Hammond - Handbook of Hypnotic Suggestions and Metaphors

An American Society of Clinical Hypnosis Book

A NORTON PROFESSIONAL BOOK

Copyright 1990 by The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis

All rights reserved.

First Edition

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Handbook of hypnotic suggestions and metaphors / edited by D. Corydon Hammond.

p. cm.

An American Society of Clinical Hypnosis book.

A Norton professional bookP.

1. HypnotismTherapeutic use. I. Hammond, D. Corydon.

RC495.H363 1990 615.8512-dc20 90-31449

eISBN 9780393706475

W. W Norton & Company, Inc.
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W W. Norton & Company Ltd.
Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W1T 3QT

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This book is dedicated with deep love and affection to my children,
Matthew, Erin, Christopher, and Mark

H ypnotherapy is the application of hypnosis in a wide variety of medical and psychological disorders. Adequate training in psychotherapy is a prerequisite for practicing hypnosis, regardless of whether the clinician is a psychologist, physician, social worker, or dentist. In fact, training in psychotherapy and hypnotherapy is a never-ending process.

A text of this magnitude offers both the neophyte and the experienced clinician a tremendous, comprehensive reference. After receiving initial classroom or workshop training, additional training comes through reading, self-study and self-experience. This book represents a beacon for those desiring additional training in treating clinical problems. Having this reference available will give the new practitioner a very secure feeling.

This is a book for clinical practitioners. In fact, it will undoubtedly become the practical companion volume and supplement to comprehensive textbooks and courses on hypnosis. It provides the reader with the how to suggestions that therapists use with their patients. Rather than intellectually discussing the topic of hypnosis, this book gives therapists, physicians and dentists a sampling of what experienced clinicians actually say to their patients during hypnotic work. At last we have a book that helps answer the common query from our students: But what do I say now that the patient is hypnotized?

Every student and clinician who uses hypnosis will want to have this invaluable and comprehensive desktop reference. It represents the largest collection of therapeutic suggestions and metaphors ever assembled, with contributions from over 100 of the worlds finest hypnotherapists. For those interested in the theoretical and research aspects of hypnosis, there are numerous other volumes that may be found in libraries. In my opinion, we are very fortunate in having this new text in which something so complicated has been made so much more understandable.

However, Dr. Hammond rightly emphasizes that this is not meant to be a cookbook of suggestions to be routinely used with certain problems. And simply the extensiveness of the suggestions he has compiled will tend to discourage anyone from mechanically applying the same paragraph of suggestions to everyone with a problem. His inclusion of empirical indications and contraindications for modules of suggestions is also intended to facilitate thoughtful treatment planning and the individualization of treatment.

What you will find here is a resource book from which you will be able to pick and choose suggestions that you clinically judge to be compatible with individual patients and with your own personal style of doing hypnosis. It is an eclectic book that models a wide range of styles of practice in clinical hypnosis. The tremendous breadth of suggestions will also serve as a stimulus to your creativity in preparing hypnotic suggestions and metaphors of your own. will enhance your skills further through outlining the principles and guidelines for formulating successful hypnotic and posthypnotic suggestions.

Suggestions included in the book concern dozens of clinical problems. There are chapters and sections of suggestions on such medical topics as pain, hypnoanesthesia and hypnotic preparation for surgery, burns, emergencies, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, chemotherapy, dermatologic complaints, obesity, smoking and addictions, childbirth training, obstetrical and gynecologic applications, insomnia, autoimmune diseases, and hemophilia.

Psychotherapists will find practical suggestions concerning habit disorders (e.g., nailbiting, trichotillomania), anxiety and phobic disorders, sexual dysfunctions and relationship problems, concentration, academic performance, sports, ego-strengthening to increase self-esteem and self-efficacy, posttraumatic stress disorders, multiple personality disorder, severely disturbed (e.g., borderline, schizophrenic) patients, and other emotional disorders. A chapter on hypnosis with children includes such clinical topics as pain and hypnoanesthesia, dyslexia, stuttering, enuresis, Tourette syndrome, school phobia, and asthma. Dentists will find useful suggestions concerning bruxism, TMJ, anxiety and phobic responses, pain control, thumbsucking, vascular control and gagging. There are also suggestions to be found on facilitating age regression, age progression, and time distortion. Each chapter represents the epitome of clinical expertise extant in our field.

This Handbook contains a wealth of original and previously unpublished suggestions that Dr. Hammond solicited from many of our most experienced hypnotherapists. In these pages you will also discover many of the finest suggestions that have appeared in books, chapters and journal articles over the last 30 years. For example, suggestions are included from throughout the back issues of the two most prestigious hypnosis journals in the world, the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis and the International Journal of Clinical & Experimental Hypnosis. Dr. Hammond has done the work for us of reviewing tens of thousands of pages of books and journals, and then compiling in one place the practical clinical gems that he discovered.

This book was a massive undertaking. Tasks of this kind require literally hundreds of hours of personal sacrifice and effort. Very few people possess this dedication and scholastic capability. The present text is literally Herculean in scope, volume and content. The book is also unique in that neither Dr. Hammond nor any of his contributors will receive royalties from its publication. The book was literally a labor of love by all those who have contributed. It was donated to and accepted as an official publication of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. All royalties from its sale will go to the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis to promote further research and workshop training in clinical hypnosis throughout the United States and Canada.

Dr. Hammond is a master clinician of unusual breadth and talent who has become one of the giants in the field of clinical hypnosis. Part of his brilliance lies in the expertise that he has in integrating the practical contributions that are found in a great diversity of different orientations and approaches to hypnosis. Although he clearly makes scholarly and research contributions to the field, Dr. Hammond is primarily a clinician of the greatest magnitude, as exemplified by this text. Cory Hammond is one of the few people whom I know capable of authoring and compiling this type of text. People in the field will always be indebted for this yeoman challenge which he has completed in this magnificent presentation. His clinical breadth, extensive practical experience, and thorough knowledge of the field are truly reflected in this work. Dr. Hammonds book is destined to be a classic in the field that will be sought after for decades to come. It will rank as one of the greatest therapeutic contributions made in the fields of medicine, psychology, dentistry and allied fields.