The forensic interview of an auto accident victim, held in my office this week, allowed us to recover once again the missing information needed to proceed with the claim. Until the session, the accident victim had been unable to remember the license plate and identifying details of the car following him, whose driver had witnessed the accident.
In a single session, bringing the auto-accident victim back to the day of the collision, we are able to go through the unfolding of the events, exactly as they took place.
Proceeding from the moment our subject left his office, we experience the sounds, scents, temperature he noticed around him as his day unfolded. His facial features soften as he leaves the cool air conditioned environment of his office to step into the warm summer breeze outside.
Moving to the moment of the collision, our subject relays the sequence of events: “The light turns green. A truck is cutting in front of me! There is so much noise! His muffler is so loud! He’s going to hit me!” Proceeding through the events enables us to review every sight, sound, detail and information needed for the claim as if we were looking at a videotape recording.
Glancing at his rear view mirror, our subject notices it has been shifted by the impact. Once he readjusts it, he notices the car behind him, whose driver witnessed the accident. This clear image in his mind gives us all the information we need on the driver, his car and an almost complete license plate.
Memory Functioning
Have you ever wondered why our memory often fails us when it need it most?
We have all experienced the moment when, in the middle of a conversation, we try to convey the name of a person that seems to remain at the tip of our tongue and maddeningly just out of our reach. The harder we try to remember, the more the data escapes us. Yet, the minute we walk away, the information often comes flooding back to our conscious awareness. We see this when we try to find an object we misplaced as well. The harder we try to remember where we last placed it, the more elusive the memory becomes. Only when we give up does the memory finally float back up to the surface of our mind.
There is a physiological explanation for this. As we stress, tense and intensify our efforts, our body restricts internally. Our muscles, tendons, tissues squeeze under the mental, physical or emotional pressure. Blood vessels constrict, thereby restricting blood flow to the brain. When we are under stress, cortisol levels increase. Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced by the brain and released in the body under stress, fear, tension, anxiety. Intially, in our Neanderthal times, this psycho-physiological response enabled us to bolt and run, giving us our best chance to escape predators or imminent danger. In our day and age, we produce high levels of cortisol in response to various non-life-threatening stressors and tend to function for long periods of times under sustained stress.
High levels of cortisol produce all of the things we don’t want: accelerated aging, aches and pains in the body, immune system deficiency and yes, mental deficiency as well. As a friend and colleague stated recently, while on stage during a presentation in his capacity as Adjunct Professor of Psychology: “Basically, the more stressed we are, the stupider we become.”
Memory Recovery
The process of hypnosis allows us to reverse the effects of stress on the body and mind. In the state of hypnosis, as the entire body soften, our flesh, tissues, tendons and muscles finally relax. Blood vessels loosen up. Our blood is able to resume flowing easily, fluidly and effortlessly through our entire system, flooding the brain with vital oxygen, essential for proper functioning, and nourishing our internal organs with nutrients. Our immune system is boosted. Most importantly in the matter of data recovery, our clarity of mind is vastly enhanced.
According to Senior Special Agent John Kilnapp of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, hypnosis may be the only way to recover the details of a traumatic event crime victims blocked out of their mind. Electroencephalogram and functional MRI studies of the brain before, during and after hypnosis demonstrate the chemical and hormonal changes taking place in the brain during hypnosis. As cortisol levels drop significantly, they are replaced by a boost in endorphins, dopamine and norepinephrins. This produces enhanced focus and attention, higher levels of mental clarity, better brain functioning and superior memory capabilities.
This is why we are consistently able to recover key missing information when we place victims or witnesses of traumatic events in this profoundly restorative state. Hypnosis is an ideal state for synthetic thought and creativity, functions of the right brain hemisphere. The state places us in an optimal condition to remember facts and data, memorize languages, analyze complex situations, all of which in a state of profoundly restorative calm.
Emotional Balance
In addition to enabling the recovery of determining information, hypnosis allows us to address the secondary effects left behind by trauma, enabling us to restore the emotional balance, stability and peace of mind of those we work with.
The goal of our approach is to teach you to retrain your brain to recover your peace of mind, inner-strength, emotional balance, motivation, drive, solidity and stability. Learning these powerful techniques enables you to become rapidly self-sufficient, driven and empowered.
Working in Cooperation with the Medical Field
As clinical hypnotherapists, we do not independently work with medical conditions, diagnose, treat or prescribe. We do not practice psychotherapy, we teach and train our clients how to shift limiting beliefs, reach their goals and enhance their well being using hypnotic techniques.
We only assist with diagnosed physical, mental and emotional symptoms with the authorization and under the supervision of medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners. Please note we do require a physician’s authorization before scheduling sessions and work only under physician guidance. Working in close cooperation with your medical team enables us to ensure your progress in an optimal manner.
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Scheduling a consultation is an essential requirement to be considered for sessions. We only work with those we have met in consultation and only address medical conditions in collaboration with your physician and medical team. For these reasons, sessions can only be scheduled after the preparation work has been conducted in consultation.
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Because our rooms and team are reserved for you, a 48-hour advance notification is required to cancel or reschedule an appointment. Once your appointment is booked and reserved, a 50% service charge applies to all cancellations. Cancellations with less than 48-hour advance notice and skipped visits are charged a one hour fee.
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Initial Personalized Training
The individual consultation includes an individual assessment of your personal situation, what you can expect from hypnosis, and how hypnotherapy can be used to best address and achieve your specific needs and goals. It also includes all contacts, correspondence and collaboration with your physician and medical team.
Clinical Hypnosis Sessions
Sessions involve working in collaboration with your medical team to best address your symptoms and conditions. Sessions also involve individual coaching and training for habit modification, procrastination, performance, motivation, exams, personal goals, etc.
Session time includes personalized assessments, pre-hypnosis discussions of your individual situation, needs and goals, actual hypnosis time and post-hypnosis review.
Medical Coordination
We work in close cooperation with your medical team. A written authorization from your physician is required prior to assisting your medical team with your overall wellness. Your continued progress and sessions program are monitored by your medical team. This enables us to provide you with optimal results. We refer to specialized practitioners when we feel our approach is not the best fit for your needs.
