The Mindfulness-Based Phase-Oriented Trauma Therapy (MB-POTT): Hypnosis-informed mindfulness approach to trauma.

A hypnosis-informed approach to treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using mindfulness is described: Mindfulness-Based Phase-Oriented Trauma Therapy (MB-POTT). The therapy follows a phase-oriented tradition originally proposed by Pierre Janet and later expanded by Daniel Brown and Erika Fromm using clinical hypnosis. MB-POTT consists of four recursive stages: building therapeutic alliance and stabilizing symptoms, forming a narrative about the trauma, recreating meaning in life after trauma, and managing future symptoms. The paper explains similarities and differences between mindfulness and hypnosis, emphasizing techniques that resemble hypnotic approaches such as ego state therapy and ego-strengthening. A case study illustrates MB-POTT implemented with a client who developed PTSD after a near-fatal industrial accident.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Hypnosis has long been successfully used in the treatment of trauma and related disorders. In this paper, I describe a hypnosis-informed approach to PTSD using mindfulness. The Mindfulness-Based Phase-Oriented Traumatic Therapy (MB-POTT) follows the phase-oriented tradition that was originally proposed by Pierre Janet, later expanded by Daniel Brown and Erika Fromm using clinical hypnosis. MB-POTT comprises four distinct, yet recursive, stages: (1) therapeutic alliance building and symptom stabilization, (2) formation of a narrative about the trauma, (3) re-creation of meaning of life after trauma, and (4) future symptom management. In explaining these categories, I delineate the nature of mindfulness, both similarities and dissimilarities to hypnosis, with an emphasis on techniques that resemble hypnotic approaches (e.g., ego state therapy, ego-strengthening). Finally, I provide a case study in which MB-POTT was implemented with a client who suffered from PTSD after a near-fatal industrial accident.