Autogenic training and autogenic therapy

Domain VI · Brief, integrative, trauma, hypnosis & coaching · J. H. Schultz, Wolfgang Luthe · 1920 · Jena

What it is

AT is a self-administered relaxation method. Schultz developed it in Jena and Berlin from 1920 onward, out of Oskar Vogt's fractionated hypnosis. He noticed that hypnotised subjects almost always reported heaviness and warmth. He then taught patients to produce that state themselves by passively…

Format

• Phase 0: Assessment, medical clarification and indication (1–2 individual sessions)
• UCLH (Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine) begins with an assessment by a therapist trained by the British Autogenic Society (BAS), who recommends a course only if it fits.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Goals: screen out contraindications (Section 4, intervention 1), get medical clarification of somatic complaints, agree on the aim and the practice commitment, and decide between group and individual format.
• In the hypnosis tradition AT came from, Schultz required a thorough somatic-psychiatric work-up before any suggestive method, and later required the same for AT. Practitioners should be licensed and trained well enough to manage crises.
• Instructor-led training appears to work better than recording-only training.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• : practice that has lapsed, and a need for a refresher.
• : patients who fight intrusive thoughts. Remind them of passive acceptance.
• : empty logs (see Section 5, non-adherence), or rising symptoms in the logs.
• : seizure-like events in epilepsy; blood-pressure changes; trauma intrusions.
• : patients hoping AT will replace medication. HealthLink BC advises against this.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.