Forensic Hypnosis
For forensic hypnosis, contact us to obtain a quote tailored to your team’s specific needs.
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Learn the process of hypnosis, from wherever you are via Skype. Remote training enables you to learn how to use hypnosis to retrain your brain. Mastering powerful hypnotic techniques allows you to become rapidly self-sufficient, pro-active and empowered.
On-Site Training & Educational Seminars
Genvièv is Board Certified and a Certified Instructor with the National Guild of Hypnotists. She reguarly acts as a keynote speaker at educational conferences and events and in the frame of corporate performance training seminars. Contact us directly to obtain a quote tailored to your team’s specific needs.
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In a groundbreaking development, forensic regression was proved effective in enabling memory revivification following substance-induced amnesia.
Amnesia: a common effect of date rape drugs
In November 2016, the subject, a 5’5”, 100 lbs. woman in her 30s, was invited for dinner to the home of a man she had recently resumed seeing. She had met the unemployed 49 year-old the previous summer. Her initial lack of interest was met by his whirlwind attempts to win her over. It ended abruptly in August, when she accepted to meet him at his residence and found herself brutally pinned, face down, both wrists trapped in one of his hands, while he assaulted her with his other hand, deaf and oblivious to her repeated pleads he was hurting her. She interrupted all contacts with him. Months later, the 49 year-old resumed his romantic attempts to win her over, stressing what had happened over the summer was a misunderstanding, and ensuring he never meant to harm her. For weeks, he worked relentlessly at regaining her trust, until she eventually accepted to visit him again.
When she arrived at his residence, a fire was burning in the living room. He invited her to sit in front of the hearth and retreated to the kitchen. Returning with a small cup of warm sake, he indicated it would warm her up, since it was stormy and cold that day. When she brought the cup to her lips, the vapors emanating from it and the taste seemed strong and unpleasant. She dipped her lips in the warm liquid and put the cup down without consuming it. He withdrew to the kitchen once again and returned this time with a glass of sparkling Italian red wine. She began sipping the beverage as he stood watching her.
Within 15 minutes, she had lost all muscle function and motor coordination, along with the ability to think coherently. She later described feeling as if she had somehow left her body and suddenly found herself in some sort of dissociated, dream-like state. Confused and drowsy, she looked up at him and asked: “What did you put in my glass? I can’t feel my body!” Towering over her from his 6’4″ height, he snapped back: “Nothing. Just Lambrusco.” She attempted to stand but found herself stumbling, disoriented and dizzy. This was shortly after 4 pm.
She then experienced complete amnesia of the following 8 hours. Her memories resume after midnight, when she found herself naked, alone on her knees on the bathroom floor, vomiting over his toilet. Freezing cold, shaken, dizzy and violently nauseous, she continued vomiting for hours as her body desperately attempted to expel the ingested substances.
Around 2 am, when she was finally able to stand, she washed herself in the bathroom and made her way to the bedroom, where she found him cuddling his dog, his back turned to her. Cold and shaken, not understanding what had happened, she curled into bed against him, in an attempt to find warmth. When she placed her cheek against his chest, he head-butted her with his shoulder in a violent motion that propelled her away from him, and turned his back to her again. Standing up without a sound, she searched for her clothes, which she found on the ground, kicked in a discarded lump in a corner of the room. She dressed silently and fled the scene.
When she awoke the next day, she discovered her body was covered with bruises. Large, red, black and blue contusions marked her breasts, the inside of both forearms, her gluteus and legs. Without any recollections of the eight-hour period of time that extended between sipping the glass of red wine downstairs by the fireplace, and finding herself naked on her knees in the upstairs bathroom, she struggled to make sense of what had happened.
Forensic Regression
The medical, police and forensic teams that responded to her in the following days, examining her, taking photos of the bruising and documenting the facts, were adamant. The partial consumption of a glass of red wine is unlikely to produce symptoms of this severity within 15 minutes of sipping it. Even in cases of alcohol intoxication, the reasonable question that follows is who would disrobe and have sex for the first time with a partner whose judgment is impaired and who might even be unconscious. The combination of the complete amnesia of an eight-hour block of time and total anesthesia from all physical sensations she experienced indicates a likely benzodiazepines poisoning, a medical emergency that could have proved lethal for the 100 lbs. woman without previous exposure to synthetic drugs or sedatives.
Amnesia is a common side effect of date rape drugs. Benzodiazepines, whether they are legal like Xanax, Klonopin or Valium, along with a long list of anti-anxiety, muscle relaxants and antipsychotic prescription medications prescribed to manage psychosis, bipolar or borderline symptoms, emotional or mental disorders, anesthetics used in veterinary practices like Ketamine, or underground drugs like GHB or Rohypnol, no longer legal in the United States, can all cause drowsiness, confusion, loss of motor coordination, dizziness, numbness, nausea, seizures, vomiting, unconsciousness and death. Rohypnol, GHB and Ketamine are not the only drugs used to spike the drinks of unsuspected victims. Legal benzodiazepines like Xanax and Klonopin have also been used to facilitate crimes.
During the forensic regression, the woman was brought back to her last conscious memory: in front of the fireplace, beginning to sip the glass of wine. To prevent the possibility of tainting, leading or influencing her recollection, she was left to process the unfolding of the events on her own, without any input or interference from the forensic team.
From the safety of the deep, physical, mental and emotional relaxation we induce during a regression, surrounded by the protective presence of the team, the memories contained within the depths of her mind began to unfold gently, easily and effortlessly.
IMR
Ideomotor responses were established for her to indicate when the revivification had begun, confirm it was still unfolding, and signal when she had reached the reconnection to her conscious recollection of being on her knees on the bathroom floor.
Among the recovered memories were:
His voice, as he was towering over her in front of the fireplace, asking her: “Would you like to go upstairs?” Her clear response: “I wouldn’t be able to stand… What did you put in my glass? I can’t feel my body!” These words alone were alarming to her, as she had never before had to ask this question.
Flashbacks, images and sounds continued unfolding in her mind:
Staring at his open closet, from the bed upstairs where she found herself laying on her back, noticing the rigid and clinical color coordinated alignment of clothing, exclusively in shades of black and gray.
