The Bridge Newsletter

October 2010

Dear NATH members and affiliates,

If you know people that would like receive our E-Bridge newsletters and announcements, please email a reply to this email with “Opt in” in the subject line and provide us their email address. If you don’t want to be on our email list anymore, please reply with “Opt Out” in the subject line, and we will be happy to take you off the list. Last E-Bridge was returned as “spam” by a couple of people which slowed down our server for other customers on our server, and I felt sorry for them, so I suppose that isn’t the best karmic decision.

The flier to the NATH Fifteenth Annual Convention, Oct 27-31, can be downloaded at the following link:

http://holistictree.com/NATH/conference.htm

Active members will also receive a copy in the mail.

We’d love for you meet up with us in our home town for this grand event! The speakers would also, as they are coming from across the country to bring you their expertise in energy healing and trance states.
We ask that if you value the conference you attend this year, as it appears that more and more people are desiring the virtual learning environment. Even though we are becoming more active in such environs, we need your support to keep materializing the beauty of a transpersonal, educational event year after year.

At the conference, I will be informing the group in attendance of all of the new member opportunities, including virtual learning that NATH is creating late this year on our expansive educational site (AHUonline.us) and the exclusive NATH member area that will involve the new practitioner database.

We will also keep you informed with the E-Bridge newsletter in the future, which will sometimes contain graphics and attachments, and sometimes just contain text in order to insure delivery.

Peace on the Journey,

Allen Chips
NATH President
AllenChips@holistictree.com

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October 2009
by Dr. Allen Chips

NATH Conference 2009:
The NATH Annual Conference is just around the corner. People are still signing up for the conference, many of whom are gold standard members and show each year, in addition to some new faces. It’s a great place to network, learn, and have some fun. If you desire to be in the same hotel (Barclay Towers), or the sister property next to us (Quality Inn), contact Barclay Towers at 757-491-2700 and they will tell you if we have any sleeping rooms left at the NATH group rate ($69/oceanfront condo!) after the cutoff. If not, ask to speak to David and they might be able to assist you in trying to find space in the hotel. If there isn’t any space (last we checked there were just a few rooms), you may try Quality Inn Oceanfront, Va Beach Front direct at 757-428-8935, and see what their best rate is; Ramada Oceanfront is also just a few doors down. You will receive another pdf of the conference attached to the next email.

Liability Insurance:
If you do not have liability insurance, and you are an active NATH member, you can contact our affiliate and apply:
American Professional Agency
95 Broadway
Amityville, NY 11701
800-421-6694

Event Schedule:
Click on the event schedule for the latest on intensive trainings, and more.

American Holistic University:
Look for a student handbook in the mail offering $1000 off (coming soon), or go to www.AHUonline.org, and download one with an application. It’s only $50 to apply and see what it would take to move on the the next level (BA, PhD, DCH, PsyD, or ND). Simply request the promotion on the application, or contact Dee at DeeChips@holistictree.com.

Articles:
Here are a few articles from presenters at the conference, the first from our keynote speaker:

REASON TO BELIEVE by Carol Bowman

Children show us that reincarnation is true. When my two children were young, they both told me of their past lives and, as a result, were healed of chronic problems. It changed my life forever. Their experiences taught me that reincarnation is a real phenomenon and that our souls really do return to Earth to live again in a new body.

No other evidence for reincarnation, up to that point, was as convincing to me. Since reincarnation was not something that was taken seriously while I was growing up, it was something foreign, taboo, within the realm of superstition. In our Western, Judeo-Christian culture we are taught that we live, we die, then we spend eternity in some cloudy heaven or flaming hell, depending on our conduct in life. End of story.

But even as a child, this only-one-life paradigm never made sense to me. I wondered: why are some people born into good lives with loving parents and plenty to eat, while other children are born to poverty and suffering. That didn’t seem fair. Why would a loving God play favorites?

When in college in the late sixties, I was swept into the current of Eastern mysticism. To my delight, I discovered the philosophy of reincarnation and karma. What a revelation! In this new context of multiple lifetimes, I realized that life is a continuing journey, so the inequities of a single life made more sense. Yet it was still too abstract. I still couldn’t see how reincarnation affected me personally.

Twenty years later, I began to understand.
In 1988 my five-year-old son, Chase, developed a severe phobia of loud noises. We first noticed it at a Fourth of July fireworks display. This hysterical fear of loud booming sounds seemed to come out of nowhere; I couldn’t attribute it to anything in his short life. But when I calmed him down and asked him in a non-judgmental way about his fear, he recounted in vivid detail his life and death as a Civil War soldier. He told his story from the realistic perspective and with all the appropriate emotions of an adult who had actually been in the confusion and terror of battle. There was no way that Chase, with the limited experience of a five-year-old, could have known what he knew. I was stunned. And even more amazing, after he spoke of his harrowing ordeal on a battlefield, his phobia of loud booming sounds—and a chronic physical problem—immediately disappeared. Until that moment, I had no idea that children could remember their previous lives. And soon after, my daughter had a similar experience. In both cases, I was surprised to see how remembering a past life could heal. Suddenly, reincarnation became something very real, personal, and practical.

Inspired by how much this had helped my two children, I began my research. I first started talking to parents in my own community of Asheville, NC. I found parents with similar stories of their three and four-year-olds telling them that they remembered “when they were big before.”

I discovered the research of Dr. Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia. This eminent psychiatrist has been documenting cases of spontaneous past life recall in children for forty years. I was amazed to learn that he has hundreds of verified, meticulously documented cases from cultures all over the world which confirmed what I was finding in my own community: young children have real past life memories.

Fortified with this news, I started to look outside my own community for cases. They are everywhere. The past life memories surface totally spontaneously between the ages of two and seven, without prompting from anyone. Generally, after the age of seven, the memories fade.

Past life memories manifest in different ways. Perhaps the most visible way is when children make specific statements. In addition to speaking of their previous lives, children may have specific behaviors, phobias, talents, and even physical characteristics that correspond to a past life. From what the children are showing us through their memories, there are aspects of the soul that transcend death and manifest in future lifetimes as distinct personality traits.

For example, one two-year-old, Tommy, seemed to know everything about flying propeller planes. When his mother asked him how hew knew so much, he described a former life as a kamikaze pilot in Japan who remembered his death when he flew his plane into a ship. Tommy grew up, joined the Navy, and was stationed in Japan! In Tommy’s case, there are many ways his past life memory continued to manifest in this life.

As I began to understand more and more about the phenomenon, I realized I needed to write a book to share what I had been finding. I wanted to reassure parents who find this in their own children that it is safe. It is a natural part of a child’s spiritual development. And it can be healing too.

In 1997, Children’s Past Lives was published. I began receiving e-mails from readers around the world sharing their own stories. One of these e-mails changed my thinking about reincarnation. It was from Kathy, a mother in Chicago, who believed that her first son, James, who had died of neuroblastoma in 1980 at the age of two, had been reborn in 1992 as her fourth child, Chad. She knew it was true: there were physical marks on Chad’s body which exactly corresponded to a surgical scar and tumors James had had. Chad also had an uncanny knowledge of James’s life and death, details no one in his family knew except his mother.

I received other cases like Kathy’s in which people reported that a deceased loved one had returned to the same family as a new child. I collected these remarkable, true stories in Return From Heaven, my second book. Most of the people who contacted me had no prior belief in reincarnation before they witnessed the signs in a child in the family: the specific, idiosyncratic personality traits—behaviors, attitudes, abilities—that match those of the loved one who passed away, the reported specific statements made spontaneously about events in the life of the deceased that the child could not possibly have learned, and, in some cases, a birthmark or birth defect on the present child that matched a fatal wound, surgical scar, or disease of the deceased—something that could not be attributed to heredity, as in Chad’s case.

