Hypnotist

‘Look into my Eyes’
It now strikes me as significant that the first comedy sketch I sold to radio was about a hypnotist who could only regress his clients back to the previous Tuesday. Looking back I hope the sketch is more indicative of my long-term interest in hypnosis (I’d visited once in my early twenties for confidence as a stand-up comedienne) rather than a foreshadowing of some future incompetence in regression therapy. I admit I view regression with caution. Sometimes when you’re treating a subject for phobia, anxiety, or trauma, guiding them back into their past is daunting and you worry about abreaction, (a hypnotic term which means re-live a past experience and get very upset) then you’ve got all those films and the 1980’s cliches: “look into my eyes” as you swing a gold watch. I’m using regression therapy this week on a subject who developed a sudden fear of hearing voices in the next room. I’ve already treated her for weight loss and she’s given me permission to refer to her symptoms, which I’d never heard of before and had to look into. Feeling excited and a bit nervous about treating something I’ve never come across before, I told her I could see her next week – any day, apart from Tuesday. 😉Lara Cox