Finding herself naked, pinned down under his naked body, while she repeated: “I’m scared … I’m scared…” His voice responding: “Don’t worry… I’m not going to take you until you relax some more…”
Her own voice stating: “I’m not on the pill…” His response: “I have condoms. The last thing I want is an unplanned pregnancy…”
Physical Anesthesia
What was never recovered was any awareness whatsoever of physical sensations during the 8-hour timeframe, indicating the ingested substances had in fact produced a complete state of physical anesthesia.
Among other missing blocks of memory was the absence of recollection as to how her clothing was removed from her body. This was disturbing to her considering she was wearing multiple layers: a snug winter dress with a full-length zipper in the back that came all the way up to the nape of her neck, stockings, thick knee-high winter socks and boots.
These missing parts indicate the very real probability she slipped in and out of consciousness. This is also hinted by the fact she remembers nothing further until she was shaken by his loud screaming in her ear as he came. The loud, painful shouts against one of her ears, jolted her back to consciousness for a moment. She became aware only then, in her dream-like state, that he was inside of her. An observation she deducted from the positioning of his body trapping and engulfing hers and his screaming. Yet, again, there were still no physical sensations of any kind. Her body remained entirely numb through the complete block of time.
The degree of confusion and distress prompted by amnesia is difficult to understand without having experienced it. The mind spins in endless loops in an attempt to recover the missing memories. It is challenging for the mind to comprehend how a large block of life can somehow disappear from conscious awareness. The depth of relief provided by memory revivification is immensely therapeutic and beneficial in recovering from the debilitating hold left behind by traumatic events.
This was groundbreaking research for our team. It is often assumed forensic regression is not likely to facilitate results in cases of substance-induced amnesia. Yet, we consistently obtain results clinically regressing patients to experiences they had in surgery, while under general anesthesia. Memories sometimes confirmed by those present at the time. If part of the mind remains aware while in a controlled state of unconsciousness like general anesthesia, we should expect memory revivification to be possible in other types of drug-induced amnesia.
Statistics
Close to 75 percent of rapists and sexual offenders are friends, family members or partners of the victim. Most acts are premeditated and occur behind closed doors as an attempt from the perpetrator at gaining control. Perpetrators are trained manipulators, who convince themselves and others that they are never at fault for their actions.
Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault (DFSA) is a criminal act punishable by up to 20 years of imprisonment and fines for intent to commit a crime of violence by distributing controlled substances to another individual without their knowledge (Drug-Induced Rape Prevention and Punishment Act of 1996).
About the Author
Genvièv Martin-Bernard, President of the Oregon Hypnotherapy Association, is Board Certified and a Certified Instructor with the NGH, a Valedictorian from the Ivy League Sorbonne University of Paris, and an Emergency Medicine First Responder with the Wilderness Medicine Institute. She has decades of experience researching, practicing, and teaching the concepts and applications of working with brain plasticity and forensic hypnosis in the U.S. and overseas. With specialized training in forensic discovery, and years of expertise in the legal field, she acted as a communication liaison in complex and critical situations, including duties for the Department of Homeland Security and the US Court System.
The niece of Bernard de Gaulle, nephew of General Charles de Gaulle, President of France, and Leader of the Resistance Forces during WWII, she comes from a long family tradition of national and international defense. The support, morale and wellness of troops, law enforcement and government officials are at the core of her personal and professional values.
According to Senior Special Agent John Kilnapp of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, forensic hypnosis may be the only way to recover the details of a traumatic event crime victims blocked out of their mind. Neuroscientists studying electroencephalograms of the alpha and theta brain cycles experienced during hypnosis, explain the deep, attentive physical, mental and emotional relaxation characteristic of this state produces a significant increase in endorphin levels, our body’s natural opiate system, as well as in dopamine and norepinephrine levels, enhancing our focus and attention.
This creates an ideal state for synthetic thought and creativity, functions of the right brain hemisphere, placing us in an optimal condition to learn new information, remember facts and data, memorize new languages and analyze complex situations. Helping witnesses and victims enhance their clarity of mind, enables us to revisit their recall, thereby providing law enforcement officials with vital information and leads.
When conducted properly, forensic hypnosis can be an important element in the preparation and outcome of a trial.
Our brain controls everything, from the beats of our heart, to our circulation, emotions, actions and reactions. Learning to work with brain plasticity and brain rewiring is the single, most powerful key to wellness, success, performance and peace of mind. Begin the most effective training you’ll ever experience. Become an athlete of the mind!
FORENSIC
Forensic hypnosis allows us to go back in time to critical details and information of key events previously inaccessible. It can be determining in the preparation of a trial and may be the only way to recover vital data and leads.
Clinical
Hypnotherapy, or clinical hypnosis, is the use of hypnosis as an aid to enhance wellness. Working with brain plasticity in collaboration with licensed medical professionals allows us to resolve symptoms, conditions and emotions resistant to other approaches.
Performance
Our brain fuels our performance and results in everything we do. Working with brain plasticity and brain rewiring enables us to discover the science of high-achievement inner engineering, and supercharge our personal, professional, academic and athletic abilities.
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FORENSIC & CLINICAL HYPNOSIS • BRAIN REWIRING
An Award-Winning, Board Certified, Forensic and Clinical Hypnotherapy Instructor, Genvièv specializes in collaborating with the medical field to enhance the physical, mental and emotional wellness of patients. She brings her forensic expertise to high-profile murder cases and criminal investigations. Her passion for human potential, and lifelong research in brain plasticity and brain rewiring, enables people worldwide to transform their abilities and discover a quality of life they never imagined possible.
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“Wonderful work, deep work, work that has helped me restore much of the vitality and creativity I thought was lost to me.
Can’t recommend highly enough.
Thank you, lovely lady!”
Susan Chernak McElroy
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“As a clergy member of a Christian faith, I have had the opportunity to refer many individuals to Genvièv. She is Christian, not of our faith, however she respects all people and faiths.
She has helped many of our congregations enhance their lives. Many had years of depression and other issues stemming from traumatic life experiences. Genvièv has been able to help these troubled souls make dramatic improvements in their lives.
