Freud hypnosis: Freudian therapy with hypnosis or psychoanalysis
Freud is best known as one of the first people to apply hypnosis in his therapies. He was someone who experimented a lot anyway. For example, he treated depression and morphine addiction with coke, ubercoca. He was on ubercoca himself
It’s a pretty unusual combination. But then again, coke is kind of a miracle cure. For example, if you’re afraid or depressed and you take some cocaine, those feelings go away for a little while.
So at that point it works, for a while.
But it also has very nasty side effects.
So he was doing that, and at the time, it was helping.
Freud hypnosis
He also experimented with hypnosis. That was pretty in at the time, too. In 18 some more. Mesmerism was also still around.
Only he wasn't very good at hypnosis and didn't think it worked very well[1], or that you had to try very hard[2].
However, he was fascinated by the subconscious mind and could divide it into three "departments."
Namely:
- The ego
- The super ego
- The id.
While his premise in therapy was interesting, this may have a cause. After all, he does not seem to have been a nice man. He had six children and did not get along with his sons.
He was not a relaxed man, but a grumpy one.
His father had also been divorced three times, which is, of course, quite unusual. So he also had all sorts of half-brothers and half-sisters, so it’s possible that his upbringing at home wasn’t all that pleasant either. Naturally, that shapes you into a certain kind of person.
Then again, it's kind of interesting if you think you're not good at hypnotizing. Because yes, if you go in with a state like a cold and icy person, if there is no rapport, no connection, if there is a cool and chilly distance, then people are not really going to go with you. Then you don't build up that trust that people think, "Yes I'm going to go into hypnosis."
They didn't know that back then. Back then they may have thought that being authoritarian worked better, but of course that only works with a smaller percentage than when you are friendly. Then you are more open and people go along with you faster.
Now we know this, but back then it was different. So some were better at it than others and some were not so good at it.
Freud psychoanalysis
So psychoanalysis was also fascinating. According to American Magazine, you then need 500 sessions for 38% results. Freud didn't think this was great either, and you have to give him credit for that.
He had this figured out before his death in the 1930s.
While health insurance companies covered it until 2006. So seventy years after the moment Freud already knew it didn't work, insurers have stopped reimbursing it.
500 sessions for nothing.
I know someone who ran with a psychiatrist in the 1980s and he came there for five years. Sometimes as many as three times a week. He also had about 500 sessions all in all.
At the end, he also got the awesome (sarcastic) suggestion, "Yes, you never quite get rid of it. The brain is like a tablecloth that a glass of chocolate milk has gone over. No matter how well you try to wash it out, the stain stays in it."
Do they really have to take five years to get to such a bad suggestion?
In the 1950s, they had already come to the conclusion that people should learn to live with their problems[3], so why spend five years bothering to take it away?
The guy came to me once and then it was done. His problem was gone.
This is interesting. But the big difference is that you use hypnosis instead of psychoanalysis.
Hypnosis to reach resolution faster
This man comes to me and tells me that he has been to a psychiatrist. According to him, he looked like some kind of Einstein in terms of his hair and was wearing Jesus sandals.
He walked along and had a shiny desk in the corner to the left (Freud had to) and then he got the first question after he told his story.
The story was about how he would panic while working as a bus driver. That’s because he would see a red or blue light indicating that he would arrive at the next stop too early or too late. The light was never off. In addition, he felt that everyone looked gray—not old, but gray—and that wasn’t helpful either.
The first question, "How was the birth?"
"Um, yeah I don't know."
Then follow a session with psychoanalysis. And then after three years, they only got to his first panic attack, which he had when he was 19.
The psychiatrist had also been on the bus with them once.
After five years, he got the suggestion from the tablecloth.
Things did improve after that. The problem did solve itself and he didn't suffer from it for decades. After all, he had been seeing a psychiatrist in the 1980s.
Then in the year 2000, it came back again. He went to the psychiatrist again and everything was the same. And even the same question was asked first. He asked why start again from the beginning?
"Maybe we missed something."
He then stayed there for a few more months, but eventually sought help from me.
I indicated that he had only one problem and that was bad taste. The man wondered why.
Which video do you play?
Indeed, I was reminded of a story of another therapist who helped people who were in an institution. Namely, who had someone who had the problem of people from the show of "Little house on the prairie" coming out of television.
He told that patient, "Do you know how many people would pay a million to be able to do what you can do?"
"Well no, you don't want this."
"Yeah, you want this, but then you just turn the television to the Playboy Channel or something, right?"
That obviously clicked with that client. I had to think about that.
So I said, "Yeah, you play a video with all these gray-haired people waiting for the bus, that scares you."
But how many movies are there actually in the video store (or now on Netflix) that you can play? Yes, thousands. He agreed.
So you might as well play a better movie than the one with the gray people. I'm going to help you install a new movie.
He went into hypnosis and then we created a new experience of the bus ride. With a guided visualization, in which beautiful people also entered the bus. After that, it was done.
Then I saw him one more time, but his anxiety was gone.
This is more than a decade now. He later trained and now runs a driving school, helping people with fear of failure and panic. He found a nice wife and even went into politics.
All because he had transformed it.
Factors contributing to successful hypnotherapy
Not by looking at where it originated, but by looking at what he is doing that is not working and then teaching him what he can do so that it does work.
This is the power when you work with:
- Humor
- Openness and connection
- Aligning with the client's strategy[4].
The former is not even necessarily necessary, but the latter two are important. With the latter, you also look at what strategy the client is already using and thus how you can improve it.
Freud also noted that attention, social expectations, and testing one’s perception of reality are important for the success of therapy. In addition, he pointed out that there is a relationship between hypnosis and sleep[5].
Also listen to this podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/195236/1940200-freudiaanse-coketherapie?play=true
Hypnosis has evolved tremendously since Freud. In addition to responding to social expectations and reality as the client sees it, a variety of techniques have been developed that a hypnotherapist can use to help clients solve their problems.
That video, for example, is one such technique.
In addition, regression is also an interesting approach. This ties in somewhat with psychoanalysis in the sense that you go back to the very first moment when something became a problem for you to see if this has led to an unhealthy pattern in your life.
Only with hypnosis will you then do something to change that moment, so you can easily break this pattern.
In addition, visualizations can be used.
And even cognitive behavioral therapy can take place while in hypnosis.
Super right?
This all originated in the West because of the interest Freud, among others, had in hypnosis.
Would you, like Freud, like to learn more about hypnosis and the techniques you can use to help yourself or others? Then join the free online masterclass on hypnosis.
Or register directly for one of our training courses.
Also pin this handy infographic as a reminder:
Sources:
[1] https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1978-10478-001
[2] https://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=se.001.0103a
[3] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00207145408409943?journalCode=nhyp19
[4] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00029157.1965.10402461?journalCode=ujhy20
[5] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00029157.2001.10403454