Toward a Psycho-Structural Theory: Hypnosis and the Structure of Dreams

Abstract

The theory of hypnosis inevitably involves some theory of the structure of the mind, both conscious/unconscious or focal/tacit. Any theory of the mind must concern itself with the nature of the mind/brain interaction, a question with philosophical as well as scientific implications. Both hypnosis and dreams illustrate some aspects of this mind/brain interaction so that the study of dreams may illuminate basic aspects of hypnotic phenomena. These possibilities are illustrated by a dramatic case example in which routine hypnotic interventions unexpectedly precipitated in the patient a brief 72-hour paranoid state. The term psycho-structural is suggested for the direction in which hypnotic theory is gradually developing.