She approaches her sessions humbly and with much compassion derived from her life’s challenges. I am excited that she is publishing, as she will be able to reach and help many more people in need.
Genvièv has worked miracles for which I will always be grateful.”
“Genvièv is incredible! I am a New York Times bestselling author and investigative reporter. Whenever I need a professional forensic hypnotist, I think immediately of Genvièv. I recommend her to everyone I meet. She is the best in her field, the only one I would go to.”
“I have consulted with Genvièv on quite a few challenging cases and have seen remarkable results in the progress of my patients that were sent to her for hypnosis.
She is extremely congenial and very motivated to coordinate care, which makes my work significantly easier. She has outstanding communication skills and gets results much quicker than I would typically anticipate.
She carries my highest recommendation.”
Dr. Somusetty, MD
Assistant Chief of Psychiatry
Kaiser Permanente
In the spring of this year, a bright young woman came to seek my help for severe exam anxiety. Considering she had a four-hour round-trip drive to get to me, we conducted a single session, six months prior to her exam, to uncover, shift and release the root cause responsible for her unexplained anxiety.
A straight-A student through the course of her youth, she never worried about exams and succeeded effortlessly until she suddenly became plagued by acute anxiety shortly after starting medical school. She couldn’t comprehend what caused such radical shift in her abilities and performance. Her symptoms were so severe, she experienced debilitating panic attacks during examinations, paralyzing her capabilities and rendering her unable to think, process the information and perform appropriately.
The anxiety built within her chest, prompting shortness of breath and moist palms. Mounting panic rushed through her, tears bursting through her eyes, as her thoughts spun out of control telling her she would not be able to do this. Her condition worsened as the test progressed, culminating into a debilitating panic attack rendering her entirely unable to perform. For the first time in her life, she was unable to maintain her academic excellence and failed her Medical Board Examinations two years in a row before ending up in my office.
In a state of hypnosis, she was brought to the situation triggering her anxiety: sitting in an exam room, in situation, attempting to take her Medical Board Exam for the third year in a row. Instantly, she began exhibiting the symptoms she had described: overcome by spasms, hyperventilating, crying, her body curled up into a full-blown panic attack. As soon as she connected to the anxiety she experienced during examinations, we age-regressed her panic to its original cause.
What we call the ISE (Initial Sensitizing Event) was, in her case, criticizing comments addressed to her by one of her professors during her early years of medical school. As a young student in her early 20s, entering the medical field for the first time, she was impressionable and under pressure to perform. Whenever our emotions are heightened by stress or a sense of insecurity, our subconscious mind becomes more vulnerable to imprints. An imprint is a statement our subconscious mind takes in as truth at a level so deep, it bypasses our conscious, logical, barriers and becomes edged in the emotional fabric of our mind, embedded as truth. The event itself is often forgotten thereafter, leaving us with an “imprinted” truth that becomes our reality, influences our actions and reactions and changes the course of our path. When the ISE comes from a figure of authority, it is all the more easily accepted and integrated as truth by our subconscious mind. In the case of this bright young woman, the root cause responsible for the collapse of her academic excellence originated in the threatening comments of a professor, who had expressed doubts about her ability to be successful in this field.
Once the root cause is unveiled, in a state of hypnosis, we are able to analyze the situation in a logical manner, with a clear, detached frame of mind, freed from the confusion of unnecessary emotions. We are able to reflect upon the fact the professor did not know her personally, was not aware of her lifelong academic track of excellence and therefore had no way of knowing whether or not she had the ability to excel in this field. There is no logical reason for a bright student, who always excelled in her studies, to suddenly lose the ability to continue excelling in her field of choice. Having no personal knowledge of this student, the Professor’s comments could have just as well been brought on by her own self-doubts, inner-fears or preconceived limitations. This student having excelled effortlessly throughout the course of her education had long demonstrated the ability of her mind to comprehend, memorize and put courses into proper application. Analyzing imprints at the subconscious level of the mind, while in a state of hypnosis, enables us to delete the negative programming left behind by authority figures, restore our self-image and renew our original potential.
Uncovering the root cause of a problem of this nature in a state of hypnosis enables us to disconnect its hold on our subconscious mind. When we understand where and when the imprint took place, we are able to shift our perspective of the initial sensitizing event and reveal the truth behind the illusion. Very often, when we are at the receiving end of an attack, we are in fact witnessing a reflection of the attacker’s own fears, problems and limitations. Once we understand that, we are able to observe the actions of others from a different perspective and prevent them from affecting our sense of self-worth.
Having successfully resolved the root cause of this young woman’s anxiety, we followed up with techniques targeted toward restoring her natural confidence and success. During hypnosis, we also anchored post-hypnotic commands enabling her to remain deeply relaxed, focused and comfortable during her board exam with a simple finger technique, allowing her complete control of her breathing, clarity of mind and physical, mental and emotional states.
One week prior to her Board Exam, we conducted a follow-up session to reinforce her shift, strengthen her ability to reach a deep level of calm, focused relaxation and clarity of mind throughout the length of the exam and deepen her self-confidence. We solidified the calm, peaceful, solid and serene awareness she experienced during her hypnosis sessions. Lastly, we trained her in exam-taking techniques, allowing her to make optimal use of her time during the length of the exam, in order to progress through every question in a calm and efficient manner.
She attended her anticipated Board Exam the following week, for the third year in a row. This time, she passed with flying colors. The root cause unlocked, shifted and released, the paralyzing panic and anxiety, which had plagued her since medical school and caused her to fail two years in a row, were permanently disconnected. The exam techniques enabled her, she reported later, to prioritize her responses efficiently and make excellent use of her time in a calm, focused and goal-oriented manner. She completed her morning session with one and a half hour to spare and her afternoon session one hour early.
She now enters a new chapter of life and the career of her dreams, freed from the weight of an imprint that had, for years, paralyzed her potential.
Senior Executive Eradicates Years of Paralyzing Procrastination in a Single Session
Discover how forensic brain rewiring enabled us to permanently address, regress and release the cause responsible for this block. Reconquering his freedom from the weight of an imprint that had, for years, paralyzed his potential, instantly fueled his drive, performance and results.
