Hypnotists and hypnotherapists talk a lot about abreactions and what, when and how to deal with them. I recently experienced one first hand, so thought I’d write something about it as I do not believe that the traditional definition of an abreaction is strictly correct.
“STOP LISTENING TO THIS CON-MAN AND OPEN YOUR EYES OR I’LL F@#&ING HIT YOU!”
This (along with several other choice sentiments) were aimed, not at me, but at my excellent subject and his friends by another friend of theirs while he was thoroughly enjoying a great hypnosis experience that I’ve already written about (here). I should point out that this person was not hypnotised at any point during the evening.
This is an abreaction.
Many in the hypnosis community won’t agree with this statement believing that, as is taught by most hypnotherapy courses and books, an abreaction has to happen while IN a state of hypnosis.
“A physical movement or an emotional outburst as a reaction to a suggestion while in the state of hypnosis.” www.hypnosis.edu
During my hypnosis training I was taught all about hypnotic abreactions – occasions where the hypnotised client spontaneously experiences an incredibly intense negative emotional state. This might be caused by a sudden regression to a past event or simply an overwhelming negative emotion. Either is easily dispelled by following carefully practiced and delivered suggestions easing the client away from or out of the horror they are experiencing/re-living.
Since my IEMT training with Andrew T Austin (the technique’s creator) I have had to revise both my definition and my approach to abreactions. Andrew taught all of us on the course about the three stage abreaction which is detailed below and since I also practice IEMT as a treatment it became important that I learned how to deal with kind of non-hypnosis abreaction.
3 Stage abreaction
In a therapy setting (not necessarily using hypnosis) the three stage abreaction is generally experienced as an escalation of emotion by the client following (roughly) the stages below:
- Verbal warning – “I don’t like what you’re doing“
- Emotional threat – “You’re making me upset!“
- Physical escalation – [pokes you in the face] “OI! I SAID F@*&ING STOP IT!”
These abreactions can and should be used and those who support the provocative therapy approach actively seek to create these situations. From my IEMT point of view, I love this as you can immediately launch in to a “so on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being really bad, just how strong is this feeling you are experiencing now?” and then quickly help them overcome it and expose whatever it is that is causing the problem underneath. Dealing with it when you’re in the middle of a bar with loads of people watching on and enjoying seeing someone being (and also enjoying) hypnotised is quite a different matter and I have to say that in the end, closing time and generally leaving the bar was the only way to sort out the situation.
It was certainly very interesting to experience an abreaction (albeit unpleasant and slightly embarassing) so strong in a public place, and I hope that the person involved felt better about it the next day. For those hypnotists who read my blog, I hope that you will realise that abreactions do not just happen when your subject is directly in hypnosis in front of you and that it can take many forms and manifest in many different ways. The rote 9 word abreaction fix is not going to cut the mustard in all cases and indeed in some, it is to be actively managed in order to HELP the therapy!
Nice post Ben,
Abreaction is another of those forgiving words, whose definition it seems acceptable to bend and twist to whatever meaning suits our purpose!
The word stems from (I believe) Freud and Breuer’s association. It just means catharsis (cleansing) through reliving the emotions of a past trauma.
Because entertainment Hypnotists can find a spontaneous one under Hypnosis somewhat inconvenient, then its meaning has come to be seen as negative, something to be avoided at all costs.
That is the quick and easy definition I prefer when training newbies. So the 9 words fit the bill. However, I also teach that prevention is far preferable to cure.
On the flipside, like the provocative approach, there is a surprisingly popular school of Hypnotherapy which sees abreactions (in the Freudian sense) as being absolutely necessary for certain types of change work. So the Hypnotherapist actively encourages and steers abreactions left, right and center.
I’m fairly comfortable with your (and Andrew’s) broadening of the definition although, as you say, there are many who would disagree!
Reg
Thanks Reg,
I feel that if you like to put labels on things then we have to extend “abreaction” to cover any form of adverse emotional response when in an altered state (if of course you subscribe to state theory).
As the waking hypnosis stuff we do is possible, surely we have to give credence to the possibility that people can abreact without having been formally hypnotised?
Ben
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