On two-year-old girl in California, for example, suddenly burst into song one day singing “Chattanooga Choo Choo” in its entirety. This had been her deceased grandmother’s favorite song. And, as she grew, the child began to show many more signs that convinced the family that she really was the grandmother reborn.

In another case, three-year-old Peter remembered details of a house fire that killed his uncle and grandfather some twenty years before. No one in the family ever talked about it. And Peter’s mother, who had been only two when her father and brother had died, had no memory of that horrible night. Yet Peter knew all about it, and he described it as if he had been there. He also had a phobia of fire.

These stories are amazing, and they’re important. They present us with a unique window on how reincarnation works. By comparing the personality of the deceased with the new child, we can see what specific qualities of the soul pass from one lifetime to the next. We see that reincarnation is not a random roll of the cosmic dice. Instead, there are discernible reasons why a soul chooses a particular family—and sometimes the same family—to be born into.
Children’s past life memories give even rational people a reason, based on physical evidence, to believe that the soul does not die after death, but can continue again in a new body. This is a great source of comfort, meaning, and hope in this world of suffering and death.

Client Centered Parts Therapy
© 2006, revised ©2009 by C. Roy Hunter, M.S., FAPHP

*Roy’s articles on parts therapy have been published in numerous publications, including he Australian Journal of Clinical Hypnotherapy and Hypnosis, and numerous hypnosis journals around the world.
This article discusses the concept of parts therapy and its variations (ego state therapy, voice dialogue, subpersonalities, etc.) to help clients resolve inner conflicts. Experts have used similar techniques for years, based on the concept that we all have various personality parts (also called ego parts, selves, subpersonalities, and other names). The late Charles Tebbetts based his parts therapy on Paul Federn’s work, but evolved it into a client-centered approach and combined it with deep hypnosis in order to help clients resolve inner conflicts. I updated the work of Tebbetts, and explain why client-centered parts therapy differs from most variations of parts therapy. My client-centered approach is based on the concept that the client’s inner mind can resolve inner conflicts when the facilitator acts as a mediator and asks the right questions.

Introduction
How many people experience inner conflicts that inhibit successful attainment of important goals? Counselors and hypnotherapists often use proven techniques to help their clients change undesired habits and/or to achieve desired personal and professional goals, yet some clients still backslide because of strong inner conflicts.
Increasing numbers of therapists around the world are discovering the benefits of parts therapy and its variations to help clients get past personal barriers. Parts therapy (or one of its variations) can often help resolve inner conflicts even after clients fail to respond to more traditional techniques. The client-centered approach draws out the client’s own ability to resolve inner conflicts (Hunter, 2005).

Defining Parts Therapy
Parts therapy resembles its variations in that it is based on the concept that our personality is composed of a number of various personality parts, which are aspects of the subconscious, each with their respective jobs or functions of the inner mind. The facilitator calls out and communicates directly with those parts of the subconscious involved in a client’s inner conflict, and then employs mediation to help a client resolve inner conflicts in order to achieve the desired result.

The late Charles Tebbetts taught his methods of employing parts therapy in the 1970’s, even before writing his hypnotherapy book (Tebbetts, 1985) that is now out of print. He believed that we all have various aspects of our personalities, which he called ego parts. His work resembled the work of Watkins and Watkins, called ego state therapy; but they referred to the personality aspects as ego states (Watkins & Watkins, 1979).
Occasionally professionals ask me if Tebbetts based his work on that of Watkins and Watkins, and then simply renamed it; but my belief is that they took parallel paths. My former instructor gave credit where credit was due, both in the classroom and in his written materials. Tebbetts openly admitted that he originated parts therapy from the work of Paul Federn, and borrowed aspects of parts therapy from others therapists and researchers. Federn worked with the id, ego, and superego (Federn, 1953; Erskine, 2002). Tebbetts privately practiced his own variation of Federn’s work for many years before teaching it to others, evolving parts therapy into a format that effectively helps clients resolve inner conflicts. When I took his course in 1983, Tebbetts told me personally that he had invested many years in developing parts therapy. Over the years, I have updated his work to an even more client-centered approach than the one Tebbetts practiced and taught. However, before defining “client-centered” parts therapy, let’s explore its variations.

Variations of Parts Therapy
Therapists around the world have employed variations of parts therapy for decades. I will briefly discuss several of them in this article, starting with my favorite variation already mentioned above: ego state therapy.

Ego State Therapy
Pioneered by Dr. John Watkins and Helen Watkins over a number of years, ego state therapy is still growing in popularity among therapists. Watkins wrote about ego states in several publications and books back in the 1970's (Watkins, 1979). Gordon Emmerson takes ego state therapy into the next level with his excellent book, Ego State Therapy (Crown House Publishing, 2003), which is now required reading for my hypnotherapy students.
Emmerson believes that we use five to fifteen ego states throughout a normal week (Emmerson, 2003), and that we have more ego states available when needed. He goes beyond the use of ego state therapy for resolving inner conflicts, providing other therapeutic benefits as well. My professional opinion, stated both verbally and in writing, is that Emmerson's book is a "must read" for anyone practicing parts therapy or any of its variations.
I also believe that any competent therapist who facilitates ego state therapy as practiced and presented by Watkins or Emmerson should enjoy a high success rate. Emmerson believes that hypnosis makes ego state therapy more powerful (Emmerson, 2003), which validates the teachings of Charles Tebbetts (Tebbetts, 1985). In light of the above, I believe that ego state therapy is an outstanding alternative to client-centered parts therapy.

Voice Dialogue
Hal Stone, Ph.D., and Sidra Stone, Ph.D., researched and promoted another variation of parts therapy called voice dialogue. Their technique gained popularity among many facilitators of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming). The client, in a manner comparable to Gestalt therapy, plays the role of each part by changing chairs or positions (although changing chairs is optional). The therapist facilitates the dialogue and proceeds accordingly. The Stones label the ego parts as selves or subpersonalities, providing labels for the various other subpersonalities such as the protector/controller, the pleaser, the perfectionist, etc. (Stone, 1989). They also provide some interesting discussion regarding the origin of subpersonalities. I personally found their discussion of negative selves to be quite fascinating, such as the possible origins of disowned selves, which they also call demonic energies.
Miriam Dyak promotes the work of the Stones (Dyak, 1999). She presents a particular method of facilitating voice dialogue, with a systematic guide for those who wish to practice her approach. She worked closely with Hal and Sidra Stone, and offers training programs.
My past experience as a client of voice dialogue validates my primary concern. The absence of a formal induction into hypnosis may diminish its success with some clients. With little or no trance state, an analytical person such as myself may resist permanent change (Hunter, 2000 & 2005). In 1989, my voice dialogue facilitator thought that he successfully helped me attain resolution to a concern as I moved from chair to chair; but the lack of sufficient trance depth resulted in my own conscious mind interfering greatly in the process. The resolution was temporary, lasting less than a week.
I mention my own experience in classes and workshops; and both students and professionals alike have reported similar failures with analytical clients of voice dialogue over the years. Perhaps their experiences (as well as mine) might have proven more successful if deep trance states were obtained before the facilitation of voice dialogue. Still, voice dialogue apparently works well for clients who can easily access the subconscious without experiencing analytical resistance.