Adult Onset
In my office, the fifty year old explained he had been a high achiever since childhood. His reputation as a problem solver, go getter, and winner, had allowed him to rise to the top of the corporate ladder. His success in the high-tech industry however came to an abrupt halt with the dot com burst. As the market crashed, high-tech corporations began reporting unprecedented losses. Silicon billionaires, suddenly out of work, began losing their million-dollar estates and lifestyles. Their world disintegrating underneath them, they had to reinvent themselves.
The then forty year old had to let go of everything and move out of state to accept a new position. He hoped this would be a new start on life. His marriage, however, did not survive the change, and the unexpected divorce left him even further affected. Having lost everything, shaken by fear and financial setbacks, parachuted to a new environment, and left by his spouse, he found himself struggling with dark depression and symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
Suddenly, he became unable to accomplish tasks he had always performed effortlessly. Procrastination began to plague him, slowing his recovery even further. Trying to muscle his way through this created rising anxiety.
Dread and fear built within, prompting him to turn to just about anything his mind could find to escape the projects at hand. He would find himself checking his e-mail, responding to text messages, surfing the web, checking the weather, doing house chores, anything and everything to avoid facing the work he needed to tackle. For the first time in his life, he was beginning to lose ground.
“I suddenly have a block with work projects,” he explained. “A fear of taking action. I’ve never had this problem before. I always got things done, no matter what stood in the way. I was known as a problem solver. I always found work, because everyone knew I got things done. Now all of a sudden, after this series of setbacks, I am plagued by constant procrastination. I let everything pile up until it becomes overwhelming. It’s almost as if I were fearing negative consequences from getting the work done. Yet, I’m very aware the more I procrastinate, the more I amplify the potential for negative consequences. Still, I cannot find a way to control this.”
Root Cause
This is a typical example of adult-life events suddenly triggering mental malfunctioning. Unavoidably, people tell me they stopped functioning efficiently following an adult-life event and believe the trauma to be the cause of their current issues. While the recent adversity certainly acts as a trigger, what we find however, is that root causes for current malfunctioning of the mind typically go back much beyond adult life. Almost always, they are rooted in early-life events.
When there are no early-life fracture underneath the surface, we might be brought to our knees by adversity, but we eventually find our way back to normal functioning. When we don’t, when post-traumatic sequels remain and resist, it is usually the sign they have triggered life-long wounds lying dormant beneath the surface.
I often compare this to the San Andreas Fault extending through California. You may travel over it with the impression the earth underneath is solid and stable. However, deep below the surface, lies an extensive fracture, a fragility, a vulnerability. The San Andreas Fault is the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. When earth plates shift underneath areas where foundations are solid, the terrain is able to flex, stretch, bend and adjust without too much damage. When the shift happens to hit an existing fracture, however, everything collapses, prompting considerable damage. The same applies to our emotional fabric.
Early life wounds leave fractures, fragilities, vulnerabilities hidden silently below the surface of our otherwise resilient coping mechanisms. We compensate (often over-compensating) to continue functioning to the best of our abilities. Left unaddressed, however, the wounds remain. When an adult-life shift, traumatic event or shock happens to hit a specific area of vulnerability, the mind suddenly begins to malfunction. We develop glitches, issues or symptoms, sometimes referred to as post-traumatic stress.
I am often asked how we can identify the root causes for adult life malfunctioning, when the person themselves is unaware of them. The mind always knows. Anytime our mind begins to experience issues, it knows precisely why and what it is trying to avoid. Along the course of our journey in life, whenever something shakes us, threatens us at some level, or creates deep discomfort, our mind takes a snapshot of it. We may think we forget the event, but it remains stored in our brain’s database. Later in life, when we encounter events bearing similarities to these earlier snapshots, our mind reacts based on the original trauma, with the response experienced at the root cause, based on the age we were at that time. This is an automatic response from our mind to protect us from a situation it has learned to regard as a threat. Regressing an issue to its cause forensically allows us to understand the reasons for our current responses, reactions and actions.
Methodology
In session, we brought the executive back to the situation triggering his current struggle: sitting at his desk, attempting to focus on a project. Instantly, he began experiencing the symptoms he had described: tightness in the throat, pressure in the temples, heaviness spreading across the forehead, as an impending sense of dread and anxiety unfolded and expanded throughout his mind and body. Igniting the correct negative emotions opens a direct pathway to their root cause.
Interestingly the initial sensitizing event for his sense of dread and fear of taking action brought us back to something that had happened when he was 3 years old. A toddler full of energy, action-oriented and adventurous, he momentarily escaped the watchful eye of his parents and managed to climb to the edge of one of the windowsills. When his parents noticed he was leaning against the window, chaos exploded around him. The high-pitch screams of his mother tore through the silence. In the blink of an eye, his father came bolting through the door and leaped toward him, grabbing him so abruptly both of them came close to collapsing. Wide-eyed and puzzled, the toddler remained stunned as his father and mother both yelled at him simultaneously, shaken by their sudden and intense fear for his safety.
In my office, it is now the 3 year old speaking to me: “I am so scared… I have never seen my mom and dad so mad at me… They are yelling at me… I must have done something very wrong… I shouldn’t have climbed the window… They had told me not to climb the window… I feel guilty… The fear and the anger I sense in them is terrifying…”
Here again, we have all of the components for a lifelong imprint gathered: strong emotion, repetition and authority figures. Analyzing the origin of imprints at the subconscious level of the mind enables us to finally understand, address and release the negative programming left behind by past traumatic events. It gives us the opportunity to rebuild and restore our self-image, and finally detangle our potential from the limitations left behind by traumatic events.
In situation, we brought the adult self to the rescue of the 3 year old. Removing the toddler from the situation charged with intense emotions, we explained to the little one the reaction he witnessed and experienced at that moment was simply a reflection of the panic felt by his parents. When they realized he was in imminent danger, they also likely projected a reflection of their own guilt, for having lost sight of their child for a moment. Being able to bring this understanding, clarity and comfort to the 3 year old allows us to restore the truth and perspective of the event. Suddenly, he is able to understand that, while his actions could have endangered him as a 3 year old, they also reflected his positive energy and adventurous spirit. And that while, at 3 years old, we are not always able to assess our safety in the most appropriate manner, the adult of today certainly is. The key here is to bring to the mind the realization that today, the adult is perfectly capable of taking the appropriate measures to best ensure his safety. Even further, today it is his very ability to take action that allows him to ensure his safety, security, success and wellness.
