Example:

A young man (28 years old) who had an extremely bad affliction with stuttering since early childhood.

On being regressed to early childhood he was able to recall an instance where he was frightened by a large dog belonging to his neighbour. As he approached the chain wire dividing fence between the properties the dog jumped at the fence in excitement at the approaching four year old.

As the startled boy fell backward he hit the ground and was winded. His cry for his mother to help was broken into a series of breathless wails. His mother ran to comfort him and from that moment whenever he felt threatened or unsure of himself he would repeat the reflex action of stuttering in an attempt to receive comfort and assurance as he had received on that occasion.

The pattern had repeated itself continuously throughout his life and had become a reflex response to any time he felt stressed, uncertain or threatened in any way. Ongoing treatment over the following few weeks was able to resolve his problem and he happily moved on with his life as a non-stutterer.