114. Kleptomania

PERSON: man.
DESCRIPTION: "when I visit a supermarket I steal knives and scissors.. when I pass by the check-out points I have an immense feeling of enjoyment, but immediately I'm caught by a terrible and endless feeling of guilt.. my psychiatrist prescribed some antidepressants because we have found that all depends on the abuses and violence that I had to bear when I was very young.. the problem is that I continue to steal in any case, so I would like to use hypnosis in order to impose to myself to stop".
APPROACH: "hypnosis in completely ineffective as a coercion tool.. fortunately, in your case it is enough to use what you have discovered with your psychiatrist"; quick induction of a medium trance, and repetition of the following idea: "now take by hand that little thief, and make him walk many times in every department of the superstore, in order to give him the way and the time to learn the correct relationship with every type of object"; slow awakening from the trance, with the following comment from the client: "we wandered everywhere.. I'm feeling very tired"; posthypnotic conclusion of the session: "your work is now completed.. the last thing is to go in real superstores with that little child".
RESULT: reduction and then disappearance of the tendency to steal.
UPDATE (1 year): no further news

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