Projected back in his original example situation, the executive, returned to his adult age, indicates: “I now feel very good at the idea of tackling my project. I feel calm. I am no longer aware of anything holding me back. Suddenly, I realize the block I experienced was due to a paralyzing fear of the reactions of others. A fear of them becoming angry at me. There is no more justification for this fear in my life of today.”
Emerging from the session, he exclaims: “Wow! I had no idea I still remembered that event! I had forgotten how mad my father was that day… I hadn’t thought about this since it happened. I certainly didn’t realize how much it still affected me!”
Result
A week later, coming back for his follow-up visit, he beamed: “The problem is completely resolved. The change is miraculous. And it’s not merely the procrastination that has disappeared. My attitude, the way I’ve been interacting with my family, and others around me … everything has changed. My wife even asked me if I was the same person!”
Correctly identifying, addressing and releasing the root cause of a problem of this nature allows us to disconnect its hold on our subconscious mind. When we understand when and where the imprint took place, we are able to shift our perspective of the initial sensitizing event, resolve it, and recover our truth, strength and peace of mind.
About the Author
Genvièv Martin-Bernard, President of the Oregon Hypnotherapy Association, is Board Certified and a Certified Instructor with the NGH, a Valedictorian from the Ivy League Sorbonne University of Paris, and an Emergency Medicine First Responder with the Wilderness Medicine Institute. She has decades of experience researching, practicing, and teaching the concepts and applications of working with brain plasticity and forensic regression in the U.S. and overseas. With specialized training in forensic discovery, and years of expertise in the legal field, she acted as a communication liaison in complex and critical situations, including duties for the Department of Homeland Security and the US Court System. She is the founder of a Forensic & Clinical Brain Research Center and can be reached at https://www.genvievhypnosis.com/
As clinical hypnotherapists, we do not independently work with medical conditions, diagnose, treat or prescribe. We do not practice psychotherapy, we teach and train our clients how to shift limiting beliefs, reach their goals and enhance their well being using self-hypnotic techniques.
We only assist with diagnosed physical, mental and emotional symptoms with the authorization and under the supervision of medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners. Please note we do require a physician’s authorization before scheduling sessions and work only under physician guidance. Working in close cooperation with your medical team enables us to ensure your progress in an optimal manner.
Understanding Emotions
Emotions are the driving force behind everything we do. What we feel, not what we think, is the determinating factor behind most of our decisions, intentions, motivations, actions and reactions. Emotions are what keeps us alive, both individually and as a species. They keep us from danger. The igniting of fear prevents us from falling off cliffs or getting hit by traffic. Emotions are what makes us fall in love and form families. They guide our thinking and decision making every day of our lives. Emotions are at the heart of our existence, they shape our judgements and determine our personality. Without them, it would be impossible to exist. Learning to access the driving force responsible for our emotions enables us to bring balance, peace, joy and serenity back into our lives.
Clinical Sadness and Hopelessness
While most of us have experienced feeling sad, unhappy, unmotivated and down at one time or another in our lives, there are times when feelings of sadness, grief, hopelessness, helplessness, lack of energy, loss of interest, anger or frustration persist and interfere with day-to-day life. They affect the way we perceive ourselves, others and the world around us. Problems and situations tend to appear overwhelming and solutions out of reach.
Symptoms
Symptoms can include: sadness, feelings of unhappiness, hopelessness, helplessness, fatigue, lack of energy, lack of motivation, slowed thinking, speaking or body movements, loss of interest in activities, discouragement, lack of purpose, feelings of worthlessness, low self-image, self-hate, guilt, tendency to fixate on past failures, self blame, change in the quality or quantity of sleep (insomnia or excessive sleeping), reduced sex drive, difficulty concentrating, indecisiveness, distractibility, restlessness, frustration, irritability, anger, tendency to become withdrawn or isolated, changes in appetite often leading to weight gain or weight loss, unexplained physical problems such as back pain or headaches, thoughts of death or suicide.
Medical Approach
Mainstream treatments principally consist in prescription medications (antidepressants) and talk therapy (psychotherapy).
Prescription medications can, in some cases, offer a degree of relief. What they do not do is address the specific cause at the root of these conditions. Prescription medications are designed to address, mask and diminish the symptoms of a condition. Left unaddressed, the root cause remains active. Being able to correctly address and resolve the cause at the root of our feelings of depression or anxiety enables lasting remission from emotional distress.
Antidepressants are also often linked to long list of side-effects including nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, increased sweating, constipation, fatigue, appetite and weight changes, insomnia, abnormal dreams, irritability, blurred vision, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), vertigo, decreased sex drive and sexual problems. Some of them report occasionally compounding depression and leading to suicidal thoughts or behaviors, anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, hostility, aggressiveness, restlessness and unusual changes in behavior, including engaging in dangerous activities. Rare side-effects also include mental changes, confusion, hallucinations, changes in blood pressure and heart rate, cardiac arrhythmia, fever, shivering, shakiness, agitation, seizures and coma.
Psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy allow us to gain better understanding of the functioning of our mind, along the course of our path, on a conscious level of the mind. Hypnosis brings that understanding to the subconscious, the core center of our feelings and emotions. The creative part of our mind, the subconscious determines our emotional state, life-long habits, automatic patterns and behaviors.
Addressing Wellness with Clinical Hypnosis
Our emotions are there for a reason. They act as a flag, a signal, letting us know a specific wound below the surface needs to be understood, addressed and resolved. Hypnosis enables us to track negative emotions back to their root cause, their source, the reason they became a part of our experience of life.
Being able to bring to light the underlying causes responsible for negative emotions enables us to reach the emotional fabric on a subconscious level of the mind. By dissolving misperceptions and restoring our truth, we are able to bring resolution to the wounds of our past and finally regain our wellness, balance and peace of mind.
