Dealing with Different Types of Losses Using Hypnotherapy Scripts

Jacki Pritchard

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781032244129
• eBook ISBN: 9781000594140
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Mental Health in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Dealing with Different Types of Losses Using Hypnotherapy Scripts is a unique practical resource for hypnotherapists which considers many aspects of loss rather than focusing solely on dying, death and bereavement. It presents new ways of looking at loss and from many different perspectives.

Hypnotherapists will be encouraged to reflect on their own attitudes, values and ways of working on a one-on-one basis and in groups. Loss is inherently important because it can be identified when therapy is already underway and sometimes when it was not the original problem presented to the hypnotherapist. The author is a registered hypnotherapist who has put together a comprehensive range of tried and tested scripts and visualisations for both adults and children (age 5+). The scripts offer a variety of methods to choose from such as: solution-focused, metaphors (Ericksonian), Gestalt therapy, benefits approach and regression. The appendices include an assortment of practical resources and materials, such as: exercises, handouts, questions, forms for the hypnotherapist to use for notetaking during sessions and for developing plans after a hypnotherapy session has taken place.

The book will be of use to students, newly qualified and experienced hypnotherapists and trainers working in hypnotherapy training schools.

Part I

Working with losses

DOI: 10.4324/9781032245706-1

1 Introduction

Hypnotherapy and losses

DOI: 10.4324/9781032245706-2

My background

I suppose in some ways I take the subject of loss for granted because it has always been an intrinsic part of my working life as a social worker and a hypnotherapist. I started my career in social work as a trainee social worker in a children’s hospital. I worked on a ward for children who had been diagnosed with leukaemia, other forms of cancer or had brain tumours. Many of my clients died as medical knowledge was not as advanced as it is nowadays. At that time dealing with death was a huge part of my working life. It made me question lots of things – my own beliefs, values and goals. Looking back I know it grounded me and made me the practitioner I am today. Once I qualified as a social worker I worked generically, so I saw both children and adults experience all types of losses. Then I specialised in abuse issues and have done so for the past 40 years; loss for victims is a common experience and so a constant theme in the work I have done in the past and continue to do so – in both my roles as a social worker and hypnotherapist.

The idea for the book

It was a returning hypnotherapy client that made me realise the need for this book; that is, a book which considers different types of losses. People tend to lump together the terms ‘loss’, ‘grief’ and ‘bereavement’. In my practice as a hypnotherapist, I find that when a client realises that hypnosis really does work if you are motivated to face issues and make changes in your life, s/he often returns for a ‘top-up’ session if another issue arises for him/her. I had worked with Ms A twice before; hypnotherapy had been effective in helping her deal with people and difficult relationships when she was at University and her lack of confidence. When she came back for the third time (two years on from when we first met) it was just after the first lockdown in England, which happened between March and July 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic presented a difficult time for everyone in a variety of ways. When Ms A contacted me she said she just wanted to talk about how she was feeling in the first session rather than engage in hypnotherapy, because she felt each member of her family had their own problems and she could not offload how she was feeling on to them. She believed that her problems were less important than those of other family members and she did not want to burden them. Ms A talked for one and a half hours. As she talked it became crystal clear to me how much she had had to endure due to the large number of losses she had experienced – loss of a six-year relationship with her boyfriend; two suicides within the family; and loss of a job opportunity abroad (due to Covid-19). What was so fascinating to me was that Ms A had not connected the fact that she had experienced so many losses in such a short space of time (less than a year).

When I was writing up my notes after the session, it made me reflect on the fact that this can be common for a number of clients, that is, not acknowledging the losses they have experienced or the impact of those losses. It is especially the case for those who do not value themselves and always put others’ needs before their own. Somehow the losses are minimised, thought to be of little importance or significance. In fact it is often an indicator of just how resilient people can be. I also think that we still live in a society that finds it difficult to face loss, grief and bereavement head on. Massive steps forward have been made in the past few decades, but many people still think we should show the ‘stiff upper lip’ and ‘just get on’ or ‘move on’. This is very unhealthy – everyone needs to grieve for any loss they experience. As human beings, we all experience masses of losses – big and small, significant and insignificant; and probably do not think about them a lot of the time. We just assume they are part of life’s journey.

I ended up spending ages writing up Ms A’s notes from that session. She had got me thinking not only about my hypnotherapy clients I have seen in recent years, but I started reflecting back on my social work clients. I got side-tracked from writing up Ms A’s notes and started making a list of all the losses my clients from over the decades had experienced; this included both children and adults. I added to the list over the following few days too as things kept coming back to me. It became an exceedingly long list. I always carry a notebook in my handbag, so I can write down reflective thoughts, ideas, quotes or other random things which may prove useful sometime in the future. In addition to the list of losses clients had experienced, I started writing a separate list of losses which I have personally experienced. For the next few days my mind kept going back to the theme of losses. So this is how I came to realise that it would be useful to put together a book about losses for hypnotherapists.

The Covid-19 pandemic and losses

At that time in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic had already started to affect people and whilst putting this book together I have become even more conscious of the devastating effects this virus has had around the world. The pandemic has caused a lot of losses in many diverse ways. Obviously, it has caused the death of millions, but in addition people have felt they have lost their freedom. Some people have felt trapped in their households during lockdowns when they have been told to stay home, work from home, shield or self-isolate. Some might argue they have lost their human rights (e.g. life; choice) with being told by politicians what they can and cannot do.

People have been affected physically by the pandemic in all sorts of ways, but mental health has also been affected. We know that the incidence of abuse has increased as people have been stuck living together 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Victims may have experienced physical abuse as well as psychological abuse. Some families have been living in very overcrowded conditions. People have lost their jobs, or had reduced income that has caused worry about being able to provide for their family. It is important to remember that some people are living in poverty or are homeless, which makes them very vulnerable. All these different situations can affect one’s mental health and wellbeing. It is very common to hear people talking about:

• Feeling low; lethargic; having no energy or enthusiasm to do anything
• Seeing no end to it all
• Loss of hope; loss of optimism
• Things will never being the same again.

The pandemic will continue to affect the world and there will be an ever increasing need to deal with the losses caused by the pandemic.

Loss, grief and bereavement

Helping clients deal with loss can be a huge part of a hypnotherapist’s working life, but very often the subject of loss is not given enough attention in its own right. As already stated above loss, grief and bereavement as subject areas are often lumped together and I understand perfectly well why that happens. However, perhaps it is to the detriment of the different types of losses as people do tend to think about death and dying when the word ‘loss’ is mentioned. Hypnotherapists like social workers (and other professionals working in the caring professions) are going to work with clients who experience so many different types of loss but I do not think enough attention is given to this in training for hypnotherapists.

Hypnotherapists may work with a client who has deficits in their life, that is, a lack of something (e.g. lack of confidence or self-esteem); the client may say they have never been a confident person and could experience anxiety. A deficit is different to a loss. A client may have been very confident and assertive previously then something happened which caused them to lose these attributes. Of course hypnotherapy can be used to build that confidence and assertiveness again, but work must also be undertaken on dealing with the loss and how it affected and made the client feel and behave. Hypnotherapists will have many skills and techniques in their toolkit, which they can utilise to deal with the effects of any loss a client has experienced. What I wanted to do was to produce a book which would stimulate a hypnotherapist to think more in-depth about the different types of losses and have a resource of scripts to hand which could be utilised in conjunction with the techniques they already use.

Objectives of the book

The main objectives of the book, which is ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• PART I: Working with losses
• PART II: Dealing with emotions
• PART III: Facing and dealing with death
• PART IV: Moving forward
• PART V: Additional scripts
• Index