Healing the Wounded Self: Combining Hypnotherapy With Ego State Therapy

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to formulate a theoretical conceptualization for utilizing ego state therapy (EST) as an adjunct with cognitive hypnotherapy (CH) for depression. As the relationship between life events and onset of depression is very complex, it is not clear from current literature how stressors cause depressive symptoms. The notion of “wounded self,” derived from the work of Wolfe (2005, 2006), is examined as a potential unifying concept for binding the role of risk factors in the precipitation of depression. By incorporating wounded self, the circular feedback model of depression, on which CH for depression is based, is expanded. This revised version provides conceptual and empirical underpinnings for integrating EST with CH in the management of depression.

Keywords:

• cognitive hypnotherapy
• depression
• ego state therapy
• wounded self