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The client in this case is a man in his early 30s. At the time of the consultations, he had recently been promoted to a middle management position. His wife was newly pregnant with their second child, and they had recently bought their first home, with a large mortgage.
The presenting problem was irritable bowel syndrome (IBS; doctor’s diagnosis), in the form of abdominal bloating and diarrhea approximately weekly, sometimes accompanied by vomiting. Prior to the above stressors it had been present approximately monthly. Other symptoms were tightness in breathing, chest and throat.
After ascertaining the above details I provided him with information from studies showing positive outcomes from the use of hypnosis in IBS, which I had researched in advance. I also gave a brief background to what hypnotherapy is and how it differs from common misconceptions. We discussed that IBS is a physical condition involving sensitivity of the bowel, but the degree of sensitivity experienced is highly impacted by stress.
We performed the procedure of "collapsing the anchors", linking a strong positive feeling to a touch on one hand, the negative and stressful feelings to a touch on the other hand, and then "firing" these together so that the positive would overcome the negative. He reported a diminished negative emotional charge, but not complete dispersal of the feelings.
As the client had some experience of meditation, I performed an eye-fixation induction, to which he responded well. I deepened with two hand drops and backwards counting from 100. I then gave suggestions that he was able to let tension go; that he was aware of it coming up; that he was calm, confident and competent. I had him visualize a white light permeating his digestive system, coating it protectively, reducing the sensitivity and irritability. I also gave general "ego strengthening" suggestions, and approximately 2 minutes of silent enjoyment of the hypnotic state. I implanted the cue word "Xanadu" to enable rapid deepening in future sessions, and reoriented the client with a count of 1 to 10. He returned to usual consciousness at approximately 7. The client reported that he enjoyed the session and felt more relaxed. He was physically very relaxed, but felt tension in his chest and throat still.
The second session occurred 1 week later. Both sessions were on Mondays. The client reported recurrence of severe symptoms on the Thursday following the previous session, having eaten rich food at a work dinner on the Wednesday night.
He had dreamed on the Monday night that he was in a two-story house, old and run-down. Fires were breaking out in between the floors and he sent his wife and small child "sternly" away. He was fighting the fires, but had no water, and as soon as one was out another would start. He went next door to his parents’ house. They were uninterested in the problem. On leaving he found a hose, but it was kinked and his best efforts with it were in vain to stop the fire.
I summarized Transactional Analysis briefly to him, as discussed by Edgar Barnett in Analytical Hypnotherapy. The Child’s emotions and the Parent’s repression are both adaptive in intention, but lead to internal conflict. I then guided him into hypnosis, using the keyword "Xanadu" and a progressive relaxation and body-scan, deepening with a descent using a lift or escalator. I regressed him using an affect bridge (the emotions he felt at times of stress), and he reported being age 20, at university, conscious of what others thought of him.
Further regression took him to age 5; his mother had to pick him up from school because he was upset about having to wear a pair of pants which he thought made him look silly; his teacher told his mother he was "sick", thus probably implanting the association between emotional upset and physical illness.
On further regression, he was aged 2-3. His mother was washing dishes; he was in the room but she was paying no attention to him. I suggested that his adult self comfort the young child self, allow him to express his emotions and let them go because they weren’t needed any longer. Once this was achieved I had him imagine the child growing up differently as a result, then merging with the adult self once he reached the client’s present age.
I gave general ego-strengthening suggestions focussed on positive self-worth, equality of value to everyone else, and the idea that others saw him positively. I then took him back to the dream and suggested that he re-experience it differently; that the house was now strong and well-built, safe and not on fire, and his parents were pleased with it.
I allowed him to reorient in his own time. He reported that the house was not on fire, and that it had been a "fun experience". His parents, he said, had been in a difficult financial and emotional time when he was 2-3 years old, and I made the point that "it wasn’t about you".
I arranged a follow-up call during the week, at which he reported a good outcome. He did not feel the need for further treatment at that time.
