We all carry memories or old ideas into our present lives. Some of those ideas are still useful, but many of them no longer serve the same purpose they did years ago, and may be causing havoc in our adult lives. As a Hypnotherapist, I get to witness many interesting things in my practice. Some times, the “root causes†we find during a session are a complete surprise to the client. But most times, the cause behind a behaviour or fear is something familiar to the client.
Age Regression is a direct and often very effective approach. There are different techniques that can be used for age regression, among the most popular are: Affect Bridge and the Calendar Method. It is a powerful tool and it should not be confused with Past Life Regression.
In age regression the therapist works under the assumption that the root of the problem or challenge the client if facing is in this life time. Past Life Regression works under the assumption the root cause of the problem is in a Past Life. Generally speaking it is used to help clients deal with traumatic or psychosomatic disorders. It is also effective for finding root causes of undesirable behaviors or fears.
A wonderful example of how effective is Age Regression as a Therapeutic Tool, is the case of client that came to see me for insomnia. She was in her mid fifties and her average nightly sleep was 3-4 hours. She had not had a full night sleep since her early twenties. When doing Age Regression we found out that the root cause for the insomnia was a frightening experience she had had as a teenager. Her teenage mind associated sleeping with possible death. And so, as the years went by, her mind “protected her†by only allowing her to sleep the very minimum. She suffered from insomnia for more than 30 years. Until we released that unreasonable fear of dying in her sleep through Age Regression.
As a therapist, I use age regression to find the Initial Sensitizing Event or root cause. Once there, the client is assisted in re-experiencing the memory from a detached perspective. The purpose is to help the person deal with the memory objectively, and take out of it, the negative emotional impact on their current situation. By creating a safe environment, the client re-connects with her/his strength, and get learnings that he or she didn’t have at the time.
This in itself can often times, help heal the emotional effects of trauma. More than that, age regression allows for a release of pent up emotional scarring. Trust between the Therapist and the Client plays a very important role when working this technique. It should only be conducted by a skilled Therapist. When used correctly, it can be of tremendous help for people looking to move on from the past into the present.
Copyright Karinna Najera 2010