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INTEGRATING CBT & HYPNOSIS

As a result of this treatment and as a result of you listening to your tape every day, you will be able to cope better with the challenges of life every day. You will learn to focus more on your successes than on your failures. Every day you will notice feeling less depressed and more optimistic. You will notice feeling calmer and beginning to enjoy the struggles and challenges of life. Before the termination of the hypnotic session, it is important to offer posthypnotic suggestions. Depressives tend to constantly focus on negative autohypnosis (NSH), especially after a negative affective experience (e.g., I will not be able to cope.). This can be regarded as a form of posthypnotic suggestion (PHS), which can become part of the depressive cycle. The cycle is further repeated by involvement in depressive activities. In order to break the depressive cycle, it is very important to counter the NSH. Here are examples of PHS for countering NSH: While you focus on the situation, you will feel less depressed. When you plan to improve your future, you will feel more optimistic about the future. As you become interested in the situation, you will forget about your worries. As you feel involved, you will be motivated to do more things.

Sessions 912: Cognitive Restructuring Under Hypnosis

Once the client becomes used to hypnosis and cognitive therapy, the next three sessions focus on (a) cognitive restructuring under hypnosis, (b) expansion of awareness and amplification of experiences, (c) reduction of guilt and self-blame, and (d) development of antidepressive pathways. These are further explained.

(a) Cognitive Restructuring Under Hypnosis

When the client is fairly relaxed and a satisfactory level of hypnotic trance is achieved, suggestions are made to the client to imagine