Through a Glass Darkly: The Psychoanalytic use of Hypnosis with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

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Abstract
A severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from consciousness (with auditory and pain perception) during surgery was treated with 8 sessions of hypnosis. Abreaction and revivification used alone initially retraumatized the patient, and her symptoms worsened. Ego-mastery techniques were then added; emphasis was placed on the role of the therapist as a new object presence to be internalized in restructuring the traumatic memory; memory consolidation and working-through techniques were instituted. The patient's symptoms abated and her condition remitted. The similarities between hypnotic and analytic work are highlighted. In addition, the case material provides a clinical example of the existence and potential traumatic effects of conscious awareness during surgery.

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