Physician’s Authorization and Coordination
Please note a physician’s written authorization is required prior to assisting your medical team with your wellness. If you are currently taking prescription medications for depression or anxiety, do not stop or reduce your dosage without your doctor’s approval.
As consulting hypnosis practitioners, we do not independently work with medical conditions, diagnose, treat or prescribe. We do not practice psychotherapy, we teach and train our clients to shift limiting beliefs, reach their goals and enhance their well-being using hypnotic techniques. We only assist with diagnosed physical, mental and emotional symptoms with the authorization and under the supervision of medical doctors, physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners. Please note we do require a physician’s authorization before scheduling sessions and work only under your physician’s guidance. Working in close cooperation with your medical team enables us to ensure your progress in an optimal manner.
Our relationships with others weave the fabric of our existence and constitute the mosaic of our life. In sharing our experience with loved ones, we find warmth, joy, support, companionship and often purpose and direction. Our connectedness with others connects us to the essence of life itself. We have a natural tendency to turn to others to receive information and validation about ourselves. Depending upon the stability and nurturing we received in our childhood, as our knowledge and comprehension of life and our own identity was developing, our dependency on the information and validation we receive from others is more or less pronounced.
The behaviors, actions and reactions of individuals who were loved, nurtured and supported in their childhood vary greatly from the behaviors, actions and reactions of those who were not. As the child begins his journey of discovery of the world and himself, he relies on his parents, family and other authority figures to develop his belief system about his identity, his value and his role in the chemistry of life. The child’s mind functions primarily at the subconscious level. As such, he will accept and integrate the information he receives from authority figures as truths. These truths progressively form his belief system and the reference parameters according to which he views himself, his value and moves forward, processing and reacting accordingly to the world around him.
Childhood Foundations
The child raised in a stable, loving and supportive environment develops an underlying foundation made of positive beliefs, a sense of self-worth, balance and inner-strength, which allows him to bounce back from life’s challenges more easily. Those raised with the belief they are not good enough, not worthy enough, face the world fractured, carrying a gaping void within, which makes it considerably more challenging to address life’s difficulties.
This fundamental difference is clearly illustrated in the case of a break-up or the loss of a loved one. While the loss of a loved one is unquestionably one of the most painful experiences we go through in life, someone whose sense of self-worth was supported during the identity development phase of their life, will proceed through the stages of loss, grief and sadness with a foundation of strength, knowing life goes on and their identity remains unaltered.
On the other hand, someone whose sense of self-worth was shattered during the identity development phase of their life, tends to rely on the relationships they have with others to fill the gaping void left behind by the lack or absence of self-worth they acquired in early life. In this case, when the relationship ends, the early childhood wounds of despair, abandon, betrayal and terror are reopened and compounded. The fractures left behind, having never been mended, are re-triggered.
The person is left with a terrifying sense of free fall, as if the ground had suddenly collapsed under their feet. The sinking feeling, often felt physically with symptoms such as nausea, stomach or digestive problems, shortness of breath, tightness in the throat or chest, can be experienced as panic attacks, bottomless despair, loss of identity and depression, potentially even leading to a sense of inability to go on, suicidal ideation or actions.
Self Worth is the Spinal Cord of our Stability
Our sense of self-worth is the spinal cord of our ability to go through life, act and react to the challenges we face, while remaining centered, grounded, solid and stable. With a healthy sense of self-worth, we are anchored on our path, balanced in the midst of the constant shifting and unfolding of life events and able to pause and react accordingly. We are not led by an exhausting compulsion to achieve and excel, driven by the deeply-rooted panic of reliving the rejection we experienced in early life. The status of our relationships with others is neither detrimental nor determining to our sense of self.
Consequently, when we are called to work with individuals who find themselves unable to recover from the loss of a loved one, the root of problem does not lie in the relationship they recently lost per se, but stems from a lack of self-worth acquired much earlier in life, often in childhood.
Addressing Loss and Grief with Hypnotherapy
With hypnotherapy, we have the possibility to track the negative emotions experienced – be it a sense of despair or darkness, a sensation of free fall, panic, void, terror, abandon, betrayal or anger – back to their original cause to discover what initially prompted them to appear in the person’s experience. In doing so, the root cause behind the programming of the negative beliefs is unveiled. This allows us the opportunity to shift the perception, release the negative beliefs and ultimately, restore and rebuild the missing sense of self-worth.
The results experienced include a noticeable sense of relief, as if a considerable weight had suddenly been lifted. We acquire a new sense of inner-peace, lightness, acceptance and the realization that events unfolding around us are separate from our inner value and do not have the ability to damage it. This enables someone to stand in the face of a loss and understand that, although sadness and grief are part of the process, who they are within and what they have to offer remains unchanged and endures.
As clinical hypnotherapists, we do not independently work with medical conditions, diagnose, treat or prescribe. We do not practice psychotherapy, we teach and train our clients how to shift limiting beliefs, reach their goals and enhance their well being using self-hypnotic techniques.
We only assist with diagnosed physical, mental and emotional symptoms with the authorization and under the supervision of medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners. Please note we do require a physician’s authorization before scheduling sessions and work only under physician guidance. Working in close cooperation with your medical team enables us to ensure your progress in an optimal manner.
Careers at Risk for Occupational Trauma
Anxiety, depression, acute stress, survivor guilt, sleep disorders and PTSD are common issues in military personnel, law enforcement, first-responders and operating room staff. During the course of their careers, members of these professions are exposed to traumatic events more often and more intensively than those in other professions.
As clinical hypnotherapists, we work in close cooperation with doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners and social workers on trauma-related conditions including:
Post-Deployment Trauma – United States Marine Corps, United States Armed Forces, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army
First Responder Trauma – Firefighters, Paramedics, EMTs
Law Enforcement Trauma – Police Forces, SWAT, CIA, FBI
Operating Room Trauma – Emergency Room Doctors, Nurses and Staff
Residual Effects and Addiction to Trauma
Repetitive exposure to trauma increases the probability of both residual effects and addiction to trauma. Trauma addiction is the result of a physiological and psychological conditioning that accustoms the brain to function within a pattern of hormonal levels produced under high stress. When exposure to the initial trauma ceases, hormonal levels produced by the brain change and a compulsive need to replace the danger or excitement by other types of activities may be felt. Trauma addiction is a physiological withdrawal symptom.
