A Clinical Psychologist’s Casebook
by John G. Watkins, Ph.D.
Norton Creek Press, 398 pages. ISBN 978-0-9819284-5-6.
Hypnotherapy: The Original Brief Trauma Therapy
A review by Robert Plamondon
John G. Watkins’ groundbreaking Hypnotherapy of War Neuroses gives a detailed account of the context, methods, and results of his techniques at Welch Convalescent Hospital during World War II. These techniques showed considerable success, more than enough to be worth studying even today.
After World War II, Watkins continued his career as a clinical and research psychologist, especially as Professor of Psychology and Director of Clinical Training at the University of Montana. He developed several important clinical techniques, including affect-bridge age regression, still considered by many to be the gold standard of hypnotherapeutic techniques. He also developed ego-state therapy, which applies family therapy techniques to a single individual to resolve inner conflicts.
Hypnotherapy of War Neuroses is an important book, still both readable and relevant in spite of the passage of time. Watkins starts with a section on military neuroses, then a section on hypnotherapy in general, then a series of individual case studies.
Watkins uses a straightforward approach to his material. This makes it far more than a “history of hypnosis” work, but a treasure trove of techniques presented in context to solve a range of problems that are sadly still very much with us today. When reading this book, I was struck by Watkins’ frequent changes of direction in session. Much of modern hypnosis is heavily scripted to the point where the hypnotist loses flexibility. Watkins was willing to switch gears abruptly in pursuit of his goals, often without transition, using the hypnotic subject’s willingness to follow where the hypnotist leads, whether the sequence makes sense or not. This gave me a new respect for both the unscripted striking while the iron is hot, and of direct suggestion in general. Other readers will no doubt take away different, equally useful lessons.
In short, hypnotherapy has both gained and lost ground over the years, as new techniques are added but old ones, some very valuable, fade away. Sometimes the old techniques are lost, but sometimes they are preserved in a clear and practical book like Hypnotherapy of War Neuroses.
Out of print for decades, Norton Creek Press is proud to make Hypnotherapy of War Neuroses available to a new generation of therapists.