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.