himself in. I'm talking to him now. He don't want to listen. He's
angry but embarrassed. I'm trying to work on the embarrassment." Adult H told Child H he is
just as good as anyone else, and he should not have been treated that way, that it was unfair. 14
year old H. let go of the anger and got his smile back. There was confirmation of resolution,
confirmation of reintegration, and future pacing. I gave Adult H post-hypnotic suggestions to
facilitate future RRP sessions. At the end of this step, H looked relaxed for the first time in this
visit.
The next day, H's wife phoned and said he was much better. He had been able to use the
sleep apnea mask for 2 ½ hours at a time that night. The limiting factor was not claustrophobia
from the mask, but the nature of the machine. H's wife, who was present for the RRP session,
decided to use RRP on herself for her urge to overeat chocolate candy. She located a
dissociated ego state at age 4 related to an experience with visits to her grandparents. On her
own, she was able to communicate with and to reintegrate that ego state. Consequently, she no
longer had the urge to binge-eat chocolate. (103)

8. CHAPTER 8: THERAPEUTIC FAILURES IN RRP INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION: N.B. Anyone who claims 100% success is lying. Our successes are
encouraging but our failures are instructive. The Rapid Reintegration Procedure meets its share
of failures and it is only by studying our failures that we can fully understand our successes and
hopefully be able to increase our success rate. As we examine the principles underlying the
theory of ego state hypnotherapy we can soon see that when, for one reason or another, these
principles are not maintained, the explanation for therapeutic failure becomes evident.
1. Lack of Communication (Absence of Rapport): No therapy can succeed if there is no rapport.
A high proportion of failures are due to an initial lack of communication. Rapport is very
difficult to define, but when it exists there is a comfortable and rapid connection that is made
one with the other. When it is absent, either or both therapist and client frequently feel very
uncomfortable.
2. No Affect Bridge: Although there is no formal induction of hypnosis used in the rapid
reintegration procedure, it is through the medium of the affect bridge that communication with
the unconscious is achieved and maintained. If the uncomfortable feeling responsible for the
symptoms is not accessed, then the procedure cannot be commenced.
We do not seek a state of hypnosis in RRP, but an effective affect bridge is essential for
the process of hypnosis (communication with the unconscious) on which RRP depends.
Although it is rare for a client to fail to be able to access his discomfort one must assume that,
when this is difficult, at some level of awareness there is a fear of the therapeutic setting and
perhaps fears that he/she will lose control. Cooperation is unlikely (104) if this fear is allowed to
persist. Discuss the proposed procedure in some detail, emphasizing that he/she will remain in
control at all times and that, no matter what feelings emerge, this will be maintained.
For the established hypnotherapist using RRP, his known use of hypnosis may give his
client unreasonable expectations. Unfortunately even the professions believe that there is
something miraculous about hypnosis. Much of this misconception has been maintained in the
media and the popular literature. The greatest misconception however is purveyed by the stage
hypnotist, who in his mission to entertain discovers among his audience the five to ten percent
who will most readily completely bypass their left brain critical factor and give entertaining
right brain responses of imagination. He thereby demonstrates the power of post hypnotic
suggestions which in the clinical sphere is often of less value because of opposing and perhaps
protecting factors.
Again in using RRP instead of an expected hypnotic induction, some clients may feel that
they have in a sense been short changed, and are less cooperative when they realize that they
will remain fully conscious. However, I recommend that, following a session of RRP, the
benefit of a formal relaxation hypnotic induction is appropriate. This is especially true if strong
resistance was encountered during the RRP session.
3. No Critical Experience or Dissociated Ego State Located: If unconscious communication has
indeed been established with the affect bridge but no evidence of a critical experience is
discovered, one can assume that there must be a hidden ego state retaining knowledge of the
critical experience responsible for persistent symptoms.
A wary ego state with the memory of the critical experience is protecting the remainder
of the personality and remains uncooperative. Since protection is its function, it must somehow
be assured that this protection will not be jeopardized. (105)
4.Ego state will not leave the past and venture into the secure present: Because there is no
request for verbalization of memories in RRP there is usually very little resistance to dealing
with them, but occasionally the distressed ego state remains trapped in the past experience.
There are times when RRP locates an extremely fearful ego state that remains hiding and cannot
initially be persuaded to leave its hiding place. It is usually scared of a threatening Parent ego
state, and the therapist must understand the Child mind and devise an acceptable means of
escape, e.g. a magic carpet, a tunnel, a fairy etc.
5. No Communication with the distressed Ego State: Sometimes, although the distressed ego
state has been taken away from the past critical experience into the present, it still remains
fearful and will not allow the adult to hug it. I have found that it is helpful to call upon the
intervention of a “Wise Part” to explain to the fearful Child ego state that the Adult is not the
fearful, threatening Parent.
6. Difficulty in accessing Adult resources: The resources of the Adult depend upon its
understanding
and knowledge of the present world. It knows for example whether the present is indeed safer
than the past. It knows whether the criticisms of the past were really valid. It knows that the
individual is indeed worthy and adequate. It knows that it now has access to protection that was
not available in the past. Parental interference may be blocking access to these resources. The
intervention of the therapist's Adult can be helpful at this juncture.
7. No evidence of resolution of internal conflict and elimination of discomfort: In spite of every
effort, the distressed ego state is still not able to relinquish the distress it feels. This is usually
further evidence of Parental interference. There is no smile. Negative thoughts may be
expressed. (106)
8. There is no confirmation of a resolution: The Adult is unable to access the past trauma or has
insufficient knowledge of what it is. Again there is usually a Parental interference responsible
for this.
9. No reintegration: It is very rare to have successfully reached this stage without ready
integration into the “heart,” but, if a problem remains, again suspect Parental blocking.
10. Future Pacing: If everything has gone well up until now but future pacing indicates the
persistence of discomfort, then another one or more distressed ego states need to be discovered
and dealt with as before.
11. Ego Strengthening and Assertiveness Training: It is indeed very rare to have successfully
progressed to this stage and to meet with any resistance to the acceptance of these suggestions.
Clearly there is marked Parental obstruction that has hitherto not been recognized and must be
fully dealt with if RRP is to be successful. (107)
UNMASKING THE VINDICTIVE PARENT EGO STATE: Introduction: Perhaps
the most frequent cause of failure to resolve the Parent/Child conflicts responsible for symptoms
during Ego State Hypnotherapy is the resistance put up by the Parent ego state. This resistance
can amount to outright hostility. There are many reasons for this. First and foremost is the fact
that the Parent ego state is also locked into the past and, being unable to see the present except
in terms of its past, continues to replay the elements of the original critical experiences when
similar present events occur. This means that it continues to play its original protective/punitive
role in doing whatever it deems necessary to gain or maintain the approval of the real parent.
This Parent ego state retains much of the unconscious tension with which it was charged at the
time of the original traumata which will include the fear, anger and/or pain of those experiences.
Its main task is to protect the executive personality from an escalation of these tensions through
the disapproval of the real parent. It accomplishes this through the medium of guilt, i.e. the fear
of abandonment or destruction by the real parent. Because this ego state is stuck in the past it
readily confuses other parent-like figures with the real parent or surrogate parent (transference)
who, as likely as not, is no longer to be feared or may even be dead at the time of therapy.
Therapy fails if an active and vindictive Parent ego state has remained concealed and
inaccessible to therapy. This is usually because its presence has not been suspected even when
symptoms continue despite energetic therapy. Therapy also fails when the underlying protective
motivation for the existence of the Parent ego state has been concealed by its apparent hostility,
and the therapist succeeds only in further antagonizing it rather than forming a therapeutic
alliance with it. This antagonism can be avoided if it is understood that, no matter how
destructive the Parent ego state may appear, its behaviour has always originated in its
determination to protect the Child from or to appease the real (or imagined real) parent, even if
an apparent self destructive (108) behavior or symptomatology appears to be the only way to
gain that protection or approval.
When seeking access to and communication with this Parent ego state it should be
remembered that this ego state is itself retaining much unconscious distress. It was originally a
part of the Child and therefore remains very young and immature and is fixed in the past and
remains distanced from the individual's modern resources. It should also be noted that at the
time of therapy the Parent ego state has had years of experience in effectively controlling the
Child with negative thoughts and feelings and has achieved this by appearing to be the real
parent. It may be very reluctant to relinquish this power, energy and prestige that it may have
enjoyed as a recompense for the distress it has had to harbor on behalf of the host ego state.
In unmasking the concealed and vindictive Parent, this knowledge must be used. This
ego state can always be located by the symptoms that it is causing whether these are voices,
pains, fears, anger or guilt etc. It can be identified by the age at which these symptoms
commenced. The therapist can rest assured that the Parent knows that it is young and insecure
but does not wish the host personality to discover this. It needs the host to continue to believe
that it is someone with the power of the real parent in order that its control can remain
effective..
Unmasking the Parent ego state can safely be accomplished only when it is clear that its
role is no longer necessary i. e. when the old dangers are no longer present. It must also be
assured that it will continue to have a modernized role to play when its original purpose has
been clearly understood. Sometimes when working with children this may not be possible or
advisable until they are removed from a hostile environment.
Procedure:
1. Postulate the presence of a hidden Parent ego state (e.g. "mother part", "father part" etc.)
2. Establish contact with that part and inform it of your understanding of its protective role.
Congratulate it upon how well it has been doing its job to date, intimating that its skills might be
(109) better utilized.
3. Inquire into its real age (this is usually between the ages of 2 and 6). This information
is the Achilles heel of the Parent ego state since hitherto it has appeared to be old and powerful.
4. Suggest that the role that was originally delegated to it has been a difficult and unpleasant one
only made satisfying by the power it has been able to exert in controlling the host personality.
It has been one of grave responsibility which the Parent ego state might be happy to relinquish
and return to having the freedom of childhood. The therapist can add the understanding that the
Parent has had to do this arduous job in order to protect the host from the real parent and that
he/she must be congratulated on having done it to the very best of his/her ability. Assure the
Parent that when the host also understands this he/she will eventually be grateful. 5. Indicate
that you believe that it (the Parent) has been acting the part of the real parent as he/she was at
the host's age of the ego state and that things are now much different with that parent (he/she is
much older and less fearsome and may even be dead). Also one can discover whether the Parent
ego state has always hated, feared or been angered by the real parent . 6.. Indicate that you
know that the appearance and voice that the Parent ego state has been using are false and that
you intend to let the host know about this so that its control of the host, who has unconsciously
been accepting the ego state as the real parent, will now be lost. Incidentally in this context
some Parent ego states, fearing the loss of their customary control, will cause an exacerbation
of symptoms at this point such as headache or panic. This gives you the opportunity to point out
to the host that it is the Parent ego state that is responsible for the symptom and that he/she is
really very little and not really as fearsome as he/she has appeared with the help of the parental
mask and voice. This gives the host ego state the power to command the Parent to quit creating
these symptoms since they no longer serve their former useful purpose.
7. Indicate that the time has now come for the Parent ego state to have some fun and join with
the rest of the personality in the safe place where it can be a child again or can play the part of
a proper mother (or father) part. (110)
8. If the mother (or father, etc) part can join with the other parts of the personality and have fun,
then the symptoms resulting from the previous Parent/Child conflict should ameliorate. If
symptoms persist one can suspect that there are other Parent ego states still concealed or that
there has not been the integration that one has hoped for.
Follow up: At future sessions check for any persistent unconscious discomfort or distress. If
any persists, suspect that the Parent Ego State is still pretending to be the real parent and that the
host ego state is still being deceived by it into believing that it has powers that it really does not
have. Its ability to produce symptoms rests entirely upon its memory bank of pain and tension,
which can be accessed and reduced when exposed to current wisdom and understanding. Repeat
the above procedure, stressing that the Parent ego state is young and very anxious, hurt, afraid
or guilty, and that with current resources this is no longer necessary. It has also been discovered
that the Parent ego state may sometimes be readily be accessed during RRP by simply asking
“Can I talk to Mother ?(Father, stepfather, brother, etc,)” (111)

9. CHAPTER 9: THE NEGATIVE BIRTH EXPERIENCE

1. DEFINITION: A negative birth experience is the unconscious source of persistent negative
and guilt feelings associated with one's birth. It is frequently expressed in negative feelings about
the self responsible for self-rejecting behavior and symptoms e. g. depression, low self esteem,
self mutilation and suicidal behavior. Maternal rejection (real or imagined) is the most frequent
source of such feelings. It is presumed that at some unconscious level the infant is aware of
parental distress occasioned by his/her birth The Negative birth experience can be a potent
source of a hostile and stubborn Parent ego state firmly opposed to relinquishing symptoms.
2. A SAMPLE VERBALIZATION FOR IDENTIFYING THE BIRTH EXPERIENCE (in
hypnosis after ideomotor finger signals have been established.): "Would it be alright for your
inner mind to look at memories that are beyond conscious memory?" "I would like you to orient
your inner mind back through your unconscious memories to before conscious memory began. I
would like your inner mind to go back to the very first breath that you took just after you were
born. When your inner mind is there your "yes" finger will lift to let us know." "Babies, when
they are born, know many things and the baby Jane(or whatever) knows many things. One of the
things that she knows is whether she feels okay about being born. If she feels okay about being
born the "yes" finger will lift. but if she does not really feel okay about being born then the "no"
finger will lift."
3. PROCEDURE: If there is a positive response, amplify this with ego strengthening
suggestions.(112) If there is a negative response, ask the unconscious mind to review the birth
with all the present day understanding and wisdom; and when there is a mature understanding of
the nature of all of the unconscious discomfort, to signal when this has been accomplished. Then
ask: "With all the wisdom now available up here in 2005(or whatever), does the baby Jane still
need to continue to feel not okay about being born?"
If "no" is received, then ask him/her to use the unconscious wisdom to discover means of
relinquishing all of the old outdated negative feelings about the birth and to replace them with
positive ones since each of us has a right to be born and feel okay about it. Ask for a signal when
this has been accomplished and birth experience becomes and feels okay at last.
Amplify these new positive feelings about birth with ego strengthening suggestions. If
these suggestions have been fully accepted at the level of the newborn a spontaneous smile may
be seen. In any case ask if the newborn baby Jane can smile (smile test). This is an excellent
confirmation of the reversal of the negative birth experience. If these suggestions are not
accepted , suspect strong parental rejection prior to birth. This requires intensive therapy to deal
with prenatal rejection... (113)

10. CHAPTER 10: PRENATAL TRAUMA IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEGATIVE

BIRTH EXPERIENCE
ABSTRACT: David Cheek in 1972 first introduced me to the uncovering of birth
memories by the use of ideomotor signaling and questioning, and in 1983 I wrote a paper
describing the incidence of the negative birth experience in a series of 260 consecutive patients.
In this group 76 (almost 30%) gave a negative response, and of these negative responders
48(63%) indicated that prenatal experiences were responsible for their negativity; while 61 of
these 260 presented with depression, 26 (40%) indicated that they had a negative birth
experience. Of these 26, 20 (77%) indicated that the negativity was prenatal. That is to say. that
20 of the 61 (30%) presenting with depression indicated that there was negativity prior to birth.
If this small sample is representative of the general population and 30% of cases of depression
have prenatal negativity, then it is small wonder that the term endogenous depression has come
to stay. These are people who are depressed from the very beginning. and only a procedure that
can deal with negative feelings and thoughts preceding birth can offer hope of cure.
The same analysis was applied to those 109 presenting with anxiety; 26 (24%) of these
indicated prenatal negativity. To summarize, these figures suggest that perhaps one in three
presenting for depression are suffering from prenatal rejection, and one in four presenting for
anxiety are retaining prenatal fears.
Cheek (1974) described the appearance of sequential head movements during regression
to birth. The accuracy with which these movements reproduced the probable movements due to
the birth process provides conclusive evidence of the validity of regression using his techniques.
Chamberlain (1980) compared the birth memories of 10 mother/child couples and found that
they
(114) shared a wealth of factual detail in a high proportion of cases. From this evidence
Chamberlain concluded that birth memories are real, although he admits that the possibility of
falsification exists. However, he affirms that the quality and content of these birth memories are
such that they give clear evidence of the newborn's ability to experience, learn, understand and
form relationships from the commencement of extrauterine life.
There is evidence to support the belief that the newborn is able to respond specifically to
the environment in which he finds himself. Meltzoff' and Moore (1977) have conclusively
demonstrated that the newborn has a detailed awareness of his environment immediately after
birth that one can reasonably assume must have been established prior to birth. Harris (1967)
cited evidence to prove that the events of birth and of infant life are recorded even though they
are not remembered.
There are certain factors surrounding birth that appear to have a profound effect upon
later life, chief among which are the anxiety and rejection of illegitimacy. Stott and Latchford
(1976) found that illegitimate or premaritally conceived children have a 44% greater risk of
morbidity than the average. The adopted child runs this risk since he is nearly always in this
category. Stewart (1955) found that there was twice as much prematurity and three times as
much perinatal death among extra maritally conceived children; and James (1969) pointed out
that illegitimate infants are at a greater risk of being stillborn, indicating that maternal
psychological stress is responsible for some of this additional risk.
Anxiety can of course be due to other factors; and Davids and DeVaults (1963)
demonstrated that birth complications were more frequent in seriously troubled women, all of
whom in their study had at least one complication whereas, the normal controls had none.
Lederman and Lederman (1981) noted that maternal conflict regarding the acceptance of
pregnancy also correlated significantly with the newborn's five minute Apgar score. Anxiety in
labour and the plasma epinephrine correlated with the fetal heart rate, which in turn correlated
with the Apgar score. They concluded that conflicts during pregnancy are predictive of maternal
anxiety and stress related biochemical factors. These variables are related to prolonged labour
and to fetal/newborn depression. Netter (115) (1982) confirmed that psychoneurotic factors were
responsible for rejection of a pregnancy, and that this showed an association with the infants'
later development of aggressive or regressive tendencies.
Klaus and Kennell (1972) performed studies on the "bonding infant" (one whose
relationship with his natural mother had been established) and found that they became more
selfsufficient and outgoing than those infants who were taken from their mother immediately
after birth before such bonding could be established.
Rosenthal (1966) demonstrated that the perinatal environment is of far greater
importance than genetic factors in the development of schizophrenia in the children of
schizophrenic parents.
Greenacre (1952) stated that the birth procedure in the human can be considered as fear
arousing and traumatic in most instances. DeSousa (1974) agrees with this view, but points out
that the process of birth is a trauma which takes an even greater toll on the infant in an abnormal
birth.
Read (1951) developed a new approach to labor based on an assumption that attributed
the most difficult labor to fear; and in further support of this view Cramond (1954) was able to
relate dysfunction in labor with a dysfunction temperament in 54% of cases as compared to 12%
of controls.
In another important paper Cheek (1975) in reviewing birth memories made an excellent
case for concluding that the newborn can respond to maternal stress with persistent feelings of
guilt, which could initiate a behavior pattern likely to produce symptoms of illness later in life.
Prior to learning of this research I had been puzzled by the frequent recurrence of
symptoms in patients who had initially responded extremely well to analytical hypnotherapy and
yet, for no apparent reason, had later relapsed. At that time in my career I had not been
concerned with evaluating the birth experience in my patients, but following my meeting with
Dr. Cheek I decided that I should make a determined attempt wherever possible to discover the
nature of the birth experience in every patient. It was not (116) long before I was to learn from
many of my patients that they had retained a negative feeling about their birth experience, in
which a predominant sense of guilt for being born had persisted at an unconscious level. With
the use of analytical methods to encourage them to rid themselves of this now irrelevant guilt,
most of these patients became permanently symptom free. In a previous paper (1979) I have
described how one patient with recurrence of migraine following what had appeared to be
adequate therapy was ultimately completely freed of symptoms, and how another patient with
recurring depression also became permanently free of symptoms only when the guilt associated
with his birth was relinquished during hypnosis.
In 1976 I began to investigate the relationship of the birth experience to illness in greater
detail, and for the next three years attempted to discover the unconscious feelings that each
patient had about his or her birth experience. This was accomplished in the manner advocated by
Cheek in probably 95% of those attending for hypnotherapy.
Each patient was trained to develop unconscious ideomotor finger signals to indicate
unconscious answers of either "yes" or "no". Using this method of ideomotor questioning,
questions were directed to the patient's unconscious memory to determine whether the birth
experience was recalled as being satisfactory. When the signals indicated that the birth
experience had been located a question was then put as follows: "Babies when they ale born
know many things and the baby, Jane, knows many thingS. One of the things that she knows is
whether she feels okay about being born. If she feels okay about being born, the "yes" finger will
lift but if she does not really feel okay about being born then the "no" finger will lift."
GENDER AND THE BIRTH EXPERIENCE:
Positive Negative
Total
Male 143(76.5%)
44(23.5%)
187
Female 488(70.8%)
201(29.2% )
689
Total
631(72%)

245(28%)
876
(117)
In a series of 876 patients whose birth experiences were examined in this manner, 631
(72%) gave a positive response and the remaining 245 (28%) indicated that they still
unconsciously retained negative feelings about their birth. The fact that almost 3 people in 10
presenting for hypnotherapy should have a negative birth experience in itself indicates that this
problem is of considerable significance. At the time of this study I suspected that this figure
might be artificially elevated simply because the population under study was a selected one with
overt symptomatology. Since then, however, I have had several opportunities to do similar
surveys on "normal" populations (namely groups of students and therapists at workshops that I
have conducted) and I have been surprised to discover that a similar percentage (about 30%) of
negative birth experiences is consistently found even in these apparently asymptomatic groups. I
have since heard from other colleagues that their findings in similar circumstances have been
identical.
It would therefore appear that the negative birth experience may either be asymptomatic
or be responsible for symptoms which are thought to be insufficiently severe to require therapy.
I believe that there may be many apparently emotionally healthy persons who are functioning far
below their potential because of the handicap of a negative birth experience.
When the relationship of the negative birth experience to various clinical parameters was
subjected to detailed examination some interesting information emerged. For example, it was
discovered that there was a significantly higher incidence of the negative birth experiences
among females (201/689 or 29.2%) than among males (44/187 or 23.5%) (Table 1). When
seeking the reason for this evident sexual bias one might easily speculate that this difference in
sex incidence could be due to a generally greater social acceptability of the male child.
On investigating the presenting symptomatology it was noted that there were certain
groups that were characterized by a more than average (30%) incidence of the negative birth
experience (Table 2). For example in a group of 11 cases presenting for treatment of alcoholism
5 (45%) indicated that they had a negative birth experience. This high incidence is probably
related to an underlying depression since out of 77 cases presenting with depression, 29 (37.6%)
had a negative birth (118) experience. My subsequent clinical experience leads me to suspect
that all who have a negative birth experience are likely to be subject to otherwise unaccountable
periodic feelings of depression. These can readily be understood as being a probable
consequence of the rejection associated with the negative birth experience.
Of the 162 who presented with anxiety 57 or 35% indicated that they had experienced a
negative birth. This high incidence is a logical consequence, since one would expect that
negative feelings of rejection persisting from birth into adult life would be the probably source
of marked feelings of insecurity evidenced by anxiety.
Presenting Symptomatology and the Negative Birth Experience:
Positive Negative
Total
Alcoholism 6(54.5%)

5(45.5%)
11

Anxiety 5(65%)

57(35%)
162

Depression(A) 16(61.5%)
10(38.5%)
26

Depression(B) 32(62.7%)
19(37.3%)
51
Depression(A+B) 48(62.3%)
29(37.7%)
77
Divorced or Separated 64(64%) 36(36%)
100
Marital problems 7(58%)
5(43%)
12
Asthma 6(86%)
1(14%)
7
Phobias 25(86%)
4(14%)
29
Nailbiting 7(50%)
7(50%)
14
Hair Pulling
(Trichotillomania) 0(0%)
4(100%)
 4
It was also noted that there was a strong relationship between unsatisfactory marital
experiences and a negative birth experience. Of the 100 people who reported that they were
separated or divorced from their spouses 36 (36%) indicated that they had negative feelings
about birth. One can postulate from this that those who do not feel good about themselves are
more likely to experience the kind of emotional difficulties that can impose a severe strain on the
close relationship of marriage. (119)
Of 12 people attending specifically for therapy for marital problems 5 gave an indication
of a negative birth experience. Although admittedly this is a small sample, this high incidence of
42% once again suggests that successful marital relations demand positive feelings that are less
likely to be present in those with negative birth experiences.
As might be expected, statistically, there were certain categories of patients whose
incidence of the negative birth experience was well below the average of 30%. A striking
example of this was the group of 29 phobics of whom only four gave a negative birth
experience. This extremely low incidence of 14% was matched by the small group of asthmatics,
in which only one of the seven recorded in the study gave a negative birth experience. The
logical conclusion to be drawn from this is that the critical experiences responsible for symptoms
for these groups are more likely to occur in later life, although it is difficult to surmise why this
should be so.
We were surprised to discover that the apparently innocuous habit of nail biting was
associated with a very high incidence of negativity regarding birth. Seven of the 14 in this study,
i.e. 50%, responded with negativity about the birth. However, when four cases of hair pulling
were also all found to give a negative birth experience, nail biting can similarly be interpreted to
be evidence of unconscious aggression against a self-regarded as being unacceptable since birth.
Depth Positive
Negative
Total
1 28(59.6%)
19(40.4%)
47
2 138(69.3%)
61(30.7%)
199
3 78(73.6%)
28(26.4%)
106
4 57(74%)
20(26%)
77
5 7(63.6%)
4(36.4%)
11
Total

308(70.%)
 132(30%)

440

(120)
Another objective of this study was to determine whether there was any relationship
between hypnotizability and the birth experience. We were interested to discover that, of the 440
patients whose trance depth was rated, there were 47 who were only able to achieve a very light
trance (Grade 1) and of these 47, 19 or 40% had a negative birth experience. Most
hypnotherapists would agree that hypnotizability is directly related to an individual's capacity to
trust. It can therefore be assumed that the rejection associated with a negative birth experience
would severely limit one's capacity to trust, so that in these cases the deeper levels of hypnosis
would be more difficult to achieve. Even before these results were available I had concluded, as
had Cheek so many years before, that the experience of birth was an important and critical
experience for many who attend for hypnotherapy. It appears that even at this early age the
newborn is able to make decisions which will have a profound effect on the future course of his
life.
These decisions presumably remain buried deeply in the unconscious memory but
nevertheless continue to control the individual's responses to his environment in a manner which
can later prove inimical to him. Therefore for those whose symptoms in whole or in part result
from a negative experience at birth, an effective modification of these symptoms can only be
initiated by a clinical approach that is able to communicate with and modify the memory of this
experience. In hypnosis not only can these old decisions be located but suggestions can be given
to alter them appropriately.
THERAPEUTIC OUTCOME AND THE NEGATIVE BIRTH EXPERIENCE:
Birth Experience

Compl
ete
Succes
s

Partial
Succes
s

Failure

Total

Positive 50(22.7%)
 92(41.8%)

78(35.5%)
220
Negative 22(22.2%)

42(42.4%)

35(35.4%)
99
Total 72

134

113

319
In this series of cases the outcome of hypnotherapy was subjected to an evaluation not
only by the therapist but also by the patient six months or more following termination of therapy
(121) 4). These results indicated that when the birth experience was treated therapeutically like
any other critical experience, the response to therapy was as good for those with a negative birth
experience as for those with a positive birth experience. It must be presumed that the symptoms
of this latter group resulted from other later critical experiences. In this study 319 patients
evaluated their response to therapy six months after its termination. Of 220 with a positive birth
experience, 50 (22.7%) claimed complete success and an almost precisely equal percentage
(22.2%) of the 99 professing a negative birth experience also claimed complete cure. When
those claiming a partial success from therapy were considered, the figures maintained an
identical similarity namely 41.8% (92/220) for those with a positive birth experience, as
compared with 42.4% (42/99) of those with a negative birth experience. In therapy the negative
birth experience was dealt with in precisely the same manner as any other critical experience.
The Birth Experience was located and reviewed at an unconscious level using the
ideomotor signals and then the current adult understanding was accessed and applied to the
experience. It would sometimes be necessary for the therapist to offer the assistance of his own
adult wisdom by suggesting the many other factors that might be responsible for the
unsatisfactory circumstances of the birth and for which the patient need no longer continue to
accept blame. In the majority of cases this approach was successful and the previously negative
birth experience could now be viewed as being largely positive. Thus even though, for example,
the birth may have occurred at an inopportune time, it could be pointed out how things had since
worked out satisfactorily. The assumption could now fairly be made that the patient has a perfect
right to be born, and his birth could now be considered as proper in every sense of the word.
However, there have always been patients who resist every effort to persuade them to accept
these suggestions for relinquishing guilt, whether this guilt be associated with birth or some later
critical experience.
Early in my investigations of the negative birth experience I was occasionally able to
obtain a verbal description of the experience and the reasons for its negativity. In some cases it
was because mother was unconscious during the delivery and thus unable to welcome the baby
in an appropriate manner. The baby had subsequently felt responsible for mother's helplessness.
(122) Sometimes the mother was recalled as being in great distress during the delivery and the
baby had accepted responsibility for this pain. In other cases it was because the mother would
not or could not accept the baby and give it the desired affection. This would frequently be the
case where the baby was subsequently adopted. Incidentally, I have been impressed by the
frequency of depression in adopted persons. This would appear to be directly related to the
rejection implicit in the adoption procedure but I have not yet investigated this frequency
statistically.
Occasionally father was remembered as being strong in his disapproval of the newborn,
subsequent symptoms apparently being the results of efforts to regain his approval. Frequently
however the feeling of guilt and other unpleasant emotions had evidently begun prior to birth,
and some patients would describe hearing mother or father emphatically stating a strong
opposition to the child. This was often experienced as something deeply felt rather than
something actually heard. It was therefore assumed that a significant proportion of infants with
negative birth experiences attain a state of negativity some time prior to birth as a direct result of
experiences undergone while in the uterus. The objective of this study was the examination of
the incidence of these prenatal experiences as a source of the negative birth.
Feher (1981) emphasized the fact that every individual comprises all that came before
birth as well as all that follows it, since birth is merely a bridge to a new dimension of life. Feher
also believed that certain personality structures relate to specific birth experiences.
Hau (1979) comments on the increasing interest in this area in Germany, where
previously there was little evidence of any notable scientific contribution, and points to Greber's
valuable contributions to the understanding of prenatal psychology. Verny (1977), in his review
of the literature on the subject, cited many examples of the effect of maternal stress upon the
unborn child, and pointed out that many investigators attribute infantile autism to intense
maternal anxiety during pregnancy. Sontag (1941) suggested that chronic fatigue, malnutrition
and strong emotional disturbances may so alter the physiology of the pregnant woman that the
fetus is adversely affected, and Frank (1966) believed that a woman bearing an unwanted child
may be so unhappy and disturbed that she may be said to have a hostile uterus. Verny (123)
(1981) found that the most commonly reported womb feeling was peacefulness, but this was
closely followed by reports of anxiety as a common womb feeling, and Sontag (1960) described
several cases where maternal anxiety resulting from severe stress was frequently accompanied
by a great increase in fetal activity.
Ploye (1976), in discussing the evidence for prenatal intrauterine experience and the
capacity of the fetus for learning, expressed the belief that a variety of extra and intrauterine
influences can have a strong bearing on the quality of intrauterine life. Taylor (1969) had
previously found that the influence of psychosis on the fetus could be profound, particularly if
early in pregnancy. He discovered that if the mother becomes psychotic within one month of
conception a male embryo may be destroyed. If the mother becomes psychotic between the
second and third months the fetus either develops an abnormality or dies slowly.
Liley (1977) presents the view that the fetus has distinct personality characteristics and is
not a passive organism, but rather is a dominant partner in the pregnancy role.
Many researchers have uncovered buried memories of prenatal life. Grof (1976)
described a prenatal memory of a man who recalled a carnival which was taking place just prior
to his birth. There is much evidence to support the belief that such memories are valid and that
the fetus is able to experience and record events of prenatal life. Salk (1966) made a strong
representation for the role of imprinting in early human development, and felt that it is important
to explore further the elements of prenatal sensory experience in the human. He has shown how
the sensory impressions from the maternal heart beat are imprinted during prenatal life. Liley
(1972) discovered that the fetus will move in rhythm with the beat of a drum and will also
respond as early as ten weeks in utero to pressure placed upon the abdomen of the mother, while
Sontag and Wallace as early as 1935 demonstrated that the fetus responds to sound vibrations
applied to the abdomen of the mother. Beadle (1970) has even suggested that the fetus has a well
developed sense of sight and imagery which is limited to distinguishing light from dark.
Prenatal Trauma: In a recent series of 260 patients attending for therapy 76 (124)
(29%) indicated that their birth experience had been negative. Of these 76 the following question
was then asked, "Does this uncomfortable feeling begin before being born?" Those patients who
indicated that the experience causing the feeling of negativity about birth actually occurred
before birth were asked to review it at an unconscious level using ideomotor signals. They were
then persuaded to apply modern adult wisdom to that experience. In a significant proportion of
these cases there was an excellent response to further suggestions for the reduction or
elimination of these old, and currently irrelevant, negative feelings.
1. Incidence of Negative Birth Experience
Positive Negative Total
All 184(71%) 76(29%) 260
Depression 35(58%) 26(42%) 61
Anxiety 70(64%) 39(35.7%) 169
2. Incidence of Prenatal Trauma in Those With a Negative Birth Experience
None One or More Total
All 28(37%) 48(63%)
76
Depression 6(23%) 20(77%) 26
Anxiety 13(33%) 26(67%) 39
Of the 76 patients with a negative birth experience the surprising finding is that 48 (63%)
had a prenatal negative experience responsible for, or contributing to, the negative birth feeling.
It can therefore be assumed that a significant proportion of those presenting for psychotherapy
have problems owing their origin to stresses or traumata occurring prior to birth. If this is indeed
so it must also be assumed that this substantial proportion of patients attending for therapy
cannot be assisted by approaches that ignore prenatal influences.
An especial examination was made of those patients who presented with the common
diagnosis of depression or anxiety as either the main or secondary complaint. Of a total of 6 who
(125) complained of depression there were 26 (42%) patients in this series later found to have a
negative birth experience. Of these no less than 20 (77%) gave evidence of a prenatal negative
experience. Of the 109 patients presenting with anxiety as the chief or secondary problem 39
(35.7%)had a negative birth experience of whom 26 (67%) also had a contributory negative
prenatal experience.
These figures indicate that approximately two-thirds (48/76) of the 29% of patients
presenting for therapy who have a negative birth experience also have a prenatal experience
contributing to this state of affairs. We can conclude therefore that almost 20% (48/260) of all
patients attending for therapy have a prenatal negative experience probably responsible in whole
or in part for their symptoms. This proportion is somewhat higher at 24% (26/109) for those
presenting with anxiety, and significantly higher at 33% (20/61) in those cases suffering from
depression. Should these findings be confirmed by other observers, it can reasonably be assumed
that, since conventional psychotherapy cannot deal with those problems the origin of which is to
be found so early in life, it must fail in a high proportion of these cases.
As a general rule it has proved unnecessary to bring a prenatal memory to a level where
it can be verbalized, but there have been several instances where verbalization has occurred. This
permits a therapeutic insight into the kind of conflict responsible for the prenatal trauma.
In one such case a male patient who presented with anxiety gave a graphic description of
a motor vehicle accident in which his mother was involved as a passenger while pregnant with
him. It would seem that her fear had been internalized and communicated directly to the fetus to
such an extent that it had been retained unconsciously until commencing therapy. He was able to
deal with this experience as with other critical experiences simply by applying his present
wisdom and understanding to emphasize that he was not, and had never been, responsible for his
mother's feelings and therefore need no longer retain them.
In another case a 26 year old nurse who had originally attended for help in losing weight,
and had enjoyed a temporary success, returned seven years later. At this time she was severely
depressed, having recently gone through a traumatic divorce. She (126) had put back all and
more of the weight she had previously lost. She was drinking excessively as well as binging
periodically. During her previous therapy I had not inquired into her birth experience. On this
occasion not only did we discover that she had a negative birth experience associated with the
fact that she had been adopted, but we also located significant prenatal trauma which included an
attempt by her mother to abort her very early in pregnancy. Although she was not able to
describe this incident in any detail she was positive about it because of the very strong feeling of
being threatened with destruction. Therapy was directed at dealing with the pain and hurt of this
obviously intense rejection, which had been unconsciously maintained and expressed in
symptoms of depression, overeating and drinking. When she was finally able to accept this
deeply rejected part of her personality she began to feel very much better and her depression left
her. She also found that she no longer required to drink or eat excessively. She began to lose
weight. An interesting case occurred recently during the final revisions of this chapter. During
hypnosis a 36-year-old woman graphically described how her efforts to enter this world were
being frustratingly blocked by the saddle of the bicycle upon which her mother was riding at the
time. She attributed some of her recurring feelings of helplessness and powerlessness to this
experience.
I have indicated elsewhere (1979, 1981) that it is my belief that the critical experience is
a time when the individual becomes aware that he has incurred a profound, usually parental,
disapproval. He will internalize this disapproval and attempt to gain acceptance, allotting a
portion of the personality to the task of taking care of this problem. This part of the personality
assumes the separate set of feelings, thoughts and beliefs that characterize an independent ego
state complex. The more dissociated that such an ego state complex becomes from the main
personality the less likely it is to be accessible to psychotherapy. I am certain that an alien ego
state formed in this manner during the prenatal period is the most difficult to uncover and deal
with. However, when this is accomplished there is an improved integration of the personality,
with the disappearance of the symptoms arising from former early conflicts.
A husband and wife traveled some considerable distance to see me from the U.S.A. after
discovering the advice given in my book "Unlock Your Mind And Be Free" to be very helpful.
The
(127) husband is a scientist of repute and yet found that he was experiencing negative feelings in
many unrelated situations and that he had strong feelings of inadequacy which were not
commensurate with his many notable achievements. He also had some sexual inhibitions with a
significant reduction of sexual activity.
In hypnosis he was able to locate some very early prenatal experiences which were
presumably contributing to his negativity. His case is of particular interest because, like a true
scientist, he decided to pursue his hypnoanalytical studies further, and bought and thoroughly
read my professional book on the subject. He made the valuable criticism that greater emphasis
should be placed on the role of unsuccessful abortion in creating prenatal trauma. He continued
to undertake self hypnoanalysis and was able to locate and deal with other prenatal experiences
both in himself and his wife. They wrote to me detailing the tremendous improvements that they
had noted in their lives. For the husband the main changes were increased feelings of
confidence, a greater overall warmth of personality, and a marked rise in creativity. For the wife
there has been an increased ability to express her feelings especially those of anger. She has lost
the sensations of suffocation that previously had periodically overcome her, is better able to
relax, and had noted a significant improvement in her memory and concentration. In her case
there had been several prenatal experiences including an abortion attempt which required to be
dealt with. Since these had been deeply buried in her unconscious memory it was good to learn
that her distance from me did not preclude her from successfully pursuing therapy in her own
home.
Conclusion: Salk (1966) has made the point that the major proportion of mental patients
in hospitals have personality problems that are persistent in spite of therapy and can be regarded
as irreversible. Since such problems are not amenable to treatment, prevention is the only
rational approach. A greater understanding of the factors acting pre- and perinatally to create
these disorders will eventually enable us to reach this goal. This chapter has indicated that not
only is there increasing evidence that prenatal influences can markedly shape our destiny, (128)
but that these influences when negative can, by hypnotic techniques, be located, modified and
frequently neutralized. The prevalence of these influences in cases of depression, where up to
30% are likely to be thus affected, not only explains why this illness is often so resistant to
therapy, but indicates a specific for future therapy of this and other, similar conditions. (129)

11. CHAPTER 11: THE HUNT FOR THE ELUSIVE, SYMPTOM-PRODUCING,

SEXUALLY ABUSED, EGO STATE
[The following informative paper was originally written in 1991 and is appended here to draw
attention to the ongoing problem of sexual abuse and the emotional trauma that results.]
INTRODUCTION: In my practice as an analytical hypnotherapist in recent
years, I have been repeatedly struck by the enormous increase in the incidence of sexual abuse
as a source of symptoms. This is probably due to two main factors. One is the increased public
awareness of the prevalence of sexual abuse in children, and the other is my own increased
sensitivity to the presence of such a history in any given case. This has led to a local knowledge
of my interest in this problem, and might be held to be the fulfillment of prophecy rather than
any real increase in sexual abuse or that patients are producing these histories to fulfill their
expectations.
This kind of increase is unlikely to be true mainly because my patients are frequently
extremely surprised to learn of such a sexual abuse history and because symptoms have usually
persisted until this history is uncovered and appropriately dealt with.
In my career as a family physician I was constantly struck by the high proportion of
female patients suffering from emotional problems. In my current practice devoted to
psychotherapy and analytical hypnotherapy, this disproportion has continued unabated over the
thirty years of this specialty. There are three times as many women attending for therapy as
there are men. Some for this appeared in my previous examination of the incidence of the
negative birth experience (Barnett 1981), in which I determined that this negative birth
experience was almost thirty percent greater in females than in males, and could only be (130)
accounted for by society's greater acceptance of males. However, as the feminist movement
amply attests, this rejection of females continues well into childhood and adult life, and
frequently amounts to severe mental, physical and sexual abuse.
It is the underlying philosophy of the analytical hypnotherapist that symptoms are the
result of ongoing unconscious emotional conflict that has never been resolved and that therapy
must be directed at discovering and applying current adult resources to these old unresolved
child/parent conflicts. Further, it is our belief that these unresolved conflicts are retained in parts
of the personality (ego states) that are separate from the conscious personality which cannot
readily be reached by conscious effort.
Hypnotherapy offers the only valid approach to locating and dealing with these conflicts
and the ego states burdened with them. These conflicts frequently appear to be associated with
strong feelings, and beliefs that may run counter to conscious beliefs and feelings and remain
consistent and congruent. These ego states are the sources of the personalities we find so
separate and so well defined in the condition called multiple personality disorder.
The title, multiple personality disorder (or dissociative identity disorder as it is now
known), should be restricted to those individuals whose ego states can gain executive control
over the body, but it is probable that majority of the cases seen in psychotherapy have
unconscious distressed ego states that exert control to the point where symptoms or abnormal
behavior are created.
THE HIDDEN OR ELUSIVE EGO STATE: The majority of multiple personalities
give a history of much physical and /or sexual abuse, and there may be some personalities that
know about this and others who do not. A high proportion of individuals presenting for therapy
are not suffering from multiple personality disorder but have a similar (but less severe) history
of physical and sexual abuse. It is the unconscious and distressed ego states that remember and
know about this that are responsible for symptoms. Also, like the cases of multiple personality,
the history of abuse is frequently unknown at a (131) conscious level prior to hypnotherapy.
They too can perhaps properly be described as suffering from a dissociative disorder.
Those ego states that know about the sexual and physical abuse remain oriented to the
time of its occurrence and, if they had been sworn at that time to secrecy on pain of injury or
death, they remain extremely fearful of communicating this knowledge to any therapist, so that
therapy is likely to be unsuccessful in such cases. The abused ego state remains hidden and
elusive. Some are successfully tracked down and treated after a prolonged and skillful search.
Others, whose presence may or may not be suspected, remain concealed even after prolonged
periods of therapy. They can be responsible for a persistence or a recurrence of symptoms. The
purpose of this chapter is to make a plea for greater efforts to uncover and treat these
symptom-producing ego states.
Incidence of Sexual Abuse: At one time the incidence of sexual abuse was thought to be
low and that it occurred only in chance encounters with strange men. Freud rejected the idea
that fathers could be sexually interested in their daughters, and postulated the Oedipus complex
as the reason for frequent reports from his female patients of sexual molestation. He attributed
these to fantasies.
Recent systematic research has shown that these assumptions are false, and that the
incidence of sexual abuse in our society is surprisingly high. It is notoriously difficult to
accurately define sexual abuse, but various research studies give figures ranging from ten to
twenty five percent of women who have experienced sexual activity with an adult during
childhood. A lower figure obtains for men. (132)
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE: It was after I made an examination of my own
results
described below that I turned to the literature and discovered that there is a growing deluge of
material appearing around the world on the topic of childhood sexual abuse. I was interested to
note that Feller(1984) believed that children almost never make up stories of being sexually
abused. Summit(1989) made the point that the subject of sexual abuse is itself so passionate and
so paradoxical that it provokes polarized dichotomies at every level, leaving indifference and
avoidance as the only hope for serenity. Every clinician who faces a survivor of childhood
sexual trauma faces an assault on his/her personal comfort.
1. Incidence of sexual abuse
Neergaard(1990) felt that the incidence of child abuse and neglect is epidemic. Not only does it
cause lifelong injuries but the victims are likely themselves to become perpetrators of abuse.
Merrick(1989) found that in a total of 901 cases 164 were physically abused and the remaining
737 were also sexually abused. Of this second group the perpetrator was always male, and in
53% was a relative.
Powers, Eckenrode and Jakelitsch(1990) studied a sample
of 223 adolescent runaways. The majority were females between 15 and 16; of these 21% had
been sexually abused.
Bachmann, Moeller and Bennett (1988) reviewed the
literature on sexual abuse and determined that from 15-38% of adults have been sexually abused
as children.
In U.K., Leeds pediatricians Hobbs and Wynne(1987)
diagnosed sexual abuse in 94 boys and 243 girls over a period of 2 years; of these 38% were
under the age of 5 at the time of diagnosis.
Hibbard, Ingersoll and Orr (1990) studied 3,998 students
and found that almost 20% reported some form of physical or sexual abuse. (133)
Riggs, Alario and McHorney (1990) studied 600 students
and found that 7.9% reported sexual abuse. Although these reports vary widely in the incidence
of sexual abuse, it is always significantly high.
2. Perpetrators
Goodwin and Roscoe (1990) found that siblings engage in a variety of violent acts directed
towards one another, and Bourget and Bradford(1990) found a significant incidence of maternal
perpetrators. Johnson(1989) studied the sexual perpetration behaviour of 13 female child
perpetrators between the ages of 4 and 13 and found that of these child perpetrators, 85% of
them , had themselves been sexually abused by family members.
Kendall-Tackett and Simon(1987) examined the records of 365 adults molested as children, and
found that. 62% of the perpetrators were either biological fathers or father surrogates. Of that
62% of the abuses, 44% involved intercourse. Margolin and Craft(1990) found that adolescents
were observed to commit more sexual abuse than older caregivers, and that the abuse was more
likely to involve intercourse. Gardner and Cabral(1990) reviewed 40 cases of adolescent victims
of sexual abuse, 23 of which were acute and 17 chronic, and found that the chronic cases were
intra familial, whereas the acute cases were abuse by strangers and acquaintances. Gilgun
(1989) studied 14 male perpetrators who reported a great deal of pleasure in sexual acts with
children and adolescents. The perpetrators experienced the victims as objects rather than
persons.
3. Sexual acts
In Merrick's (1989) cases half of the cases consisted of vaginal penetration. In Muram‘s (1989)
cases 18 of the 30 perpetrators (60%) admitted to vaginal penetration. The mean age of the
victims was 9.1 yrs. However, in 39% of these cases physical examination failed to detect any
abnormalities. Herman- Giddens and Frothingham (1987) studied 375 cases of child abuse and
also confirmed that the sexual abuse sometimes leaves no physical findings.
4. Symptoms of sexual abuse
Rona(1989) determined that the most frequent symptoms after sexual abuse were sleeping
disorders, fears and depression. (134)
Weingourt (1990) also found that cases of primary depression or anxiety in women are
positively correlated with childhood sexual abuse. Nadelson (1989) found that sexual abuse has
both short- term and long-term clinical repercussions such as eating disorders, substance abuse,
sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety, phobias and PTSD. Bachmann, Moeller and
Bennett(1988) also found that a history of childhood abuse may contribute to sexual problems
or multiple chronic complaints in adult women who also suffer from anxiety, depression and
low self-esteem. Hibbard, Ingersoll and Orr (1990) found that alcohol abuse, vomiting,
attempted suicide and negative feelings are common among sexually abused
students.
Garnefski, van Egmond and Straatman (1990) studied 123 depressed women, and determined
that an experience of physical or sexual abuse before the age of 19 is strongly associated with
the severity of the depression. Riggs, Alario and McHorney found that students with a history of
sexual abuse were three and a half times more likely to be sexually active and three times more
likely to attempt suicide. Chapman's (1989) study of 65 abused women found that 61% of them
had some sexual dysfunction, e.g. vaginismus, dyspareunia, dysfunctional uterine bleeding etc.
Weil(1989) described 100 cases of sexually overstimulated children, in which he found
symptoms such as hysterical states, phobias, hallucinatory night terrors, fugues, fire setting and
suicide.
Terr(1990) describes Virginia Woolf's sexual abuse by her brothers, and her subsequent
symptoms of dissociation. Many of her fictional characters manifest similar signs and
symptoms. Fraser(1990) described two cases who used dissociation and the blocking of
memory to cope with their experience of sexual abuse as children.
5. Therapy for the sexually abused
Bagley (1990) argues that in a climate of publicity and
greater understanding of help sources and harmful effects, the actual prevalence of child abuse
may actually be already
decreasing. Spiegel(1989) believes that using hypnosis enables patients to restructure their
memories, both by reviewing them with greater control over their physical sense of comfort and
safety and by balancing painful memories with recognition of their efforts to protect themselves
or someone else who was endangered. Dolan (135) (1989) showed how conscious and
unconscious techniques were combined in hypnosis to resolve issues from the past incest trauma
in the context of a secure and positive present orientation.
PRIVATE PRACTICE EXPERIENCE:
1. Incidence in my practice
There are days in my practice when I am particularly struck by the numbers of patients who
discover sexual abuse as a cause of their problems. For example in one day in which I saw four
new patients, three were the subject of sexual abuse. It was a very interesting day. The first new
patient was a mother of 24 with two sons aged three and six. She came because her oldest son
was in the care of the Children's Aid Society. He had claimed that he remembered being
sexually abused and blamed some male acquaintances. However, her husband came under
suspicion because of a failed lie detector test, and she had been having dreams of having
witnessed her husband abusing her son. She came to me to discover if there were any repressed
unconscious memories of this. In fact, this is exactly what we did discover, and we learned that
she had repressed this experience just as she had previously repressed other memories of her
own sexual abuse as a child..
The next patient, a woman of forty nine years had begun to have several flashback
memories, and written in another hand in her diary by a young ego state had graphically
recorded experiences of sexual abuses by her father in the form of suffocating oral rape. At a
conscious level she remained unaware of these memories of the father whom she had dearly
loved.
The third was a man in his early sixties who was very distressed by the fact that for the
past two years he had been accused of having sexually abused his daughter nearly thirty years
before. He had no memory of these incidents, but had begun to believe that she was probably
telling the truth. In hypnosis we were able to locate an ego state responsible for these abuses. It
was an ego state that also remembered being sodomized by his own father when aged about
eight. The repressed unconscious anger retained by this unconscious ego state evidently had
been vented on the daughter. The task before us was to enable him to come to terms with his
own crimes. It is a formidable one indeed, (136) but already he is starting to forgive himself.
This case sheds some light on the psychodynamics of a perpetrator who in this case is a highly
respected member of his community. His wife is a minister of religion.
2. Practice Research
In my practice I surveyed one hundred consecutive new
patients and the following outlines my findings (fig.1). Of the total of patients surveyed 29%
were males and 71% were females (1:3) Of these 37% were discovered to have had a history of
sexual abuse. Of the females this figure was 48%(34/71) as compared to 10%(3/29) for the
males
3. Perpetrator of sexual abuse
In this series the natal father accounted for nearly half of the cases of abuse, followed closely by
unrelated adults such as a stepfather, mother's boyfriend etc. Mother was also a rare source of
abuse. as were other children and other relatives, e.g. grandfather. (137)
4. Age at time of initial sexual abuse
The striking thing about sexual abuse is how early it occurs in many cases. As can be seen by
this figure, a high proportion of cases in this series occurs in children prior to the age of six
years, and that most have occurred prior to adolescence.
5. Age at onset of therapy
It can be seen from this figure that there is a wide range of ages in which symptoms caused by
or related to sexual abuse lead to the seeking of therapy. I believe that this is because it is only
recently that therapists and patients alike have been open to the idea of seeking ego state
hypnotherapy for these symptoms. (138) A comparison was made between those who were
found to have a sexual abuse history and those who did not, and it is becoming clear that the
abused group are likely to be younger at first visit.
6. Nature of the abuse
1. Handling of the genitalia or breasts
2. Masturbation
3. Oral, Vaginal and/ or Anal penetration graph 3
This indicates that all three groups of abuse are almost equally present in this series.
7. The Elusive, Sexually Abused Ego State (139) Some of the patients presenting for therapy
have been aware of having been sexually abused in childhood. In this series only one(33%) of
the three males sexually abused recalled this prior to hypnotherapy. This is a statistically small
sample, but is matched by the females in which only ten (28%) of the thirty eight abused
females had prior recollection of sexual abuse.
In summary, of the 71 females in this study 24(34%) or 1 in 3 of those presenting for
therapy for a variety of symptoms had no conscious knowledge of the sexual abuse history
presumably contributing to these symptoms. It is these 1out of 3 who are unlikely to respond to
therapy which does not uncover and deal with such important emotional trauma. This then, I
submit, is the main thrust of this chapter since all of us working in psychotherapy are sadly
aware of the sizable proportion of our patients who do not respond to our therapy or, even more
disconcertingly, relapse after an initial excellent response. From this study it becomes apparent
that this group probably contains members who are suffering from the effects of hitherto
unidentified sexual trauma.
8. Presenting Symptoms: What symptoms do these hidden ego states produce? It is
important to ask this question, because when a patient presents with such a symptom the
possibility of this being the result of sexual abuse, the memory of which has been jealously and
fearfully guarded by a hidden ego state, this will then be considered by the therapist. Therapy
must be carefully orchestrated to enlist the trust of that ego state responsible for the symptoms.
A. DEPRESSION: A history of recurrent depression perhaps suicidal in intensity always
indicates to me that there is an ego state that believes the individual to be worthless. There can
be many traumatic experiences in the history of that individual that can be responsible for this
belief, the chief of which being parental rejection. However, when this is also associated with a
history of sexual or physical abuse the feeling of worthlessness can be particularly intense, and
will exercise the therapist's greatest skill in determining and treating its source. (140)
L. 34, has been suffering from poor self esteem, depression and headaches for years and
only recently has been having flashbacks of sexual abuse in her family. She had cut off all
connection with them, and they have accused her of being crazy to have such weird ideas. In
therapy she not only uncovered long term abuse by her father, but episodes of sexual orgies in
which all of the family, i.e. her sister, her two brothers and her parents were involved. She
recalled being a constant protester against this activity, but was always forcibly made to join in
them. All of the family now deny that these events ever occurred.
J. 54, had been under treatment with a colleague in Toronto for poor self esteem,
depression, anxiety etc. She is in an executive position but is afraid that she will not be able to
hang on to her job because of her lack of confidence. Only after five months of therapy was the
possibility of sexual abuse raised. We were eventually able to locate a 4 year old ego state that
recalled the onset of sexual intercourse with father that went on until adolescence. A younger
sister was also discovered to have been involved (she had been suicidal). Both were threatened
with death by father if they told anyone of their ordeals. Mother did not believe her when she
sought her help.
I. 44, has been severely and suicidally depressed since meeting with an old boy friend
last summer. He intimated that their relationship had been an intensely sexual, one but she had
no memories of this, although she recalled other experiences of being sexually molested. In
hypnosis these sexual experiences were dealt with in detail, and the humiliating sexual
experiences with her boyfriend were recalled with intense anger. This anger was the source of
her depression, because it had previously been directed towards herself.
K. 31, has a long history of depression not requiring hospitalization. She is obese, and
acknowledges that she experiences great difficulty in controlling her eating. She is a graduate
student in a masters program, having difficulty in concentrating on her studies. She is the eldest
of four girls, whose father is a clergyman idolized in his community. He is undemonstrative,
demanding and critical. She remembers him as being physically abusive, which he denies
vehemently. She suffers from chronic headaches with low back pains and occasional chest (141)
pains. She recalls that at the age of six she developed an embarrassing tic in which her head
shook from side to side at a ceremony in which her father was being eulogized by his admiring
congregation. Experiences of sexual abuse uncovered at our first meeting, and detailed at
further meetings, involved father and maternal grandparents from the age of three. However the
most distressing memories for the patient and the observer was a recollection of bestiality. In
later interview several distinct ego states emerged having different names and recognizably
different sets of memories and functions. She suffers from multiple personality disorder.
B. INSOMNIA: In the absence of any overt anxiety, insomnia is very likely to be due to a
hidden ego state that becomes active during the night and awakens the patient or can cause
nightmares or disturbing dreams. This ego state carries memories of traumatic experience that
may well be sexual in nature.
M. 50, suffered from insomnia of recent origin. She was experiencing feelings of anxiety
for which she could not account. Initial attempts at uncovering the causes of her fears were
strenuously resisted. However, therapeutic contact was soon renewed and good cooperation
established. We soon located a four year old ego state with vivid memories of being raped and
almost murdered by a priest who had been considered to be a close friend of the family. In
several sessions she dealt with her guilt and her fear. The whole story was substantiated by an
elderly aunt, who with the rest of the family had kept the secret when the patient had become
amnesic for it.
A. 42, is a single mother of an eight year old child. She gave a long psychiatric history
of compulsive behaviour e.g. hand washing. Also she has been suicidal and depressed at times.
She bites her fingers compulsively and is afraid that something terrible will happen to her
daughter. Her presenting symptom is that of night screams, from which she is awakened by her
mother or her daughter because she is screaming. This has been occurring on a regular basis for
at least the past two years. It occasionally awakens the neighbors also. At our first meeting she
indicated that there was an unconscious secret that she could not divulge (142) which involved a
man. At our second meeting this was identified as a sexual contact with a male when she was
one year of age. At our third meeting this was further identified as due to penile penetration of
the vagina, and at the fourth session she identified her father as the perpetrator of nightly sexual
abuse over a period lasting until the age of nine. It always occurred when mother was away
working on night duty.
C. PANIC ATTACKS AND PHOBIC SYMPTOMS: Panic attacks and phobias produce
identical symptoms of acute anxiety. In the latter case the trigger for the anxiety is consciously
known, whereas in panic attacks the trigger is unconscious, and known only to the ego state
responsible for it. Again close inquiry will reveal the nature of the trauma responsible for the
fear. Many so called agoraphobic individuals have in fact suffered so many panic attacks whose
triggers are not consciously known that they become afraid to leave the security of the home.
Again the ego state responsible for the fear may have memories of sexual abuse.
A. 23, is a single girl with three year old daughter suffering from anxiety, insomnia,
nightmares, fatigue, morning nausea and vomiting with stomach cramps and diarrhea. She saw
her
boyfriend murdered two years ago. Also a close friend committed suicide by shooting himself
two years ago. Most of her symptoms appear to have been due to her experiences of death, but
there was a sexual abuse experience at 1 and again at 4 which have added to her anxiety. She is
making excellent progress since dealing with these episodes of sexual abuse.
D. SUBSTANCE ABUSE: Alcoholism and drug abuse are frequently caused by a hidden ego
state. Therapy is notoriously difficult in these cases, especially if the ego state responsible is
dealing with the tremendous guilt, anger and fear arising from memories of sexual abuse.
B. 21, is a known victim of sexual abuse from 7-15 by a church organist and choirmaster,
who was a good friend of the family into which he and his brother had been adopted. The
victim had been heavily abusing drugs and alcohol. He says that his adopted parents were
highly educated people (university professors) who he felt expected too much from their adopted
(143) sons. Both boys were involved as choir boys in mutual masturbation with the choirmaster.
His brother has since become schizophrenic. He feels that he is very unworthy and has a very
low self esteem. He understands that his biological parents were depressed and suicidal and in
constant conflict. He has a great deal of guilt and anxiety and has difficulty in socializing.
Therapy has been directed at reviewing all possible sources of guilt and anger and he is making
an excellent response.
E. OBESITY: Several of my most obese patients (300 lbs or more) have eventually been
discovered to have an ego state that is concealing a history of much sexual trauma. There is
usually an unconscious determination that this will never recur and that the individual will
remain fat in order to be safe from further sexual attack. Paradoxically however, some of these
obese patients remain sexually active and even promiscuous. There are evidently other ego
states that exist in such individuals with totally opposing views.
N. 30, is over 300 lbs in weight, and in hypnosis she located several experiences of
sexual abuse by an adult caregiver and later by a maternal uncle. The ego state responsible for
the obesity resisted all attempts to persuade it to allow N. to eat normally, because of a
stubborn belief that any sexual activity would be too fearful to endure.
F. ANOREXIA: Not only obesity, but bulimia and anorexia are other eating disorders that
may result from the trauma of sexual abuse.
P. 51, has been suffering from a long history of problems which commenced when at
age of 16 her father returned home from abroad. He was always angry with her, and rejected her
in every way with strong verbal abuse. She became obsessed with food and rituals. She lost
weight and became anorexic -she would scream if her food was not exactly right and throw it at
mother. Dad referred to her as "that thing.” She improved after she was treated with ECT. She
was always afraid of sex, and had a constant overpowering fear of death, and strong feelings of
anger and hate. When her father died she felt very guilty, as if she had killed him, and felt as if
there had always been a battle raging inside her. She had been in psychoanalysis for several
years in which she located (144)
feelings of unreality. Her other symptoms included anxiety attacks, depression, and insomnia.
She says that she feels as if she should not exist -as if she is in a dungeon and should remain
there.
At our first meeting we located D. the unconscious ego state of two years of age, who
remembers being sexually abused by father at the time of the birth of her sister -oral sex. Later
interviews uncovered a long period of severe abuse, including drowning attempts, burial
attempts, incarceration, poisoning -by father, with the unwilling acquiescence of mother. After
two years of therapy she is improving well.
G. HEADACHES: I believe that all migraine headaches are due to the repressed anger in an
unconscious ego state. I have frequently found that the anger stems from the buried memories of
sexual abuse. Other headaches and pains in the body can likewise be due to the similar
etiology.
H. 34, is involved in the Adult Children Of Alcoholics. She suffers from a very poor self
esteem and strong feelings of guilt, and attacks of migraine headaches. She feels that there must
be an unconscious reason for her negativity since she is afraid to be happy. She is also
constantly angry with her partner, and recalls that she has been responsible for ending previous
relationships on the grounds that she was not being loved. However, she feels that she does not
deserve to have a good relationship. She located several early ego states, 3 -9 yrs, that appear to
have memories of sexual involvement associated with much guilt.
H. VAGINISMUS: Vaginsmus is a rational sequel to vaginal rape at an early age, and all cases
of vaginismus are almost certain to have such a history. This symptom is less common than one
would expect, probably because another defense to this memory is vaginal anesthesia, which in
turn leads to anorgasmia and sexual frigidity.
C. 21, suffered from severe vaginismus. Over a period of about three years in which she
was able to conceive and deliver a healthy daughter. C. had to deal with the memory of rape and
the vaginal insertion of a stick by an older boy when she was five years of age. The
unconscious fear of vaginal insertion has only gradually reduced to the point where satisfactory
intercourse can take place. (145)
I. SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION:
C. 25, felt that she had probably been sexually assaulted but had no conscious memory
of this. She is extremely anxious when touched by her fiance sexually and is equally anxious
when she attempts to touch him sexually. Her mother is schizophrenic and her father is an
angry alcoholic. She suffers from a very poor self esteem.
In our first session we located a 2 yr old ego state who had been sexually assaulted by
her mother, who had warned her to never allow any man to touch her and told her that she would
hate sex. Later we discovered another experience at 4 yrs of mother abusing her anally. One
wonders whether her mother's own sexual history contributes to the psychiatric picture of
schizophrenia. Therapy has produced an initial improvement, but there still remains some
anxiety several months later which indicates the possible presence of other unidentified abused
ego states.
 D. 32, had been suffering from sexual fears ever since her father visited her two years
previously. As a result she was unable to relate sexually to her gentle and loving husband. It is
as if her father touched a nerve when he called her "stupid". She suffered a migraine equivalent
with a right sided stroke last July, and then a less severe attack last December. In hypnosis she
located and dealt with memories of sexual violation by her father at ages four and six. She is
making a rapid recovery.
J. MULTIPLE SYMPTOMATOLOGY: V. 32, is a mother of two girls and attended for help
to stop smoking. She admits that she becomes very anxious when she tries to quit. She is living
on her own, having separated from her third husband, who is now awaiting a court trial on a
charge of threatening to kill her and her daughters with a shotgun. She admits that she is
currently being treated for depression, and in the past has been suicidal. She walked in very
slowly, and on questioning told me that this was because of her diseased back. She is obese
-224 lbs, and told me that she had been over 300 lbs but that since her separation she had been
able to lose weight. She was initially tearful, and told me that she not only was beaten by her
father but was also sexually abused by him. Her mother was always in hospital suffering from
her back, so father was in charge of the family. She suspects that her other sisters were also
(146) probably sexually abused; but as she has little contact with them since she recalled her
own sexual abuse she does not know for certain. During adolescence V. used alcohol frequently
and heavily.
In hypnosis I met S. the hidden ego state that knows all that went on and protected V.
She is young (about five years of age) and hates her father, but feels her anger in the back,
which he repeatedly would beat with his stick. S. tells me that her mother's repeated
hospitalizations were also due to father's stick. At the age of eleven she became pregnant by her
father and had an abortion. Her mother would not believe that her father had anything to do
with it. S. tells me that she is responsible for making V. overeat in order to protect her from
other men, and also has made her vagina anesthetic so that she will not feel any more pain.
There were some recollections of fellatio, which made her retch. Suggestions for allowing
some of the anger to dissipate because father is now mortally ill were only partly accepted, but
there was a significant reduction in the back pain. S. told me that V. must not know what she
had told me because she loves V. and wants her to be free of pain. She also told me that she
could not yet give up cigarettes as this is still a means of comforting V., just as alcohol had been
during adolescence. I also met a gentle E., who has always prevented V. from dying when she
was tempted to overdose. She also comforts V. when she is lonely.
In this case the very diverse symptoms of sexual dysfunction, obesity, depression,
anxiety, addiction, suicidal tendencies and back pain appear to be due entirely to the abuse.
Incidentally S. told me at this session that she liked me and could talk to me so long as I
promised not to tell V. anything that she had told me. She feels sure that V. would shut her out
if she knew of her existence. She also told me that V. was raped by her mother's eighteen year
old brother when she was four. She agreed to allow V. to lose some weight, but not too much in
case she became too attractive. She would only allow the return of sexual feelings towards a
trustworthy male.
At our second meeting two weeks later V. told me that she had been feeling happier and
more positive. She had lost several pounds in weight and had reduced her smoking by more
than half. She said that she was confused because there had been some kind (147) of battle
going on within her and she kept hearing the name S. In hypnosis I met with S., who told me of
other personalities. I eventually met C., a strong self-willed eighteen year old who was at first
hostile to me, but became friendly when I agreed with some of her viewpoints and made it clear
that I did not want to get rid of her, but on the contrary I wanted her help in solving problems. I
later met J., who is the sex oriented part who takes care of both the bad and the good sex and is
quite seductive. She wants to continue smoking, but agreed to cut it down to three a day.
Therapy is being directed to increasing communication between each of these parts so that the
past can be left where it belongs in the past!
9. TECHNIQUES FOR UNCOVERING ELUSIVE EGO STATES: In my previous
publications I have indicated my preference for the use of the ideomotor signal for locating and
uncovering ego states that are producing symptoms. Where these ego states are cooperative this
works very well. However, in the cases of sexual abuse a combination of ideomotor questioning
and the affect bridge technique works better. Allied to these techniques must be a constant
recognition of the valid fear of communicating that these ego states always retain, and there
must be a real respect for the need for secrecy. It is helpful to know that these ego states have
little understanding of time, and remain fixed in the past, where the threat to them should they
divulge any of the events is maximal. It is only when they are convinced that no further harm
will come to them that full cooperation is likely.
One manoeuver that I have found to be effective is to tell the ego state that I am going to
guess what happened so that they need never fear that they had told me anything. The responses
to my educated guesses frequently brings forth much relief. Another useful manoeuver is to use
the "My friend John" technique e. g. "I was talking to another lady who had a scared little girl
inside her and..." At this point the therapist can discuss the kinds of sexual abuses he has dealt
with and ask if this has ever happened to the patient. It is always important to reorient the ego
states to the present, so that eventually they can permanently distance themselves from the
memories of sexual trauma. (148)
CONCLUSION: As a consequence of this research there is now no longer any doubt in my
mind that a history of sexual abuse is relevant to the production of many of the differing
symptomatologies that present to me in practice. This history is often not conscious, and in such
cases is rarely accessible with ordinary investigative techniques.
Hypnosis, however, offers the hypnotherapist the unique opportunity to uncover such a
history, but he must use it with care and respect for the individual. In this regard it is interesting
to note that some of the apparently initially poorly hypnotizable patients became highly
hypnotizable when the repressed memories of sexual abuse were eventually dealt with. It is
clear that a great deal of the apparent lack of hypnotizability is directly due to the fear of
disclosure that cannot be overcome until this fear is addressed.
There is also no doubt that we are witnessing a proliferation in popular concern for child
abuse that has developed over the past twenty five years or so. Unfortunately, psychiatrists have
tended to be reluctant followers rather than leaders in this concern. I agree with Summit (1989),
who asserts that, by discounting the relevance of childhood sexual trauma, psychiatric clinicians
overlook not only the therapeutic needs of many survivors but the need to reconceptualize the
role of trauma in the etiology and treatment of conditions previously presumed to be incurable. I
believe, as Young (1990) points out, that many of these conditions relapse because symptoms
and behaviors persist to defend against the memories of sexual abuse. In these cases it is only
when previously unidentified sexual abuse is identified and dealt with that the need for such
symptoms and behaviors is finally eradicated, and secure emotional health restored. (149)
GOALS OF THIS BOOK:
When you finish this workbook, you should be able to:
1. Do an intake interview in such as way that you have some idea of where the dissociated Child
ego states are and the hostile Parent ego states, if any. You should be able to uncover dissociated
ego states without demanding that the patient tell you personal details of what happened to cause
the dissociation.
2. Help the patient to identify the uncomfortable feeling associated with the symptom.
3. Guide the patient successfully through the affect bridge.
4. Identify the age at which the critical event occurred.
5. Safely bring the dissociated ego state to the present and let the dissociated ego state tell the
Adult ego state what happened without inducing abreaction.
6. Help the dissociated ego state to let go of the uncomfortable feeling and reintegrate into the
main personality.
7. Do past testing and future testing to make sure the uncomfortable feeling really is gone.
8. Be able to communicate directly with the unconscious mind by ideomotor finger signaling,
head nods, and limited spoken responses.
9. Be able to identify and communicate with hostile Parent ego states.
10. Do ego strengthening and self-assertiveness training.
11. Look for additional dissociated ego states and work on them until all are reintegrated.
12. Be able to give suggestions that will facilitate future RRP sessions.
13. Check for the genuineness of the results.
14. Feel confident in your RRP skills. (152)
How to use this programmed textbook. "Programmed instruction is instruction in which
learners progress at their own rate using workbooks, textbooks, or electromechanical devices
that provide information in discrete steps, test learning at each step, and provide immediate
feedback about achievement." (ERIC, Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors, 1996)
Get a piece of paper as wide as this page. Move it down to the bold line that crosses the
page. This programmed textbook presents concepts in short segments called "frames." You fill in
the blanks and check the answer.
Frame 1: This book presents concepts in short, easy segments called frames.
Frame 2: You read the textbook by moving from frame to frame.
Frame 3: Frames are bounded by the Heavy black line that crosses the page. (153)
Frame 4: The heavy black line marks the end of the frame, and the answer is printed just below
it.
Frame 5: By "programmed", we mean "learning program" (method or program for teaching
material). Program in this context is not a computer program.
Frame 6: To get the most from each frame, it is best to speak the answer out loud and to write it
down in the blank.
Frame 7: Then go to the answer and see if your answer matches. If your answer does not
match, go back and reread the frame, trying to understand it until your answer matches the
answer intended by the author.
Frame 8: If your answer does not match that of the answer line, do not fret. Just try to keep
working it. This is not a test of accuracy or a test of how perfect you are. Nobody is perfect. This
is a way of teaching. The author does not demand that you be perfect. (154) _
In fact, you are not expected to know the answers to many of the questions. The process
of asking those questions is to educate you by puzzling you. Then you look at the answer and get
the point. Do not worry about whether you have a feeling of being perfect. Your task is to open
your mind to learning. For many of the questions in this book, you are not expected to know the
answers until you read the answer.
Frame 10: This programmed textbook is comfortable to work because you work it at your own
speed, you work it in private, and the author recognizes that no one is perfect
Frame 11: This programmed textbook is not a test. It is a simple way of learning.
Frame 12: This textbook is going to be easy and non-threatening for you to use and to learn
from. You will have fun and experience a wonderful sense of accomplishment and mastery.
Working this textbook is going to be fun for you.
Frame 13: In order to make RRP available to a large number of psychotherapists and other
medical doctors, we chose a "programmed learning " textbook format. The text presents the
ideas and you speak the answer and write it down. (155)
Frame 14: The author believes this is an easy, sure fire thing and it is non-threatening.
Frame 15: You check your answer immediately and know if you were right. Don't worry if you
got it wrong. You learn the right answer immediately. Big deal.
Frame 16: Some readers may be tempted to rush through this by skipping the fill-in-the-blank
step. Although it may seem silly, play along with us. Your writing down the words forces your
brain to make a whole bunch of connections to language and memory centers. You are training
your brain in RRP, and that extra little step is going to make a world of difference to you when
you are in the clinic working with actual patients.
Frame 17: The author is trying to help you to learn RRP, but they do not have the opportunity
to teach you one to one. If you speak and write the answers, it will substitute for not having the
author present with you.
Frame 18: Of course, learning the procedure and applying the procedure are two different
things. DVDs with videotaped sessions of actual RRP being performed by Dr. Barnett are
expected to be available soon from http://junicapublishing.com. (156) To help you learn, you
may soon buy and view DVDs of Dr. Barnett working with actual patients.
Frame 19: There is a Barnett way of talking and using speech inflections that goes with RRP
This will be demonstrated in the DVD. The therapist should pattern some of these phrases, in
order to make RRP flow easier. RRP is dynamic and unfolds unpredictably. You will develop
your own RRP style. It may help if you pattern Dr. Barnett's phrases and way of speaking until
you develop your own RRP style.
Frame 20: You should not need to concentrate on, "What's the next step?
How do I state the ego reinforcement?" Those things come with practice, and you can practice at
home. Practice RRP wording phrases at home
Frame 21: So when it is time for the ego strengthening step, it comes naturally to you. You are
not obliged to use Dr. Barnett's exact words. You may feel comfortable with different words.
But, figure out what you are going to say ahead of time and have it in place. There are other
things to concentrate your observing, analysis, and problem solving skills on. RRP will go more
smoothly if you have memorized some standard word phrases. (157)
There are many parts of RRP that cannot be presented as a script. That is the work of
RRP and the fun of RRP. Even so, this textbook will help you to learn to recognize the critical
events and how to handle the stumbling blocks. Welcome to RRP. Have fun. At the end of each
chapter is a quiz. This is intended to be yet another teaching tool and not a demand on you. If
there are parts you do not understand, go back and reread the material. If you really want to
perform RRP therapy, we encourage you to master the quizzes at your own speed.
Philosophy of Attitude Toward Patients and the Doctor Patient Relationship: "I am not
blaming them (the patients) for their symptoms. Because the symptoms are just a defense against
what they are trying to cope with." Joan Murray-Jobsis 3/5/95
Frame 22: It has been common practice in training some therapists since the 1960s to assign
blame to the patient. There is a common thinking that if a person is overweight, it is because he
chooses to be overweight. It is his fault. If he fails to lose weight during therapy, it is because he
chose to overeat instead of following a diet plan. Patients buy this and then feel guilty or inferior
because they cannot control it. Many therapists believe that a person chooses his/her behavior.
If a person exhibits an unwanted behaviour (symptom), it is because he/she chooses to do so.
Frame 23: We believe that patients who are overweight do not choose to overeat. They do not
want to be overweight. They respond to unconscious forces that they cannot control,
unconscious forces that drive them to overeat. The symptom is associated with a feeling. That
feeling has its origin in some past event that can be uncovered That event has a lingering ego
state associated with it. The distressed ego state has brought about the symptom as a way of
coping with the traumatic event from long ago. (158) In RRP, we operate under the assumption
that the patient does not choose to have the symptom. Such patients cannot control the
symptoms.
Frame 24: The patient does not consciously wish to have this symptom. We believe that it is
not the patient's fault. If the patient could choose not to overeat, he/she would have done that
long ago.
RRP teaches that patients do not consciously wish to have their disturbing symptoms.
Frame 25: In helping the patient 1. to uncover the traumatic event and its associated ego state,
2. by assisting that ego state to let go of that uncomfortable feeling, and 3. by guiding the patient
to reintegrate the personality, RRP does not blame the patient for the symptom. RRP does not
blame the patient for his/her symptoms
Frame 26: We believe that the patient should be treated with dignity and respect at all times
including face to face encounters and team conferences. The patient should be taken seriously by
the doctor and all others involved in his/her care. RRP teaches that the patient should be treated
with dignity and respect at all times and be taken seriously even in discussions when the patient
is not present. (159)
Frame 27: The patient is coming to the therapist to be benefited. It is reasonable for him/her to
expect results. This training textbook gives therapists strategies for getting results and practice
on figuring out ways to get past resistance. RRP assumes that there often will be resistance
coming from some part of the patient's unconscious mind , and RRP therapists are not resentful
of resistance. RRP therapists accept as a given that resistance from some part of the unconscious
will be expressed during the RRP session.
Frame 28: We have found that the source of the resistance is often the interaction between a
dissociated Child ego state and a hostile Parent ego state. _
Frame 29: Dealing with such resistance is the RRP therapist's problem not the patient's problem.
Frame 30: Dr. Barnett has said many times that he feels each person is important. The patient
should not allow anyone to put him/her down. He/she should not put others down. We recognize
that people are not perfect; no one is. RRP encourages patients to improve themselves. By
freeing the patient from the imprisonment of symptoms, patients are set free. Patients are
imprisoned by their symptoms, and RRP sets them free. (160)
Classical psychoanalytic therapies laboriously uncover these hidden memories. RRP
uncovers them quickly and gracefully. The doctor-patient relationship is poetically described by
Ainslie Meares:
In doctoring
There comes a feeling of closeness Between two beings,
The sick one
And the one who is not so sick.
It's the closeness of the inner self,
The one with the other,
For it is only then
That the power to help continues
When he is no longer there. (161)

