I have an 84-year old patient who has been struggling with alcoholism for most of his adult life. He visited me and reluctantly related to me that he had not been able to have a good night’s sleep in over 20 years because of being overwhelmed by recurring nightmares of dead people he had known through out the years. These nightmares occurred on a daily basis. After listening to him and feeling the sadness and desperation in his voice I invited him down to my office and we proceeded to do a TAT session on his state of being.

We did Step 1 on "Everything that led up to the nightmares happened" and Step 2 was "It happened, it doesn't affect me anymore, I can relax now, I'm OK and I can finally sleep again".

We continued with the remaining steps as I witnessed his gradual transformation unfolding before me. His demeanor went from exhausted nervous agitation to a sense of peace and calmness.

A short time later I called him to see how he was doing. He told me that he had finally been able to sleep and that the nightmares had stopped. Then, quite remarkably and in the humblest of tones, he asked if we could please continue to clear up the rest of his life, that he was ready and willing to move forward and free himself of the hidden torment and suffering that had burdened him most of his life. We have not yet started on the next phase of his TAT sessions but when I saw him last week it was as if he were a totally different person. There was a sense of calm about him and readiness to move forward.
While saying goodbye that day I looked him in the eyes and said "Dad, I love you".

Joey Raines, TAT Professional and Trainer (click here for Lisa's contact and practice information)