Hypnotic complications from hypnotic play with 35-year follow-up studies

Although diverse cases on hypnosis and hypnotic complications have been reported, little on hypnotic play has been discussed. One exception that the author is aware of is a report by Orne (1965), which states that complications that arise from hypnotic play are minor in nature. Contrary to Orne's report, 2 clinical cases treated by the author were observed to have suffered from severe hypnotic complications over long periods of time after hypnotic play. In these cases, spontaneous rehypnotization, including dissociative symptoms, appeared and greatly disturbed the patients' academic as well as daily lives. Regressive symptoms and personality changes were also observed. When these cases were revisited 35 years later, however, none of those disturbances was reported to have lasted into the patients' adulthood. Both of these former patients were reported to be mentally and physically healthy, each living happily as the mother of 2 children.