NOVEMBER 2003, VOLUME 31, NUMBER 2, Abstract 6
Hypnosis with Children and Adolescents: Some Developmental Considerations
Lachlan J. Lipsett, Medical Practitioner in Private Practice
This paper, a summary of a workshop presented by the author in Alice Springs, is inspired by a chapter by Valerie Wall in Wester and O’Grady (1991). The development of cognitive processes through childhood and adolescence is examined, integrating the views of Piaget on cognitive development and Erikson’s views on psychosocial development. The aim of the paper is to examine how the child’s or adolescent’s psychological and cognitive status influence the selection of hypnotic induction techniques and the use of language, imagery, and metaphor in hypnotherapeutic work. The point is reinforced constantly that inductions and therapy processes, which do not take into account the client’s age and cognitive and psychological development, may often fail.