MAY 2000, VOLUME 28, NUMBER 1, Abstract 5
Hypnosis, Grief, and Mourning
Gary R. Elkins, Texas A. & M. University
Grief and mourning are associated with emotional distress and a process of psychological adjustment. Current models of grieving and mourning provide some understanding of effective psychotherapy work but largely neglect the integration of hypnotherapeutic interventions. In this paper, a theoretical model for hypnotherapeutic intervention is presented and illustrated via a case study. The clinical case study is of a woman whose husband had died, which led her to enter hypnotically oriented psychotherapy. Clinical hypnosis may provide a powerful adjunct therapy for the treatment of grieving and facilitate resolution of mourning.