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HYPNOSIS AND HIV/AIDS SPECTRUM ILLNESSES: AN ERICKSON-
IAN METHOD OF UTILIZATION
Joel D. Marcus
Miami, Florida
Abstract
This paper describes an Ericksonian approach to the treatment of individuals who
have been diagnosed as HIV-positive and those who have AIDS. The different
approaches required to these two related conditions are discussed and treatment pro-
grammes incorporating Ericksonian utilization techniques and more traditional hyp-
notic procedures are described. Dealing with a terminal illness is a major problem for
clinicians working with these patients, and the use of hypnosis to facilitate the process
of dying is addressed.
Key words:
hypnosis, Ericksonian approach, HIV, AIDS, utilization
Introduction
This paper discusses the uses of an Ericksonian utilization approach to clinical hypno-
sis in two discrete populations: those who have been recently diagnosed as seroposi-
tive for HIV and those who have progressed along the disease spectrum and have an
AIDS diagnosis. These two divergent populations fall within a single continuum of a
terminal disease process.
It is the contention of this paper that although these two populations suffer from a
single disease, there are two distinct and discrete methods of treatment. The corner-
stone of the treatment is the ‘utilization’ aspect of an Ericksonian approach. The role of
hypnosis in facilitating mind–body healing will be discussed in the context of this para-
digm. Additionally, the uses of more traditional methods and application of hypnosis
will be explored to suggest how they may be integrated into a holistic treatment regime.
In the field of biomedicine, physicians and therapists are being challenged to
incorporate new ideas into the healing process. Psycho-neuro-immunology (PNI) is
being recognized as particularly relevant to the understanding and treatment of a
variety of devastating illnesses. Attention is being paid in particular to the concept
that changes in the immune system may be mediated by psychosocial influences. The
role of psychosocial factors in co-determining the susceptibility to, and the progress
of, cardiovascular illness, cancer and AIDS-related viral infections is coming to the
forefront of clinical thought (Goodkin, 1990). The newly integrated theory of
mind–body communication greatly expands the traditional domain of hypnotherapy
(Rossi, 1994). There is now a belief that a cybernetic feedback loop of information
between the psychosocial world and our genetic cellular makeup is possible.
Hypnosis is thought to interact on all of these levels. Hypnosis can promote the heal-
ing process by accessing state-dependent learning and behaviour to generate stress-
reducing healing states.