Inner Child Work
John Bradshaw praised the work of the Stones; but he considers the selves (or ego parts) to be developmental stages that remain intact. He labels them as an infant, a toddler, a pre-school and school age child, as well as an adolescent (Bradshaw, 1988). He facilitates group exercises, encouraging clients to meditate with inner imagery, and to love the inner child. He then takes clients through all the "developmental stages" to find out whether the needs were met in each stage. Bradshaw gives suggestions for positive change during each stage, and he gets results.

Subpersonalities
We may find John Rowan’s concept of subpersonalities in the very first paragraph of his book on subpersonalities. According to Rowan, we all have several little people inside us, all wanting different things (Rowan, 1993). We have more than one center within ourselves, and our minds are divided into portions and phases. Rowan’s book is somewhat analytical, yet written for the novice. I found it easy to read, filled with useful information for both professional and novice alike. Rowan offers numerous exercises, along with some questionnaires for self-awareness. I especially like his history of the variations of parts therapy covered in the 22nd and 23rd chapters. That alone is sufficient for the serious student of parts therapy or its variations to invest in this book.

Other Variations
Nancy J. Napier, a marriage and family therapist recognized in the USA, also wrote about her work with a variation of parts therapy (Napier, 1990). She gives examples of the origins of various personality parts, calling them "protector" parts and "resource" parts; and she provides some self-hypnosis scripts for identifying, cleansing and healing our various parts. Her research includes extensive written resources that she uses to back up her work.
Some facilitators use a variation of parts therapy called conference room therapy (Quigley, 1999). Although similar to parts therapy in many ways, they use the imagery of a conference room. My concern with the use of a conference room can be stated in the form of a question: what if the client received news of a demotion or termination in a conference room? If we provide the imagery to the client, we take a risk; one person’s peaceful place might be another person’s phobia.

There are others who assume that subpersonalities are attaching entities that a therapist must release rather than potentially productive parts that can be integrated or given new jobs (Baldwin, 1995). This is, in my professional opinion, inappropriate leading that can lead to a number of possible consequences that may be worse than confabulation. I discussed some of the potential risks of making this assumption in my parts therapy book (Hunter, 2005).

Now let’s get back to the better variations. Kevin Hogan, Ph.D., employs and teaches a variation of parts therapy that is similar to what I teach (Hogan, 2001). Additionally, Jack Elias teaches his own variation of parts therapy (Elias, 2005), and bases much of his hypnotherapy work on a blend of Eastern philosophy and transpersonal hypnotherapy (Elias, 2006).
While most variations of parts therapy should prove to be effective with many clients, some variations work better than others. Personally, I prefer the client-centered approach.

Why Is Client-Centered Parts Therapy Different?
The best way for me to define “client-centered” parts therapy is as follows: the facilitator remains objective (like a mediator), empowering clients to discover their own resolutions simply by asking the right questions. It is based on the concept that the inner mind, or subconscious, will reveal the core cause(s) of an inner conflict when questions are asked in an objective manner; and the various parts of the inner mind find their own resolutions when the facilitator asks the right questions.

We can best accomplish this during a deep state of hypnosis, which minimizes the risk of analytical interference from the conscious mind (Hunter, 2005). A deeper hypnotic state facilitates effective communication with each part., usually free of analytical resistance. Additionally, the facilitator of client-centered parts therapy should avoid projecting his/her own philosophical or spiritual beliefs into the session, so that it truly remains the client’s experience.
Besides combining deep trance with parts therapy, another difference between my methods and that of most variations is that I avoid calling out “protector” or “controller” parts first, and call out only the two parts in conflict. Looking for a specific part (such as a controller part) might cause parts to emerge that may be irrelevant to resolving the inner conflict. Other parts are called out if necessary, but I avoid unnecessary detours. Also, I avoid putting my own names on the ego parts. Instead, I ask each emerging part to give me a name or title, which often provides important insight regarding a part’s purpose (Hunter, 2005).

Additionally, Tebbetts taught that we should treat each ego part with respect, just as though the part was a person. This helps the facilitator to maintain rapport with each part, making it easier to help the conflicting parts come to terms of agreement. Emmerson also encourages the therapist to treat each part as thought it is a person (Emmerson, 2003), which validates what Tebbetts taught me in 1983.

I also emphasize the importance of avoiding inappropriate leading, and encourage my clients to avoid dwelling on any pre-conceived opinions before they enter hypnosis…and simply go with what emerges from the inner mind. Any preconceived opinions can influence what emerges from the subconscious, whether said opinions come from client or facilitator. This is true whether the therapist employs a variation of parts therapy (Emmerson, 2003), or regression therapy (Durbin, 1999). Inappropriate leading can often result in false memories (Sheflin & Shapiro, 1989), taking both client and therapist alike down the wrong path, with the potential of costly consequences (Churchill, 2002).

When Is Parts Therapy Appropriate?
Client-centered parts therapy is ideal for clients who have two different parts of the subconscious pulling them in opposite directions. For example, a smoker might have a strong emotional desire to quit in order to have more energy (or better health), while another part of the subconscious provides pleasure in lighting up after meals (or at other times). Inner conflicts are also common with people wishing to control their weight. How often does a dieter give in to junk food?

The obvious clue would be evident by a client saying: "A part of me wants to get rid of this weight while another part wants to keep on eating junk food!" The ego part desiring to be attractive is in conflict with the inner child (or some other ego part) wanting to enjoy eating sweets, etc. Parts therapy usually will uncover the cause(s), so that the facilitator may facilitate inner conflict resolution through a process similar to mediation.

Before proceeding, however, I tell my client: “We tend to wear different hats as we walk through the path of life. We get into the work mode on our jobs, wearing the hat of a dedicated worker; but the inner child often comes out to play after our work is done. A smoker might have a part of the subconscious motivating that person to quit, while another part is determined to sabotage every attempt…” This type of advance explanation is, in my professional opinion, essential for the client. One minute of communication can be worth many months of resolution, as I once saw a female client who believed that she had multiple personalities simply because another therapist had previously employed a variation of parts therapy without giving her an advance explanation of the process.

Often the need for parts therapy may not be readily apparent. Practitioners of diversified client-centered hypnosis learn how to fit the technique to the client rather than vice versa, and they do not automatically use parts therapy with everyone. Most of my intake sessions begin with my asking the client to describe his (or her) desired goal. When possible, I give some positive suggestions designed to the client's specific benefits for achieving a desired goal. This is because an enjoyable first impression is lasting, and more likely to result in the client keeping his/her next appointment (Hunter, 2000). I also devote a session to teaching self-hypnosis as a way of reducing stress. By the third or fourth session, if the client still resists positive suggestions, I will choose an advanced hypnotic technique that seems appropriate for that particular client. Naturally, when an inner conflict is apparent, I choose parts therapy. When the appropriate technique is not so obvious, I use finger response questions before deciding how to proceed.

While my primary motive for facilitating parts therapy is to help clients resolve inner conflicts, some trainers and authors use additional applications of parts therapy or its variations even in the absence of an apparent inner conflict. Emmerson uses an intriguing “map” of a client’s ego states, calling out a number of different parts (Emmerson, 2003). His approach is also client-centered.

