The Telegraph - 6 January 2015
A mother-of-two left with memory loss after her boyfriend launched an eight-hour attack on her has managed to bring him to justice - after she was hypnotised into remembering the assault.
Zoe Dronfield, from Coventry, West Midlands, was left with horrific injuries after her on-off boyfriend Jason Smith, 31, stamped on her head and stabbed her in the neck. The 38-year-old passed out and did not remember the attack at all until she was hypnotised into reliving the traumatic ordeal. After giving evidence at Warwick Crown Court, Smith was found guilty of GBH with intent last month.
Ms Dronfield said: "After the attack I was a shell of my former self and I've never been so low in my life. Many women take their own lives after such events but I had to find a way to fight through it and that's why I wanted to get hypnotherapy - to build me back up mentally and fill in the blanks. "I couldn't remember anything, but thanks to the hypnotherapy I have been able to put my life back together and come back fighting."
She suffered brutal injuries - including a cracked cheekbone, bleed on the brain and a stab wound on her neck, just 1cm from her jugular vein - and woke up to find Smith slashing his wrists in an attempt to take his own life. Her injuries and mental trauma from the attack meant it took hypnotherapy sessions to help her remember what happened on February 2 2014.
Ms Dronfield worked with cognitive behavioural hypnotherapist David Kilmurry a month after her ordeal, and through their sessions was able to piece together what happened. She said: "I was able to give evidence in court against Jason all thanks to the hypnotherapy- I would not have been able to do that without David's help. "I want to show other women they can do the same we do not have to let abusers win."
Mr Kilmurry, a 39-year-old cognitive behavioral hypnotherapist from Coventry, said: "Zoe has made an amazing recovery from devastating physical and psychological injuries, to go to court and give evidence. "Directly after the event Zoe had no recollection of what had happened to her. It wasn't until later on down the hypnotherapy line that the trust built up and she was confident enough to go to 'parts unknown' we embarked on some regression to the event and the detail she remembered was quite amazing even in and out of unconsciousness.
"A heavyweight boxer would not suffer these injuries, and would not enter the ring if this was a real risk and Zoe has been incredibly brave to go through this ordeal with such superhuman strength." Smith, from Coventry, will be sentenced at Coventry Crown Court next month.
Hypnosis can aid memory loss, forgetting where you've left something, where you've been or in this instance a traumatic event. The hypnotherapist was able to guide the client and enable her to recover her memory loss and bring her boyfriend to justice. At The Harley Street Hypnotherapy Clinic, we have a number of trained hypnotherapists that you can speak to about hypnosis for improving memory. Call a hypnotherapist now at the hypnotherapy clinic on Harley Street in London.
