Human Interest, closure

[k_tinxx]

madlori has finished her BBM epic Human Interest. A very satisfying end to this drawn-out story, although I feel that the narrative has drifted a long way from the core of Annie Proulx's short story. The original doesn't allow for much character development and the way I see it, the chances that Ennis would ever have overcome his deep-rooted fears all on

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HI read Smoke and Mirrors and think you are doing fine so far. Although Ennis's ypnotherapy and EMDR

[k_tinxx]

I read Smoke and Mirrors and think you are doing fine so far. Although Ennis's exit from the hypnotic state was a bit unclear for me. As fas as I know, there are two ways a hypnotic state can (or rather should) be exited: 1) by a smooth and guided transition, a carefully conducted phase of bringing the person back to consciousness and 2) by an immediate switch, usually prepared by the hypnotist with the client still 'under' and either vocally induced by a keyword or by a snap of fingers or any other sharp sound.

This is important because the hypnotized person is NOT 'sleeping', a state of mind from which the consciousness eventually works itself back to the present reality. The hypnotic state of mind is totally different from that (including different brain wave patterns) and a non-guided transition is considered to be a great risk because it can actually damage/mix up the person's perception of reality, especially when s/he has been accessing very deep layers of memory like in Ennis's case.

The only problem I foresee with your continuation of the story is that the hypnotized person will usually have no or little recollection of the experience while 'under' so there is actually a very limited option for a beneficial emotional release through re-experiencing the trauma.

This, as far as I know, can only happen in EMDR where the method works in exactly this way: the client enters the traumatic experience being fully conscious and with the help and under the guidance of the therapist (moving his/her fingers in front of the client's eyes which s/he has to follow throughout the whole session) 'works through' or rather relives the memory.

Thus, the method eventually, i. e. over a period of many sessions, enables the client to 'store' the memory in a different part of its 'memory system' (I am vague I know, but I don't want this to be a full EMDR 101) connected to an altered set of emotions and without the negative connotations characteristic to trauma. In the end, the experience becomes a 'mere memory', like a foto in a picturebook: you can look at it, even dwell on it, describe it in detail if you want, but it doesn't induce any of the former horrific feelings and reactions, and you can 'turn the page' any moment and live on.

Of course, for a complete trauma therapy program there are many more essential elements and it usually requires a lot more time. It took 52 sessions for me to complete one therapy cycle.

What I could imagine is for Dr. Crane to inadvertently use the EMDR method in combination with his hypnotherapy or for there to be a situation/set-up where Ennis would look at something moving in front of his eyes while recounting/reliving the experience. It is this eye movement which is the key element of the EMDR method (EMDR=Eye Movement, Desensitization and Reprocessing). This way, he could retain a certain degree of consciousness (thus being able to remember later and really benefit from his emotional release) while the experience itself may induce the violent rage you alluded to. During EMDR I have experienced emotions of an intensity I have never felt before or after; utterly mind-blowing. And possibly destructive.

A single EMDR session, if involuntarily induced and not guided properly, can still be effective to a degree but will certainly not 'cure' his trauma. Although it could set him onto a path that, given time, might eventually help him to come to terms with the experience, provided he finds himself within an loving and caring environment that allows for prolonged emotional instability, flashbacks and all kinds of insecurities.

I hope this helps.

And I am very curious what you will make of it all!!

Re: HI read Smoke and Mirrors and think you are doing fine so far. Although Ennis's ypnotherapy and

[baileymoyes]

Thank you so much. Your message will be very useful to me. I'm toying with the idea that Ennis is still in a susceptible state, that he didn't re-emerge from the trance, but that may be too far-fetched. You're right of course, I didn't make it clear when Dr. Crane ended the session, because I wanted to leave myself some "wiggle room" later. Forgive the ploy?

The last paragraph of your post is almost an outline of how I envision the denouement of the story. Ennis will not be "cured" but will be on the road to recovery with the help of Dr. Crane and one who loves him.

Thank you again. You're most generous with your time.

[k_tinxx]

You are very welcome.

BTW, did you look at your user info lately? If not, I suggest you do, just before it expires...