12. CHAPTER 12: WHAT IS RRP?

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF RRP: RRP is a form of talk-and hypnosis-based
psychotherapy in which the therapist communicates directly, rapidly, and deeply with a variety
of ego states in the unconscious mind dealing with feelings locked into traumatic events in the
past (critical events). The unconscious mind is accessed, and communicates with the therapist
directly by head nods, by speaking short words, or less often, by ideomotor signaling.
Details of the threatening and traumatic events (critical events) need not be revealed to
the therapist, although some details usually emerge. The communication between the therapist
and the unconscious mind is non-threatening and thus the resources of the Adult mind are
enlisted as an ally to help the patient. Reintegration is achieved by letting go of the
uncomfortable feelings that arose from the critical events and by using the patient's Adult
resources to reintegrate the dissociated ego state. Waking hypnosis is achieved without using the
induction of hypnosis. Results may be achieved in one, or a few, 50 - 75 minute sessions rather
than by weekly visits for a year or more. RRP is compatible with most forms of personality
theory such as classical Freudian psychoanalytic therapy and cognitive therapy.
RRP is the brain child of Edgar A. Barnett, M.D. Born, educated, and trained in England,
Dr. Barnett is a general practitioner who has been doing clinical hypnotherapy for over 41 years.
He moved to Kingston Ontario, Canada, where he and his English-born wife live. After ten years
of an extremely active general medical practice, Dr. Barnett concluded that many of his patients
had problems of an emotional nature that could not be solved by surgery or medicines. A long
term student of hypnosis (162)
A thesis of transactional interactions between people, other in a mismatched and
psychotherapy, he began using hypnoanalytic techniques with rewarding success. He eventually
restricted his medical practice to hypnotherapy and psychotherapy in 1975.
Frame 31: After 10 years of medical practice, Dr. Barnett concluded that some kinds of
problems were better handled by hypnotherapy.
Frame 32: His first book was UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE FREE! It overlapped with a
popular personality theory by Eric Berne called Transactional Analysis found in GAMES
PEOPLE PLAY, but is different from transactional analysis. A thesis of Transactional Analysis
was that coexisting inside each person's head are three ego states: Parent, Child, and Adult. At
anyone time a person is functioning in one of those ego state modes. Interpersonal relations fail
when two people do not communicate in the same ego state mode. Equal colleagues at work will
have a mismatched conversation if the Adult in one person is met with the child in another. A
thesis of transactional analysis is that, in everyday life those individuals may relate to each way
involving behavior as a Parent, Child, or an Adult.
Frame 33: A drunk alcoholic husband may come home and relate as a child to his scolding
wife who is acting as a parent. In classical transactional analysis, the idea was that trying to get
him to relate to his wife as an adult was supposed to have helped the relationship. There were
times when it was appropriate for the husband and wife to relate adult to adult. If the husband
wants to (163) play and is in the child state but the wife does not want to play and is in the adult
state, there will be conflict. There were reasonable play times when they could relate as child to
child.
In transactional analysis, two people will relate to each other in different ways from time
to time. Things go well if they relate to each other in the same ego state mode such as an Adult
to Adult.
Frame 34: A teacher or boss may be wearing her/his Adult cap at work and the student or
employee naturally falls into a Child ego mode. The employee or an older student may resent
being related to as a child. Here again conflict arises. Some combinations of relationships in
these transactions are a set up for conflict.
Frame 35: Eric Berne's book on transactional analysis GAMES PEOPLE PLAY identified
what three ego modes people use in relating to each other? 1. Parent 2. Child 3.
Adult
Frame 36: RRP makes use of the concepts Parent, Child, and Adult, but in a very different
way. In RRP, these are retained parts of the personality left over from earlier times. The
dissociated Child ego state is the main repository of problems that lead to symptom formation.
Frame 37: There are often several Child ego states at different ages, each (164) suffering and
needing help.
Frame 38: The Parent ego state may be supportive or hostile to the Child ego state.
Frame 39: Dr. Barnett's first book UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE FREE! explains how
people can become imprisoned by emotions such as feelings of being:
1. Anxious
2 Nervous
3. Scared
4. Worried
5. Fearful
6. Vulnerable
7. Threatened
8. Sad
9. Pained
10. Hurt
11. Angry
12. Resentment
13. Frustrated
14. Guilty
15. Ashamed
16. Embarrassed
17. Rejected
Frame 40: It is proper that a person experiences his/her emotions. If the emotions remain
repressed but associated with the memory of a critical experience they can be responsible for
symptoms and unwanted behaviors such as migraines, high blood pressure, (165) headaches,
ulcers, back pain, obesity, asthma, depression, drug addiction, impotence, frigidity, itching, and
phobias. When uncomfortable feelings remain repressed and attached
to a critical experience, various symptoms may arise. We call the set of memories, feelings,
experiences, age of the patient at that time, and other associated factors an ego state.
Frame 41: Dr. Barnett's thesis is that these three ego states, the Child, the Parent, the Adult
exist within the same person at all times.
Frame 42: Sometimes these three personality parts are poorly integrated with each other in a
distorted manner that causes them to interact destructively with each other. For example, if
mother gave the child the message that she should not have been born and is unwanted, that
parent ego state becomes incorporated into the child's unconscious mind. Life long, the person
carries around a copy of his/her mother constantly telling him/her that he/she never should have
been born. She may carry this introjected parent to the grave. Unless intervention occurs, he/she
probably will. The main personality may carry around a traumatized Child ego state that is
constantly being harassed by a hostile the Adult ego state. This process can continue the patient's
entire life.
Frame 43: The hostile parent ego state may be well hidden. In such cases, it is the role of the
RRP therapist to flush it out. This may take a little extra work but it can be done or
accomplished. (166)
Frame 44: Most of the time, the experience is properly interpreted. However, some parents
behave in a consistently or commonly rejecting manner. UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE
FREE! lists an essential litany of imagined and real traumas that people carry around in their
heads such as the crimes of:
1. Having been born
2. Being the wrong gender
3. Expressing anger
4. Being afraid
5. Experiencing hurt
6. Experiencing love
7. Experiencing happiness
8. Experiencing curiosity.
Here the child was given a message that he/she is not allowed to express a feeling such as
anger or happiness or love or curiosity. Even worse is when the little girl was supposed to have
been a boy, and the parents are angry that she was born a girl. Possibly worst of all is that the
child was not wanted whatsoever. The crime was in having been born. The child's very existence
is a crime committed by the child. An especially damaging message from Parent to Child is
"You should not have been born. You are committing a crime by your very existence. We don't
want you."
Frame 45: Such children, everyday, feel rejected.(167) List eight kinds of crimes a child/person
may believe he/she has committed and may find himself/herself locked up in the prison of the
mind by same as the list above.
Frame 46: When doing RRP if you hit a stumbling block, what kinds of problems might you
look for? Same list as above.
Frame 47: Dr. Barnett found that, by analyzing these intrapsychic relationships, the therapist
could help the patient uncover repressed critical experience, discard the uncomfortable feelings,
and reintegrate the three parts in such a manner as to allow normal healthy relationships of these
parts within the total personality. A goal of RRP is to uncover dissociated ego states and to
reintegrate them into the main personality. (168)
Frame 48: In his second book, ANALYTICAL HYPNOTHERAPY, PRINCIPLES AND
PRACTICE, Dr. Barnett expanded on the application of these ego states to therapy in hypnosis,
and documented his skills, such as achieving rapid induction of hypnosis and ways to overcome
resistance to hypnosis. He started talking to the unconscious mind and asking questions such as:
"Unconscious part, do you want me to help you? Nod your head for yes, shake your head for
no." "Is it all right for you to cooperate with me? Nod your head for yes, shake your head for
no." If done correctly, it is possible to communicate directly with the unconscious mind and with
uncovered dissociated ego states.
Frame 49: He discovered that if the unconscious mind was willing to give permission for
hypnosis, the resistance would melt away. With this established, the unconscious mind became
an ally instead of the enemy. In RRP, the unconscious mind is viewed as an ally.
Frame 50: Dr. Barnett's RRP takes up where Dr. Berne left off. It evolved from Analytical
Hypnotherapy and Ego State Hypnotherapy by 1997 at which time he started naming it Rapid
Reintegration Procedure. It has become consolidated in its present form since about 2002. Dr.
Barnett developed RRP about 1997 and started calling it Rapid Reintegration Procedure. (169)
Frame 51: There are some significant differences between RRP and classical and standard
psychotherapies:
1. It is hypnosis based, but achieves something like hypnosis without tedious time consuming
hypnotic induction. RRP is a way of doing effective hypnotherapy without inducing a formal
hypnotic state.
Answer:
Frame 52: This invisible and non-threatening induction of hypnosis does not invoke resistance.
The therapist starts with, "Now before we use hypnosis, would it be all right if we tried
something simple? Okay." (I would like you to close your eyes and let your mind go back to the
last time you had that uncomfortable feeling and when you are there just nod your head ". (this is
regression). The patient has now achieved waking hypnosis by regression. The closest we come
to inducing a hypnotic state in RRP is to induce regression.
Frame 53: Until Dr. Barnett's invention of RRP, this very rapid regression was rarely done
because we just did not know about it. RRP establishes a state of accepting hypnosis-like
suggestions without doing an induction of hypnosis.
Frame 54: It is truly rapid. Standard psychotherapy is once a week for 45 minutes and often
goes on for six month to years. RRP may require only a few visits. (170) RRP achieves results
rapidly.
Frame 55: The RRP therapist communicates directly with the unconscious mind Direct
communication with the unconscious mind makes RRP powerful. In RRP the therapist and the
Adult patient communicate directly with parts of the unconscious mind called ego states.
Frame 56: The RRP patient regresses to the Child ego state at the time of the traumatic event
(critical experience) and communicates uncomfortable feelings associated with it to the therapist.
RRP runs on feelings.
Frame 57: The patient is not required to describe the details of the trauma to the therapist.
Instead, under the therapist's direction, one ego state of the patient tells the event to another ego
state of the patient. In this sense, RRP sets the patient at ease. Now, progress can occur.
Resistance often melts away. The RRP patient is not asked to tell the therapist the factual details
of the traumatic or critical event.
Frame 58: RRP is more affordable than standard therapy since it requires only a few visits. It is
more compatible with health insurance (171) policies. Because RRP is fast, it is economical.
Frame 59: RRP does not suffer from the specter of recovery of false memories. In RRP, we are
interested in the affect attached to the event. We do not question whether the event actually
occurred. Freud struggled with this problem. He reached the same solution as we have done.
RRP is feelings based and not facts based.
Frame 60: In RRP, the patient is highly involved with and most importantly has an essential
role in the treatment process. In fact, the patient is doing most of the treatment of the dissociated
ego state, and the RRP therapist is acting as a guide or assistant.
List 7 ways in which RRP is different from standard psychoanalytic therapy:
1. It does not use a standard hypnotic induction.
2. It is rapid.
3. The therapist communicates directly with the unconscious mind.
4. It is non-threatening and tends to avoid evoking resistance.
5. It is much less expensive.
6. It is feelings driven and not facts driven.
7. The patient is doing most of the therapy with assistance from the therapist. (172)
Frame 62: RRP achieves some tasks usually associated with deep hypnosis. In RRP the
patient's experience is similar to day dreaming and the patient feels awake. It is waking
hypnosis. In RRP state, the patient retains control, feels and feels awake or alert like day
dreaming.This lead to Dr. Barnett's referring to RRP as waking hypnosis.
In RRP, we assist recovery from previous emotional trauma.
WHAT IS RRP? QUIZ
1. Who invented the Rapid Reintegration Procedure?
2. In Sigmund Freud's model of the mind, normal behavior was based on what ideas?
3. What is the RRP model of the mind?
4. Under difficult situations, what is the function of these three ego state categories?
5\ In RRP theory, how do symptoms arise?
6. Does RRP use induction of the state of hypnosis?
7. Is RRP hypnosis?
8. What is the driving force of RRP?
9. In RRP, is it necessary for the patient to reveal personal, private, secret, or embarrassing
information to the RRP therapist?
10. Who does most of the therapy in RRP? (173)
Questions and answers for “WHAT IS RRP? section:
1. Who invented Rapid Reintegration Procedure? Edgar A. Barnett, M.D.
2. In Sigmund Freud’s model of the mind, normal behavior was based upon what ideas?
Some of the psychological processes are conscious and some are unconscious. Freud assigned
the development and care of the personality to ego, id, and superego.
3. What is the RRP model of the mind? Some psychological processes are conscious and some
are unconscious. The development and care of the personality is assigned to three ego state
functions: Child, Adult, and Parent.
4. Under difficult situations, what is the function of these three ego states categories? Under
difficult situations (critical events) these three ego state categories function to protect the main
personality.
5. In RRP therapy, how do symptoms arise? Symptoms are undesirable behaviors or
intolerable feelings. When a "critical event" (traumatic or even threatening) occurs, the mind
assigns the care of that feeling to an ego state, often a Child ego state under the age of ten. This
is the dissociated ego state. When events in the present resembling the original critical event
occur, the patient experiences the uncomfortable feeling. This results in the appearance of the
symptoms (headache, anxiety, fear, urge to overeat, urge to get drunk, and so on).
6. Does RRP use induction of the state of hypnosis? No, but it mediates via the process of
hypnosis.
7. Is RRP Hypnosis? This is a trick question. RRP does not make use of induction of hypnotic
trance, and patients do not feel or experience being hypnotized. RRP seems to them more like
voluntary and controlled daydreaming. RRP communicates directly with the unconscious mind.
The RRP therapist does give a few suggestions, but not in the same way as traditional clinical
hypnosis. Since there is no better word to describe this, Dr. Barnett uses the term "waking
hypnosis."
8. What is the driving force for RRP? Feelings.
9. In RRP, is it necessary for the patient to reveal personal, private, secret, or
embarrassing information to the RRP therapist? No.
10. Who does most of the therapy in RRP? The patient's adult ego state. (174-175)

13. CHAPTER 13: RAPID REINTEGRATION PROCEDURE STEPS GUIDE

Step 1: Symptom Orientation Step 2. Affect Bridge
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State
Step 4: Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience
Step 5. Communicating With The Distressed Ego State
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution
Step 7. Resolution
Step 8. Confirmation of Resolution Step
9. Reintegration
Step 10. Confirmation of Reintegration and Future Pacing
Step 11. Ego Strengthening and Assertiveness Training
Overview of the Rapid Reintegration Procedure: A Revolutionary Approach to Analytical
Hypnotherapy and Ego State Therapy
Frame 63: RRP is the result of over 25 years of Dr. Barnett's search for a rapid and economical
application of Analytical Hypnotherapy and Ego State Hypnotherapy principles (Analytical
Hypnotherapy: Principles and Practice, Edgar A. Barnett, 1981) in dealing with emotional and
behavior problems. Changes in how clinical hypnotherapy is practiced in Canada over the past
25 years led Dr. Barnett to invent the Rapid Reintegration Procedure. (176)
Frame 64: RRP is intended to be simpler practical and effective. seeking RRP expect to get
results in a rapid and economical manner.
Frame 65: The theory behind RRP is that current symptoms (problem behaviors) are the result
of past traumatic critical experiences. Problem symptoms have their origins in past traumatic
critical experiences.
Frame 66: The ego state present at the time of the trauma or critical event became a part of the
personality as an initial way of caring for or protecting the personality. The problems
(symptoms) plaguing the patient are the result of past traumatic critical experiences that were
initially dealt with by assigning them to the care of dissociated parts of the personality.
Frame 67: Ego states associated with these critical events (traumas) eventually became separate,
dissociated disowned and existed independently from the main personality. As a result of critical
or traumatic events, the corresponding ego state became dissociated from the main personality.
Frame 68: The ego state associated with the traumatic (critical) event (177) became separate
from the main personality in order to ensure the well being and survival of the main personality.
The reason the dissociated ego state arose was to protect the main personality.
Frame 69: The repression of the dissociated ego state is incomplete. Because of this, emotions
associated with the repressed dissociated ego state can be triggered in the present by events
reminiscent of the past traumata. Events in the present reminiscent of the past traumata or
critical experiences can trigger emotions associated with the repressed dissociated ego state.
Frame 70: Ego state hypnotherapy is directed at identifying these parts (dissociated ego states).
Ego state hypnotherapy uncovers dissociated ego states.
Frame 71: Once the dissociated ego state has been identified (uncovered), it can be enabled
access to the adult resources (Adult ego state) that will facilitate release of these outdated
tensions and promote their reintegration into the prime personality. Goals of RRP are to identify
dissociated ego states and to reintegrate them into the main personality using the present Adult
ego resources. (178)
Frame 72: We can think of the person's entire life as a videotape of the person's total
experiences. In theory, each frame of the movie could be a separate ego state. Most frames are
integrated into the main movie. But some frames of traumatic content are blocked from our view
of the movie. Each such hidden frame has a whole set of memories and emotions associated with
that traumatic event. Each dissociated ego state has its own set of accompanying memories and
emotions usually, but not always, traumatic.
Frame 73: We have reason to believe that there is a part of the unconscious mind some call the
"observing ego" that coldly, dispassionately, and objectively observes everything that happens to
the person over his/her entire life. The observing ego coldly, dispassionately, and objectively
observes everything that happens to the person over his/her entire life.
Frame 74: In RRP, we acknowledge the existence of this "unconscious part" and often address
it. RRP enlists the cooperation and support of the unconscious part (of the personality) or
observing ego.
Frame 75: The unconscious part holds all the hidden information that you are going to be
using. The unconscious part knows all the information needed to uncover the dissociated ego
states. (179)
Frame 76: RRP strikes up a friendly relationship with the unconscious part of the mind. In
talking to the patient in RRP state, we address the unconscious part in that manner. For example,
sometimes we will say something like, "Unconscious part, is Joseph feeling uncomfortable when
he plays the guitar? Do you want me to help that uncomfortable part of Joseph? Will you give
me your help?"
RRP seeks communication and mutual cooperation with the unconscious part or unconscious
mind or observing ego
Frame 77: We make use or the unconscious part to transport the Adult (ego state) back to the
critical event and the dissociated ego state. This procedure is called Affect Bridge. It is the most
amazing part of RRP. It is reliable. We shall go into affect bridge in more detail later. Affect
Bridge is a procedure in which the patient is encouraged to experience the feeling associated
with the symptom and to let it carry him/her back to a memory of the first time the symptom
occurred.
Frame 78: It is not the goal of RRP to make the patient relive traumatic experiences. In fact, we
avoid that so as not to induce abreaction. Some therapies do guide the patient to experience the
trauma over and over. We do not do that in RRP. RRP does not guide the patient to relive
traumatic experiences. (180)
Frame 79: Once the regression has taken the patient back to the very first time the trauma
occurred (critical event), we label that dissociated ego state by the age at which it became
dissociated. There may be other dissociated ego states at other ages such as age 20, and more at
age 12 and age 4 and age 3 and so on. Each will be reintegrated separately in the RRP session.
When the patient has regressed to the critical event, you will determine the patient's age in years
at that point in the memory.
Frame 80: Later we will explore ways to determine the age of the dissociated ego state. Once
the dissociated ego state has been uncovered and the age determined, the Adult is asked to bring
the Child to the safety of the present with the Adult and the therapist. Here the traumatic
memory and feeling can have adult reevaluation. Dr. Barnett has created RRP to be as
streamlined as possible. No former hypnoanalytic feature has been retained that is not considered
to be absolutely necessary.
RRP only retains those analytic features that are absolutely necessary.
Frame 81: RRP differs from traditional analytic therapy and hypnotherapy. There is no formal
hypnotic induction, usually no ideomotor finger signaling, or no required verbalization of
memories during the RRP processes.
RRP differs from traditional therapies and hypnotherapy in that it does not demand:
1. formal induction of hypnosis
2. ideomotor finger signaling, usually
3. required verbalization of memories to the therapist.
Frame 82: The use of these features is not forbidden in RRP, and rarely one may use ideomotor
finger signaling. RRP is permissive. If the patient wants to verbalize, he/she is allowed to, but
the therapist deflects the patient from verbalization. The reason for this is that excessive
verbalization is a defense against unconscious communication. Excessive verbalization during
RRP is avoided because it is a defense against unconscious communication.
Frame 83: At the first contact with the patient, the therapist helps the patient to discover what
the most important change is that the patient wants to make. For example, to get rid of anxiety,
depression, headaches, or to lose weight, stop overeating, stop smoking, become more
self-confident, and so on. At the initial contact, the patient is helped to identify the symptoms is
the most important change in his/her behavior that the patient wishes to make, and wants help
with.
Frame 84: Initial contact is the first personal contact with the patient. Usually, it is in the office
in a formal professional setting. The first time the therapist and patient interact is usually in
person and is called the initial contact. (182)
Frame 85: Sometimes the initial contact may unfold in an unplanned way. If this is the initial
contact, you can suggest to the patient, "Now, there are some uncomfortable feelings you would
like help with. See if you can identify those feelings. You do not need to work out the origins,
just identify the feelings or what you want to have help with." If the initial contact with the
patient is by phone, perhaps unplanned, you can ask the patient to identify what the are, that
he/she wishes help with and what symptoms accompany those symptoms.
Frame 86: On rare occasions Dr. Tkach uses a variant initial contact, based on Dr. Barnett's
analytical hypnotherapy approach, to make a contract with the unconscious mind. Dr. Barnett
does not use this. The script is, "Let's try something simple. Close your eyes. Deep inside
(patient's name) there is an unconscious part that watches everything (patient's. name) does and
observes (patient's name) objectively and dispassionately. Would it be okay for me to talk to that
unconscious part?" Patient says "Yes." "Unconscious part, is (patient's name) having trouble with
(symptom)?" Patient says "Yes." "Would it be all right for me to help (patient's name) with that?
Patient says "Yes". "Unconscious part, will you cooperate with me in helping (patient's name)
with that problem?" Patient says "Yes." "That's good. I look forward to working with you on
that." Or a variant: "When you come to my office you will find it easy and fun. You do not have
to do anything. It will just happen. Now, when you are ready your eyes will open." The first visit
can be facilitated by making a contract with the unconscious mind to gain its cooperation. (183)
Frame 87: An initial contact is an opportunity to make a contract with the unconscious mind to
gain its cooperation.
Frame 88: In RRP, the therapist speaks directly to the unconscious mind.
Frame 89: An effort is made to identify any unreasonable feelings that are responsible for the
persistence of symptoms and/or unwanted behaviors. An initial contact, the patient and therapist
identify the unreasonable feelings that prevent the patient from overcoming the symptoms.
Frame 90: At or before the first office visit, the patient makes or has made an effort to identify
the uncomfortable feelings. RRP is entirely feelings driven. RRP is entirely based on dealing
feelings
Frame 91: Feelings may be fear, sadness, anger, guilt or some other distressing discomfort. The
feelings causing the patient distressing discomfort will be referred to many times during the RRP
session and may be referred to as that uncomfortable feeling or by naming the specific feeling.
Frame 92: Sometimes patients can identify the uncomfortable feeling but cannot put a name to
it. That is okay. You may just call it the uncomfortable feeling.
Frame 93: Much of the initial interview is directed at identifying the discomfort that the patient
experiences prior to any behavior or symptoms that he/she wishes to change. When the patient
has the urge to experience the symptom (over eating, smoking, drinking, phobia, etc.) there is a
feeling associated with that symptom. In the initial visit, a major task of RRP is to identify that
feeling.
Frame 94: This is a crucial step in RRP. It is a sine qua non (absolutely necessary step).
Identifying the feeling that accompanies the expression of the symptom is a most crucial task in
the initial RRP interview.
Frame 95: The Rapid Reintegration Procedure seems to rapidly locate and eliminate
this/(these) symptom producing feeling(s) in a majority of instances. RRP rapidly locates and
eliminates symptom producing feelings. (185)
Frame 96: RRP accomplishes this by facilitating the identification of the symptoms produced
by any dissociated ego states. Dissociated ego states produce the symptoms.
Frame 97: RRP identifies the dissociated ego states by following the feelings associated with
the symptoms. The therapist tells the patient, "The feeling will lead you to the memory." or "The
feeling will enable access to its origin." This step of RRP is called affect bridge. We shall
explore it more. RRP uncovers dissociated ego states.
Frame 98: In this sense, RRP employs affect bridge as an uncovering technique.
Frame 99: RRP detaches the dissociated ego states from their imprisoning memories and avails
them of rapid access to present day problem solving resources. RRP allows patient to make use
of his/her Adult resources to let go of old imprisoning feelings.
Theoretical concepts and overview of RRP: (186)
Frame 100: Both analytical hypnotherapy and ego state therapy consider that current adverse
symptoms and behavior disorders are post traumatic in origin. Current adverse symptoms are
post traumatic in origin.
Frame 101: Dr. Barnett has said, "We are today what we came through yesterday. And some of
yesterday hasn't been left behind. It's still with us. Some of it is good stuff, and some of it isn't.
Some of the problems people have in losing weight, quitting smoking, being depressed, and
having a low self-esteem, are due to things they haven't dealt with properly up to this time."
During infancy, childhood, and adolescence, traumatic crises are normally dealt with by
protective behaviors directed at the emotions. When these behaviors fail to provide adequate
protection, the associated emotions are repressed and contained by parts of the personality that
are called ego states. Ego states are parts of the personality that have been created in order to
protect the main personality from trauma induced emotions.
Frame 102: These parts frequently become separated (dissociated) from the main personality,
but exist at an unconscious level and continue to attempt to protect the individual with the
emotions that they have retained. Ego states have become separated or dissociated from the main
personality.
Frame 103: Originally, this dissociation played a protective role. (187)
Frame 104: The behavior that was appropriate at an earlier age, is no longer appropriate for the
adult or older individual. That unconsciously motivated behaviour becomes a problem and
produces symptoms. Although originally appropriate, the behavior is no longer appropriate and
now is producing symptoms.
Frame 105: We then call it a dissociated ego state. In therapy, you can address the dissociated
ego state by referring to it as "uncomfortable part." For example, you, the therapist, may say,
"Would it be all right for me to talk to that uncomfortable part?" A distressed unconscious ego
state from a younger age that has not joined the main personality and is causing the patient
uncomfortable symptoms is a dissociated ego state.
Answer:
Frame 106: At the time of therapy, these emotions are frequently no longer relevant to the
present, and so therapy is directed at locating them and finding means of relinquishing them. In
RRP, therapy is directed at locating emotions that are no longer relevant but have been retained,
and helping the patient to relinquish them.
Frame 107: In RRP, the first step is to define the emotion that is responsible for the current
symptoms and unwanted behaviors. (188)
Frame 108: In order to do this, the patient needs to be made aware of this emotion or feeling
uncomfortable '
Frame 109: Once the feeling (emotion) has been identified, the patient is guided or encouraged
to use the affect bridge to lead to the critical experience (traumatic event or critical event) where
the defenses were overwhelmed and the protective emotions repressed into the unconscious. The
ego state retaining these feelings is identified by its age, and is encouraged to leave the past
original traumatic experience and memory and advance to the protection of the present Adult
ego, where it is welcomed and accepted. Author's note: if you are going to use RRP, it is
necessary that you grasp the previous two sentences. They state the core theory of RRP. Please
read them out loud about five times. Analyze them. Write them down. Once uncovered, the
dissociated ego state is invited to come to the safety of the present with the Adult and the
therapist.
Frame 110: The traumatized Child ego state is encouraged to share the memory with the Adult
(share the memory and not to relive the trauma) in the security of the present, where it can have
Adult reevaluation. The traumatized Child ego state is encouraged to share the traumatic
memory in the security of the present where it can have Adult re-evaluation. (189)
Frame 111: In the present, the Child ego state can be welcomed, loved, reassured and given the
benefit of the Adult part's many years of experience and wisdom. In the setting of the present,
that knowledge, wisdom, and compassion of the Adult can be used to help the traumatized Child
realize it can now be relieved of its burden. In the safety of the present and with the support and
guidance of the Adult, the traumatized Child is guided to let go of its burden or uncomfortable
feelings that has been bottled up all these years.
Frame 112: The Child is brought to the present with the Adult and the therapist rather than to an
idealized "Safe Place." The problem with the Safe Place is that it is an invitation to invoke
screen memory as a defense mechanism. In RRP, we avoid the term "Safe Place" because it may
invoke defense mechanism. (in Dr. Tkach's opinion).
Frame 113: When the goal of RRP has been achieved, there is no question about it. The Child
and the Adult feel a profound sense of relief, marked by the Child getting his/her smile back.
This is a hallmark of RRP. When RRP is successful, the Child gets his/her smile back. (190)
Frame 114: The Child and the Adult return to the past traumatic event to make sure the
uncomfortable feeling is really gone and will never be a bother again, will never affect the
present again. The Adult is returned to the present to test to see if the uncomfortable feeling is
completely gone. Returning to the present, the testing is done to verify the symptoms are gone.
Frame 115: Future testing is done to see if the patient can handle a similar symptom-provoking
situation in the future. Future testing is done to see if the resolution of the conflict was
successful.
Frame 116: The final stages of RRP ensure that the secondary gains that the symptoms and
behavior complex obtained can be achieved in more productive ways. Finally, ego strengthening
is used to ensure that the secondary gains that the symptoms and behavior complex previously
obtained can be achieved in more productive ways. (191)
A SAMPLE VERBALIZATION DEMONSTRATING RRP:
Step 1: Symptom Orientation: "Before we do any hypnosis, I would like to try something
simple that might help." (Although no formal induction of hypnosis is used, Dr. Barnett believes
that whenever anyone goes back in the memory, he/she enters a hypnosis-like right brain
consciousness) "j would like you to close your eyes (eyes close), and I would like you to go back
in your memory to the last time you had that uncomfortable feeling and when you are there,
simply nod your head to let me know." (head nods). Once again, although no ideomotor
signaling has been established, the head nod is unconsciously motivated when in hypnosis and is
a valid ideomotor response.
Frame 117: The first step of RRP is to encourage the patient to go back to the last time he/she
experienced the symptom and to identify the uncomfortable feeling that accompanies it. Dr.
Barnett believes that RRP is an application of hypnosis, sort of waking hypnosis. RRP evolved
from analytical hypnotherapy. But, there are differences. Even though there is no formal
induction of hypnosis in RRP, whenever anyone goes back in the memory they enter the process
of hypnosis, (communication with the unconscious) or more appropriately "waking hypnosis,"
that involves accessing unconscious parts of the mind, perhaps predominantly the right brain.
(192)
Frame 118: A useful way for patients to think of RRP is that it will be like experiencing day
dreaming and that they will retain control of the situation. RRP will seem to the patient like
daydreaming and the patient will retain control.
Frame 119: Communication with the unconscious mind is a crucial part of RRP. This can be
done by head nods. Sometimes, but not usually, ideomotor finger signaling is used. In
determining the age of the Child ego state, verbalization may be used. Three ways to
communicate with the unconscious mind are 1. head nods 2. ideomotor finger signaling 3.
verbalization. The preferred method is head nods
Frame 120: Because head nods are such an important part of RRP, the RRP therapist must pay
attention to the head movements of the patient.
Frame 121: The RRP therapist must pay close attention to the patient's head nods and
movements during RRP session. (193)
Step 2. Affect Bridge:
Frame 122: "Now, what I would like you to do is to let that feeling get stronger until it
becomes so strong that it takes you back to the very first time that you had that feeling, and
when you are there nod your head" (head nods). This may take a few moments or minutes. This
is the most crucial step in RRP. Affect Bridge: "There is a memory associated with that feeling
or there is a memory that's giving you that feeling. The feeling will carry you back to the
memory."
Frame 12: In a minority of cases, the feeling fades instead of increasing, presumably because of
a resistance to experiencing the original trauma. In this way, connection with the uncomfortable
ego state is deferred. Affect bridge can be defended against by the unconscious by causing the
uncomfortable feeling to fade and slip out of the Adult and the therapist's grasp. The first and
most obvious defense against RRP is for the uncomfortable feeling to fade at a time when
experiencing it is most important to uncovering the critical event.
Frame 124: This step is also at risk of defense by intellectualization. (See Chapter 18: Is your
RRP what you think it is?) The patient is to feel the feeling and not to search his/her memory.
"Just concentrate on the feeling. Think only of the uncomfortable feeling. It will carry you back
to a memory. It may be one you have forgotten. It's okay. Don't try to think it out. Just
concentrate on the feeling. You do nothing. It just happens all by (194) itself. Concentrate only
on the feeling. The feeling will carry you to a memory. Nod your head when you are there." The
risk of not achieving affect bridge is that the unconscious ego state will erect a defense by
intellectualization
Frame 125: Affect bridge is the cornerstone of RRP. It works well and works consistently. It is
the most amazing part of RRP.
Talking to the Feeling to Achieve Affect Bridge: Sometimes talking to either the Adult or
Child ego state is nonproductive. In some such situations, Dr. Barnett talks to the feeling itself
instead of to the Adult or Child, but as though the feeling were a person. When Affect Bridge is
blocked, sometimes it helps to talk to the feeling as though it were a person.
Frame 126: Consider the following excerpt from Donna's initial session with Dr. Barnett: Dr.
Barnett: "How's she doing?" Donna: "Aching, sharp pains aching, in the chest." Dr. Barnett:
"Let's talk to those chest pains. Chest pains, would you please take us right back to where they're
coming from? When you're right there where those chest pains are coming from, nod your
head." Head nods. Dr. B: "How old are you there?" Donna: "14." Dr. B: "There's 14 year old
Donna there who needs our help. Bring her here with us. Don't leave her there. Give her a big
hug. Let her tell you what happened there at 14." When employing Dr. Barnett's method of
talking to the feeling, the RRP therapist guides the feeling to unmask the dissociated ego state.
(195) Then the emphasis is shifted to accepting and helping that Child ego state.
Frame 127: Then he returns to talking to the ego state.
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State:
Frame 128: "Right there you have the memory that gives you that feeling, and I would like you
to go through that memory, and, when you have done that, nod your head" (head nods). To
avoid abreaction, this should be a brief acknowledgment of the memory. _
Frame 129: "Now that is a very uncomfortable memory. Does it happen before the age of ten?
(Head nods). Before the age of five? (Head shakes no.) Is it at three? (Head nods yes.) This
process of elimination proceeds until the age of the traumatized part is determined. Once the
memory of the critical event is uncovered, determine the age of the repressed ego state.
Frame 130: The dissociated ego state will be addressed by this age. When talking to and about
the distressed ego state, refer to him/her by age such as five years old Joseph. (insert an age
(196) and name).
Frame 131: Affect bridge works well and consistently. Why does it work well? Within the
unconscious mind is a portion called the "observing ego." It coldly, objectively, and
dispassionately observes and records everything that happens to the conscious person. The
observing ego objectively observes and records everything that happens to the conscious person.
Frame 132: Memories that are repressed for the conscious mind are easily accessible to the
observing ego (unconscious mind). The observing ego knows exactly where the critical
experience is and can instantly uncover it. When affect bridge helps a patient quickly to regress
to a critical event it is because the repressed material has been revealed by the observing ego
Frame 133: If the patient is having trouble connecting to the critical event and it is not due to
intellectualization, it usually helps to make a contract with the observing ego, to enlist the help
of the observing ego.
Frame 134: Here's how to do it. Therapist: "Deep inside (name), there is an unconscious part.
Could I talk to that part? (Head nods) Unconscious part is (name) having trouble with
(symptom). (197) (Head nods.) Do you want me to help (name)? (Head nods.) You know the
things that will help (name). Will you cooperate with me? (head nods)." Then repeat affect
bridge. When a patient is having trouble establishing affect bridge, you can communicate with
the observing ego.
Frame 135: 51 years old Sean had some trouble with affect bridge but did master it. He put it
this way. "It's like looking at that rock over there. I don't really know what's under it at a
conscious level. But I already knew at an unconscious level what was under it. It's kinda weird."
With his second dissociated state, Affect bridge was instantaneous. The cornerstone of RRP is
affect bridge.
Step 4: Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical Experience:
Frame 136: "I would like you to take five year old X (X is patient's first name) away from that
memory and bring him/her right here, and when he/she is here, please give him/her a great big
hug, and when you have done that, nod your head." (head nods) (Detachment from the past with
stabilization in a secure (hugged) present is a necessary step before integration with the present
is attempted) The Child is brought away from the traumatic critical experience. I transported to
the safety of the present and given a great big hug.
Frame 137: "He/she really needs a hug. And as you hug him/her, you can feel that very
uncomfortable feeling that he/she has. It is his/her (198) feeling, and he/she has a perfect right to
it. Perhaps he/she will be able to tell you exactly what happened there to give him/her that strong
feeling. I want you to listen carefully, and when you have heard all that happened to him/her, let
me know by nodding your head" (head nods). With the security of the hug, the Adult feels the
Child's
uncomfortable feeling. The Child and the Adult are not asked to relive the critical event. Some
therapies do that, but not RRP. RRP is not threatening. It tends to avoid a severe abreaction.
Frame 138: At this point it is sufficient that the Child tell the Adult briefly why he/she is so
distressed
Frame 139: The Child should tell the Adult what happened, but we do not ask the Child to
relive the trauma. Adult asks the Child to tell him/her what happened but the Child is not asked
to relive the critical event.
Frame 140: The hug is an important part of RRP. It serves three purposes. First, the hug
convinces the frightened, distressed, dissociated Child that this is a safe place to be. It's going to
be okay here. These characters, the Adult and the therapist, can be trusted to do the right thing. It
removes the child from the threat of the place of the critical event where the child has been
locked up for years. The first thing the hug does is to reassure the dissociated Child ego state that
this is a safe place to be.
(199)
Frame 141: Secondly, we have found that many patients, especially those with self-destructive
behaviors such as self-mutilations, alcoholism, drug addictions, smoking, risky behavior, and so
on, were not loved as children. They were never hugged, never cooed over, never had anyone
make a warm fuss over them. The hug fills in that gap and holds the interest of the Child. In our
minds, we see an ocean of poor little newborns to 8 years old children seeking but not getting
love from Mother and Father. It is as sad as it sounds. The second thing the hug does is to give
the child love he/she never got from the real mother and father.
Frame 142: (Thirdly, we often see patients actually cross their arms or hold their arms out in a
big welcoming gesture. This is an especially meaningful sign indicating the genuineness of the
RRP the patient is experiencing. Some people do not do that, but when it occurs, the therapist is
reassured the RRP is going well and that perhaps the next steps are going to go well. The third
thing the hug does is to confirm the genuineness of RRP when the patient actually demonstrates
a hug.
Step 5. Communicating With The Distressed Ego State:
Frame 143: "You are now able to understand just how uncomfortable that experience was and
that five year old 'X' had a right to the feeling it caused and that he/she had no alternative but to
lock it inside him/her ever since. It is his/her feeling and he/she has every right to it" (200)
Acknowledgment of the right to his/her feeling increases internal rapport.
Frame 144: "He/she has kept it there all these years to help you. Perhaps you need to thank
him/her for taking care of that feeling for you." The repression of old tensions into the memory
of the distressed ego state is always for protection and deserves thanks.
The repression of old feelings into a Child ego state may be an old attempt to protect the ego.
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution:
Frame 145: "With your present knowledge, experience, understanding, wisdom, and
compassion at your age of (number) years, do you believe the feeling locked up inside five year
old 'X' is still necessary, useful, or helpful? Nod your head for yes, shake your head for no." In
RRP, your patient communicates with you by a series of head nods. Instruct the patient, " Nod
your
head for yes, shake your head for no."
Frame 146: It may take a few seconds or a minute before there is a response. During this time,
there is presumably an internal dialog going on between the distressed ego state and the adult
when information is being exchanged and new decisions are being reached. When you ask the
patient if hanging on to the old uncomfortable feeling is still necessary, you wait a few seconds
or a minute until the head nods. (201) During this time, what is going on? Presumably there is an
internal dialog going on between the distressed Child ego state and the Adult ego state when
information is being exchanged and new decisions are being reached.
Frame 147: "Well then, you need to convince five year old 'X' that the uncomfortable feeling is
no longer necessary and that he/she can now let go of that discomfort, can say goodbye to that
feeling and become completely relieved of it. When he/she has done that and can feel that relief,
nod your head to let me know. He/she may, in fact, feel so relieved that he/she may start to
smile" (pause and then the head nods and there may be a smile). The Adult patient is asked to
convince the dissociated ego state that the old uncomfortable feelings, which served a purpose
back then, are no longer needed and to let go of the old uncomfortable feelings.
Frame 148: Notice that the Child has not been asked to let go of the memory " but rather just
the uncomfortable feeling.
Frame 149: The choice of words is important here. The distressed ego state is not asked to
forget the old memories. It is asked to let go of the uncomfortable feelings that go with that
memory. (202)
Frame 150: There is a temptation for the therapist to talk directly to the dissociated ego state to
convince it to let go of the uncomfortable feeling. You must avoid that. It must be the Adult ego
state with all its resources talking to the dissociated Child ego state. Instead of the therapist's
talking directly to the dissociated (Child) ego state, the role of the therapist is to the guide
patient's Adult ego state to talk to the Child ego state and to convince the Child to let go of the
uncomfortable feelings because of what the patient's Adult ego state and the Child ego state
discuss.
Frame 151: In RRP, for the most part, the therapist is talking to the Adult ego state.
Step 7. Resolution:
Frame 152: We like to see the Child ego state get his/her smile back. It is not a "sine qua non,"
but it is a helpful clue that the resolution is complete and genuine. A sign that the resolution is
genuine is that the Child (dissociated) ego state has gotten his/her smile back.
Frame 153: Resolution is Step 7 of RRP and is necessary to accomplish Step 9 which is
Reintegration. (203)
Frame 154: Reintegration is the step at which you coach the Adult to make a place in his/her
heart for the dissociated Child ego state and to welcome the Child back to the main personality.
Frame 155: "What a relief!. That feels good! (Or, "That must feel really good!") However, we
want that good feeling to be permanent so it won't bother you ever again." Once the
uncomfortable feelings have been abandoned, you want to test the resolution and make sure the
uncomfortable feeling is really completely gone.
Step 8. Confirmation of Resolution:
Frame 156: "So now I would like you to leave the present and go back with five year old X all
the way back into that memory so that he/she can feel that you are there with him/her. He/she is
no longer alone. When you are there, I want you to use your present knowledge and
understanding to help him/her fix things so that the memory will never bother him/her again.
When you have done that nod your head. Is the uncomfortable feeling still there at age 5?" Head
shakes no. Once the Child has let go of the uncomfortable feeling, you want to be sure that it is
no longer attached to the five year old's memory of the critical event.
Step 9. Reintegration: Frame 157: "Now that 5 year old eX) is feeling so good, bring him/her
with you and he/she can now occupy that empty space in your heart that is his/hers. It belongs to
him/her, It is his/her space, and (204) he/she can now remain there permanently. If that is okay
with you, when he/she is permanently there in your heart, nod your head." (head nods)
When the Child has let go of the uncomfortable feelings, it is time to reintegrate him/her into the
patient's heart (main personality).
Frame 158: He/she can now remain there (in the heart, the main personality) permanently.
Frame 159: Reintegration is what RRP is all about. We want the dissociated ego state to
abandon its separate existence and to join the mainstream Adult personality. Reintegration
requires the dissociated ego state to rejoin the main personality.
Frame 160: However, it will not be helpful to the patient to phrase this in those technical terms.
Instead we ask, "Is there a place in your heart for 4 year old Jeremy?" "Or Can you make room
in your heart for 4 year old Jeremy?" Or "Can you tell 4 year old Jeremy there is an empty place
in your heart for him to fill?" Or "Can you tell 4 year old Jeremy there is an empty place in your
heart that he can fill, and that you will always be there for him and protect him?" To achieve
reintegration of the dissociated ego state into the main personality, we invite the dissociated ego
state by questions such as: (205)
1. "Is there a place in your heart for 4 year old Jeremy?"
2. "Can you make room in your heart for 4 year old Jeremy?"
3. "Can you tell 4 year old Jeremy there is an empty place in your heart for him to fill?"
4. "Can you tell 4 year old Jeremy there is an empty place in your heart that he can fill, and that
you will always be there for him and protect him?"
Step 10. Confirmation of Reintegration and Future Pacing:
Frame 161: "Notice how good that feels, but we would like to be absolutely certain that the
good feeling remains permanent, so I would now like you and five year old X, who is now
secure in your heart, to go forward together in time to a situation where previously the
uncomfortable feeling would usually have been present. I want you to prove to yourself and to
five year old X that you can now handle it comfortably without any of the old discomfort. When
you have done that to your satisfaction, nod your head. (Head nods). That is so good. Now you
can really enjoy those positive feelings." Future pacing means guiding the Adult X to the future,
to a symptoms-evoking situation, and seeing if he/she can now handle the previously anxiety
provoking situation. (206)
Step 11. Ego Strengthening and Assertiveness Training:
Frame 162: "Now that you have freed yourself from that old discomfort, you can now be the X
you were meant to be. I believe X is just as good and important as any other human being.
He/she is not perfect and neither is anyone else. He/she is not infallible and makes mistakes like
any other human being. No one's perfect. Think if you can of someone who is perfect. There is
no one. It's okay not to be perfect. But X is just as important as anyone else. If you agree, nod
your head." (head nods)
Begin ego strengthening by pointing out to the patient that he/she is important and is as good as
anyone else.
Frame 163: "That means that you have a duty to love and protect him/her. Do you agree? (head
nods). Then there are some undertakings you must make. First, you must never let anyone put X
down, because no one has the right to do that. They are no better than X. They are not perfect.
They make mistakes too. Do you agree?" (head nods) Begin assertiveness training by obtaining
from the patient a promise to protect X and never to let anyone put him/her down. _
Frame 164: "Secondly, you must never put him/her down yourself. Do you agree?" (head
nods). "Thirdly, you must never give way to the temptation to put anyone else down since you
are no better than they are. (Alternative wording, "You must never put anyone else down
because when you do that, you are really putting yourself down.") Do you agree? (head nods) If
you keep these three straightforward undertakings, you will discover that you will find (207)
yourself handling life comfortably and peacefully. Now, take a moment for all the parts of (X) to
say what they need to say to each other and, when you are done, your eyes will open and you
will feel very positive and calm. And let this day be a good one, and tomorrow even better, and
each day into your future better and better. Now, I'll just wait." There are three self assertiveness
and ego strengthening promises to obtain from the patient.
1. Never let anyone put X down.
2. Don't you put X down
3. Don't you put anyone else down.
Frame 165: This step is an important part of RRP. Even though it may not seem important, our
experience has shown that it is important and should not be omitted. The above verbalization is a
basic one that, in this example, has not met with any objections (from the unconscious). The
above example is a basic one.
Frame 166: This does obtain in a majority of cases, and is rewarded with a rapid and effective
outcome. The above example of RRP works in most or a majority of cases. (208)
Frame 167: The above example is usually rewarded with a rapid and effective outcome.
Frame 168: However, Dr. Barnett has found that a common objection arises (from the
unconscious) when, at step 6 (Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution), the protecting ego
state is not convinced that the negative feeling that has been its lot can and ought to be
surrendered. The unconscious protecting ego state may offer resistance at step 6 or Accessing
Adult Resources for Resolution. Frame 169: The reason for this resistance is that the
unconscious protecting ego state has not been convinced that the negative feeling that has been
its lot can and ought to be surrendered.
Frame 170: The main reason for keeping these tensions is for protection (keeping alert to cope
with a perceived danger). The main reason for hanging onto the uncomfortable feelings is
protection.
Frame 171: The old uncomfortable feelings will be retained if the young ego state (Child ego
state) does not yet believe or understand that the (209) adult can now protect adequately. In
order to let go of the uncomfortable feeling, Child ego states using that feeling must be led to
believe that the Adult ego state can protect it.
Frame 172: This may be because some elements of the critical experience have remained
concealed from the adult. The young ego state may believe the old danger to be unchanged and
still present. If the young ego state conceals some elements of the critical experience (traumatic
events) from the adult, it will be hard to convince the Child that the Adult can protect him/her.
The Child will perceive that the old danger is unchanged and still present.
Frame 173: In this case, ask the Adult to review the memory again and to persuade the young
ego state to compare the original danger with any present one so that it can at last know that the
old danger, whatever it was, is past or is in some way different from the present. If the Child ego
state does not trust the Adult ego state to provide adequate protection, ask the Adult to compare
and point out to the Child differences between the original danger of past the with the present
situation. (That was then; this is now.)
Frame 174: A helpful way to put it is, "That was then; this is now." (210)
Frame 175: Only when he/she is convinced that the old protection is no longer needed or that
the present Adult can provide adequate protection will he/she agree to relinquish the
uncomfortable feeling. The Adult must now take on the role of protector and convince the young
ego state that the Adult can (with its help) effectively assume this role. When the Child ego state
agrees to let go of the old uncomfortable feelings, the Adult ego state must take on the role of
protector. Moreover, the Adult must convince the child that the Adult can really do the
protecting.
Frame 176: Another reason for keeping old negative feelings is a self punitive one. That is to
say that the punishing ego state believes that it must continue to retain its distress in order to
fulfill its role as a punisher. This role is intended to protect the personality from a much feared
and imagined greater punishment (such as God or a parent or an abusive and rejecting caretaker).
By hanging onto the old uncomfortable feelings, the Child ego state may be punishing the
personality.
Frame 177: The reason the Child ego state chooses to punish is to protect the ego from a much
feared and imagined greater
Answer: punishment
Frame 178: The Child's notion of the punisher is usually modeled on an abusive and rejecting
parent or caretaker (211)
To whom are you speaking please?
Frame 179: When you are guiding the RRP process, you speak to the Adult ego state. With a
few exceptions, you guide the Adult to speak to the dissociated Child ego state. The therapist
speaks to the Adult ego state.
Frame 180: The therapist directs the patient's Adult ego state to speak to Child ego state.
Frame 181: Exceptions are Parent ego states, especially hostile Parent ego states. When dealing
with hostile Parent ego states, the therapist may speak directly to the hostile Parent ego state.
Additional Dissociated Ego States:
Frame 182: Sometimes reintegrating a single dissociated ego state at one age is enough to
achieve results. Sometimes stage fright and test anxiety are that simple. Sometimes symptoms
can be relieved by reintegrating a single ego state. (212)
Frame 175: Only when he/she is convinced that the old protection is no longer needed or that
the present Adult can provide adequate protection will he/she agree to relinquish the
uncomfortable feeling. The Adult must now take on the role of protector and convince the young
ego state that the Adult can (with its help) effectively assume this role. When the Child ego state
agrees to let go of the old uncomfortable feelings, the Adult ego state must take on the role of
protector. Moreover, the Adult must convince the child that the Adult can really do the
protecting.
Frame 176: Another reason for keeping old negative feelings is a self punitive one. That is to
say that the punishing ego state believes that it must continue to retain its distress in order to
fulfill its role as a punisher. This role is intended to protect the personality from a much feared
and imagined greater punishment (such as God or a parent or an abusive and rejecting caretaker).
By hanging onto the old uncomfortable feelings, the Child ego state may be punishing the
personality.
Frame 177: The reason the Child ego state chooses to punish is to protect the ego from a much
feared and imagined greater punishment.
Frame 178: The Child's notion of the punisher is usually modeled on an abusive and rejecting
parent or caretaker (211)
To whom are you speaking please?
Frame 179: When you are guiding the RRP process, you speak to the Adult ego state. With a
few exceptions, you guide the Adult to speak to the dissociated Child ego state. The therapist
speaks to the Adult ego state.
Frame 180: The therapist directs the patient's Adult ego to speak to Child ego state.
Frame 181: Exceptions are Parent ego states, especially hostile Parent ego states. When dealing
with hostile Parent ego states, the therapist may speak directly to the hostile Parent ego state.
Additional Dissociated Ego States:
Frame 182: Sometimes reintegrating a single dissociated ego state at one age is enough to
achieve results. Sometimes stage fright and test anxiety are that simple. Sometimes symptoms
can be relieved by reintegrating a single ego state. (212)
Frame 183: Our general experience has been that it is more likely that there are several
dissociated ego states that need to be uncovered and reintegrated. In most cases, there are several
dissociated ego
states that need to be uncovered and reintegrated.
Frame 184: This is not multiple personality disorder. In multiple personality disorder, the
alternative personalities completely take over control of the person and temporarily force the
main personality to step aside. RRP ego states differ from multiple personality disorder in that in
RRP, the ego states do not push the main personality
aside thereby gaining total control.
Frame 185: Kelly had an uncontrollable urge to drink alcohol to excess. Affect bridge
uncovered memories at age 15 and 16 related to her father's diagnosis and death from colon
cancer. Reintegration of those two ego states was successful, but the uncomfortable feeling
lingered. By repeating steps 1-10, it was possible to uncover additional dissociated ego states at
ages 3, 33, 8,16, 33, 20, and 16. There were two dissociated ego states at age 15, two at 33, and
three at 16. Kelly had a total of nine dissociated ego states. Notice that the process jumps around.
The ego states are not uncovered in chronological sequence. Relief of symptoms may require
uncovering and reintegrating as many as 9 or more dissociated ego states. (213)
Frame 186: When do you call a halt? After each reintegration, ask the patient, "Are there any
other Kellys that need our help?" or "Are there any other uncomfortable feelings Kelly needs
help with?" After each reintegration, try to find any other dissociated ego states that need
reintegration by asking the patient if there are any other uncomfortable feelings X needs help
with.
Frame 187: Hidden ego states may still exist. This is a defense mechanism. Sometimes it is
difficult or impossible to uncover such hidden ego states. It may be difficult to uncover hidden
dissociated ego states.
Frame 188: We will look at ways to deal with problems like this in later chapters. A useful test
is to ask the patient at the end of step 7 (Resolution), "Does X have her smile back?" If the
answer is "no", you have more work to do. If the answer is "sort of," there is more work to be
done. To confirm success, the child X must unequivocally get his/her smile back. When Step 7,
Resolution is successful, the Child must get his/herback.
Frame 189: When RRP works, the results are dramatic and there will be no question in the
patient's mind that the problem has been resolved. When RRP is successful the result should be
dramatic and unequivocal. (214)
RRP House Calls:
Frame 190: Although RRP is almost exclusively done in the therapist's officer there are times
when circumstances may arise that direct the session to be held at other locations. RRP usually
takes place in the therapist's office
Frame 191: Rarely it will take place in other locations such as another therapist's officer the
hospital the therapist's home or the patient's home. The patient's home is special because it give
the therapist
the opportunity to observe the patient in his/her natural habitat.
Frame 192: Linda suffered from health-threatening overweight. Dr. Tkach visited her at home.
There were dragon pictures and dragon models all over the walls. The house was terribly
unkempt and it was hard to move around the house because of the clutter. Bags of garbage in the
hallways and living room should have been thrown away long ago. The condition of the home
was consiste~t with her low self esteem. A house call may provide the therapih with useful
information about the emotional state of the patient.
Frame 193: When a house call is doner there are some useful gUidelinesr especially if a male
therapist is seeing a female patient.
1. A chaperone should be present.
2. Videotape the session.
3. Observe the state of the house. (215)
4. Watch the patient to see if he/she has disconnected the cell phone or home phone to avoid
being interrupted. If the session is interrupted by the phone, what does the patient do?
List 4 guidelines for doing house calls:
1. Chaperone
2. Videotape the session
3. Observe the setting
4. Has the patient disconnected the phone? (216)
QUIZ FOR RAPID REINTEGRATION PROCEDURE STEPS GUIDE:
1. List the 11 steps of an RRP session and briefly what each is.
Step 1: Symptom Orientation Ask the patient to go back to the last time he/she had a strong
experience of the uncomfortable feeling and to let it grow.
Step 2. Affect Bridge There's a memory that goes with that feeling. Don't try to figure it out
logically. Just experience the feeling, and it will take you back to a memory of the very first time
you ever had that uncomfortable feeling.
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State Right there. There's the memory that gave
you that feeling. How Old are you there?
Step 4: Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical experience Take that 5 year old X away
from there. Bring him/her here in this safe place with us. Give him/her a big hug. As you hug
him/her, feel that awful feeling.
Step 5. Communicating With The Distressed Ego State Let him/her tell you what made him/her
feel that way. Now you can understand why he/she kept that uncomfortable feeling bottled up all
these years.
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution With all your wisdom and knowledge as an
adult, do you think 5 year old X still needs to hang on to that uncomfortable feeling? Well then,
you need to convince that 5 year old X that it is no longer necessary to hold onto that
uncomfortable feeling.
Step 7. Resolution - RRP's namesake, resolution refers to resolving the conflict between the
Child and some other ego state, usually a Parent ego state. The hallmark of resolution is that the
Child gets his/her smile back.
Step 8. Confirmation of Resolution (Past Testing) Go all (217-218) the way back to that event at
5 years old and see if the uncomfortable feeling is still there or if he has let go of it.
Step 9. Reintegration Bring 5 year old X back here with us and let him occupy that empty place
in your heart.
Step 10. Confirmation of Reintegration and Future Pacing Go to an event in the future that
would previously have evoked the uncomfortable feeling and see if it is still there.
Step 11. Ego Strengthening and Assertiveness Training-X is just as good as any other human
being. Not perfect, but just as good.
Promises:
(1). Don't let anyone put X down.
(2). Don't you put X down.
(3). Don't put anyone else down. Post hypnotic suggestions as indicated.
2. Explain "affect bridge." Affect Bridge is an uncovering technique. It is the cornerstone of
RRP and the most amazing part of RRP. The RRP therapist asks the patient to close the eyes and
to imagine himself at the last time the symptoms occurred. Experience the feeling and then let
the uncomfortable feeling get stronger. Tell the patient that the uncomfortable feeling will lead
him/her to a memory. "There's a memory that goes with that feeling. Don't think it out logically.
Just feel the feeling and it will carry you back to the memory. Nod your head when you are
there." Now the critical event and the associated ego state have been uncovered.
3. After the dissociated ego state has been uncovered, what do you do next?
Bring the Child away from the critical event here into the present in the safety of the therapist's
office with the Adult and the therapist. Guide the Adult to put his/her arms around the Child and
to give him/her a great big hug. "That's right, he/she needs a big hug. And as you hug him/her,
feel that strong uncomfortable feeling."
4. What is Resolution (Step 7)? Once the Child ego state associated with the symptom and the
feeling has been uncovered, it is necessary to guide the Adult to doing therapy with the Child.
The Adult must convince the Child to let go of the uncomfortable feeling. The memory will still
be there, but the uncomfortable feeling must be removed from it. Resolution is the sine qua non
(absolute prerequisite) step of RRP.
5. When people have trouble letting go of an uncomfortable feeling, it is because they need
the uncomfortable feeling which is serving some purpose. There is a reason for that. What
are the purposes served by the Child's hanging onto the uncomfortable feeling?
a. Not to forget.
b. To protect.
c. To punish
6. What are the three ways of communicating with the unconscious mind? Which is
preferred.
a. Head nods. "Nod your head for yes. Shake your head for no."
b. Short verbalizations. Try to limit verbalization to very short yes and no statements. Long
discussions lead away from RRP.
c. Ideomotor finger signaling. "If yes, that index finger will float up. If no, that thumb will lift."
You may choose any combination of fingers wished; just define them clearly. Head nods are the
preferred method.
7. Why do we say that, when RRP works, the result should be unequivocal and dramatic?
There should be no question about it. After the Adult has convinced the Child to let go of the
uncomfortable feeling, there is a tremendous sense of relief (resolution) and the Child gets
his/her smile back. The resolution is resolution of a conflict between Parent and Child. At this
point, it is likely that Resolution has worked. This is not the end of RRP. There is more work to
do.
8. Reintegration is the whole point of RRP. What is reintegration? When the dissociation
occurred, care of the critical event was assigned to the dissociated ego state. That is the cause of
the unwanted symptoms. The Adult has tremendous resources that the Child does not have. The
Adult can agree to take over that role now. This frees up the child to go back to being a child
and doing the fun things like playing. "Now that 5 year old (X) is feeling so good, bring him/her
with you and he/she can now occupy that empty space in your heart that is his/hers. It belongs to
him/her. It is his/her space, and he/she can now remain there permanently. If that is okay with
you ,when he/she is permanently there in your heart, nod your head." (head nods)
9. The final step of RRP is ego strengthening and self assertiveness training. What are the
three promises you want to extract from the Adult?
1. Never let anyone put X down.
2. Don't you put X down
3. Don't you put anyone else down.
10. If there are multiple dissociated ego states, how does the therapist know when to end
the RRP session or sessions? RRP is over when the symptoms are gone. (220)