How Do We Employ Parts Therapy?
I compare parts therapy to mediation. The reason I chose Hypnosis for Inner Conflict Resolution in the title of my parts therapy book (Hunter, 2005) is because I mediate between the two primary parts in conflict, which I call the conflicting part and the motivating part. As previously mentioned, I ask each part to provide me with a name or title to use during the process, which I call the 11-Step Process. While many of my sessions involve calling out only two parts, other parts do exist whether or not they make their presence known.
There are three phases: client preparation, the 11-step process, and the conclusion. The preparation phase includes a short explanation about parts therapy, followed by an induction and sufficient deepening…along with establishing finger response signals as well as a peaceful place. The actual parts therapy process involves eleven steps, detailed in my 2005 book from Crown House Publishing. Here are the steps:

1. Identify the part
2. Gain rapport (compliment the part).
3. Call out the part.
4. Thank it for emerging.
5. Discover its purpose.
6. Call out other parts as appropriate.
7. Negotiate and mediate.
8. Ask parts to come to terms of agreement.
9. Confirm and summarize terms of agreement.
10. Give direct suggestion as appropriate (only after terms of agreement, but NOT before).
11. INTEGRATE the parts! (The formal parts therapy process is completed.)
Several chapters explore all eleven steps in-depth, with sample scripts to help the facilitator along the way. Common detours often appear, making it necessary for the facilitator to deal with what emerges from the inner mind. I discuss the common ones, and provide tips to help the facilitator find ways of getting past the detours.

This 11-Step Process is based on the discipline I learned from Tebbetts in 1983, which he put into print (Tebbetts, 1985). I have updated his teachings through my years of professional experience. For example, Tebbetts often engaged in what he called a “Great Debate” with what he called the offending part (which I call the conflicting part), and he referred to the facilitator as an arbitrator (Tebbetts, 1985). Although Tebbetts got results in the classroom, witnessed by me and other students, my major update of his work is to encourage the facilitator to act as a mediator instead of an arbitrator, and to avoid engaging in debates with any of the parts.
When I shared this update with Tebbetts in 1990, he agreed with my reasons for the update; but he passed on before putting it in writing. He was a pioneer, and I believe that Charles Tebbetts made one of the most profoundly beneficial contributions to hypnotherapy in the 20th Century.
Following the parts therapy process described above is a conclusion phase. It begins after the parts are integrated in Step 11, when I give both direct and indirect suggestion and imagery, in order to have the client imagine his/her desired result. Appropriate debriefing takes place after the client emerges from hypnosis, and another session is scheduled if necessary.

Why Is Client-Centered Parts Therapy Effective?
In my professional opinion, the client-centered approach empowers the client, because the cause(s) and resolution for the problem come from the client’s inner mind instead of from the mind of the facilitator. The inner mind seems to contain a profound wisdom that is often surprising to both client and therapist alike, because there is a part of the inner mind that observes what happens even during deep trance (Durbin, 2001; Hilgard, 1994). The facilitator must simply ask the right questions in order to access that inner wisdom.
Some hypnotic techniques, such as aversion therapy, employ scripts and/or suggestions asking clients to give their power away to someone who tells them what to do. They may even receive "spells" in the form of hypnotic suggestions! A person with a strong “rebel” button can overcome aversion suggestion, yet others who do succeed could run the risk of losing self-esteem because of their dependence on someone else to place hypnotic suggestions deep in the subconscious.

Even parts therapy or its variations are sometimes employed in a therapist directed manner, where the facilitator tells each part what to do and debates with rebellious parts. This type of approach is risky. One of my former students learned that lesson the hard way after losing a debate with a client’s rebellious part. He gave her two free sessions to apologize to the offended part, and finally helped her resolve her inner conflict.

Several years ago, a psychologist asked me to use parts therapy to help her resolve an inner conflict. Upon emerging from hypnosis, her first words were, "That solution was so simple, I wish I had thought of it myself!" I quickly reminded her that the resolution had indeed come from her own mind, and not mine. She smiled and agreed, and acknowledged the value of client-centered parts therapy. Both professionals and students alike also acknowledge the value of using a client-centered approach after sitting through my classes or workshops.

The client-centered approach helps clients attain greater empowerment, because it is based on the belief that the power to change resides within the client. The facilitator’s job is to remain objective while helping clients discover their own inner power, and to help them use it constructively. Successful client-centered parts therapy provides a greater probability of lasting results, and often provides the side benefit of an improved self-esteem for many clients. This is a win/win.

Upon request, I am available to teach workshops on parts therapy or hypnotic regression. My approach is client centered, with the goal of empowering the client. Note that my calendar is normally full for months in advance.
About the Author:
Roy Hunter, M.S., FAPHP, practices hypnotherapy near Seattle, in the Pacific Northwest region of the USA. He also teaches a 9-month professional hypnotherapy training course based on the teachings of Charles Tebbetts, and teaches workshops around the world. Roy is the recipient of numerous awards, and was honored by three different organizations for lifetime achievement in the hypnosis profession.
* * * * *
Roy’s book, Hypnosis for Inner Conflict Resolution: Introducing Parts Therapy (2005, Crown House Publishing) comes highly praised by professionals around the world. It explores the parts therapy process in depth.
***
You may view Roy’s other books online by going to the following link:
www.royhunter.com/hypnosis_books.htm

References:
Baldwin, W. 1995. Spirit Releasement Therapy. Terra Alta, WV: Headline Books.
Beahrs, J. 1982. Unity and Multiplicity: Multilevel Consciousness of Self in Hypnosis, Psychiatric Disorder and Mental Health. New York, NY: Brunner-Mazel.
Bradshaw, J. 1988. The Family: A Revolutionary Way of Self-Discovery. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications.
Churchill, R. 2002. Regression Hypnotherapy: Transcripts of Transformation. Santa Rosa, CA: Transforming Press.
Durbin, P. 1999. Beware of False Memories. URL: http://www.rickross.com/reference/false_memories/fsm24.html (Accessed January 10, 2007).
Durbin, P. 2001. Reference to Hilgard, mentioning Hidden Observer. (Hilgard, E. Divided Consciousness: Multiple Controls in Human Thought and Action. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1986 - out of print). URL: http://www.durbinhypnosis.com/hilgard.htm (Accessed January 10, 2007).
Dyak, M. 1999. The Voice Dialogue Facilitator's Handbook. Seattle, WA: L.I.F.E. Energy Press.
Elias, Jack. 2005. Finding True Magic: Transpersonal Hypnotherapy. Five Wisdoms Press. URL: http://www.findingtruemagic.com/hypnotherapy.shtml#01_hypnosis (accessed January 9, 2007).
Emerson, G. 2003. Ego State Therapy. Carmethen UK: Crown House Publishing.
Erskine, R. 2002. Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy, reference to: Federn, P. Ego Psychology and the Psychosis. London: Image Publishers (1953). URL: http://www.integrativetherapy.com/en/articles.php?id=35 (Accessed January 10, 2007).
Hilgard, E. 1994. Hypnosis in the Relief of Pain. Levittown, PA. Brunner/Mazel, Inc.
Hogan, K. Nahum, E.J., Hastings, C.D., LaBay, M.L. and Sumner, H. 2001. The New Hypnotherapy Handbook: Hypnosis and Mind-Body Healing. Eagan, MN: Network 3000 Publishing.
Hunter, R. 2000. The Art of Hypnotherapy (2nd Ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.
Hunter, R. 2005. Hypnosis for Inner Conflict Resolution. Carmethen, UK: Crown House Publishing.
Napier, N. 1990. Recreating Your SELF: Help for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families. New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
Quigley, D. 2007. Conference Room Therapy (course). URL: http://www.alchemyinstitute.com/course.htm (Accessed January 10, 2007)
Rowan, J. 1993. Discover Your Subpersonalities. London: Routledge.
Scheflin, A, Shapiro, J.L. 1989. Trance on Trial. New York, NY: Guilford Press; Guilford Clinical & Experimental Hypnosis Series.

