Hypnosis and Criminology

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Ivan_Corona]Ivan Corona
Application of hypnosis in criminology is a hotly debated subject which has both vociferous supporter as well as opponents. In the legal and medical parlance, the term applied is 'Forensic Hypnotherapy' which in common parlance is understood as 'hypnosis in criminology.' It can be described as a technique used aimed at exploring the memories of victims and or witnesses of serious crimes to facilitate the recall of situations, events, conversation that could have taken place at the time when such a crime has taken place. The legal system in some countries go to the extent of permitting an examination of perpetrators or persons who are suspected to be involved in such a crime and this has attracted the attention of opponents of hypnosis to strongly raise their voice against it. However, even after taking into account such criticism, on a balance and from pieces of evidence available numerous scientific studies, there is a consensus to the effect that a regressive state obtained via hypnosis in a clinical setting of the subjects is found to help in the recovery of repressed memories. Nonetheless, it does not in any way prejudice of the rights of those involved in it to defend their position.
Those who argue in favor of hypnosis have produced adequate evidence to show that hypnosis does produce an altered state of awareness which however can not be equated with sleep. To state otherwise, hypnosis when applied correctly helps a person to transit into a state of relaxation. This is scientifically evidenced with the use of Electroencephalographic methods which has the ability to differentiate a hypnotic state from other types of states as waking, sleeping etc. Such findings have further attest to the fact that the voice of a trained hypnotist could block all but the auditory sensory pathways of the subjects being hypnotized. This has the effect of locking the mind of the subjects with the voice of the trained hypnotist and by resulting in a suppression of anxiety makes the subjects reedy to open up memories which otherwise are repressed. This is scientifically described as 'therapeutic catharsis' by which it is meant that the subjects when reaches a stage of regression are capable of visualizing earlier events along with capturing the original emotional experiences they underwent at the time when the event took place. Eye fixation technique as originally popularized by the Scott Surgeon Braid is found to be equally valid in application here except the fact prior to carrying out this process, the subjects would have to be put into a complete medical and psychiatric assessment prior to being hypnotized. When this is done, it improves the chances of the subjects establishing a rapport with the therapists which is seen as a key in the facilitation of induction and obtaining a correct assessment of the events.
Human mind works in complex ways. For instance, when it is clouded with anxiety, it represses the memory. The unlocking of repressed memory then is possible only if the underlying anxiety is removed. The advantage hypnosis confers in this regard is it helps in the relieving of the anxiety which the subjects suffer and makes them ready to reveal events as it had happened at the original time when it had happened. Additionally, it has been established when emotional factors play havoc with the subjects in the recall of repressed memories, hypnosis has been found to be an effective remedial tool. In one experiment where 14 instances of witnesses and victims of a crime were interrogated under hypnotized conditions, they were able to recall the incidents in an accurate manner. Again the reason attributed to this was the ability of hypnosis as a technique to relieve the anxiety in them.
In conclusion, while we can state with an amount of certainty that hypnosis has positive use in Forensic Science, yet we need to sound a word of caution also. This is because some scientific studies indicate the fact that in spite of sincere and genuine efforts put by a trained hypnotist, still some subjects can feign as though they were hypnotized but still hide critical information and all the more worse can even fool the hypnotists and investigating agencies.
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