Yes, you see, the aim of the session is to make the patient remember in great detail an experience which has caused him a lot of pain and suffering, and by doing that, to help him to face the problems.
I've heard a person's memory is far more powerful under hypnosis. Indeed it is.
Some of the things that patients are able to remember are just incredible. Would you mind giving me an example?
Not at all. During a session, it's standard procedure to take a patient back in time slowly, pausing at certain times in his life and asking a few questions.
To sort of, set the scene before you go deeper. Is that what you mean. That's it exactly.
Well, once, I took a 35 year old lady back to the age of 8, in fact, I told her it was her 8th birthday and I asked her what day it was.
I later checked a calendar for that year and she was right, it was a Tuesday.
She even told me who was at her party, their names, what they were wearing and about the presents she received.
I mean, can you remember even your last birthday? I couldn't even tell you what day my birthday fell on this year?
Precisely, and when I asked her to write down her address at that time, the handwriting was in a very immature style.
I later compared it to a sample from some old school exercise books her mother had kept and it was identical.
Dr Parker, that's an amazing story. I've taken patients back to their first year and a few even further than that, but that's another story, unless you've got plenty of time.