Stone, H; Stone, S. 1989. Embracing Our Selves. Novato, CA, USA: New World Library.
Tebbetts, C. 1985. Miracles on Demand. Dexter, MI: Thompson Shore (out of print).
Watkins, J, Watkins, H. 1979. The Theory and Practice of Ego State Therapy: a Short-term Therapeutic Approach. New York, NY: Human Sciences Press.

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Roy Hunter, M.S., FAPHP, practices hypnotherapy near Seattle, in the Pacific Northwest region of the USA. He travels around the world teaching workshops to professionals. His experience includes providing hypnotherapy part time for terminal patients of the Franciscan Hospice, and 21 years teaching a 9-month professional hypnotherapy training course based on the teachings of Charles Tebbetts. Roy is the recipient of numerous awards, including awards from three different organizations for lifetime achievement in the hypnosis profession. His workshops are in demand worldwide. You may visit Roy’s website at: www.royhunter.com <http://www.royhunter.com/> and sign up for his free E-Zine, “Hypnosis Tips.”
You may purchase Roy’s books online by going to the following link:
www.royhunter.com/books.htm <http://www.royhunter.com/books.htm>

Gaining Lightness: Weight Management through Self Discovery
by Bob Wolfe, BA, CHt.

“Be the Change”…you seek. Unlike other weight “loss” programs, Gaining Lightness is not about restriction and losing. Rather, it’s about winning and gaining the results clients’ desire through a new manner of living.

It’s been said that we as hypnotists can only help clients help themselves. Clients’ self-exploration can easily be facilitated by having them access the energy of their chakras to discover root cause of weight gain; and then guiding them in what to focus on to effect change.

Chakras, spinning wheels of energy, hold the energy of all aspects of one’s life. In this regard, clients can pinpoint what aspect(s) of their lives is/are causing them to gain weight or keeping them from attaining and maintaining their ideal weight. All of the chakras when working together keep us healthy and balanced in all areas of our lives.

The energy for each center should be available to the body, mind and spirit for optimal life harmony. When it’s not, due to misdirection toward life issues, imbalances will occur. Examples:

1. Root chakra (red) – Safety, security, basic needs – are they getting enough? Financial needs or sexual needs may be counter-balanced with stuffing oneself to give a sense of satisfaction.

2. Navel Chakra (orange) – Relationships with others & self. Do they even like themselves? There may be a need to fill the emptiness of a desired relationship; or using “armoring” to avoid having to get into relationship.

3. Solar plexus Chakra (yellow) – Personal power & control over life situations. Taking control! The person may be out of control with food, as with other aspects of life.

4. Heart Chakra (green) – Unconditional love – can they give it? Can they accept it? Not loving oneself enough to be in optimal health, or not feeling worthy of love, thereby filling a void.

5. Throat Chakra (blue) – Self expression – can they say what needs to be said tactfully? If not, they may be stuffing down thoughts and emotions that are too difficult to express.

6. Third Eye Chakra (indigo) – Where is their life taking them? Do they even know? The person can’t see, or feel what it might be like to be at their ideal weight locking them in to the weigh they are now.

7. Crown Chakra (violet) – What is their concept of the divine? Are they in touch with it? The person is unaware of the unified field of all possibilities – one possibility being that they can use this divine energy to accomplish anything they desire.

Once the area of imbalance is identified, clients with the help of the hypnotist can focus on those aspects of their lives that are contributing to weight gain and make the changes necessary to realize their ideal weight.

The Gaining Lightness program is based on the concept of moderation. In regard to nutrition, it’s all about portion control – not about restriction. Restriction causes people to crave those foods that give them the most problems. It’s helpful to get clients out of the mindset of old misconceptions like having to “clean their plate” or that there are “bad” foods; and helping them be aware of easy ways to feel fullness like eating off smaller plates and drinking 1 to 2 cups of water prior to eating a meal. Then avoiding saboteurs, e.g. super sizing meals, piggy sizing and frequenting buffets (puffets – because they’ll puff them up).

Exercise – you either like it or you don’t. Right? Some people claim not to like it but they’re fooling themselves. Our bodies are designed to move and any activity that makes us move is good for the body. That could be walking, cleaning the house, gardening, or my favorite – going to the gym. The gym isn’t for everyone but encouraging your clients to get involved in some sort of activity will enhance their efforts to gain lightness. Make sure the client likes the activity or doing it may cause more stress than it’s worth.

This brings us to the topic of stress management. Stress has been described as the experience during which the mind overrides the body’s desire to beat the living daylights out of some jerk who desperately deserves it. Actually, it’s the body and mind’s reaction to anything perceived as threatening or demanding. Stress is a great excuse for people to overeat. They will stuff down feelings while they stuff down their “comfort” foods. And as they pile on the stress, they’ll pile on the food, especially junk food, on their plates. Little do they know that one of the easiest ways to get that stress-free feeling is to do deep breathing, as in counting to 10 very slowly.

The numbers of the chakras and their colors can be very effective in counting a client down into trance (as well as back out) and giving the client a focus to enhance concentration with the associated colors during the session. Each chakra can also be related to the “secrets” of weight management: nutrition, exercise and stress management. The suggestion section of the inductions in the Gaining Lightness book are loaded with visualization and usually fantasy and fun.

To aid in taking the client into trance the following is quite effective to enhance concentration: As your body becomes even more relaxed with each breath, begin to focus on your energy centers. First, at chakra number seven, at the top of your head. You may see the energy as color – seeing violet as the energy swirls. (Pause) Let the energy flow to six between the eyebrows. You don’t even have to think of the color indigo here to feel the effect. (Pause) Bring the energy, your breath down to five at the throat; allowing the color blue to fill this space; noticing your body relaxing even more. (Pause) Let the energy flow to four at your heart center. Be filled with the color green as you relax even deeper. With each breath, you can go deeper and deeper into relaxation; going just to the right level of relaxation to make all the changes you want to make. (Pause) And, the breath goes even deeper to three at your solar plexus. As you think of the color yellow, allow your body to let go and just be. (Pause) You can let that swirling energy flow all the way down to two, at your navel; let the color orange calm your abdominal area. Relaxing; releasing all tension. (Pause) Now, allow your breath to flow through your head, neck, chest, and abdomen and go all the way down to one, at the base of your spine where you may imagine the color red relaxing that area of your body. (Pause)

Insert inspiring suggestions and metaphors here.

As the client is brought out of trance, the energy of the chakras can be used to remind them that they can be successful as in: “become aware again of your root chakra 1 at the base of the spine allowing yourself to be secure in your decision to change; moving up to chakra 2 at the navel, feel the joy of establishing a new relationship with you – one of health and well-being. As you become aware of chakra 3 at the solar plexus you might be able to feel the control of being in charge of your life especially as it relates to Gaining Lightness. At chakra 4 at the heart, you may feel a sense of unconditional love for yourself, letting go of any negative thought patterns that up until now have held you back from your goals.

As you move up to chakra 5 at the throat, you may feel a revitalized sense of expression, one that allows you to speak your mind tactfully when others, intentionally or not, try to steer you from your path. In chakra 6, using the concept of a third eye, it might be easy for you now to create a vision of your ideal self, at your ideal weight and level of health. (Pause) As you become aware of the crown chakra at the top of your head, you can reconnect to all that is you. This is your connection with the field of all possibilities. Recognize that your goals will be achieved successfully as you connect with this divine energy and accept your role as a divine being.” When you become aware of the number 7 in your mind’s eye in the next 15 to 20 seconds you can come all the way back alert, refreshed, energized and ready to make all the changes you need to make now.

