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Copyright © 1999 FleetWatch magazine and FleetWatch On-Line. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written permission from the publishers. Views published are not necessarily those of the publishers. |
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| Past Issues |
August 1999
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Not a Form of Hocus-Pocus Hypnotherapists belonging to the SA Council of Clinical Hypnosis (SASCH) say that while they treat many cases involving private motorists, few cases from the trucking industry come their way. "I think it’s largely a problem of not knowing what we can do for the company’s personnel," one psychiatrist qualified in hypnotherapy, tells FleetWatch. "Management tends to suspect that all this mind-stuff is a form of hocus-pocus. It isn’t at all. Any ethical hypnotist will tell you that patients who want to put themselves under and want to understand their subconscious fears will respond well to hypnosis. "We help people help themselves to get better - emotionally, morally and psychologically. We don’t mess with their minds and we are not magicians." Despite the general lack of use of hypnotherapy by the trucking industry, there have been cases where memory loss due to trauma has been recalled via this method. In the following true stories, some details are changed and the names of people are not given because of patient-clinician confidentiality. Case 1 Mr X, an owner-driver, was pulled out of his cab on the Vereeniging-Vanderbijlpark highway by two masked men who assaulted him and stole electronic equipment out of the trailer. He told the police that, being masked, the men were unrecognisable but under hypnosis, revealed that he knew one of the attackers and had recognised his eyes and his voice. He still could not remember exactly whether the man was masked but the positive ID was later confirmed when police raided premises and found some of the stolen equipment. Case 2 Ms A, a dispatcher at a warehouse on the Cape Flats, was raped during office hours by a regular visitor to the company. She knew this person and could identify him in a police line-up but became hysterical in court and was on the point of being declared an unreliable witness. Hypnosis was used during a recession in proceedings to calm her down so that she could give testimony. Case 3 Mr Q, in the story that opened the main feature article on hypnosis is a transport company owner in Gauteng. He continues to have nightmares and goes for regular hypnotherapy sessions to overcome the post traumatic stress response. The hypnosis is not a cure-all but it definitely has helped him come to terms with the sense of humiliation and absolute helplessness at the hands of his attackers. Alternative Articles |
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