Alert Hypnosis: Induction and Application to Trauma
David Wark, PhD, ABPH and Bruce Eads, LCSW
Format: MP3 Audio file download

Bányai (1986) developed an active, alert eyes open method for hypnotic induction. Eyes open inductions allow users to take advantage of hypnotic phenomena (focus, time distortion, anesthesia) both in and outside the treatment office, while moving vigorously and actively through time and space. Other researchers followed, expanding and amplifying the technique. Clinicians using that induction report that clients and patients successfully applied hypnotic skills in a variety of clinical (Bányai et al., 1993), performance (Unestahl, 1996) and educational (De Vos & Louw, 2006), (Wark, 2011) situations. To date, there have been few if any published reports of alert hypnosis used for the treatment of trauma. In this workshop, the presenters will describe several hospital outpatient cases of combat-based and complex PTSD treated successfully using alert hypnosis. The presenters will guide participants through a series of systematically developed exercises so they learn how to present an alert hypnosis induction.