Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh: An Allegory of the Dinteville Family, 1537, depicts the moment of self-assertion, the moment of claiming one's right as a human being to be free from the tyranny of those who claim ownership of power. In 1537, one needed courage and hope to defy a king.
Courage to change. Having courage to maintain strong personal boundaries and remain rational is just as important today as when this painting was created almost 500 years ago. Courage is strength in the face of pain or grief. What greater pain than the suffering of those who feel powerless to change?
Courage to face suppression from without. Trauma and betrayal are forms of suppression from without. Neuroscience is demonstrating that traumas, like addictions, are linked to deeper brain structures associated with unconscious functions. Exposure to trauma and betrayal may manifest as mental disturbance, behavioral problems, somatic complaints, and disturbances of mood. Sexual abuse, rape, physical and mental abuse, addiction to substances, addiction to abusive people, and addiction to unhealthy states of arousal may be part and parcel of the disturbances related to trauma.
Courage to face suppression from within. Self-imposed suppression is fascism. Fascism is, at its heart, life unlived. We are taught to suppress ourselves. To "be good" and "fit in". To distract ourselves with consumption. To suppress ourselves and who we are from within. Depression. Rage. Violence. Addiction. Stagnation. Procrastination. Codependency. Compulsive comparison to others. All are unhelpful and oppressive patterns of behavior and thought. Suppression of self leads to the desire to destroy ourselves and/or others.
Change through talk therapy. Talk therapy is proven to change habits of thought. We often find ourselves stuck not behaving in our own best interest. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) are techniques proven to help us change how we think, behave, and feel. Additionally, REBT gets to beliefs around self-esteem that demean self-worth or our valuation of others. Studies show talk therapy is as powerful as antidepressants in preventing relapse of depression.
Change through clinical hypnotherapy.
Clinical Hypnotherapy (CHt) and Trauma Incident Reduction (TIR) heal by reaching the mind/body connection. Addressing disturbances related to trauma and betrayal means going deeper than most types of talk therapy. CHt and TIR are shown to reach these places. Both Hypnotherapy (Robertson, Spring 2009, The Hypnotherapy Journal) and TIR (The National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices of The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) are evidence-based practices shown to be effective.