Ericksonian hypnotherapy, chronic pain and habits : a reading through the perspective of Charles Peirce

Abstract

Based on Charles Peirce’s notion of habit, this thesis aims to understand the relationship between Milton Erickson’s hypnotherapy and the reconfigurations of chronic pain experiences. The study considers the singular and ephemeral character of the hypnotic experience in investigating the subjective processes involved. This is a theoretical study that seeks to elucidate the dynamics of organization and reorganization of processes related to subjective and vital dispositions from the experiences of the subject. To this end, Milton Erickson’s hypnotherapeutic cases of chronic pain were studied, and three illustrative cases with their procedures and interventions detailed in the scientific literature were chosen. These cases were analyzed clinically and semiotically, focusing on hypnotic communication and reorganizations of chronic pain habits. The discussion of the cases demonstrates the articulation of hypnotic communication with the singular clinical context of the subject in which the therapist’s interventions are related to vital and subjective processes of the subject’s chronic pain. By direct and indirect demonstrations of the subject’s own capabilities, and addressing the social disarray caused by the chronic pain, the therapeutic interventions construct a context favoring habit-change, leading to the reorganization of habits in a more desirable configuration.