Cochrane Expert Testimony

Hypnosis Myths and Realities:

Dr. Cochrane is very knowledgeable about myths and the realities concerning hypnosis. He is well aware of the many myths that have long been evident in the field of hypnosis. His doctoral dissertation was on hypnosis and he has maintained a comprehensive and continuously current awareness of the hypnosis literature. He is the past-president of the Canadian Society of Clinical Hypnosis (B.C.) and has taught hypnosis and psychotherapy skills to Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Family Physicians and Graduate Students every year for over 20 years.

He has provided extensive expert testimony, comprehensive reports and consultations to law firms in cases where the use or misuse of hypnosis played an important role. In one case hypnosis was used in an attempt to enhance the memory of two witnesses in a murder trial. Dr. Cochrane's role was to testify on the subjective nature of uncorroborated memory and to report on the powers attributed to hypnosis. He testified that it is an error to assume that memories derived from any form of hypnosis activity or from a "truth" chemical are reliable without corroboration. Another case concerned the validity of hypnotically induced memories of sexual abuse that allegedly occurred five decades earlier. Dr. Cochrane was asked to report on how hypnosis had been used in this case, and on the resultant extremely vague description of what supposedly constituted sexual abuse. Another very contentious case involved allegations that a physician used hypnosis to harass an employee. This case illustrated the astonishing degree of misinformation and mythology that still surrounds hypnosis and that remains prevalent among some health professionals who should know better.