This paper addresses the anchoring technique in hypnosis and focuses on the subject as an active participant in the therapy process. Clinical examples of clients suffering from chronic pain are used to highlight two extremely relevant dimensions of this technique. First, the diagnosis addresses possibilities of accessing the experiences of others in both their subjective experiences and symbolic productions. Second, the technique is used in therapy to encourage subjects to appropriate their experiences and, therefore, actively participate in reconfiguring them. The conclusion states the relevance of clinical understanding founded on client subjectivity, changes in self-awareness brought on by the technique, the active involvement of subjects in the process of change, and the paradox between imagination and memory.
anchoring technique; hypnosis; chronic pain; subjectivity; subject