Hypnotherapy : the unconscious becoming conscious : a phenomenological study : Masters in Health Science (Psychology), Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

While writing this thesis, and also as a result of it, I found myself immersed in my own healing process, which was both surprising and unexpected. I welcomed the incoming waves of deeper self-discoveries however, and most importantly embraced the healing aspects of my own fragmented self. In particular, while writing the examples of age regression in hypnosis and the dissociation phenomena as a defence mechanism, I recovered the frozen-in-time parts of my own self that led me sometimes to forgotten memories of my childhood. At the time I felt emotional and even tearful, a mix of childish delight and profound healing at a deeper level. While writing some parts of my thesis, I found myself processing a lot of emotions that surfaced and struck me right in the heart, my soul, my essence. This thesis writing adventure of self-discovery has once again been life changing: between juggling my life as a single mum caring for my special needs son and supporting my adolescence daughter, I am hoping I have managed to transcend most of my maladaptive behaviours and the attitudes adopted as a response to my early adverse childhood and some transgenerational trauma that I am quite aware of now, at this time of my life. I do see that through healing, I am healing future generations and hopefully also the generations that came before me. Somehow, for a while now, I have known this is part of my life’s purpose.