14. CHAPTER 14: IDENTIFICATION OF FEELINGS

Frame 194: In this book, we use the terms "feelings" and "emotions" interchangeably.
Traditional psychotherapies are fact driven. The orientation of the therapist is to find the facts.
Traditional psychotherapies are fact driven.
Frame 195: This approach provides its own dilemma. How does the therapist know what the
facts are? Did the material reported by the patient actually occur? Does the therapy uncover false
memories? Does the therapy create false memories? It is an epistemological quagmire.
Traditional psychotherapies suffer from the dilemma of the therapist's uncertainty of knowing
what is real. Frame 196: It is a sort of psychological Heisenberg's uncertainty principal. You
can know the fact or you can know the emotion, but you cannot be sure that you can really know
both at the same time for the same person. Actually, you cannot even be sure that the facts are
correct. It is hard to know if the memories of the patient are actually true. (221)
Frame 197: To make matters worse, people unknowingly and innocently engage in self-deceit
in the way they remember things. It is common for us to remember an event the way we want to
remember it and not the way it actually occurred. It is surprising when a documented record such
as a videotape shows that events occurred differently from the way we genuinely remember it.
People may remember an event very differently from the way it happened or occurred.
Frame 198: Freud's way of handling this was to avoid trying to determine the validity of the
facts and just look at how the patient reacted. Freud was less interested in proving the facts than
in looking at the way the patient reacted to the event.
Frame 199: RRP bypasses these concerns because it is emotions driven and not facts driven.
Frame 200: In fact, with RRP, the patient is not required to present the facts of the critical
events.
Frame 201: RRP runs on feelings as its fuel. (222) RRP is fueled by feelings.
Frame 202: The RRP patient is required to share a little bit about his/her feelings with the RRP
therapist, but not much. While it may be helpful to know what the uncomfortable feelings are, it
is not necessary to state them. In RRP, instead of requiring that the patient apply words to
describe his/her uncomfortable feeling, the RRP therapist may simply refer to it as the
"uncomfortable feeling."
Frame 203: Some examples of uncomfortable feelings are:
1. Anxiety
2. Nervousness
3. Scared
4. Worry
5. Fearfulness
6. Vulnerability
7. Threatened
8. Sadness
9. Pain
10. Hurt
11. Anger
12. Resentment
13. Frustration
14. Guilt
15. Shame
16. Embarrassment
17. Rejection
It may be helpful to reduce the this list to four main feelings: hurt, fear, anger, and guilt, because
they develop in that sequence in the Child. For practical purposes, four main feelings to watch
for are hurt, fear, anger and guilt.
Frame 204: Even if the patient does not want to tell the RRP therapist the nature of his/her
feeling, he/she must tell himself/herself about the feeling. (223) The RRP patient must identify
the uncomfortable feeling to himself/herself.
Frame 205: Why are feelings so important in RRP? The cornerstone of RRP is affect bridge.
Affect bridge runs on feelings. Without the feelings, affect bridge cannot be successful. See
chapter 18: Is your RRP what you think it is? This is important when you encounter defenses.
Affect bridge is the corner stone of RRP, and affect bridge runs on feelings
Frame 206: Begin the RRP session with the intake interview. Specifically, have the patient
define the problem (symptoms) he/she seeks help with. Ask the patient to describe his/her
problem and what it is like having this problem. Ask the patient to describe what it is like living
with his/her problem or symptom
Frame 207: Next ask the patient to identify the feeling or feelings associated with the problem.
For example, "When you have that urge to overeat, what is the feeling that you experience?"The
Intake Interview. Ask the patient to identify the feeling that goes with the symptom. (224)
Ask the patient to go back to the last time he/she experienced the symptom. "There's a
feeling associated with that. Let the feeling grow stronger and nod your head when it is very
strong." Ask the patient to experience the feeling and to let it grow stronger. "Now, feel that, and
let the feeling grow stronger, as much as it safely can." As a learning exercise, it is helpful for
you to consider each feeling individually by writing a fictional essay about the emotion. If you
decide to do this, start by finding a reliable source such as the seventh edition of Kaplan & Sad
dock's COMPREHENSIVE TEXTBOOK OF PSYCHIATRY by Benjamin J. Saddock and
Virginia A. Saddock: Lippincott Williams & Williams, 2 Volumes, 2005, ISBN 0683-30128-4.
In such a textbook emotions are detailed. Here is an example of a creative writing fictional story
of a person experiencing progressively worse stages of fear.
Taste of Fear: He put the last piece of Hershey's light chocolate in his mouth, chewed it seven
times, and stepped out the door into the twilight. It was just half a mile. He could make it before
it got dark. It was a beautiful forest full of good memories for him. As the light faded, the
beautiful pines started to change from charming to skeletal outlines. All he really had to do was
follow the path, nothing so hard. He heard a cat-like purring, but it was too deep for a cat. He
thought about it and stopped. He thought he knew what it was. He had not expected this. There
was a moment of astonishment. "I've heard about it, but I never expected it." Then the fear
started. His pupils dilated, and it seemed more important to see in the dim light. He became
more aware of sounds that did not fit in with the silent forest. He yawned and cleared his ears.
He stopped and looked and listened intently. He could hear better by holding his breath.
There was the purring again. His heart beat faster and harder almost knocking up against his
ribs. A low rattling purr again. He could not see it in the almost dark, but he turned pale. Soon it
would be dark. This was taking too long. It was too far to turn back. He felt a little faint, but
could (225)
not allow that. Not now. Keep your wits.
He could feel and hear his heart beating in his ears now. It did not register, but sweat
broke out on his forehead. Sweat on pale cold skin, cold sweat. The hairs on the back of his neck
stood up.
A stronger deeper purr. A warning. His mouth went dry and there was a metallic taste. How
much adrenalin does it take to taste it? He opened his mouth and then closed it, gulping. He
yawned again, but his lips and jaw trembled. His muscles started to tremble. He tried to whistle.
Make some human noise, a lot. It was feeble. He tried to sing, but his voice broke up.
Another purr followed by a roar. His nostrils flared. The hollows of his cheeks trembled.
His eyes bulged. His pupils dilated completely. Now, when getting farther along to his
destination faster was so important, it became harder to walk as in a nightmare. Finally he broke
out into a full run, the outcome uncertain. End of Story.
Frame 208: Fear and anxiety are described as different. Fear has an object, and anxiety is
unfocused. Fear has an object and anxiety is unfocused.
Frame 209: It will help your RRP skill building if you try to familiarize yourself with as many
feelings as possible. The reason for this is that feelings drive affect bridge.
Frame 210: If you have trouble with the affect bridge step of RRP, try to define the feelings
more clearly that are associated with the patient's symptoms. (226)
THE SPECIAL ROLE OF DREAMS:
Frame 211: The interest in dreams probably goes back to prehistoric times when oracles
predicted the future from people's dreams. The interpretation of dreams was the cornerstone of
Freud's revolutionary new psychoanalysis (Freud, S., THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS
1900.)
The interpretation of dreams was the cornerstone of Freud's psychoanalysis.
Frame 212: In April 1921, Freud accepted A. Kardiner, M.D. as a patient for psychoanalysis
(Kardiner, A., MY ANALYSIS WITH FREUD, W.W. Norton Company, New York, 1977).
Kardiner reported that the interpretation of dreams was an important part of Freud's analysis. He
was impressed with the profound skill Freud had for interpreting dreams. Freud is reported to
have had profound skill at interpreting dreams.
Frame 213: In RRP, we do not give psychoanalytic interpretations. Does that mean that dreams
are to be ignored? Is there some way to make use of dreams? In RRP, we tend not to give
patients interpretations.
Frame 214: Interpretation of dreams is an uncovering technique. RRP uses affect bridge as the
uncovering technique. RRP's uncovering technique is affect bridge. (227)
Frame 215: Affect bridge is the cornerstone of RRP, and affect bridge is founded on feelings.
The identification of feelings is the driving force of RRP. The driving force of RRP is the
identification of feelings which are then used to uncover repressed memories by means of affect
bridge.
Frame 216: Dreams are useful in that a feeling accompanies a dream. This is especially true of
disturbing dreams that awaken people in the middle of the night. It is useful to view disturbing
dreams as an opportunity to identify uncomfortable feelings which in turn can be used to apply
affect bridge.
Frame 217: Uncomfortable feelings may be expressed in disturbing dreams that awaken the
patient. Although we do not interpret dreams in RRP, we can identify the uncomfortable feeling
and use that to employ affect bridge. Disturbing dreams are useful as a way to identify
uncomfortable feelings that can be used to apply affect bridge.
Frame 218: When nightmares and troublesome dreams awaken patients in the middle of the
night, patients find themselves upset and confused about what's going on, and have trouble
getting back to sleep. RRP suggests a different way for patients to think of such dreams. They do
not need to interpret their dreams. Instead, we ask them to identify the feelings that go with the
uncomfortable dream. (228)
Frame 219: The feeling unmasked by the disturbing dream is applied to affect bridge. This
constructive use of a disturbing feeling demonstrate the optimism of RRP. In RRP the
unmasking of unwanted feelings can be put to constructive use.
Frame 220: This demonstrates that RRP is an optimistic approach.
Practical Identification of Feelings:
Frame 221: In the actual daily practice of RRP, Dr. Barnett looks for fear, pain, anger, and
guilt. Four basic feelings to look for in RRP therapy are fear, pain, anger, and guilt.
Frame 222: Guilt is the most powerful of the imprisoning feelings. The most powerful of the
imprisoning feelings is guilt.
Frame 223: Shame goes with guilt, and both result from disapproval. Disapproval results in
guilt and shame. (229)
Frame 224: Guilt and shame contain the three elements fear, pain, and anger. More
specifically, the fear component of guilt and shame is the fear of abandonment. Guilt and shame
arise from disapproval and are composed of three basic feelings fear, pain, anger.
Frame 225: The fear component of guilt and shame is the fear of abandonment. The hurt
component is from loss. The anger arises from the injustice.
The components of guilt and shame are:
1. Fear of abandonment
2. Hurt from loss.
3. Anger at the injustice (230)
IDENTIFICATION OF FEELINGS QUIZ:
1. Traditional psychotherapies search for something and are based on that something.
What is that something? In contrast, RRP is based on and makes extensive use of
something else. What is that something else? Traditional psychotherapies are based on facts.
The therapist tries to find the facts. In contrast, RRP is driven by feelings. The therapist uses the
symptoms to find the feelings, and the feelings to apply affect bridge which uncovers the critical
events. In RRP we use feelings to uncover hidden dissociated ego states usually but not always,
Child ego states.
2. List a bunch of uncomfortable feelings.
A bunch of uncomfortable feelings: Please notice that we call these "uncomfortable feelings"
and not "bad feelings." Dr. Barnett thinks "bad feelings" is too harsh a term.
1. Anxiety
2. Nervousness
3. Scared
4. Worry
5. Fearfulness
6. Vulnerability
7. Threatened
8. Sadness
9. Pain
10. Hurt
11. Anger
12. Resentment
13. Frustration
14. Guilt
15. Shame
16. Embarrassment
17. Rejection
3. Why are feelings so important in RRP? The cornerstone of RRP is affect bridge. Affect
bridge runs on feelings. Without feelings, affect bridge cannot be successful.
4. Have you practiced writing fictional essays about some of your favorite uncomfortable
feelings? If not, do so, but don't do it only as a vague idea of the feeling.
Look in a reliable source such as the seventh edition (or more recent) of Kaplan & Saddock's
COMPREHENSIVE TEXTBOOK OF PSYCHIATRY by Benjamin J. Saddock and Virginia A.
Sad dock, published by Lippincott Williams & Williams, 2 Volumes, 2005, ISBN
0-683-30128-4. Find out the psychodynamics behind that feeling, and physiologic signs of
expressing that feeling
5. How does the RRP therapist interpret dreams? The interpretation of dreams was one of
Sigmund Freud's greatest achievements. He was said to be very good at it. Psychoanalysts and
psychoanalytic therapists interpret dreams. (232) The RRP therapist does not interpret dreams. In
RRP, we do not give interpretations. Instead, the central topic is the feeling that accompanies the
disturbing dream or accompanies the disturbing symptom. By identifying and experiencing that
feeling, affect bridge can be employed to uncover a memory and associated dissociated ego
state.
6. What are the three most important feelings, from the RRP perspective? Guilt, fear, and
hurt.
7. What is the most powerful of the imprisoning feelings? Guilt. Guilt is often accompanied
by shame, and both arise from disapproval. Fear, pain, and anger. The fear is the fear of
abandonment.
The hurt is from loss. The anger is at the injustice. (233)

15. CHAPTER 15: THE INTAKE INTERVIEW

Goals of the RRP Intake Interview:
1. Age and gender
2. Marital status
3. Education and Occupation
4. Children
5. Grandchildren
6. Siblings
7. Parents
8. Other significant people, other negative people
9. Patient's description of the problem
10. Present medications
11. Past psychiatric history and previous psychotherapy.
12. Significant traumatic events and patient's ages at those times.
13. Significant health problems
14. Was this Child wanted?
15. Was this Child born of the right gender to please the parents?
16. Nature of love relationships formed.
17. Evaluate self-esteem.
18. Family history of the problem.
19. What are the feelings associated with the symptoms?
20. Provide suggestions that will facilitate the RRP session. (234)
Frame 226: In the early 1950's, students and friends of Harry Stack Sullivan pooled their notes
and recordings of lectures he gave in 1944, 1945, and 1946-47. From this material, they
produced a book about the psychiatric interview (Harry Stack Sullivan, M.D., THE
PSYCHIATRIC INTERVIEW, edited by Helen Swick Perry and Mary Ladd Gawel; W.W.
Norton & Company, Inc., New York, 1954.) Harry Stack Sullivan proposed helpful ideas about
how to conduct the psychiatric interview (or intake interview).
Frame 227: Sullivan was dealing with patients who were negative and mistrustful about being
hospitalized because they were well defended or involuntarily committed by a family member,
or going through an involuntary court-ordered psychiatric evaluation. He synthesized from his
experiences helpful guidelines for how to do the psychiatric interview or intake interview
Frame 228: Sullivan found that the cooperation of the hostile or mistrustful patient can be
secured by showing the patient that he/she can be benefitted by the interview
Frame 229: Impressing the patient with the serious intent of the interviewer can be
accomplished in part by treating the patient with respect. (235)
Frame 230: Sullivan found that no one can understand the ills of a person without getting to
know that person. To understand a patient's problem, the therapist must get to know that person.
Frame 231: In RRP, we conduct the intake interview in a friendly relaxed way just like an
informal conversation.
Frame 232: It is not necessary to proceed linearly or logically. It is best to let the interview flow
comfortably for the patient. The therapist gently guides the conversation rather than pushing it.
Frame 233: Just as the therapist is getting to know the patient and size him or her up, the
patient is getting to know the therapist and is sizing him/her up. In the psychiatric interview
both patient and therapist are getting to each know other and to size each other up.
Frame 234: To this end, it is helpful if the therapist reveals some small thing about
himself/herself in their informal chat that will help the patient to get to know the therapist, but
this is not mandatory. (236)
Frame 235: As you size the patient up and the patient sizes you up, there are other hidden parts
(ego states) of the patient sizing you up. During the intake interview, hidden parts or ego states
are sizing up the therapist.
Frame 236: The RRP intake interview lasts from 20 to 60 minutes. In theory, a much shorter
interview could be done, and sometimes the authors have achieved success with interviews as
short as 4 or 5 minutes. Most commonly, the RRP intake interview lasts 20 to 60 minutes.
Frame 237: The main goal of the RRP intake interview is to gain insight as to where the
dissociated ego states are and how many there are. The main goal of the RRP intake interview is
to be alerted to where the dissociated ego states are and their ages.
Frame 238: Some patients have commented that a major feature they liked of the intake
interview is that the RRP therapist was nonjudgmental. RRP patients benefit from a
non-judgmental attitude of the RRP therapist. (237)
Frame 239: Dr. Tkach, begins the visit by making five promises to the RRP patient. "Before
we start talking about your feelings, let me take a moment to welcome you. I want to make some
promises to you about working with me. I don't know if you will ever need to come back, but if
you do, I hope, when you walk into the room, you will think to yourself, 'I've been here before. I
know this person. It is safe here. He is going to help me." These are RRP indirect suggestions
facilitating the RRP.
Frame 240:
1. Here you are going to be taken seriously.
2. Here you will be treated with respect and dignity.
3. You are here to be benefited, so you should be benefitted. When you work with me, you want
to get results. With RRP, results are usually dramatic. There will be no question in your mind
that things have changed. It will be like getting out of jail. If you don't get results, it means we
need to do another session.
4. You will be in control at all times.
5. You do not have to tell me anything private or personal or embarrassing or secret. Your
secrets can remain secret. Actually, I think you are going to enjoy this." Before starting the
interview, welcome the patient, make promises of respectful treatment and assure that patient
that he/she will be in control at all times.
Frame 241: It is possible to gain the trust of the RRP patient by making these promises to
him/her right at the start. Facilitating indirect suggestions include: (238)
1. Here you are going to be taken seriously:
Frame 242:
2. Here you will be treated with dignity and respect
Frame 243:
3. Here you will get results:
Frame 244:
4. Here you will be in control at all times.
Frame 245:
5. You do not need to reveal anything secret or personal or private or embarrassing.
Frame 246: Dr. Tkach has found that in giving the patient these messages, the patient now feels
in control and is comfortable providing information that would not otherwise have been easy to
talk about. By giving control to the patient, the patient is freed up to talk about things of a
personal or private nature if he/she wishes, that is, on his/her own terms. While RRP does not
require patients to reveal anything private, the intake interview provides an opportunity for the
unconscious to communicate with the RRP therapist. (239)
Frame 247: The intake interview is an opportunity for the unconscious to communicate with
the RRP therapist.
Frame 249: We have found that patients, on their own, frequently reveal the nature of the
problem and the location of the dissociated ego state within the first 1 1/2 minutes to 7 minutes
of the intake interview. Usually patients spontaneously reveal the basic nature of the
dissociated ego state within the first one to seven minutes.
GOALS OF THE INTAKE INTERVIEW
Goal 1: What is the problem (symptom) the patient seeks help for and what are the
feelings associated with it?
Frame 249: Initially, it is helpful to get an idea of what is bothering the patient. These
problems can be listed by the patient. Try to connect the complaints (symptoms, problems) to a
list of uncomfortable feelings:
Frame 250: A problem (an unwanted behavior), such as alcoholism, overeating, stage fright,
test anxiety, etc. is referred to as a symptom. (240)
Frame 251: Since RRP is feelings-driven, try to define the feelings that are most uncomfortable.
Frame 252: Help the patient to clarify which feeling is strongest and that he/she would like to
start with. Going through the feelings checklist may enumerate many feelings. Say to the patient,
"Of these feelings, which is bothering you the most. Which feeling or uncomfortable feeling do
you want to start with? Tell me more about that uncomfortable feeling."
Frame 253: The reason it is so important to carefully identify and clarify the uncomfortable
feelings is that affect bridge, the cornerstone of RRP, starts with the uncomfortable feeling.
Frame 254: One of the most important tasks of the intake interview is to clarify the
uncomfortable feelings that are bothering the patient.
Frame 255: The more clearly and precisely you have identified the uncomfortable feelings, the
better the RRP session will go. (241)
Frame 256: The problems, symptoms, or uncomfortable feelings initially listed by the patient
may differ from what actually emerges in the RRP session. The repressed uncomfortable
feelings that need to be worked on may differ from the patient's stated complaints.
Frame 257: Sean complained of feelings of sadness, anxiety, and depression. In RRP,
following the feelings of sadness and anxiety became productive, but what emerged were
feelings of low self-esteem. During the interview, the patient almost always drops hints of the
hidden problem. Sean was an extremely bright person with a high I.Q. who worked as a laborer.
This was a clue to his low self-esteem
Frame 258: The therapist must not be critical of the patient and his symptoms. In RRP, the
therapist will come to realize what one therapist stated: "I am not blaming them (the patients) for
their symptoms. Because the symptoms are just a defense against what they are trying to cope
with." Joan Murray-Jobsis 3/5/95 In RRP, we are not tempted to blame the patient for his/her
symptoms.
Frame 259: This seemingly trivial distinction is important because it allows the therapist to
relate to the patient as a person, to be genuinely freed up to concentrate on what the patient
needs and to help the patient. (242) By viewing the patient as a person, the therapist becomes
freed up to help him/her.
Goal 2: Who is this person?
Each person wears many hats. To enumerate them, we ask specific questions such as:
1. Age and gender.
2. Marital status and if the patient has been married before.
3. Highest level of education and occupation(s): what is the patient's self identity? Does the
patient's job reflect the degree of education?
4. Children names, ages, jobs.
5. Grandchildren names, ages, jobs.
6. Siblings. How did the patient get along with the siblings? Was there sibling rivalry? How does
the patient get along with the siblings today? Were there other significant friends outside the
family? Did the siblings do things that hurt the patient? George was terribly abused by his older
brothers. Sheryl was repeatedly raped by her four brothers and grandfather from age 5 until she
got out of the house at age 14.
7. Parents: What were mother and father like? How did the patient relate to them? Did the
parents hug and express love to the patient as a small child?
8. Other significant people in the patient's childhood. Are there other adults who did parenting?
Are there other negative adults?
9. The patient's description of the problem.
10. Present medications.
11. Past psychiatric history and previous psychotherapy.
12. Significant traumatic events and patient's ages at those times.
13. Significant health problems.
14. Was this Child wanted? (243)
15. Was this Child born of the right gender to please the parents?
16. What types of love relationships does this person form, strong attachments or self-centered?
17. Evaluate self-esteem. How does he/she feel about himself/herself? "Do you like (name of
self)?"
18. Is there a family history of this problem?
19. What are the feelings the patient has at the time of expression of the symptoms?
Frame 260: List the categories information sought in the intake interview.
Answer: Same as list in 259.
Frame 261: By letting the patient express and describe his/her feelings and problems, the
therapist plants the unconscious indirect suggestion that these are problems that this RRP session
is going to help. (244)
Goals 1 and 2 plant an indirect suggestion that these problems will be helped by RRP.
Frame 262: As you begin using RRP, it may seem to you that you must get points 1-13 written
down. We believe that is not necessary. Our experience is that the most important things to do in
the RRP intake interview are to establish rapport with the patient, to find out what symptoms
he/she needs help with, and what feelings accompany those symptoms.
The important things to do in the RRP intake interview are:
1. Establish rapport with the patient.
2. Define the symptoms
3. Identify the feelings that go with the symptoms.
Goal 3: Gaps in memory:
Frame 263: At certain points in the interview, Harry Stack Sullivan pointed out that the
therapist, based on the experience of doing interviews, learns to expect certain information.
When that information is not forthcoming, the RRP therapist is alerted that there may be
dissociated ego states at these ages.
Frame 264: Gary could not remember anything about his childhood before age 8. It was a blank
for him. His most significant dissociated ego states turned out to be at ages 4 and 7 when his
brothers abused him. (245) Gaps in memory or information are helpful to the RRP may provide
a clue to hidden ego states
Goal 4: Trust in the Therapist:
Frame 265: Hypnotherapist Bernauer Newton made 59 videotapes of his conversations with
other hypnotherapists and their induction techniques. He asked, "What made the difference
between an average therapist and a great therapist?" While he could not quite put his finger on it,
he concluded that it was something about the personality of the therapist and not the training or
knowledge of the therapist, assuming that the therapist had good training. Dr. B. Newton
speculated that great success in psychotherapy had something to do with the personality of the
therapist.
Frame 266: Dr. Tkach, after spending several hundreds of hours viewing Dr. Newton's
videotapes, concluded that it was a matter of trust. Some therapists have personalities that
patients find easy to trust right from the start. Dr. Tkach concluded that great results in
psychotherapy issue from the patient's ability to trust the therapist. Some therapists are better at
projecting a trustworthy image.
Frame 267: Why is that? Why is trust so important? All forms of psychotherapy suffer from
the same problem. The patient must trust the therapist enough to reveal his/her innermost
personal, embarrassing, and private secrets. This requires the ability to trust (246) the therapist,
and some therapists project an image that is easier to trust than others. All forms of
psychotherapy suffer from one problem, they require that the patient be able to trust the
therapist.
Frame 268: In RRP also, the patient must trust the therapist. But in RRP, the patient need not
divulge any private or secret information. This makes it much easier for the patient to trust the
RRP therapist. RRP gets around the main stumbling block of traditional psychotherapies by not
requiring the patient to divulge or reveal any private details.
Frame 269: Kathryn had a history of many years of compulsively digging holes in her face.
RRP helped her tremendously. When asked how she felt about not being asked to reveal
anything private to the therapist, she reported with a big smile, "That's why I quit working with
the other two therapists after two years each. That's why it (RRP) worked for me." In RRP, it is
easier for the patient to trust the RRP therapist because the RRP therapist does not ask the patient
to reveal anything private.
Goal 5: Screen Memories:
Frame 270: Although not common, screen memories are useful when they occur. Screen
memories are a concept described by Sigmund Freud. A screen memory is a disproportionately
nostalgic feeling (247) about a memory. The screen memory is a pleasant and acceptable
memory that hides a painful and unpleasant memory in such a way that the painful memory
cannot be seen. A screen memory hides a painful or unpleasant memory. It is a coping
mechanism.
Frame 271: Screen memories betray themselves by their inappropriateness. Kathryn had bad
memories of her childhood and mother. Kathryn chose to use mother's house as a therapeutic
"safe place." "I always feel safe and calm at my mother's house." This did not make sense.
During step 4 of RRP (bring that child here in this safe place with us) Kathryn chose her
mother's home. Limited RRP progress was made because this choice of a safe place reinforced
the defense of the screen memory and blocked therapy. Kathryn was asked to "bring the child
here with us in this office," and then the remaining feelings were resolved. It is possible for the
unconscious mind to defend against a painful memory by substituting a pleasant memory that
will screen out the painful memory.
Frame 272: Jeff's symptoms were facial tics and an unconscious scratching that he described as
"the itchless itch." These symptoms occur when he is under stress at high level business
meetings. Affect bridge failed because he could not identify a feeling associated with the
symptoms. A way for the unconscious mind to defend against RRP therapy is to block
recognition of the uncomfortable feeling.
Frame 273: Jeff is a man of great self confidence. Suspecting that the confidence was hiding an
uncomfortable feeling, Dr. Tkach asked (248) Jeff to experience the self confidence and to let it
lead him back to the first time he felt that way. Jeff regressed to age 14 when he was sent away
to boarding school and felt very insecure. In RRP, he worked on the events associated with the
feeling of insecurity. A strongly positive feeling may hide the true uncomfortable feeling
Frame 274: A hallmark of screen memories is that that they are intensely nostalgic.
Goal 6: Feelings Associated with the Symptoms
Frame 275: Since RRP is feelings driven, we want to know what feelings the patient has when
he/she experiences the symptoms. In the actual daily practice of RRP, Dr. Barnett looks for fear,
pain, anger, and guilt. Four basic feelings to look for in RRP therapy are fear, pain, anger and
guilt.
Frame 276: Guilt is the most powerful of the imprisoning feelings. The most powerful of the
imprisoning feelings is guilt.
Frame 277: Shame goes with guilt, and both result from disapproval. (249) Guilt and shame
arise from disapproval. Disapproval results in guilt and shame.
Frame 278: Guilt and shame contain the three elements fear, pain, and anger. More
specifically, the fear component of guilt and shame is the fear of abandonment. Guilt and shame
arise frm disapproval and are composed of three basic feelings fear, pain, anger.
Frame 279: The fear component of guilt and shame is the fear of abandonment. The hurt
component is from loss. The anger arises from the injustice. The components of guilt and shame
are: Fear of abandonment, Hurt from loss and Fear of abandonment and Anger at the injustice.
Goal 7: Facilitating The RRP Session:
Frame 280: The intake interview is an opportunity to plant suggestions that will facilitate the
RRP session. "What do you know about how I help people?" This is not really a question. It is
an opportunity to plant the suggestion that this session is going to help the patient. If the patient
responds to the question, it means he/she has accepted the suggestion. (250)
Frame 281: If you can reassure the hidden Child ego state that it is going to feel comfortable
with the RRP session and benefit from it, that hidden ego state will find it easier to reveal itself.
Suggestions given at the end of the intake interview can facilitate uncovering the traumatized
Child ego state.
Frame 282:
These statements are phrased in such a way as to look like they are directed at the Adult, but in
fact count on the Child ego state's eavesdropping. "What we are going to do is very simple. You
will find it fun. You do not need to do any work. You do not need to think about it. It just
happens all by itself. You will be in control at all times. You do not need to tell me anything you
don't want to. You really don't. There's a little patient's name hidden inside." "It has been cooped
up all these years. It has been doing a difficult job, and it has done a good job. It has held onto
those uncomfortable feelings for you and protected you. When that little part can let go of those
uncomfortable feelings, it can be happy again. It can smile, and play, and have fun."
The effect of previous psychotherapy:
Frame 283: We have found that previous non-RRP psychotherapy is often helpful. It may give
the patient insight into problem areas, making it easier to locate suspected dissociated ego states
during the process of the RRP intake interview. However, it can also guide patients away from
the important areas. In general, previous psychotherapy is helpful in locating dissociated ego
states especially Parent or parental ego states. (251)
THE INTAKE INTERVIEW QUIZ:
1. Harry Stack Sullivan found that the cooperation of the patient is easier to obtain when
the patient perceives what? If the patient can see that the intake interview will somehow
benefit him or her, it is more likely to be successful. In RRP, we are concerned with getting
permission of the unconscious to try to help the patient.
2. Does the RRP therapist conduct the psychiatric interview in chronological order? No.
Unlike a medical or surgical history, the RRP psychiatric interview unfolds at a pace set by the
unconscious mind. It does not occur logically or linearly. It is more a matter of wanting to know
certain things rather than revealing them in precise chronological order.
3. What is the main goal of the RRP intake interview? It is helpful before starting the actual
RRP session to go into the session knowing where the dissociated ego states are likely to be.
Very often as the RRP session progresses, surprise hidden, unexpected ego states may also be
uncovered.
4. What is another major practical goal of the RRP intake interview? In the initial RRP
intake interview, it is essential to define the symptom or symptoms and the feelings the patient
experiences with the symptom. The more precisely and vividly you identify the feeling, the
better affect bridge will work. Affect bridge is the corner stone and "sine qua non" (absolute
prerequisite) of RRP.
5. Why do we look for gaps in memory? Harry Stack Sullivan determined by experience that
at certain stages of the interview, certain types of memories should emerge. If they do not, there
is valuable repressed information there. Sometimes we encounter patients who have no memory
of long stretches of time in childhood such as no memory before the age of 8 years
6. How does RRP handle the issue of the patient's trust in the therapist? The major flaw of
most forms of psychotherapy is that the patient must reveal the most private, embarrassing,
personal, and secret material to the therapist. Sometimes the patient trusts the therapist right at
the start. Sometimes, therapists require many months or longer to gain the patient's trust. RRP
sidesteps this bottleneck. In RRP we do not require that the patient tell us anything of an
embarrassing personal nature. (252-243) Although helpful, it is not necessary that the patient
develop a deep trust in the therapist. Interestingly, after the RRP session patients usually are
freed up to talk about things that a few minutes earlier they did not even consciously have
awareness of.
7. What is the effect of previous non-RRP psychotherapy? Our experience has been that
previous psychotherapy, even though not RRP, is usually helpful for RRP. We value the work
done by previous therapists.
8 What are screen memories and what is their significance? Freud found that sometimes a
defensive barrier can be placed over a traumatic memory to repress it and to protect the
personality from the painful experience. When the patient tries to remember events around a
painful event such as the death of a relative, the painful memories are repressed and replaced
with a very profoundly nostalgic memory of some other activity at that time such as going for a
walk by a lake with a relative. This nostalgic memory is acceptable to the conscious mind.
9. What is the hallmark of a screen memory? A screen memory is intensely nostalgic. The
intensity of the nostalgia must match or exceed the pain of the memory of the traumatic event.
You are alerted to screen memories when the intensity of the nostalgia does not fit the event.
Screen memory is a defense erected to protect the main personality.
10. What four main feelings might you be watching for during the intake interview? Fear,
pain (or hurt), anger, and guilt. (254)

16. CHAPTER 16: CRIMES AND PRISONS OF THE MIND

Frame 284: RRP respects the legitimacy of feelings. When events cause the Child to feel
uncomfortable, there is a reason for that. No one wants to go through life suffering from an
uncomfortable feeling. Yet the person is entitled to have that uncomfortable feeling because it is
based on events that happened (or that seem real to the patient). RRP acknowledges the
legitimacy of the patient's feelings.
Frame 285: Society gives the Child messages that deny the Child's right to his/her feelings.
Consider expressions such as:
"1. Don't feel bad.
2. Don't feel that way.
3. Don't be so negative.
4. You are always thinking the worst. Don't do that.
5. Can't you let go of it?
6. Stop talking that way.
7. you are too sensitive."
Our society often denies a person's needs and rights to uncomfortable feelings.
Frame 286: Such instructions give the person the feeling that he/she is an unworthy person,
unworthy of having such feelings, and thus worthless. Denying the legitimacy of a person's
feelings gives that person a message that he/she is worthless or unworthy. (255)
Frame 287: The uncomfortable feelings, however, do not go away. These uncomfortable
feelings do not go away.
Frame 288: The person feels guilty for having the uncomfortable feelings. People are given the
message that it is bad to express their feelings, that they should feel guilty for wanting to talk
about their feelings. People are given the message that, even if you do not talk about the
feelings, you are guilty if you even experience them. People are given the message that it is a
crime to experience uncomfortable feelings, and to express those feelings.
Frame 289: This leads to feelings of worthlessness or low self esteem.
Frame 290: This places the person in a double bind. He/she cannot get the uncomfortable
feeling out. Instead of discharging the uncomfortable feeling, he/she turns it inward and hides it.
When the child cannot discharge the uncomfortable feeling, he/she internalizes and hides it.
Frame 291: Eventually, expressing any feeling causes the person to feel guilty. Without being
able to discharge uncomfortable feelings, the person becomes hopelessly imprisoned by them,
and it keeps them bottled up the entire life. This leads to symptom formation. Symptoms arise
from events causing uncomfortable feelings (256) that must be kept bottled up inside. Thus the
person becomes imprisoned by those uncomfortable feelings and develops symptoms
Frame 292: Our goals in RRP are to discover these repressed feelings and the events that
caused them and to set the patient free from the prisons of the mind. RRP seeks to set people
free from the prisons of themmind
Frame 293: Dr. Barnett wrote a book about these problems and solutions to them (Barnett,
Edgar A., UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE FREE! A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO
HYPNOTHERAPY, 2nd edition 2005 now available at Junica Publishing. People become
imprisoned by feelings of 1. anger, 2. pain and sadness, 3. guilt, and fear. Uncomfortable
feelings such as anger, pain and sadness, guilt, and fear become bottled up and imprison the
mind.
Categories of Crimes of Childhood: The "crimes" committed by the Child can be categorized
into eight topics. (257)
CRIME 1: I AM HERE.
Frame 294: The unwanted child may have been an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy or the
unwelcome feeling may emerge later. Usually, it is obvious to the Child by age eight or earlier
that he/she is unwanted and not supposed to be alive. Children recognize by age eight or earlier
if they are unwanted.
Frame 295: This child's crime is that of existing
Frame 296: By crime, we mean an act that is a danger to the peace and order of society, more
specifically that of the parents and family. A crime is an act that is threatening to the peace
and order of society, namely that of the parents or the family.
Frame 297: The issue is not whether the Child poses an actual threat. It is a distorted, child's
perspective of the situation. The Child is growing and developing, trying to make sense of the
world around him/her. Later, when grown up, the Adult person can put things into their proper
perspective in such a way that an Adult would not be threatened by that situation.
The message being input by the Child is that he/she is unwanted and therefore should not exist
or be alive (258)
Frame 298: The earliest crime an individual can commit is crime of existing.
Frame 299: This is an especially sad event. The child feels intensely guilty for existing. He/she
has never been loved, never been hugged, never been cuddled, never been praised. No matter
what he/she does it will not gain the born of the love mother and father that the Child so
desperately needs.
Frame 300: These babies were rejected before they were born.
Frame 301: The Child does not understand that the responsibility for existence should not be
charged to an infant
Frame 302: The Child only realizes that his/her very existence is causing distress to others and
meeting with grave disapproval. The Child does not have the perspective of understanding what
the grown ups are thinking and only sees that his/her very existence is unacceptable (259)
Frame 303: Such individuals try to lead a life in which they are insignificant, and sadly, they
may eventually commit suicide (suicide also in a broad sense such as an alcoholic drinking
himself/herself to death). The unwanted child feels for existing and cannot
allow himself/herself to lead a happy life.
Frame 304: An RRP clue to this crime is presented at the time of the RRP steps 2 and 3. Affect
bridge has difficulty uncovering the dissociated ego state. A solution to this dilemma is to ask
open ended questions. "Does this feeling occur before age 10?" Head nods yes. "Is it there before
age 5?" Head nods yes. Continuing along this line, the therapist is surprised to learn "is it there
before age 1?" Head nods yes. "Is it at birth?" Head nods yes or the p~tient shrugs his/her
shoulders. "Is it there before Diane was bbrn?" Head nods yes. An important clue to a problem
with rejection of the unwanted child is that the feeling of rejection can be traced back to before
the baby was born
Frame 305: The RRP therapist handles this by having a talk with the parent ego state. "Would
it be all right for me to talk to Mother?" Head nods yes. " Mother, are you telling Diane
something bad that hurts her?" Head nods yes. "Are you telling her she is bad?" Head nods yes?
"Is she really bad? Head shakes no. "Do you have to keep on telling her that?" and so on. The
RRP therapist handles the hostile parent ego state by talking to the Parent ego state and using the
authority of the therapist to correct things. (260)
Frame 306: If that does not work, there is another strategy. In dealing with the Parent ego state
giving the damaging message to the Child, that Parent ego state is an engram constructed by the
Child at an early age such as before 6 years old. You can take the wind out of the sails of the
hostile Parent ego state by revealing that Mother/Father is only 6 years old or younger. A hostile
Parent ego state can be adjusted by revealing that the Parent is only a few years old.
Frame 307: Another clue to the crime of existing can be found by regressing the Child to
shortly after birth and asking, "Does baby Diane feel welcome?" It is likely that in this situation
the baby does not feel welcome and feels guilt for existing or being there.
CRIME 2: I AM A GIRL/BAY (PERSON OF THE WRONG GENDER TO SUIT THE
PARENTS).
Frame 308: If the child is a boy, but the parents wanted a girl, he may behave like a girl in
order to gain acceptance by the parents. The Child born of the gender opposite what the parents
were hoping for will try to gain acceptance by earnestly behaving like a person of the opposite
sex.
Frame 309: More importantly, such messages from the Parents give the child the message of
his/her being guilty of existing as just described above. (261)
Frame 310: The major feeling rejection
Frame 311: The Child feels guilty because he/she is of the wrong sex or gender.
Frame 312: A girl who had been expected to be a boy behaves by dressing like a boy, playing
male sports, competing with boys, and despising girls. Such a girl will become depressed at
puberty when menarche occurs and she grows breasts, and she realizes that she can no longer
deny that she is a girl.
Frame 313: A person given the message that he/she was born of the wrong sex may experience
difficulty in expressing his/her normal sexuality
Frame 314: Feelings of unworthiness and depression are natural responses to rejection. Obesity
can be a way for women to deny their femininity. (262)
CRIME 3: I AM ANGRY:
Frame 315: Feelings are an important part of the survival mechanism. Feelings are normal and
enable us to survive and cope with reality
Frame 316: Anger is a primary emotion that protects us.
Frame 317: Uncontrolled anger produces alarming consequences. The Child becomes angry in
response to parental injustices. If the parent's responses are extreme, the Child may be severely
reprimanded and subjected to a frightening display of anger, and thus the infant or child will
quickly become aware that he has committed a crime. He feels angry but learns that he must not
express that anger.
Frame 318: This changes into "only bad people express anger." A small child does not
understand bad or good. He/she only comprehends parental acceptance or rejection. The idea of
"being bad" becomes associated with parental rejection.
Frame 319: This is why we often, in talking to a hostile parental ego state will use a dialog
such as; "Could I talk to Mother?" (Head nods yes.) "Mother, are you (263) telling little Karen
something bad?" (Head nods yes) "Are you telling her she is bad?" (Head nods yes.) "Did she do
something bad? " (Heads nods yes) What she did, was it really all that bad?" (Head shakes no.)
"Is she really bad? (Head shakes no.) "Is she really a pretty good kid?" (Head nods yes.) "Well
then, do you have to keep telling her she's bad?" (Head shakes no.) "Well then, you've got to tell
her that. Tell her she's good and you love her, tell her you love her and ask her to forgive you,
and you forgive her." .... and so on or some variation of this. The RRP therapist can talk to the
Parent ego state and enlist his/her help in correcting parental injustices. The Parent can be
coaxed into forgiving the Child and promising not to keep telling the child he/she is bad.
Frame 320: This reconciliation allows Parent and Child to forgive each other and for the Child
to let go of the anger that arose from the rejection:
Frame 321 If this is not done, anger will be repressed but never really abolished.
Frame 322: Repressed anger often comes out as compulsive overeating.
Frame 323: In such cases, affect bridge is likely to uncover a critical event in early childhood.
By resolving the fear, anger, and guilt associated (264) with the critical event, the Adult is now
freed up to express anger appropriately and safely.
CRIME 4: I AM AFRAID:
Frame 324: Fear is a normal protective emotion that warns us of danger and mobilizes our
flight response so that we can flee from peril. Fear is a normal emotion. Fear protects us from
danger.
Frame 325: If a child, frightened by an experience, is prevented full expression of the fear by
the parent, the child will feel he/she has committed a crime. He/she is afraid, but because his/her
fear is unacceptable, he/she must lock it up and he/she becomes incarcerated within his/her own
prison of fear. Critical events leading to fear may be of a dangerous or threatening nature.
Frame 326: Because fear and protection are necessary for survival, fear may be difficult to
relinquish.
Frame 327: The RRP therapist handles this by guiding the Adult ego state to do two things.
The dialog goes like this: "So, she is holding on to the fear to protect you. Now we know. What
do you think? Does she need to keep holding on to that fear?" Head shakes no. "Well, then,
you're going to have to convince her it's okay to let go of it. (1). Would you thank her for
protecting you all these years?" Head nods yes. (2). "If she's been willing to protect you, could
(265) you take over now and promise her that you will protect her and that it's safe for her to let
go of the fear?" Head nods yes. "Well, tell her that and when you are done let me know." (10-15
second pause and head nods yes) "Has she let go of the fear?" (head nods yes) "Is it really all
gone?" (head nods yes) "Then that must be quite a relief. Does she have her smile back?" (head
nods yes)."
The RRP therapist helps the Child ego state to let go of the fear by guiding the Adult ego state to
doing two things:
1. Thanking the Child for protecting him/her all these years. 2. Promising to protect the Child
from now on.
CRIME 5. I HURT:
Frame 328: Hurt is the most fundamental emotion. The trauma of rejection, whether imagined
or real, is the most severe. The hurt that comes with the trauma of rejection is a most
fundamental emotion.
Frame 329: Hurt is expressed in a clumsy manner, and its expression is met with stern
admonishment. Hurt is difficult to express clearly and often goes misinterpreted by others.
Frame 330: When the Child is given the message that he/she is not allowed to feel hurt or pain,
the result is to produce a flat, unfeeling personality that feels no emotion and expresses no
emotion
and despises the showing of emotion. (266)
emotion
Frame 331: Such children are told to shut up and stop complaining. This trauma occurs
repeatedly in the person's childhood.
Frame 332: Unfortunately, the more we try not to feel hurt the more our discomfort grows.
Frame 333: A clue to look for feelings of hurting and pain is that the patient says, "I don't care."
CRIME 6. I LOVE.
Frame 334: Love is a normal human feeling. We wish to love and to be loved. Sigmund Freud
considered love in this way. He proposed that there are two types of love, anaclitic and
narcissistic.
Freud divided love into two categories, anaclitic(attachment) and narcissistic (self-centered).
Frame 335: Anaclitic love involves a tight bond (attachment) that the person has with the
object of his emotion. If the relationships with the parents have been good, girls fall in love with
men who remind them of their father specifically the protective aspects. (267)
Frame 336: Boys fall in love with girls who remind them of their mother, specifically, the
nurturing aspect.
Frame 337: Narcissistic relationships involve falling in love with someone who reminds you of
yourself, who you used to be, or what you wish you could become. Narcissistic relationships are
common in settings where circumstances prevent a strong woman from fulfilling her potential.
She is attached to a strong man, such a wealthy man or powerful man. A narcissistic woman
chooses a strong man to fall in love with because he reminds her of: 1. herself, 2. what she used
to be and 3. what she wants to be.
Frame 338: In our present society, many children must learn to be self-sufficient because one
of the parents is missing or the child is alone at home for long periods of time. For the purpose
of survival, such children must learn to view their world from a narcissistic point of view.
Frame 339: They do not have the luxury of developing their anaclitic side. (268)
Frame 340: The price of the narcissistic relationship is that when one of the partners does not
live up to the other's expectation, there is a temptation to say, "I don't know what I ever saw in
him in the first place," and to leave the relationship. A narcissistic relationship is vulnerable to
one of the partners' not living up to the other's expectations.
Frame 341: Traumatic events may occur in early childhood that prevent or punish the child
trying to express love and seeking love. This is seen when mother is trying to protect the child
from a father whom mother fears may try to physically or sexually abuse the Child. The message
may be, "Stay away from your father. Don't ever touch him." A small child cannot understand
this sort of message and misinterprets it as an admonition not to experience love, that she is not
allowed to love and be loved. If Mother is trying to protect the child from the father's abuse, the
child may misinterpret this as an instruction not to love or be loved.
CRIME 7. I AM HAPPY:
Frame 342: Avoiding happiness can serve, in a distorted way, a protective function or punitive
one. Sometimes little children misinterpret a parent's directions. The parent is trying to set rules
to protect the child, and this may clash with a fun activity such as playing, but playing too close
to traffic or a body of water. The parent really wants the child to avoid the danger, but the child,
not understanding the nature of the danger, processes the event in such a way that he/she
believes the parent wants him/her not to do the fun activity. This becomes a message that "I am
not allowed to have fun, to be happy." A parent's attempts to set rules and protect the child from
(269) danger, may unintentionally give the child the message not to have fun or experience
happiness.
Frame 343: Avoiding happiness can also be a form of self punishment.
CRIME 8. I AM CURIOUS.
Frame 344: Naturally, little kids are getting acquainted with their world and how to live in it
and with the people in it. They watch carefully everything that happens to their parents, siblings,
pets, house, friends, neighbors, and so on. Just ask a 2nd grade teacher how much her/him
students watch her/him Little kids are careful observers of everything around them.
Frame 346: However, parents and others need their privacy. When the child's curiosity violates
the parents' privacy, the child will be ejected from the event. In meetings their own needs for
privacy, parents may unintentionally give the child the message that he is being rejected. Events
requiring privacy often revolve around sexual issues. The result should not be a problem, but
sometimes it is. It comes out as stifling the child's explorations of the materials to be learned,
avoiding sexual matters, and feeling rejected. (270)
Sentences for crimes of the mind.
Frame 346: Why should the child accept the sentences as handed out below? As adults, we see
through them, but the child does not and takes them seriously. These sentences play two roles:
1. Protection from an imagined worse punishment. 2. Guilt.
1. You must not exist.
2. You must never feel angry.
3. You are not lovable you are bad.
4. You must not succeed.
5. You are not allowed to be afraid.
6. You must not love.
7. You must not be happy
8. You must not learn, not think.
List eight sentences (punishments for crimes) that may be handed down to the Child for the
childhood crimes. Same as list above.
THE SPECIAL ROLE OF GUILT
Frame 347: Guilt is real. Guilt arises as a conflict between the Parent ego state and the Child
ego state. This leads to imprisonment of the Child by the Parent.
Frame 348: Guilt is the lock by which the Parent keeps the Child imprisoned, prevents the Child
from escaping the sentence, and makes the locks so powerful that no one can open them. (271)
Frame 349: Guilt feelings are intensely uncomfortable because they remind us that we have
done something which has met with intense disapproval. Guilt is not inborn. Guilt is a learned
response resulting from an awareness of having been responsible for another's distress.
Frame 350: The main person we must rely upon for support and protection is mother (or
mother surrogate).
Frame 351: We wish not to distress mother.
Frame 352: The child is very aware of anger expressed by mother (or mother surrogate) toward
the child. When the child realizes mother's anger is directed toward him/her, the child inwardly
immediately admits or confesses to the crime.
Frame 353: Guilt is a compounded emotion based primarily on fear but also mixed with feeling
of sadness. Guilt is based primarily on fear and is terrible because of the severity of the
associated distress. (272)
Frame 354: Fear of what? One of the above listed crimes has been committed and the sentence
has been given. But what does the child fear? Mother has been angered in some way. The basic
fear is that rejection by mother will lead to total abandonment. The child fears abandonment by
the mother
Guilt is based on fear of abandonment
Frame 355: Abandonment may seem a non-issue to an adult, but a small child has a different
perspective since he/she is totally dependent on the parent.
Frame 356: Since the child is unable to take care of his own biological needs by himself, guilt
leads to a frightening sense of helplessness. The threat of permanent separation from the mother
is a source of severe fear, and that is what gives guilt so much power.
Frame 357: What is the protective purpose served by guilt? From the Child's perspective, guilt
is employed to guide the child to follow a course that will avoid angering the mother. This
protects against the mother's abandoning the child. (273)
Frame 358: The Parent ego state is a construct of how the Child sees the real mother, but it is
not the real mother. The Parent ego state is like carrying around a computer program that will
predict mother's disapproval of the Child's behavior in specific situations in advance.
Frame 359: Whenever the Child wishes to express a feeling that might produce parental
disapproval, the Parent flashes the memory of the original crime with its accompanying threat of
punishment by abandonment
Frame 360: Guilt resides at the center of the Parent/Child conflict.
Frame 361: Guilt is the pressure applied by the internalized Parent ego state in opposition to
and in response to the unacceptable emotion which the Child wishes to express. Guilt is what
holds the Child locked in prison.
Frame 362: The experience of guilt varies in intensity. Intense guilt is felt as anxiety. Lesser
levels of guilt are experienced as feelings of shame or embarrassment. Interestingly, guilt is not
always conscious. Sometimes guilt is an unconscious emotion. (274)
Frame 363: In RRP, a dialog occurs that allows the Parent ego state to release the Child from
this prison of the mind. This is accomplished by convincing the Parent ego state that it no longer
needs to protect the Child from the real mother.
Frame 364: From the Parent ego state's point of view, the Child has been kept locked up in a
cage as a haven of security for the Child's own protection as well as a place of punishment.
Frame 365: In order to release the Child, the Parent ego state must be assured that the Child
will not come to far greater if harm released.
Frame 366: In setting the Child ego state free, the Adult ego state may talk to the Parent ego
state and thank the Parent for having taken care of the Child for all these years.
Frame 367: The Adult ego state then can reassure both the Child and the Parent that it has now
made room in the heart for the Child and will now take over the task of protecting the Child.
(275) Frame 368: Dr. Barnett's experience has been that RRP produces better results if the
Parent ego state and the Child ego state can forgive each other, thus putting their conflict to rest.
CRIMES AND PRISONS OF THE MIND QUIZ:
1. When the child is given the message that he or she is not allowed to have a feeling, what
is the message delivered to the child and what ultimately happens? Such instructions give
the child the feeling that he/she is an unworthy person, unworthy of having such feelings, and
thus worthless. Denying the legitimacy of a person's feelings gives that person a message that
he/she is worthless or unworthy Eventually, the child is made to feel guilty for having any
feelings. Just the thought of having a feeling causes guilt.
2. When the child is prevented from expressing feelings, what happens? Without being able
to discharge uncomfortable feelings, the person becomes hopelessly imprisoned by them and it
keeps them bottled up the entire life. This leads to symptom formation.
3. Explain the crime of existing. The crime of being or existing at all is the earliest crime the
child can commit. This is an especially sad event. The child feels intensely guilty for existing.
He/she has never been loved, never been hugged, never been cuddled, never been praised. No
matter what he/she does it will not gain the love of the mother and father that the child so
desperately needs. The child is unwanted.
4. What is an affect bridge clue that the patient is suffering from the crime of existing?
Affect bridge may lead to an illogical or unrealistic age for the dissociated ego state. It is
difficult to pin down the age of the dissociated ego state and by process of elimination it may go
back to before birth. The problem is that the child was unwanted from conception.
5. What is the life path of the unwanted child? By the age of eight, the Child has figured out
that he or she is unwanted and not supposed to exist. This is a case of the Child should not be
seen or heard. The person is always quiet and fades unnoticed into the background. He/she wants
not to call attention to his/her self. A shadow life follows and is dominated by depression.
Eventually, such people are at risk of committing suicide.
6. List the eight crimes of childhood that lead to imprisonment of the mind and soul.
a. I exist.
b. I am a person of the wrong gender to suit my parents. (278)
c. I am angry.
d. I hurt.
e. I am afraid f. I love.
g. I am happy.
h. I am curious.
7. When born of the wrong gender, what might the child do to try to please the parents?
The child will try to dress and act like a child of the gender the parents want. A girl may act and
dress like a boy. A boy may express a girl's interests. This is to gain approval of the parents.
Eventually, at puberty, the child reaches a developmental stage at which the true gender can no
longer be hidden. Eventually this leads to feelings of unworthiness and depression and an
inability to express his/her sexuality normally.
8. What happens when the child is not allowed to express anger? The child gets the message
that "only bad people express anger." A small child does not understand bad or good. He/she
only comprehends parental acceptance or rejection. The idea of "being bad" becomes associated
with parental rejection.
9. What role does fear play, and what happens when the child is not allowed to express
fear? Fear protects us from danger. If a child frightened by an experience is prevented full
expression of the fear by the Parent, the child will feel he/she has committed a crime. He/she is
afraid, but because his fear is unacceptable, he/she must lock it up, and he/she becomes
incarcerated within his/her own prison of fear. Critical events leading to fear may be of a
dangerous or threatening nature.
10.Hurt is expressed in a clumsy manner and often goes misinterpreted by others. When
the child is consistently not allowed to express feelings of hurt, what happens? Hurt and
rejection are fundamental emotions. When the Child is given the message that he/she is not
allowed to feel hurt or pain, the result is to produce a flat, unfeeling personality that feels no
emotion and expresses no emotion and despises the showing of emotion.
11. What is the most powerful emotion that imprisons people within their own minds?
Guilt.
(279)

