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Article from Steve G Jones
As I sit here in my office preparing notes for a hypnotherapy training
DVD to be released by the fall, I am reminded of some of the more
challenging aspects of hypnosis. Sometimes hypnotherapists are asked to
work with clients who are highly resistant to hypnosis. Almost everyone
who enters a hypnotherapists office is willing to be hypnotized, but
for some it is only a mild trance state whereas for others it is a much
more "profound" experience.
While
it is absolutely true that even a mild trance will produce excellent
results, a deeper trance can be more enjoyable for the client. It is
therefore up to the hypnotherapist to discover which method works best
for a particular client. Some clients go very deeply into trance with a
basic relaxation induction. This is a series of words designed to
progressively relax different parts of the body until all parts are
relaxed and the client is drifting in a sea of tranquility. This is the
theory at least, but some clients require an entirely different
approach to unwind. Some clients are so analytical or nervous that they
pay attention to every word the hypnotherapist is saying in an attempt
to pick the structure of the session apart. Often these clients will
remark at the end of a session something such as, "I don't think I was
hypnotized, I heard every word you said." What these clients don't
understand is the power of the spoken word. Even if the client were
completely awake, those words spoken by the hypnotherapist would have a
positive impact on the person's life.
Think
about it. What if someone says to you, "I love you." Or "You will never
amount to anything." Well-phrased sentences are powerful. The client of
a hypnosis session will be able to relax to at least an alpha state and
the words they hear in that state will have an impact on their lives.
What we are concerned with here though is the perception the client has
of the experience. The deeper into hypnosis they go, the more they will
feel they have received their money's worth. It is fine to explain to a
client that no matter how deeply they go, they will receive the same
benefit, but clients expect to be "knocked out."
With
this in mind, the following information is designed to help you either
work with clients who do not respond well to a simple relaxation
induction or, if you are a client, to help you understand other ways in
which you can be more deeply hypnotized.
One
of the most well-known hypnotic inductions, aside from the relaxation
induction, is the confusion induction. This is done in an attempt to
confuse the conscious mind of highly analytical clients. They are led
on a wild goose chase through a meaningless and confusing word maze.
Along the path, relaxing words are sprinkled here and there. As the
client attempts to pick apart the meaning of the words spoken, he/she
is at the same time being influenced to relax through the occasional
use of such words as "relax, deeper, down, etc."
Another
alternative to the relaxation induction is a technique causing eye
fatigue. In this technique, the client can be asked to perform any
number of tiring exercises such as the following… "Look up at a point
just above your head. As you count in your mind backwards from 50 to
one, you will have your eyes open
on the even numbers and closed on the odd numbers." By the time the
client gets to one, he/her eyes are tired and, consequently, the client
is tired.
If you or someone you
know can benefit from these more advanced hypnotic techniques, you may
wish to order a custom tape, CD or MP3. You can request either
induction with your purchase.
Have a wonderful July and I'll talk to you next month!
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