Addressing Occupational Trauma with Clinical Hypnotherapy
Clinical hypnotherapy specialilzed in PTSD, depression, panic and anxiety has proven and lasting success treating these conditions. While most therapeutic methods work at the conscious level of the mind, the power of hypnotherapy lies in its ability to work at the subconscious level, thereby directly targeting the source, or root cause, responsible for the physical, mental or emotional symptoms. Reframing the sensitizing events with hypnotherapy enables us to unveil, shift and release trauma-related wounds, restore peace of mind, recover quality of sleep and rebuild the foundations for a peaceful and solid future.
Medical Coordination
Please note we require a physician’s authorization before initiating work on diagnosed conditions. Working in close cooperation with your medical team enables us to ensure your progress in an optimal manner. If you are currently taking prescription medications, do not stop or reduce your dosage without your doctor’s approval. As clinical hypnotherapists, we work in close cooperation with medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners and social workers. Your continued progress is monitored by your doctor. This enables us to provide you with optimal results.
As clinical hypnotherapists, we do not independently work with medical conditions, diagnose, treat or prescribe. We do not practice psychotherapy, we teach and train our clients how to shift limiting beliefs, reach their goals and enhance their well being using self-hypnotic techniques.
We only assist with diagnosed physical, mental and emotional symptoms with the authorization and under the supervision of medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners. Please note we do require a physician’s authorization before scheduling sessions and work only under physician guidance. Working in close cooperation with your medical team enables us to ensure your progress in an optimal manner.
Understanding Emotional and Psychological Trauma
When our sense of security is suddenly shattered and, without warning, we find ourselves helpless and vulnerable, our perception of our own safety and the world around us can undergo a severe shift. Emotional and psychological trauma is a normal response of our nervous system to events or situations that left us feeling overwhelmed, unsafe and alone.
Any event involving a threat to our life, our safety, our physical body or emotional well being can lead to emotional and psychological trauma. Life-altering events such as accidents, physical or psychological attacks and abuse, natural disasters, battling with a life-threatening illness, surgeries, the loss of a loved one, either through death or a breakup, severe injuries, as well as life experiences that left us feeling humiliated or deeply disappointed, can all lead to post-traumamic symptoms. Trauma does not always have to involve physical harm. Any experience that left someone feeling frightened and helpless can lead to post-traumatic sequels. The deeper the sense of fright and vulnerability experienced, the more likely the sequels will be.
Trauma survivors can experience unsettling emotions. While shock, denial and disbelief are often experienced immediately following the trauma, trauma survivors can be left in a state of hyper-vigilance and increased sensitivity, a constant sense of danger, prompting an uncontrollable need to remain on guard and on alert at all times. Depression, fear, anxiety, low self-esteem, sadness, hopelessness, nightmares and sleep disorders, confusion, difficulty focusing, memory impairment and deficiency are all known side-effects of trauma. Other symptoms include feeling numb, disconnected from life, from others and even from the self, trouble maintaining or forming new relationships, difficulty trusting others, anger, irritability and mood swings, guilt, shame and self-blame.
Trauma can also lead to physical symptoms such as fatigue, tiredness, chronic aches and pain, muscle tension, decreased immune system efficiency leading to heighten susceptibility to viruses, illnesses and infections, headaches, nausea and gastro-intestinal problems.
The emotional toll left behind by trauma can create lasting emotional instability and make it seem difficult for survivors to move on and recover their balance. While it is common to feel as if the world were disintegrating under our feet or as if we were losing our mind, it is important to understand post-traumatic symptoms are a normal reaction to abnormal events. The temporary dysfunction of our mental capacities and emotional balance is due to the heightened focus of our mind around what it perceives as potentially threatening circumstances. When our mind is prompted into a survival-based tunnel vision, it requires so much of our attention and capacities, the rest of our normal processing capabilities are temporarily pushed aside.
Understanding Peritraumatic Dissociation
When we are faced with intense physical harm, fear or terror we are unable to avoid, escape or shield ourselves from, our central nervous system can respond with a self-protective mechanism called peritraumatic dissociation. In a state of dissocation, we find ourselves disconnected from our physical and emotional responses. We are no longer able to feel pain, shed tears, access or express emotions or interact with others.
While dissociation provides a temporarily effective defense mechanism in cases of severe trauma, in the long term however, it is associated with decreased psychological functioning and adjustment and presents a greater risk for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and post-traumatic symptoms.
To learn more about the nature and side-effects of trauma-related dissociation, refer to our article on peritraumatic dissociation: Understanding Peritraumatic Dissociation.
Addressing Trauma with Hypnotherapy
While most therapeutic methods work at the conscious level of the mind, the power of hypnotherapy lies in its ability to work at the subconscious level, thereby directly targeting the source, or root cause, of unwanted habits, negative behaviors, physical, mental or emotional conditions. Hiding under the surface of our conscious mind, the subconscious represents the most powerful part of our mind.
By allowing us to go back in time to the root cause, hypnotherapy enables us to understand and reframe the initial sensitizing event (ISE). The driving force behind our imbalances, self-sabotaging habits and unwanted behaviors, root causes left unaddressed, and later in life reinforced by other events, produce patterns of behaviors that become extremely resistant to change in the conscious mode.
Reframing the initial sensitizing event with hypnotherapy enables us to work at the subconscious level of the mind to unveil, shift and release trauma wounds of the past, and open the way for a better, more balanced, solid and peaceful tomorrow.
Understanding the Scope and Boundaries of Clinical Hypnotherapy
As clinical hypnotherapists, we are not licensed medical professionals. For this reason, we only work on diagnosed conditions under the supervision of, and in close cooperation with medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners and social workers. We require a physician’s authorization prior to initiating work on diagnosed conditions. Working in close cooperation with your medical team enables us to ensure your progress in an optimal manner.