17. CHAPTER 17: FAILURE OF RESOLUTION

Frame 369: Resolution is the sine qua non (absolute prerequisite) step of RRP. Without
Resolution, RRP will not work. Resolution is important because without Resolution, is
reintegration or the Rapid Reintegration Procedure incomplete.
Frame 370: There is some conflict that has persisted from a Child ego state. It needs to be
resolved so that the patient can be free of the symptoms and get along with a normal life. The
conflict needing resolution is between Parent and Child.
Frame 371: Resolution is Step 7 of RRP and is necessary in order later to accomplish Step 9
which is Reintegration.
Frame 372: Reintegration is the step at which you coach the Adult to make a place in his/her
heart for the dissociated Child ego state and to welcome the Child back to the main personality.
Frame 373: Resolution means abandoning or letting go of the uncomfortable feeling that is
causing the symptoms.
CLEAR SIGNS OF SUCCESS OF (280) RESOLUTION ARE
1. the Child gets his/her smile back,
2. There is a tremendous sense of relief. The reason the RRP therapist asks, "Does he/she have
his/her smile back?" is that it is a clear sign of successful resolution.
Frame 374: We use the term "Child" to mean the dissociated ego state. Thus the Child may be
4 years old or of adult age. In this sense, our use of the term "Child" is that it is the dissociated
ego state.
Frame 375: By "Adult," we mean that portion of the contemporary (or grown up) personality
we are directly talking to in therapy. In RRP state, we are talking to, guiding, and negotiating
with the Adult
Frame 376: Parent means actual mother, father, step parents, or whoever raised the child, such
as grandparents or aunts or uncles or foster parents. You identified the parent figures in your
intake interview. RRP resolves conflicts between Parent and Child. The Parent figure is not
limited to only the biologic father and mother. It may include anyone raising or taking care of
the child
Frame 377: Traci suffered constant bombardment of criticism and damage to her self esteem
from the mother of her best friend. The hostile Parent figure can include adults outside the
immediate family. (281)
Frame 378: We have seen situations in which the hostile Parent figure was an older teen. The
Parent figure at one dissociated ego state age may differ from the Parent figure at another
dissociated ego state age.
Frame 379: In Step 6, you guided the Adult ego state to consider the need of the Child to hold
onto the uncomfortable feelings that produced the unwanted symptoms. In Step 7 of RRP, the
RRP therapist gUides the Adult to see that holding on to the uncomfortable feelings is not
necessary or needed
Frame 380: We now enter a domain unique to RRP. The patient's Adult is going to become the
functioning therapist with the help of the actual RRP therapist (that's you).
Frame 381: It is largely for this reason that the patient does not need to reveal anything of a
personal or private or secret or embarrassing nature to the RRP therapist.
Frame 382: It must be established in Step 7, that the Adult can see that the old uncomfortable
feelings played a role back then, but are no longer playing a useful role, and are in fact, causing
problems now. The Adult is guided to understand that holding onto the old uncomfortable
feelings has become obsolete or unnecessary. (282)
Frame 383: Dr.: "Well, now that you know that, what do you think? Does he/she need to keep
holding on to those uncomfortable feelings?"
Frame 384: The head shakes no, and we enter step 7: Resolution. Dr.: "Well then, you are
going to have to convince him/her that it's okay to let go of the uncomfortable feeling." Bear in
mind that the patient has now become the therapist. We cannot stress enough how powerful this
makes RRP. You, as RRP therapist, are guiding the patient, but the Adult is presenting your
arguments and the Adult's arguments to the Child and Parent.
Frame 385: Dr.: "Well, then you've got to convince him/her that it's okay to let go of that
feeling, that it's no longer serving any useful purpose. See if he/she will let go of it." Head nods
yes. "He/She did let go of it?" Head nods yes. "Oh, that's wonderful. That must be quite a relief."
Head nods yes. ''It's been bottled up inside him/her all these years and now it's gone?" Head nods
yes. Dr.: "Does he have his smile back now?" Head nods yes. "That's great." The ultimate test of
resolution is to ask if the Child has his/her smile back.
Frame 386: Often the initial attempt to have the patient, in a younger ego state (Child), let go
of the uncomfortable feeling associated with the critical event will fail. Sometimes the attempt to
have a patient, in a younger ego state, let go of the uncomfortable feeling fails. (283)
Frame 387: At this point, the patient (Adult) may be able to help. Dr.: "Let's do this. Ask
him/her why he/she cannot let go of it. Ask him/her to tell you why he/she needs to hold on to
that uncomfortable feeling." If the child seems not to be willing to tell the Adult why he/she
cannot let go of it, ask, "Well, take a guess." If these attempts fail, the RRP therapist explains to
the Adult, "Tom, we have found that sometimes people just don't want to let go of an old
uncomfortable feeling. There's a reason for it.” When the Child will not let go of the old
uncomfortable feeling, there is a reason for it.
Frame 388: There are three main reasons to hang onto the uncomfortable feeling.
1. Not to forget
2. Protection
3. Punishment (guilt)
How many main reasons are there for a patient to hang on to the uncomfortable feeling? Three.
Frame 389: What are they? List in Frame 388. (284) reason
Frame 390: The logical order in which to present these three choices to patients would be 1.
Protection, 2. Punishment, 3. Not to forget. However, we find it best to do it in this order, 1. not
to forget, 2. protection, 3. punishment. When failure of Resolution occurs, it may be because of
one or more main reasons. These reasons are then presented to the patient in this order: 1. Not to
forget, 2. To Protect, 3. To Punish.
Frame 391: Dr.: "Tom, we find that when people cannot let go of an uncomfortable feeling, it
is because the uncomfortable feeling is serving a purpose. Ask little Tom why he cannot let go
of it." Patient cannot find answer. "Is it so he won't forget?" Head shakes no. "Is it to protect him
from something?" Head shakes no. "Is it to punish him?" Head nods yes. "Okay, now we know."
Therapy proceeds along this line now.
Reason 1: Not to forget: For example, if there is a grieving situation, the patient keeps the
uncomfortable feeling so he/she won't forget the grieved person. There is somebody he/she does
not want to forget. The person needs to keep that feeling so he/she will remember the loved one.
By holding onto the uncomfortable feeling, he/she hangs onto the loved one. By holding onto the
uncomfortable feeling, the patient can hold onto a person or memory.
Frame 393: Some event may have occurred that it is important not to forget. The event may
have been traumatic, and it may seem to the Child protective to remember the event so as to
protect against it. (285) The patient may choose to hold on to the uncomfortable feeling so as
not to forget a person or memory of a critical event.
Frame 393:
Reason 2: Protection: The uncomfortable feeling such as fear or anxiety arose originally
because it was protective for the younger (Child) ego state. There is a need to keep those feelings
because the younger ego state was involved in a situation in which the person was in danger in
some way. The feeling was a way worked out by the ego state of protecting itself. Letting go of
the feeling leaves the ego state unprotected, vulnerable, and not in control. The uncomfortable
feeling such as fear or anxiety alerted the ego state to protect itself in some way. Letting go of
the uncomfortable feeling would remove that protection. The uncomfortable feeling is held onto
because it protects against some perceived danger.
Frame 394:
Reason 3: Self Punishment: Feelings such as guilt. There are times when we need to punish
ourselves. The reason for punishing ourselves is so that we won't be punished by someone else
who is more powerful. Religious people may prefer to punish themselves so that God won't
punish them. Self-punishment may be to protect against punishment by a Parent. This is the
basis of phobias. People with phobias punish themselves because they fear that, if they do not,
something terrible is going to happen. By being punished by the Parent, the Child avoids
punishment by some much stronger person who would administer a more severe punishment.
(286)
Frame 395: The message from the Parent to the parent is( "You don't have to punish me
because I am doing the punishing myself. "
Frame 396: Guilt is the most powerful of the imprisoning feelings:
Frame 397: In RRP session( the therapist may ask, "Ask him/her if he/she needs to hang onto
the uncomfortable feeling to punish. Are you punishing Tom with sadness (or other symptoms)?
Are you punishing him for something? Are you blaming him for something? Did he/she (the
Child) do something wrong? Does he/she need to be punished?" The persistence of discomfort
indicates that either the dissociated ego state has not accepted the solutions or another distressed
ego state is present. Failure of resolution indicates that either the dissociated ego state has not
accepted the proposed solutions or another ego state is present.
Frame 398: Consider the basic theory of RRP. The patient's problems are the result of past
traumatic experiences. The patients' symptoms originated from past traumas or traumatic
experiences or critical events
Frame 399: These experiences were initially dealt with by assigning them to the care of parts of
the personality called ego states. These ego states eventually became separate or dissociated or
disconnected (287) while attempting to serve and ensure the survival and well being of the main
personality. The development of dissociated ego states was originally an attempt to ensure the
survival of the main personality in the face of traumatic experiences.
Frame 400: Repression of these parts is rarely complete. The emotions associated with them can
readily be triggered in the present by events reminiscent of past trauma.
Frame 401: Ego state hypnotherapy is directed at locating and identifying these __ un parts.
Answer: dissociated
Frame 402: This is done by assisting patients to access current adult resources that will
facilitate the release of these outdated tensions and promote the reintegration of the dissociated
ego states
into the primary personality.
Frame 403: Vindictive Parent Ego States: When the above three steps fail to achieve
resolution, it is likely that there is a hostile or vindictive Parent ego state. Unresolvable conflict
leading to symptoms is likely to involve a hostile Parent ego state. (288)
Frame 404: This hostile Parent ego state may be hidden or unknown or unsuspected.
Frame 405: If you cannot achieve resolution and the standard three steps fail, this is a clue to
look for a hidden hostile or vindictive Parent ego state.
Frame 406: Dr. Barnett has observed that often a hidden ego state signals its presence by
opening the eyes. When the patient opens his/her eyes, it often means that a hidden ego is
signaling its presence.
Frame 407: Dr. Barnett uses this type of dialog. “Is there some one else there?" Head nods yes
or is there some one else a non-committal shrug indicating "I don't want to say." "Is there a
voice there telling Diane something bad that upsets her?" Head nods yes. "Is it telling Diane she
is bad?" Head nods yes. "I wonder who it could be." Pause and let the patient process that
suggestion. "Is it mother?" Head nods yes. Rather than directly confronting the hidden hostile
parent ego state, it is possible in small steps to ask questions that allow an indirect sideways sort
of sliding into the Parent ego state.
Frame 408: "Would it be all right to talk to Mother? (Parent)" Head shakes no. (Mother does
not want to come out to play.) "That's okay. (289) Well instead, Mother, you can talk to me.
Are you telling little Diane something bad?" Head nods yes. The first step is to establish
communication with the Parent ego state.
Frame 409: The strategy for getting at a Parent ego state that is reluctant to reveal itself is not
logical. Mother (Parent) has just said "No." We respect Mother's right to do that. It may be an
issue of control. We can allow Mother to retain control by suggesting that Mother can talk to the
RRP therapist.
Frame 410: In dealing with the unconscious mind, we can admonish "Abandon all logic, ye
who enter here." Without waiting, the RRP therapist jumps right into asking Mother (Parent)
questions. At this point, there has been a change in therapeutic strategy. Mother may be too
threatening to the main personality for the Adult to direct the therapy. Here the RRP Therapist
steps in and asserts his/her indisputable authority to talk to and to deal with Mother. The
therapist has great power in the eyes of the Child.
Frame 411: The Child and the Adult see the therapist as having power and authority. From the
point of view of the Child, the Adult, and to some extent, the Parent, the therapist has power and
authority. (290)
Frame 412: The power of the Parent has been given by the Child. The reason is that the Child
created the Parent ego state inside his/her own mind. The child has created the Parent ego state.
Answer:
Frame 413: The reason this is important is that if the Child can create the Parent, the Adult has
the power to help the Child alter the Parent from the old destructive image to a changed, new,
and wonderful image. We shall make use of this concept at the end of the chapter (Approach of
Last Resort). What the Child has given, the Child can take away or undo or unmake.
Frame 414: The problem stems from the Child's limited view of the world. To a two or three
year old child, the grown ups seem big, all knowing, all powerful, and perfect. To a two year old
Child, the Parent seems all powerful and perfect.
Frame 415: The RRP therapist sees something different. The real parent is just an imperfect
human being struggling to keep the family afloat in a difficult world over which he/she has so
little real control. The real parent is not all powerful or perfect. _
Frame 416: Dr. Barnett continues the dialog with the Parent. Dr.: "Mother, are you saying
something to Diane that makes her feel bad?" (291) Head nods yes. "Are you telling her she is
bad?" Head nods yes. "Is she really bad?" Head shakes no. "Well then, do you have to go on
telling her she's bad?" Head shakes no. "Then, Mother, you put your arms around little Diane,
give her a big hug, tell little Diane you are sorry, tell her she's not bad, tell her she's good.
Apologize to her. Ask her to forgive you. Tell her you won't do that anymore. Nod your head
when you've done that." Pause, and head nods. "Diane, Mother says she made a mistake. She
says you are good, not bad. She's sorry. She wants you to forgive her. Will you do that?" Head
nods yes. (See chapter 9: The special subject of forgiveness.) By asserting authority, the RRP
therapist steps in and extracts an apology from the Parent and a promise to stop torturing the
Child.
Frame 417: If the Child buys this proposal, forgiveness can occur, resolution can be achieved,
and reintegration can occur. You will know this has been successful if the Child gets his/her
smile back.
Frame 418: When failure of resolution occurs, the most likely explanation is that there is a
negative influence from a hostile, and possibly hidden Parent ego state.
Frame 419: Resistance to Resolution is most likely coming from a Parent ego state. (292)
Frame 420: The nature of this hidden Parent ego state is most likely to be hostile.
Frame 421: This difficult Parent ego state originally played a protective role (or punitive role
which also is protective). But that was the past, and the Child is stuck in the past as a dissociated
ego state. That dissociated Child ego state is not integrated into the main personality. That's
where the problem arises.
Frame 422: Both the Parent and the Child are locked in the past and cannot see that things have
changed in the present. Because the conflict in the past was not resolved, similar events in the
present trigger the old uncomfortable feelings that occurred in the past.
Frame 423: Even though the real parent may have died years ago, the mental representation of
that real parent lives on in the mind of the patient as a Parent ego state
Frame 424: Here RRP is in step with traditional psychoanalytic theory in recognizing that the
past uncomfortable feelings may be transferred to real people in the present. For example, a real
figure of authority such as a boss may take on features of Parent in the patient's mind. (293) The
boss is not the Parent but has been assigned an aura of the Parent making it hard for the patient
to relate to the boss in a healthy and productive way.
Frame 425: What the Child fears is disapproval of the Parent. This comes out as guilt. The
Child fears disapproval of the Parent.
Frame 426: Guilt contains the three elements: fear, pain, and anger. More specifically the fear
component of guilt is the fear of abandonment. The hurt (pain) component is from loss. The
anger arises from the injustice. The anger may be extreme.
THE THREE COMPONENTS OF GUILT ARE:
1. fear
2. pain
3. anger
Frame 427: The fear component of guilt is a fear of abandonment by the Parent.
Frame 428: The hurt (pain) component of guilt is from loss. (294)
Frame 429: The anger component of guilt is from the injustice that has been done.
Frame 430: The Child gets confused. It mixes up the real parent, the Parent ego state, and the
identity of real other Parent-like figures in the present.
Frame 431: When Resolution fails, it is usually because an active and vindictive Parent ego
state has remained concealed and inaccessible to therapy. If symptoms persist even after
energetic seemingly successful therapy, look for the vindictive (or hidden) Parent ego state.
Frame 432: In order to deal with the Parent ego state, the therapist needs to make an alliance
with it. Trying to deal with the Parent ego state in a non-alliance relationship only succeeds in
antagonizing it. Such therapy becomes self-defeating. How do you get out of this dilemma?
Frame 433: Do you remember earlier when we considered Joan Jobsis' admonition not to
blame the patient for his/her symptoms? We can use that attitude in dealing with the hostile
Parent ego state. No matter how destructive the Parent ego state may appear, its behavior has
always originated in its determination to protect the (295) Child or to appease the real (or
imagined real) parent.
Frame 434: The Parent ego state shoulders a great burden. It retains a great deal of the
unconscious stress. Although distorted, the Parent ego state is trying to protect the child.
Frame 435: When establishing contact with the Parent ego state, the therapist or Adult
acknowledges that exhausting role and congratulates the Parent ego state on a job well done. The
therapist or Adult assures the Parent ego state that the danger has passed and that the role can be
transferred to the Adult now. A sign of success is the feeling of a great relief.
Frame 436: The therapist says to the Adult, "What do you think? Does Christie still need to
hang on to that uncomfortable feeling? Is it playing any useful role now?" Head shakes no.
"Well then, you've got to convince Mother that you will take over that role now. And when you
do, mother and 5 year old Christie will experience a great relief." An interesting feature of the
Parent ego state is that it was part of the Child. It was created by the Child. Thus the Parent ego
state is immature, young, and ignores the resources of the Adult in the present. The Adult can be
guided to help the Child see that this Parent ego state is not the real parent but is in fact just a
little child of the same age as the Child ego state. The Parent ego state was created by the Child
and was part of the Child. (296)
Frame 437: Exposing the fact that the Parent is just a little child (that is, an ego state
constructed by the Child at a young age) is the Achilles heel of the vindictive Parent ego state.
One way to disarm the is that of a four year old child also.
vindictive Parent ego state is to expose the fact that it is only a little kid or child and therefore
not the real Parent. That is, it is a little kid impersonating the real parent.
Frame 438: By the time you as therapist enter the scene, the Parent has had many years of
successfully controlling the dissociated Child ego state by using negative thoughts and feelings.
It has achieved this by appearing to the Child to be the real parent.
Frame 439: This Parent ego state may be reluctant to relinquish this power, energy, and
prestige that it may have enjoyed as a recompense for the distress it has had to harbor on behalf
of the host ego state. The Parent ego state may be reluctant to relinquish its power.
Frame 440: The concealed and vindictive Parent ego state can always be located by the
symptoms that it is causing, whether these are voices, pains, fears, anger or guilt. And it can be
identified by the age at which the symptoms commenced. There is a Parent ego state associated
with the dissociated Child ego state.
Frame 441: This Parent ego state is the same age as the Child ego state (297)associated with it.
Frame 442: If affect bridge has uncovered a dissociated Child ego state at age 4, the associated
Parent ego state is that of a four year old child also.
Frame 443: If the Parent ego state is the cause of the symptoms that commenced at age 4, then
the Parent ego state is of a four year old child's mentality. However, to the patient, this seems
like the real parent.
Frame 444: You can be sure that the Parent ego state knows that it is young and insecure, but
does not want the host Child ego state to find that out.
Frame 445: When you, as therapist, speak to the Parent ego state, you are speaking to a little
child and must adjust your approach accordingly. Many years ago, there was a 25 or 35 or
whatever years old real mother. You are not talking to that real mother. You are talking to a little
child masquerading as an adult mother. When speaking to the Parent ego state, keep the
conversation simple so that it is consistent with the mentality of a child of the same age. (298)
Frame 446: In order to maintain the effective control, the Parent needs to have the Child
continue to believe that it is someone with the real power of the real parent.
Frame 447: The concealed and vindictive Parent ego state was created by the young patient in
order to cope with dangers in the past. It did play a role back then. However, the hostile Parent
ego state is no longer needed when those dangers are no longer present.
Frame 448: In order to unmask and defuse the hostile Parent ego state safely, it must be made
clear that those old dangers exist and that, therefore, that role is no longer necessary or needed.
Frame 449: When the Parent ego state can be made to understand that its original purpose no
longer applies and is no longer needed, then the Parent can be freed up to let go of the old role
and begin a new, modernized role more appropriate with the present or contemporary situation.
Frame 450: The Parent ego state may be more willing to change if it understands that it will
still have a role. (299)
Frame 451: However, the role of the Parent is still needed if the child is in a hostile
environment. The Parent ego state is still needed for protection and survival until the Child is
removed from the hostile or dangerous environment.
Frame 452: Dr. Barnett has observed that hidden ego states will often signal their presence by
causing the patient to open the eyes inappropriately during the RRP session. When a patient
suddenly opens the eyes during RRP session, it signals the presence of a hidden ego state,
especially a hidden Parent ego state.
Dealing with the Hostile Parent Ego State: Dr. Barnett has proposed a nine step procedure to
use when a vindictive Parent ego blocks Resolution.
Frame 453 Step 1: Be suspicious of the Parent of a hostile existence or presence ego state when
resolution is blocked without there seeming to be a reason for it.
Frame 454: Dr. Barnett often asks, "Is there someone else there? Is 4 year old Diane listening
to someone's voice?" Head nods yes. "Is that person telling her something bad?" Head nods yes.
"Is that person telling that little girl that she is bad?" Head nods yes. "Is it Mother?" Head nods
yes. (300)
Step 2: Talk to the Parent ego state and let it know that you understand that it has been playing a
protective role.
Frame 455: Congratulate and thank the Parent for the good job it has done to date.
Frame 456 Step 3: The Achilles heel of the vindictive Parent ego state is its youth, the fact that
it was created at a young age (2-6 years old for example). It is still that age.
Frame 457: However, it has appeared to be older and powerful. It actually had the age and
power of the Child at that age. Expose the fact that the Parent ego state is very young and, in
fact, is not the real parent.
Frame 458: A powerful step in dealing with the vindictive Parent ego state is to help the Adult
and Child ego states realize that the Parent ego state is just a little kid. (301)
Frame 459 Step 4: One of the great powers of the Rapid Reintegration Procedure is talking
directly to the unconscious mind.
Frame 460: Nowhere is this seen more than in negotiating with the hostile Parent ego state.
Answer:
Frame 461: When communicating directly with the unconscious mind in the form of the Parent
ego state, the RRP therapist must choose his/her words carefully. Have a plan before you start
the encounter. Know what you need to accomplish with the Parent ego state.
Frame 462: Slide into the procedure gracefully and in a manner that does not arouse suspicion
or anger.
Frame 463: When possible, win the trust of the Parent ego state. You have already
acknowledged the good job the Parent ego state has done and thanked it for that work. Now
acknowledge how difficult that role has been. Acknowledge that the Parent ego state has had to
do an arduous job to protect the Child from the real parent, and that has been exhausting. (302)
Frame 464: Assure the Parent ego state that when the host understands this he/she will
eventually also be grateful. This role has been one of grave responsibility. Perhaps the Parent
ego state would like to have the Adult ego state with its vast resources take over that role.
Then the Parent ego state can return to being a child and having the freedom of childhood.
Frame 465 Step 5: Indicate to the Parent ego state that it has been role playing, acting the part
of the real parent at the age of the host's Child ego state.
Frame 466: Explain to the Parent ego state that things are much different now. The real parent
is much older now and less fearsome and may even be dead now.
Frame 467: That danger that the Parent ego state had to protect the Child against is no longer
there.
Frame 468: To bond with the Parent ego state, explore the Parent ego state's real feelings about
the real Parent. (303) Did the Parent ego state always hate or fear the real parent or was it
angered by the real parent?
Frame 469 Step 6: Gently indicate to the Parent ego state that you know that it is not the real
parent. Let it know that you know it has maintained this ruse by imitating the voice, appearance
and actions of the real parent. But you know these are false.
Frame 470: I Explain to the Parent ego state that you intend to let the host know that and that
its control of the host will be lost. The host has been unconsciously accepting the Parent ego
state as the real parent , and now that has come to an end.
Frame 471: This is a critical step, and you must be prepared to handle what happens next. The
Parent ego state may fear loss of control and exacerbate the symptoms
Frame 472: Joanne suffered from headaches. At this point in the session she reported that the
headache was pounding intensely. A strong challenge to the vindictive Parent ego state threatens
the Parent ego state with loss of control, and the Parent ego state may defend itself by
exacerbating the symptoms. (304)
Frame 473:
Exacerbation of symptoms is a sign that you are on the right track.
Frame 474: It also confirms the genuineness of the RRP. This gives the RRP therapist the
chance to point out to the host that it is the Parent ego state that is the cause of the symptoms and
has been all along.
Frame 475: Exacerbation of symptoms occurring when the Parent ego state is challenged is
proof that the symptoms are coming from the vindictive or hostile Parent ego state. You should
point this out to the Adult ego state because it is convincing proof.
Frame 476: Also, this is an opportunity to point out to the Adult ego state that this hostile
Parent ego state is very little and not as fearsome as it appeared when it was cloaked in the
parental mask and voice.
Frame 477: This unmasking of the hostile Parent ego state gives the Adult ego state the power
to command the Parent to quit creating these symptoms since they no longer serve their former
useful purpose. (305)
Frame 478 Step 7: Inform the Child ego states, the Parent ego state, and the Adult ego state that
it is now time to join together in the safety of the therapeutic setting to have some fun. Now the
Parent ego state, which is really a child can be a child again, and give up the burden of
protecting the main personality.
Frame 479: Or the Parent can now play the part of a healthy, loving, supportive, non-vindictive
proper mother or father.
Frame 480 Step 8: There may be more than one hostile Parent ego state. If symptoms persist,
one can suspect another hidden hostile Parent ego state that is still concealed.
Frame 481: Or it means that the hoped for reintegration has not been achieved or accomplished
Frame 482: If the mother (or father) part can join (reintegrate) with the other parts of the
personality and have fun, then the symptoms should improve or ameliorate (306)
PRACTICAL FEATURES OF THE PARENT EGO STATE:
Frame 483: You can directly talk to the Parent ego state. Simply ask! "Can I talk to Mother
(Father! stepfather! brother! etc.)?" You as therapist have the power to talk directly to the Parent
ego state.
Frame 484: If this request is refused, employ non-logical tactics. Therapist: "Certainly, that's
okay. Tell you what. Mother, you talk to me. Okay. Now mother, are you telling Emily
something that is upsetting her?"
Frame 485: The ability of the hidden or persistent Parent ego state to produce symptoms rests
entirely on its memory bank of pain and tension. These uncomfortable feelings can be accessed
and reduced when exposed to the current wisdom and understanding of the Adult ego state.
Frame 486: It helps to keep in mind and to point out to the Adult ego state that the Parent ego
state is very young and very anxious! hurt, afraid, or guilty! and that with current resources, this
is no longer needed. (307)
Approach of Last Resort:
Frame 487: When absolutely nothing else will work, Dr. Barnett deconstructs the hostile parent
ego state and replaces it with a kind, loving, wonderful parent ego state. This is a bold step
expected to be welcomed by the patient. When nothing else will work, replace the hostile Parent
ego state with a proper Parent.
Talking to the Feeling:
Frame 488: Sometimes talking to the Child ego state is non-productive. One can talk to the
feeling as though it were the Child.
EXCERPT FROM DONNA'S INITIAL SESSION WITH DR. BARNETT.
Dr. Barnett's Method of Deconstruction and Reconstruction of the Parent Ego State:
Dr. Barnett: "Donna, I'll tell you something that, when we are little, we make a part of
ourselves to be like Mum or Dad. And that part of Donna is still being like Mum. Probably has
the same voice as Mum. Probably has the same look as Mum. I would like for you to tell that
little girl to switch off that Mum's voice, to take off that Mum's face, and put on a Donna face
and put on a Donna voice."
(308) "You don't need that any more. You needed it then. You don't need it now. Tell her to
quit doing that. You don't need to be like Mum any more. That was an awful job, wasn't it?
Being like Mum? You don't like that job, do you? No. So, can we get you to retire? And to
resign?" "So, little Donna, you don't have to be like Mum anymore. You don't have to do that.
You don't have to make her feel bad by saying negative stuff. You don't have to look like her.
Would you like to say goodbye to that job?"
Donna: "Yes."
Dr. Barnett: "Can we give her another job instead? A job of saying nice things and being like a
proper mother? Like a nurturing mother, a loving mother? Can we give her that job? Would she
like that job? Why don't you see if you can give her that job? Tell her the things you would like
her to do, the things you would like her to say. See if she would like to do that. Would she?
Instead of being like mother?"
Donna: "Yes."
Dr. Barnett: "She would like to do that? She says she would do that? Okay, wouldn't that be
nice? Okay. Let's give her some practice right now saying some nice things instead of negative
stuff. Just like you do. You do it all the time with your little girls. I'm certain." "All right, you
show that Donna inside just what you want her to do, just like you do with your little girls. You
give them big hugs, and you tell them they're good. Is that right?"
Donna: "Yes. But it feels strange."
Dr. Barnett: "Does that feel strange to do that? You've got to still be like Mother?"
Donna: "I don't want to be."
Dr. Barnett: "You don't have to be. That was a job you had to have when you were young. You
don't have to do it anymore. Is if okay to change the job?" (309)
Donna: "I want to."
Dr. Barnett: "Yes. You're going to have to convince her that it's safe to do that. Because she
was doing that job to protect you, wasn't she, hum? Can you convince her now that it's okay to
do that, to quit doing that job that she had?"
Donna: "I'll try."
Dr. Barnett: "And she can now say some nice things? Does the real mother say nice things
now?"
Donna "No."
Dr. Barnett: "She still doesn't, eh? You're not going to be like her. Quit being like her. I'm
asking that mother part that Donna made to be like a proper mother, not like her real mother. To
quit sounding like her, to quit looking like her. Be a proper mother, the kind of mother you
should have had. Would she do that?" "Can we get the little girl now to feel better?"
Donna: "The little girl doesn't trust her."
Dr. Barnett: "Doesn't trust her, eh? Thinks that she might turn and be like the mother again, eh?
Okay." "Little Donna, you made that mother part. Now you can unmake her. I'm giving you the
power now to unmake her and make her into a nice mother. You don't have to have her like that
any more. That was then, this is now. We're right up into 2005." "Will she make a new mother?"
Donna: "Yes, she wants to." (barely audible).
Dr. Barnett: "Show her what to do. Show her what kind of mother she should have had. Let's
make that little mother part into a nice mother part, eh? So they can have fun together. Instead of
fighting with each other and arguing with each other, they can have fun together. And she'd start
to smile, wouldn't she? That would be so much better then wouldn't it? Then, you wouldn't need
to have a headache, would you? (310) "How's she doing?"
Donna "Better. I can feel the warmth."
Dr. Barnett: "Isn't that nice? You've changed that mother part into a nice mother part, have
you? She's saying nice things now like a mother should? Oh well, that little girl is going to feel
so good now. Let me know when she's able to smile again, because she hasn't smiled for all these
years."
Donna: "She crying." (Donna weeps.)
Dr. Barnett: "Tell you what. Let's ask that little mother part we made to give her a big hug.
That would be nice wouldn't it? And let the little girl cry until she's finished crying. She needs to
cry, doesn't she? She needs to say, 'Love me, love me, love me. I thought I was bad. I thought
there was something wrong with me. I'm glad I don't have to feel like that anymore.' "
Donna: "My head's pounding". (Exacerbation of the symptom means that the vindictive Parent
ego state is struggling for control, does not want to relinquish control, and wants to block
therapy. The therapy is threatening the vindictive Parent ego state. A real struggle is in effect.
This may be the most powerful fight the vindictive Parent ego state can mount.)
Dr. Barnett: "Let me ask, 'Is there an angry part inside that's doing the head pounding?' "
Donna: "I'm still angry."
Dr. Barnett: "Still angry, eh? The little girl is angry?"
Donna: "Yes."
Dr. Barnett: "She has a right to be angry, doesn't she? And, we're listening to her anger. My
question is, 'I wonder if we can get her to say good bye to that anger now?' "
Donna: "She tries, but she can't."
Dr. Barnett: "She can't say goodbye to the anger? She needs it, (311) does she? Let's ask her
why she needs that anger. Why do you need to be angry little 4 year old?"
Donna: "I'm not going to let her off the hook that easily."
Dr. Barnett: "Aah, that's it. Okay, there's a job for you, 39 year old Donna. Will you take care
of that anger now? Not let her off that easy?"
Donna: "Okay."
Dr. Barnett: "The little girl has been doing that all these years, so I don't let her (Mother) off
the hook that easy. That's what she's just now said didn't she? Okay, could she trust you to take
care of that? If she trusts you, maybe she'll let the headache go. Will she?"
Donna: "Yes." (firmly stated)
Dr. Barnett: "You've got to do the job then. You've got to protect her. She's been doing the
protecting up until now, with all that anger she's had. Now, can you do it now?
Donna: "Yes" (firmly stated) Dr. Barnett: "Is that a promise?" Donna: "Yes." Dr. Barnett: "Does
she hear your promise?" Donna: "Yes."
Dr. Barnett: "Do you keep promises?"
Donna: "Yes."
Dr. Barnett: "Wow, you keep promises, eh?"
Donna: "Yes"
Dr. Barnett "I can see you relaxing there. Is she?"
Donna: "Yes"
Dr. Barnett: "She needed to hear that, didn't she?"
The regular session continued with past testing next.
Step 1: Unmask the Parent Ego State to the Adult Ego State:
Frame 489: The Parent ego state is not the real parent.
Frame 490: It was created by a little child as a means of (312)protecting the host Child back a
long time ago.
Frame 491: Let the Adult know that the Parent was created by the Child and can be uncreated
(deconstructed). The therapist gives the power to the Adult and the Child to remove the
vindictive Parent.
Frame 492: Prior to this, the Adult and the Child did not know that what they were thinking of
as the real parent was not the real parent, but an image of the real parent's and face and voice.
Step 2: Instruct the Adult to Tell the Child to Deconstruct the Parent:
Frame 493: The Child created the Parent. What the Child created, it can take away.
Frame 494: The Child made the Parent. The child can unmake the Parent.
Frame 495: "I would like for you to tell that little girl to switch off that Mum's voice, to take
off that Mum's face, and put on a Donna child face (313) and put on a Donna voice." When the
Parent ego state proctors the Child, the Child experiences hearing the real parent's voice and
seeing the real parent's face or image
Frame 496: This voice and this image can be replaced by those of the Child. Why? Because
what the Child is interpreting as being the Parent is really a small child child playacting at being
the parent.
Frame 497: The acting has been quite good, Academy award performance, and has really
fooled the Child all these years.
Frame 498: If the Child will really see the Parent for what it is child, then the hostile Parent
ego state can collapse.
Step 3: Reconstructing the Parent.
Frame 499: Once the Parent is unmade or deconstructed, the Child is now freed to create a new
and proper Parent.
Frame 500: This can be done by making a list of all the things the old Parent (314) was not, but
the Child wished it could have been. What are the needs of the Child? This new Parent will be
loving or attentive or nice or pleasant or kind hugs give the child love and squeezes and kisses.
Frame 501: The new Parent will play with the Child. If the dissociated ego state occurred at age
three, then both the Child and the Parent are three years old. three, playing together.
Frame 502: This interaction is simply a matter of two children, aged three playing together.
Frame 503: Reconstruction of the Parent is easier if the patient is grown up and has experience
raising children. If the patient knows what it means to do good parenting, then the patient or
Adult can serve as the role model for the reconstructed Parent.
Step 4: Dealing with Exacerbation of Symptoms:
Frame 504: At this point, symptoms may exacerbate. It is the old hostile Parent, feeling
threatened, trying to re-exert its control. There is a lingering unresolved feeling deep inside.
Instruct the Adult to ask the Child what it is, such as anger, fear, hurt. The therapist guides the
Adult to ask the Child what the uncomfortable feeling is. (315)
Frame 505: The child has been burdened all these years with harboring and taking care of that
particular uncomfortable feeling. The child has been the keeper of the uncomfortable feeling
because it was necessary to protect the main personality. This is a terrible and exhausting
burden. The way to deal with it is to transfer the burden of taking care of the uncomfortable
feeling from the Child to the Adult
Frame 506: In order to do this, the Adult must convince the Child that the Adult can be
trusted to take over the burden of responsibility for the care of the uncomfortable feelings.
Frame 507: By reconstructing the Parent, the patient will now interact with the (by now)
elderly real parent in a different manner. Instead of interacting as a child, the patient will interact
with the elderly real Parent as an adult.
Frame 508:
Dr. Barnett: "Show her what to do. Show her what kind of mother she should have had. Let's
make that little mother part into a nice mother part, eh? So they can have fun together. Instead of
fighting with each other and arguing with each other, they can have fun together. And she'd start
to smile, wouldn't she? That would be so much better then, wouldn't it? Then, you wouldn't need
to have a headache, would you? "How's she doing?" (316)
Donna "Better. I can feel the warmth."
Dr. Barnett: "Isn't that nice? You've changed that mother part into a nice mother part, have
you? She's saying nice things now like a mother should? Oh well, that little girl is going to feel
so good now. Let me know when she's able to smile again, because she hasn't smiled for all these
years." If there are lingering uncomfortable feelings such as anger at the old Parent, transfer
them from the Child to the care of the Adult.
Step 5: The Special Phenomenon of Child Alters:
Frame 509: Very rarely the phenomenon of "child alters" occurs and can block resolution. An
alter is a well hidden (behind a barrier of amnesia) dissociated ego state that can take control
without the knowledge of the conscious mind and therefore has considerable power. An alter is a
well hidden dissociated ego state that can take control without the knowledge of the conscious
mind.
Frame 510: The alter hides behind a barrier of amnesia.
Frame 511: The character of the alter is usually that of a Child. (317)
Frame 512: The alter hides behind a barrier of amnesia. In order for reintegration to be
successful, the amnesia barrier must be penetrated. After that, one communicates with that
dissociated ego state in the standard way.
Frame 513: The Child alter is often dominated by feelings of anger and fear. Prominent
feelings of the Child alter are often anger and fear.
Frame 514: An alter is usually a Child ego state whose emotions are out of control
Frame 515: Dr. Barnett's patient K. had a difficult time and experienced several blank out
periods. A clue to the presence of an alter is the occurrence of blank out periods.
Frame 516: During the blank out period, the emotions may be out of control.
Frame 517: During the blank out period, it may appear to an observer that the presenting
symptoms are gone, but the conscious mind does not remember what it has done with the anger
(the anger producing the symptoms such as agoraphobia, etc.). (318) A maternal friend was
present for one of K's blank out episodes, observed and talked to the emerging alter, and was
able to calm the alter. In RRP session, the alter "E" was easily uncovered. Dr. Barnett negotiated
with E. to allow Dr. Barnett to persuade K. to accept E. RRP revealed that K. had created E. at
age 5 to deal with critical events that produced feelings of anger, fear, and sadness. Once
uncovered, the alter Child ego state is handled with standard RRP protocols.
Frame 518: Dr. Barnett asked K. and E. if they were ready to meet. Both K. and E. said, "No.”
Dr. Barnett took an authoritative position and demanded that they meet and shake hands. They
refused. Dr. Barnett stepped forward, took both by the hand, and made them shake hands. This
went well.
In this example, Dr. Barnett was talking directly to two Child ego states, bypassing the usual
protocol of going through the Adult Adult ego state.
Frame 519: Dr. Barnett encouraged them to talk to each other. He reminded K. that E. had
done a good job by taking care of his anger, he reminded E. that K had done the best he could
under the circumstances. Dr. Barnett asked E. to help K. become more self-assertive. Dr.
Barnett's goal is for K. and E. to get along with each other and to integrate or reintegrate (319)
FAILURE OF RESOLUTION QUIZ:
1. What is the basis of symptoms? There is some conflict that has persisted from a Child ego
state.
It needs to be resolved so that the patient can be free of the symptoms and get along with a
normal life. A sign of the persistence of the conflict is an uncomfortable feeling. The Child has
kept the uncomfortable feeling bottled up inside his/her whole life. Often the conflict needing
resolution is between Parent and Child.
2. What is resolution? Resolution is simply that, a resolution of a conflict between the Child
ego state and its associated Parent ego state. Resolution means abandoning or letting go of the
uncomfortable feeling that is causing the symptoms. Clear signs of success of resolution are 1.
the Child gets his/her smile back, 2. There is a tremendous sense of relief. The reason the RRP
therapist asks, "Does he/she have his/her smile back?" is that it is a clear sign of successful
resolution.
3, What does it mean to say that resolution is a "sine qua non" condition of RR? Resolution
is an absolute prerequisite step in RRP. Without resolution, RRP cannot work.
4. There is something unique about how the therapy part is done in RRP. What is it? The
patient's Adult becomes the therapist with the guidance of the RRP therapist. Because of this
unique relationship, RRP does not demand that the patient reveal to the therapist any private,
personal, embarrassing, or personal information. This circumvents the problem many patients
have in trusting the doctor. If the patient can trust himself/herself, the patient can trust the
therapist because the patient is the therapist. This approach also includes the help of the
observing ego.
5. When failure of resolution occurs, there is a reason for it. What are three reasons that
drive the Child, hang on to the uncomfortable feeling? Not to forget, to protect, to punish
(guilt).
6. When working on the above three steps fails to bring resolution, what is the implication?
It means that there is probably a hidden hostile or vindictive Parent ego state.
7. Explain the nature of the hidden parent ego state and its Achilles heel. Let's say the
dissociated ego state is at age 5. At age 5, for some reason, the 5 year old Child found it
necessary to construct a Parent ego state. This is not the real parent. It is a mental image of the
Parent that guides the Child in trying to figure out how to conduct his/her actions to secure
survival, to cope, to prevent the disapproval of the real parent, and to (321) avoid abandonment
by the real parent. The Parent ego state is the same age as the Child, in this case 5 years old. The
path to dealing with the hostile Parent ego state begins with recognizing that the Parent ego state
is really just a little kid acting like a grown up. It is the 5 year old's age that is the Achilles heel
of the hostile parent ego state.
8. How would you talk to the hidden hostile Parent ego state to achieve resolution? Dr.
Barnett uses this type of dialog. "Is there some one else there?" Head nods yes, or there is a
non-committal shrug indicating "I don't want to say." "Is there a voice there telling Diane
something bad that upsets her?" Head nods yes. "Is it telling Diane she is bad?" Head nods yes.
"I wonder who it could be." Pause and let the patient process that suggestion. "Is it mother?"
Head nods yes. "Would it be all right to talk to Mother?" Head shakes no. (Mother does not want
to come out to play.) "That's okay. Well, instead, Mother you can talk to me. Are you telling
little Diane something bad?"
9. When the hostile Parent ego state is involved in blocking resolution, guilt is likely to play
a role. What are the three components of guilt, and what are their features? Guilt is
composed of 1. Fear. 2. Pain. 3. Anger. The fear is a fear of abandonment. The Pain is from
separation or the threat of separation. The anger is at the injustice.
10. If the hostile hidden Parent ego state is resistant to treatment, what is the treatment of
last resort? Keep in mind that the hostile Parent ego state was created by the Child. That which
was made by the Child can be unmade by the Child. It is possible to deconstruct (unmake) the
Parent ego state and modify it to be a proper Parent, or to change it into a child of the same age
that will play with the Child ego state, or to construct an all new Parent that will be totally
loving, accepting, supportive, nurturing, and protective.
11. If the patient experiences exacerbation of symptoms (such as headache) during the
attempt to achieve resolution, what does it mean? Exacerbation of symptoms comes from the
hidden Parent ego state. It means that you have flushed out the hidden Parent ego state. With the
hidden Parent ego state exposed, you can work more productively on resolution. The hidden
Parent ego state cannot make symptoms worse without exposing itself and making itself
vulnerable to therapy. (322)

18. CHAPTER 18: IS YOUR RRP WHAT YOU THINK IT IS?

Frame 520: As you go through the RRP session with your patient, be watchful for the
genuineness of the experience. During RRP, keep an eye out for the genuineness of the patient's
experience.
Frame 521: Strong defenses produce a session that is not genuine.
Frame 522: In RRP, we deal directly with the unconscious mind. RRP directly addresses what
part of the personality? unconscious mind.
Frame 523: This may be more true in RRP than with any other form of Other forms address the
unconscious mind of psychotherapy address the unconscious mind psychotherapy. Other forms
address the unconscious indirectly. (323)
Frame 524: Indirect forms of accessing the unconscious mind tend to be slow and tedious and
may take many hours, days, or even months or years. Indirect forms of accessing the
unconscious mind are slow and tedious.
Frame 525: Indirect psychotherapeutic methods do not reliably and consistently uncover some
unconscious material. Uncovering techniques of traditional psychotherapy are unreliable (or
unpredictable).
Frame 526: The reason for this is that the unconscious is traditionally considered to be well
defended. Therapists are trained that, in the words of hypnotherapist Fig Newton, "You only get
one chance with the unconscious mind. If you offend it, it's all over." Some traditional therapists
find it difficult and risky trying to communicate with the unconscious mind.
Frame 527: Traditional psychotherapy teaches approach the unconscious mind in a careful or
cautious or indirect because the unconscious mind itself is that the therapist must manner
defended. (324)
Frame 528: Traditional therapy treats the unconscious as a repository of deep secrets to be
uncovered, and tries to infer that which is hidden in the unconscious mind through interpretation
and Freudian slips. Traditional psychotherapy tries to uncover unconscious material through
interpretation.
Frame 529: Hypnosis comes closer to touching the unconscious mind, but still treads carefully.
Traditional psychotherapy comes a little closer to uncovering the unconscious mind when it
employs
hypnosis.
Frame 530: We have found that getting results in RRP goes much better if one can have an
active and direct communication with the unconscious. In order to get results in RRP, the
therapist (that's you) employs an active and direct communication with the unconscious mind.
Frame 531: Maintaining a good rapport with the unconscious is usually easily done in RRP.
What's difficult is to place the patient's mind in a state that is receptive to this form of
communication and to suggestions. RRP seeks to place the patient's mind in a state of
communication accepting of suggestions. (325)
Frame 532: For the sake of discussion, let's consider RRP as a kind of waking hypnosis. RRP
can be considered a form of waking hypnosis.
Frame 533: No one really knows what hypnosis is, but it seems to involve a state of
suggestibility. At a physical level, it seems to involve activation of the right brain's anterior
cingulate gyrus (Ref- Sci. Amer. article. consider drawing of the brain) It is not known what
hypnosis really is. It may involve activation of the right brain anterior cingulate gyrus.
Frame 534: Even though we do not know what hypnosis is, for the sake of having some sort of
model to serve as a framework for daily work, let's go with these ideas: Logical critical thinking
occurs on the left side of the brain for right handed people. Logical critical thinking occurs on
the left side of the brain, if the subject is right handed.
Frame 535: Creative, intuitive, unconscious processes occur on the right side of the brain for a
right handed person. Unconscious thinking occurs on right side of the brain. (326)
Frame 536: What's wrong with this model? What are its limitations? There is a communicating
structure between the right side of the brain and the left side of the brain. It is called the corpus
callosum. The corpus callosum allows the right side of the brain to communicate with the left
side.
Frame 537: The brain never really functions just as right sided or just as left sided except in
patients who have had the corpus callosum surgically severed to stop the spread of seizures, or in
severe head trauma, or unusual strokes or tumors, or with congenital atresia of the corpus
callosum. In a healthy person, the two sides of the brain do not function completely separately.
Frame 538: Language areas are on the left temporal area of the cerebral cortex. When a person
uses language skills such as speaking, reading, and writing, the mind accesses left side of the
brain.
Frame 539: The right brain needs language to communicate. It accesses language functions on
the left brain by way of the corpus callosum. Talking therefore detracts from right brain
dominance in RRP state and should be avoided, because activating the left brain interferes with
the suggestible state of the right brain. RRP may go better if the therapist can avoid activating
left brain function.
(327)
Frame 540: The greatest temptation that you, as therapist, will face but must avoid and
overcome is the tendency to ask, "What's going on there?" You have successfully used affect
bridge to get to the critical event and are curious to know what happened. The greatest
temptation to be overcome is for the therapist to ask the regressed patient, “What's going on
there?”
Frame 541: There are two reasons to avoid this. 1. You have already lead the patient to believe
that he/she will not be required to say anything of a personal nature.
1. You have promised the patient he/she does not need to reveal anything personal or private.
Frame 542:
2. If you ask the patient to engage in excessive talk, you are shifting the balance of
consciousness away from the right brain to the left brain, where the speech and vocabulary
functions reside.
Frame 543: In RRP, we communicate with the patient's unconscious mind in the right brain in
one of three ways:
1. Head nods. This is generally the preferred method. "Nod your head for yes. Shake your head
for no."
2. Talking. To avoid losing communication with the unconscious part of the patient, the patient's
talking should be limited to very short words like yes and no and short simple responses. (328)
3. Ideomotor finger signaling. For example: We teach the patient, "If yes, that index finger will
drift up. If no, the thumb will float up." Ideomotor signaling is the most reliable way to
communicate with the unconscious. The three ways of communicating with the unconscious part
of the patient's mind are: _
1. Head nods (the preferred way)
2. Talking (limited to very short yes and no answers to the therapist's questions).
5. Ideomotor signaling
Frame 544: If you engage in lengthy discussions with the patient during RRP, you are not
talking to the right brain. You would be talking to the left brain. In order to communicate with
the unconscious mind, the right brain functioning must predominate. If you are holding lengthy
discussions with the patient during RRP state, you probably are not talking with the unconscious
mind.
Frame 545: Lengthy discussions shift consciousness to the wrong side of the brain and are self
defeating. Lengthy discussions that shift consciousness to the left brain are self defeating.
Frame 546: Another way of stating this is that, for RRP purposes, the therapist wants to be
communicating with the unconscious mind. (329) Lengthy discussions elicit the conscious
mind, and that leads away from the goals of RRP.
Frame 547: It is interesting to compare RRP to cognitive therapy. In cognitive therapy, the
therapist tries to talk the patient out of the uncomfortable feelings by logic. It is highly left brain
(conscious).
That is the opposite to RRP.
Frame 548: And yet in RRP the therapist guides the Adult unconscious mind to communicate
with the Child unconscious mind ego state and other ego states. In this way, RRP is compatible
with cognitive therapy.
Frame 549: The differences between RRP and cognitive therapy are that, in RRP, the therapist
is talking directly to the unconscious mind. Whereas, in cognitive therapy, the therapist is talking
directly to the conscious mind.
Frame 550: Also in RRP the patient is the therapist, whereas in cognitive therapy, the therapist
is the therapist.
Frame 551: Let's look at an example of this power of the unconscious mind. The cornerstone of
RRP is affect bridge. The affect bridge is the (330) truest demonstration of unconscious brain
functioning. Affect bridge is the cornerstone of RRP.
Frame 552: You start by asking the patient to identify the uncomfortable feeling associated
with the symptom (an unwanted behavior such as uncontrolled alcoholic drinking, the urge to
overeat, stage fright). Begin by asking the patient to identify the uncomfortable feeling that
occurs when he/she experiences the symptoms.
Frame 553: Next ask the patient to go back to the last time he/she experienced that feeling with
that symptom. Ask him/her to let that feeling grow stronger and just to concentrate on the
feeling. You may say something like: "There is a memory associated with that feeling or there is
a memory that gives you that feeling. Just concentrate on the feeling. The feeling will carry you
back ~n time to the very first time you ever had that feeling. You do nothing. It just happens by
itself. Just concentrate on the feeling. Nod your head when you are there." In RRP, the most
important thing done by the therapist is to guide the patient through affect bridge.
Frame 554: If the patent struggles and says, "I can't find it," then he/she is in a state of critical
thinking (left brain) and not in RRP state (right brain). (331) If the patient seems to be
intellectually seeking the critical event (original memory of the traumatic experience), he/she is
using the left brain, and is not in feeling right brain (RRP) state.
Frame 555: The way to handle this is to ask the patient not to try to find the first time the
feeling occurred. Instead, he/she should concentrate over and over only on the feeling. When
affect bridge is failing, it is because the patient is intellectualizing.
Frame 556: You guide the patient by saying, "Don't try to do it. Just let it happen. It happens
all by itself. You make no effort. There is a memory associated with that feeling. The feeling
will lead you to the memory. Just concentrate on the feeling. The feeling will lead you to the
very first time you had that uncomfortable feeling." The feeling leads the patient to the memory.
Frame 557: Affect bridge is central to RRP. You must be sure it happens and that it is genuine.
You must be sure the affect bridge experience is genuine.
Frame 558: The reason patients erect a defense mechanism against RRP is that, at an
unconscious level, they fear loss of control. Patients throw up barriers to RRP when they fear
loss of control. (332)
Frame 559: Prior to RRP there are some simple but powerful things you can do to circumvent
such blockades.
1. Dr. Tkach, sometimes makes a contract with the unconscious mind for its cooperation. As you
gain RRP experience, you may find it unnecessary to contract with the unconscious. You may
choose to begin by making a contract with the unconscious mind.
Frame 560: It is optional that this can be done at the start of RRP or prior to the session by
talking in person.
Frame 561: You can say, "Now close your eyes. Deep inside Traci is a hidden unconscious part
that objectively and dispassionately watches everything she does. It is the observing ego. Would
it be all right for me to talk to that unconscious part? Nod your head for yes, shake your head for
no." "Unconscious part, does Traci feel uncomfortable when she plays the guitar in public? Nod
your head for yes, shake your head for no. Unconscious part, would you like me to help Traci
with this problem? Nod your head for yes, shake your head for no. Unconscious part, will you
cooperate with me working on this problem? Nod your head for yes, shake your head for no.
You can make a contract with the cooperation by having the patient close directly talking to the
unconscious mind usually not necessary. (333)
Frame 562: This step serves some useful purposes. If the unconscious mind says yes, you have
facilitated the RRP session and reduced resistance. By gaining the cooperation of the
unconscious mind, you facilitate RRP.
Frame 563: If the unconscious mind says nor then right away you know you must shift your
tactics. Sometimes the difference between cooperation and non-cooperation is subtle.
2. Rephrasing the questions: Phrasing questions to the unconscious is tricky and sometimes
requires subtle phrasing.
Frame 564: In 1997, in the early RRP daysr Josephr an amateur classical guitarist, developed a
block to playing in public. In RRPr Dr. Barnett asked himr "Is there a part of Joseph that is
feeling uncomfortable about playing classical guitar in public?" Using ideomotor hand signaling,
Joseph indicated, "I don't want to answer." Dr. Barnett rephrased the question, "Is there a part of
Joseph that feels uncomfortable when he plays classical guitar?" Joseph signaled, "Yes."
In RRP, the therapist must pay very close attention to choice of words and how questions are
phrased or worded
Frame 565: If the patient does not provide a usable response, try rephrasing the question to
make it easier for the unconscious part to respond or reply or answer. (334)
Frame 566: The rephrasing of the question that finally works may not seem logical to you. This
is because you are seeking a Child ego state. Sometimes the rephrasing strategy that works will
not seem logical to you, because you are seeking to uncover a hidden ego state of a small child.
Frame 567: Contracting with the unconscious mind is not usually necessary. Experience and
judgment will guide you as to when to use it. Contracting with the unconscious mind is not
usually necessary.
Frame 568:
3. Recognize defense mechanisms: To understand defense mechanisms against RRP, we can
draw on well studied defense mechanisms against hypnosis. defense mechanisms blocking RRP
are somewhat similar to defenses against hypnosis. Defense mechanisms blocking RRP are
somewhat similar to those blocking hypnosis.
Frame 569: The famous Australian hypnotherapist, Ainslie Meares summarized defenses
against hypnosis (Ainslie Meares, M.D., A system of medical hypnosis, W.B. Saunders
company, 1961.) The reason the unconscious requires to defend against hypnosis is to retain
control. (335) Fear of loss of control motivates the unconscious to erect defenses shutting the
therapist out.
Frame 570: A way to put the unconscious at ease is to assure the patient that he/she will be in
control the whole time in RRP state. Cooperation with unconscious is facilitated by assuring the
control patient that he/she will be in at all times in RRP state.
Frame 571: Defenses come from the unconscious part. The reason the unconscious constructs
defenses is to retain Control.
Frame 572:
Defense 1: Blocking the Uncomfortable Feeling: RRP is based on using the uncomfortable
feeling to lead the patient to the critical (traumatic) event by affect bridge and thus to uncover
the hidden repressed memories of events and the dissociated ego states. Affect Bridge is an
uncovering technique in which the uncomfortable feeling carries the person to the memory of
the critical event or traumatic event.
Frame 573: It is logical that the first defense against RRP is to block the patient from
experiencing the uncomfortable feeling. (336) The first most logical defense against RRP is to
block the patient
from experiencing the uncomfortable feeling.
Frame 574: This is experienced as the feeling's fading and fading more as the patient tries to
experience it. The harder the patient tries to hold onto the uncomfortable feeling, the more it
slips away. An elusive fading of the uncomfortable feeling from the patient's grasp is a defense
against RRP.
Frame 575: The first step is to recognize that this is happening. Usually, when we persuade the
patient to stay with the feeling, he/she is eventually able to identify its origin. Staying with the
feeling implies that the patient will eventually be able to identify its origin. In establishing the
affect bridge step in RRP, it is important to help the patient stay with the uncomfortable feeling.
Frame 576: We are enlisting the unconscious mind to help find the repressed memory because
the unconscious mind knows where the memory is. The unconscious mind knows what and
where the memory is repressed.
Frame 577: When affect bridge is resisted, that is the time when the therapist (you) will be
most likely to lose confidence. Therefore you should develop strategies to deal with that
eventuality. (337)
Here are some ways to handle defense by blocking the uncomfortable feeling:
Step 1: If affect bridge is being blocked, ask, "Is that uncomfortable feeling there before the age
of 107 Nod your head for yes, shake it for no." Then go through a process of elimination until
you determine the age at the critical event. Through a series of yes and no questions, establish
the age at which the uncomfortable feeling begins.
Frame 578: Usually, this age guessing game works.
Step 2. "Now there is a 5 year old Josie there that needs our help. Take her away from that
memory and bring her here with us in' this place where it is safe to be. And, when you have done
that, nod your head." Head nods. "She really needs a big hug. Give her a really big hug and let
her know you love her. And as you hug her, feel that uncomfortable feeling. Now, ask her to tell
you what happened. She does not need to relive it, just briefly tell you what happened that made
her so very uncomfortable. Nod your head when she has done that." Head nods. "Now, you can
understand why she has that feeling. It is her feeling. It is understandable that she feels that way.
She is entitled to her feelings." And so on with RRP therapy. Once you have determined the
patient's age at the time of the critical event, you can begin RRP therapy.
Frame 579: At this point you have uncovered the memory of the critical experience (338)
Frame 580: The more severely the patient is suffering from the symptom and associated
uncomfortable feeling, the easier it is to uncover the memory of the critical experience.
Frame 581:
Step 3. If you suspect a person to have strong defenses, contract with the unconscious mind
prior to the first RRP session. Dr. Tkach makes a reassuring and welcoming phone call to the
patient a few days before the session. This phone call may last 4-5 minutes. To set things up for
the session, Dr. Tkach makes a phone call to the patient as few days ahead and welcomes and
reassures the patient.
Frame 582: Welcoming goes like this. "I don't know if you will ever need to come back for
this problem, but if you do, I hope you will feel comfortable with me and will think, 'I've been
here before. I know these people. This is a safe place to be. They are going to do the right thing
for me here.' Let me make some promises to you. With me, you will be taken seriously, treated
with respect, and treated with dignity. You are coming here to be benefitted. So you should be
benefited. You want to get results. So, if you are not getting results, let me know, come back and
we'll work on it more."
CONSIDER MAKING THREE PROMISES TO THE PATIENT:
1. That he/she will be taken seriously.
2. That he/she will be treated with respect and dignity.
3. That he/she should expect to get results, and to let the doctor know if results do not come.
(339)
Frame 583:
Step 4. Gaining permission to talk to the unconscious part. If, during RRP session, you
experience trouble establishing affect bridge to have the uncomfortable feeling lead the mind to
the memory of the critical event, ask to talk to the "unconscious part." Such as, "Deep inside
Josie, there is an unconscious part that objectively, coldly, and dispassionately observes
everything that happens to Josie." (observing ego). "Would it be all right for me to talk to that
unconscious part? Nod for yes, shake your head for no." Head nods. Establish rapport with the
unconscious part of the mind.
Frame 584:
Step 5. Gaining cooperation of the unconscious part. Contract with the unconscious part for its
cooperation. "Unconscious part, does Josie have trouble with (symptom or chief complaint)?
Nod your head for yes, shake your head for no. (Head nods yes.) Would you like me to help
Josie with that uncomfortable feeling? (Head nods yes.) Will you help me and give me your
cooperation? Nod your head for yes, shake your head for no." (Head nods) Contract with the
cooperation unconscious
mind for its cooperation.
Frame 585:
Step 6. If step five does not work, stroke the unconscious more. "You have been keeping it
bottled up all these years. Thanks for protecting Josie. You have done her a great service
protecting her. You've done a good job. It's time now to let go of that burden. Do you agree?
Nod your head for yes, shake your head for no. (Head nods). Good. That's great. Thank you.
Now, guide Josie back to the very first time she ever had that feeling and let me know when you
are there by nodding your head." (Head nods.) (340) Acknowledge the great service that has
been done by the unconscious part and praise it.
Frame 586:
Step 7: The most reliable way to accomplish affect bridge, in our experience, is to clearly and
unequivocally define what the uncomfortable feelings are that are associated with the symptoms.
If defenses are blocking affect bridge, spend more time talking to the patient about what he/she
knows about the uncomfortable feelings.
Frame 587:
This can be done in two ways:
1. For example, the intake interview may not have been complete enough. Ask the patient to tell
you more about the feelings associated with the symptoms. "What is the feeling you have when
you get the urge to overeat? Well, that's a strong feeling. How about if we start with that feeling?"
Ask the patient to identify the strong uncomfortable feeling associated with the expression of the
symptom. Spend more time with the patient helping him/her to explore the feeling.
Frame 588: Sometimes people cannot put words to the feeling. That is okay. Just label the
feeling as "that uncomfortable feeling." If the patient can experience the uncomfortable feeling
but cannot put words to it, just refer to it as that uncomfortable feeling. (341)
Frame 589: Sometimes it helps to give the patient a list of words for feelings and to let him/her
choose the feelings from the list. See the Appendix for a check list of feelings. If a check list is
used, it may reveal that there is not just one uncomfortable feeling. There may be many
uncomfortable feelings. A checklist of feelings is sometimes helpful to review with the patient.
Frame 590: If multiple uncomfortable feelings of a wide range are involved, this is a clue that
there may be more than just one dissociated ego state that needs to be worked on.
Frame 591: Some feelings are alerts to special kinds of problems. Rejection may be associated
with special existential traumas as described in “Crimes and Prisons of the Mind”. Rejection is an
especially important feeling.
Frame 592:
2. Uncomfortable feelings may be expressed in disturbing
dreams that awaken the patient. Although we do not interpret dreams in RRP, we can identify the
uncomfortable feeling and use that to employ affect bridge. Disturbing dreams are useful as a
way to identify uncomfortable feelings that can be used to apply affect bridge. (342)
Frame 593: When nightmares and troublesome dreams awaken patients in the middle of the
night, patients find themselves upset, confused about what's going on ,and have trouble getting
back to sleep. RRP suggests a different way for patients to think of such dreams. We do not need
to interpret their dreams. Instead, we ask them to identify the feelings that go with the
uncomfortable dream.
Frame 594:
Defense 2: Restlessness: Some patients use the restlessness defense and some don't. When
employed, restlessness tends to persist through the whole RRP session. Restlessness is a sign of
anxiety when the unconscious fears losing control. Restlessness is an unconscious defense
employed when the unconscious fears losing control.
Frame 595: The restless patient cannot keep his/her eyes closed, shifts position in the chair,
interrupts the session with irrelevant discussion, rolls the head around, and finally says, "I've got
to go. It's time to go home now. I need to get home." Restlessness is common among alcoholics
and drug addicts. When using restlessness as a defense, the restless patient frequently opens the
eyes during RRP. The person employing the restlessness defense cannot keep the eyes closed.
(343)
Frame 596: Dr. Barnett has observed that eye opening often signals the presence of a hidden ego
state. When the patient inappropriately opens the eyes, look for a hidden ego state.
Frame 597: There is a hidden ego state trying to remain hidden. The restless patient may not be
aware of his/her restlessness or fidgeting because this defense is
Answer: unconscious
Frame 598: It is important not to blame the restless patient for the restlessness. It is just a
defense against what the patient is trying to cope with.
Frame 599: Success builds on success. It is helpful to phrase a series of questions in such a way
that the patient can answer "yes" to all of them. It helps if questions can be phrased as
simple-to-answer to elicit a yes response.
Frame 600: Inability to keep the eyes closed may be handled by
1. Asking the patient to close the eyes.
2. Asking the patient to find a spot on the floor or wall and stare at it carefully. "All you have to
do is to stare at that spot."
3. Covering the eyes with the patient's hand, a mask, or hat.
4. Dimming the room lights. (344)
List four ways to help the patient keep the eyes closed: same as above.
Frame 601: If these four steps fail and restlessness persists, ask to talk to the unconscious part.
Ask the unconscious part, "Unconscious part, would it be okay for (the patient) to close his/her
eyes?" If not, ask why (the patient) cannot close the eyes. Ask "Is it so that (patient) will not lose
control?" Patient nods "yes." You say, "Okay, now we know. Well, if (patient) is trying to protect
you, could you promise him/her that you will be in control and protect him/her? Since the issue
of the restlessness is control, you can promise the unconscious that it will be in control at all
times during
the session.
Frame 602:
Defense 3. Sleep: If restlessness persists, your RRP with this patient may not be what you think
it is; that is, maybe you are not really getting through to this patient. (345) In RRP, we do not use
suggestions of sleep. We avoid this before the RRP session by telling the patient that RRP is not
sleep. "If you were asleep, how could we talk? So you are not going to be coaxed to sleep in
RRP. You won't go to sleep." Before starting RRP, tell the patient that RRP is not sleep and the
patient will remain awake during RRP.
Frame 603: If the sleep defense persists, you can turn it around. "Good. You are in a very deep
RRP state. You are doing it just right. Now we can proceed." If the sleep defense persists,
congratulate the unconscious part for doing such a good job of attaining deep RRP and then say,
"You are doing it just right. Now we can proceed."
Frame 604: If sleep still persists, your RRP with this patient may not be what you think it is. In
traditional hypnotic induction, the therapist may give suggestions for eye closure that are similar
to sleep. Such as, "Now you are calm and relaxed. As you stare at that spot on the wall, you may
notice odd colors around it and your eyes may get sleepy and your eyelids may get heavy, and
you find it difficult to keep th eyes open. They just want to close, and of course, there is no actual
reason to keep them open, and so it's okay if they drift shut." Hypnosis means a sleep - like
condition. (346)
Frame 605: In RRP, we often start by telling the patient that RRP is not Sleep.
Frame 606: If such a question arises, we point out that "if you are asleep, how can you talk to
me?" This, of course, is the whole point of defense by sleep. In RRP we circumvent this problem
very easily: We do no induction of hypnosis. In RRP, there is no induction of hypnosis defense
by falling and thus there is no asleep.
Frame 607: We have observed that RRP goes much better if the eyes are closed. To achieve that
state, just ask the patient to close his/her eyes This also circumvents the issue of suggestibility. In
RRP, to achieve eye closure, just ask the patient to close the eyes.
Frame 608: RRP starts by saying to the patient, "Now, I want to try something really simple.
Now make yourself comfortable in that chair and I would like you to close your eyes." That's it.
That's as close as we get to hypnotic induction in RRP. If the patient does not close the eyes, ask
him/her why. Usually, it is a fear of loss of control, and the solutions are listed above. When a
patient cannot comply with your request, he/she is afraid of losing control. (347)
Frame 609:
Defense 4: Simulation (Faking It): This is a common defense in RRP. The unconscious can
defend against therapy by trying to fool the therapist into thinking it is trying its best to
cooperate. In the unconscious mind's use of simulation as a defense, the patient is not aware that
he is faking it.
Frame 610: The patient tries to avoid RRP by carrying out all the requests made by the
therapist. By doing this, at an unconscious level, the patient really thinks he is maintaining
control. After all, he is doing everything you tell him to. Simulation, in addition to being a
defense against therapy, is a way to maintain control of the situation. A result of faking it is that
the unconscious believes it is maintaining control and thus defends the ego.
Frame 611: The patient feels it important to cooperate with the therapist, not to offend the
therapist, to have good rapport with the therapist. If RRP is not successful, it's okay just to let the
therapist be puzzled. That's his/her problem. The patient is doing what he/she is being asked to do
after all. In defense by faking it, the patient is not disturbed if the therapist is not getting
anywhere because that's the whole point of defense by faking it or simulation.
Frame 612: The patient, at a conscious level, is socially aware of the therapeutic situation and
wishes to please the therapist. (348)
Frame 613: You can recognize simulation when you have a feeling that "this is too easy/,
followed in a few minutes by "this isn't working." Also, the process proceeds too rapidly. The
steps are completed too fast. The therapist will detect that the patient is too eager to comply and
the responses do not feel genuine. Faking it is revealed by the process's occurring too fast and too
easily.
Frame 614: When the responses and progress in an RRP session seem to go too fast and too
easily, you may be dealing with a defense by simulation.
Frame 615: Another clue is that the regression has not gone back far enough to the age one
would expect from the intake interview. If the intake interview gives clues to a dissociated ego
state at a specific age and that regression does not occur with affect bridge, there are two possible
explanations
1. The patient is faking it.
2. There are several dissociated ego states that need help, and the expected ego state is just one of
them, not all of them.
Frame 616: In this case it is best to let the patient's unconscious set the agenda for which ego
states are to be uncovered and in what sequence. (349)
Frame 617: Be prepared for a long complicated session. When defense by simulation occurs,
stop RRP. Have the patient open the eyes, tell him/her what's going on, and start over. Your
response to defense by simulation should be to stop RRP, have the patient open the eyes, explain
what's going on and start over.
Frame 618: When starting over, whether to deal with failure of affect bridge or defenses against
RRP, you can contract directly with the unconscious mind for its help. The work around some
RRP stumbling blocks is to gain the cooperation of the unconscious mind.
Frame 619: You say to the patient, "Now, let's try something very simple. Close your eyes."
(There's a lot more to this request than it seems. As just pointed out, some patients defend by
refusing to close the eyes. They fear loss of control.) Assuming the patient closes the eyes, then
say, "Deep inside (name), there is an unconscious part., the observing ego, that dispassionately
and objectively watches everything that happens to (name). Could I speak to that part? Nod your
head for yes, shake your head for no." Assuming you get agreement, say "Unconscious part is
(name) having trouble with (symptom)? Nod your head for yes, shake your head for no. Would
you like me to help you? Nod your head for yes, shake your head for no. Good. Will you
cooperate with me? Nod your head for yes, shake your head for no." If you get "no" responses,
stop RRP and explore with the patient what's going on. (350) A way to handle defense by
imitation is to make a contract with the unconscious.
Frame 620: Keep in mind that you cannot force the unconscious to cooperate. That approach is
unlikely to work. You cannot force the cooperation of the unconscious part.
Frame 621: Another way to deal with defense by simulation is to fractionate the RRP after
giving a post hypnotic suggestion. "Each time you do this, it will become easier. You will
experience it more easily, more vividly, more completely, more fully." Stop RRP. Then start
over. Fractionation of RRP means breaking it up into segments. Deal with dissociated ego states
one at a time. Stop after each resolution. Let the patient emerge from RRP. Let the patient discuss
the experience if he/she wishes to do so. Another way to deal with defense by simulation is to
fractionate the RRP session.
Frame 622:
Defense 5: No Show: \The patient schedules an appointment but does not show up. When
phoned, the patient says, "I forgot" or "Oh, is it today?" or "I had to walk my dog." and so on
with rationalizations without end. A patient may defend against therapy by simply not showing
up for the appointment. (351)
Frame 623: Have they really forgotten? Well, sort of. At a conscious level, the patient believes
he/she did forget.
Frame 624: What may be happening is that the unconscious is trying to protect the ego by
avoiding successful uncovering. The not showing up unconscious in some situations may defend
against by not coming to therapy.
Frame 625: Dr. Barnett's patient Kathy blocked therapy for 24 years after her first visit and then
finally showed up to get some therapy work done. Sometimes, left to his/her own, a patient may
wait a long time before completing RRP therapy.
Frame 626: When people won't come back for therapy to work on their problems, what they are
saying is, "There is something there that I don't want to know about." Failure to make or keep
return visit appointments may be due to a fear of finding out about some critical event.
Frame 627: Some patients will show up for the first visit but do not return for other visits. In
part, this may be due to uncovering critical events that are too painful. (352) Patients may not
return for future visits if the critical events uncovered in the first RRP session were memories too
painful to tolerate.
Frame 628: Failure to return for future visits is a defense mechanism.
Frame 629: When the therapist senses this situation, reassure the patient that he/she has you here
with him/her to protect him/her and instruct the patient not to relive the critical event. Tell
him/her that finding the memory was enough.
Frame 630: For more complicated symptoms such as overeating, it is likely that the patient will
need more than one visit. Dr. Barnett sets patients up for two visits at the time of scheduling the
first visit. Scheduling the patient for a second visit at the time of scheduling the first visit may
assist compliance with future visits.
Frame 631: Some symptoms like smoking addiction, Dr. Barnett plans to treat in one visit. Dr.
Tkach has found that stage fright and test anxiety can usually be treated in one visit. Some
conditions such as stage fright, test anxiety and sometimes smoking can be treated in one visit.
(353)
Frame 632: Dr. Barnett supplements the single visit RRP treatment of smoking in one visit with
post-RRP hypnosis to apply aversion suggestions
Frame 633:
Defense 6: Substitution of Symptoms: Freud began his career using hypnosis as he learned it
from Charcot and Josef Breuer. Breuer suggested that the symptoms disappear, and this often
worked. Conversion hysteria was the popular condition of the time, and some of these cases were
quite dramatic. An old method of hypnotherapy was to give direct srggestions that the symptoms
would
Answer: go away or disappear
Frame 634: A variation on this theme was to discharge the cathected energy by reliving the
traumatic event in hypnotic trance. However, Freud and subsequently others, became
disenchanted with this approach because they found patients substituting new symptoms, and so
the patient never achieved permanent results. Suggesting that symptoms simply go away may
result in the substitution of other newer symptoms.
Frame 635: RRP bypasses this problem by getting to the root cause of the patient's discomfort.
We have often found that it does not really matter what the symptom is, RRP leads to the same
path and resolution of the problem. In many cases, we ultimately find out the patient's choice of is
not important. (354)
Frame 636: RRP is a more profound form of therapy in that the standard goal of RRP is to trace
the feeling associated with the symptom back to the repressed memory of the critical experience,
thus uncovering that memory and the dissociated ego state that is attached to it. Then we help the
patient to reintegrate the dissociated ego state. RRP routinely uncovers a repressed memory of a
critical experience and the hidden ego state that goes with it.
Frame 637: It is unlikely that symptom substitution will occur with RRP. If the uncomfortable
feeling is not removed by RRP or if symptom substitution occurs, then either the dissociated ego
state has not been resolved or there are additional, possibly hidden, dissociated ego states that
need to be worked on. If the symptoms are not relieved or if symptom substitution occurs, it
means that there is more RRP work to be done.
Frame 638:
Defense 7: Mistrust of the Therapist: Did you ever wonder what is the difference between
average therapists and great therapists? What makes a great therapist? Therapists who get great
results have in common that patients they help the most find it easy to trust them.
Therapists who get great results, do so, in part, by projecting to the patient the image that this
therapist can be trusted. (355)
Frame 639: For traditional therapies! the ability of the patient to trust the therapist is paramount.
In RRP! we make no demand for the patient to tell the doctor anything personal! private! secret!
or embarrassing. RRP sidesteps the problem of a patient's trusting the therapist by telling the
patient right at the start that he/she does not need to reveal anything of a personal or private or
secret or embarrassing nature.
Frame 640: This sets the patient at ease right at the start. What is going to be discussed is under
the patient's control. We have found two interesting things about setting the session up at the start
in this way.
1. Some patients have reported that treatment with other therapists came to a halt because the
therapist required the patient to reveal private or personal or secret or embarrassing information.
Or the patient simply never sought therapy because of this fear.
Frame 641:
2. When patients are given permission to have complete control over the session! not to reveal
anything they don't want to say! we have found that after the RRP session is done! some are very
eager to talk about things that a few minutes earlier were too threatening. After an RRP session!
some patients are eager to talk about things that a few minutes earlier they could not discuss.
(356)
Frame 642: This is because the uncomfortable feeling associated with the critical event has been
let go of and the dissociated ego state has been reintegrated into the main personality. Another
sign of successful RRP work is that, post RRP session, the patient is eager to discuss information
or things or events or people or relationships. that would have been too threatening to discuss
before the RRP session.
Frame 643: Another convincing phenomenon is that when coming out of RRP state, the patient
immediately says, "It wasn't my fault. I can see that now." They often seem stunned and relieved
by this revelation. Sometimes people coming out of RRP state will say, "It wasn't my fault.”
This is a reassuring sign of the genuineness of the RRP work.
Frame 644:
Defense 8: Deprecation: The patient may reduce his/her anxiety about the procedure by
dismissing it as silly, foolish, stupid, or childish, or not likely to work. A patient may defend
against RRP by viewing it as silly or foolish or stupid or childish or not likely to work.
Frame 645: Deprecation is a common everyday occurrence that helps people cope with the real
world. In RRP, defense by deprecation may give itself away by facial gestures such as a shake of
the head or a wry smile or by shrugging the shoulders. Defense by deprecation may give itself
away by facial gestures or shrugging the shoulders. (357)
Frame 646: RRP is simple and direct. In the case of defense by deprecation, just ask the patient
to open the eyes and to talk about that feeling, reassure him/her, and then go back to RRP. If
there is resistance to this, contract with the unconscious mind as shown above. If defense by
deprecation occurs, stop RRP, ask the patient to open the eyes and talk about it.
Frame 647: We find that the highly effective cornerstone of bridge, usually convinces the
patient that something happened and without trauma. Patients using defense by deprecation may
be favorably
impressed when they experience affect bridge.
Frame 648: Defense by deprecation, especially when severe, belies a hidden hostile ego state.
Sometimes a hidden parent ego state is so hostile that the patient cannot make use of RRP.
Sometimes patients may return years later ready to get to work. Strong defense by deprecation
may hint at a hidden hostile parent ego state. (358)
Frame 649:
Defense 9: Denial of Authenticity of the RRP Experience: We tell patients that the RRP
experience is unique. When it works, it is obvious to the patient. It is obvious to the patient, and
there should be no doubt about it. When RRP works, it is obvious to the patient and he/she feels
there is no doubt about it.
Frame 650: R. sought help with quitting smoking. In hypnosis, he seemed to have very
successful induction and seemed to do the work of hypnosis. He accepted suggestions in a
convincing manner. After hypnosis, he said the experience was fake. He was not hypnotized, and
it could not help him because he could not be hypnotized: although, to 5 experienced observers,
he was clearly in hypnosis. In RRP also, we occasionally encounter patients who are unconvinced
or unimpressed or disappointed in or in denial of of the authenticity of their experience.
Frame 651: Denying that RRP works allows the patient to avoid a second session. It is a
against defense RRP. It is a variation on defense by deprecation.
Frame 652: Defense by denial of authenticity of the RRP experience can be recognized when the
RRP work in the session is convincing but the patient denies getting results. (359)
Frame 653: There may be two explanations for this experience. 1. RRP is incomplete, and more
work needs to be done. 2. RRP has hit home, and a well defended Parent ego state is telling the
Child to back off. When the patient fails to get dramatic resolution of symptoms, it may mean
that: 1. More RRP work needs to be done, or 2. There is a hostile Parent ego state.
Frame 654:
Defense 10: Intellectualization: Intellectualization prevents the unconscious mind from
communicating with the RRP therapist. It blocks the therapeutic efforts of the Adult ego state. It
hides the Parent ego states. It borders on defense by faking it and defense by simulation. It is
specific and easy to recognize. Intellectualization prevents communication with the unconscious
mind.
Frame 655: Anne did everything asked of her. When certain ego states were uncovered she
spontaneously produced lengthy, convincing, detailed descriptions of the childhood events as
though rehearsed from previous psychotherapy sessions. Anne was functioning in critical (or left
brain) thinking mode.
Frame 656: By functioning in critical thinking mode, she retained. (360)
Frame 649:
Defense 9: Denial of Authenticity of the RRP Experience: We tell patients that the RRP
experience is unique. When it works, it is obvious to the patient. It is obvious to the patient, and
there should be no doubt about it. When RRP works, it is obvious to the patient and he/she feels
there is no doubt about it.
Frame 650: R. sought help with quitting smoking. In hypnosis, he seemed to have very
successful induction and seemed to do the work of hypnosis. He accepted suggestions in a
convincing manner. After hypnosis, he said the experience was fake. He was not hypnotized, and
it could not help him because he could not be hypnotized: although, to 5 experienced observers,
he was clearly in hypnosis. In RRP also, we occasionally encounter patients who are Answer:
unconvinced or unimpressed or disappointed in or in denial of of the authenticity of their
experience.
Frame 651: Denying that RRP works allows the patient to avoid a second session. It is a defense
against RRP. It is a variation on defense by deprecation.
Frame 652: Defense by denial of authenticity of the RRP experience can be recognized when
the RRP work in the session is convincing but the patient denies getting results. (359)
Frame 653: There may be two explanations for this experience. 1. RRP is incomplete, and more
work needs to be done. 2. RRP has hit home, and a well defended Parent ego state is telling the
Child to back off. When the patient fails to get dramatic resolution of symptoms, it may mean
that: 1. More RRP work needs to be done or 2. There is a hostile Parent ego state.
Frame 654:
Defense 10: Intellectualization: Intellectualization prevents the unconscious mind from
communicating with the RRP therapist. It blocks the therapeutic efforts of the Adult ego state. It
hides the Parent ego states. It borders on defense by faking it and defense by simulation. It is
specific and easy to recognize. Intellectualization prevents communication with the unconscious
mind.
Frame 655: Anne did everything asked of her. When certain ego states were uncovered she
spontaneously produced lengthy, convincing, detailed descriptions of the childhood events as
though rehearsed from previous psychotherapy sessions. Anne was functioning in critical (or left
brain) thinking mode.
Frame 656: By functioning in critical thinking mode, she retained control. (360)
Frame 657: When intellectualization occurs, stop RRP and discuss it with the patient. Also, you
can ask the patient not to talk during RRP. Instead, have him/her communicate by ideomotor
signaling such as head nods and finger signals.
Frame 658: If the communication is by head nods, if not being faked, then communication with
the unconscious mind has probably been achieved. On the other hand, if the patient continues
lengthy, critical thinking discussion, he/she is defending against therapy by intellectualization.
Frame 659: Another sign of defense by intellectualization is that you, as therapist, get the
impression that the patient is acting as a cotherapist working with you. That is, the patient is your
professional buddy. He/she is helping you out. Nothing substantive will get done if the patient is
defending by intellectualization
Frame 660: When you have convinced the patient not to intellectualize, be on the alert to watch
for defense by simulation, by faking it, and by deprecation. Once the RRP therapist has guided
the patient away from the attempt to defend by intellectualization, the therapist must be on the
alert for the unconscious to switch defense strategy to simulation (or faking it) and deprecation or
one of the other defense strategies. (361)
Frame 661: The therapist can also appeal to the "Wise Part," the observing ego, for its
assistance. This often works. "Wise part of Debbie, you have been watching everything that
happens to Debbie. You have done a good job. Thank you. No one has ever talked to you before.
Would it be okay to talk to me for a while?" Head nods yes. "Wise part, is Debbie having trouble
with a fear of snakes?" Head nods yes. "Wise part, would you like me to help Debbie with this
fear of snakes that you have observed so many times?" Head nods yes. "Will you help me and
give me your cooperation?" Head nods yes. Another approach to dealing with intellectualization
is to make a contract with the Wise, the deep unconscious mind, the observing ego.
Frame 662:
Defense 11: Drug Therapy: Alcoholics who are defending against therapy either are NO
SHOWS for their session or they arrive drunk. When the alcoholic is drunk, it is very unlikely to
achieve results. Part of the reason an alcoholic may arrive drunk for his/her session is to defend
against therapy.
Frame 663: In this sense, the alcohol is used as a treatment of symptoms and as a defense
against therapy.
Frame 664: Sally had delusions of foreign bodies, twigs and gravel, in her scalp. Her
psychiatrist prescribed Paxil. Paxil made her feel so much better that she thought she did not need
RRP therapy. Dr. T: Sally, what do you want from me today?" Sally: "Nothing. I'm okay. I don't
need to see you anymore." Concomitant use of psychotherapeutic drugs should free the patient up
for talk (362) therapy. Sometimes it is can act as a defense against therapy.
Frame 665: The problem with treating depression with drugs alone is that the drugs produce a
false pharmacological high, misleading the patient into believing the depression is gone.
Whereas, in fact, the depression is still there but is masked by the drug. These patients are at risk
of committing suicide
Frame 666:
Fractionation of RRP: When very strong resistance is encountered, it is possible to do a sort of
circular argument step by fractionating RRP and giving facilitative suggestions. Strong resistance
can be handled by breaking up the RRP session into several steps or fractionating it.
Frame 667: To do this, stop RRP and give the following suggestions. Facilitative suggestions
"Every time we do this, you will experience it more easily, more quickly, more fully, more
vividly, more completely." Sometimes when resistance is encountered, the session can be
fractionated. Simply give the facilitative suggestions "Every time we do this, you will experience
it more easily, more quickly, more fully, more vividly, more completely." Then start RRP over.
(363)
Frame 668: While fractionation and facilitative suggestions may seem like an illogical step, we
often employ illogic in RRP. It may be that by letting the unconscious have its defense
mechanism, it reassures the unconscious and gains its trust.
Frame 669: Consider the following dialog. Dr. "Would it be all right to talk to that wise part of
(name)? Head shakes no. Dr. "All right, I respect that. We will only do what you want to do.
Would it be all right for the wise part to retain control by talking to me?" Head nods yes RRP is
often not logical in its approach.
Frame 670: The reason illogic works in RRP is that we are dealing with the unconscious mind
and exercising skills reserved for the right side of the brain.
Frame 671: In order to use RRP, the therapist must be flexible in his/her attitude and to be
willing to employ illogical strategies.
Frame 672: The Patient's Perception of the RRP Experience. After resolution of her critical
event, Cheryl was guided to past testing and noted "It's like watching a movie instead of being in
a movie."
(364) In the focus group discussions run by Karen Tkach, she found that patients who had
successful RRP experiences were spontaneously extremely positive about the experience. Patients
who have a successful RRP experience are very positive about the experience.
Frame 673: They are grateful and so impressed that they tell a close friend as soon as they get
home. Signs of the successful RRP session include a profound relief from symptoms and telling
some other person about their positive experience.
Frame 674: In the focus groups, RRP patients commented that they felt that the doctor was with
them every step of the way. Another major sign of the genuineness of the RRP session is that the
patient had a feeling that the therapist was with them every step of the way.
Frame 675: How can this be? We believe that RRP differs from traditional psychotherapies in
many ways. One is that in traditional psychotherapies, the patient is somewhat passive. The
therapist is doing the treating. In standard psychotherapies, the therapist does the treating and the
patient is a passive recipient. (365)
Frame 676: In such settings, direct the patient. treatment process, the therapist treats the patient
but does not direct the patient. The patient is excluded from the treatment process.
Frame 677: In traditional psychotherapies, the treatment is done by the therapist to the patient.
Frame 678: In contrast, in RRP, the RRP therapist guides the patient to treat himself/herself.
In RRP, the therapist is more of a guide.
Frame 679: The actual treatment in RRP is done largely by the patient.
Frame 680: In RRP, the Adult ego state is talking to the Child ego state.
Frame 681:
The Adult has powerful resources the Child lacks. These powerful Adult resources allow the
Adult to treat the Child. (366)
Frame 682: In RRP, the therapist is guiding the Adult ego state with its powerful resources to
treat the Child.
Frame 683: It is this method that makes RRP so powerful and makes RRP work so well. RRP is
so powerful and works so well because it makes it possible for the patient's Adult ego state to
treat its own Child ego states.
Frame 684: The result is that the patient feels the RRP therapist is with him/her every step of the
way.
Answer:
Frame 685: By learning this skill, the Adult can continue to aid the Child when the therapist is
no longer present.
Frame 686: A sign of the genuineness of the RRP experience is the continuing ability of the
patient to do self RRP.
Frame 667: There are some affect signs exhibited by patients in successful RRP that are
reassuring to the therapist that your RRP is what you think it is: (367)
1. Crossing the arms when the Adult is asked to give the child a great big hug.
2. Sighs at appropriate times.
3. Forced exhalation (blowing out the mouth) at the appropriate times.
4. Smiles at the appropriate time.
Among the affect signs that can reassure the therapist of the genuineness of the RRP experience is
the patient's smiling when asked if the Child has let go of the uncomfortable feeling (Does he/she
have his/her smile back?).
IS YOUR RRP WHAT YOU THINK IT IS? QUIZ
1. As you gain experience with RRP, you will sense if the events of the session are genuine
or something else that is not going to be productive. If you sense that something in the
patient is diverting the session away from real progress, what does it mean? It means that
you are encountering resistance and that something in the unconscious has erected a defense. See
the section of defenses. The reason the unconscious ego state wants to block progress is that it
sees powerful hidden reasons why it must not lose control.
2. What is the difference between the standard traditional methods of uncovering repressed
material and the RRP method? Standard therapies such as psychoanalytic based therapy and
cognitive therapy use interpretation or reason to uncover unconscious repressed material. RRP
communicates directly with the unconscious mind, makes an alliance with the unconscious, and
lets the unconscious mind itself uncover the repressed unconscious material. RRP does not use
interpretations. The method used in Step 7: Reso(ution is compatible with cognitive therapy.
3. What is the most fundamental and powerful defense against RRP, and how do you deal
with it? RRP requires successful affect bridge. RRP is feelings driven. The uncomfortable
feeling leads to a memory of a critical event (uncovering). The most powerful ways to block RRP
are to prevent identification of the uncomfortable feeling, to prevent experiencing the
uncomfortable feeling, and to cause the feeling to slip away, to make it impossible to hold onto it.
The unconscious does this when it feels a threat of losing control.
Steps in dealing with defense by blocking the uncomfortable feeling:
Step 1. Identify the ego state by age through a process of elimination.
Step 2. Remove the Child from the dangerous setting by bringing him/her to the safety of the
therapist and having the Adult give the Child a big welcoming hug. We do not seek to have the
Child relive the traumatic experience. The reason is to avoid abreaction.
Step 3. Prior to the office visit, you may wish to make a welcoming phone call to reassure the
patient. (370)
Step 4. Contract with the unconscious for its help.
Step 5. Gain the cooperation of the unconscious. Stop RRP, talk directly with the "unconscious
part" and ask it to help.
Step 6. Stroke the unconscious. Congratulate the unconscious for the fine job it has done all these
years of maintaining care of the uncomfortable feeling.
Step 7. Prior to RRP session, clearly define the symptoms and the feelings associated with the
symptoms. In our experience, this is the most reliable way to accomplish affect bridge.
4. List other defenses against RRP.
1. Restlessness, especially failure to maintain eye closure.
Inappropriate eye opening is a sign of a hidden ego state revealing itself.
2. Sleep. We generally do not see this with RRP because we do not induce hypnosis.
3. Simulation, faking it. You can recognize this by too much intellectualization.
4. No Show. The message from the patient is, "There's something in there that I do not want to
know about."
5. Substitution of symptoms. Although Freud, in his work with Joseph Breuer, warned about
symptom substitution, we do not generally see this with RRP.
6. Mistrust of the therapist. We generally side step this defense by not requiring the patient to
reveal to the therapist anything private or personal or secret or embarrassing. The patient does not
need to trust the therapist. There is one exception. We suspect that female rape victims may find
it easier to work with a female RRP therapist than a male.
7. Deprecation. There may be a hidden hostile Parent ego state. (371)
8. Denial of the authenticity of the RRP experience. Here again, there may be a hidden hostile
Parent ego state.
9. Intellectualization. This is different from faking it. The patient never gets from left brain
functioning to right brain functioning (if that model is correct). With intellectualization, no real
therapy gets done.
10. Drug therapy. The patient self administers a drug such alcohol to make it impossible to get
anything done in the session. This defense goes hand in hand with no shows. Selective serotonin
uptake re-inhibitors are likely to make the patient feel better and to say, "I feel good. I don't need
to work on anything. Nothing is bothering me. I don't need to come back. I'll just take my
medicine. It works great." The SSRI is allowing the patient to deny the problem.
5. What are four signs that point to the genuineness of the RRP session?
1. Crossing the arms when the Adult is asked to give the child a great big hug.
2. Sighs at appropriate times.
3. Forced exhalation (blowing out the mouth) at the appropriate times.
4. Smiles at the appropriate time.
The final convincing sign of the genuineness of RRP is the disappearance of symptoms; that is,
the patient gets better. Don't be surprised if a tear comes to your eye when this happens. It's okay.
It's called counter transference. (372)