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The Bridge Newsletter
August 2009
by Dr. Allen Chips

1) Personal
This has been a challenging year for Dee and I, as our office and personal life has had to accommodate significant changes, after battling with a recurrence of Hodgkin’s disease near the end of last year, our AHUonline.us computer programmer and son, Nathan Chips, went on to the spirit world in February. Although things are stable in the health category now, and I had discovered many new alternative medicines in the process I will release in a second edition of Killing Your Cancer..., we have had a difficult time with replacing Nathan in the office and particularly in our hearts and home. He was a very spiritual and heart-centered person, and a great son, who also fought a viral related disease but lost. He’s communicated with us several times, most recently through top American Medium, George Anderson, author of “Our Children Forever.” In addition, he has made it known that he wants to come back through a member of the family with a new-healthier body, which furthered our spiritual awareness. Nonetheless, our humanity as earth parents has made it challenging...

Shortly after he transitioned, we took a trip to the islands of Hawaii, a place he loved, and saw our Native Hawaiian Priest-Shaman-Friend, Fr. Alapaki, who performed powerful healing ceremonies, then we also saw Author/Spiritual Therapist, Ram Dass. We also were led up the side of Holeakalau, a 10,000’ mountain in Maui, to meet two other parents who lost a son from the same disease. There, we celebrated their lives with music with some musicians who were part of Willie Nelson’s backup band. This was our “healing journey,” resulting in much enlightenment, and joy in the midst of grief. As both Alapaki and Ram Dass predicted, much suffering has brought us closer to God, and as a result, we are both more effective healers and teachers. Our classes and conferences have been well attended since, many filled to capacity, and we are even being sought out by more clients in need of healing themselves. Luckily, because we know everything in this world is impermanent (Buddah’s 1st noble truth) we have released our attachements (3rd noble truth) to specific outcomes, and have continued to maintain a good sense of humor by accepting whatever our spiritual journey brings.

2) Upcoming Events & Benefits

September, 21-25: For those who haven’t been certified yet in hypnotherapy, we are offering an Entry Level Program in the outerbanks of NC. For those of you already certified, or those interested in becomming a trainer of the Program, you may choose to assist and enjoy a sunset sail on our boat in the process. Many of the students who graduate from the basic course, which focuses on habits, miscellaneous suggestive therapies, and introductory past-life regression, seem to be busy after entering private practice. And there is no higher calling than serving others.

October 20-24: The Association for Research and Enlightenment is cosponsoring our Life-Between-Lives Intensive at their convention center in Va Beach. This NATH program will include past-life regression methodlogy into the spirit world, deepening to the superconscious, and more. The program will be based on concepts from: the Edgar Cayce readings, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Life Between Life, by Joel Whitton, Journey of Souls, by Michael Newton, and, of course, the hypnotic methodologies of Dr. Allen Chips and Dr. Marjorie Reynolds. Dee Chips will also be cotraining the program. The beauty of the format is that each student receives and provides a past life regression into the most recent incarnation and then into life between lives through many various other-dimensional realities (some not yet documented anywhere)...all the way through pre-birth planning stages for the current incarnation. Certification in Life Between Lives is not only beneficial to a private practice in hypnotherapy {Offering just one client session lasting about 4 hours can pay for approximately half of the tuition for the course!}, but it furthers enlightenment in an important time in our human evolution.
This course is offered only once per calendar year, so if you are interested, it is wise to register now (do not wait), as the flier has yet to be released by A.R.E. and the course is already about half full; when full, we cannot accept any more students until next year. For specific information on the program, or to order study materials, contact NATH (contact info a beginning and end). To register, phone ARE at (800) 333-4499, or go to www.EdgarCayce.org.

November 6-10: The NATH annual conference is another great event worth considering, as there will be many national and international trainers and authors there to teach you their specialties. In the past, we’ve offered hypnoanesthesia certification, Trauma/PTSD Hypnotherapy, addictions, weight, and much more. We will be back with a surprisingly low group rate of $69/night for a suite at the luxurious timeshare beachfront resort, Barclay Towers, in Virginia Beach. If you are interested in expanding your scope of practice, networking with others in the field, or simply desire comroderie of like mind, this is the event for you. There will be a separate email announcing who will be offering what in the next couple of weeks, at which time a flier will be released.

Newsletters: The Spring E-Bridge was not composed or delivered, due to the recent disruption in staff and daily affairs at the NATH headquarters. As a result, you will still receive your preconference E-Bridge containing multiple articles, mostly by those who are teaching at the annual conference, and you will also get mini-E-bridges that contain book reviews and other articles and updates now that we are back on track.

Video Conferencing vs. Online Chats: We are considering video conferences through skype, but we are also considering chat features using type and keyboard. Please give us feedback on your computer literacy and your interest in these features for NATH speakers to reach you through webcasts and the like. For comment, send an email to AllenChips@holistictree.com.

AHUonline- The online university degrees of the American Holistic University are still popular, particularly while people seem to be investing in their new career directions during recession. To help out, we have extended the tuition incentive to anyone who wants to apply by the end of August. The incentive gives applicants $500-$1000 off normal tuition rates. We currently offer a DCH/PhD in clinical hypnotherapy, a PsyD/Phd in transpersonal psychology, an ND/PhD in natural health, and a BA in holistic arts. If you are interested, go to AHUonline.org then AHUonline.us for downloading the student handbook and application, or phone the NATH home headquarters.

Liability Insurance:
Those of you interested in this benefit must be a member in good standing (they phone us to check) and be a certified hypnotherapist. If you desire this benefit, which is very economical, contact:
Professional Liability Insurance
95 Boadway
Amityville, NY 11701
800-421-6694

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Articles

Simplify Your Life; Increase Your Intution

By Kimmie Rose-Zapf

Many people ask me how to tune into their intuition. Besides teaching them to develop the five senses I tell them to integrate Simplicity into their life so that they can tune into their senses. Simplicity is something that everyone craves in some way. Many of us fill our lives with “clutter” that makes us feel stressed, overwhelmed and out of touch with ourselves. In order to simplify your life, you must find ways to reconnect with your natural state of being and become one with it; moment by moment. This is something that requires discipline but does not require too much time. The first step is finding something that allows you to feel relaxed. For some, it is their gardens. For others it is skiing or perhaps watching a movie. I find simplicity in nature, so I integrate it into my life this way. I spent much of my childhood vacations camping with my family at a place called Algonquin Provincial Park, where you are right in the center of nature. Nature reminds us of how to quiet our mind and be still. It is a constant reminder of the true nature of our being. To me, this is a way to remember to get back to the simple things in life. In a world full of so many demands, we forget to “listen” to the peace that surrounds us on an everyday basis.

As a child, I experienced a wolf howling and the serenity of canoeing on the rivers at Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada. Many years ago this wilderness was something that was part of an everyday way of life. There were no highways, no telephones and no automobiles that created barriers between us and nature. Gathering food was something you did as part of your day. Therefore, spending time in nature is a good way to get back to the basics and simplify your life. Just waking up in the morning and starting your day by breathing in the fresh air creates a sense of peace and simplicity. Hearing birds sing, the movement of water while taking a bath in the lake and listening to the sounds of the trees as they are gently blowing in the breeze are sounds that create a “force” in our bodies and help us to quiet our minds. My favorite part of camping was sitting by a campfire and tuning into the simplicity it brings me.

