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

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We began to explore the possibility of ego-state work since he had begun to date and his sexual response was even more delayed due to side effects of his medication for depression. Work with a 6-year-old ego state, and an even younger one, revealed imagery and emotional reactions consistent with his sister's memories of sexual abuse. We worked through several difficult events related to his grandmother, and provided corrective experiences for the child energies who appeared to hold this memory material. We brought in older states, particularly a 13-year-old whose energy was connected to the pleasures of first exploring his sexuality and a 19-year-old that had enjoyed exploring sex with various women Michael had met in college. These two ego states appeared to be dissociated from the abuse, and they were able to improve his sexual performance.

As he got to know Carla, who was a candidate to become a serious partner, however, he began to struggle again sexually. Ego-state exploration suggested that the more serious he became about a woman, the more difficulty he had concentrating during sex. The younger ego states began to "space out" and drift back to scenes involving the basement at grandmother's house where they had felt terrified and humiliated. These states were also worried that Carla would be like his ex-wife, and leave if times became difficult in his life again. he tried Viagra, which helped with erections, but did not help him sustain sexual sensations or to reach orgasm. Using older ego states to help increase sexual response, even when potentiated by the use of EMDR, was no longer effective, and Michael quickly became discouraged.

We discussed what could be added to our work. I remarked that it seemed that what was needed to repair what had happened with his grandmother was an older maternal figure, who could help him learn to trust the experience of sharing his body with a woman he could come to love as part of an intimate partnership. We explored possibilities in his past to no avail. I next suggested that he consider movies and books that had inspired him. Michael looked surprised. "What's coming to mind is a movie I saw with my kids a few weeks ago. It seems like a ridiculous idea, but I'm thinking of Joan of Arc." Although Joan of Arc did seem an unlikely choice, we decided to explore what she might have to offer. Her strength and role as a protector of children impressed Michael and we decided to give her a try.

Using a combination of hypnosis and EMDR, an approach called ECEM (Eye Closure Eye Movement), developed by Hollander and Bender (2000), we went through the process of installing the Joan of Arc figure as a re-nurturing resource. During this experience, Michael reported that Joan had told the young parts inside that she would always be there to protect them from any women that might be dangerous for them or who would try to hurt or betray their trust as their grandmother had done. Joan also told Michael that she wanted him to learn to be a strong man and that it was important for him to share his strength and virility, especially with a woman he could come to love, as an important part of their partnership.