19. CHAPTER 19: GOALS TO ACHIEVE IN EMERGING FROM RRP

Frame 688: At the end of the session, it is time to terminate RRP. There is a lot of work to do at
this point. The last step of RRP is end RRP.
Frame 689: Emerging from RRP is a naturally occurring event. It occurs easily. There is a myth
that a patient can get stuck in hypnosis. This is either a total myth or so rare that it is very hard to
find a therapist who has run into such a problem. ending RRP occurs naturally.
Frame 690: The ending phase of RRP gives an opportunity to achieve six goals.
1. Ego strengthening suggestions.
2. Self-assertiveness training.
3. Facilitative suggestions for future sessions.
4. Suggestions for self reintegration opportunities.
5. Joining all the dissociated ego states together.
6. Reinforcing relaxation hypnosis, if time permits. (373)
Emerging from RRP state is an opportunity to achieve what six goals? (Same list as above).
Frame 691:
1. Ego Strengthening: You have just finished repairing the patient's damaged psyche. It is likely
that there have been many times in his or her life that events have occurred that have damaged the
patient's self esteem. In leaving the RRP session, it is important to build up that self-esteem.
Frame 692: Dr. Barnett uses this dialog. "You know, I believe that Jim is just as good, just as
important as anyone else. Do you agree with me on that?" Head nods yes. "Jim's not perfect, but
neither are other people. Nobody is perfect. We know that, don't we?" Head nods yes. "He's not
infallible. He makes mistakes, doesn't he?" Head nods yes. "That's the way the. world is. We
learn from our mistakes. What do you think? Do you think Jim can learn from his mistakes?"
Head nods yes. Help the patient to see that he/she is just as good and just as important as anyone
else.
Frame 693: Acknowledge that the patient is not perfect, but that no one is. He/she is not
expected to be perfect, and should just try his/her best. (374)
Frame 694:
2. Self-assertiveness training: Dr.: "Now that you've got that good feeling, I expect you to take
care of Jim, and not to allow anyone to put him down. Do you think you can take care of that?"
Head nods yes. "And not to put him down yourself. Do you think you can do that?" Head nods
yes. "And not to put anyone else down. Do you think you can do that?" Head nods yes. There are
three self assertiveness promises you want to extract from the patient before ending the RRP
session. What are they?
1. Don't let anyone put you down.
2. Don't put yourself down
3. Don't put anyone else down
Frame 695: These must be completed or find out why. Usually, it is just a matter of
encouragement.
Dr.: "Do you agree not to put yourself down?" Patient: "I'll try". 1 Dr.: "No, not try. Do. You
must do. Do you agree?" Patient: "Yes." The patient's agreement to stick to these three promises
must be
Unequivocal or clear or emphatic.
Frame 696:
3. Facilitative suggestions: These are done to enhance future RRP sessions and to deal with
resistance. "Every time we do this, you will experience it more easily, more quickly, more fully,
more vividly, more completely." (375) Sometimes when resistance is encountered, the session
can be fractionated Simply give the facilitative suggestions "Every time we do this, you will
experience it more easily, more quickly, more fully, more vividly, more completely." Then start
RRP over.
Frame 697:
4. Suggestions for self reintegration opportunities. Many patients who return for a second
session report that, since the first session, they have been flooded by old memories that they did
not even know were there. This is a clear cut sign of the genuineness or validity of the previous
RRP session. Looking at old photos will promote this.
Frame 698: "Now, Jim, if that old urge to smoke comes back, it means there is some little Jim
feeling uncomfortable. Just close your eyes, give him a big hug, reassure him that he is not alone,
that you are there to love him and protect him, and he can go about playing normally."
Frame 699: "There may be times when you want to do the RRP yourself. You can do that.
When that unwanted urge or problem (symptom) comes to you, just close your eyes and let the
strong feeling carry you back to the very first time you ever had it. Bring that child to the safety
of the present and help him/her to let go of the uncomfortable feelings. Don't do this while you
are driving."
(376). Don't drive while doing RRP, but otherwise you can do a lot of RRP on your own.
Answer:
Frame 700:
5. Join all the dissociated ego states together. Dr.: "Now, I want you to take a minute and
gather up all the little Katies, and bring them here with us and when you have done that let me
know." There is a pause and then the head nods yes. "Now, there's a place in your heart where
they all can stay and be safe. Bring them there. Welcome them. There are things you all need to
say to each other. Take as long as you need. When you are done, the eyes will open, you will feel
great, you will have a great day, tomorrow will be even better, and each day into the future will
get better and better." Bring all the previously dissociated together to talk together and possibly to
play.
Frame 701: There is a long pause as the patient does the RRP work. This may be 30 seconds to
several minutes. The longer it takes, the more convincing it is. It means the patient is really doing
the work.
Frame 702:
6. Formal relaxation hypnosis: Dr. Barnett allows 75 minutes per session. A Barnett standard
session time is 75 minutes or 1 hour 15 minutes. (377)
Frame 703: After the RRP Session is finished, Dr. Barnett employs standard hypnosis, if time
permits. Dr. Barnett ends the 75 minute visit with standard relaxation hypnosis.
Frame 704: Specifically, he has the patient lie in a large, plush reclining chair for suggestions of
relaxation. The patient lies in a reclining chair and Dr. Barnett gives suggestions of relaxation.
Frame 705: While, in theory, this step is optional, he finds that it is an excellent opportunity to
give suggestions reinforcing the work achieved in the RRP session. Formal hypnosis after RRP is
optional. Its advantage is that it is an opportunity to reinforce what was accomplished in the RRP
session.
Frame 706: Dr. Barnett quickly does an induction by asking the patient to close the eyes,
imagine the eyelids tightly shut together, sort of glued together, strengthen this, and test it. "The
eyes are so tightly shut they just won't open." He gives suggestions that the eyes are tightly shut
and then tests to see that the suggestion was accepted.
Frame 707: He gives a suggestion that the eyes will open when he snaps his fingers and tests
that. He has the eyes close again. Whenever we (378) use suggestions of eye closure, we simply
ask the patient to close the eyes. We do not spend a long time in laborious eye closure exercises.
To achieve eye closure, simply instruct the patient to close the eyes.
Frame 708: Once this has been accomplished, Dr. Barnett reinforces the session success of the
RRP Frame 709: Finally, he asks all the Children, the Child ego states worked on in the RRP
session, to spend fun time together playing. "While you are doing that, I am going to do some
work, and I'll get back to you soon." Then he types his formal consultation letter to the referring
doctor on a laptop computer at his desk a few feet from where the patient is lying in the chair. As
the patient does the hypnosis work, Dr. Barnett types his consult letter to the referring doctor.
Frame 710: After about 5 minutes, he does get back to the patient and administers more
reinforcing suggestions.
Frame 711: Patients actually do this hypnosis work. They often exhibit a smile while lying in
the chair and doing the hypnosis work. Afterward, they often describe having been playing with
the previously dissociated child ego states. (379)
Frame 712: With the formal visit finished, the RRP therapist and the patient decide if another
session is needed, and if so, they schedule it.
Frame 713: For some types of problems, such as overeating and neurotic excoriations, it is
likely to require multiple sessions. In such cases, when scheduling the first visit, the follow-up or
second visit should be scheduled too. (380)
GOALS TO ACHIEVE IN EMERGING FROM RRP QUIZ:
1. The ending phase of RRP is an opportunity to achieve what six goals?
1. Ego strengthening suggestions.
2. Self-assertiveness training
3. Facilitative suggestions for future sessions.
4. Suggestions for self RRP opportunities.
5. Joining all the dissociated ego states together
6. Reinforcing relaxation hypnosis, if time permits.
2. What are ego strengthening suggestions? We have found that it is common for patients to
have had life experiences that damaged their self-esteem. The work of RRP repairs much of that
damage. That work should now enable the patient to accept suggestions to reinforce his/her
self-esteem, namely that he/she is a valuable person and is just as good as anyone else.
3. What three self assertiveness goals should be achieved when ending the RRP session?
1. Don't let anyone put you down.
2. Don't put yourself down.
3. Don't put anyone else down.
4. What is the role of facilitative suggestions in RRP? Emerging from RRP is an opportunity
to set things up in such a way that the next RRP session will go well. Learning RRP is a little like
learning to ride a bicycle. Grown ups or older kids hold the bike and help the younger child to
learn balance and coordinate limb movements. While there will be a few falls, once the skill is
mastered, the learner can do it on his/her own. Having been through RRP the first time, the
patient now knows how to "ride the bike" and can participate in the future sessions more easily.
5. To what extent can the RRP-experienced patient treat himself/herself? One of the unique
features of RRP is that the patient functions as his or her own therapist, with the guidance of the
RRP therapist. The patient has now learned to "ride the bicycle." Once having had the RRP
experience, the patient can now do much self-treatment. We do not expect the patient to do
complicated tasks such as (382) reconstruction of Parent ego states. However, our experience has
been that they can accomplish a lot of truly significant work on their own.
6. What is accomplished by joining all the dissociated ego states together? Reinforcement of
reintegration.
7. What role does hypnosis play in RRP? RRP does not employ hypnotic induction or hypnotic
trance.
However, patients tend to accept suggestions. The patient retains control at all times. The patient
experiences a state similar to day dreaming. Because of this, Dr. Barnett refers to RRP as "waking
hypnosis." If time permits, Dr. Barnett uses standard hypnosis after the RRP session to reinforce
the accomplishments of the session.
8. How long should an RRP session last? Dr. Barnett allows 75 minutes. In demonstrations in
his lectures, he has done RRP in as short as 6 minutes and 16 minutes. Dr. Tkach commonly takes
90 minutes to two hours. With some patients, Dr. Tkach has done RRP in 6 to 26 minutes. This is
not a trivial question. In theory, it should be possible to perform RRP without using much of
what we have discussed, such as without the intake interview. The reason for this is that RRP
does not require the patient to reveal anything private. This approach can be enhanced by
fractionating RRP. When the patient has let go of the uncomfortable feeling, it is easy to discuss
the critical event post RRP. This is a sign of the genuineness of the RRP session. Then RRP can
be re-entered to work on more dissociated ego states. (383)

2. CHAPTER 20: THE SPECIAL SUBJECT OF FORGIVENESS

Frame 714: Forgiveness is the most difficult part of RRP to understand. In some situations, it is
not possible to achieve full resolution until forgiveness has been achieved. Full resolution
(Failure of Resolution) depends on forgiveness. Forgiveness is an important component of
resolution.
Frame 715: Sometimes, in order to achieve full resolution, it is necessary to guide the patient to
forgive
Frame 716: Implementing the steps that will lead the patient to forgiveness comes with
experience in administering RRP.
Frame 717: Consider the following example of an RRP session dealing with a hostile, vindictive
parent ego state. This is over simplified for purposes of demonstration. In this case, the patient is
having trouble with resolution. Dr.: "Is there someone there telling Ann something upsetting?"
Head nods yes. "Is it mother?" Head nods yes. (Comment: you know this from clues from your
intake interview.) "Would it be all (384) right to talk to mother?" Head nods yes.
Dr.: "Mother, are you telling little Ann something bad?" Head nods yes. "Are you telling Ann she
is bad?" Head nods yes. "Did she do something bad?" Head nods yes. "Was it really all that bad?"
Head shakes no. "Is she really a bad kid?" Head shakes no. "Well then, could you stop telling her
she's bad?" Head nods yes.
Dr.: "Now, Mother, would you tell Ann she is not bad? Head nods yes. "Mother, tell Ann you
forgive her for her little thing she did." Head nods yes.
Dr.: "Ann, Mother says she forgives you. Could you forgive her?"
Head nods yes. "Well, tell her that and see if she will accept that." Head nods yes.
One of the issues in forgiveness is to guide the Child ego state and the Parent or hostile Parent or
vindictive Parent ego state to forgive each other. In successful RRP, you will do this a lot.
Frame 718: The greater the hostility of the Parent, the more difficult it is to achieve forgiveness.
Frame 719: When you encounter this situation, it is a clue that more RRP work needs to be
done. The Child may feel that he/she needs to hold on to the mistrustful attitude about the Parent
because he/she is trying to protect the ego. (385)
Frame 720: Who is forgiving whom? Obviously the conflict blocking resolution is between
Child and Parent, and thus they must forgive each other. Guilt is a very powerful imprisoning
feeling. When guilt is involved the same mutual agreement is necessary, but in addition the Child
must forgive himself/herself.
Frame 721: What does forgiveness mean in RRP? Here's what forgiveness is and is not.
1. Forgiveness is not condoning. It is easy to mistake forgiveness for condoning. Rather than
forgive the perpetrator, the Child is asked to let go of the feeling because the harm done from
holding on to it outweighs the protective benefit. The Child is asked to let go of the critical event
(trauma) without forgetting it or condoning it.
Frame 722
2. Forgiveness is not "giving the other cheek." It is not an invitation to repeat the crime. We
have found that when children are sexually abused by an older person, and the other adults will
not protect him/her, the emotional effect is devastating. Without some sort of protecting of the
child, such perpetrators tend to repeat such crimes over and over. Forgiveness is not offering the
perpetrator opportunity to repeat the crime.
Frame 723:
3. Forgiveness does not mean removing defenses. Such defenses were erected to protect the
Child and were necessary for survival. (386) RRP, we do not ask the Child to remove or abandon
defenses.
Frame 724:
4. Forgiveness does not mean ceasing to protect others from the perpetrator. Victims watch
the behavior of the perpetrator intensely, looking for repeating of the crime done to
himself/herself in the perpetrator's actions against others. In this sense, seeing another victim,
reading about or talking to other victims, stirs up in the Child the same intense distress. Such
victims watch movies and television shows about such crimes excessively. Forgiveness does not
equate to not protecting from becoming victims.
Frame 725:
5. Forgiveness does not mean discarding the need to punish the perpetrator or the anger
that continues to fuel that need. In our society, people sometimes become confused about this
issue and fail to prosecute criminals and incarcerate them to punish the perpetrator and to protect
society. The victim is angry and is entitled to those feelings. Such lack of official punitive action
damages self-esteem. Forgiveness does not mean discarding punishment of the perpetrator. Nor
does it mean that the victim should be denied the legitimacy of his/her anger about the crime.
Frame 726:
6. Forgiveness means that there is a greater understanding of the perpetrator as a fallible human
being who has also been victimized. By gaining some slight understanding of why the perpetrator
behaved that way, it is (387) easier for the victim to let go of the uncomfortable feelings, or at
least stop them from dominating his/her life.
Frame 727:
7. Forgiveness also means a determination to use the experience to assist other victims.
When imprisoned by the uncomfortable feelings, the victim cannot assist other victims.
Frame 728:
8. Forgiveness cannot be enforced. It can be encouraged. Forgiveness will only be possible
when all the anger, fear, and hurt associated with the perpetrator have been totally and
permanently relinquished. The past cannot be changed. Since forgiveness cannot be enforced, the
role of the RRP
therapist is to the encourage or guide patient to forgiveness.
Frame 729:
9. Guilt is the most powerful of the imprisoning feelings. Guilt closes and locks the cell door
of the prison of the mind. It plays a special role in occidental cultures. Where Christians may sit
around feeling guilty, Buddhists dance. The RRP therapist must recognize when the Child is
punishing himself/herself, and must be able to guide the self to forgiving the self. Because guilt is
such a powerful imprisoning feeling, the RRP therapist guides the self to forgive the self. (388)
Frame 730: For those of the Christian faith in a healthy relationship to their faith, that faith
helps people get through this. Thus it is important that the therapist not damage the patient's
religious faith.
Life is difficult. Religion helps people get through the tough times. Therefore, the RRP therapist
is careful not to damage that religious relationship.
Frame 731:
10. It behooves the RRP therapist to build skills in guiding forgiveness. This comes from
experience rather than textbook learning. An RRP therapist builds skills in guiding patients to
forgiveness by experience.
Frame 732: Forgiveness of the traumatizing perpetrator is extremely difficult, but the same
approach, namely that of understanding that he or she was also once a child who was probably
similarly traumatized, can help. The traumatizing perpetrator was also once a child and was
similarly traumatized.
Frame 733: In our experience, the most difficult perpetrators to forgive are the ones who commit
violent crimes such as rape, murder, and battery. Forgiveness is most difficult to achieve if
violence was committed. (389)
Frame 734: Indeed, is it reasonable for the RRP therapist to ask the RRP patient to forgive?
Rather than demand forgiveness, we have found it helpful to guide the patient to understand that
the perpetrator, as a child, was probably the victim of violence, and is repeating that pattern.
Frame 735: This is not forgiveness, but it provides a suitable explanation that can allow the RRP
patient to achieve closure on the violent crime and to get back to a normal, happy life. By
understanding the origins of the violent perpetrator's behavior, the patient can gain closure on the
violent or traumatizing critical event.
Frame 736: The victim of violent crimes and other unfair actions suffers doubly. He/she suffers
the original trauma and spends a lifetime reliving it.
Frame 737: In this way, the unfortunate victim becomes imprisoned by someone else's crime.
Frame 738: When this understanding has been accomplished, therapy is no longer indicated
because the previously injured individual is healed and has become totally freed from the
shackles of the past. When forgiveness or at least understanding has been achieved, the (390)
individual becomes totally free from the imprisonment
caused by the traumatic event. (391)
THE SPECIAL SUBJECT OF FORGIVENESS QUIZ
1. Why is achieving forgiveness important in RRP? Two of the most important parts of RRP
are Resolution (RRP Step 7) and Reintegration (RRP Step 9). Reintegration cannot occur until
Resolution is complete. Sometimes, but not always, Resolution cannot be achieved until the Child
has forgiven the Parent. The Parent is playing a protective role and has been doing that since the
critical event(s). The Parent may be asking, "If I do not protect the Child, who will?"
Forgiveness gives the Parent the opportunity to turn over that protective role to the Adult, who is
much better equipped to protect the Child. The reason is that the Parent ego state is likely to be
the same age as the Child. A child does not have the resources the Adult has. By freeing up the
Parent in resolution of the conflict, the two children, Parent and Child, can go back to being little
kids and enjoying themselves. That means getting their smiles back.
The hurt and anger carried by the Child imprison the patient. Freedom from that prison requires
letting go of those uncomfortable feelings so that they are not dominating the patient's mood
continuously. To be free, the Child must let go of the uncomfortable feelings.
2. Is there a situation in which forgiveness is premature and ill advised? The Parent is
protecting the Child. If the original danger is still there in reality, that protective role is still
needed. A real Child at risk of being battered may need police protection. To initiate forgiveness
in that setting could be dangerous to the patient.
3. What is forgiveness not? Forgiveness is not condoning. Forgiveness is not turning the other
cheek. Forgiveness does not mean ceasing to protect others from the perpetrator. Forgiveness
does not mean discarding the need to punish the perpetrator and the anger that continues to fuel
that need.
4. What is forgiveness? Forgiveness means that there is a greater understanding of the
perpetrator as a fallible human being who has also been victimized. Forgiveness also means a
determination to use the experience to assist other victims. Forgiveness can be encouraged but not
enforced.
(392)
RAPID REINTEGRATION PROCEDURE STEPS GUIDE
Step 1: Symptom Orientation Ask the patient to go back to the last time he/she had a strong
experience of the uncomfortable feeling and to let it grow.
Step 2. Affect Bridge There's a memory that goes with that feeling. Don't try to figure it out
logically. Just experience the feeling, and it will take you back to a memory of the very first time
you ever had that uncomfortable feeling.
Step 3. Critical Experience and Dissociated Ego State Right there. There's the memory that gave
you that feeling. How old are you there?
Step 4: Detaching Distressed Ego State from Critical
Experience Take that 5 year old X away from there. Bring him/her here in this safe place with us.
Give him/her a big hug. As you hug him/her, feel that awful feeling.
Step 5. Communicating With The Distressed Ego State Let him/her tell you what made him/her
feel that way. Now you can understand why he/she kept that uncomfortable feeling bottled up all
these years.
Step 6. Accessing Adult Resources for Resolution With all your wisdom and knowledge as an
adult, do you think 5 year old X still needs to hang on to that uncomfortable feeling? Well then,
you need to convince that 5 year old X that it is no longer necessary to hold on to that
uncomfortable feeling. (This may go simply, or it may require multiple steps as explained in the
programmed textbook of section 3.)
Step 7. Resolution- RRP's namesake, resolution refers to resolving the conflict between the Child
and some other ego state, usually a Parent ego state. The hallmark of resolution is that the Child
gets his/her smile back. (393)
Step 8. Confirmation of Resolution (Past Testing) Go all the way back to that event at 5 years old
and see if the uncomfortable feeling is still there or if he has let go of it.
Step 9. Reintegration Bring 5 year old X back here with us and let him occupy that empty place
in your heart.
Step 10. Confirmation of Reintegration and Future Pacing Go to an event in the future that would
evoke the uncomfortable feeling and see if it is still there.
Step 11. Ego Strengthening and Assertiveness Training X is just as good as any other human
being. Not perfect, but just as good.
Promises:
1. don't let anyone put X down.
2. Don't you put X down.
3. Don't put anyone else down. Post hypnotic suggestions as indicated. (394)
CHECK LIST OF RRP GOALS FOR THE INTAKE INTERVIEW
1. Age and gender
2. Marital status and if the patient has been married before.
3. Highest level of education and occupation(s): what is the patient's self identity? Does the
patient's job reflect the degree of education?
4. Children names! ages! jobs
5. Grandchildren names! ages! jobs
6. Siblings. How did the patient get along with the siblings? Was there sibling rivalry? How does
the patient get along with the siblings today? Were there other significant friends outside the
family? Did the siblings do things that hurt the patient? Gary was terribly abused by his older
brothers. Sheryl was repeatedly raped by her four brothers and grandfather from age 5 until she
got out of the house at age 14.
7. Parents: What were mother and father like? How did the patient relate to them? Did the parents
hug and express love to the patient as a small child?
8. Other significant people in the patient's childhood. Are there other adults who did parenting?
9. The patient's description of the problem. (396)
10. Present medications.
11. Past psychiatric history and previous psychotherapy.
12. Significant traumatic events and patient's ages at those times.
13. Significant health problems.
14. Was this Child wanted?
15. Was this Child born of the right gender to please the parents?
16. What types of love relationships does this person form, strong attachments or self-centered?
17. Evaluate self-esteem How does he/she feel about himself /herself? "Do you like (name of
self)?"
18. Is there a family history of this problem?
19. What are the feelings the patient has at the time of expression of the symptoms?
20. Provide suggestions that will facilitate the RRP session. (397)
GOALS OF THE RRP INTAKE INTERVIEW SHORT CHECKLIST:
1. Age and gender
2. Marital status
3. Education and Occupation
4. Children
5. Grandchildren
6. Siblings
7. Parents
8. Other significant people, other negative people
9. Patient's description of the problem
10. Present medications
11. Past psychiatric history and previous psychotherapy.
12. Significant traumatic events and patient's ages at those times. 13. Significant health problems
14. Was this Child wanted?
15. Was this Child born of the right gender to please the parents? 16. Nature of love relationships
formed.
17. Evaluate self-esteem.
18. Family history of the problem.
19. What are the feelings associated with the symptoms?
20. Provide suggestions that will facilitate the RRP session. (398)
SMOKING CHECKLIST
Name
date
1. Why do you want to stop smoking?
2. When did you start smoking and why?
3. What keeps you smoking?
4. What are the situations in which you feel the need to smoke? What situations trigger smoking?
5. What have you already tried to help you quit smoking?
6. When you get the urge to smoke, what is the feeling that goes along with that? (399)
CHAPTER 1 QUIZ:
1. True or False-Hypnosis produces clear cut signs that allow the therapist to feel certain the
patient is in hypnotic trance?
2. Explain the differences between left brain vs. right brain functioning for a right handed
person.
3. What is Dr. Barnett's definition of hypnosis?
4. Assuming that hypnosis is a way of getting the attention of the unconscious,. what is the
dynamic spectrum of hypnosis.
5. What is the difference between the state of hypnosis and the process of hypnosis?
6. In what way is testing for hypnotizability self fulfilling? 7. What is the basis of resistance to
therapy by hypnosis? What can the therapist do about it?
ANSWERS TO CHAPTER 1 QUIZ:
1. False. All the phenomena that have been attributed to hypnosis can be produced without any
formal induction and can exist spontaneously. A lot depends on the patient's having positive
attitudes, motivations, and expectancies. From the patient's point of view, there is no sense of
altered consciousness when responding to hypnotic suggestion. (400)
2. There is some evidence that the left hemisphere on the brain involves critical, analytical
consciousness such as thinking things out logically and in detail. The examples usually given are
topics like mathematics and science. Language centers are on the left side for right handed
subjects.
In contrast, creative, intuitive, non-critical, less logical thinking may be processed more on the
right than the left. With a normal intact corpus callosum, it is likely that both sides are used and
communicate with each other. Thinking on the right side may be harder to express in words.
Crossing over the corpus callosum to the left side risks greater activation of the left brain. We
shall see later that can interfere with RRP therapy.
3. Hypnosis is the process of communication with the unconscious mind recognizable by the
presence of unconscious response to suggestion such response being characterized by lack of
voluntary initiation. Hypnosis is characterized by the acceptance of an idea or suggestion without
conscious interference.
4. RRP relies upon communication with the unconscious mind. Also, all kinds of unconscious
mental activity can be considered part of hypnosis. For example, formal induction of hypnosis is
on the extreme end. No hypnosis or suggestibility is at the other end. In between are meditation,
deep thinking, day dreaming, fantasizing, and self hypnosis. What all these states share is
opening communication with the unconscious mind. In RRP, we do not think of the patient as
being hypnotized or in a hypnotic trance. For purposes of RRP, we do not hypnotize the patient.
5. The state of hypnosis or trance is achieved by induction, a specific action performed by the
therapist to induce hypnosis. In RRP, no formal induction of hypnosis is used. By "process of
hypnosis" is meant communication with the unconscious. Thus (401) the hypnotic process allows
communication with the unconscious mind.
6. Based on the results of the hypnotizability testing, the therapist will pigeon hole that particular
patient at that particular time as hard to hypnotize or as highly hypnotizable or somewhere in
between. At that point ,the expectations of the therapist have been set ,and therapy will proceed
along those lines. The reason this is undesirable is that the hypnotizability test results may
mislead the therapist into failing to take advantage of the patient's normal capacity to respond.
7. All resistance to formal induction of hypnosis is due to fear. The fear is mostly loss of control,
but also fear of being dominated or of unconsciousness.
Sometimes the patient has an unconscious fear of disclosure or of relinquishing symptoms or
behavior. In those cases, the symptoms and behavior are playing some role that is protective or,
at least, needed. That is a major topic of this book and a main point of RRP. If RRP therapeutic
therapy fails, it is due to a need to hang on to old uncomfortable feelings because they are
somehow protective or needed.
If the therapist can understand that all hypnosis is self hypnosis, resistance is rarely a
problem. In RRP, the patient understands fully that he/she is conscious and in complete control
at all times. He/she can see that RRP is totally nonthreatening, and resistance becomes less of a
problem than with standard therapies. However, dealing with resistance and defenses is
discussed in detail in chapter 18. (402)
CHAPTER 2 QUIZ:
1. Sometimes therapy that uncovers emotionally traumatic
experiences fails to resolve symptoms. Why?
2. Who can serve as a surrogate Mother (or Father) for the Child?
3. What are the three basic emotions, and how does their development fit together?
4. What is the effect of unexpressed emotions such as hurt, fear, and anger?
5. What is the result if Mother or the mother surrogate is the source of the hurt or danger?
6. How does it come about that the Child may disown a part of himself/herself? What are the
consequences of that action?
7. Which ego state is primarily concerned with the emotions and with the awareness of them?
8. Explain the Parent Ego state.
9. What is the basis of guilt? What does it fuel?
10. Unexpressed feelings are never obliterated. They persist in some form. What may repressed
anger and fear lead to?
11. What role does the Adult ego state play in RRP therapy? (403)
ANSWERS TO CHAPTER 2 QUIZ
1. Freud observed that knowledge of a traumatic experience is not sufficient in itself to provide a
change in behavior. The patient and therapist must work through to a resolution of such
conflicts so that the symptoms arising from them can be
removed.
2. Any individual who can respond to the child's cry for help.
3. In Part three of this book we will explore many feelings. A list can be found in the Appendix
of this book. Dr. Barnett has found that for practical purposes in RRP therapy, these many
emotions can be reduced to three basic emotions: hurt, fear, and anger. These emotions play a
role in the infant's survival. Hurt arises when the infant child experiences a discomfort and needs
to communicate that he/she needs help. This communication is through simple crying, and it
usually summons someone such as Mother to his/her aid. Crying is about the only thing the infant
can do. Sadness, rejection, loneliness, and isolation are manifestations of hurt.
If the distress is severe or prolonged before mother responds, the infant's cries become more
insistent, more shrill, more urgent. It is infantile fear. Fear is that feeling that supersedes hurt
when the source of the discomfort is perceived as life threatening. There is a helpless quality to
it. As the child develops locomotion, he/she can move away unaided from the source of
discomfort, especially toward Mother. Feelings derived from fear are anxiety, terror, and panic.
Anger is a more developed emotion. It allows the Child to strike out at the source of the
discomfort in an attempt to destroy it or, at least, drive it away. Examples are yelling and
hitting. Anger leads to aggressiveness, hostility, and resentment. (404)
4. A risk of unexpressed emotions is that they produce a
physiologic effect in addition to an emotional effect. The patient often feels the emotion in the
stomach, but other expressions or symptoms such as headache, hypertension,
uncontrollable hunger, itching, and diarrhea may occur.
5. The Child then cannot make use of the basic emotions of hurt, fear, and anger and represses
them. Ultimately, this leads patients to therapists.
6. When Child, Parent, and Adult are in harmony, the main personality is integrated and
functions normally. A way to deal with the extreme emotions associated with a traumatic
(critical) event is to separate the associated ego state away from the main personality; that is to
dissociate it from the main personality in order to protect the main personality. It is a skill
learned from reality testing for survival.
The main personality may disown the emotionally traumatic memory. The result of this action is
repression. This is often done in fear of Mother's disapproval. The end result of this dissociation
is symptom formation. Many forms of therapy treat symptoms on the basis of the category of the
symptom. An interesting aspect of RRP is that it often does not matter what the symptom is. It
does not matter so much whether the symptom is smoking, overeating, test anxiety, panic, stage
fright or other. What is important is the dissociated ego state.
7. The Child.
8. Based on experiences and memories, the Child forms ideas of what behavior is going to earn
the approval or disapproval of the real parents or surrogate parent. Collectively, this set of ideas
and information is the basis of the Child's creating a model of the real parents. We refer to this
model as the Parent ego state. It also applies to surrogate parents. The important thing is that the
Parent ego state is created by the Child. We find it very helpful to keep in mind that the Parent
ego state we deal with is not the real parent and that it was created from (405) the perspective of
a small Child. However, to the Child, it carries the authority and power of the real parent. The
actual age of the Parent is the same as the age of the Child when the Child created the Parent,
for example, age three years. What the Child and the Adult do not know is that the Parent being
carried around inside the mind is not the real parent.
9. Guilt arises from the fear of abandonment by the Parent. It gives rise to a conflict between
Parent and Child that prevents the Child from expressing normal emotions. One of the tasks of
RRP is to resolve this conflict. The conflict was necessary long ago, but is no longer useful in the
present.
10. Repressed anger leads to depression. Repressed fear leads to anxiety and phobias. Repressed
fear and anger may cause physiologic symptoms.
11.The Adult rationally records and examines data about the person's life experiences. The Adult
has the ability to see things for what they are and especially what concerns of the Child and the
Parent are still applicable and which are not. In RRP therapy, the Adult is doing most of the
therapy. The Adult is the internal resource for RRP therapy. (406)

