Cleverly grounded on the basis of Ego State Theory, Healing Scripts is a wonderful resource for therapists treating trauma and dissociative disorders from a hypnodynamic viewpoint.

Arreed Barabasz, EdD, PhD, ABPP, Editor, International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Past President, Society of Psychological Hypnosis of the American Psychological Association, Past President, Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, Author, Hypnotherapeutic Techniques, 2E, Co-author, Advanced Hypnotherapy: Hypnodynamic Techniques

For those working with trauma and stress this book is a very useful addition to their library. Indeed any therapist working with these conditions will find the ideas and strategies in Marlene Hunters book a valuable source of practical help to refer to.

Rather than being dogged down by the mechanics of trauma and stress 'Healing Scripts' gives the reader clear background information on the likes of pain, stress, panic and anxiety disorders, including phobias.

Useful sections on depression and bereavement are included. The suggested scripts offer much to the practitioner to adapt and build their therapy, which is always a welcome tonic when devising how to approach treatment patterns.

The book is rounded off by exploring practical treatment strategies within dissociative disorders, an area far more common than we may recognise with clients and patients, which adds to a deeper knowledge of how to approach such areas.

The book finishes with some insight into working with children that will be helpful to any therapist faced with this client group.

Overall the book will appeal to those new to working with the types of trauma and stress conditions described and will excite experienced practitioners with the simplicity of some of the suggestion scripts used in treating them.

I found this book to be extremely useful and very easy to read and understand. The author has used a similar technique to that employed by Ernest Rossi in many of his training books - that of printing the script on the left side of the page, while having the explanation of the purpose each suggestion is serving on the right side of the page. This allows the therapist to not only understand what to do and say but also to know why this is being said in this particular way and what the effect on the client is likely to be.

Marlene Hunter covers not just Traumatic Stress and related conditions in this book. She also has scripts relating to pain relief, panic attacks, depression, grief and all manner of subjects which any therapist is likely to come across at any time. There is also a section at the end of the book on working with children suffering from trauma, something that will be very useful to many.

The thing that comes across very strongly in this book is the fact that Dr. Hunter recognizes that people suffering from trauma find it very difficult to trust anyone, sometimes not even themselves, so she treads very carefully during all the procedures outlined in this book, always making sure that the client is in full control of what transpires during a session. She asks permission to do certain things, reiterates that the client still wishes to proceed if something has been previously agreed and makes sure that the client returns to full consciousness feeling empowered.

All the scripts in the book can be tailored and altered according to each client's particular needs and, although some of the scripts are tried and tested ones, there are enough new ideas there for any therapist to find the book an asset.

It seems accurate to say that to be human is to experience trauma, some great and some small. But it seems that each of us experiences trauma at some point in our life. We then set our mind, emotions and behavior in such a way as to compensate for and offset this inflicted trauma. We work around the wound as best as we can. It is this well intended effort to compensate that becomes known as symptoms, leading to treatment and eventual recovery of original self.

Marlene Hunter, MD works with individuals who have experienced trauma and now contributes a book of her hypnotic scripts in Healing Scripts; Using Hypnosis to Treat Trauma and Stress. This book published by Crown House is a very welcome addition to those of us who use hypnosis in treating trauma survivors. Trauma takes many forms from the obvious child abuse, to natural disasters and physical injury resulting in chronic pain. Dr. Hunter addresses each of these sources of trauma and she does so from a realistic, practical, respectful manner.

This substantial book contains hypnotic scripts for the treatment of trauma and stress divided into four categories; physical pain, post-traumatic stress, dissociative disorders and working with teenagers. The section on treating pain includes scripts for dealing with physical pain, the role of mind-body communication and pain as a dissociative experience. These scripts, and each of the scripts throughout the book provide a thoughtful and well aimed selection of words conveying potent concepts tailored to the individual that can provide relief within the client.

The second section of the book deals with Post-traumatic Stress, the various sources and manifestations. Here, Dr. Hunter addresses acute trauma, critical incident stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders. These scripts display a compassionate understanding of the dynamics of trauma. These scripts are both healing and empowering, providing an opportunity for the client to reclaim their healthy self and more effective life functioning.

The third section of this book provides scripts targeting dissociative disorders. Dr. Hunter's previous book, Understanding Dissociative Disorders stems from her extensive work with dissociative disorders. In this current book of healing scripts, she provides a thorough and well thought out intervention series. This intervention series covers the initial status of client fragmentation moving toward ego integration all the while ensuring a sense of safety for the client. Scripts address each stage in client re-integration.

The final section contains hypnotic scripts for teenagers that serve to provide treatment and healing from trauma. These scripts are age-appropriate, easily fitting into the thinking style of children and teens allowing greater compliance and better results.

