One of the most sensitive issues, society and consequently Homeopathy, has to deal with is cases of trauma and abuse. The difficulties I faced when seeing these patients were –
I. Such patients, to a large extent, are in touch with the situations in their life, under the impression of the mental and physical torment they were subjected to, such a deep impact on the person that he remains stuck to it completely, almost as if this situational state is a part of his very being.
II. Secondly, patients form blind spots within themselves, where they simply cannot connect with what had happened to them at that time. Most of them form strong psychological defenses around their suffering – rationalizing it, projecting it, denying it, even to the extent of somatizing it, but ultimately burying it deep inside their souls.
III. Another obstacle is the shame and humiliation associated with cases of abuse; can the patient overcome it to reveal his vulnerable self?
In the process I realized that the whole idea of the CWP in these cases is to create a space where they are willing to talk about the holistic phenomenon associated with it, where without consciously or forcefully touching the Abuse Area we effortlessly reach their core.
Passive Case Witnessing Process
Giving the patients free floating attention, similar to the other cases, we let them go with the flow and observe and perceive whether all the aims of PCWP are fulfilled.
A) Either the patient talks about it or
B) The other scenario is that he doesn’t even mention the trauma/ abuse he has faced.
- Let us consider the first possibility (A) that he/ she is ready to talk about it. Here again two possibilities emerge –
- The first possibility is that the patient will go to different areas - local, general and vital and reveal his actual self. In which case, once we get the focus or the master key in PCWP, we proceed further, scientifically and intuitively towards the patient’s centre, the holistic state or the Persistent Picture through Active CWP and Active – Active CWP. The patient goes through the whole journey of knowing his pure self.
- Or the second possibility is that the patient could be stuck in one situation, with just that part of his life, the whole story of how he has faced the adversity and narrate all his emotions, delusions related only to it, especially when the trauma is a recent one.
In such cases we fully comprehend his whole experience in that particular situation, through whatever local, situational focus is coming up and being Active and Active – Active with it, till we understand his deepest experience of the situation in completely. This is his Present Predominant Situational State.
At this stage if we try to take the patient in to speaking about other areas or situations of his life, we are likely to encounter the maximum resistance as the patient is entirely under the powerful impression of that situation, something like a one - sided disease at the mental and emotional level.
In the successive follow-ups, we can ask him questions about his nature, his fears, his dreams before that specific event, his childhood, his ambitions etc. so that we can get the holistic focus and then proceed further with it to reach his true individualistic expression at the holistic level, his altered state expressed through various conscious and sub- conscious areas.
ALSO WE MAKE NOTE OF : - When the patient is expressing his altered state in various areas, we note whether he is connecting to the Trauma/ abuse area.
Here again, the path forks out in two –
a) The patient, going in his natural flow, may connect the trauma area spontaneously with his individualistic, holistic expression or he may not connect.
- Either he connects the trauma/ abuse area knowingly, saying – ‘Dr. this is exactly what I felt at that time too…’ And we can see that the same delusion or sensation or experience has appeared in other areas across different time zones too. Since the patient’s being has connected the trauma area on its own free will, we know that he is now ready for the deeper journey. And moreover he is completely in tune with himself so we frame patient-centric questions, keeping trauma in the centre. So on and so forth till the patient reaches and becomes aware of his altered pattern.
- Or he may connect unknowingly - where the patient is speaking about the same deeper feelings and experience in the trauma area, as in the other areas, but is unable to recognize that. In this case, the patient generally starts employing defenses – either he rationalizes, projects, or denies the same experience. Here, we can use dissociation techniques as discussed in the earlier chapters, according to the Level of Experience and the type of defense he is using to dissociate him and reach his inner core.
b) That he doesn’t connect with the situation at all, even after Active-Active CWP and we have finished the case, which again presents to us two prospects –
- One, where he or she has not connected to it but is still willing to talk about it. The patient has not connected to it spontaneously in his natural flow, but we know that he is willing to speak about it.
Our aim is to bring out the entire Present Predominant Situational State, which includes the physical particulars, physical generals, his feelings, his reactions, perceptions, any dreams associated with this incident, and his deepest experience within this area. At the same time, we have to bear in our minds that we are doing CWP in only one specific area, so the picture that comes up may or may not match with the holistic picture that we have got till now. - Or second, where the patient has neither connected with it, nor is ready to speak about it. In this instance, where the patient absolutely refuses to talk about it, we need to respect his privacy and yet we need to find out the whole experience and PQRS symptoms in the trauma area.
So how about a method where the mind and intellect are overcome and the body itself gives the answers we are seeking? Where the patient doesn’t have to openly go through the suffering and yet release it and heal himself? The Internal Witnessing technique is the stepping stone here.
For further details refer to upcoming book of scientifically intuitive case witnessing process – Part II in difficult cases and conditions.
For further details of internal witnessing refer to article of internal witnessing