21. TRIBUTE TO DR. EDGAR A. BARNETT: PAUL G. DURBIN, Ph.D.

Several years ago, I took a hypnotherapy course, "Unlock your Mind and be Set Free"
based on Dr. Edgar Barnett’s book Unlock your Mind and be set Free: A Practical Approach to
Hypnotherapy. (1979) Westwood Publishing Company. Glendale, CA). Since that time, Dr.
Barnett has been one of my heroes. A few weeks ago, while surfing the internet, I came across an
email address for Edgar Barnett. I sent him an email and asked if he were the Edgar Barnett who
had written books on hypnosis and he replied that he was that person. What a thrill to be able to
commentate with a person that I had admired for years. Dr. Edgar Barnett and Westwood
Publishing Company have given permission to use excepts from Dr. Barnett’s books: Unlock
Your Mind and be Set Free is out of print, but you can order Analytical Hypnotherapy from
Westwood Publishing Company: http://www.westwoodpublishingco.com/ or from Dr. Barnett at
Dr. Edgar Barnett, 464 Princess Street, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L1C2. “I have paid a
license fee to Westwood Publishing Co. for permission to use this material. I cannot pass this
permission to anyone else. Contact Westwood Publishing for further information."
DR. EDGAR BARNETT, MD BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: Dr. Barnett was born in
London, England and was trained as a family physician. He practiced under the National Health
Services until emigration to Canada in 1966. He practiced family medicine in Kingston, Ontario,
Canada until 1975 when he restricted his practice to hypnotherapy.
He was awarded the Certificate of Family Physicians of Canada (CCFP) following
examination in 1972. He was Chairman of the Department of General Practice at Kingston
General Hospital. Also past President of Medical Staff of Kingston General Hospital. Currently
he on the Consulting Staff of Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu Hospital.
Accomplishments:
* Past President of Ontario Society of Clinical Hypnosis
* Has been Secretary and Vice President of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis
* Lectured in Family Medicine at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.
* Awarded Diploma of the American Board of Medical Hypnosis * Elected Fellow of the
American Society of Clinical Hypnosis
* Author of several papers published in different journals of hypnosis
* Author of two books on hypnosis, "Analytical Hypnotherapy: Principles and Practice" and
"Unlock Your Mind and be Free" Both.
* Has given workshops in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Holland, Sweden,
Denmark and Australia
* Co-chaired a world conference on hypnosis in Budapest, Hungary in August of 1996
Now, Dr. Barnett sees patients by referral only. He treats a broad range of conditions
such as: insomnia, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, lack of self esteem and lack of confidence,
phobias, dissimilative identity disorder, sexual abuse survivors, obesity, migraine, chronic
fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, Irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pain manage, smoking.
UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE SET FREE: A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO
HYPNOTHERAPY: Emotional distress usually stems from a childhood experience or series of
experience which imprisons the individual.
THE PRISON OF REJECTION: Feelings of rejection can cause many emotional problems.
The earlier such rejection occurs, the more divesting its effects. The child who never experienced
acceptance commands few resources with which to deal with later rejection. As the individual
grows and develops, he keeps playing the old recording of rejection. His expectation of rejection
sets himself to be rejected. The person who plays the greatest part in the creation of a child's
mental health is clearly inevitably his mother. Her acceptance enables the child helps him to
accept himself. Rejection by mother is always painful and frightening. The pain of rejection is
often too severe to tolerate at a conscious level and therefore must be repressed. It is often
expressed in the form of a physical or emotional disturbance or a combination of both. Among
these disturbances are asthma, depression, drug addiction, alcoholism, and excessive smoking.
THE PRISON OF FEAR: Fear is probably present in all of the prisons of the mind but never
so prominently as in the phobias. The phobias is related to a specific problem such as an
unnatural fear of heights, darkness, close places etc.
THE PRISON OF ANXIETY: Unlike phobias, anxiety is not connected to specific
circumstances, although it might be just as severe, The anxiety sufferer experiences himself
feeling frightened or apprehensive for no obvious reason. People experiencing anxiety attacks
are generally constant worriers. He always prepares himself for things to go wrong which they
frequently do.
THE PRISON OF ANGER: Anger is a normal human emotion which becomes a problem
when its expression is prohibited, Anger can be repressed but never eradicated. It continues to
seek release by expressing itself in abnormal but somewhat disguised manner.
(1) Migraine headaches: Migraine headaches are responsible for an enormous amount of human
distress. Migraines often results when anger is repressed instead of granted normal expression.
Migraines quite often affect people who never lose their temper, cannot bear to hurt anyone’s
feeling. She can never show the emotion of anger so her suppressed anger is like a sleeping
volcano ready to erupt periodically in the form of a headache.
(2) Peptic ulcer: A peptic ulcer is another psychosomatic illness which can result from repressed
anger. When this anger is held in, the stomach seems to produce more acid than normal which
results is an ulcer. Unless the anger is dealt with, any medical remedies will be of short duration.
(3) Back pain: Repressed anger can often be the cause of back pain which has no organic cause.
Suppressed anger can cause an organic back problem to be more severe than otherwise. When
one can see their anger, vent their anger in non-destructive ways, and then let it go, improvement
usually comes. (4) Hypertension: Repressed anger can be a cause of high blood pressure or
hypertension. Dr. Barnett states the origin of hypertension is usually an emotional tension which
results from a blocking of the experience of anger. (5) Obesity: Though obesity results from a
variety of causes, one of the most common reasons for obesity is suppressed anger. The obesity
person appears to be jovial but deep inside she is boiling with anger from the hurts that she has
received. Yet she continues to swallow her anger with every mouthful of food.
THE PRISON OF GUILT: The prison of guilt is closely connected to the first three. Guilt is a
potent factor in the production of all emotional illness. Some of the problem which guilt plays a
prominent part are impotence, frigidity, obesity, skin disease, and suicides.
THE CRIME: In the eyes of the law, a crime is any act that endangers the peace and order of
society. To maintain its good health societies must apprehend and punish those who defy its
rules. There is a close parallel between the generally accepted understanding of crime and the
crime which results in the imprisonment of' part of the mind.
Dr. Barnett states that there is abundant and irrefutable evidence that unborn and new born infant
can be aware of the events that occur even at so early a stage of life. True, consciousness does
not develop until the early years of childhood, but the subconscious mind is highly developed in
the prenatal period. In fact, the subconscious is sufficiently developed to be able to record
accurately all significant events occurring at the time. These events, which may have a profound
effect on the remainder of the individual's life, require to be fully understood if the resulting
problems are to be resolved. Dr. Barnett reports that some of his patients have gone back a the
time in the womb and has recorded a strong impression of rejection, of being unwanted and other
such feelings.
The feelings of having committed a crime can cause many emotional problems. (1) The earliest
crime that an individual can commit is the crime of existing. If a child feels unwanted, therefor
he should not be. If a crime is an act which is a danger to the peace and order of society, an
unwanted infant has clearly committed such a crime because his presence disturbs the peace. He
has a feeling that his very existence is meeting with disapproval. He is guilty of the of the crime
of existence.
(2) Another crime is the feeling that he or she is of the wrong sex. The person can feel
responsible for the distress that his sex has brought to his parents. Barnett states that many cases
of homosexuality can be traced to this crime. Their guilt about their own sex prevents them from
functioning adequately as sexual beings. Feelings of unworthiness and depression are natural
responses to rejection, and obesity is a common way for women to deny their femininity. (3) A
third crime is the crime of being angry. There are times when a child fells frustrated and angry.
If the parent's responses are extreme and sever, the child becomes aware that he has committed a
crime. He feels angry but discovers that he must not express that anger. Only bad people are
angry. Needing the parents approval, he represses his normal anger in order to gain their
approval. As a result, the child internalizes his anger, denies his anger and becomes locked in
the prison of anger.
(4) A fourth crime can be fear: When fear is unacceptable or meets with marked parental
disapproval, the frightened child feels that he has committed a crime. Because his fear is
unacceptable, he must hold it inside and becomes incarcerated within his prison of fear.
(5) For some, it is a crime to hurt. Our most fundamental emotions involves an awareness of
pain. A person seldom conveys his hurt in a comprehensible manner and so its clumsy
expression is met with admonishment. The message becomes clear. Hurting is wrong. Feeling
pain is a crime, Unfortunately, the more we try not to feel hurt, the more our discomfort grows.
Whenever a person says that he "does not care," there is a strong clue that he is locked in a prison
of pain for the crime of hurting.
(6) Love is one of our most healing feeling, if love is meet with strong disapproval, it is viewed
as a crime. The individual who has been accused of the crime of loving may be unable to deny it,
but he can prevent it from happening again.
(7) Some people have unconsciously come to the conclusion that happiness is a crime. Happiness
can be frequently so rapidly followed by calamity that it would appear wiser to avoid being
happy. Thus the person locks himself in a prison where happiness is forbidden.
(8) Some people feel that they have committed a crime by being curious. When curiosity is met
by disapproval of those whose in society we are striving to belong, our parents, it becomes a
crime. When the person is punished for being curious, it becomes a crime.
Dr. Barnett uses Bernie's theories to explain his court of the mind. Eric Bernie recognized that
we all function from more than one ego state. An ego state is a distinct set of feelings and
behavior patterns. Each of us has at least three ego states. These ego states are labeled: Child,
Parent, Adult. They are given capital letters to distinguish them from our normal understanding
of the terms. All societies devise a system for administering justice so that when an individual is
accused of a crime, he can be tried. If found guilty, he is appropriately sentenced to a designated
punishment. This usually takes place in a court of law where three essential participants can be
identified: the accused, the prosecutor and the judge. We can identify the accused, but who is
the prosecutor? Who serves as judge?
1) The Child: The Child is the original and perhaps the central ego state. It is the feeling part of
our being. The Child feels all our normal emotions: hurt, anger and fear as well as their
opposites: happiness, love, and security. The Child stands before the bar of justice as the
defendant in our court of the mind because only the child ego state experiences feelings.
2) The Parent: Early in life, the Parent ego state develops in response to contact with people in
the outside world especially one’s parents This internal Parent becomes very similar to the
important persons in the child's world. It merits its name since it is almost identical in thought
and behavior to the true parents. It provides the person with a ready reference to the likely
responses of the true parents. The function of the parent is to gather all the information it can
about the people in the immediate environment of the child so that the child can respond in an
harmonious manner to these people. The internal Parent acts as an excellent means of monitoring
and modifying the child's behavior to conform with the true parents' ideas and beliefs so that it
can get along well with them. The Parent ego state primarily intends to protect the Child, but the
manner in which it fulfills this function is frequently responsible for much mental ill health.
3) . The Adult: The Adult state matures later than either the Parent or the Child. It develops from
the part of the mind concerned with collecting information about the world around us and filing
it away in the memory bands for future reference. With ample data at it disposal, the Adult ego
state is similar to a highly complex computer which can arrive at new conclusions whenever it is
presented with a fresh problem. An understanding of the Adult role is important for analytical
hypnotherapist, who must rely upon this ego state to resolve the problems which the Parent and
the Child have created.
In court, the accused is always the Child, the central part of the personality that is being
prosecuted for a feeling as some other attribute that has caused offense. The prosecutor is usually
a parent, more probably mother than father. Siblings, grandparents, and teachers can also
function as prosecutor. The accuser is always someone within the child's immediate environment
who has been distressed by who he is or something he has done because of who he is. The Judge
is the Parent. Why? Because the Parent functions to prevent the Child from alienating himself
from the true parent. The Parent must decide if the Child is guilty and must determine whether a
punishment should be imposed to prevent the recurrence of the offense. The Judge may postpone
judgement until one or more similar accusations have been made and it becomes clear that
alienation of the parent is likely. When the case comes to the court of the mind, the case for the
defense is always considered. The Child speaks up in his own defense, and his testimony is that
he was only doing what seemed right to him. Though he may say that he did not know that being
himself was a crime, but ignorance of the law is not an adequate defense in any legal system.
How does the Adult fit into the trial? What can the Adult offer the defense? Unfortunately, the
accusations are usually made before the Adult has gathered enough information about the world
to be much help may reinforce the Child by assuring him that he is not abnormal and that others
with the same attributes are not considered criminals for possessing them.
There are three principal emotions that protect us from danger and enable us to survive.
1) Hurt is the awareness of pain and the presence of dangers;
2) Fear, deriving its strength from the memory of pain, prompts the individual to avoid further
pain by fleeing its source as quickly as possible;
3) Anger protects the individual from danger either by scaring it away or annihilating it.
A DISCUSSION OF THE CHARGES:
A. You must not exist: The worst crime that the Child can be accused of is the crime of existing.
In carrying out the sentence, the Parent ego state is usually forced to make a compromise which
is acceptable to the prosecution. When the sentence is imposed, the Parent ego state is unable to
carry such a sentence to its logical conclusion. It can make life unenjoyable and cause the Child
to seek insignificance so that, for all practical purposes, he doesn't exist. As the individual grows
up and the compromise appears insufficient, the full sentence "You must not exist" is literally
carried out.
B. You must never feel angry: Anger is a natural feeling and a natural defense which is
instinctively present in the Child. In the learning process, the Child may express his anger
clumsily and in doing so may inadvertently threaten and frighten those upon whom he depends
for sustenance anti security. If their response to the Child's anger is extreme, he is liable to
become convicted of the crime of being angry. Because he has shown himself unable to manage
his anger, the Child is sentenced by the Parent to shun anger. This can be translated as "You
must never feel angry". The repression of this normal defense by the Parent is a common cause
of many emotional illnesses and of a high proportion of psychosomatic ailments.
C. You are not lovable: "You are not lovable" is the sentence delivered by the Parent to the Child
who has committed the crime by seeking to be loved by a mother who is unable to love him. The
sentence must be served in the prison of pain and sadness with the burden of the accusation,
"You are bad" If a child is met with rebuff and feels the pain of rejection often, the Child accepts
the verdict that he is guilty of being not lovable.
D. "You must not succeed": Sometimes success can be considered a crime which is punished by
the sentence, "You must not succeed." If locked up in prison of guilt, the individual will find
ways to fail. The Parent bars him from success. E. You must not be afraid: Fear is a normal
human response to real or imagined danger. Unfortunately, many parents do not understand fear
and are disturbed when they see it in their children. In addition, society frequently interprets
normal fear as cowardice. For these reasons fears may be viewed as a crime, and the Parent is
given the task of ensuring that it is not repeated by passing the sentence, "You must not be
afraid." An emotion that is blocked by the Parent in this way is often expressed in some more
acceptable way. Overeating, excessive smoking, alcoholism, and some psychosomatic illnesses
can result from the repression of fear.
F. You must not love: Love is normal human emotion, but there are people who are unable to
express love because of the sentence, "You must not love" They have been found guilty of loving
and have been sentenced never to love again. Loving is often confused with sexual activity, so
that this inability to love is accompanied by an inability to enjoy sex. This may be expressed as
fear of relishing or being involved in sex or making oneself unattractive is one way of avoiding
sex and denying love.
G. You must not think: Most people consider being stupid as a handicap, but the Child can come
to believe that it is wiser to act stupid than to use one's normal intelligence. In fact, being
intelligent has proved so disastrous that it has been interpreted as a crime with the sentence being
"You must not think."
HYPNOSIS CAN HELP: In discussing hypnosis, we often speak of "going under"
hypnosis, even though there is never any loss of consciousness. Hypnosis is not sleep, no matter
how similar the conditions may superficially appear. Stage hypnotists have lead to
misconceptions because they indicate that the person being hypnotized is in a state of
powerlessness. The power resides in the person, not within the hypnotist. All hypnosis is
self-hypnosis. In hypnosis the activity of the highly critical part of the brain is somewhat
suspended. When the other areas of the brain, the highly imaginative resources of the
unconscious mind is called upon, we have hypnosis. Whenever we turn to these highly
imaginative parts of the mind and temporarily suspend the critical parts, we are employing the
process of hypnosis. This enables suggestions to be accepted and acted upon. I would like to
point out that suggestibility must not be confused with gullibility.
Hypnosis is not a state but a process. It allows us to communicate ideas or suggestions to the
inner and subconscious imaginative part of the mind. For instance when the critical faculty is
bypassed and the individual accepts the idea of anesthesia, anesthesia is produced in the
suggested area of the body as powerful as any chemical. When the unconscious mind has
accepted the idea of pain relief, it can readily accomplish this. The process of communicating the
idea is hypnosis. The communication of any acceptable idea, its subconscious acceptance and the
subsequent action is the process of hypnosis.
ESTABLISH SIGNALS: In order to locate subconscious memories as an analytical
hypnotherapist, one needs to establish a signaling system which the subconscious mind can use
in order to communicate with you at a conscious level. This is done by setting up a subconscious
movement which indicates the subconscious answer "Yes", and another signal for the
subconscious answer "No" Using the signals: First ask the subconscious mind some general
questions in order to get used to this signaling system. "Is it all right for me to ask questions
about your problem?" If the answer is "Yes" you can begin to ask questions. If "No" ask the
question again. If the answer is "No" you should not go on. If the answer is "Yes", proceed to the
next question. The next question may be, "Is your symptom due to an emotional problem?"
Again, you should get a "Yes" answer before proceeding. Next ask, "Is it all right to know the
cause of this emotional problem?" A positive response is needed before proceeding.
Analysis can now begin:
1) The location of the critical experience. This is finding the crisis responsible for the emotional
problem. This is the time at which the crime for the imprisonment was committed. It is the
experience which made the client feel guilty; producing the constraints which have bound the
client ever since. (a) The review of all subconscious tensions. Ask the subconscious mind to
review all old, outdated subconscious tensions and to indicate when this has been accomplished
by lifting the "Yes" finger;
(b) Locate the earliest tension: Ask the subconscious mind to determine the earliest of these
tensions and to indicate when this has been accomplished by lifting the "Yes" fingers;
(c) Review of the earliest tension: Ask the subconscious mind to review this earliest tension and
the experience responsible for it in complete detail and to let you know when this is done by
lifting the "Yes" fingers. (d) Elevation of the subconscious memory to consciousness: Ask the
subconscious mind if it is all right for client to know about the experience which is responsible
for the problem. If so, indicate by a "Yes" signal. If "Yes", direct the subconscious mind to bring
the memory of this experience to a level of conscious awareness. During this time the client may
have feelings of desolation, sadness, anger, or fear. By knowing the cause, feeling the emotion,
and coming to terms with these feelings, the client can begin the healing. (2) Review and
acceptance of the previously repressed emotion: When the client has located the critical
experience, he next task is to gain subconscious acceptance of the emotion. When this is
accomplished, lift the "Yes" finger. (3) Recognition of the present irrelevance of the previously
repressed emotion: Ask "With the understanding you now possess, must you preserve that old
tension?" You should receive a "No" signal before going on. If "Yes" signal continues, ask "Do
you still need all of that outdated emotion?" if "No", the subconscious mind is not prepared to
release all of the emotions at the present time.
(4) Relinquish the unnecessary outdated tension. Call upon the subconscious mind to find a way
to let the old outdated emotion go. Ask, "Using all of your subconscious understanding and
wisdom, find a way in which this old, useless and outdated tension can be released, Indicate
when this has been found by raising the "Yes" finger."
(5) Resolution of the outdated tension: Ask the subconscious mind to supply a solution so that
client can deal with the tension and can release it. When you have received a signal that this is
accomplished, go on.
(6) Rehabilitation: Ask the subconscious mind to imagine the solution that has been accepted,
being applied in three different relevant problematic situations, and to signal when this has been
accomplished. If there is further work to be done, give direct suggestion that the client be
successful and work on it another time.
EXCERPTS FROM ANALYTICAL HYPNOTHERAPY: PRINCIPLES AND
PRACTICE: (By E. A. Barnett, MD (1989) Westwood Publishing Co. Glendale, CA) [ To order
go to Westwood Publishing Company: http://www.westwoodpublishingco.com/]: If hypnosis
did nothing more than raise self-esteem and strengthen ego, it would be performing no small
service to patients. Hypnosis is unquestionably a powerful tool for the uncovering of memories,
but such uncovering is only the first step. Freud was right to observe that knowledge of a
traumatic experience is not sufficient in itself to provide change of behavior. After identification
of the conflict, the therapist and the patient must work through to a resolution of such conflicts
so that the symptoms arising from them can be removed. (p. 73) Let us look at the case of a
patient with snake phobia. She is unable to move into any environment which, by any stretch of
the imagination, could possibly be inhabited by snakes. She is frequently subject to attacks of
panic because there are so many things that can remind her of them. Clearly, she is not
responding directly to the environment (which is relatively harmless and certainly does not
warrant such an intense fear response), but rather, she is responding to a set of frightening
memories that are evoked by the thought of a snake. Such memories are more real to her
unconscious mind than the actual environment. For, this phobic response is therefore entirely
appropriate.
In order to help this patient, the analytical hypnotherapist persuades the patient to review
in detail, through the medium of regression, those experiences which were responsible for the
symptom-producing behavior. Having identified these experiences, and all of their associated
emotional responses, he then activates the Adult within the patient to examine the current
inappropriateness of such responses and encourages him to discover improved ways of behaving
in the present. It has consistently been the author's experience that, where uncovering has been
possible, an inappropriate emotional response had been always discovered to be due to an
unresolved Parent/Child conflict. In such a conflict, the expression of the individual's natural
response has been repressed because of unconscious guilt due to fear of parental disapproval. By
returning to the critical experience and reviewing them in the light of his present (Adult) wisdom
and understanding, the patient is persuaded to reassess these experiences and then to find the
resources with which to formulate more effective behavioral responses to the stimuli previously
responsible for the symptoms. Location of the critical experiences is therefore crucial to therapy,
even though it is only a part of the analytical hypnotherapist’s task. In order to achieve the cure
symptoms, not only must the therapist enable his patient to recognize the inappropriateness of his
responses as the level from which they originate, but also, he must encourage him to discover
more effective responses which will ultimately enable him to function more effectively. (p. 89)
REFRAMING: Reframing is the name given to a technique for promoting a beneficial
change in an individual. There are two types of reframing, the first of which attempts to separate
the intention behind a specific set of symptoms from the symptoms themselves and to reframe
(reassociate) that intention in a more beneficial behavior pattern. The second approach accepts
the inappropriate behavior pattern and reframes it so that it only occurs in a useful context. It
assumes that inappropriate behavior is only inappropriate because it occurs out of context and
that there is always a context in which it is appropriate and useful. (p. 157)
SYMPTOM PRESCRIPTION: Symptom prescription is another application of indirect
suggestion. In this technique, the therapist actually sanctions or encourages symptomatic
behavior and in so doing, provides a rationale for the symptoms. In effect, the therapist directs
the patient to do exactly as he is already doing; but at the same time, he provides an additional
therapeutic contribution or modification to the symptomatic behavior. Zeig described three
different principles espoused by Erickson: meeting the patient within his own frame of
reference; establishing small therapeutic modifications which are consistent with this frame of
reference; and eliciting the cure from within the patient. Thus the patient is assisted to establish
change utilizing his own power and through his own resources. Symptom prescription gives the
patient the opportunity to recognize, evaluate and change his own behavior either consciously or
unconsciously. Zeig, in another paper, described how compels symptom prescription could be
simplified by breaking the symptom into its elements and confining the prescription to only one
of these elements. (p. 25)
THE PRESENTATIONS OF ANXIETY: Anxiety can present in many ways and
frequently goes unrecognized because the presenting symptoms obscure it. In face, it may be
only on close enquire that the individual is able to recognize the anxiety responsible for his
symptoms.
Panic attacks: Intense, acute episodes of anxiety can be labeled panic or acute anxiety attacks, in
which all of the physical symptoms of anxiety (e.g. sweating, hyperventilation, nausea, diarrhea,
shortness of breath, choking, etc.) are frequently accomplished by a strong feeling of
helplessness. Phobias: Phobias are also panic attacks with one main difference: the likely
precipitating factors are known by the patient and are carefully avoided because of the severe
anxiety response that contact with these factors will produce. In the phobias, the acute anxiety is
likely to subside rapidly, when the individual is no longer exposed to the precipitating factor. (p.
262) Obsessive Compulsive Behavior: Any unwanted behavior which cannot be consciously
controlled must be considered compulsive and results from a persistent or repetitive idea which
must also be regarded as compulsive. Probably all of the problems of addictions, whether to food
or to drugs of different kinds, must be regarded as examples of obsessive compulsive behavior.
The role of anxiety in these symptom complexes can more clearly be recognized when any
attempt is made to impede compulsive behavior. For example, if the heavy smoker is deprived of
his cigarettes, he becomes intensely anxious.
PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDERS: Psychosomatic disorders frequently conceal deeply
rooted anxiety and even where the anxiety is apparent, the extent of it is discovered only during
therapy. (p. 263) Gastrointestinal: The chronic bowel syndromes are often physical
manifestations of unconscious anxiety. Over activity and spasm of the large bowel with abdomen
pain, diarrhea and nausea are features of acute anxiety for some people. Conversely, those people
who suffer from chronic bowel diseases; such as colitis, spastic colon, etc., are similarly
suffering from an anxiety which is less obvious, but rarely do they receive treatment for this
source of their symptoms. (p. 263-264) Cardiovascular: The role of anxiety in cardiovascular
disease has gained wider recognition. Bruhn has shown that myocardial infraction occurs most
typically under circumstances of emotional drain and Freidman and Roseman have elegantly
documented the association between myocardial infarction and what they labeled type-A
behavior pattern in which the person is found to have aggressive drives and an overwhelming
sense of the pressure of time. Hypertension is also a disorder of the cardiovascular system and
has been shown by Wolf to be closely related to anxiety; such patients show a striking need to
excel.
SKIN DISORDERS: There is no doubt that much emotional tension can be expressed
via the skin. Muspah found that intense itching is often due to repressed anxiety and that therapy
directed at reducing this anxiety will reduce the itching.
SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION: Sexual dysfunction must be regarded as a psychosomatic
disorder and is one that frequently comes to the attention of the analytical hypnotherapist.
Chronic anxiety is now well recognized to be a common cause of sexual dysfunction. (p. 264)
[ To order go to Westwood Publishing Company: http://www.westwoodpublishingco.com/ or
from Dr. Barnett at Dr. Edgar Barnett, 464 Princess Street, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L1C2.]

(#22 -33 EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE FREE: LANE &
ASSOCIATES: LE JOLLA, CA: 1979: CHAPTERS 1-12)
22. INTRODUCTION: EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE FREE: LANE
& ASSOCIATES: LE JOLLA, CA: 1979
When I took up the general practice of medicine thirty years ago, it was widely believed
that the profession was making great strides towards subduing many of mankind's most
frightening illnesses. Penicillin and related antibiotics were revolutionizing the treatment of
diseases. Pneumonia, once a menacing killer, was now under control. Polio would soon be
vanquished by vaccine.
But after several years of working in a full and varied practice, I became aware that many
of our hopes were ill-founded. The wonder drugs remained powerless against a large proportion
of the illnesses a family practitioner faced. I soon realized that I had a poor understanding of the
causes which underlay numerous maladies afflicting my patients, and none of my medical books
carried any effective remedies.
During anyone morning I treated patients with recurring headaches, muscle pains and
vague feelings of discomfort. In time I learned that the presence of these symptoms did not
necessarily indicate any discoverable disease of the kind that I had been trained to detect.
Medicine geared to deal exclusively with physical complaints was failing these sufferers.
In my early years I became familiar with another variety of disorders which were periodic
in nature, primarily occurring when patients experienced abnormal tensions in their lives. But it
was always difficult to discover why these patients who were suffering from such poorly
understood disorders as ulcers, high blood pressure, migraine and asthma would recover quickly
on some occasions and respond slowly to treatment on others.
Then there were the frankly psychiatric problems for which the term "nervous
breakdown" was, and still is, frequently used. These people were extremely tense or depressed,
often erratic and unpredictable in their behavior.
Lacking the time in a busy general practice to provide adequate attention to patients with
psychiatric problems, I referred them to psychiatrists in the belief that with a specialist they
would receive the assistance necessary for recovery. To my dismay, it soon became clear that the
psychiatrists made real and permanent progress with few of these patients, their greatest successes
arising among those who were receptive to the kind and close attention which, but for the want of
time, I would have been able to administer myself.
During this period psychotropic drugs became widely available and promised to
revolutionize the treatment of emotional disorders in (1) the way that antibiotics had transformed
organic medicine. Valium, librium and other tranquilizers in varying strengths were useful in
sedating patients, making them more manageable and receptive to treatment. But the
psychotropics failed to live up to their early promise. They alleviated the symptoms of emotional
distress without addressing the causes. The real problem of developing a cure for emotional
illness remained.
Frustrated by the failure of psycho tropics and conventional medical practices, I became
convinced that a more personalized therapy which allowed the sufferer to deal constructively with
his own problems must be found. In search of a form of therapy which could provide individual
answers to individual problems, some twenty years ago I began to use hypnosis in my practice.
I first became interested in hypnosis as a young boy and from that time onward read every
treatise I could obtain on the subject. I learned that mere suggestion in hypnosis could make the
paralyzed walk and cure the asthmatic's wheeze. I read that mothers could deliver babies
painlessly without anesthesia and that a wide variety of ills which apparently stemmed from
organic causes could be defeated through the power of hypnosis. But my colleagues scoffed at
these notions, and I remained uncertain as to the true value of such a therapy.
 My interest in the power of suggestion continued unabated, and when I discovered that
anyone could become proficient in the practice of hypnosis, I began to wonder whether it might
provide fresh answers to the old problems I faced in my practice. It was not, however, until a
patient suffering from a recurring migraine asked me if there was nothing else I could do for her
that I suggested hypnosis.
My patient, naturally, was surprised by the suggestion that hypnosis might provide the key
for her cure and was even more astounded to learn that I proposed to administer treatment myself.
But she assented to the experiment, little knowing that I was a novice. I determined to conceal the
fact until we could assess the results of the treatment, certain that success would be more likely if
her confidence in me were maintained.
My first experience with hypnosis proved to be an unqualified success, for my patient
made significant improvement. Her migraines, which had responded only temporarily to drug
therapy, diminished in frequency and severity. She began to sleep more easily, and her emotional
symptoms of depression and anxiety became much less pronounced. To conclude the treatment, I
taught her how to induce self-hypnosis, and she was eventually able to discontinue the use of all
the medications upon which she relied. (2)
Naturally, I was highly impressed by this initial victory, and over the years I gradually
increased my use of hypnosis. Simply by learning a process to aid relaxation, many of my
patients were saved years of misery from tension induced complaints. But some of my patients
had much more serious and complex problems.
Increased experience with hypnosis brought me greater insight into the underlying causes
of deep-seated emotional distress. Patients whose complaints were obviously serious revealed to
me a chilling degree of self-hatred. They craved relief but were unable to escape self-destructive
patterns of behavior. Their physical symptoms were not the result of any organic disease but of
emotional problems to which they were indissolubly tied. They had lost their freedom and their
hope because they hadn't even realized they were imprisoned.
After almost three decades in hospital and family practice, I resolved to devote the
remainder of my medical life solely to the practice of therapy through hypnosis. I had explored
and appreciated :he value of direct suggestion in hypnosis, but I have come to realize :hat its
analytical powers give far superior results. In my experience hypnoanalysis has provided the most
dependable key for unlocking the spirits and bodies of those who are shackled in the prisons of
the mind.
Through the use of hypnoanalytic techniques I have had considerable success in helping
patients discover the critical experiences in their backgrounds which have been responsible for
their distress. The procedures I have developed, allowing patients to understand the importance of
these critical experiences, have led to cures which would have been impossible with the use of
hypnotic suggestion alone. I have written this book in order to present my understanding of the
conflicts which imprison us and of the means by which hypnoanalytic techniques can be used to
find freedom. I present these ideas so that you too can unlock your mind and be free. (3)

23. CHAPTER ONE: PRISONS OF THE MIND: EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND
AND BE FREE: LANE & ASSOCIATES: LE JOLLA, CA: 1979
1. THE PRISON OF FEAR PHOBIAS: In the early years of my hypnotherapy
practice, a young man came to me with a problem that was rapidly destroying his career. He had
heard of my success with hypnosis and requested a consultation since all other measures to find a
cure had failed. ''I'm a salesman, doctor, so I'm on the road a good deal. 1 like the work, and it's
been going very well until recently. I've just started bringing in bonus money, but now ... now my
nerve seems to be failing," he said with a weak attempt at a grin.
George was a rugged, good-looking fellow of about thirty. He had worked as a laborer for
several years, traveling whenever the spirit moved him. He had then married and settled down to
a career in sales. A strong, independent individual, he could hardly admit to himself that he
harbored a serious problem.
"I don't know where to start. It sounds so stupid. 1 just can't understand why this is
happening to me. When I'm driving, 1 get a panicky feeling. 1 feel as if I'm going to swerve into
the oncoming traffic. When this sensation comes over me, I start to shake. It gets so bad now that
1 have to pull off the road and calm down. 1 can't drive any faster than forty miles an hour on the
highways anymore. I'm terrified. Because 1 keep having to stop. I'm late for every appointment I
make, and my customers are beginning to think I'm unreliable. My boss is upset. Even my wife is
wondering about me. I can't possibly go on like this." ,
It cost George considerable effort to tell his story. By the end he was sweating heavily and
grimacing in emotional distress. I encouraged him to relax, assured him that my practice had
made me familiar with problems of this kind, and began to question him about his terrifying
experiences.
"How long have you been having these attacks George?" I asked. "They began about three years
ago. 1 didn't tell anybody. 1 didn't want anybody to know. They weren't as bad then, and they
only happened once in a while. Now they occur almost any time I'm in the car."
"Do you ever get these attacks at other times when you're not driving?" I queried. (5) "No
... ah, yes, but just once, a couple of weeks ago. I was up on the roof of the house trying to fix the
TV antenna-just about 10 feet off the ground. I've never been afraid of heights, but up there I got
the terrible feeling that I was going to leap off and smash myself on the ground. I took a few deep
breaths and came down slowly, but the experience shook me up. It was so dumb but so
frightening."
When George finished outlining his symptoms, I explained to him that he had developed a
phobia.
"George, you must first understand that there's nothing stupid or dumb about what you're going
through. This fear is very real for you. In fact, fear is like a prison. If you dan't try to break aut
when it has locked you in, you'll never be a free man again-free to live your life the way you
want to. "Phobias are not really uncommon; many people suffer from them. You probably know
somebody with an unnatural fear of snakes ar heights or elevators ... something like that. It seems
silly on the outside, but those people feel the same kind af terror that yau do about driving. Now
this may be a little difficult to understand, but I don't think you're really afraid of driving,
George."
"But doctor, it's so rea1." "I can't doubt that, but were yau ever afraid of driving three years ago?"
I asked.
"No, never," he assured me.
"What's happened, George, is that you've developed a deeper fear within. Driving the car is just
the trigger far it."
"Then there's nothing to be done?" he asked miserably.
"Oh yes, there's a great deal to be done. We must uncover that deeper fear and determine why
driving triggers it. Then we can see about curing it for good."
My assurances that a cure was possible brought about an immediate reaction in George.
Beginning to relax, he met my eyes with his for the first time during our session. The power af
suggesting, of course, is a patent tool. Convincing a patient that help is at hand becomes an
important step in aiding him to discover the root of his problem.
"George, in order to help you, I'm going to need more information than you've been able
to. give me ... information that you may nat even realize you possess. I'm going to use hypnosis
to secure that information. You'll find that you can reach a very relaxed state by concentrating
with your conscious mind on a pleasant thought. When your conscious mind is focused on that
idea and very relaxed, I'll begin to. probe your unconscious for the causes of this panic." (6)
"But can it really help, doctor? I don't understand how," George protested, still skeptical.
"Yes, I'm sure it can. But let me explain by giving you an analogy. Suppose you and a friend are
living in an African jungle hut. One day, as you go out for a walk, a lion suddenly leaps out at
you. You're terrified. You reach for your gun, but it's not there, and that roaring lion is getting
closer every second. You take to your heels in fright and race back to the hut as fast as you can
with that howling beast at your back. Reaching safety in the nick of time, you slam the door
behind you, shaking with fear.
"Sounds like a story with a happy ending, doesn't it? But here's the twist. Your buddy is a
practical joker. While you've been chased by the roaring lion, he has recorded the terrifying
experience on tape. Just when you've regained your courage and are ready to march through the
door of the hut, he switches on the recording of the lion's roar. How will you react when you hear
that roar?"
"Back away from the door, I guess-stay inside."
"That's right. You remain inside, trembling with fear. Most ::motional distress results from the
unconscious recording of a i'roblem that hasn't been solved. With a phobia like yours,
George, :hat recording is being triggered when you drive in the car. You're :rapped by that
recording just as if you were shut up in the jungle ::ut. We need to find a way to free you from
the hut."
"How do we do that?"
"By shutting off the tape recording."
Within a few sessions I was able to determine that George's phobia was caused by two
experiences in his past. As a young man he had quarreled terribly with his father, who had
wanted George to settle down and find a career during a time when the son was still experiencing
wanderlust. From that time on George harbored a terrible feeling of guilt for having angered his
father.
The second incident, one which contributed most directly to George's driving phobia,
occurred the evening before his father's funeral. George was flying to join his mother for the
service when the plane was buffeted by a tremendous storm. He felt certain that he was going to
be killed because he had been angry with his father. He was especially frightened because he felt
that he deserved to be punished for his treatment of his father.
George was imprisoned in the cells of guilt and fear. Every time he climbed into his car,
unconscious memories of his terrible plane trip were released. In his unconscious mind he was up
in that plane, ready to be killed for having angered his father. (7)
 Once George and I isolated and examined his problem, a cure followed rapidly. He was
able to unlock his mind from the guilt of his natural anger and find freedom when hypnoanalysis
provided him with the key.
Human beings can find their minds inextricably trapped in several kinds of prisons.
Effectively immobilizing the sufferer without revealing any direct connection to the outside
world, they are the result of faulty functioning of the mind in its comprehension of the world.
Fear is probably present in all of these prisons, but never so prominently as in the phobias.
Anxiety: Anxiety and acute anxiety attacks are another manifestation of a powerful fear
imprisoning the mind. Unlike phobias,<!he fear is not related to any specific circumstances,
although it might be just as severe:;,If you can imagine yourself feeling frightened or
apprehensive for no obvious reason, you can appreciate the tensions which the anxiety sufferer
experiences.
Edward came to see me because he had been having difficulties sleeping for over five
years. He could not remember what it was like to sleep soundly throughout the night, but he had
no idea what kept him awake so often. He was only able to sleep if he took a very heavy dose of a
sleeping medication, but this had the predictable effect of making him quite drowsy the following
day. He experimented for a time with alcohol but gave this up when he sensed the possibility of
addiction.
Edward's days were also unpleasantly colored by constant feelings of tension. He suffered
from headaches which usually started in the back of the neck. A constant worrier, he was always
preparing himself for things to go wrong-and, of course, they frequently did. He spent much of
his time fretting about things that might not happen but felt that he must be mentally prepared for
any eventuality.
When he did find rest, he experienced dreadful dreams in which he was either being
chased by some unnamed and unidentifiable horror or he was falling, falling, falling. As far as he
could remember, he always awakened before hitting the ground.
During the day Edward felt tired and exhausted. He was seldom able to complete
self-appointed tasks and frequently had to lie down to rest. He knew that he was constantly in a
state of nervous tension but felt powerless to do anything about it. Edward's story has been
repeated by many of my patients over the years. A physician who has been in practice for any
length of time will have encountered this (8 ) problem but usually has found it difficult to treat.
Chronic anxiety, another cell in the prison of fear, can ensnare the mind. Due to fear less specific
than the fear associated with phobias, it is present constantly, regardless of external
circumstances.
2. THE PRISON OF ANGER: Anger imprisons the mind as effectively as fear. It is a
normal human emotion which administers its most crippling effect when its expression is
prohibited. Anger can be repressed but never eradicated. It continues to seek release by
expressing itself in an abnormal but somewhat disguised manner. We will later consider why
anger is sometimes not permitted normal expression, but here we seek to understand what may
happen when the normal avenues of expression are blocked.
Migraine: Migraine is a common form of headache, responsible for an enormous amount
of human distress. It is an excellent example of what may happen when anger is repressed instead
of granted normal expression.
Tom came to see me with a migraine problem. Apart from these headaches, he declared,
he was very happy. At 40 years of age he enjoyed a lovely wife and two healthy teenage
daughters. His world appeared to be perfect.
Only a migraine sufferer can really appreciate the relentless severity of an attack. Tom
explained that he frequently went to bed feeling quite well, but shortly after wakening the next
morning, his head would begin to throb with pain situated over the left eye. Usually the pain
would increase unless his medication, always at hand, was immediately effective. If it was not, he
would be incapacitated for the remainder of that day and sometimes well into the following day.
Sometimes he would reach his office and be able to work for a few hours, but then the
headache would become so intense that he would find it impossible to continue. Returning home
to bed, he would remain in a darkened room with appropriate doses of medication. On occasion
he became so ill that he called his doctor for an injection to relieve the pain. On other occasions
he would vomit, which seemed to relieve him. Usually after a good sleep, Tom would awaken
feeling well, able once again to continue his normal life.
Before consulting me, Tom's headaches had become much more frequent. In the previous
year they had begun to recur at approximately two-week intervals. He had tried many
medications
(9) and found that although none completely prevented the attacks, he would often experience
some relief from pain if he took them far enough in advance. He had undergone all the
investigations that were medically recommended, but no evidence of any disease had been
detected. He was regarded as healthy and physically very fit. No one knew what brought on his
headaches, but they certainly caused him and his family excessive misery.
Prior to therapy I did not know the cause of Tom's headaches, but I suspected, from my
previous experience with this problem, that they were probably the result of suppressed anger.
Tom maintained that he never lost his temper, always keeping a tight rein upon it because he
could not bear to hurt anyone's feelings. He recognized himself as a perfectionist who must
always do things absolutely correctly so that no one could possibly find fault with his work.
Happily, through analytical hypnotherapy, Tom was eventually able to discover the cause of his
migraine, which indeed proved to be repressed anger, and to find new means of dealing with it.
Suppressed anger is like a sleeping volcano; it can erupt periodically in the form of a headache,
backache or some other physical discomfort.
Peptic Ulcer: A peptic ulcer is another psychosomatic illness which can result from
repressed anger. Alan's history exemplifies this problem well. He came to see me some time ago
because he was suffering from a great deal of abdominal pain in spite of extensive surgical
treatment for a stomach ulcer. Because of occasional bleeding from the operation site, further
surgery had been recommended. He had come to the conclusion that repeated operations had not
brought any permanent improvement in his health, so he was desperate to try an alternative form
of therapy.
Alan was an engineer in his late forties who felt frustrated in a job which made few
demands upon him intellectually. He found that he was frequently being called upon to do his
work in a manner which he considered to be inefficient and unsatisfactory. Fancying himself
more informed than his superiors, he was frequently forced to suppress his opposition to them on
important issues. Often depressed and lacking in energy, he persistently looked upon himself as a
personal failure.
After talking to Alan for a short time, I became aware of the tremendous potential that lay
dormant in him. He had been able to use this potential by starting a small business in the sale of
tools
(10) which, with the help of his wife, he operated in addition to his job as an engineer. Although
quite successful, he remained dissatisfied with his efforts. He wanted to change his life in some
way but did not know how. I received the impression that Alan was a man with enormous energy
which somehow had been obstructed. This is the very kind of personality, of course, that is prone
to suffer from psychosomatic illnesses, and we will later learn how people like Alan are
imprisoned by the anger they cannot express. I am pleased to say that Alan was eventually able to
escape from his prison and become virtually free of his symptoms.
Back Pain: Many people who suffer from low back pain can find no cause for its origin.
Their x-rays are normal, and clinical signs do not indicate any disease; yet the pain recurs
intermittently year after year.
Mary came to see me because she had heard that hypnosis could help to relieve pain. She
was fed up with having to take medication for a back pain that had plagued her for over twenty
years. At the time met her, she was in her mid-forties with a grown-up family. I recall that she
displayed the resigned look of extensive suffering. She was quite handsome and well-dressed
with a quiet voice and demeanor which suggested someone who would prefer not to be noticed.
She told me that her only periods of freedom from the back pain, which was sometimes quite
excruciating, occurred during her pregnancies. This is, of course, quite unlike an organic ailment,
which would tend to worsen during pregnancy. She admitted to being tense and depressed, but
she attributed this to her back pain, which she felt would make anyone feel depressed. It certainly
prevented her from performing a variety of tasks, and it particularly hindered her from sharing in
activities with the rest of the family. Often she had to retire to bed while her husband and children
went on their way without her.
Mary believed that her back pain physically imprisoned her, but in therapy she learned
that her real prison was one of unexpressed anger. Once she was able to vent that anger, she freed
herself from it and her back pain.
Hypertension: High blood pressure or hypertension is a very serious modern disease
which appears to be on the increase. We physicians know that the strain which it imposes upon
the heart and the blood vessels is (11) frequently responsible for disability and often leads to early
death. Modern medical treatment is often highly effective in controlling high blood pressure but
rarely succeeds in curing it. This is because only in a minority of cases can a cause be found and
treated. In my experience, the origin of hypertension is usually an emotional tension which results
from a blocking of the expression of anger.
Phillip was thirty-eight years of age when he first consulted me. He was overweight and
suffering from high blood pressure which, without continuous medication, soared into a range
which could soon lead to permanent damage to his heart, kidneys or blood vessels. He was aware
that any of these eventualities could cause his death, and he was told that losing some weight
would go a long way to achieving control of his blood pressure.
Although a big man, Phillip was quiet and retiring. He was always smiling and was very
well liked. He would never argue with anyone and would certainly never be the cause of an
argument. He had never been heard to defend himself, and it would require a great effort of
imagination to think of him becoming angry. Phillip did admit to a great deal of tension and to
suffering from difficulty in falling asleep. He also felt that he was totally unable to stop himself
from eating fattening foods.
In therapy we found a seething anger within Phillip which was kept so totally controlled
that he was entirely unaware of it. The only external evidence of the anger was his raised blood
pressure and his self-destructive eating pattern. He was imprisoned by his anger, and only when
he realized this was he able to do something to release it and thus to free himself from its prison.
When that happened he became more relaxed, his blood pressure started to fall and he was at last
able to stay on a reducing diet program.
Obesity: Because overeating may result from a variety of causes, the problem of obesity
becomes exceedingly complex. One of the most common reasons for obesity is suppressed anger.
Typically, the obese woman is one who always appears to be jovial and without a care in the
world. She even shares in jokes about being overweight. Deep inside, however, she is boiling
with anger from the hurts that she has received. Yet she continues to swallow her anger with
every mouthful of food.
I well remember Peggy, who at twenty-five had attractive features, suggesting that she
might have been extremely beautiful with one (12) hundred pounds less weight. When she came
to me for help, she explained that she had been only one hundred and fifteen pounds when she
married at sixteen. Pregnant at the time of her first visit, and having two other children, she
attributed much of her excess weight to her pregnancies, for she had lost very little after each.
Her younger child was then four years of age, and she eventually admitted to putting on about
fifty pounds since his birth. Like so many obese people, she found it difficult to accept
responsibility for her increased weight.
Peggy told me a great deal about herself. She had few friends, but she frequently visited
her mother, who lived not far from her. She seldom enjoyed these visits because her mother was
extremely critical of her. She did not think that her mother intended to hurt her, but this was
simply her way. Peggy felt that nothing could be done about it. Her husband worked at a distance
from home and was rarely at home except on weekends. She did not like this but knew that she
had to tolerate it for the time being. Peggy had never endured any financial problems, but she was
often depressed for no clear reason. Finally, she had a daughter of eight who presented her with
discipline problems.
During hypnoanalysis we discovered that Peggy was indeed seething with tremendous
anger of which she was initially quite oblivious. An old anger which she could not let herself feel,
let alone express, it was the force which drove her to eat even though she was not hungry. Only
when she came to terms with her anger and accepted it did she escape from its prison. When she
first came to me, she thought that she would get rid of her compulsion to eat simply by means of
a post hypnotic suggestion given in hypnosis. Unfortunately, solutions are not easily available,
and suggestions given in this manner are usually rejected or followed for a short time only.
Since the problem of obesity is so important, I shall be discussing it in greater depth
elsewhere in this book, and we will discover that repressed anger is only one of its possible
causes.
3. THE PRISON OF PAIN AND SADNESS: The deep wound and the sadness of
rejection is probably central to the genesis of all emotional illnesses. The earlier such rejection
occurs, the more devastating its effect, for the child who has never experienced acceptance
commands few resources with which to deal with later rejection. The person who plays the
greatest part in the creation of a child's mental health is clearly inevitably his mother. (13) Her
acceptance enables him to accept himself. Rejection by mother is always acutely painful and
frightening.
The pain of rejection is often too severe to tolerate at a conscious level and therefore must
be repressed. It does not go away, however, no matter how unaware the individual is of its
existence. Its constant demand to be expressed in some form or other results in a physical or an
emotional disturbance-,or a combination of both. Only a few examples can be given here.
Asthma: We can verify a strong allergic element in asthma, a condition in which the
victim suffers great difficulty in breathing. There is some evidence to suggest that even this
element has an emotional basis, but in any case, it is generally agreed that emotion can aggravate
almost any allergic illness, and this was certainly never more true than with asthma.
I first met Albert some years ago when he was referred to me because his asthma attacks
appeared to be increasing in frequency. At the time he was twenty, and he informed me that he
had suffered from this problem since the age of four. The younger of two boys, Albert recalled
that his brother was apparently brighter than he and did very well at school, whereas he did
comparatively badly. He blamed that on his asthma, which frequently kept him at home and made
it difficult for him to compete with the others.
Some of Albert's asthma attacks had been frighteningly severe, and he had been
hospitalized on occasions to the great disruption of the family. His parents appeared to be quite
devoted to him, and he felt that he related well to them.
Strangely enough, Albert was free of all attacks of asthma for one year. During this year
he was away from home attending college in another city. In the eighteen months or so following
his return from college, his attacks increased in severity. MedicatiQns had to be increased, and he
was eventually placed on cortisone therapy, which gave him some relief from the intensity of the
attacks but did not reduce their frequency. He came to see me specifically to help him reduce his
attacks of asthma so that he could discontinue some of his medications.
During analysis we discovered that the true cause of his asthma was his intense feeling of
rejection. His asthma represented a silent cry of pain, expressing a hurt which he could not allow
himself to feel. It was necessary for Albert to deal with his pain before his (14) asthma eventually
improved.
Depression: Each of us has experienced a fit of melancholy, but depression possesses a
certain futile and groundless quality which sets it apart from ordinary sadness. Typically the
sufferer is unable to function properly. He becomes easily tired and does not sleep well. He is
irritable and frequently unaccountably tearful. During periods of depression the world appears an
awful and hopeless place in which nothing ever goes right. Depression is often complicated by
feelings of anger and guilt, both of which can be traced to experiences of early rejection. The
rejection is responsible for the sadness and the anger, but this anger may be repressed or directed
toward the sufferer. Alternatively, the sadness may be concealed by the anger, and neither the
sadness nor the anger will be given appropriate external expression for this reason the depressed
person may express his anger against himself in the extremely hostile act of suicide-the murder of
the self.
Sandra was a tall, attractive girl in her late twenties who had lied with several men but had
never married. She was sustaining a relationship with a married man who was separated from his
wife at the time that she consulted me. Her history was an emotionally stormy one. There had
been many admissions to a hospital for psychiatric treatment during her adolescence, on one
occasion she attempted suicide by slashing her wrists and on another by taking an overdose of
tranquilizers.
She came to see me because, once again feeling depressed and hopeless, she was
searching for a different route to the solution of her emotional problems. She was aware of her
sadness but was unaware of its true intensity or of the anger which accompanied it. I suspected
that she would have difficulty in coming to terms with the immense amount of repressed hurt that
needed to be dealt with, and so it proved. She did, however, eventually succeed in dealing with
the pain ind sadness which was imprisoning her in a life of self-rejection, and she was ultimately
able to gain the freedom of self-acceptance. This has resulted in many changes in her life and in
her relationships. She now possesses an understanding of her former behavior and knows that it
has ended for good.
Depression is a clear sign of rejection, originally parental, which manifests itself in the
form of self-rejection. Feelings of rejection appear so commonly in analysis that I deem them to
be ever present in emotional disturbances. (15)
Drug Addiction: Society has always relied heavily on drugs. Even primitive man learned
that certain herbs could modify the feelings in his body and mind. Man has regularly turned to
medicines of different kinds to help heal sickness, and as a general physician in family practice I
must have prescribed many thousands of dollars' worth of drugs over the years.
It is therefore not surprising that some of us come to rely so heavily on a particular drug
for its effectiveness in relieving a specific discomfort, that we cannot give it up. Drug addiction is
a serious problem since its side effects frequently create a situation far worse than that they were
intended to relieve. Alcohol, tobacco, tranquilizers, amphetamines and heroin are but a few of the
drugs whose addictive properties have created worldwide problems. There is little evidence that
the many legal restraints have been successful in modifying drug addiction in any way.
An understanding of the reasons for drug addiction makes it clear why legal restraints are
doomed to failure. All drugs are taken voluntarily only if they succeed in relieving a discomfort
and/or giving a pleasurable feeling. I believe that those who become addieted to a drug are
suffering from a severe pain which is largely or entirely unconscious. The pain is always intense
but is consciously only felt as an uneasiness, clamoring to be soothed. The drug is therefore being
used by the addict to suppress this severe unconscious pain, though its success is only temporary.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of the drug frequently decreases so that additional doses, with a
concomitant increase in side effects, become necessary for effective control of the unconscious
pain. However, when unconscious pain requires relief, the thought of future discomfort from the
side effects of the drug is rarely an effective deterrent to its use. This is particularly the case if
such pain is more severe than the side effects of the drug or the legal deterrents.
Alcoholism: Alcoholism is the most common example of drug addiction. Probably every
one of us knows, or has known, an alcoholic and has wondered why he continues to treat himself
in this self-destructive manner.
John was referred to me because of his smoking habit but confided that he really wanted
help with his alcohol problem. A big man both physically and mentally, John has done very well
in his
(16) occupation, and when I first saw him, he had reached a very important executive position in
his firm. He was then about forty-five years of age and had everything that one could wish for-a
lovely wife, three children who were all doing well at school and college, a house, a cottage, and
many other joys of life which should have made him feel secure and happy. Yet he confided that
every so often he would become very depressed and would embark upon an alcoholic binge
which would prevent him from functioning for several days. Recognizing his illness but
incapable of identifying its origin, he was seeking my help to assist him in controlling the habit.
I guessed from my previous experience with alcoholics that John was nursing a deep
distress which periodically surfaced but which he was unable to feel, recognize or face. This
indeed proved to be the case. When John came to terms with a great deal of hidden pain, he was
eventually able to relinquish it permanently. His problems with alcohol since then have faded
because without pain, he no longer needs the pain killer alcohol.
Excessive Smoking: A high proportion of heavy smokers can be persuaded to give up
smoking by direct suggestion in hypnosis, but a significant number cannot. These people rely
upon cigarettes to ease unconscious pain and distress. Only when that pain is resolved by the
application of mature understanding to the attendant problem can the tension creating the
compulsion to smoke be relieved and the direct suggestion to give up smoking be accepted. So it
is with all drug addictions. The pain must be dealt with before the habit can be permanently
relinquished.
The success rate for hypnotherapy in helping people to quit smoking or to give up any
other addiction must always be less than satisfactory until they can be released from their prison
of unconscious pain.
4. THE PRISON OF GUILT: In order to make comprehensible my concept of
emotional illness, I have artificially separated the three prisons of fear, anger and hurt, but I
believe that all of these, in effect, are adjacent to and overlap each other with intercommunicating
doors, so that any or all of these emotions might be involved in the production of illness from
mental imprisonment.
(17)
I come now to the fourth prison, that of guilt, which is always closely connected to the
first three. We shall discover how guilt is consistently a potent factor in the production or of all
emotional illnesses. Under certain conditions the feeling of guilt plays a prominent part in the
emotional problem.
Impotence: In no other condition is guilt more likely to be the main causative factor in
the production of symptoms than in the condition of impotence, the failure of the male to perform
satisfactorily during sexual intercourse. It has been acknowledged more and more as a cause of
considerable unhappiness for many married couples and, in these days of greater acceptance of
extra-marital sex, has been viewed as a source of problems in these relationships also.
Today many therapies directed at resolving this problem are meeting with varying degrees
of success. However, persistent unconscious feelings of guilt will continue to prevent success in a
significant proportion of cases.
Edwin was referred to me because at the age of forty-five he had found himself to be
impotent. He did experience penile erections from time to time, but he was unable to maintain an
erection long enough to have satisfactory intercourse. He had been a widower for five years. His
wife had died from cancer, and he had nursed her during the illness. Theirs had been a love
match, and sex with her, though infrequent, had always been very good until her illness, when he
had naturally ceased making any sexual demands upon her. Terribly depressed by his wife's
death, a long time had elapsed before he had been able to socialize again. Reacquaintance with an
old girlfriend developed a relationship which they decided to cement by marriage. With that
commitment they began a sexual relationship, but Edwin discovered to his dismay and
embarrassment that he was impotent.
Edwin's doctor administered medication, injections and advice to no avail, and Edwin was
doubtful whether he should go ahead with his plans for remarriage. He had even begun to wonder
whether he had become too old to start a new sexual relationship.
I knew that this was not true, and I also guessed that his problem was too deep to be
resolved merely by direct suggestion in hypnosis, which is often quite effective. In fact, his case
required some thorough investigation, using analytical hypnotic techniques, before we were able
to locate and deal with the cause of his problem. It was, (18) of course, a strong feeling of guilt
about this new relationship which he was totally unaware of at a conscious level. After we were
able to relieve the guilt feeling, Edwin was able to function quite normally in his sexual
relationship. He is now happily married.
Frigidity: This is the female equivalent of impotence in the male, and although sexual
problems in the female are probably just as common as in the male, they are less often the
presenting problem for which therapy is sought. It is possible for the female to function sexually
even though she is emotionally detached or even opposed to sex. Casually, this problem comes to
light as part of a wider emotional disturbance which is disrupting her life.
Angela was about thirty years of age when she consulted me because of her recurrent
depressions. She had been married for more than ten years, but throughout that time she had
never really enjoyed her sexual life with her husband. She recalled that their premarital sex had
been quite good.
During therapy for her depression we uncovered an enormous amount of guilt associated
with sex, and it was clear that she had blocked off her sexual feelings because of her guilt
regarding them. She also needed to understand why this guilt did not prevent her from enjoying
her premarital sex. With this full understanding she was eventually able to relinquish all of her
guilt feelings. She not only stopped being depressed but also once again allowed herself to enjoy
sex with her husband.
Any woman who is suffering from an inability to enjoy normal sexual feelings is probably
suffering from guilt, and to this extent she is imprisoned by it.
Obesity: We have already spoken about the problem of obesity, but I mention it again
here because it is sometimes a manifestation of imprisonment in the prison of guilt. In such cases
the sufferer is the victim of a compulsion to eat, even when he is not aware of any desire to eat.
The compulsion, which is self-punishing, results from an intense unconscious feeling of guilt.
Twenty-two-year-old Rosalyn provides a striking history of someone who becomes a
victim of this compulsion. She requested that I give her a posthypnotic suggestion not to eat
because she was aware (19) that she was eating unconsciously. She would go for days on an
excellent diet program and then, for no apparent reason, would become obsessed by the urge to
eat. Stopping at the local store, she would buy all kinds of junk foods, take them home and gorge
herself on them, stuffing food into herself until she could hardly move. These were labeled
"binges," and she was deeply ashamed of her failure to control them. Not consciously aware of
any problem that could trigger her gormandizing, she agreed to analytical hypnotherapy.
Rosalyn was quite surprised when we located an experience which she recalled
consciously but did not at all associate with intense feelings of guilt. The association had been
suppressed. Only after she became aware of her guilt feelings and the reasons for them was
Rosalyn able to dismiss them. When she was freed from her prison of guilt, she successfully
maintained her reducing diet and consistently lost weight.
When imprisoned by guilt, the victim can only alleviate that guilt by some assault upon
himself. Overeating is one common means of self-aggression, but there are many others.
Skin Diseases: It has long been known that skin diseases are strongly affected by
emotional factors. In fact, many of them are due to unconscious feelings of guilt. This may at first
sound far-fetched, but the improvement of several patients has been the direct result of
relinquishing such guilt feelings.
I remember the case of Martha, who at forty-five years of age had suffered from urticaria,
popularly known as hives, for many years. It frequently involves the mucous membranes as well
as the skin. She experienced these attacks at odd times, and the search for an allergic cause
proved to be unfruitful. Occasionally she became so swelled up with urticaria attacks involving
mouth and throat that her breathing was threatened and emergency treatment had to be adopted.
Following therapy, during which she was able to deal with an apparently unrelated source of
guilt, her urticaria stopped recurring and she has remained free from it ever since.
Suicide: We cannot leave a discussion of the prison of guilt without taking a brief look at
the problem of suicide, which I shall explore in greater detail later. (20) Why should anyone
wish to kill himself? Those who have themselves attempted suicide may understand its causes to
a certain extent, but it is my experience that the reasons for suicide are only dimly understood,
even by those who are deeply involved in working with the problem.
Sometimes the victim has been known to undergo a prolonged period of depression, but
often there has been no prior warning. The individual may even have appeared to be the life and
soul of the party. He was perhaps occasionally a little moody, but on the whole he seemed to
enjoy life.
Suicide is the ultimate hostile act. It is the murder of oneself, and yet for the perpetrator it
seems to be the right and proper act to perform at the time. He feels that he is killing a monster
who has no right to live and is thereby doing the world a favor. In fact, he declares that this may
be the only positive feat he has ever performed. This sounds like absurd thinking to the observer,
but one has to be inside the victim's mind to recognize his logic. From his perspective he has no
alternative; only because we cannot penetrate his rationale do we fail to understand him.
He is living in a prison of guilt, certain that he can only escape though death.
Furthermore, he is sure that this is an appropriate gesture because he unconsciously believes that
he has been sentenced to death and this is only carrying out that sentence. We shall analyze ths
viewpoint in greater detail later, attempting to understand the suicide's thinking at an unconscious
level. Many of us living in prisons of guilt are potential suicides but are using various methods to
ward off the death sentence.
Jennifer came to see me because she was entertaining frightening thoughts that she should
kill herself. At twenty-four years of age, she had recently graduated from the university and was
apparently doing quite well in her chosen profession as a social worker. She described her recent
states of depression and complained that she found it difficult to concentrate upon her work. She
had good reason to seek help from these suicidal feelings because some ten years or so before she
had made an almost successful attempt to take her own life. She was only saved by prompt and
efficient medical treatment.
 Having heard of the facility with which hypnosis could uncover unconscious thought,
Jennifer hoped that I could help. We found, as I expected we might, that she had always been in a
prison of guilt and had existed with a sentence of death hanging over her head since birth. It had
never been commuted but only postponed to the end of (21) her university training. Her case was
very complex, but we were eventually able to reach a resolution which enabled her to escape
from the prison of guilt to a freedom she had never previously known.
In discussing the main prisons of the mind, I have only mentioned a few of the many
problems which are presented to hypnotherapists each day. In almost every case I am able to find
some evidence of emotional incarceration in one or more of the four prisons that I have
described.
No one chooses to go to prison, so when I discover a patient tucked away in one of these
prisons, I naturally ask, How did he get there? What crime did he commit which led to his prison
sentence? And what is his sentence?
By seeking and finding answers to questions such as these, I am able to help the victim
determine the means of securing a release from his prison. However, before we get to that point,
lwant to discuss the crimes which are present in the emotional code-very different from offenses
listed in the criminal code of any modern society, but nonetheless capable of landing one in
solitary confinement. (22)