Dr. Hunter's book provides numerous scripts for healing and positive personal change. The scripts begin after the client has been taught to effectively hypnotize themselves. Client development of self-hypnosis is not discussed in this book, leaving it up to the hypnotherapist to enable the client in self-hypnosis, providing fertile soil for the healing scripts to germinate. These scripts are practical and effective with client examples and explanations for the scripts provided by Dr. Hunter. I can surely recommend this book as a fine addition to the therapist's tools for helping clients heal their emotional wounds.

Marlene Hunter has written, a beautiful book.

She writes, and teaches others how to heal the emotional wounds linked with extreme levels of stress. In particular healing the wounds of posttraumatic stress, she faces this disorder with gentleness. Based on her own intensive research, she describes a clear understanding of how the inner reality of trauma and the nature of stress, is created as an emotional pain. She has a practical approach to ameliorating stress and fear.

Practical skills

Scripts: The book is practical benefiting from several scripts that follow the usual stages of induction, deepening, post hypnotic suggestions etc.

However her work assumes you understand those aspects of hypnotic practice. Therefore her book is a specialist text to be used once you have mastered the basics of hypnosis, as she does not teach you the fundamentals. You need to have mastered those tools to really make the best of who you and your client is, come through.

As a practical guide that I could suggest it as a mandatory text, especially for those working therapeutically with any child, or any therapeutic practitioner who has to execute government policy e.g. Every Child Matters Government.

What makes this book unique?

“Learn from it, grow from it and focus on the learning and growing”. That is the message that is at the heart of her approach to transforming posttraumatic stress. And although reprogramming negative habits is common in all hypnosis, she teaches people how to control their reactions in trance, so that now matter what happens will be find themselves in trance being able to handle the issue.

It's her understanding of the nature and characteristics of disassociation and acknowledging the habits that people who have experienced high levels of stress practice. She uses that very same habit that they use in disassociation, which they have used to dissociate, to then find a way to integrate or resolve inner reality.

She suggests clients take things in a lovely gentle progressive way, suggesting going away, doing homework, sleeping and just allowing the unfolding to bring forward issues safely. It's that personal safety' attitude that makes this book a wonderful compass for anyone dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

You will discover a very important chapter dealing with body consciousness. Her chapters on the mind body link deliberately acknowledge how someone creates their inner world and so on. She encourages the practitioner to pay attention to the feelings that a client is using to reinvigorate their body mind relationship.

Her writing exudes compassion and her scripts are an enchantment. She acknowledges a real acknowledgement of the safe progression of the client. Teaching them to appreciate their own ability to trust their own decision-making. She acknowledges in her writing that the people she is dealing with are alive and seeks to bring their own light forward.

Recommended Reading List

Definitely a mandatory text, for a student who has mastered the fundamentals of hypnotherapy.

How to improve the text:

The book is complete in its self, however because it is such a wonderful book, I would suggest the author could point to other links a person could use to support their development as they undertake the therapeutic support i.e. food, exercise. Anyone who receives this book gets the chance to learn about giving yourself the time and support to allow your own healing to occur.

Based on Ego State Therapy, this book concentrates on the use of hypnosis to aid recovery from acute stress disorders, trauma and pain problems.

Marlene Hunter sets out very clearly the ideas and theory behind this hypno-dynamic approach. Her style of writing is comprehensible, well set out and easy to follow. Each script includes annotations and explanations of the hypnotic patterns being used which helps the reader to follow Dr Hunters thinking along the way.

Healing Scripts is certainly an interesting read for therapists interested in understanding the treatment of stress, pain and trauma from another viewpoint. There is also a separate section dedicated to the treatment of children. I would say it is worth reading.

Aimed at professional hypnotherapists working in the difficult areas of trauma, PTSD, pain, depression and so on, Healing Scripts provides a wide range of scripts. Divided into 4 sections - Pain, Stress, Dissociative Disorders and Children - the book offers many elegantly concise scripts. Essentially that is all the book contains - scripts - and I would have liked to see more exploration of the topics covered and more on teaching clients self-hypnosis to ease their condition. Nevertheless it is a well written book in an area where hypnotherapy books usually fear to tread. As such it is a valuable resource for practitioners in these areas.

Much of our work as clinicians these days is centered on helping patients who are suffering from acute stress disorders and, an increasing number, I find, suffering from severe trauma. We also spend time dealing with many people who suffer from a wide variety of sleep disorders. More patients are now seeing that hypnotherapy can help greatly with the alleviation of pain and discover that long term problems can actually be offered a noticeable level of relief.

I am constantly searching for new material, methods, advice, yes and scripts too, but to date have not been all that successful. That is to say until now!

