T. was an attractive 23 year-old women just out of college. Although T. had received a bachelor’s degree, T. chose to work as a cocktail waitress in a bar because she was earning more money than she could with an office job. T. was making sure she made enough money to pay for her school loans and living expenses. After her face broke out, T. went a dermatologist for medication. Unfortunately T. had a severe reaction to her medication and her skin became worse. T. mentioned that her aunt also had a skin problem and that hypnosis worked to clear up her aunt’s skin condition.
When asked to draw out her problem, the first thing T. drew was an unflattering picture of herself (left side of illustration). T. used a bright orange color to draw her face and rashes. The bright orange color shows how much T. amplified her problem. She also sketched a barbell with an arrow pointing to her face to indicate how much her skin problem weighed on her. Other aspects of her problem included coffee, drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes too much, dry Chicago weather and the low status of her cocktail waitress job.
In the lower middle of T.’s drawing is a cat whom T. feared might not live much longer and a stick figure couple. The larger stick figure represented the married man that T. was involved with. The two stick figures were missing eyes to see each other, ears to listen to one another, and there was no physical contact between the two figures. T. wrote the words, “No Sex” with an arrow pointing to the man’s crotch; the arrow T. drew is probably a phallic symbol.
T. also wanted to join the Peace Corps, but T. though there was not any money in it for her, and her parents were “irate” with her desire to live outside the country (lower right hand side of illustration). T.’s safety was T.’s parent’s main concern.
The next session T.’s face was significantly better, and T. said she broke off her relationship with the married man. T. returned for her third session with Dr. Stone five weeks after T.’s hypnotherapy began. By this time, T.’s face was completely clear. According to Dr. Stone, T. laughed and joked often and was very relaxed and comfortable with herself and her decisions. T. was accepted by the Peace Corps and she was going through with her plans to serve in another country in spite of her parents objections. T. had a lot of spirit and courage; T. used hypnosis to reclaim the power she had lost due to her fears and “inappropriate” relationship with a married man.