If you want to simplify your life, find something that allows you to connect with your inner self. You can figure this out by asking yourself the question “What is it in my life that allows me to feel STILL”. Once you figure this out take 30 seconds three times a day and put yourself in this place. For example, what I do is connect with the feeling state of when I was a little girl at Algonquin Park. I close my eyes and imagine myself there and connect with the feeling of peace and breathe it into my body from head to toe and allow my mind, body and spirit to let go and feel myself in the moment of peace. When I do this, I allow myself to experience this Simplicity by connecting with the feeling of peace. To practice this three times a day you simply feel this peace by connecting with the familiar feeling and breathing it into your body. Remember to stay in the moment. By doing this you eliminate negatives that might drive you to worry about what happened yesterday or may happen in the future. This simple exercise can change your life.

Another exercise that I use regularly is with fire. It works well at a campfire, but if that isn’t available, you can light a candle. Fire contains pure energy and this energy is something that exists within each of us. Fire needs a certain amount of oxygen to stay lit, just as our bodies need oxygen to breathe and stay alive. By lighting a campfire or a candle, we are able to connect with the natural flow of oxygen. In essence, our body begins to remember how to naturally, rhythmically breathe properly. Try it. Light a fire (and if you are a child ask your parents to help you) and look deep within the flame. Focus on the sounds of the flame; you will hear it as it takes on its own breath. As you focus on the sound, begin to listen to your own breath and notice how it serendipitously begins to balance itself with the fire. You will begin to feel your body relaxing and your mind becoming quiet. In this balance, you will forget about anything pressing at work or chores that you have to get done. You will suddenly become part of the moment. The key word in this is “moment.” By living in the moment, you can find simplicity.

You begin to recognize that all the things you feel you have to do, don’t really matter. Those things will always be there. You will begin to be able to organize your thoughts better and open your intuition. Your body will become healthier, your blood pressure will balance and a healing will take place. This is a simple five minute exercise that you can do every day that can make huge, permanent changes in your life. If you get a chance to visit a place like Algonquin Provincial Park, don’t forget to listen to nature. Let it remind you of the natural balance within your physical and spiritual body. If you can’t get away, then take a walk in a park or just go outside and “listen” to the air. Take out the garbage at night and take a moment to listen to the crickets. Did you know that crickets make their sounds naturally, according to the vibrations of the earth? It is those sounds that will remind you to remember the natural vibration of yourself. Try it; it’s easy. Wake up and experience how integrating simplicity in your life can allow you to open your intuition and embrace life with joy!

Kim teaches classes on intuition and is the executive director of the Awareness Institute in Toledo Ohio. She has her own psychic radio show sponsored by CBS, and is author of Wake Up Your Intuition. She also speaks in various ARE regions.

Hypnotherapy and/or Deep Relaxation Therapy for Hospice

by Roy Hunter, M.S., FAPHP

In 2001 the Franciscan Hospice invited me to join their Comfort Therapy program, which offers various therapy modalities designed to enhance the quality of life for terminal patients: aroma therapy, art therapy, deep relaxation, hypnotherapy, massage therapy, and music therapy. Each patient receives eight sessions to experience the comfort therapy of his/her choice.

When I visit a hospice patient, the first session incorporates a peaceful place meditation. I explain that imagination is the language of the subconscious. Through hypnotherapy and deep relaxation therapy, patients may learn to connect with their peaceful place. Guided imagery may be included (at patient’s option) to help reduce pain. Some patients respond better than others to pain reduction imagery, and I offer a variety of pain reduction techniques. Spiritual release may also be included if the patient wishes. Here is a brief summary of each…

1. By imagining an ideal peaceful place, patients often replace or reduce the intensity of negative emotions with a sense of inner peace. Each patient may choose his/her ideal peaceful place. This can be any place of his or her choosing: an actual place visited, a place from a movie or travel magazine, an imaginary place, or anywhere in time or space.

2. By establishing a "peaceful place trigger" many patients can remind themselves of their place of inner peace any time they wish.

3. By imagining the ability to reduce pain and/or focus AWAY from discomfort, patients often report an actual reduction of physical discomfort.

4. Patients may include imagery of Christ and/or an angel in their peaceful place. Sometimes a patient will give a burden of some sort to the spiritual being.

Results vary from person to person, depending on the ability to imagine desired results.
The inclusion of hypnotherapy in the Comfort Therapy program began years ago as a direct result of one of my hypnotherapy graduates donating volunteer time to the Hospice. The patients she saw sang her praises to the nurses and social workers, which eventually resulted in this important breakthrough for hypnotherapy. If you wish to see this type of program expand, perhaps you might start the same way.

*****
Roy Hunter, M.S., FAPHP, teaches workshops all over the world. He practices hypnotherapy near Seattle, in the Pacific Northwest region of the USA. He also works part time for the Franciscan Hospice facilitating hypnotherapy for terminal patients, and teaches a 9-month professional hypnotherapy training course based on the teachings of Charles Tebbetts. Roy is the recipient of numerous awards, and was recently honored by the NGH with the Order of Braid for lifetime achievement in the hypnosis profession. He has presented workshops around the globe. You may visit Roy’s website at: www.royhunter.com

The Body in Regression Therapy

Roger Woolger Ph.D

Deep Memory Process (DMP for short) is a unique regression method developed by Roger J. Woolger, Ph.D after many years of working with Jungian active imagination, psychodrama, hypnotic regression, Reichian body therapy and transpersonal psychology. It is a body focused therapy which has been successfully used in treating difficulties in interpersonal relationships and family systems; issues of self-esteem and personal empowerment; residual psychic scars from adult or childhood sexual abuse and all forms of domestic and urban violence. It can accomplish swift and effective treatment for deep emotional blockages, states of anxiety, phobias, much chronic pain and persistant symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.

The Body Tells the Story

A child who lives in fear of being hit by violent parents may learn to cringe, twist their head away and put their hands up to protect their head. If this continues, the threats of violence activate the muscles of the body until the muscles “learn” this posture unconsciously. The child will be permanently on the alert, so the fear remains locked in their organism together with chronically raised shoulders, twisted head, and tight nervous stomach. This holding pattern over the years can degenerate into a fixed posture. The inability to resolve the situation results in a frozen body memory. Wilhelm Reich called this body armour and went on to describe rigid patterns of unconscious muscular holding we find in the head, jaw, neck, shoulder, thorax, diaphragm, pelvis, legs, arms, hands and feet.

In line with the more physical releases sought by Wilhelm Reich, Deep Memory Processing very frequently brings about the spontaneous dissolving of bodily armouring and the recovery of blocked physical libido. Indeed, a striking aspect of much of this therapy when seen for the first time by an observer, is the obvious physical involvement of the client in the story that is being relived. In many sessions the client doesn’t just sit or lie passively recounting an inner vision with his or her eyes closed. Instead, he or she may be subject to dramatic body movements that resemble convulsions, contortions, heavings, and thrashings. This is a fundamental difference from cognitive therapeutic strategies which aim for cognitive understanding and neglect the body.

By contrast Deep Memory Process remains focused in the body for the simple reason that it is in the body that both physical violence and emotion are most vividly experienced. This has recently been underlined by the ground-breaking work on trauma therapy by a Harvard group of psychiatric researchers that include Bessel van der Kolk and Judith Herman. They emphasize that it is the limbic system of the brain and sensorimotor pathways that are responsible for storing traumatic memories and not the verbal regions of the cortex as in normal memory. A key paper by van der Kolk is entitled "The Body Keeps the Score." The implications for trauma therapy are clearly that effective remembering and release of traumatic residues must involve the body.