24. CHAPTER TWO: THE CRIME: EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE
FREE: LANE & ASSOCIATES: LE JOLLA, CA: 1979
In the eyes of the law, a crime is any act that endangers the peace and order of "society”.
To maintain its good health societies must apprehend and punish those who defy its rules.
Criminals must not be allowed to repeat their offenses.
I intend to draw a close parallel between this generally accepted understanding of crime
and the crime which results in the imprisonment of part of our minds. This latter crime differs
from the usual crime only in that the society involved is an extremely small one. It usually
consists of the individual and one other person, most often mother.
Seen from outside the small society of the persons involved these acts do not appear to be
crimes. Even the individuals involved have difficulty in recognizing these events as crimes when
they viewed them from the distance that time eventually imposes.
I AM HERE: As I became more involved in analytical hypnotherapy I discovered that a
high proportion of my patients' problems appeared to begin at birth or even before. Initially, I had
some difficulty in fully accepting this startling discovery. Other workers in hypnotherapy have
come to similar conclusions in recent years. There now seems to be little doubt that the
circumstances of birth and sometimes of pregnancy can provide us with solutions to emotional
problems which previously appeared insoluble.
As a result of this finding, which is so important to analytical hypnotherapy as to be
almost revolutionary, I now routinely employ techniques which enable my patients to explore
these early experiences. In this manner we are able to discover whether any circumstances
associated with birth might have been responsible for an emotional problem.
I once believed that the unborn child and newborn infant could not be aware of any of the
events occurring so early in life. I now have abundant and irrefutable evidence that I was wrong.
True, consciousness does not develop until the early years of childhood, but I now know that the
unconscious mind is highly developed in the prenatal (23) period. Indeed, it is sufficiently
developed to be able to record accurately all significant events occurring at, that time. These
events, which may have a profound effect on the remainder of the individual's life, require to be
fully understood if the resulting problems are to be resolved.
Emotional problems can commence in the prenatal period. Many patients, for instance,
have taken me to this period in which the unconscious mind of the unborn baby has recorded a
strong impression of rejection. He is an unwelcome burden. Perhaps the baby is not able to fully
appreciate the significance of the events at the time, but I do believe that they are faithfully
recorded by the unconscious mind at the moment of occurrence. They are later understood and
interpreted at an unconscious level in the light of subsequent events.
The earliest crime that an individual can commit is the crime of existing. He is unwanted
and therefore should not be. We have already defined a crime as an act which is a danger to the
peace and order of society. An unwanted infant has clearly committed such a crime, for his very
presence disturbs the existing order and peace.
Time after time I have found that feelings of guilt have originated in prenatal rejection
when the unborn baby hears, or in some other way senses, that he is not welcome. Unaware that
the responsibility for existence cannot be charged to the infant, he can only discern that his
presence is causing distress to others and that his very existence is meeting with grave
disapproval.
He has committed a crime for which he feels intense guilt. The only way in which he can
expiate his crime is by not existing. It may be a long time before he learns how to accomplish this
by killing himself, but before that he will discover that the compromise of being as insignificant
as possible may be acceptable.
Many of my patients vaguely sense that they do not belong or that they are worthless and
should not be here. They harbor insecurities which intimate that they do not deserve to be alive.
This feeling pervades every thought and action so that they are unable to enjoy life. Time and
again my analysis has verified that they were subjected to a strong early rejection, either before or
at birth, which made them certain that they had committed the crime of being here. How often
have we heard people say, "I wish I had never been born?" Some of these people have wished this
from the moment of birth.
Let me tell you about Ruth. She was thirty-eight years old when she came to see me.
Quietly dressed and quietly spoken, she almost appeared to melt into the background. I had the
distinct impression (24) that she could not bear to be looked at or noticed,- and it took a long
while before we could establish a rapport. She recounted several liaisons with unsuitable men, but
she had never been married. I gathered that she seldom made a success of any project that she had
started. Things always seemed to go wrong for her. She had been admitted to several hospitals for
the treatment of a depression which was her constant companion.
She looked quite dejected at our first meeting, and when we talked about her experiences,
it seemed clear that she had succeeded in functioning only marginally throughout her life. She
admitted to strong feelings of worthlessness, to the sensation that life held nothing for her. She
could not make friends easily and described herself as a loner. On the other hand, she made no
enemies because she was always so careful to avoid giving offense. I received a strong
impression of emptiness as I counseled with her, but I found it difficult to communicate with her
because she rejected the possibility that anyone could be interested in her or her problems for
more than a few minutes at a time. She amply demonstrated her lack of self-esteem by the
repeated question, "What good am I to anyone?" I knew that therapy in such a case would be very
difficult, even though ner very presence in my office reflected her personal admission that she
should not continue in her present quandary.
As part of the initial analysis I regressed her to the moments immediately after birth,
asking her to recall whether or not she felt welcome at that time. She indicated that she not only
felt totally unwelcome but harbored guilt for being there. When I regressed her to the time that
she first felt unwelcome she reverted to a moment shortly before birth. With a little
encouragement she was able to recall the experience responsible for her feeling of rejection. She
recollected her mother saying quite vehemently to her father, "I never wanted this baby!" Her
pain in remembering the incident was very real. Feeling responsible for her mother's distress, she
knew that she had committed a grave crime.
Having perpetrated the crime of existing, Ruth had been condemned to the prison of guilt.
The locks were secure and well-guarded. It took a great deal of ingenuity to free her, to persuade
her to accept the right to live. It may yet be some time before she can fully accept her freedom.
This particular crime, the crime of existing, has received little attention from psychiatrists
since it is only readily recognizable by the employment of hypnoanalytical techniques. Its
importance in the etiology of mental illness, however, cannot be overestimated. A (25)
knowledge of the existence of this crime frequently gives a much clearer understanding of an
emotional problem.
I AM A GIRL/BOY: During hypnoanalysis we often discover that feelings of rejection
are rooted in the patient's belief that he or she is of the wrong sex. The guilt can be just as
traumatic as that discussed above. Because the newborn is not aware that his sex is anyone's
responsibility but his own, he feels a personal liability for the distress that his sex has brought to
his parent. He feels rejected at a time when acceptance is crucial. If the infant is a boy when the
parents desired a girl, he will try earnestly to behave as a girl in order to receive acceptance.
Success in this venture, of course, will be very limited apart from those exceptional cases in
which this guilt can at last be expiated later in life by a sex change operation. I believe that in
many cases homosexuality can be traced to this crime. Certainly all transvestism is rooted here.
Lesley came to me at the age of nineteen for help in losing weight. Early in hypnoanalysis
she recalled her father's intense disappointment shortly after her birth when he learned that she
was a girl. Because it was important to her that she be accepted by him, she was crushed by his
rejection of her female identity. Other later experiences reinforced her guilt about not being a
boy. Throughout her life she had desperately tried to make amends for the "crime" by behaving as
much like a boy as possible.
Lesley recalled that she .often wore male clothing and played hockey and football with the
'boys. She seemed to despise girls and felt compelled to compete with boys. She became very
depressed at puberty when she began to menstruate and her breasts started to develop, for she
knew then that she could never really please her father and that he would not accept what she
could no longer deny that she was a girl! At this time she sought solace in food, which she later
recognized as another way of denying her femininity. Only when Lesley could learn to accept
herself as a girl was she able to control her eating and lose weight. Released from her prison of
guilt, she could view herself as a unique individual.
Lesley's story is being repeated almost daily in my office. Sexual difficulties are naturally
quite common with these people. Their guilt about their own sex prevents them from functioning
adequately as sexual beings. Feelings of unworthiness and depression are natural responses to
rejection, and obesity is a common way for women to deny their femininity. (26)
I AM ANGRY: Just as gender can create rejection, certain human traits may occasion
distress, causing the individual to feel that he has committed a crime. Every human being
possesses emotions, which are his un conscious means of responding to the world around him and
form an essential part of his survival mechanism.
The crime of being angry is perpetrated with regularity because it is one of the primary
emotions which function to protect us. It is present in all human beings and most animals.
Uncontrolled anger, however, produces alarming consequences, and all societies exert some
control over it. Some regard anger as so abhorrent that its expression is emphatically deplored.
In conducting hypnoanalysis, I often determine that the world of the infant or child has
been jolted by parental injustice. As a result, the child is frustrated and becomes angry. If the
parent's responses are extreme, the patient may be severely reprimanded and subjected to a
frightening display of anger, and thus the infant or child will quickly become aware that he has
committed a crime. He feels angry but discovers that he must not express that anger. Only bad
people are angry.
A small child does not understand bad or good. However, he readily comprehends
parental acceptance and rejection. We shall later see how the idea of "being bad" is associated
with parental rejection. Since every child needs parental acceptance because of the protection and
security that it engenders, he will repress his normal anger in order to gain it.
We have already seen that anger can be repressed but never abolished. The child who has
been convicted of the crime of anger learns that he must not even allow himself to feel that
emotion, and thus becomes locked in a prison of anger.
Phyllis came to see me because she had heard that hypnosis was ofen useful in helping
people lose weight. She was about fifty years of age when we met, a pleasant person with a gentle
air. As it turned put. she was a deeply religious woman who wished to generate only kind
thoughts and perform only kind deeds. Phyllis contemplated hypnosis in desperation, uncertain
whether it was the work of God or the Devil. Eventually assured that God had sent her to me, she
was able to speak freely about her problem. She was seventy pounds overweight, and the fact that
she was unable to diet for more than a days at a time filled her with great shame.
Her husband, she informed me, frightened her with his outbursts (27) of temper. He often
treated her with ridicule and contempt, but she bore these assaults on her feelings with saint-like
tolerance. She wondered, however, why she so often felt impelled to eat after one of these
outbursts. I guessed at the reason immediately but awaited the outcome of hypnoanalysis to verify
my suspicions.
In hypnoanalysis we soon located the origin of her problem. She was five years of age
when her three-year-old sister wanted to take away a toy that she was playing with. As she
scuffled with her sister over the toy, it caught her sister just above the eye, lacerating it severely.
Her sister screamed, her mother screamed, and even her father, normally very calm and impartial,
yelled at her. She was terrified. Banished to her room while her sister was rushed to hospital
under the impending threat of blindness, Phyllis immediately recognized that she had committed
the grevious crime of anger.
At that point Phyllis realized that she must never be angry again. Others might be
permitted an outburst of anger, but not Phyllis. She was a bad girl who must not even feel anger,
let alone express it. Her guilt locked her firmly in the prison of anger, but her anger never really
left her. We learned that her husband frequently made her feel very angry, yet she was never
consciously aware of it. Resentment was consistently sublimated and controlled by food.
It took some time for Phyllis to realize that she was no more responsible for her sister's
accident than her sister was herself. She also had to learn that her anger was not really bad, that
she had a right to protect herself against her husband's unfair attacks. When she was able to
understand this, she accepted her anger, remembering that Christ had also vented His anger at the
appropriate time. As a result, she was freed from her prison of anger and was at last able to
adhere to a diet program.
I AM AFRAID: We are all prone to fear. It is an important protective emotion which not
only warns us of danger but also mobilizes our flight responses so that we can flee from peril.
Sometimes an intensely frightening experience has occurred, but for some reason the
natural response of fear is unacceptable or meets with marked parental disapproval, preventing its
full expression. During these circumstances the frightened child feels that he has committed a
crime. He is afraid, but because his fear is unacceptable, he must lock it up and become
incarcerated within his prison of fear, from which he cannot escape in lieu of parental disapproval
and the (28) guilt that this involves.
Since it is very easy to commit this crime, many of my patients turn out to be hardened
criminals. I recall a young man of about thirty years of age who came to me for help with a
stammer. As far as George knew, he had always stammered quite badly. He clearly knew what he
wanted to say, but he would get stuck on certain words, uttering them only after a long struggle
or devising an alternative word. At times he spoke without any trace of an impediment, but at
other times his speech pattern would cause great discomfort to the listener.
George particularly stressed that he had great difficulty talking in a group or addressing
anyone whom he felt was his superior. He primarily stammered in new situations and among
strangers. He had great difficulty in reading aloud when he was by himself. His handicap, which
caused him a great deal of embarrassment, had defied all treatment by speech therapists.
In hypnoanalysis we discovered the cause of his stammering. At the age of five he was
awakened from his sleep by a terrible commotion. His drunken father was storming at his mother,
who was crying and screaming for his father to leave her alone. When George hurried downstairs
to investigate, he saw his father preparing to strike his mother. Rushing between them in an
attempt to stop his father, he was thrown to the ground; subsequently he picked himself up and
hid behind the settee. As the fight grew in intensity, George was terrified. There was a sudden
climax to the noise and commotion, at which point his mother's voice ceased. He was seized with
an even greater panic. Had his father killed her? He wanted to scream, but he did not dare. When
his father went out a few moments later, George emerged from his hiding place to find his mother
conscious but dazed and bleeding from a head wound. He tried to administer comfort, but he was
so frightened that he could not speak. He had stammered ever since.
George's speech impediment was corrected only after he escaped from the prison of
repressed fear. When he recognized what had been obstructing his natural expression of fear, the
physical defect faded.
I HURT: Our most fundamental emotion involves an awareness of pain. The trauma of
rejection, whether imagined or real, is the most severe. We seldom convey this hurt in a
comprehensible manner, and so its clumsy expression is met with a stern admonishment. The
message (29) becomes clear. Hurting is wrong. Feeling pain is a crime. Unfortunately, the more
we try not to feel hurt, the more our discomfort grows.
At twenty-three years of age Sarah was an attractive woman who had struggled through
an adventure-filled and stormy life. She came to see me because of her addiction to certain drugs.
Although she had received some psychiatric treatment for this and for depression, three fairly
serious suicide attempts had driven her to seek further counsel.
When I met her, she was divorced, had two children and was living with a man with a
long criminal record. She herself had been a juvenile offender and was sequestered in detention
homes for lengthy periods. In a flat and casual tone she informed me that she did nm care about
anyone or anything, including herself. As an afterthought she excluded her children from this.
She appeared to despise any display of emotion and certainly showed none.
Therapy with her was long and difficult, for it embraced many traumatic episodes. The
earliest of these occurred when she was about eighteen months of age. Awakened suddenly by a
sharp pain between her legs, she suddenly realized that her brother was attacking her sexually.
She screamed out in terror and pain. Her brother fled, but she continued to scream. A short time
later her father rushed into the room. Since she was too upset to be coherent, he yelled at her for
waking him up. He slapped her cruelly and warned that he would "beat the daylights out of her"
if she wasn't quiet. She quickly became very quiet-and she is still quiet. Although unconsciously
she knew that her hurt continued, she was unable to admit it. In her eyes the open avowal of pain
was a serious crime, and she could not admit that to anyone, not even to herself. Much of her
subsequent behavior was understandable as a means adopted to relieve this unconscious hurt.
Drugs serve as an effective but temporary vehicle for doing this.
The crime of hurting is very common-so common, indeed, that I tend to look for it
whenever I hear a patient say that he "does not care." This phrase is a strong clue that he is locked
in a prison of pain for the crime of hurting.
I LOVE: Loving is a normal human feeling. We love those with whom we feel a close
bond, people who help us to feel good about ourselves and with whom we feel at ease. Being
with them gives us pleasure. Whenever love is misunderstood, the insecure observer may regard
it as a threat worthy only of his extreme disapproval. In such circumstances (30) loving may be
viewed as wrong, a crime as serious as the disapproval it engenders. An individual who has been
accused of the crime of loving may be unable to deny it, but he can prevent it happening again.
Jennifer was a very beautiful twenty-three-year-old girl who came to me because of her
difficulties with sex. She is married and has one child. but she rarely experienced any pleasure
from sex. In fact, she was unable to achieve an orgasm during intercourse with her husband.
Jennifer felt that her life was incomplete. She admitted to having been somewhat
promiscuous prior to her marriage and unfaithful during it, but her husband was totally unaware
of this. Yet she felt very guilty about her lapses and tried to make amends by being an extremely
efficient housewife. Much of the time she felt depressed and restless. She was irritable with her
four-year-old son, a quiet and inoffensive child who, she knew, could not be held responsible for
her fells of frustration. She was also frequently ill-tempered with her long-suffering husband and
picked quarrels with him for no good reason.
In hypnoanalysis Jennifer was able to locate an important experience which occurred
when she was about the age of six. Her father, whom she loved very much, was sick in bed. She
had just come home from school and decided to hurry up to his bedroom for a visit. Her father
was sitting up in bed when she entered the bedroom. Since she loved her daddy so much, she took
the opportunity to climb into bed and snuggle up to him. Within a short period of time her mother
came home and found the two in bed together. Angry and distraught, her mother screamed, "Get
the hell out of there! Don't let me ever let me find you in there again!" Sobbing, Jennifer scooted
out of bed and fled the room. For a long time after that she could hear her parents screaming at
each other, and she was terrified at the commotion that she had caused. She had committed a
terrible crime. She loved her daddy, but that had angered her mother and got her daddy into
trouble. She was now certain that loving daddy was wrong, even though she could not help it.
She was a criminal and must hide her crime-her love.
Jennifer did not know at that time that her father was a sexually troubled man and that her
mother was only trying to protect her. Jennifer's father had made advances to her older sister, and
her mother was afraid that he would attempt to molest Jennifer as well. Without an understanding
of these sorry circumstances, she could only conclude that her love was a serious crime. It soon
became clear to Jennifer that she had unconsciously (31) locked up her love, but after further
therapy she was able to free herself and began to love without constraint or guilt.
I AM HAPPY: Being happy is a special human experience. However, it car sometimes
create problems. Happiness is frequently so rapidly ane regularly followed by calamity that it
would appear wiser to avoid happy experiences. Life is at least safe as long as it remains dull and
prosaic.
Some of my patients have unconsciously come to the conclusion that happiness is a crime
which they must avoid. Vera was one of these. She actually sought hypnotherapy to get help in
losing weight. She was thirty-five but, because of an extra fifty pounds, looker: much older. She
had always attributed her tendency toward over weight to the fact that she could not remain on a
diet long enough tc reach her ideal weight. As soon as she had shed a few pounds, she would
begin to feel anxious and tense; only eating some of the forbidden foods would relieve her
anxiety.
Upon further discussion we found that throughout her life sht had started projects full of
enthusiasm, only to give them up after E while when things seemed to be going well. She was
never able tc reach any goals that she had set herself. Propagating feelings of uselessness and
stupidity, she was genuinely surprised at her relative success in having raised three healthy and
bright children. However. she worried about them a great deal and was easily depressed if
anything was wrong with any of them. Her sex life was unsatisfactory. but she would not
complain about that since her husband made few demands upon her sexually. She summed up her
life as tedious and uninteresting. "If only I could lose some weight, perhaps things would be
different," she sighed. I was certain, however, that her problem was more than fat deep.
In hypnoanalysis she took me with her to a sunny, pleasant day when she was two and a
half years old. Her mother had let her out to play in the back yard, where she was having fun on
the rocking horse, when the next door neighbor's lovely big dog poked his nose through the bars
of the gate. She hurried over to talk to him and sJroke him, but after a few moments of this Rover
decided to go for a walk. Being adventurous, Vera forgot that her mummy had warned her to stay
in the garden. She managed to squeeze through the bars of the gate and followed Rover along a
footpath. She recalled that it was a hot day and that she had difficulty keeping up with the dog.
When he eventually (32) reached the water and went in for a swim, Vera found the water so
appealing that she followed him in.
Just then Vera heard her mother's panic-stricken voice screaming, "Vera! Vera! come here
at once!" She turned to greet her mother with a big, happy smile, but her mother was clearly very
upset. She looked angry and frightened. Mother exclaimed, "You are a very, very bad girl! You
must never do that again." Vera was not sure what she must not do again or why she was bad -or
even what "bad" meant. Whatever it was, it upset mummy a great deal. Her mother threatened,
"Vera, if you ever do that again, I will lock you up in the cupboard." At this Vera became
frightened and sobbed violently because she recalled the terror of finding herself accidentally
locked among the silent hanging clothes in pitch darkness. No, she decided right there, she would
never do that again! Being happy was a crime hat she must never repeat. She could not risk the
terror of that cupboard! Vera had solved her problem by locking herself in an almost equally
terrible place where happiness was forbidden. She was eventually able to free herself from this
prison of guilt and let herself be happy. At the same time she found that she could lose weight
and that such an activity was permissible.
I AM CURIOUS: At first sight it would appear that the desire to know is innocent
enough and could never be construed as a crime. How can it be wrong to desire information about
things that are happening in the world around us? Can this really be a crime? Yes, and we are
made aware of it in the same way that we identify other crimes-by the disapproval of those to
whose society we are striving to belong, namely, our parents.
Several problems led Laura to seek my help. First of all, she felt herself quite inhibited
sexually and was unable to relax during intercourse. She was overweight and ate compulsively.
Often very depressed, she never felt good about herself. She was aware that all of these problems
were putting an almost intolerable strain upon her marriage. She was plagued by persistent
feelings of worthlessness which contradicted her intellectual assessment of herself as a competent
and useful human being. Suspecting an unconscious reason for her feelings, she wanted me to
help her to find it. With Laura I had a feeling that I was preaching to the converted and that
therapy would proceed without difficulty-and so it proved.
Laura located a critical experience which occurred when she was (33) three years of age.
Playing in the bedroom with her dolls, she heard Daddy come home. She loved her daddy very
much and knew that a little while she would get her usual big hug and a kiss. When he did not
immediately come to her, she decided to go and look for him. I was not in the hall, so when she
heard sounds coming from the bat room, she decided that he must be there. Opening the
bathroom do with a bang, she called, "Daddy, daddy!" Suddenly she stopped her tracks. Daddy
was there, standing in front of the toilet, holding tube-like thing in his hand ... and wonders upon
wonders, there was water coming out of it, making a lovely noise. Laura had never see anything
so remarkable before. She gazed spellbound with such consuming interest that she did not hear
Daddy telling her to get out. In fact, he was yelling, "Get the hell out of here! Mary, come and go
this bloody kid out of here." Laura was so confused that she just stood there until she was hauled
unceremoniously through the bath room door by her mother.
Laura began to scream as her mother hit her repeatedly, and, it seemed, incessantly, taking
no notice of Laura's cries. Why was she hitting her so? Would she never stop? Her mother
screamed, "If you ever do that again, I will kill you!" and with that she threw Laura onto the bed.
Afterwards the puzzled little girl tried to discover what crime had upset Mummy and
Daddy so terribly. Perhaps she loved Daddy too much. Maybe that was wrong. More than likely,
however, she had found out what Daddy did in the bathroom and her mother did not want her to
know. She must not be curious, for that was her crime.
Laura now understands why she had felt so guilty about sex anc could not involve herself
in it. She could not let herself know about such things. Eventually she was able to gain an
absolute pardon for being curious and became free to enjoy a sexual relationship.
In discussing the most common crimes that human beings commit, I may have given the
impression that they arise singly. Actually, the parental disapproval by which these crimes are
recognized may be sufficiently strong to cause a hapless child to commit several, whether
together or sequentially.
Of the crimes I have mentioned, the most serious is that of existing. Anyone who is
accused of committing this crime is trapped because he continues to be a criminal every day of
his life. The very process of living becomes a constant reminder of his guilt.
In the foregoing cases I have only referred to the crime which needed to be recognized
before satisfactory therapy could begin. At times we discovered other crimes which had to be
understood before (34) therapy was satisfactorily concluded. All of these crimes are really normal
human attributes and activities, but the individuals accused of them are unaware of this at
the :ime of the accusation. They are made to feel abnormal and are forced to shoulder direct
responsibility for the distress caused to the parent.

25. CHAPTER THREE: THE COURT: EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE
FREE: LANE & ASSOCIATES: LE JOLLA, CA: 1979
All societies devise a system for administering justice so that when an individual is
accused of a crime, he can be tried and, if found guilty, appropriately sentenced to a designated
punishment. This usually takes place in a court of law where three essential participants can be
identified: the accused, the prosecutor and the judge.
The accused, or the defendant, may engage a knowledgeable associate to help him, the
defense lawyer. In addition, both the defense and the prosecution may solicit witnesses to support
their perspective cases. These are presented in a predetermined sequence before the judge, who
will decide whether the accused is guilty and what the appropriate punishment should be.
In most civilized societies this process may take considerable time in preparation and
presentation before a verdict is reached. We shall see however, that the court of the mind works
much more quickly in processing all the available information and reaching a verdict-sometimes
only a few seconds, and rarely more than a few days.
The mind might be compared to a highly complex computer, able to receive evidence for
or against any particular course of action in order to weigh one against the other. It then makes a
decision favoring one or the other according to the evidence. When an individual is accused of an
emotional crime, his mind makes a decision in what I prefer to call the court of the mind. Such a
decision is binding and will determine that individual's future.
THE COURT OF THE MIND: Before we can examine what happens during the trial of
the accused, we need to recognize the members of the court. We can identify the accused, but
who is the prosecutor? Who serves as judge? We have already specified the potential crimes and
the appropriate persons should the accused be found guilty. We need now to understand the
nature and the function of each participant in the court of the mind. In order to answer some of
the inevitable questions, I have tured to Eric Berne and his theories of Transactional Analysis,
which have received wide support from psychotherapists in recent years.
Perhaps the greatest contribution that Eric Berne made to the understanding of human
behavior was his recognition that we all (37) function from more than one ego state. An ego state
is a distinct set of feelings and behavior patterns. Each of us has at least three ego states, three
different viewpoints. These ego states, labeled Child, Parent and Adult, are always given capital
letters to distinguish them from our normal understanding of the terms.
The Child: This is the original and perhaps the central ego state, the part of us that we
refer to when we speak of the "real me." It is the feeling part of our being. The Child feels all our
normal emotions: hurt, anger and fear as well as their opposites, happiness, love and security. As
the component that provides the drive and energy for our creative activities, it is probably the
only ego state observable at birth, although I believe that the other ego states are developing at
this time. The Child stands before the bar of justice as the defendant in our court of the mind
because only the Child ego state experiences feelings. In fact, the Child is being accused of
having feelings.
The Parent: Early in life the Parent ego state develops in response to contact with people
in the outside world, chief of whom are our parents. This ego state is modeled upon people in the
immediate environment, the most important of whom is usually mother, since she is so close to
the Child during the early learning period. This internal Parent becomes very similar to the
important persons in the child's world. It merits its name since it is almost identical in thought
and behavior to the true parents. A very important ego state to the individual, it provides him
with a ready reference to the likely responses of the true parent. This enables the Child to know in
advance what effect his behavior is likely to produce in his parent.
Each individual commences life with an instinctive feeling self. The expression of that
self, the Child ego state, is very much modified by its interaction with the Parent ego state. The
function of the Parent is to gather all the information it can about the people in the immediate
environment of the Child so that the Child can respond in an harmonious manner to these people.
The Child must get on well with these important people since it depends upon them for its
survival. The Parent ego state therefore strictly mimics these people and adopts their attitudes and
beliefs. It is vitally important for the Child to maintain his parents' (38) approval and to avoid
their disapproval. The internal Parent acts as an excellent means of monitoring and modifying the
Child's behavior to conform with the true parents' ideas and beliefs so that it can get along well
with them. The Child is aware of his great dependence upon the true parents for his very
existence, and his greatest fear is that they will abandon him to his own helplessness and
isolation. This possibility holds terror for the Child.
The importance of the Parent ego state can never be underestimated. Because of its
sometimes hypercritical attitudes, it may be judged a negative and destructive element in the
personality. This is more apparent than real because the Parent ego state primarily intends to
protect the Child, although the manner in which it fulfills that is function is frequently archaic
and responsible for much mental ill health. The failure of many therapists to appreciate this
important point has limited their understanding of the clinical problems presented to them.
At first it is difficult to accept the idea that each of us has more than one aspect to our
personality. We can rather easily accept the Child ego state since most of us are aware of some of
our feelings, and we can therefore appreciate our feeling self, the Child. However, it may be
difficult to recognize the other ego states in ourselves, and this is particularly true with regard to
the Parent.
We can perhaps more readily recognize these ego states in others than in ourselves.
Children at play, for instance, are happy, sad, angry or scared, clearly in the Child ego state. At
other times, as they mimic parental attitudes and behavior, they are operating within the Parent
ego state. Witness the little girl playing with her dolls. She will scold them for some imagined
transgression or praise them for some notable accomplishment. Further observation will reveal
that she loves her dolls and cuddles them. Her behavior reveals her developing internal Parent,
which has modeled itself upon her own parents. In addition, she is adopting some of her parents'
attitudes towards her-Parent and is being critical, praising, or loving of herself. Clearly her Parent
is interacting with her Child. As we grow up, these ego states are likely to become more and more
unconscious so that we are no longer consciously aware of their functioning. Their vigilance will
never really cease, and we will later discuss how their interaction may lead to emotional
problems.
The Adult: We now come to the third important ego state that can readily be (39)
recognized in all of us. Probably maturing a little later than the Parent, it develops from that part
of the mind concerned with collecting information about the world around us and filing it away in
the memory banks for future reference. Every minute of the day we are using our five senses and
collecting information, which proliferates every day. This data, accumulated without prejudice, is
independent of other people's opinions and beliefs, much like the other knowledge that comes the
individual's way. This is in direct contrast to the Parent ego state, which is totally concerned with
learning exactly how others think and feel, then recording this information.
With ample data at its disposal, the Adult ego state is similar to a highly complex
computer which can and does arrive at new conclusions whenever it is presented with a fresh
problem. These conclusions are based upon the immense amount of information which has been
amassed over the years. An understanding of the Adult role is particularly important for the
analytical hypnotherapist, who must rely upon this ego state to resolve the problems which the
Parent and Child have created.
Ideally, all three ego states should be acting together in harmony for the greatest
well-being of the individual. It is the prime objective of analytical hypnotherapy that this ideal
state ultimately be reached by the patient engaging in therapy.
These three ego states are present in all of us. They can best be understood as three
separate points of view which step forward whenever a situation requires a definite course of
action. The Child ego state within us will have a definite feeling about the situation, often
expressed as a like or a dislike. This ego state will often express its feelings with such emotive
words as "I like" or "I want," or the opposite, "I don't like" or "I don't want."
The Parent ego state, as we have said, is very concerned with what others expect and
want, and it utilizes words that indicate this concern. When we find ourselves saying such things
as "I ought" or "I should" or, alternatively, "I ought not" or "I should not," we are using phrases
that express our concern for other people's expectations of us. We are using our Parent ego state.
This ego state also comes into play when, like the little girl with the dolls, we counsel, advise or
criticize others in a parental manner, or whenever we take responsibility for others.
When operating from our Adult viewpoint, we are either giving information in a purely
factual manner or presenting conclusions that we have reached from information in our
possession. We say things like "I can" or "I will" or "it is"; we may offer the opposite (40)
statements of fact or intention, e.g., "I cannot," "I will not" or "it is not."
From the foregoing I trust that you now accept the premise that you are not just one
person with a single point of view. You carry within you more than one point of view about any
given situation, and these viewpoints can declare war upon one another. Consider how quickly a
Child's "I want" may clash violently with the Parent's "I should not." Incidentally, this is the basis
of much Parent/Child conflict, of which we shall have more to say. Now that we have been
introduced to the three ego states, which all of us possess, it is possible to consider the role that
each plays in the continuing drama of the court of the mind.
The Accused: The accused is always the Child, the central part of the personality that is
being prosecuted for some other attribute that was caused offense. For example, the Child may
have been accused of existing, of being a girl or a boy, or even of having certain unacceptable
human feelings such as fear, anger or hurt.
The Prosecutor: The prosecutor is usually parent, more probably mother than father.
Mother is the more likely to be affected by any of the accused's (the Child's) attributes since she
is in close daily contact with him. Siblings, grandparents and teachers can also function as
prosecutors. The accuser is always someone within the Child's immediate environment who has
been distressed by who he ,is or something he has done because of who he is. The manner in
which the prosecutor communicates his distress may vary considerably, but whatever method is
used, there is no doubt left in the Child's mind that he is considered entirely responsible for the
distress caused to the prosecutor.
The Judge: The unenviable task of Judge falls to the Parent. Why? Because the Parent
functions to prevent the Child from alienating himself from the true parent. This must be avoided
at all costs. The Parent must therefore judge whether the accusation is indeed correct and whether
the prosecutor is sufficiently distressed to consider withdrawal of his support and caring. The
Parent must also (41) determine whether a punishment should be imposed which will prevent the
recurrence of the offense. The Judge may be called upon to make a very rapid decision or to
postpone judgment until one or more similar accusations have been made and it becomes clear
that alienation of the parent is likely.
The Defense: Since there are two sides to every question, in the court of the mind the
case for the defense is always fully considered.
The Child speaks up in his own defense, and his testimony is simple: he was only doing
what seemed right to him. He was just being himself. This seems to him a totally adequate
defense. If pressed, he might also plead that he did not know that being himself was a crime or
that it would distress anyone.
Unfortunately, ignorance of the law is not an adequate defense in any legal system. The
fact that the Child did not know that being himself could be considered a crime avails him
nothing. His weak defense is laughed out of court. The onlookers in the gallery-friends, relatives,
peers-become hysterical. How could any Child think that being itself could serve as a defense.
That is unthinkable!
All is not lost, however. What about the Adult? What can he offer in defense?
Unfortunately, the accusations are usually made before the Adult has gathered enough
information about the world to be of much help. He, too, is acutely aware of the Child's
dependence upon the parent and may confirm that the Child still lacks the physical and emotional
strength to survive the hazards of the world without the help of the parent. He may reinforce the
Child by assuring him that he is not abnormal and that others with the same attributes are not
considered criminals for possessing them. But this support is usually quite minimal.
The Verdict: When the court retires to consider its verdict, it may spend a considerable
time in reaching it or decide in the fraction of a second. A proportion of these verdicts are "not
guilty" verdicts. We do not need to consider these since no problem will arise. Verdicts of
"guilty," however, will greatly concern us in this book.
When the judge-the Parent-has found the Child "guilty," he must pass a sentence which
will ensure that the crime will not recur. Whatever decision the Parent now makes must be acted
upon by the (42) Parent ego state. In the court of the mind, the punishment is always fashioned
to fit the crime, and many years later, as we analyze the punishment which the Child is
undergoing, we may hazard a guess at :he crime that he was accused of committing.
Sometimes the sentence is not immediately administered but is held over the accused's
head as a threat. We shall consider this in more detail when we look more closely at the freedoms
available to the accused.
The Emotions: All creatures are responsive in some way to harmful stimuli. Human
beings are no exception. Possessing the ability to be aware of injurious agents, we translate this
awareness into hurt. Whenever we feel hurt, something is causing or threatening damage to us.
Our awareness of hurt is so sensitive that it enables us to discern the danger even before it
happens. That detection of danger can produce the response of fear, which is the feeling we get
when the body is preparing itself to evade a destructive force.
Sometimes it is not possible for the individual to escape the danger, so the body has
developed a further protective mechanism anger. This state of body and mind occurs when danger
must be faced and repulsed. All the aggressive fighting instincts are mobilized at this point. The
objective of the anger is to either frighten the danger away or destroy it.
Thus three principal emotions protect us from danger and enable us to survive.
(1) Hurt is the awareness of pain and the presence of danger. It has its human counterpart in
sadness-the continued awareness of hurt.
(2) Fear, deriving its strength from the memory of pain, prompts the individual to avoid further
pain by fleeing its source as quickly as possible.
(3) Anger protects the individual from danger either by scaring it away or annihilating it.
These three emotions-hurt, fear and anger-are often rapidly interchangeable. It would
seem, however, that hurt always precedes the other two emotions, which are stimulated in direct
proportion to :C-.e hurt that antedates them. Thus intense anger is preceded by intense hurt, or
intense fear is always preceded by intense hurt. These emotions may be deeply unconscious, we
must remember, and never present in conscious awareness. They are there at birth and
presumably are present before birth. Some of the cases that I have dealt with give strong support
to such a notion.
All of these emotions belong to the Child ego state, and we have (43) already seen how
his expression of normal human emotion can be considered criminal. The newborn baby is able to
express its pain by crying. This usually results in the early arrival of help from his mother, who is
able to locate the source of discomfort and deal with it. For the newborn the expression of pain is
a cry for help. Sadness and the expression of hurt by an adult is equally a cry for help.
As the child grows older, at times help is not immediately forthcoming, and thus the pain
or the threat of pain remains. At that moment the reaction of fear will occur, often by a more
shrill and piercing outburst. 1£ he is old enough, he will run to mother, who for him represents
security. When he reaches mother, he will feel safe and secure. She will take care of whatever is
frightening him, removing the source of any pain or hurt. Persistent fear in the child or the adult
is due to this effort to find security.
The response of fear may not be adequate to obtain the security that the individual seeks.
It may then be necessary for him to deal with the danger himself, transmuting his fear into anger.
This may happen very quickly indeed, and many angry people are never aware of the fear that has
preceded their anger. They are certainly not aware of the hurt that preceded the fear. If the
individual is successful in dealing with the danger by the use of anger, he will once again feel
secure. It now becomes evident that the emotions are the devices by which the individual
endeavors to obtain the security essential for his continued survival.
The basic emotion, that of hurt, has as its opposite the feeling of pleasure and comfort.
The individual experiences this feeling when he no longer senses any discomfort and everything
seems to be at peace. For the young child or infant, mother is associated with these feelings.
The second emotion, that of fear, also seeks to achieve security and safety, and once again
the infant or child associates these with the mother. Feelings of security are the antithesis of fear.
The third emotion, anger, has as its antithesis love. While dealing with danger by the use
of anger, the individual, whether child or adult, is unable to feel love. Once he has resolved the
danger, he can once again experience security and thus regain the emotion of love. Remember,
problems occasioned by fear and hurt must be resolved before love can be established.
We have considered three primary emotions as necessary for the proper detection of and
defense against danger. The question now arises, what happens when the danger, the source of
hurt, is mother herself, who normally guarantees security and repose? The answer to (44) This
question provides the key to the basic conflict central to all emotional disorders.
When mother is the source of hurt, the Child cannot express that hurt to her, for she will
only increase it. He cannot run from her and utilize his emotion of fear to escape since he no
longer has a refuge. He cannot use anger to intimidate or destroy her because he needs her lor his
survival. There is only one course of action open to him: he must block those emotions. He
simply must not feel them.
The Parent ego state serves to repress feelings whose expression will involve the risk of
parental abandonment. We have seen how the display of emotion can be regarded as a crime. We
can now understand how the repression of emotion that meets with parental disapproval is the
only possible recourse. The Parent ego state not only punishes the Child ego state for the crime of
distressing his real parent but also protects him by preventing him from being exposed to further
disapproval. We shall see in the next chapter how the Parent in its role of judge imposes
appropriate punishment and in its subsequent role of jailor ensures that the punishment is meted
out.

26. CHAPTER FOUR: THE SENTENCE: EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND
BE FREE: LANE & ASSOCIATES: LE JOLLA, CA: 1979
"THE VERDICT: GUILTY AS CHARGED.": The time has arrived which the accused
has been dreading. He has been found guilty of the crime for which he had been charged and now
waits for the judge to hand down the sentence of the court.
During the trial the prosecutor has painted the accused and his crime in the worst possible
colors and has demanded that he receive the maximum punishment prescribable by law. The
judge, of course, has the right to consider any mitigating circumstances, and it is the prerogative
of the defense to draw his attention to these.
The sentence is intended to teach the criminal through punishment that his crime will not
be countenanced by his peers. The criminal will be isolated from society so that he can no longer
become 1 threat to it. He is set up as an example to others so that they might learn that crime
cannot be tolerated by society.
A judge must consider all the evidence before arriving at the appropriate sentence. He will
also have to take into account the accused's previous criminal record.
In the court of the mind, the Parent, in the role of judge, has been appointed to protect a
representative society consisting only of the accused and the prosecutor. His prime objective is to
protect these participants from each other. In most cases the sentence that he imposes will be
based very closely upon the demands made by the prosecution.
The punishment is usually made to fit the crime. If an expression of feeling has been
found unacceptable, the Parent may well decree that the accused be sentenced to withhold any
expression of that forbidden feeling.
The Parent must enforce whatever sentence is handed down by the court of the mind. His
role then switches to that of jailor. Throughout the prison sentence the relationship of Parent and
Child
will be markedly affected by this jailor/prisoner relationship, which forms the basis of the
continuing Parent/Child conflict. It is the cause of much emotional ill health.
YOU MUST NOT EXIST: As we noted earlier, the worst crime that the Child can be
(48) accused of is that of existing. It is the Parent's duty to enforce this sentence. Ironically, an
ego state which serves to protect the Child from the real parent must become the instrument of
the real parent in subduing the Child. But the actions of the Parent ego state appear necessary.
Without its intervention the greater disaster of abandonment by the real parent is seen as a strong
possibility.
The sentence "You must not exist" is more common than anyone previously realized.
Analytical hypnotherapy, with its unique ability to locate attitudes and feelings present at a very
early age (e.g., at birth or even in the prenatal period), has enabled hypnotherapists to discover
the presence and the effect of this sentence in many cases.
In carrying out the sentence, the Parent ego state usually is forced to make a compromise
which is acceptable to the prosecution. When the sentence is imposed-usually at birth or shortly
thereafter the Parent ego state is unable to carry such a sentence to its logical conclusion. It can,
however, make life unenjoyable and cause the Child to seek insignificance so that, for all
practical purposes, he does not exist. Unfortunately, on many occasions the compromise appears
insufficient and the full sentence, "You must not exist," is literally carried out. We shall consider
this situation in more detail later on.
Martin was in his late thirties when he came to see me about his drinking. He did not
know what drove him into alcoholism, but he was certain that it had something to do with tension
because he often felt wound up before one of his drinking bouts.
Martin had great difficulty in relating to people. He was shy and lacked self-confidence,
deliberately avoiding situations in which he might be thrown into contact with new people
because he felt awkward and tongue-tied. His conversation in such instances was virtually
monosyllabic. He was always relieved when such interchanges came to an end, allowing him to
retire to some quiet corner and remain unobserved.
He had a clerical job in which he felt quite safe since it demanded little contact with the
public. He took the position after leaving high school, knowing that such an occupation afforded
little chance of promotion but accepting this as his lot without complaint. He was a good worker,
so his job was secure.
Martin was totally non-assertive, never doing anything to upset anyone. He had few
friends, and no one really close to him. He called himself a loner, and I have never met anyone
who better fitted that description.
Martin explained that he had been put up for adoption shortly after birth, a fact he had not
known until he reached his teens. The (48) information had not bothered him unduly, for it had
not come as a surprise. He hastened to assure me that this did not preclude any problems arising
between him and his adopting parents. He loved them dearly, and he was certain that they loved
him, but they were greatly distressed by a drinking problem which he felt powerless to terminate.
Having heard that hypnosis was useful for helping people to relax, Martin felt that relaxing might
help him to control his drinking.
In hypnoanalysis we early discovered that his mother did not want him even before he
was born. He sensed a strong feeling of rejection from her. He later recalled his birth experience
and was aware that, shortly after birth, his mother was unconscious. He felt totally rejected,
certain that he was guilty of the worst crime in the book-he existed. When his Parent ego state
judged him guilty, he was sentenced to not existing.
Martin's failure to assert himself in every sphere of life was totally consistent with the
punishment he was sentenced to for daring to live. His alcoholism was the result of an attempt by
his Child ego state to numb the immense pain of unexpressed hurt caused by his sensation of
rejection. His Parent ego state accepted the symbolic death of drunkenness as a means of
atonement for daring to live.
Therapy was long and arduous, but eventually his Parent ego state was persuaded to
relinquish its duty as jailor and accept a more protective and supportive role. Martin was then
able to live a fuller life. Best of all, he could leave his days of inebriation behind him.
The sentence "You must not exist" can be imposed at any time during life. I well
remember another alcoholic who had survived a plane crash in which his best friend was killed.
Unconsciously, the alcoholic accepted responsibility for his friend's death, but only after many
years of productive living did his Parent ego state decide that The time had come for him to be
put to death slowly via alcohol.
I also recall Lome, who came to me at the age of nineteen. He xanted help with hypnosis
to become more effective in his career as a musician, for his performances were deteriorating
markedly. Since :eaving school, he had become concerned with the deficiencies in his education
and was striving to increase his knowledge. Lome's greatest ;'roblem, however, was an inability
to concentrate.
He admitted that he was not strongly self-assertive, but he lttributed this to an inferiority
complex which made him feel that he has not as good as any of his peers. This sense of inferiority
kept him :rom establishing relationships with women. His life was a lonely one.
Lorne recalled that he had been miserable at school, which he gladly left after completing
grade ten. But now he often felt depressed (49) and was positive that he was no good-and that he
would never be any good. Life did not seem to be worth living.
In hypnoanalysis Lome regressed to a frightening experience at the age of four years
when he almost drowned. He relived this episode with a great deal of distress, which he had never
previously expressed, even recalling the fear on his grandfather's face as he pulled Lome from the
water. Lome had decided that anyone who could cause such distress did not deserve to live. From
that moment he shut himself away from the life which his Parent had decided he did not merit.
He was eventually able to reverse this decision and at last achieve the objectives that he sought.
YOU MUST NEVER FEEL ANGRY: Anger is a way in which we defend ourselves
against hurt, and the energy of that anger is directly proportional to the hurt or fear which
engendered it. Anger is a natural defense which is instinctively present in the Child. Each of us
learns in his own way how to use anger most effectively.
In the learning process the Child may express his anger clumsily and in doing so may
inadvertently threaten and frighten those upon whom he depends for sustenance and security. If
their response to the Child's anger is extreme, he is liable to become convicted of the crime of
being angry. Because he has shown himself unable to manage his anger, the Child is sentenced by
the Parent to shun anger. This can be translated as "You must never feel angry."
The repression of a normal defense by the Parent is a common cause of many emotional
illnesses and of a high proportion of psychosomatic ailments. I have already given some
examples of this mechanism, but let me add one more.
Jane was a forty-year-old woman who was plagued by severe headaches. After thoroughly
subjecting the problem to intense investigation, her physician concluded that no organic cause
existed. When she first consulted me, Jane was experiencing a severe attack almost every week.
She frequently had to retire to bed and was unable to join in family functions or social outings.
Between attacks Jane felt healthy but lethargic and subject to depression. She said that she
would not mind the depression so long as she did not suffer terrible headaches. We discussed her
attitudes toward herself and life in general. She did not consider herslf a very good person,
although she tried very hard to be one. She always did what she felt people expected of her. (50)
If her sister called her to come and baby-sit, for instance, she complied without complaint.
If her mother wanted to visit, she was welcome at any time because Jane would always stop
whatever she was doing or planning in order to accommodate her. She knew that her children
made too many demands upon her, but she felt that she must always do her best to be a good
mother. She also worked hard to please her husband and believed that if it were not for her
headaches, she would have been as good a wife as she wanted to be.
In hypnoanalysis we discovered an important experience which had determined her
attitudes. At the age of five Jane had quarreled with her younger sister, who had deliberately
pulled an arm off Jane's favorite doll, even though she had been told not to play with it. Jane
struck her sister forcefully. Naturally, her sister screamed loudly, and before long mother came
running to discover the cause of the commotion. Jane told mother the truth, but instead of
winning praise for having disciplined her sister, Jane became the object of her mother's wrath.
Mother struck Jane sharply and sent her to her room, ordering her never to hit her sister again.
Jane had never been able to express her anger since that incident, and until she sought
help for her headaches, she was totally unaware that that event had precipitated the problem. She
was then able to recall many instances when she had felt unfairly treated but had repressed her
emotions. She had been condemned to the prison of anger, unable to feel or be angry. But she
could entertain headaches!
Migraine is a silent screaming in the head. Once Jane found that she could allow herself to
scream out loud, she no longer needed to scream silently and her headaches disappeared. If ever a
hint of a migraine arises, she immediately gets in touch with the anger she is holding back and
finds means of expressing it appropriately, -'.hereupon her headache invariably disappears.
You are not lovable-you are BAD!
The pain of rejection is acute and intense. The greater the need for acceptance, the greater
the hurt of rejection. Thus the repudiation of the Child by his mother creates in him the gravest
hurt, and it is not assuaged by the natural conclusion that the Child is rejected by his mother
simply because he is unlovable. "You are not lovable" is the sentence delivered by the Parent to
the Child who has committed the crime of asking to be loved by a mother who is unable to love
him. The sentence must be served in the prison of pain and sadness, with the added restriction of
"You must
(51) not feel sad" and the burden of the accusation "YOU ARE BAD!"
Susan was thirty-three years of age when she came to me for help in controlling her eating
habits. Frequently depressed and exhausted, she could not locate the source of her depression, but
she admitted to being constantly tense. She found it very difficult to enjoy life and felt inferior to
her friends and acquaintances. She was always irritable with her family and expressed remorse
for this. When Susan came for treatment, she was certain that stronger dieting will power would
solve most of her problems.
In hypnoanalysis she uncovered several experiences in which she had made attempts to
persuade her mother to express love for her. Each time she met with a rebuff. At three years of
age, for instance, young Susan rushed in from the garden with the lovely flowers that she had
picked for her mummy. Instead of being met with loving appreciation, she was thrust away with
"You naughty girl, Susan." This was her first experience with rejection.
When she was about six years old, she had completed a lovely painting especially for her
mummy. When she entered the house, all excited about presenting the painting, her mother took
one look at it and snapped, "Put that mess in the garbage."
She could never persuade mother to love her. When her mother died during Susan's
twentieth year, the girl was still trying to gain her love. Susan could not accept this defeat
because she believed that until her mother professed love, she was unlovable. This was the
frightful sentence that she had to serve, and was only terminated after a great deal of therapy.
YOU MUST NOT SUCCEED: At a conscious level everyone wishes to be successful.
Success, the symbol of public recognition and acceptance, is one of life's most pleasant
experiences.
Sometimes, however, acceptance in one area will result in rejection in another. Under
such circumstances acceptance and success can be considered a crime, punished by the sentence
"You must not succeed." This judgment may be imposed upon any criminal locked within the
prison of guilt. When the Child is safely imprisoned, he may be allowed to become enthusiastic
about any number of projects, but should he approach any degree of success, the Parent will bar
him from it so that he fails.
James labored under this sentence. He had done well at school in (52) his early years but
quit at the age of sixteen without any documentary evidence of his ability. He worked at several
jobs for a while, decided to start his university career as a mature student. After initial burst of
enthusiasm, his studies rapidly fell apart, and he the university before completing the first year.
Since then, James had worked in several different jobs, but same pattern continued to
repeat itself. He would always become excited about a new job and would do extremely well for
a few we His new employer would be very pleased with the young man worked so diligently and
was so full of new ideas. But at the enl several weeks or at the very most a few months, when his
boss m be considering permanent employment, James would lose his enthusiasm, acting in ways
that would usually ensure his dismiss, arriving late for important assignments, forgetting appoint
me starting to drink heavily. Eventually he would be sacked-or he was quit when he felt that he
had given his boss a hard enough time.
During this period his original enthusiasm would be replaced depression and irritability.
Once he left a job, his spirits was gradually lift, and although he would always feel guilty about
hav loused up another chance, his depression would fade. Because Jar was such an intelligent
young man with many excellent ideas and, course, plenty of experience, he was usually able to
secure a new. and start the same cycle once again.
When he had undergone psychotherapy during a previous bout depression, the astute
psychiatrist had pinpointed the age of fe years as a time when something had happened to James
to cause: problems. Unfortunately, the psychiatrist had not been able to me further. In
hypnoanalysis we were able to locate the experience a bring it to consciousness. At four years of
age James had be surprised by his father in a sexual act with an older boy. He had be punished
severely by his father but had repressed the the experience from his memory. The intense guilt,
however, remain with him. He had been exiled to the prison of guilt with the sentence "You shall
not succeed." James could not achieve success until he was freed from the prison. Till then his
Parent would not let him fully exercise his abilities. He was not good enough.
YOU MUST NOT BE AFRAID: Fear is a normal human response to real or imagined
danger: Unfortunately, many parents do not understand fear and at (52) disturbed by it when they
perceive it in their children. In addition, society frequently interprets normal fear as cowardice.
For these reasons fear may be viewed as a crime, and the Parent is given the task of ensuring that
it is not repeated by passing the sentence "You must not be afraid."
An emotion that is blocked by the Parent in this way is often expressed in some more
acceptable way. Overeating, excessive smoking, alcoholism and some psychosomatic illnesses
can result from the repression of fear.
Elizabeth was a tall, stately girl of about twenty-eight years of age. She had separated
from her husband after a short and stormy marriage several years before she came to consult me.
She overate and felt constantly irritable, and her symptoms had become much worse since she
had heard that her husband was back in town. He had been away for many years, and she really
had no wish to see him again. He had failed to provide support for their eleven-year-old son or
her since their separation.
In hypnoanalysis Elizabeth regressed to a stormy incident which had occurred when she
was eighteen years of age. Her husband, in a drunken state, was yelling violent abuse at her. She
was crying, the baby was screaming, and the dog was barking-a terrifying commotion. She
clamored for her husband to leave her alone, and he did so for a few minutes. When he returned,
he was brandishing a shotgun which he assured her was loaded. She was now even more terrified
but knew that she must not lose control. She pleaded with him to put the gun down, but he
ignored her, accused her of infidelity and shouted that she did not deserve to live. He was
determined to kill her. As she pushed him and the gun away, the dog jumped up at him. She fled
to a neighbor's house, but as she ran, a shot rang out. Had he killed himself? Had he killed the
dog? The baby?
With these thoughts running through her head, she felt enormous guilt that she had left in
a panic. She knew that she dared not go back lest she become the next victim, so when she
became sufficiently coherent to convey to her neighbor the urgency of the situation, the police
were called in.
When the police arrived, they found that nothing untoward had occurred. Uncovering no
evidence that a shot had been fired, they gave her the distinct impression that they did not believe
her story. They assumed it had really been an ordinary domestic quarrel in which no one's life
had ever been in danger.
Shortly after this incident Elizabeth left her husband despite his threa ts to "get her." She
had not allowed herself to think of the experience since that time, and even now, knowing that he
had returned to the neighborhood, she did not connect him consciously with her symptoms. She
only knew subconsciously that she must not be afraid.
YOU MUST NOT LOVE: Everyone will agree that loving is a perfectly normal human
emotion, yet many people are unable to express it because of a sentence imposed upon them.
They have been found guilty of loving and have been sentenced never to love again. Loving is
often confused with sexual activity, so that this inability to love is accompanied by an inability to
enjoy sex. This may be expressed as a fear of relishing or being involved in sex. Making oneself
unattractive is one way of avoiding sex and denying love.
I well remember Freda who, at twenty-three years of age, would have been quite attractive
had she not been grossly overweight. She had never dated. She felt compelled to eat, almost as if
she was afraid to lose weight. In hypnoanalysis the reason for this became clear.
At five years of age she was awakened by the noise of her parents quarreling violently.
Freda tried not to listen, but she could not help overhearing her mother scream, "Why don't you
have her? You want her more than you want me!" She wondered, could mother be referring to
me? She felt sure that she loved her daddy more than her mother did. As she listened, one
accusation both frightened and puzzled her. "You like little girls too much. Next time they will
lock you up for life!" When she heard that, she knew that she must not allow herself to think
loving thoughts about her daddy ever again. She must not love, for loving is a crime. She knew
then that if she became 2.5 fat as Mrs. Johnson next door, whom daddy hated, she would be safe.
She would simply eat and eat. She must supplant love with eating. It was a long time before
Freda could feel free to reverse her decision and let herself lose weight. She had to learn that it
was permissible to love.
YOU MUST NOT THINK: To be considered stupid would normally be deemed a
handicap, but sometimes it is wiser to act stupid than to use one's normal intelligence. Being
intelligent has, on occasion, proved to be so disastrous that it has been interpreted as a crime. The
proper punishment for such a crime is, of course, "You must not think." (55)
I can best illustrate this through the experience of Stewart, who came to see me at the age
of nineteen. He was doing very badly in his studies, finding it difficult to concentrate upon
academic assignments and wondering whether he should drop out of high school rather than
continue to work toward graduation.
Stewart was feeling very nervous and was unable to sleep. Only infrequently could he
relate to his classmates, most of whom were younger and better students than he. However, until
he had reached grade six he was scholastically ahead of his contemporaries and was the youngest
and brightest in the class. He had no idea why his performance in school had deteriorated so
badly since then.
We discovered the clue in hypnoanalysis. Stewart located a critical experience at the age
of eleven years. He had not been in bed for long when he heard a loud bang coming from
downstairs. His parents had just returned home, quarreling vehemently, his father shouting abuse
at his mother. He was not sure he had caught one statement accurately, but his father shortly
repeated it: "I always knew he wasn't my kid-he's too smart-assed!" Stewart loved his dad, and he
wanted no one else for a father. Being smart must be a crime, he decided, so he must be punished.
He must not think. From that time onward, although the incident was never mentioned, Stewart
began to do poorly at school. He could not allow himself to perpetrate the crime of being smart
and run the risk of losing dad. (56)

27. CHAPTER FIVE: THE PRISON LOCKS-GUILT! EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR
MIND AND BE FREE: LANE & ASSOCIATES: LE JOLLA, CA: 1979
Central to the whole theme of this book is the conflict between the Parent ego state and
the Child ego state, which so often leads to the imprisonment of the Child by the Parent.
Although every prison has its jailors, they would not be so effective if the prison were not
securely locked. It is natural to wonder how the Parent is able to prevent the Child from escaping.
The answer is guilt, which provides locks secure from tampering.
Although all of us have experienced feelings of guilt, it is very difficult, to define the
exact nature of guilt. We would all agree however, that guilt feelings are intensely unpleasant
because they remind us that we have done something which has met with intense disapproval.
There is no inborn sense of guilt. It is a learned response resulting from an awareness of
having been responsible for another's distress. Our acquaintance with this feeling begins when we
first witness the distress of someone upon whom we rely for support and protection. That person
is usually mother, and we are soon aware of our responsibility for her distress by indications that
her anger is directed at us. Immediately we admit to the crime.
Even though we may not know the extent of our crime, we know that it must be
something terrible because of the severity of the distress associated with it. Having been found
guilty of committing a crime, we suffer grievously and may even shed tears. Mother is angry or
sad or afraid, and her whole attitude verifies that we are the source of the problem. Even though
we did not wish to cause distress, we are not absolved from the responsibility we feel. We sense
that only a terrible person could have occasioned such catastrophic results.
The feeling of guilt emerges immediately after one has been made to feel badly and has
been found guilty of one of the many crimes already listed. Guilt creates severe discomfort and is
compounded of various emotions, the chief of which is fear. The basic fear is that rejection by
mother will amount to total abandonment by her. Although guilt is primarily a feeling of fear, it
is compounded with feelings of sadness as one contemplates the possibility of being utterly alone.
(57)
This fear potentially gains its strength from an instinctive awareness probably founded on
the memory of a total dependence on her during intrauterine life, that life without mother can be
equated with death. I think that the infant is aware of his dependence on mother, particularly
when she does not promptly meet his many demands. He is left with a frightening sensation of
helplessness since he is unable to satisfy his own biological needs.
Throughout pregnancy mother has provided continued biological support, and for us all
the separation from mother at birth is a traumatic reminder of our dependence upon her.
Therefore any threat of a more permanent separation from mother always becomes the source of
intense fear, which supplies the feeling of guilt with its immense power.
The Parent ego state acts to prevent mother from withdrawing support from the Child by
initiating a behavior pattern which is acceptable to her. This is why the Parent ego state is so
closely modeled upon mother or other parental figures upon whom the Child depends for
sustenance. It also explains why the Parent ego state imposes restrictions upon the behavior of the
Child through the mechanism of repression. I believe that the feeling of guilt provides that
mechanism.
Whenever the Child wishes to express a feeling that might produce parental disapproval,
the Parent flashes the memory of the original crime with its accompanying threat of punishment
by abandonment of the Child by the mother. The memory of that threat fills the Child with
foreboding and provides the essence of the feeling which we call guilt.
Guilt, then, resides at the center of the Parent/Child conflict. It is the pressure applied by
the Parent in opposition to and in response to the pressure of the unacceptable emotion which the
Child wishes to express. Guilt effectively holds the Child in his prison and serves as the locks on
the doors of the outer walls of his prison.
Intense guilt is felt as anxiety. Lesser levels of guilt may be experienced as feelings of
shame or embarrassment. Although always present in cases of Parent/Child conflict responsible
for imprisonment of the mind, guilt may not reach awareness and sometimes can only be
identifiable at an unconscious level in hypnosis.
It is the objective of hypnotherapy to pry open the locks of guilt so that the Child may be
free to express himself as he is. Before this can be accomplished, however, the Parent must be
convinced that it is no longer necessary for the Child to be locked up in the mental prison for his
own protection. Since the Parent ego state regards the prison (58) as a haven of security as well as
a place of punishment, it must be assured that the Child will not come to far greater harm should
he be released. An understanding of this function of the Parent enables us to accept its very
important role as the purveyor of guilt in the interests of the individual. (59)

28. CHAPTER SIX: RELEASE FROM PRISON: EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR
MIND AND BE FREE: LANE & ASSOCIATES: LE JOLLA, CA: 1979
The Appeal: The legal systems of most civilized societies contain provision for the
review of a sentence imposed upon the alleged criminal after the trial. This mechanism also
provides for a re-examination of the circumstances of the crime in order to determine whether the
actions of the prisoner were truly criminal. The appeal procedure is designed to ensure that justice
is upheld and that any evidence not accessible at the original trial can be made available to the
court for its deliberation.
All successful therapy involves a review of the problem to find new and more satisfactory
solutions. This approach is crucial to success in the analytical hypnotherapy of emotional
problems.
Early Parent/Child conflicts often continue unresolved throughout the lifetime of the
individual. The Adult remains a helpless and informed spectator of the painful struggle between
the oppressed and miserable Child and the unyielding, duty-conscious Parent. Neither Child nor
Parent is able to communicate the true nature of the conflict to the Adult in order to allow this
highly resourceful ego state to discover a solution to their conflict. Internal communication is
clearly inadequate. When psychotherapies work, they probably do so simply by utilizing Adult
understanding of the Parent/Child conflict so that the Parent can be supplied with the information
necessary to moderate its position and allow the Child increased or full freedom.
Successful therapy operates in the same way as an appeal. Grounds for the appeal may
include the following: that the original :rial was conducted ineptly, that the sentence given was
too severe or that new evidence is now available to the court.
Before an appeal can proceed, a report of the previous trial must be made available to the
defense for study, largely because the memories of the original event which precipitated the
emotional conflict are no longer present at a conscious level. They are often not available to the
Adult even at an unconscious level because the Adult ego state was probably too immature at the
time of the original event to form an understanding.
In the recovery of unconscious memories hypnosis possesses a (61) unique advantage over
all other therapeutic approaches. I would suggest that any approach which incorporates
communication with the unconscious mind is in fact using hypnosis. Hypnotic technique, are
being employed successfully by many therapists who are not awar: that hypnosis is involved and
who have no formal knowledge of hypnosis. This statement in no way detracts from the merits of
these successful techniques but seeks to recognize and identify the common pathway necessary
for success.
Analytical hypnotherapy depends upon direct communication with the unconscious mind
for its ability to locate information regarding the original problem. Fortunately, we have found
that for mas: people adequate communication with the unconscious mind is rela tively easy and
that a deep state of hypnosis is not necessary, as wa, once thought. Many of my patients, in fact,
are amazed at the ease with which this communication with the unconscious mind can be
established, even when the conscious mind is observant and alert.
The unconscious mind is like a video tape recorder, transcribing every significant
happening in faithful detail. The first step in analytical hypnotherapy is to locate the memories of
the experiences frorr. which the so-called crime and the subsequent sentence arose. The
techniques of analytical hypnotherapy direct the unconscious mind to search its millions of
recordings until it locates the relevant critical experiences.
The next step is to bring that experience to a level where it can be reviewed by the Adult
ego state. Sometimes this experience is too painful to be brought to a conscious level and must be
examined by the Adult at an unconscious level only. I have found, however, that this may be just
as effective as a review of the experience at a conscious level, but it is unsatisfying in some
respects for the therapist, who is left in ignorance of the basic problem and cannot develop a full
knowledge and understanding of it. If a detailed review of the original trial brings forward
sufficient evidence that some injustice has occurred, a retrial can be instigated. This retrial will
reconsider the crime, review the evidence for the prosecution, and any new evidence for the
defense.
The Retrial: At the original trial the prosecution's case rested largely upon an admission
by the Child that the events described did indeed take place and that his behavior caused his
parent's distress. At that time no notice whatever was taken of the Child's pleas that he could not
help it. (62)
The question "Were you in fact present when your mother expressed great distress at your
presence?" could only be answered affirmatively. No one showed any concern with the Child's
pleas that he did not know how he got there.
At the retrial the Child has a mature Adult for an advocate who can now find many
precedents to aid in the defense. Convicted of the crime of existing, the Child now has an
excellent defense. In short, he was not responsible for his presence in this world, and a mature
Adult has ample evidence to present in support of this viewpoint. He knows the role that his
parents played in his conception and realizes that his distressed mother had afar, far greater share
in the responsibility for his presence than he could ever have had. She is hundreds of times more
guilty than he. This is an extremely strong defense. Furthermore, mother's distress was much
more influenced by social and economic factors than by the birth of the Child.
Perhaps the Child committed the crime of anger. In that case his advocate, the Adult, can
produce evidence to show that all human beings experience anger and that it is a normal human
emotion which can be used for benefit as well as injury. The Adult can provide evidence that
anger is not in itself a crime since it is an emotion primarily designed for protection.
In further defense of the Child, the Adult can bring the same support of any normal,
healthy human feelings to an outdated charge that such feelings are crimes.
During analytical hypnotherapy much of this is frequently accomplished at a totally
unconscious level; the patient is not aware of what has been done and indeed may not feel very
different during the process. On the other hand, uncomfortable old feelings may be
reexperienced, and he may be surprised at their intensity since he probably believed that he had
managed to discard these outdated feelings many years previously. The conscious reaction may
well occasion the remark, "Fancy such a stupid little thing like that still making me so upset."
This review of old experiences is often accompanied by intense feelings since it requires
that an event which was partly or wholly responsible for the Parent/Child conflict be examined in
detail. The techniques of analytical hypnotherapy are designed to ensure that a thorough
re-examination of the experience is accomplished. In fact, a session of hypnotherapy may review
several such critical experiences. This initial phase of hypnoanalysis cannot be regarded as
complete until all such experiences have been thoroughly examined and the deep modern
understanding of the mature unconscious Adult ego (63) state has been applied to each of them.
The purpose of this review is to persuade the Parent ego state to reverse its original
verdict of guilty since this had resulted in the incarceration of the Child and the subsequent
conflict between them. The Parent usually welcomes relief from the onerous duty of Jailor. On
the other hand, it may find it difficult to accept the new role c' friend and supporter of an ego
state which for years it has held in contempt as a common criminal.
Throughout this process the Adult concentrates all of its powers of logic upon the
Parent/Child conflict. This phase of analytical hypnotherapy calls for the greatest exhibition of
skill and patience from the hypnotherapist. He is aware that he cannot free the Chile: himself but
must rely upon the Adult ego state's effort to persuade the Parent to permanently release the
Child.
If the Parent cannot be fully convinced that the Child is innocent or that he has been
punished sufficiently, the Child will only be allowed out on probation. This is not good enough,
however, for it projects only a false freedom and will inevitably be followed by a relapse after a
brief period of remission. Unfortunately of course, we are sometimes forced to settle for this
probation rather than the total and unconditional pardon that we seek.
The Pardon: Normally a pardon can only be obtained when a case has been reopened and
irrefutable new evidence of innocence has been presented. The defendant is then considered to
have been wrongly convicted and unjustly imprisoned.
A pardon is essentially a sincere official apology that an injustice has occurred. It is an
affirmation that the defendant has always been totally innocent of the crime for which he had
been charged and sentenced. His good name is once again restored to him, and he is regarded as a
thoroughly worthy citizen who is just as respectable as any of his fellow citizens who have not
undergone his unfortunate experience.
It is this kind of unconditional pardon that analytical hypnotherapy seeks to secure for the
Child from the Parent. In most cases a Child has been convicted of multiple crimes, and it is
imperative that a pardon be obtained for each separate crime. When this happens, many
wonderful things occur-the chief of which is the Parent's acceptance of the Child. Our patient
begins to like himself.
The Parent must cease to act as a controlling, repressive force (64) and must become an
encouraging and supportive one. Sometimes this is accomplished quite rapidly, but often it takes
a great deal of persuasion from the logical Adult ego state to achieve a reversal of behavior. Until
now the Parent's natural loving and nurturing functions have been largely subordinated to its
disciplinarian role. Teaching the Parent new approaches is an important part of hypnotherapy.
A true pardon is permanent. There will never be any need for the Child to enter prison
again. The Parent/Child conflict is at an end and the patient is cured. The sense of freedom
experienced by the pardoned Child can only be truly understood by someone who has undergone
it. We will be hearing from pardoned prisoners who will describe their escape from prison and
their subsequent experience of freedom.
Freedom: Liberty is every human being's birthright. To be free is to be oneself, to
express one's personality without fear or guilt. This should be the ultimate objective of all
psychotherapy. The freed Child is in harmony with his Parent ego state and can be trusted to
experience his feelings fully and without hindrance from the Parent. There is no longer any
conflict between the Child ego state and the Parent ego state, and there remains little for the Adult
ego state to do but to provide the Child with the information necessary for him to be able to fully
utilize all the creative energy of his feelings.
Thus the once unproductive artist is slowly transformed into a creative and fully
productive craftsman. The shy, retiring individual becomes open and communicative. The
psychosomatic ailments are no longer necessary, and the normal health which was previously
concealed by these symptoms emerges. The feeling of well-being that the free Child brings to the
personality is without parallel. In some cases it borders on the miraculous.
Freedom can take place quite suddenly, as we have often noted in the phenomenon of
religious conversion. When it does, such an :experience occurs quickly, it appears miraculous,
shocking the family and friends of the convert. They must learn to adapt to the freed person, who
has suddenly appeared in their midst like a stranger. This change in him, of course, may strain
their adaptive powers. Until they realize that the freed individual-despite his openness-has no
malicious intent and will do them no deliberate harm, they may not be able to handle him.
Sometimes marriages that iave not been stable will collapse when a partner is freed. It has been
(65) my experience, however, that the other partner can usually discover resources with which to
deal with and adapt to this change. Accordingly, the marriage relationship will often become
quite beautiful.
Usually the transformation in the freed personality is quite gradual. The Parent, persuaded
to alter his role from that of Jailor to Supporter and Protector of the Child, shifts roles slowly. In
such cases the family still has to adjust, but in subtler ways and over a longer period of time.
In the phase of freedom the Adult ego assumes great importance. The Child is now at
liberty in a new world of free expression and is aware of emotions which were previously
repressed. He requires direction from the Adult in learning ways to exhibit these emotions which
will not alienate him from the community to which he aspires to belong.
Anyone who has been released from one of the mind's emotional prisons must learn how
to use that newly released emotion without any sense of guilt. Anything short of this is not true
freedom. The new role of the Parent ego state is so important in the establishment of the new
freedom that therapy must continue until this role is fully accepted. Occasional relapses will
result from a failure to establish the Parent's new role as Supporter and Protector of the Child ego
state. (66)

29. CHAPTER SEVEN: REHABILITATION: LEARNING HOW TO REMAIN FREE:

EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE FREE: LANE & ASSOCIATES: LE
JOLLA, CA: 1979
Our prisons are full of men and women who are unable to adapt to life in the free world.
As soon as their sentences end, they commit new crimes and are reimprisoned. Many prisoners
have been isolated from normal society so long that they cannot comprehend the established rules
of order and soon run afoul of them. Others return to prison because they lack the skills with
which to function adequately in a free society. They are untrained to live outside of prison.
Another group of released prisoners miss the security of prison and are fearful of the demands
that living in a free world imposes upon them. These prisoners may deliberately commit offenses
which they know will ensure their recommittal to the safe haven of prison.
The problem of recidivism has long occupied the attention of sociologists and
criminologists. It seems to be virtually insoluble, but there is general agreement that if
satisfactory rehabilitation were truly possible, the problem would be greatly reduced.
Prisoners of the mind are unique among criminals because they were really never guilty of
any crime. After pardon their rehabilitation becomes an extremely important problem. Prisoners
of the mind must be taught to make their way as free human beings in a strange world which may
be somewhat hostile to those who have newly been freed.
Two very important phases of rehabilitation must be satisfactorily completed before the
prisoner can be said to handle his freedom satisfactorily. In the first phase he must be convinced
that he has the right and the ability to be free. In hypnotherapy we call this process ego
strengthening, for it is a procedure for increasing the strength of the Child ego state. The second
phase is that of assertiveness training. It is necessary to instruct the Child and the Parent in new
ways of handling the problems of life with the assistance of the Adult. When these two phases
have been satisfactorily completed, the released individual is properly prepared to handle his
new-found freedom.
 Ego Strengthening: Until this point, hypnotherapy has been directed to locating (67)
critical experiences which have made normal human feelings appear to be crimes. The Child ego
state has been subjected to a punishment consistent with his crimes and has had the expression of
his forbidden feelings severely restricted by guilt.
In obtaining freedom for the Child, the Adult ego state has at last been able to convince
the Parent ego state of the Child's innocence. For the Parent this is a novel conception since it had
previously listened only to the true parent, and this idea is apparently in total contradiction to all
it had heard. This conception therefore must be repeatedly reinforced for it to be permanently
accepted by the Parent.
On the other hand, the Child, although always believing in his own essential innocence,
initially finds it difficult to conceive that he is acceptable. He is not completely sure that he is
really O.K.
Ego strengthening is an important and essential part of therapy, and hypnosis plays a vital
role in retraining both the Child and the Parent to accept and maintain belief in the Child's basic
innocence and acceptability.
The effective therapist himself must possess a deeply rooted conviction of the essential
goodness and rightness of human nature. The tools of hypnosis will allow him to communicate
this conviction to the unconscious mind of the patient. This point of view may have to be
repeated many times until the previously impoverished Child ego state gains sufficient strength to
maintain the belief at all times. The Adult ego state continues to aid the Child in this belief in
himself by providing him with ample information of his equality with and essential resemblance
to other human beings. He can, therefore, be persuaded that he need no longer feel inferior to his
fellow human beings.
By using hypnosis to secure the attention of every part of the unconscious mind, I can be
certain that each ego state is listening to me. I begin by stating emphatically that every human
being is important. I then ask for agreement with this viewpoint from every part of the patient's
unconscious mind.
Following this, I assert that my patient is just as good and important as any other human
being living or dead. I find this easy to state in a convincing manner because I sincerely believe
it. If my patient has really freed himself from all punishing restrictions, he can agree with me and
accept this revolutionary point of view. The belief that one is really just as good and important as
any other human being is always accompanied by positive feelings.
When a patient cannot concur that his significance matches that of any other human being,
I know that his Parent ego state is having (68) difficulty in yielding its accustomed role as jailor.
Partial agreement with these principles indicates that the Parent has not been wholly convinced to
play a supportive role and may resume the former restrictive function at any time. At such a point
we must pursue further analytical hypnotherapy for the Child to be totally and permanently free.
In order to increase ego strengthening in those who are apparently free, I always ask my
patient in hypnosis if he agrees that he has a right to respect and protect his normal human
emotions, whether or not they are pleasant. This question is really directed to the Parent ego state.
I am inquiring whether it accepts the new role of respecting and protecting the Child and his
normal human emotions. If I gain an affirmative response to this question, I know that the ego of
the Child has been immeasurably strengthened by the knowledge that its feelings have been
accepted. It now has the full support and protection of the Parent ego state.
 Assertiveness Training: Many courses and teachings today address themselves to the
subject of assertiveness training. Unfortunately, a mental prisoner cannot avail himself of the
good advice contained in these writings and teachings. That is, his Parent will not allow him to
indulge in self-assertion since that is a privilege reserved for the free.
When an individual fully accepts himself, however, he has no need to be particularly
assertive. His respect for himself is evident, and he commands respect from others. Only those
who cannot respect themselves fail to gain respect from others. It is precisely this group of people
who, though needing assertiveness training, cannot avail themselves of it because they are
imprisoned.
When an individual escapes from his self-imposed prison, he emerges into a strange world
where no one recognizes him. At first not even his friends or relatives see him for what he truly
is, for they have only known him as a prisoner. As a free person he no longer feels guilt about
himself, and this very fact makes him a stranger to his peers.
To overcome this difficulty, the newly released prisoner must learn to support and protect
himself in the outside world. He will be called upon many times to justify his presence outside
prison walls and will have to know how to assert his right to be free.
The liberated prisoner must learn three simple things. First of all, he has to learn how to
prevent his Parent from reimprisoning him. (69) This requires a great deal of alertness on the
part of the Adult, who must constantly remind the Parent that his old role of Jailor is finished.
Secondly, he must learn to rely upon the Parent ego state to protect him whenever others attempt
to have him recommitted to prison. Once again the Adult must be prepared to recognize when
this is happening and to caIl upon the Parent to ward off any such attempt in his proper role as the
protector. Thirdly, he must not be seduced into any situation in which he might be tempted to use
the tool of guilt upon others in order to lock them more securely within their own prisons as a
reprisal for their attacks upon him. All of this requires effective assertiveness training.
Hypnosis offers an exceIlent medium for productive assertiveness training because
suggestions given in hypnosis are attended to very closely and, when accepted, are foIlowed with
utmost fidelity. In practice, I accomplish this stage of therapy by demanding that the individual
make and keep three important promises.
First, he must promise to stop putting himself or his feelings down. This is the most
essential promise that I extract, for it is the most difficult to keep. Until now, the Parent has
repressed the Child and discounted his feelings. If the promise is kept, the Child will receive the
essential support of the Parent.
Secondly, I ask the individual to promise never again to allow anyone to put him or his
feelings down. Many patients have permitted others to get away with devaluing and ignoring their
feelings or calling them into question. Their tormentors have had no right to do this, but my
patients have never objected to such treatment. In fact, they probably invited others to demean
them. They must now put a stop to this, never allowing anyone to make them feel badly. I
sincerely believe that most people do not intentionally mean to put others down, and when they
are made aware of the effect of their actions on a friend they will immediately desist. In any case,
the very action or informing someone that he is causing hurt seems to make it easier to keep the
first promise not to put oneself down. These first two promises supplement each other in the
assertiveness training process.
The therapeutic process must extract a third and final promise: that the individual never
knowingly put anyone else down. Imprisoned subjects are accustomed to demeaning themselves
and accordingly gain some measure of comfort from their ability to do the same to others. Those
whom they attack, of course, must inhabit prisons of their own to be vulnerable. Thus both sides
frequently engage in useless, damaging battles. A prerequisite for disengagement from such
fighting demands an "ex-convict" no longer (70) knowingly put others down.
For each of these important assertiveness training promises the Adult ego state may be
provided with an excellent rationale which it can utilize to ensure that there is always complete
ego agreement. This further enhances ego strengthening. For example, the Adult accepts the
Child as good and as important as any other human being, and therefore no one has the right to
put the Child down-not even the Parent or Adult. It follows quite logically that neither the Parent,
the Child nor the Adult has the right to put anyone else down.
This phase of therapy is administered to every patient regardless of the problem with
which he first presented. If a patient can keep these three promises, he will remain free.
Conversely, if he fails to keep anyone of the three promises, he is in danger of reimprisonment.
This phase of rehabilitation, an essential part of therapy, is included at every visit of every
patient. Each time an ex-prisoner is attacked, creating a situation in which he would formerly
have remained silent and thus implicitly agreed with the attack, he now stands up for himself. He
never remains undefended. His new self-confidence renders him both self-protective and
self-assertive. He now respects his own feelings, thoughts and ideas, never abandoning them.
Speaking up for himself, he will not allow a criticism of his feelings to go unchallenged. Every
day that the free patient deals successfully with an infringement upon his newly defined rights, he
increases his seif-confidence. Each subsequent defense of his feelings and opinions -rings new
respect from those around him and consolidates his own self-respect. (71)

