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110
Marcus
from Erickson’s
February Man
, the dog was the wise voice from the future that would
guide the patient in his troubles (Erickson and Rossi, 1989). He was able to halluci-
nate the dog talking to him, and giving him words of wisdom and comfort. The jour-
ney that they took together was into the future (Erickson, 1954). From there the
patient was able, with the help of his canine guide, to look back at his life, illness and
subsequent demise. He was invited to take back some of that knowledge and practi-
cal counsel (Torem, 1992).
At follow up the patient confirmed that he was using self-hypnosis on a regular
basis. Being with his dog was serving as a cue to develop trance. He said that he was
using this state to help him to get to sleep and as a way of taking mini-breaks
throughout his day. He did report the arm levitation had been somewhat tiring and
taxing. He came to this awareness after the session. Friends later commented that he
died serenely at peace with his disease and with his life.
Conclusion
This paper sought to delineate two clinical entities within a single spectrum of a ter-
minal disease process. A four stage ‘situational distress’ model was presented to help
the clinician conceptualize the disease process as an opportunity for change and
growth, rather than the traditional death sentence.
Although in reality a single disease entity, HIV and AIDS are seen as two sepa-
rate possibilities for therapeutic intervention. Within the newly diagnosed or serocon-
verted there is the opportunity to help the patient do a ‘life reframing’. This is
advantageous in that it helps patients to see their life and disease in a new perspec-
tive. This also allows the clinician far more latitude in the breadth of the intervention.
It is a far more global type of intervention and is more in line with an Ericksonian
approach.
When dealing with a diagnosis of AIDS, the intervention is of a more traditional
directive measure. Frequently, pain control, used in conjunction with the terminal
aspects of the disease, can be used with the invasive painful procedures the patients
go through. Another more indirect use of hypnosis with the AIDS patient is in the
preparation for death. Using Torem’s ‘back from the future’ technique can provide
the patient with a sense of calm and acceptance about their impending death.
Some of the major research problems that plague the use of hypnosis with this
population lie in the inherent nature of an Ericksonian approach. By its very nature it
is individualized to the patient’s unique needs. The nature and type of intervention
will depend on how the patient presents their phenomenological representation of
the disease and their conceptualization of death and beyond.
There are a host of methodological problems involved in the research of HIV/AIDS
illness. Kemeny (1994) has suggested that the problems fall into six categories:
(1) the presence of central nervous system impairment such as depression and neu-
ropsychological impairment
(2) the presence of physical symptoms which may increase the distress which com-
pounds or exacerbates the stress
(3) since the treatment of HIV/AIDS-related disease is still in its infancy, those
infected are apt to try traditional as well as non-traditional treatment modalities
(4) health-related behaviours such as alcohol and drug consumption, as well as sexual
behaviour, are all common coping mechanisms that can confound any research
methodology