The importance of focusing on the body memories is also emphasised in sensorimotor psychotherapy. By using the body rather than cognition or emotions as a primary focus in processing trauma such as post-traumatic stress, sensorimotor psychotherapy directly treats the effects of trauma on the body, which in turn facilitates later emotional and cognitive processing. Close observation of the client’s body movements such as muscular tension, trembling, changes in breathing, posture, and heart rate is needed. Body therapy with physical movement is aimed at unfreezing body memories by allowing completion. Deep memory processing takes this further by incorporating active imagination to bypass defensive barriers to trauma memories that would not otherwise be accessible.

The Case of Mark: Depression and Back Pain

As an example of how deeply both emotions and highly charged stories are held in the body we cite the case of Mark, a Puerto Rican psychiatrist who suffered from two seemingly unrelated problems: severe backache and recurrent depressions. At the time of consulting a therapist he was feeling very stuck and trapped in his hospital consultancy. The therapist started the session by having him focus on his back pain and asked what it felt like. “It’s as if I’m tensing against being hit there.” “Tensing against what?” “Blows from something—maybe a whip! Now my hands feels if tied to something” We set up a psychodrama with the emergent image using a couple of towels around his wrists and with a light beating on his back to suggest the scene. The image became more pronounced and he reported the pain was now very intense, but that he also was starting to feel extremely angry. “Angry at what?” the therapist asked. “Them. The masters! I’m a black slave. It’s the fourth time I have run and they’ve caught me again. They gonna torture me.” He then reported that the savage beating went on and on and that eventually he was left to die. The slave’s dying thoughts, mingled with huge anger and bitterness were “What’s the use. It’s hopeless. I’ll never get out of this. They have the upper hand.”

He saw himself leaving the body but the tension still remained. “What are you still holding in your back?” asked the therapist. “I could kill them all. I am so full of rage.” So he was invited to pull his arms out of the bonds and to beat a mattress any way he liked. He took a tennis racket and released a huge amount of rage hitting the mattress repeatedly. When he had exhausted himself he reported a flow of energy in his back and a lightening he had never known before. “I was beating them back” he said, “but I also realize I was beating my superiors in the hospital where I work!” He had unconsciously turned the hospital superiors into his new slave masters and was playing out the “hopeless” depression of the slave in his life today. Shortly afterwards he left the hospital to go into private practice. Both his backache and his depressions cleared up after this session.

About Dr. Woolger

Dr Roger Woolger PhD holds degrees in psychology, philosophy and comparative religion from Oxford and London Universities, and was trained at the Jung Institute in Zurich. He has been teaching his unique form of regression therapy, Deep Memory Process to professionals around the world for the past 20 years. He is internationally recognized for his pioneering work in past life regression, and is the author of Other Lives, Other Selves, and The Goddess Within.

The Bridge Newsletter
May 2008
by Dr. Allen Chips


Dear NATH Members and Affiliates:

Summer Hypnotherapy/Reiki 1&2 Certifications Programs:
If you or anybody you know would like to get certified as a hypnotherapist or Reiki level 1 or 2 therapist, let them know about the trainings coming up at the end of July and the beginning of August in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. These beautiful barrier islands, just south of Virginia Beach, are where the NATH home headquarters are. You can view these programs at www.holistictree.com, by clicking on the schedule of events and downloading the NATH course catalog, or hopefully you will be able to open the attachment we send you immediately following this one, which contains the promotional flier. Remember that if you’ve taken these entry-level programs before, you can come and either assist or retake them at no additional charge.

We are gathering articles for a summer E-Bridge Newsletter now, which should be out in June. Until then, here is some other valuable information:

NATH 2008-2009 Schedule

July 30-Aug 3 Entry-Level Hypnotherapy Certification Nags Head, NC $995
August 4 Reiki l Practitioner Certification Nags Head, VA $195
August 5 Reiki 2 Practitioner Certification Nags Head, VA $250

September 23-26 Life Between Lives Intensive Nags Head, NC $895
September 22 Symbology with LBL therapist Dr. Reynolds “ $195

Oct. 30 NATH Convention (Reception) Va Bch or Nags Head Free
Oct. 31 NATH Annual Convention (PreConf) VA Bch or Nags Head $35/wksp
Nov. 1-2 NATH Annual Convention (Main) VA Bch or Nags Head $155/whd
Nov 3-4 Full-day Post Conv. Workshops VA Bch or Nags Head $TBA

Nov. 3-7 Entry-Level Hypnotherapy Cert VA Bch or Nags Head $995

February 2-6 Entry-Level Hypnotherapy Certification Nags Head, NC $995

March 2-6 Hypnotherapy Master Program Warm Springs, VA $1195
March 7 Reiki l Practitioner Certification Warm Springs, VA $195
March 8 Reiki 2 Practitioner Certification Warm Springs, VA $250
March 9-12 Reiki Master Practitioner Certification Warm Springs, VA $995

April 20-25 Entry-Level Hypnotherapy Cert A.R.E.-Virginia Beach, VA $995
Nov. (beg) NATH Enlightenment Cruise Convention Cruise Details TBA
Jan-Dec Hypnotherapy Trainer’s Training- At Course Location $995
(Approval Necessary for mentorship)

Interested in Advanced Degree Programs?
Go to www.AHUonline.org or AHUonline.us, download the student handbook, and we will email you a coupon for $1000 of if you apply before the end of spring.

Transpersonal Publishing Books:
By the way, one of the books we publish is available at most Borders now. It’s very Cayce-oriented and is called “Self Hypnosis: Creating Your Own Destiny,” by Henry Bolduc. This is a great book to use to teach a course on self-hypnosis. On your next trip to Borders, if you see the book, please email us so that we can get an idea of which Borders stores have picked it up.
Books and CDs online:
All Transpersonal Publishing books and CDs are online at our Zen Shopping Cart at: www.holistictree.com/store. We will be adding two new books this week:

Coming Back to Life: The After-Effects of the Near Death Experience, by PHM Atwater
Wake Up Your Intuition: A Clairvoyant Reveals the Psychic Process, by Kimmie Rose-Zapf

Liability Insurance:
Recently I had the opportunity to talk to our affiliate liability insurance company about their restrictions in coverage for hypnotherapists. First off, you need to be a member, in order to obtain liability insurance. I think the cost was $165/year for part time status hypnotherapists. In addition, they will ask you five questions on the application regarding your practice from which they expect honesty. Those considered to be acceptable answers include those below. Other benefits from being educated in this way is to structure your practice in such a way as to be able to obtain liability insurance, or to simply understand that some interventions or professional activities are simply outside of your policy.

1) Do you conduct past-life regression therapy?
Answer: Only upon request

2) Do you do hypnoanesthesia?
Answer: Only by physician referral

3) Do you use hypnosis for sexual problems?
Answer: No

4) Do you perform stage or entertainment hypnosis?
Answer: No

5) Do you combine hypnotherapy with touch therapies?
Answer: No (or) Yes, but only under my ______ (ie. Massage therapy) license.

If you have further questions, contact a legal or insurance specialist, or…
American Professional Agency
95 Broadway
Amityville, NY 11701
800-421-6694

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The Bridge Newsletter
December 2007
by Dr. Allen Chips

Dear NATH Members and Affiliates,