30. CHAPTER EIGHT: FALSE FREEDOM: EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND
AND BE FREE: LANE & ASSOCIATES: LE JOLLA, CA: 1979
Many prisoners find their freedom partially or intermittently restricted for various reasons.
Among prisoners of the mind we find many individuals in analogous circumstances; they are only
able to achieve freedom for short periods of time .
1. PRISON BREAKS: A prisoner can obtain temporary freedom by slipping away from
jailors when their vigilance flags. Unfortunately, he is never truly free. Always on the run from
the law, he may be caught and returned to prison to face an even more severe sentence. An
outlaw can never really relax. He lives in constant fear of discovery and is never free of a feeling
of guilt.
In precisely the same way the enterprising Child ego state can sometimes escape the
vigilance of the Parent and flee his prison. When he does so, the presents the typical clinical
picture of the escape who possesses overwhelming self-confidence. This is vastly different from
his appearance in prison under the control of his jailor, the Parent.
a) The manic depressive: Typically, the manic depressive experiences periods of deep
depression during which he becomes withdrawn, inactive, sad and possibly suicidal. These
alternate with periods of great activity during which the patient becomes increasingly productive
and creative. - unfortunately, throughout each period the patient becomes so hyperactive mentally
and physically that he eventually loses control. At such times of crisis he is no longer able to
think clearly or constructively. He becomes illogical and must be restrained for his own good.
 The depression phase is essentially the same as any depression during which the Child is
undergoing tremendous pressure from a hypercritical, punitive and restrictive Parent who tortures
the freedom loving Child by constantly reminding him of his crime while meting out punishment.
But if the Parent tires from the rigors of this duty and relaxes its usual vigilance, the Child can
take advantage of the (73) Parent's absence from his post to slip out of prison.
All of us have witnessed the weary, harassed mother in the department store trying to
keep an unruly three-year-old in line with threats of punishment. When she has him firmly by the
hand, he cannot escape, and after a while he admits defeat and appears to become cooperative. In
reality, he is simply awaiting his opportunity to escape. Eventually mother's attention is distracted
by some article in the store and she releases her hold on her offspring. This is the moment he has
been waiting for, and he is quick to seize this opportunity. He scampers off, delighting in his
freedom, wandering from department to department, his imagination running riot as he
experiments with the goodies on display.
Now one of two things may happen. If his departure is soon noted by his mother, she will
give chase. In turn, he will begin to run even faster from her, although certain that she will
eventually catch him, as she has done so many times before. As his speed gathers, he becomes
less coordinated, and soon he falls and is apprehended. In the process he has probably made
havoc among the merchandise. But if mother does not notice his departure and quickly take up
the chase, he will become lost and frightened. He will cry out for his mother, desperately seeking
her protection again no matter havoc restrictive it proves to be.
In either case he is eventually recaptured, and his mother expresses her annoyance and
anxiety at the embarrassment and fear that his excursion has caused her. She may even spank
him. In an; case, he will become acutely aware of her wrath and will demonstrate this by crying
and sobbing. For the duration of the shopping trip he will be contrite and almost docile. He is a
bad boy and he knows it.
The manic-depressive experiences a similar drama internally. The Child ego state
temporarily escapes from the Parent ego state and becomes uncontrolled as the manic phase is
reached. He fears both his lack of control and the probability of reimprisonment. When the Parent
does again imprison him, remorse and guilt combine to render him extremely depressed.
Typically the manic depressive patient is very high in spirits in the manic phase, very low
in the depressive phase. It is my clinical experience that many people undergo mood swings
which, though far less dramatic than those of the manic depressive, are caused by the same
mechanism. These may vary in intensity and in duration from hours to years.
This pendulum mechanism is at the root of all recurrent depression. It can only be
inactivated by the intervention of the Adult ego in (74)the continuing Parent/Child conflict.
Analytical hypnotherapy is one effective way in which this can be accomplished.
Ernest is a thirty-three-year-old accountant who originally consulted with me concerning
insomnia. He had not slept well for years. Sometimes he went to sleep feeling quite tired but
found himself wide awake only an hour after going to bed. At other times he lay awake for hours,
listening to the clock striking the early hours of the morning.
Ernest lived alone. His marriage broke down because of the demands he put upon it.
When I saw him, he told me that he had experienced periods of severe depression which seemed
to be heralded by a poor sleeping pattern. Only medications helped him to sleep and enabled him
to combat the feelings of hopelessness and sadness which dominated these periods of insomnia.
 Over the years he had been hospitalized on several occasions for periods of depression up
to several weeks. Undergoing electroshock therapy on two occasions, he believed that this had
hastened his recovery.
Between these periods of depression his sleeping pattern altered, he slept deeply and fairly
well, although he tended to awaken early. At such times he was much more energetic and
productive, by far the most effective partner in his firm. During the good periods he produced
much more work than his long-suffering secretary could handle. At such times he was punctual
for his appointments, drank little and devoted a fixed time each day to a fitness program.
A few days prior to each period of depression he became tense and confused. His head
filled with thoughts that demanded expression, but he felt frustrated in his attempts to find
sufficient creative Jr productive outlet. He suspected that other people were stupid because they
were so slow and could not fully comprehend him. These thoughts and experiences contrasted
sharply with the periods of depression which always followed.
His wife found him difficult to handle in either phase. In a state of depression he became
overly dependent upon her; when he felt “well," he appeared to be under such tremendous
pressure that she and the children suffered from it. He made countless family schedules for each
hour of the day, but the plans were too numerous, allowing none of his family any time for
themselves. When the designs began to develop, they became too complex for him to handle, and
thus he would experience feelings of self-doubt. He would begin to lie awake, wondering whether
he could ever be the success he was so desperately trying to be and questioning why he was so
hard on everyone. In the (75) end his wife could endure no more. She left him, taking the
children with her.
His mood was already sliding downhill once again when he came If it were to continue in
its usual pattern, he would soon become proudly depressed and unable to complete even the basic
responsibilities of his occupation. He would reach a stage where once loyal secretary would be
hard put to find new excuses for incapacities.
This story took a little while to emerge in its entirety, but it was clear at our first meeting
that Ernest was suffering from the destructive cycle the manic depressive. Having proved to be a
good subject for hypnoanalysis, he regressed to a critical experience which had occurred when he
was of age. He and his big brother Billy had arrived home late because they had played in the city
park instead of coming straight home from a friend's house. Their father was in a rage when they
finally arrived. He had been drinking heavily and was not in control of himself. He beat Billy
unmercifully with a strap, and Ernest could only cower in abject fear awaiting his turn. But he
never received his beating because father was distracted. Instead of experiencing relief, however.
Ernest felt guilty and responsible for his brother's hurt.
He recalled several other events in which he was "bad"-usually an lying or stealing things.
In hypnosis he was able to use his Adult understanding to forgive himself for these "crimes." He
realized that such episodes were part of an internal rebellion of his Child against his tyrannical
Parent. His anti-social acts were not due to any malice in his character but rather represented
attempts to protest the injustice his situation.
It took quite a while for his Parent to be persuaded to accept his Child as normal and no
worse than any other Child. But only when he gained his freedom of self-acceptance did his
cycles of manic ease.
At the conclusion of therapy Ernest was able to sleep without medication and to give up
antidepressants or tranquilizers. He felt very good about himself. His work output improved and
leveled off at a high but reasonable level so that neither he nor his employees were under any
undue pressure. At our last meeting he related with pleasure that he and his wife were seriously
considering coming in. He was no longer depressed. His Parent ego state had at least accepted his
Child and was no longer compelled to tell him how bad he was. (76)
b) Multiple personalities: Prisoners have been known to find their way out of poorly
guarded prisons and to reenter by the same route, leaving no evidence of their temporary absence.
Such prisoners have excellent alibis for any offense committed on the outside, for they will be
presumed incarcerated all the while.
Authorities consistently assume that their prison is escape proof. They would not even
consider the possibility that a prisoner could elude their vigilance. They remain blissfully
unaware that one of their charges has a method of escape and return which he regularly employs.
This would make a nice plot for a novel. In analogy, however, this is precisely what
happens with some cases of multiple personality. The Child ego state has found a means of
escaping the oppressive vigilance of the Parent ego state. It gets free of control in such a way that
the Parent is totally ignorant of how it escapes and may be unaware that a breakout has in fact
occurred.
The observer perceives that the subject has experienced a sudden change of mood or
personality. But the subject suffers from periods of amnesia and only later learns that he has
behaved in an uncharacteristic way. He usually describes these periods as blackouts.
Although it is not easy to understand how this rift in the personality occurs so that
separate and independent personalities arise, it is always the result of great internal conflict due to
the extreme oppressiveness on the part of the Parent ego state which leads the Child to formulate
this unusual means of temporary escape.
When I was first consulted by Ellen many years ago, she was suffering from headaches
which she had endured throughout her life. She was able to control the pain to some extent
through self-hypnosis, but she came to me for analytical hypnotherapy in the hope that she could
eliminate them entirely. She referred to "blackouts," during which she had little recollection of
what had transpired. Afterwards she would be told that she had totally ignored the family.
Engaging in a variety of artistic activities, she would become antagonistic toward her husband
and quite neglectful of her normal household duties. Her "blackout," lasting for two or three days,
would be followed by an intense headache. The family, she explained, eventually adjusted to her
"funny moods" because she always seemed to come out of them and reassume her usual
meticulous, sweet, kind and proper self.
During analytical hypnotherapy I became acquainted with a secondary personality whom I
called Mary (her proper first name). (77) Mary informed me that she had been imprisoned by
Ellen many years previously and that although she had learned to escape, she could only do so for
short periods.
At these times she did what she truly wanted to do. She confessed that she did not like
Ellen's husband and saw no reason why she should do anything for him. She did not even feel
married to him. She admitted that she was entirely responsible for Ellen's headaches. which were
imposed in retaliation for being locked up. Ellen, the Parent personality, was a perfectionist;
Mary was the happy-go-lucky Child.
With the help of the Adult ego state, who was initially unaware of what was going on, we
were able to arrange a kind of armistice between these two warring ego states, which eventually
became friends. Therapy took quite a long time in this case, but the headaches disappeared when
Mary was freed on a permanent basis. Therapy terminated when Mary Ellen became whole and
peacefully united.
2. OUT ON BAIL: When the accused is put on bail, he gives an assurance to the court
that he will appear at his trial. Bail is secured when he places a monetary deposit with the court,
which will be forfeited if the accused fails to return for trial. Until the trial date he will enjoy a
temporary freedom. But this is a false freedom, for the accused is required to report regularly to
the court and cannot travel at will.
Although he has the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty, he inevitably feels
almost as uncomfortable as if he had already been convicted. On the defensive much of the time,
he is constantly thinking of the forthcoming trial and the possibility of an unfavorable outcome.
Furthermore, he is not certain when the trial will take place. Under these circumstances it is
difficult for him to lead a normal life. He is only able to enjoy his freedom for short periods,
knowing that at any time he will be tried, perhaps found guilty and imprisoned.
All of these events may transpire in the mental life of those accused of emotional crimes.
An incident occurring early in life may have all the hallmarks of an emotional crime and yet not
be brought to trial until years later. It would appear as if the Child ego state had managed to buy
time from the Parent ego state by promising to be good and by pleading for leniency. Charges
have not been pressed at this time, probably because the victim of the alleged crime was in a (78)
forgiving frame of mind at the time of its commission.
Later in life, when the charges are laid, the Child is brought to trail and sentenced to
imprisonment. At this late date the original charge is proved and the appropriate punishment
administered by the Parent.
Mavis was thirty-four years of age when I first saw her for treatment of a persistent
depression. She reported that she had felt repressed and hopeless ever since the birth of her son
three years previously. This state had occasionally been so severe that it necessitied
hospitalization.
In hypnoanalysis we discovered that Mavis was four years of age when her brother was
born. She was genuinely delighted by this event, for a new baby was welcome in the house and
she loved the child intensely. At least she did until she began to recognize the unusual interest
that her parents and her favorite grandmother were taking in the new baby. It seemed to her that
they were particularly pleased that he was a boy. He drew all of the attention of the other family
members, apparently because he was a boy. She felt neglected, frightened and sad. Fully aware
that her brother was the cause of her hurt, to one day she screamed at him, "I hate you! I hate
you!" Her mother heard her discharge of anger and came to pacify her. Mavis detected the hurt in
her mother's eyes and regretted her outburst. Rather than punishing her, mother picked her up and
cuddled her. Right there and then Mavis promised that she would be good. In fulfillment of that
promise, she never again expressed the hurt that she still felt.
When Mavis became pregnant for the first time, she desperately hoped that her baby
would be a girl who would emotionally compensate her for the sister she never had and who
would not be the rival that her brother had become. Her baby was a boy, however, and mavis was
terribly disappointed. She had so wanted a girl. She suddenly felt intensely guilty and began to
punish herself for the crime committed thirty years earlier. She had been on bail all of these
years, but now she had been tried and found guilty of hurting her mother by hating her brother-or
was it her son?
Therapy helped Mavis give herself an unconditional pardon for her natural animosity
toward her brother. She was at last really free. She no longer needed to punish herself by means
of depression.
3. ON PROBATION: Extenuating circumstances may often lead a court to be lenient
(79) with a convicted criminal. Under such conditions with a convicted criminal. Under such
conditions he may be placed on probation, which means that although he has broken the law, he
will not be imprisoned so long as he continues to behave himself. During a certain period,
however, he must remain under the supervision of an officer of the court, a probation officer.
In the court of the mind a similar mechanism may be set in motion. However, the
supervision period is not usually limited and thus continues throughout life. The usual clinical
picture is that of an individual who in infancy experienced a traumatic emotional event which has
left a very strong impression. He has dealt with this experience by a modification of his behavior
which has enabled him to feel safe. This is an illusion; he is not truly safe. He is merely on
probation.
I was consulted by a middle-aged physician whom I will refer to as David. He was feeling
extremely depressed and did not know why. He related that he had applied for an appointment at
a university since he had been assured that, because of his particular expertise his application was
likely to be successful. Unfortunately, this was no: to be the case. The university to which he had
applied sent him a letter of regret, explaining that they were not able to utilize his particular
talents.
David was disappointed and surprised at the refusal. However. he was even more startled
by his emotional reaction. In the throes of a profound depression, he felt that his life had no real
meaning; he was no good. Intellectually, he knew that he was a man of great worth. but he could
not feel this at all. Embarrassed by finding himself constantly in tears, he came to me with the
hope that I could help him discover the cause of his melancholy.
In hypnoanalysis we soon discovered an important early experience. At his birth his
mother had rejected him. She had not even wanted to look at him. This finding surprised him
very much because consciously he had felt that his mother had always been very proud of his
many achievements. He was ashamed of the f act that he had not been more concerned about her
during her lifetime and was so little upset by her death some five years previously. Hypnoanalysis
led him to a new understanding of his mother. She had not been married to his father at the time
of his birth and had probably felt intensely ashamed of her unmarried status. As an infant,
however, he had only been aware of her rejection, not the complex reasons behind it. He now
understood that he had responded to this rejection by deciding to excel so that one day she would
fully accept him. Unconsciously, however, he had never felt that he deserved her acceptance. (80)
We uncovered a further experience which contributed to David's sense of unworthiness.
At the age of four he engaged in the game of "mothers and fathers" with a little girlfriend. This is
a time honored game in which children discover just how different boys and girls are. They were
discovered at a crucial point of the game by the little girl's mother. The shocked tone of her voice
was reechoed by his own mother's a little later, and he concluded that he could never be truly
regarded as acceptable. But he knew that he must continue to try.
In therapy David was able to understand why he had always been impeled to prove
himself, and he also discovered why he never seemed to derive any real satisfaction from his
many triumphs. His failure to obtain the post that he had urgently desired suddenly precipitated
him back into the maelstrom of maternal rejection-and all of the pain and dejection associated
with it. So long as he had been successful, he had been able to remain outside the prison of pain
and sadness, but his failure signaled the revocation of his probation. He was imprisoned, but with
the help of analytical hypnotherapy he was able to escape.
David is now truly free. He feels that he is no longer under a compelling pressure to
succeed and is pleased that he did not obtain :he job that he had applied for and had wanted so
much. He has moved into a related specialty in which he is happier than he has ever been.
4. MINIMUM SECURITY: Not everyone in prison is closely guarded at all times.
Some prisoners have day passes which allow them to work in the free world. Each evening, of
course, these prisoners must return to a lightly guarded prison, but otherwise they can consider
themselves free. Some of their fellow workers, in fact, may not know that their mates are
prisoners, although they may be aware that these fellows avoid engagements which would keep
them away from home late in the evenings.
Emotional problems operate similarly. For the victims these problems do not intrude
much into their lives. At certain times, however, the victims are aware of difficulties which do
not appear to have any direct connection with their experiences of the moment. They have had to
return to prison.
Sara was a well-educated, self-confident divorcee in her early forties, enjoying a
successful career in journalism. For some reason she occasionally went on what she called food
binges. When I saw (81) her, she looked trim and attractive, but she confided that she could put
on several pounds during these binges. They frightened her because at such times she felt quite
out of control, even though she usually prided herself upon her discipline and self-restraint.
During these binges she would eat everything in sight until she was literally so full that she felt
ill.
Sarah did not admit to having any emotional problems and could not understand why she
should do this. She had been divorced for more than five years and expressed no intention of
remarrying, although she had many opportunities. Her teenage children were happy and doing
well at school. She was fulfilled in her work and her job was quite secure.
Sara knew these episodes of compulsive eating were imminent when she experienced
feelings of panic and depression. Only when she had given way to the compulsion to overeat did
her normal relaxed, cheerful mood return.
In hypnoanalysis we discovered that her apparent emotional freedom was an illusion. Her
mother had been extremely disappointed in giving birth to a girl, for both parents had really
wanted a boy. During Sara's childhood her father had expressed disinterest in her feminine
activities but was supportive and generous with praise whenever she competed successfully in
more masculine pastimes.
In therapy Sara recognized that her feelings of panic and depression developed whenever
she allowed herself to become involved with a man in a sexual way. She was confined to a
minimum security prison for the crime of being a woman. She could allow herself the appearance
of total freedom so long as she did not become excessively feminine. Now she recognized that
this restriction upon her femininity had been a major factor in the break-up of her marriage. She
had never allowed herself to be sexually responsive to her husband, and this had resulted in their
eventual estrangement.
Through hypnoanalysis she eventually secured total freedom from the prison of rejection
and sadness and was able to enter into more meaningful relationships without the need to overeat.
5. DEATH SENTENCE: In real life, when the death penalty has been delivered for a
crime, the execution is usually carried out quite soon after sentencing, although occasionally
many years and numerous legal wrangles may precede its implementation. The prisoner remains
in his prison cell while the legal process grinds on towards its inevitable conclusion. (82) During
the period of waiting the prisoner may receive privileges normally identified with freedom. He
can therefore foster the illusion of freedom even though he is under a sentence of death.
At times we find a patient who is laboring similarly under the sentence of death. Such
people behave as if they have a death wish; their behavior is suicidal. They may take enormous
risks with their lives, engage in physically dangerous occupations, drink heavily, or take high
doses of drugs. They may seem incapable of making a normal recovery from a trivial illness.
There are many similar ways in which the death sentence may make itself known prior to being
carried out.
One would have thought that Jane commanded all the material acquisitions she needed to
be perfectly happy. The envy of her friends, she had her own house and a husband who would lay
down his life for her. The two young children were healthy and positively beautiful, and she
herself was very attractive. At thirty she seemed to lead a life of contentment-yet she was not
happy. Jane was often extremely depressed, but she concealed this so well that few of her friends
could have guessed that anything was amiss. Always smiling and cheerful, Jane was laboring
under a sentence of death.
Jane came to see me because she had great difficulty sleeping. She would awaken early in
the morning and could not get back to sleep again, no matter what maneuver she employed.
Constantly exhausted both physically and emotionally, she was impatient in her dealings with her
children and her husband.
Only after a prolonged discussion of her sleeping problem did she reveal the real reason
for her visit. She frequently experienced the strong feeling that she no longer wanted to live.
Since her presence on earth meant little to anyone, she would not be missed if she were to die.
She explained that her mother-in-law enjoyed a good relationship with the children and would be
happy to care for them. Her husband would soon be besieged by a myriad of women eager to fill
her vacated shoes. Her children, she lamented, would soon forget her.
I inquired whether she would want to stay alive for her own sake. She replied that she
found life dull and unenjoyable; death would be a welcome release. I soon discovered that this
strong feeling of wanting to step off the edge of the world was an old one. At one time she had
been strongly tempted to throw herself off a high building. At another time she took a large
quantity of her mother's tranquilizers but managed to sleep the effects off without medical
treatment.
Jane admitted that she did enjoy life at times, but a part of her (83) always regarded things
cynically and in a detached manner. This part seemed to conclude that the whole business of
living was just a chore-a gigantic waste of time. As Jane asserted repeatedly, "You are going to
die some day, so why waste time hanging around?" Although it was clear that Jane had a strong
death wish, it later also became apparent that another part of her was intensely afraid that she
might fulfill this wish, and for this reason she was seeking my help. Fortunately, before long we
were able to discover why the sentence of death had been placed upon her.
At the age of two her older brother, the only male child, had been killed in a car accident.
Many times she had heard her mother sob, "Dear God, why did it have to be the boy?" The
message was very clear to the two-year-old-God had made a mistake! It should have been Jane,
not Peter, who died. This message had been reinforced by her mother's complete indifference to
her and her sister during a prolonged period of grief. When Jane understood her past, she was
able to get the sentence of death repealed and allow herself to enjoy life as she had a right to do.
She slept comfortably and was no longer depressed. (84)

31. CHAPTER NINE: CONTINUED IMPRISONMENT - FAILURES OF THERAPY: EDGAR

BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE FREE: LANE & ASSOCIATES: LE JOLLA,
CA: 1979
Although analytical hypnotherapy enjoys a high success rate, there are all too many
failures. Many of our triumphs, of course, had previously failed to respond to any other
therapeutic approach, but so had many of our failures. In this chapter I would like to consider
some reasons for these failures because I believe that much can be learned from them.
INADEQUATE DEFENSE: At a trial or an appeal the defense attorney must be fully
briefed on all the f acts of the case if his presentation is to be effective. Sometimes the prisoner
has not revealed everything that he knew about the events of which he stands accused. If
cross-examination reveals that the defendant knew more than he admitted, his defense collapses.
Further reopening of the case always proves to be quite difficult, requiring tremendous energy on
the part of the advocate, who must be convinced of his client's innocence.
In the practice of analytical hypnotherapy the same situation can occur. The Child must
locate the critical experience which brought about the original crime and divulge every aspect of
the event to the Adult. If, for example, the Child has revealed that he felt hurt during an
experience but concealed the fact that he was also very angry at his treatment, his advocate, the
Adult ego state, may be able to persuade one Parent ego state to accept the Child's feelings of hurt
as normal, but the feeling of anger will still be rejected by the Parent ego state once this has not
been dealt with by the Adult. As a consequence, imprisonment continues and therapy has failed.
Until the Adult knows about the feeling of anger and can argue on behalf of the Child that
this is a normal feeling, not a crime, the Parent will continue with its ordained duty of restriction
and repression of the Child. Failure to secure freedom can also occur when an important critical
experience is not revealed in hypnosis so that the Adult has prepared no defense whatever to the
charges that (85) are being made.
Susan initially came to me because she suffered from severe migraine headaches. They
usually began early in the morning and would sometimes awaken her from sleep. We soon
discovered a long forgotten experience in which she had been sexually molested by a young uncle
of whom she had been quite fond. We decided that the repressed anger was responsible for her
headaches because she immediately improved when she was able to express these feelings. She
was delighted at this immediate improvement, but it was incomplete and, to some extent,
short-lived. After a month of freedom, the headaches returned almost as severely as before.
On further examination we discovered that she had kept back a vital piece of information
about the experience. She now recalled enjoying considerable pleasure during the sexual
experience and was feeling guilty about her response. When she was able to accept that pleasure
as a normal and inevitable response to sexual stimulation and that she did not need to be ashamed
of it, she experienced further relief from her headaches. When she left therapy, I made it clear to
her, as I do to all my patients, that I would be happy to see her again at any time should the need
arise.
About a year later Susan came to visit me again. Her headaches had returned. She was
once again bottling up her anger and her warm feelings, behaving as though she had no right to
her feelings. She recognized that her headaches were a consequence of the repression of these
normal responses.
At this time in my career I was beginning to realize the importance of the birth and
prenatal experiences. Since I had not previously explored these with Susan, I now did so, and we
discovered that her birth experience was critical. She had been the fourth girl in the family, but
her parents had been desperately hoping for a boy. As she reexperienced her birth, Susan heard
the doctor say, "It's another girl!" Whereupon her mother exclaimed in a disappointed voice, "Oh,
no, not another girl!" To make matters worse, her father repeated these words in much the same
tone. There and then she realized that she had done something quite unforgivable. From the
moment of her birth Susan was on probation.
Only when Susan had passed through the second critical experience was she finally
convicted of the crime of being a girl. If she had not been a girl, the molestation would not have
occurred. The anger and hurt of this experience was repressed, as were any warm or loving
feelings that she had experienced at the time. Her punishment was migraine. (86)
Susan was now able to mobilize all of her Adult understanding in the defense of her
Child. She recognized that no matter how disappointed her parents had been at her birth, she had
not committed any crime by being born a girl and that this, in any case, had nothing whatever to
do with her uncle's maltreatment of her. She realized that she had rejected herself and her
femininity and that most of her headaches occurred whenever she was caught up in this
self-rejection.
FEAR OF FREEDOM: We know that many criminals become anxious about their
impending release toward the end of their sentence, primarily because they are faced with the
very real problem of maintaining their social and economic independence. They understand that
both of these tasks will be difficult, sometimes even insuperable. An ex-prisoner must be capable
of a tremendous amount of adjustment and adaptation. If he is not, he may return to a life of
crime simply to be among friends in a familiar environment. Life without them is too
frighteningly isolated and lonely.
Most prisoners have experienced freedom prior to the crime that led to their
imprisonment. It is very rare for a prisoner to have been born in prison, but this is precisely what
has happened to many of my patients. They have never known what it is like to be free. Liberty
for them carries all the fears of the unknown and is thus more frightening than anything which
prison has to offer.
A significant number of patients do not want to be free. Initially they are very cooperative
and appear to desire a cure. Having tried many therapies without achieving any degree of success,
they blame the therapies for their failures and come to hypnotherapy as a last resort. I t soon
becomes apparent that they fear success when they resist any attempt to uncover the critical
experience. Or if such uncovering has been successful, they will withstand any attempt to deal
with it, even to the extent of discontinuing therapy on any available pretext. Such excuses as "It
wasn't doing any good" or "It wasn't what I had expected." are common. I have come to respect a
patient's wishes to remain in prison. He has the right to make this choice, and I no longer feel that
the techniques of hypnotherapy can be held responsible for these failures. Of course, I hope that
such people will eventually change their minds and decide to try life on the outside.
I have always made it clear to these patients when I have been able to reestablish
communication with them that I should be pleased (87) to resume work with them at any time,
but few have accepted this offer. The prospect of freedom has been too frightening.
INADEQUATE REHABILITATION: In some cases our prisoners have escaped from
their confines very successfully and are symptom free, but they are so ill-equipped to deal with
problems imposed by freedom that they relapse. They have returned to the only security they
have known, even though this means relinquishing the freedom so recently acquired. The "cure"
has been short-lived; the therapy is regarded as a failure.
I can use Joan as an example. At forty-five she was an alcoholic. She had endured a very
checkered life, to say the least. Her parents had separated when she was three years of age, and
she and her brothers had been split up-sent to foster homes and, at one time, an institution. When
I met Joan, her second marriage was on the rocks largely because of her drinking, which had
created many problems for her, including a serious driving accident which had resulted in a
prison sentence of several months' duration. At present she was not taking proper care of herself
or of her home.
It was obvious at our first meeting that Joan was a very disconsolant, cheerless person.
She was apologetic about everything that she said or did, almost as if she was apologizing for
sharing the air with other people.
When I asked Joan if she liked herself, she answered with an emphatic "No." I would have
been very surprised had she responded otherwise. Fortunately, she was able to enter hypnosis
quite easily and quickly located her first critical moment in the birth experience.
Shortly after she was born, she heard her mother say, "I don't want his bloody kid!" She
knew immediately that she had no business being born. This was confirmed later during another
critical experience when she recalled hearing her mother and father in a drunken brawl fighting
over her. Her father bellowed, "She's not my bloody kid!" and her mother replied, "I wish she
wasn't. I wish I'd never had her at all." Shortly after this episode she began to feel very desolate
and afraid, as she was being shipped off to a strange house and strange people following the final
breakdown of her parents' marriage. She was now certain of her crime. She should never have
been born.
Incapable of expressing the hurt to anyone, she even repressed it from herself. In
hypnosis, however, she was able to get in touch with this feeling for the very first time in her life.
With encouragement she (88) was able to deal with it and relinquish it as an outdated and
unnecessary feeling.
For a time all went well. She stopped drinking the alcohol she actually disliked, took care
of herself and her home, and began to like herself. She felt so good that she decided to
discontinue therapy. For a time she succeeded beyond her wildest dreams, but suddenly things
went wrong and she turned once again to alcohol for support. She was back in prison.
When she returned to therapy, we asked ourselves, What went wrong? We soon
discovered that she had not been ready for the many accusations she had to endure. The worst
came from herself when she had discovered that her own daughter was heavily into drug taking
the direct result of emotional and physical damage inflicted by mother (Joan) when she was
drunk. Fortunately, it did not take Joan long to recover the strong feelings of self-worth that she
needed to shoulder the full responsibilities for all of her actions. Such feelings of worthiness must
be well-established before rehabilitation can be regarded as complete for anyone who has been
imprisoned in the jail of the mind.
I am pleased to report that Joan has experienced no further problems with alcohol and has
been able to deal with many of her problems without losing any of the self-respect and
self-acceptance which is vital to freedom.
Those of us who are working intensively with analytical hypnotherapy are becoming
increasingly aware that it is never sufficient merely to uncover the critical experiences, deal with
them and expect a permanent cure. A lasting cure can only be ensured if there has been adequate
rehabilitation.
APPARENT THERAPEUTIC FAILURE: Not all therapeutic failures are real. In fact,
some of them are not failures at all. In certain cases the symptoms for which the patient attended
therapy have apparently not been eliminated, but on close scrutiny the patient does indeed feel
entirely free and has resolved the problem underlying the presenting symptom. It would seem that
the patient has merely altered his goals.
I have often seen this happen in cases of obesity. As hypnoanalysis proceeded, it became
very clear that the question of mental freedom, not weight loss, was central. When this freedom
had been achieved, the obesity became a minimal concern. Compulsive eating and the compulsive
need to diet ceased. I have noted that these people (89) have frequently lost weight gradually over
the next few years. The only way to judge the true effectiveness of therapy is to ask the patient,
Are you now satisfied with yourself? If the answer to this question is an unqualified "Yes," the
treatment has been a success. (90)

32. CHAPTER TEN: THE KEY ANALYTICAL HYPNOTHERAPY: EDGAR BARNETT:

UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE FREE: LANE & ASSOCIATES: LE JOLLA, CA: 1979
This book is not about hypnosis. It concerns the use of hypnosis in a particular sphere of
human experience-emotional distress and disorder. Hypnosis has probably been praised and
decried more than any other medical treatment since it was first given notoriety by Dr. Anton
Mesmer under the name of animal magnetism.
Many students of hypnosis have claimed that the process will produce marvelous cures,
whereas others have countered that hypnosis simply does not exist! So long as we continue to
seek for a specific state of mind which we can confidently label hypnosis, this confusion will
continue and the controversy about what hypnosis can achieve will rage unabated. Hypnosis
cannot and should not be regarded as a clearly definable state similar, regarded as a clear
definable state similar to anesthesia.
We know that when a specific dose of an anesthetic such as ether or chloroform is
administered, certain predictable results occur. The patient becomes drowsy and eventually loses
consciousness, no longer capable of responding to stimulation. If he is administered an overdose,
he will die.
Ever since determined efforts to define hypnosis have been made, a general understanding
of it has been hampered by attempts to draw parallels between hypnosis and anesthesia. This is
unfortunate since there is no similarity whatever between the two. We still speak of "going under"
hypnosis, even though there is never any loss of consciousness. No one goes to sleep in hypnosis,
no matter how similar the conditions may superficially appear.
Many of our difficulties in understanding hypnosis have arisen from the use of it as
entertainment on the stage, in novels and on television. When we witness a stage demonstration
of hypnosis, we observe many phenomena which suggest that the hypnotist is exerting great
powers over his subject. He appears to be able to command his subject to do anything he wishes.
Many novels employ this theme of the domination of one person over another through hypnosis.
We even use the word "hypnotized" to indicate a state of powerlessness.
In reality, these entertainments teach us little about the true (91) nature of hypnosis. A
person in hypnosis taps the immense ane. largely unexplored powers of his own unconscious
mind, not those or the mind of the person who administered a hypnotic suggestion. Ironically,
few people have realized that this power resides withiE themselves, not within the hypnotist. In
truth, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis.
Strange myths have been exploited and enlarged by the story teller and the stage
hypnotist, but the truth is far stranger than the fiction. I hope in these pages to give you some
understanding of the real wonder of hypnosis.
Human beings have achieved their dominant status in the animal world by developing the
brain to encompass a far superior intelligence. Much of the brain is anatomically and
physiologically similar to that of lower animals, but the cortex of the brain is so highly developed
that it possesses rational qualities unmatched by any manmade computer and unsurpassed by
anything known in the rest of the animal kingdom. This thinking, critical brain has developed
from a far less critical but nevertheless highly complex primitive nervous system whose potential
has never fully been realized.
In hypnosis the activity of this highly critical part of the brain is somewhat suspended.
Hypnosis occurs naturally during great stress or whenever the deeply imaginative resources of the
unconscious mind are called upon. This also happens when we are in concentrated thought.
Whenever we turn to these highly imaginative parts of the mind and temporarily suspend the
critical parts, we are employing the process of hypnosis.
For some reason, at present not understood, five to ten percent of the population can
switch off their critical mind completely. These deeply hypnotizable people, able to accept
suggestions quite uncritically, are those who have been the subject of exploitation for
entertainment purposes by the stage hypnotist. They have given hypnosis a reputation it really
does not deserve. Such people can readily imagine things that are suggested to them so that when
the stage hypnotist tells them they are going to sleep, they simulate the act so well that they
believe themselves to be asleep.
Ninety percent of the population does not possess this remarkable facility to entirely
dismiss the critical faculty. Only a small minority of deeply hypnotizable subjects can switch off
the conscious mind so completely that they do not recall what transpired during that period.
Fortunately for the hypnotherapist and his patients, the majority of people are able to
reduce their conscious critical mental activity sufficiently to allow the unconscious imagination to
function freely. (92) This enables suggestions to be accepted and acted upon. When they are
readily accepted, we refer to the subject as being suggestible.
We must not confuse suggestibility with gullibility. The gullible person exercises a poor
and inadequate critical faculty at all times, whereas the suggestible person may have an excellent
critical faculty but is able to dismiss it to some degree when he so chooses.
Hypnosis is not a state but a process. It allows us to communicate ideas or suggestions to
the inner and unconscious imaginative part of the mind.
By studying the ability of the very highly imaginative people who can completely dismiss
the critical mind, we have been able to learn much about the potential of the unconscious
imagination. It can do many wonderful things in controlling the body. For instance, it can accept
the idea of anesthesia and produce its effect in a designated area of the body as powerfully as any
chemical. When the unconscious mind has accepted the idea of pain relief, it can readily
accomplish this. The process of communicating the idea is hypnosis.
The communication of any acceptable idea, its unconscious acceptance and the subsequent
action is the process of hypnosis. By this means the tremendous resources of the unconscious
mind can be tapped. At this point I would like to express my belief that the great future advances
in medicine will focus strongly upon the significance of hypnosis. The unconscious mind contains
vast and seemingly unlimited resources for healing which are yet to be exploited.
In this book we are concerned with the ability of the unconscious mind to uncover
memories of experiences which have been recorded by the brain but retained well below the level
of ordinary conscious memory. Every experience that we undergo is faithfully recorded
somewhere in the unconscious mind.
Any technique which permits or facilitates communication with the unconscious mind is a
technique of hypnosis. We often hear of the marvelous meditation practices of the Far East which
enable the practitioners to control the heart rate, lower the body temperature or survive some
unusual ordeal. Transcendental meditation also enables people to feel healthier and more at ease.
Any technique which relaxes the conscious mind sufficiently will enable the unconscious mind to
employ its resources in improving mental and physical health.
Hypnotherapists employ many different methods to facilitate this communication with the
unconscious mind. Whatever technique is used, the prime objective is to relax the conscious mind
so that it will not interfere with the natural responses of the unconscious. The more involved the
subject becomes in the process of relaxation. the easier (93) the responses to suggestion.
It should be emphasized that some people have great difficulty ir. relinquishing voluntary
control of their minds and cannot become deeply involved in the hypnotic process. They may feel
that they have not been influenced by suggestions in any way. It sometimes comes as a surprise to
these people that the unconscious mind is taking some heed of the suggestions and eventually
makes appropriate and effective responses.
HYPNOANALYSIS: I have found that certain important steps must be completed for
effective hypnoanalysis to occur.
1. Location of the first critical experience: Once the appropriate communication has
been established with the unconscious mind, the first step is to discover the patient's initial critical
experience. The unconscious mind must be directed to locate the very first event which evoked
feelings of guilt, shame or embarrassment. Prior to the advent of hypnotherapy, this approach was
virtually impossible because the experience was so rarely accessible to the conscious memory,
particularly when the first critical event was natal or pre-natal.
This earliest critical experience is usually associated with uncomfortable feelings, some of
which the patient may become aware of for the first time. Occasionally the experience is so
discomforting that perception of it is extremely limited. However, a frightening or painful feeling
must be faced with courage. The unconscious mind has located this experience by the simple
process of tracing the uncomfortable feeling to its source.
The patient mayor may not be able to determine the details of this experience at a
conscious level. Apart from satisfying his curiosity, his detailed conscious knowledge of the
actual circumstances is not necessary for the next essential step.
2. Identification of the repressed feeling: When the critical experience has been
located, the repressed emotions-sadness, anger, fear or a combination of any or all of these
feelings-will emerge. Sometimes the feeling has all the intensity of the original event, and it is
very important to allow an experience to fully release its associated feelings. An intense feeling
reaching (94) conscious awareness is called an abreaction since it is a reaction from the original
cause of tension, free from any repressive action.
3. Acceptance of the repressed emotion: The originally repressed emotion has been
unfelt and has therefore not been accepted. This next important step in therapy is the acceptance
of this repressed emotion. If the patient has been able to experience the emotion in its original
intensity, he has also been able to admit it. It is an emotion that is rightfully his, and he need no
longer be ashamed of it. This acceptance marks an important step forward in the release from
prison. By accepting the emotion, he has dealt with the greatest fear that underlies the guilt
feeling-the threat of abandonment. Repressing an emotion does not cancel it. In fact, such a
response will ensure that it persists long after the need for it has disappeared.
4. Recognition of the current irrelevance of the previously repressed emotion: Now
that the patient has been able to accept the emotion, it is time to determine whether there is any
further need to retain it. The emotion is only necessary if it serves to protect him from danger. In
nearly every case the original danger has long since passed and the emotion that has resulted is no
longer requisite for protection. The patient must apply his new understanding to determine
whether he still needs that emotion. A strong effort is necessary to relinquish an emotion that has
probably been active for many years below the level of consciousness.
5. Relinquishing the unnecessary emotion: Merely deciding that an emotion is no
longer necessary may not be enough to dispel it. A new solution must be developed for the
problem which was originally dealt with by the repression of the unacceptable emotion. This new
solution will vary with the problem and the person dealing with it. Usually certain fixed
ingredients are available for any such solution. First, there is a recognition that the problem no
long provokes fear. The patient now has the resources to care for and protect himself. Second, he
must recognize that the original threat of abandonment was probably never likely, for his parent
cared more for him than he had originally believed. Third, he (95) must understand that all
human beings have a right to their feelings so long as they are properly controlled. Finally, the
patient must recognize that he had done nothing in this particular critical experience to alienate
himself permanently from other members of the human race.
The patient always attains a profound sense of peace at this stage. When he has found a
satisfactory solution, he will develop a sense of self-acceptance and wholeness which he had
previously lacked. He will be able to say that he is as good and as important as any other human
being-and he will now feel that this is true.
If any part of the mind has difficulty accepting its essential "O.K.-ness," other critical
experiences must be subjected to hypnoanalysis. They must be located and examined and the
repressed emotion recognized, accepted and relinquished. Only when all repressed emotion has
been freed will the patient be free. This phase of hypnoanalysis must be completed with care and
thoroughness.
In stage 1 through hypnosis we have initially made contact with all the memories of
events contained in the three ego states. In stage 2 the Child ego state yields repressed feelings.
Any guilt we discover is caused by the Parent ego state, which reminds the Child ego state that
the expression of certain emotions may bring about the real parent's disapproval. If the emotion at
the recollection of this experience is intense, as in an abreaction, then the Parent ego state's
repressive forces have failed. The patient's realization that the disaster forecast by the Parent does
not follow is therapeutic in permanently freeing the previously repressed emotion.
In stage 3 indications that the repressed emotion has now been accepted usually follow
Adult intervention on the Child's behalf, pleading to the Parent that this emotion is indeed
permissible. The Adult has been able to persuade the Parent that he need no longer prevent the
Child from expressing that feeling .
In stage 4 recognition of the current irrelevance of the previously repressed emotion
follows the Adult reasoning with the Child that things have now changed, that he is grown up. He
can deal with the problem in a more mature manner so that the particular emotion which no
longer serves a useful purpose can be discarded. Stage 5 may required all of the ingenuity of the
Adult ego state to find a means to give up an outdated emotion. This stage is very important.
Whatever means the Adult ego state finds, it must be acceptable to both the Parent and the
Child and must be utilized by them before the conflict over this particular issue comes to an end.
At this juncture hypnoanalysis proper is also completed. (96)
Throughout the hypnoanalytical procedure, the fundamental assumption maintains that the
Adult ego state can find a solution underlying the Parent/Child conflict provided it is given
sufficient information. The hypnotherapist must skillfully use these techniques to pry such
information from the unconscious memories of the Parent and the Child. He must also persuade
both the Child and the Parent that the resolution of their conflict is in their mutual best interest.
(97)

33. CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE PRISONER: EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND
AND BE FREE: LANE & ASSOCIATES: LE JOLLA, CA: 1979
The prisoner in his cell spends long hours brooding over his past and dreaming about
freedom. But the grey walls and the prison bars bring him back to reality before his fantasies
afford him any relief.
Once he tried to escape. He laid elaborate schemes for eluding the guards and slipping
through the door to freedom, but he was unsuccessful. The guards were not fooled by his ruses,
and the chains that bound him withstood his assaults. Now with all hope gone, his sentence seems
to stretch on endlessly ahead of him.
If you feel like this prisoner, you are fully aware that the only way to leave prison forever
is to gain a complete pardon. All other escapes provide but a temporary release. A full pardon
involves a reassessment of the crime for which you have been imprisoned. The evidence for
conviction must be reheard, and all of the arguments against your imprisonment must be
vigorously presented by a well informed advocate. Hypnotherapy is an excellent means by which
this may be accomplished.
If you are not certain whether your mind is imprisoned, carefully review the case histories
already described. Persons who suffer from psychosomatic disorders are imprisoned. Anyone
who is stricken by inexplicable anxieties and depressions, phobias or any of the physical disorders
which are known to have an emotional origin or component is also imprisoned. Medical
practitioners today acknowledge an important emotional component in the cause of such illnesses
as heart disease, arthritis, hypertension and even cancer.
It is fairly obvious that anyone suffering from a drug addiction is imprisoned. The
addiction itself is an additional chain that restricts and binds the sufferer. Anyone who is unable
to function satisfactorily in normal, social or sexual settings is a mental prisoner. In each of these
circumstances the mind is imprisoned by an idea which cripples and prevents it from functioning
freely.
You may have recognized yourself in one of these categories, but perhaps you are still not
sure. How can you determine whether or not you are imprisoned? Ask yourself, "Do I feel free?
Am I able to express my full potential? Do I feel content with the person that I am? Do I like
myself?"
If you can answer "Yes" to all of these questions, you enjoy great (99) freedom. I trust that this
book will enable you to direct others who are not so fortunate.
Should you recognize yourself as a prisoner, however, you need to act. The escapes that
you have read about have been engineered with the aid of hypnosis. I believe that anyone who
wants to break free should seek the help of a reputable hypnotherapist, who will help him
discover those experiences which have led him to lock up a part of his feeling mind so that he
now functions well below his potential.
Unfortunately, very few people have access to a skilled hypnotherapist or to any therapist
who can help them in this way. All is not lost, however. You can do a great deal for yourself to
locate your prison and identify the means of escape.
In each of us there is an impartial part of the personality which assesses information and
experience in a rational, non-judgmental fashion. Our Adult ego state is continuously gathering
new information about the world we live in. This ego state recognizes inconsistencies in our
views and helps us to make intelligent, reasonable decisions.
Some of the life decisions we base our present views upon were made long before this
part of us was in possession of the vast amount of information it now possesses. Whenever it is
called upon to do so, our Adult can render an updated opinion on an old decision. It can always
help us revise a decision that has resulted in mental imprisonment.
SELF-WORTH: Do you feel that you are as good and as important as every other
human being? If you are a mental prisoner, you probably do not feel that good. At times you may
feel like an intruder, an outsider-no sense of belonging, no secure habitation.
Yet you know that this cannot be true. You are a human being and have as much right on
this planet as anyone else. Perhaps you lack some physical attributes enjoyed by others, but you
can readily see that all human beings have some imperfections. You may not be as gifted as some
of your friends, but neither are you as dull or uninformed as others.
Despite the fact that you "know" you are as good and as important as others, you are
unable to feel that way. Why? Because you have been imprisoned for a crime resulting from your
experiences, and your Parent ego state is constantly summoning up your guilt, which prevents
you from feeling as good as you have a right to feel.
There is no denying that you once acted in a way that was unacceptable to someone close
to you, or you vented a feeling that (100) could not be admitted. But was that really a crime?
Even if it were, must you continue to punish yourself after these many years? Guilt ensues when
you lock up a part of your mind so effectively that it cannot accept your proper worth. You would
like to heed your Adult, which gives assurance that you are just as good as anyone else, but guilt
feelings interfere. Until you can find out why you still feel guilty, you cannot accept the liberated
feeling of being a worthwhile human being.
How can you reach the source of the problem? Hypnosis can best help us obtain the
information we seek. Even light hypnosis is extremely effective in this respect, and since
ninety-five percent of the population can enter this state, hypnoanalytical techniques can be used
with the majority of mental prisoners. Before we examine how to do this, however, let us look
more closely at the face of the prisoner.
The Face of the Prisoner: The troubled prisoner usually turns to a physician or some
other counselor for help. But the emotional element of his problem may be so well concealed that
it escapes the detection of the most astute observer.
1. THE PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDERS: All psychosomatic disorders are by
definition the result of mental imprisonment. The list of illnesses which can be termed
psychosomatic grows longer every day. Such disorders masquerade as purely physical illnesses
but are directly related to emotional problems. Although all illnesses probably have an emotional
component, this element is the precipitating factor in psychosomatic illness.
Migraine and Tension Headaches: Along with tension headaches, migraine is the
commonest problem for which the help of hypnotherapy is sought. Migraine is believed to result
from the effects of tension upon the blood vessels of the head. This tension initially causes the
vessels to contract, but relaxation at a later time allows them to dilate, causing the typical pain.
When the muscles of the head rather than the blood vessels contract, tension headaches. result.
Conventional therapy is restricted to administering rest or drugs (101) for the relief of
pain and tension. Ergot and its derivatives are used specifically for migraine because of their
ability to contract the painfully dilated blood vessels, relieving the pressure from tender nerve
endings in the head. By contrast, direct suggestion in hypnosis stimulates the healing powers of
the unconscious mind. These powers can duplicate any of the useful effects of drugs without
causing side effects.
Physicians recognize that treating a migraine headache after it has become established is
much like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. They attempt to prevent attacks by
counseling the patient to avoid conflicts which create tension, or they prescribe drugs which keep
the patient relaxed. The analytical hypnotherapist recognizes that the tension which precipitates
migraine is present for a good reason, even though that reason is probably out of date and out of
step with the patient's present adult life. The victim is unaware of the emotional trap in which he
is imprisoned. Only when he has unlocked his mind can he be free from the headaches.
All analytical hypnotherapy patients are taught self-hypnosis so that they may use
autosuggestion during an attack to relieve pain. However, we do not feel that therapy is totally
successful until the migraine sufferer is completely free of headaches. The patient can then use
his self-hypnosis to get in touch with his own vast unconscious resources for other useful
purposes.
Migraine sufferers are usually trapped in the prison of anger.
They stubbornly retain old repressed anger about which they still feel guilty. Whenever
they find themselves in a situation in which they experience normal human anger, it too is
repressed with guilt. The resulting tension causes the initial contraction of the blood vessels of the
head, and migraine naturally follows.
Rarely do migraine sufferers realize the poverty of their lives until they resolve their
tensions. Suddenly they begin to experience a joy in living that they had not previously known,
including an increased sense of self-confidence and well-being.
Asthma: Asthma is generally considered an allergic condition. The bronchial tubes of the
asthmatic, responding in an overly sensitive manner to substances in the air, contract so strongly
on meeting these substances that they block the sufferer's flow of air, making breathing difficult.
The noxious substance is effectively kept out, but so is vital oxygen. Asthma is a classic example
of a protective response which has become harmful. (102)
Although asthma is considered to be primarily of allergic origin and thus may be
controlled by drugs, I include it here because attacks of asthma can be precipitated by purely
emotional factors. In fact, almost any allergic response can be reproduced by purely emotional
factors, and all allergic illnesses may be associated with a more or less significant emotional
element.
Unfortunately, the asthma sufferer is usually unaware of the existence of any emotional
problem. He is frequently misled into restricting his search for the cause to allergic factors where
few or none really exist.
When the significance of the emotional factors has been recognized, doctors warn patients
to avoid conflicts and prescribe sedatives or tranquilizers. This approach is sometimes effective
but is rarely completely satisfactory.
Analytical hypnotherapy enables the asthma sufferer to locate the emotional causes of his
asthma so that he can deal with them in an appropriate way. Meanwhile, the asthma sufferer can
be taught to use self-hypnosis to control the spasm of the bronchial tubes during attacks.
The asthmatic is trapped in a prison of pain and sadness. He is not allowed to feel his hurt.
He is unable to cry, for his bronchial tubes are holding back his tears by their contractions. Any
situation resembling that in which he unconsciously feels hurt or rejection may precipitate this
repressive mechanism.
Peptic Ulcer: Stomach and duodenal ulcers strike nervous individuals. All of us have
experienced "butterflies in the stomach," and we all have been aware of tension in the abdomen.
Some people will even vomit or have diarrhea when they are emotionally disturbed. Therefore it
is easy to understand how stomach ulcers occur in those who are constantly tense.
The usual therapy for peptic ulcers consists in the administration of medicines and a diet
which reduces the acid content of the stomach. Tension-reducing tranquilizers are also frequently
administered. Ulcer sufferers are advised to avoid conflict.
Direct suggestion in hypnosis can often duplicate the accomplishment of drugs.
Analytical hypnotherapy patients additionally benefit from learning to use self-hypnosis for these
effects, while simultaneously discovering the source of the tension responsible for their stomach
disorder. Most of these patients are locked in the prison (103) of anger.
Colitis: There are many names for the different disturbances of the bowel in which
recurrent diarrhea, constipation and abdominal pain are present. Some of these have a definite
organic basis, but the majority can properly be considered psychosomatic. Such cases will
probably respond temporarily to the relaxing effect of direct suggestion in hypnosis, but
successful hypnoanalysis will produce more permanent results.
When the patient is freed from his prison-likely one of fear-he is once again able to have
normal bowel function without discomfort and can dispense with the drugs which have
previously played such an important part in his therapy.
Cardiovascular Diseases: The greatest killers in modern times are the cardiovascular
diseases, including diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Some of these are due to infection or
to some structural or congential deformity, but the majority are, at least in part, psychosomatic.
A certain type of personality, distinguished by his attitude toward life, is most susceptible
to high blood pressure and heart problems. He is likely to be a hard driving, ambitious individual.
High blood pressure, normally occasioned by extreme tension, is physiologically achieved when
the heart works extra hard and the blood vessels contract so that it is harder for the blood to flow
throughout the body. When increased blood, flowing to certain organs, is urgently required for
extreme physical exertion, this is a normal response, but it is certainly unnecessary for the
business man sitting in his office. Although he does not need raised blood pressure, his body
works extra hard in direct response to the same suppressed emotion which makes him ambitious
and intense. He is likely to have excessive cholesterol in his blood, which will cause his blood
vessels to harden prematurely and become constricted, with a tendency to block up. Blockage of
the blood vessels in the heart will cause a heart attack.
Hypnosis can lower the blood pressure and slow the heart rate. It acts upon the nervous
system through its communication with the unconscious mind. These effects, though useful, tend
to be temporary in the patient who is a candidate for cardiovascular disease. He must alter his
attitude towards himself for more permanent results. In (104) order to do this, he must first
escape from the prison in which he is trapped. The commonest prison is that of guilt. Such a
person does not feel that he has the right to exist. He must constantly prove that he should have
the privilege of life.
Analytical hypnotherapy will help such a person to accept himself and allow him to relax
and enjoy his existence as a normal human being. When he has accomplished this, he can permit
his blood pressure to return to normal and his heart to slow down since the need to drive himself
will have vanished.
Skin Diseases: Some skin diseases result from external irritation. Scabies is caused by a
small parasite which invades the skin. Certain allergic skin disorders are brought about by the
skin's oversensitivity to a mild irritant. In most cases the patient aggravates the damage by
scratching the itch.
Other skin disorders are caused by internal disturbances. These skin disorders are
psychosomatic, and doctors usually treat them with soothing applications or tranquilizers.
Hypnotherapy will help these skin conditions when direct suggestion is used. However,
this approach will rarely be permanently effective until the reasons for the underlying tension
have been dealt with.
Hypnoanalysis frequently enables skin disease sufferers to escape from their prison of
anger from which their repressed hostility directed at the self, is usually expressed through
scratching.
Menstrual Problems: Many readers may be surprised that I have listed menstrual
disorders among the psychosomatic diseases, but in a great number of cases no organic cause can
be found for painful conditions of irregular, excessive or absent menstruation.
 Hypnosis can be used to correct these disorders by the simple method of giving direct
suggestions. The improvement will be temporary when the underlying emotional problem
persists, but analytical hypnotherapy can resolve these problems, which often are due to
self-rejection and incarceration in the prison of guilt.
Sexual Dysfunction:
In women sexual dysfunction includes frigidity, failure to achieve (105) an orgasm and pain
during intercourse. The latter might be so severe as to cause a spasm of the vagina, called
vaginismus, which prevents normal sexual intercourse. In men sexual dysfunction includes failure
to achieve or maintain an erection, premature ejaculation or failure to ejaculate. Almost
invariably sexual dysfunction is the result of guilt; hypnotherapy offers the best hope of release
from this prison.
2. THE HABIT DISORDERS: Compulsive behavior creates a great range of problems
harmful to the individual. Bedwetting, nail biting and thumb sucking are compulsive activities
which are not serious but become the source of discomfort.
Other habits pose a real health hazard, yet compulsives often resist every effort to end
them. Excessive smoking, drug addiction and alcoholism are the most common examples.
Victims may recognize the consequences of their habits and yet be powerless to forego them, for
the habit serves a purpose so vital to unconscious emotional needs that the attainment of good
physical health remains secondary. I have seen patients whose smoking had caused severe heart
disease, whose alcoholism had damaged their livers, and whose drug taking had brought them
within inches of death persist in these habits in a compulsive manner.
Why should this be so? All of these unfortunate people are locked in a prison of pain and
sadness. Not permitted to accept these repressed feelings, they can only experience them at a
deeply unconscious level and keep them from consciousness by means of the devices which form
the bad habit. They have been condemned to their habit as their means of tolerating life, even if
such behavior shortens life or renders it extremely uncomfortable.
By locating the critical experiences causing unconscious pain and sadness and by allowing
acceptance of that pain, analytical hypnotherapy can permit patients to escape to freedom from
their prison. The drugs, the cigarettes, the alcohol used to repress the pain are no longer required.
Obesity: Obesity is such an extremely common problem that I am treating it separately.
It mixes features of a psychosomatic as well as a habit disorder. (106) As a general physician I
have treated many people for obesity, using all kinds of diet programs, medications, and
exhortations. I have bullied,. cajoled, used injections and made direct hypnotic suggestions. Many
patients have initially lost weight quite well, and some have even reached their target weight, but
sad to say, nearly all of them regained their previous weight and sometimes even more after a
year or two.
Since I have confined my practice to a purely hypnoanalytical approach, I have finally
realized why the obese experience such difficulty in losing weight and staying slim. Almost every
obese patient is unconsciously afraid to be slim and is deliberately eating in order to remain fat!
Such people may consciously stay on a diet for a while, but when they start to lose weight, the
fear of being thin becomes so strong that they are impelled to eat and put the weight back on
again. At a conscious level, of course, they are only aware of another failure. So long as this fear
of becoming thin persists, they are doomed to failure.
Most obese people expect the hypnotherapist to cure them by giving their unconscious
mind a suggestion not to eat. In my experience this approach has never worked. A post-hypnotic
suggestion of this kind rarely persists for any length of time simply because it will not be
acceptable to the unconscious mind of the obese patient until the fear of becoming slim has been
confronted.
Why are the obese afraid to become slim? They have learned to use their fat as a
protection from the danger of expressing a forbidden feeling. Without the fat they will be
exposed to the imagined dangers that the revealed feeling will incur. The fat is the physical
expression of the mental walls that imprison the mind. In a small proportion of cases of obesity
food is strongly associated with comfort and is used to assuage unconscious feelings of rejection
and deprivation. In these cases such feelings must be recognized and relinquished if a successful
reduction to a reasonable eating pattern is to be established.
When the patient is free to feel his previously concealed emotions, he no longer has the
compulsion to overeat. At the same time, he may lose the driving need to shed weight which
threw him into the seesaw of weight changes over the years. He will usually accept a new and
more sensible pattern of eating, gradually and perhaps imperceptibly losing weight. One day a
slimmer individual will recognize that he need not be anxious about his dieting.
3. THE EMOTIONAL DISORDERS: This third group of prisoners is extremely
important. Depression, (107) anxieties, phobias and obsessions are some of the emotional
disorders responsible for an immense amount of human misery.
Depressions: Those of us who have suffered from a deep depression know how trapped
one feels within it. There seems to be no escape, no hope, no future. Nothing seems to be of value
or importance, and only a sense of duty keeps one going. For some very depressed people even
this becomes inadequate to provide them with sufficient motivation to carry on, and thus they
experience a strong temptation to drop out of life altogether.
The depressed patient is suffering from a strong parental rejection. He has probably
attempted to excel and may have succeeded, but whenever he fails, he finds himself face to face
with his self-rejection and once again believes that he has no right to be. He is bad, unloved and
unlovable. He knew this in the beginning, and despite all of his efforts, nothing has changed.
Analytical hypnotherapy gives the depressed patient the opportunity to reexamine his original
assumptions about himself. He has the chance to apply to himself some of the wisdom that he
would offer a colleague or a friend. He can see himself as he really is and recognize the need to
break out of his burdensome prison for good. Hypnoanalysis does this by locating and dealing
with the parental rejection which lies at the source of all depressions.
When the depression sufferer is able to get in touch with the real pain which his defenses
have successfully concealed from him, he is at last able to relinquish it and accept himself despite
his parent's rejection. He is at last free.
Anxiety: All of us experience fear at some time, but the anxiety sufferer is in an almost
constant state of fear. He is walled in by his problem. He worries about everything-yesterday,
today, tomorrow. Whatever you can name he has worried to death long ago. This constant state of
anxiety may be associated with specific phobias which have their own particular brand of
paralyzing anxiety. The sufferer from anxiety is always tense and reflects many of the symptoms
that are popularly associated with tension. He will often respond surprisingly well to direct
suggestions for relaxation given in hypnosis, which attests to the power of the unconscious mind.
Such relief is usually short-lived, however, unless the true cause of the anxiety is discovered and
dealt (108) with permanently.
The victim of anxiety is obviously living in a prison of fear-in dread of fear itself. When
he is brought face to face with the true cause of his fear, his mind is capable of handling the
pressure once he has allowed himself to be really afraid. He now recognizes that he has a right to
be afraid-as well as a right to relinquish that fear once it has served its purpose. At last he can
accept the idea that he no longer needs it. It is outdated and totally irrelevant to the present.
Phobias: Most of those who suffer from a phobia do not talk about it. Ashamed of their
problem, they dread the possibility of having their weakness exposed in public. They may fear
elevators, airplanes, certain animals, spaces, heights, etc. The list goes on and on. How did it
originate?
Most probably an extremely frightening experience happened which made the patient feel
very guilty-so guilty that he was no longer able to feel his fear. Certain events precipitate his fear
in the most intense manner, yet the intensity of the phobia prevents him from knowing and
feeling the original fear about which he experiences so much guilt.
Although the phobic victim is extremely afraid, he is never consciously aware of his
original fear, which is repressed by guilt and the phobia. In hypnoanalysis he can uncover the
critical experiences and the guilt associated with them. When the phobia is no longer necessary,
the subject will know his true fear and no longer feel guilty about it.
Obsessions: Obsessive or compulsive behavior is again a protective device to repress the
knowledge of something about which the patient feels guilty. Once he can let himself know about
it, he can make progress towards not feeling guilty and eventually control his compulsive
behavior. Much of our discussion of the different problems that a hypnotherapist sees in his
practice may make the solution appear very simple. In reality, solutions are often simple. The
greatest difficulty lies in discovering the solution and knowing how to apply it. (109)
(EDGAR BARNETT: UNLOCK YOUR MIND AND BE FREE: LANE & ASSOCIATES: LE
JOLLA, CA: 1979: CHAPTERS 12-16 CONTINUED ON VOL 2 #1-7)