Can Hypnosis Unlock Memories of Childhood Abuse?
Despite the unsuitability of hypnosis for personal "detective work," hypnotherapy is very effective in helping people who were sexually abused to overcome their symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.
Perhaps the place to start is addressing what we actually know about how memory works. Up until about 20-30 years ago, many scientists believed our brains kept perfect record of what happens to us. Recent research has suggested this view isn’t accurate. Memory is actually extremely fallible and prone to distortion. Moreover, when we recall something, it’s not like pulling a file out of a cabinet as we used to believe. Instead, memory appears to be a reconstructive process-we take bits of remembered information and recreate what happened in our minds. For these reasons, our memories of a particular event may change over time.
Unconscious conflicts induced by childhood trauma reside deep in the unconscious mind, so hypnosis is the most effective way to reach them.
What hypnotherapy can do is give you a safe environment to focus on resolving the conflict and processing and re-cataloguing your memory so it no longer disturbs you.
It can also help you acquire new sets of skills fast so you can physically and psychologically operate differently in the future, allowing you to enjoy your life to the full.