When the Body Speaks: Ego State Therapy & Hypnotic Applications for Somatic Symptoms Including FND, Chronic Pain & Sleep Concerns (CFCH)
Organization: Canadian Federation of Clinical Hypnosis
Website: https://clinicalhypnosis.ca/event-6528746
Event Title: When the Body Speaks: Ego State Therapy & Hypnotic Applications for Somatic Symptoms Including FND, Chronic Pain & Sleep Concerns
Agenda: Agenda
Dates: May 1-2, 2026
Location: In-Person and Virtually
CE: 14
Contact : Wendy Willberg-Lemke, wendylemkelp@gmail.com
Description: This 2-day training is designed for clinicians with prior training in hypnosis who wish to deepen their clinical skills when working with somatic symptoms such as functional neurological disorder (FND), chronic pain, and sleep disturbances. This course, grounded in Ego State Therapy conceptualizes somatic symptoms as meaningful messages from the body and the system of self. These symptoms may reflect internal conflicts, adaptive reasoning, or survival strategies. Ego State Therapy provides several ways to communicate with the body and/or ego states to explore unconscious causes, contributing factors as well as potential solutions for somatic symptoms. Utilizing ideomotor signaling and other unconscious ways of exploring, participants will learn how to access and communicate with states to elicit information about safety, function, contributing factors, and potential pathways for resolution of somatic symptoms. Emphasis is placed on therapeutic intention, hypnotic suggestions, and internal negotiations that are respectful of the whole self within a trauma-informed, phase-oriented framework. The training will review and apply core Ego State Therapy (EST) principles, including Lemke’s adapted P-Principles, which serve as a template for holding the multiplicity of self in mind when formulating hypnotic suggestions and strategies. EST treatment strategies based on these principles will be presented, such as accessing internal resources and Lemke’s Playing with the Space. Demonstrations, case examples, and experiential exercises will be incorporated to enhance participants’ learning.
Learning Objectives: By the conclusion of this two-day training, participants will be able to:
- Summarize research that demonstrates the effectiveness of clinical hypnosis in treating somatic issues such as FND and Chronic Pain.
- Apply Ego State Therapy concepts including Lemke’s adapted P-Principles, to clinically conceptualize and work with the voices of the body by recognizing the multiplicity of self.
- Identify three different ways to access ego states for gathering useful unconscious information about the body to assist in the treatment of somatic symptoms.
- Develop an ego state trauma informed hypnotic approach for a somatic symptom presentation that integrates therapeutic intention and incorporates EST strategies such as Lemke’s ‘Playing with the Space’ strategy.
- Demonstrate the use of ideomotor signaling as a tool to work with the system of self to identify purpose/function, and/or other contributing factors to somatic symptoms.
Speaker info: Wendy Willberg-Lemke Bio