Evidence Based Abreactive Ego State Therapy for PTSD

Abstract

A single 5-6 hours manualized abreactive ego state therapy session has recently been subjected to two placebo-controlled investigations meeting evidence-based criteria. Ego state therapy was found to be a highly effective and durable treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. Apparently, ego state therapy works because it is emotion focused, activates sub-cortical structures, and because the supportive, interpretive therapist reconstructs the patient's personality to be resilient and adaptive. In this article the author reviews the treatment procedures and presents the findings of both studies.

The Myth of Hypnosis:The Need for Remythification

“…One of major theoretical and clinical features of the hypnotic process is dissociation: dissociation from everyday functioning, dissociation between internal-mental and external stimuli, as well as dissociation of mental functions that usually are interconnected (Edgette & Edjette, 1995;Kirsch & Lynn, 1998;Nash & Barnier, 2008). Myth can serve as an appropriate container for holding dichotomies and fragmentations in the way the subject experiences himself/herself that may appear during the hypnotic session (e.g., ego-state approach, Barabasz, 2013;Hageman & Frederick, 2013) by providing an easily comprehensible, metaphorical explanation for their existence (Lévi-Strauss, 1966;Segal, 2004).…”

From the Influence of Traumas to Therapeutic Letting Go: The Contribution of Hypnosis and EMDR

“…In Primal Therapy (Janov, 1970(Janov, , 1997 the therapist has the patient engaging directly with suffering as a means to eradicate the "unreal self", involving an abrupt disintegration of the defensive system in order to reflect the deepest unsatisfied needs. Lastly, Barabasz (2014) describes an identical process in Ego State Therapy where hypnosis facilitates, through the therapist's support, the expression of the repressed emotions. This release therapy (Christensen, Barabasz & Barabasz, 2013) revivifies the past traumatic experience to reduce the psychological tension which was not expressed during or following the trauma.…”

Hypnosis for PTSD: Evidence Based Placebo-Controlled Studies

“…As explained in detail elsewhere [4], sensory input triggering a trauma flashback stimulates hormonal secretions and influences the activation of brain regions involved in attention and memory. This discovery sheds light on why conscious control over the patient's actions is limited [8].…”

“…Abreactive hypnosis, the key component of Ego State Therapy (EST), evolved from a psychodynamic understanding of personality as a product of an individual's ego states [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Exposure to a traumatic event activates subcortical structures.…”