An Intersubjective View of Empathy and Hypnotic Trance: Response to Wickramasekera II.

Empathy in hypnotic trance involves a shared, bidirectional state of consciousness between therapist and client, not merely one person's response to another. The intersubjective view of trance includes mutual exchange of verbal, nonverbal, conscious, and unconscious material, and may involve shared role-taking, especially when both parties are highly hypnotizable. The author reviews research on mutual hypnosis or co-trance, describes barriers to scholarly discussion of intersubjectivity in therapy, and draws on quantum physics, transpersonal psychology, contemplative Christianity, and shamanistic practices to clarify these processes. Perspectives from the author's clinical work as a trauma therapist are offered, along with suggestions for future research.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In response to Wickramasekera II's description of his empathic involvement theory of hypnosis in "Mysteries of hypnosis and the self are revealed by the psychology and neuroscience of empathy" (Wickramasekera II, 2015), Henning offers further reflections on what empathy might be and what it allows therapists to do, particularly in conditions of hypnotic trance. She defines her intersubjective view of hypnotic trance as an experience in which client and therapist mutually engage in a shared state of consciousness, and a mutual bidirectional or multidirectional exchange of verbal and nonverbal, as well as conscious and unconscious, material occurs, and which may include shared taking on of roles and expectations in each party, as suggested by the other, particularly when both client and therapist are highly hypnotizable. Research on the concept of "mutual hypnosis," or co-trance, is reviewed, and barriers to scholarly discussions about intersubjectivity in therapy relationships are described. Concepts from other disciplines and traditions, including quantum physics, transpersonal psychology, contemplative Christianity, and shamanistic practices and trance in other cultures are then offered to clarify the processes of intersubjectivity, and perspectives about empathy and hypnotic co-trance are offered from the context of the author's own clinical work as a trauma therapist. Finally, suggestions are provided for future research approaches and methods to further explore and understand these phenomena.