Marlene Hunter introduces us to a selection of new ideas and solutions that we can use as we endeavour to help sufferers from trauma and stress. She outlines proven hypnotic interventions that she has used and developed over the years through a long and distinguished career. At the same time she allows us, fellow practitioners, to be able to work within the umbrella of here technique and adapt them to suit our own ways of working as well as the varied needs of our patients.

The book is a welcome resource to those of us involved in dealing with trauma victims in particular, I feel. This can be the result of anything from a train crash, physical attack to child abuse. She addresses each element in turn from a very realistic and humane standpoint which I feel is a large strength within her work. It is an effective source of elastoplast for the patients emotional wounds that can truly bring relief and healing.

She recognises that hypnosis has a vital use within this field as a therapeutic tool . I like the way she emphasises this and makes us remember that our therapy IS only a tool and is not magic. However it is, as she reminds us “A wonderful tool” PTSD is something that is presented to us far more often these days as a truly valid illness. This book gives us all an insight into the treatment of this disorder. I feel it will not only open your eyes and give you ideas BUT it will also give you encouragement as much of what she says you will have known and will be looking at ways to develop. You have the seed, she provides the fertiliser!

Healing Scripts is a highly accessible and practical guide to hypnotic techniques for the treatment of trauma and stress.

It assumes a good grounding in clinical hypnotherapy and its fundamental approaches and does not set out with the intention of giving a general overview of the subject.

Following a brief introduction it immediately gets down to practicalities, offering a series of succinctly presented hypnotic interventions for dealing with a range of symptoms relating to pain, stress and dissociation disorders.

Marlene Hunter keeps her general comments on each condition to a minimum and the bulk of her book is made up of annotated scripts.

These can be referenced very easily as they mostly take the form of outlines, offering a framework for therapists rather than a word-by-word description. This means they can be easily absorbed and then elaborated upon or personalised for specific clients.

The accompanying annotations provide advice, guidance and a simple rationale for the scripts.

Hunter, formerly a family physician, emphasises the need for expertise on the part of those using hypnosis with the trauma spectrum disorders.

However her no-nonsense, jargon-free manual will be particularly helpful to those practitioners who are new to clinical hypnotherapy.

Marlene Hunter's book Healing Scripts provides new ideas and solutions in the use of Hypnotherapy to help victims recover from trauma and stress. Healing Scripts provides hypnotic interventions which will reach the source of the pain and anguish of trauma, resulting in relief.

The book covers all aspects of pain, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) including sections on denial, hyper-vigilence and hyper-arousal: acute stress; sleep disorders and dissociation, including ego-strengthening and integration. The book also contains a separate section devoted to helping children. All will provide the Hypnotherapist with practical down to earth suggestions for both the content and context of hypnotic interventions. Furthermore, the rationale for using any particular script is fully explained through a detailed and illuminating commentary.

Marlene E. Hunter, MD is a family physician who began to work with highly dissociative patients in 1977. She is a Certificant and Fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and a past Associate Clinical Professor at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Family Medicine. She is a past president of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, the Canadian Society of Clinical Hypnosis (B.C. Division) and the B.C. College of Family Physicians.

I would recommend this book for all Practitioners, with less, or more experience, since the scripts have been used, and found to be valid in real life situations, and can be adapted to suit the client's specific needs.

Here is a book which will prove extremely useful to hypnotherapy practitioners, however experienced they may be. I have been involved in the training of such practitioners for many years but have rarely come across a volume which gives both method and explanation in such a clear and unpretentious way. Even where the techniques used are not unknown, Marlene Hunter sets them out in such a way that the practitioner will have no difficulty in adapting them to suit the needs of the individual concerned.

They say that good things come in small packages, and Healing Scripts: Using Hypnosis to Treat Trauma and Stress is no exception. Marlene E Hunter, MD has distilled her 30 years of experience in working with trauma victims and highly dissociative patients into this little gem of a book. Covering the spectrum of trauma and stress ” from emotional and physical pain to Post Traumatic Stress Disorders and Dissociative Disorders, this book will appeal to practitioners at all levels of experience. It also includes a section on treating children and teenagers.

Marlene draws on a number of techniques, including Rossi's model of mind-body communication and the ego state (or parts) approach, and her scripts focus on ensuring the client has a safe space to explore their own solutions.

Aside from the fact that this book is crammed full of simple and practical scripts that have been tested in real life situations, it is the annotations to each script that make it so remarkable. Not only do these offer hints and tips on usage, but also valuable insight into the author's intentions. They allow the reader to draw on the author's experience and adapt the concepts to individual cases, rather than just using the scripts verbatim.

Whatever your experience of working with pain, stress or trauma, this book will be a welcome source of ideas.