[img]560|left|Nicholas D. Pollak|remove link|no_popup[/img]I received a call from a new client who had a case of the movie “Hangover.” Waking up in a field, not knowing how he got there. He remembered to a certain point. Then all went black.

Could hypnosis help him recall what happened? I said yes, and he booked an appointment for the same afternoon.

Here is what he could remember of the weekend:

He arrived in San Francisco, met friends, went to a wine tasting and then to lunch. He took a nap, and later rejoined his friends, but at a wedding.

He remembered the wedding and the reception, and that he was drunk when he went with his friends to a bar. They started to do shots.

That was all he recalled until awakening in the middle of a field. He not only did not know how he got there, he had lost his iPhone.

Did It Really Occur?

Hypnotherapy generally is useful in helping someone recover lost articles or memories. A cautionary note: It is important for the client to understand hypnosis will help him recover memory only if it is there in the first place. Alcohol and drugs can completely blot out a memory.

This is a sensitive subject. Accusatory criticism has been leveled at psychiatrists and psychologists for having a client recall something that never happened, especially when it comes to abuse, molestation in childhood, or for past life regressions. I will not debate the falsity or truth of these assertions. Just be4 aware of their existence.

In helping a client to remember, there are basics anyone may use. First, relax. Hypnosis is the best tool for achieving that. Often a client does not remember because there may be an emotional gain to forget. By relaxing the client and suggesting he put aside emotional involvement usually will help so much he frequently remembers.

Going Back

Another technique: Take the client back to a time when he had the lost object. By running several times through the circumstances of where he was and what he was doing when the object was lost events begin to crystallize. And the object is found.

Another client had been given keys at work. Be careful, he was warned. This is the only set. Of course he lost them. He worried so much he feared losing his job. The pressure blocked his ability to remember what had happened to them.

Using hypnosis to relax him, I urged him not to worry about losing his job and to remember, what happened, from a third party standpoint, his day prior to losing the keys from a “third party.” Almost immediately, he remembered.

Sometimes it is difficult for a client to recall what he wants to remember. But the subconscious mind stores everything that we ever have seen, done, smelled, tasted or touched. As long as it happened, it is possible to access it through your own memory recall efforts or with hypnosis.

Other helpful techniques: The memory you are seeking will become clear in a dream. Keep pencil and paper handy to write what you dreamt. The memory you seek will come to you when you wake up in the morning. There always is the option of having the client return for further sessions until the memory becomes clear.

As for my client: Once the session was over he could remember further into the evening. After a couple more days, the rest of his missing memory returned, but he never found his iPhone.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone, 310.204.3321, or by email at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net. See my website at www.hypnotherapy4you.net