Dynamically Oriented Hypnotherapy for Depression and Complicated Grief: A Retrospective Case Study

This paper presents a retrospective case study examining the integration of dynamically oriented psychotherapy and clinical hypnosis in the treatment of a 30-year-old woman presenting with moderate depression and complicated grief following acute relational loss. Following an unexpected relationship breakdown and job loss, the patient (“Veronika”) presented with depressive symptoms, social withdrawal, low self-esteem, and a history of bulimic behaviour associated with stress and relational rupture. A 23-session outpatient treatment was conducted over five months, integrating psychodynamic psychotherapy with hypnotic interventions, including ego-strengthening, ideomotor signalling, and guided affective imagery (Katathym Imaginative Psychotherapy/KIP). The patient demonstrated remission of depressive symptoms, improved affect regulation, increased assertiveness, and resolution of self-directed aggression. Symbolic imagery facilitated the processing of grief, the integration of aggressive impulses, and the internalisation of therapeutic support. This case illustrates how hypnosis can function as a symbolic scaffold within psychodynamic treatment, enabling access to state-dependent emotional material and supporting durable psychological change. The integration of European guided affective imagery methods within a hypnotherapeutic framework offers a clinically rich approach that warrants further empirical investigation.