Joan of Arc Meets Mary Poppins: Maternal Re-nurturing Approaches with Male Patients in Ego-State Therapy

American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis,  Jul 2004  by Phillips, Maggie

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Over several weeks, Alex practiced using Mary Poppins as a transitional nurturing figure. He found this quite helpful. His adult protector ego state told me during a hypnosis session, "I need to hold on to her now, not you. She says she won't leave Allie alone, that she will go with me everywhere in my life and will always be there." As the re-nurturing work with Mary Poppins unfolded, we gained greater access to early traumatic material related to all of his family members and were able to complete reparative work involving the central ego states inside. Other outcomes were that his tinnitus symptoms subsided; his abilities to collaborate with me successfully were strengthened; and the positive effects of his morning imagery sessions extended over a greater span of time. He found himself turning to the image of Mary Poppins in response to stressful situations he encountered during the day and evening.

After several more weeks of intensive imagery work, Alex told me, "You know, I feel more calm inside. I find that I can have her [Mary Poppins] now as well as you. I feel stronger and more connected to the other parts inside and what they need." Positive sequelae in the therapy included further unfolding of his inner process with access to several new ego states related to events that shaped his sexuality during adolescent years. He began to form a more mature, realistic relationship with a woman, weathering various disappointments with her, and forming a more objective view of their strengths and vulnerabilities as a couple. Alex also demonstrated more flexibility in his openness to therapy experiences, asking about additional approaches that might be helpful. We discussed and implemented successfully the use of ECEM (Hollander & Bender, 2000), a synthesis of hypnosis with EMDR, and the use of more interactive, conversational hypnotic inductions. Alex continues now in therapy to further integrate these positive results.

Case II: Michael

Michael is a 42-year-old computer salesman. When he was first referred to me, he was seriously depressed. Medication was not working for him, his wife had just announced she wanted a separation, and he had lost a lawsuit he had filed against a former client who had pirated one of his software programs. Tall and handsome, Michael had the looks of a man for whom life was easy.

Michael had grown up in the Midwest, born into a family of three children. His family lived on a farm and Michael had always enjoyed hunting and fishing and being in the outdoors. His older sister had memories of being sexually molested by their maternal grandmother. Michael wondered if he, too, had been molested, especially since he had always been slow to get erections and almost always experienced delayed orgasm.

Early on in therapy, Michael proved to be a good hypnotic subject and responded well to ego-strengthening that utilized imagery related to his activities in nature. His depression began to lift, he responded to medication, and he began to feel more hopeful about recovery from his impending divorce and about finding a new job situation.