“On
The Count Of Six You Will Open Your Eyes…”
A
6 Part E-Course revealing the truth about Hypnosis
By
Jonathan
Clark
Master
Hypnotherapist
Founder
& Developer of HGE™
PART 3
Now before we go any further, you should ask yourself “Is Hypnosis the
right tool for the job here?” Carefully read the following guidelines:
CONTRAINDICATIONS- when
not to use Hypnosis
WHEN CLIENT
IS DANGEROUS TO SELF OR OTHERS:
If the
presenting problem or the personal history that you gather from the client
indicates to you that the client is dangerous to self or others, then the
client is beyond the scope of treatment by an unlicensed Hypnotherapist.
Someone of this kind is best referred to a practitioner who is trained to
handle clinical issues.
WHEN CLIENT
IS DEALING WITH HIGHLY REPRESSED OR TRAUMATIC MATERIAL
Under
certain circumstances, highly traumatic or highly repressed material could
indicate that Hypnosis alone would not be appropriate to use. If you are not
trained in interventions that deal in this area, it would be best to refer the
client to a practitioner who is trained to handle these issues. (Time Line
Therapy® or similar emotional clearing techniques may be used first to clear
the negative response, making subsequent hypnosis much more comfortable.)
WHEN CLIENT
IS DEALING WITH A LIFE-THREATENING DISEASE:
A client
who seeks treatment by Hypnosis for a physiological and/or a life-threatening
disease should be advised that such treatment is "controversial" and
should be encouraged to get a diagnosis or referral from a Medical Doctor
before proceeding. NOTE: It is not illegal to use hypnosis for, say, helping to
alleviate an ulcer or its symptoms. It is, however, illegal to claim to use
Hypnosis to cure any physical condition.
WHEN A
CLIENT IS DEALING WITH CERTAIN PSYCHIATRIC OR NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS:
If a client
is dealing with certain disorders which are Psychiatric in nature, such as
Multiple Personality, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Hysteria, and others, as
well as Epileptic Seizures, it would be appropriate to seek a referral from an
MD or Psychiatrist before proceeding.
MEMBERS OF
THE OPPOSITE SEX:
Members of
the opposite sex should only be in trance when there is a reliable witness
present. This protects everyone
concerned. At least have a receptionist
nearby, someone else in the building, but preferably someone else present. I was once asked to help a young female
client, with her inability to orgasm whilst making love with her husband. I insisted
on having her friend and colleague present in the room while I worked with her,
as I’m sure you can understand.
Now assuming that Hypnosis is appropriate, it’s important
that you have a chat with your client.
THE PRE-TALK
Before you ever do hypnosis with
another person, it’s usually a good idea to have this conversation first.
Much is done before the induction
begins. In fact, it is safe to say that this may be the most important time to
create success by speaking to the client's fears, and misconceptions and
discussing what to expect.
1. Don't expect to feel
Hypnotised.
Many
people come to the Hypnotherapist thinking that there is something about trance
which is markedly different from their "normal" state of
consciousness. This is definitely not true. A Light Trance will likely feel no
different from relaxation, or sunbathing and you’re off, your mind wandering.
Since trance is a normal natural state, then clients will likely feel a
feeling of familiarity, no matter how deep in trance they go. You can say,
"Don't expect to feel hypnotised. Trance is not about feeling "zonked
out;' it is a normal natural state.
2.
Do expect to feel relaxed.
Hypnosis is a natural state where you feel increasing levels
of relaxation. You may feel your arms
and legs heavy, and that’s just because the blood flow is increasing to your
limbs, so they feel heavier.
3.
You ARE in control.
"You’ve seen stage hypnosis shows haven’t you? It looks like the subjects’ mind is being
controlled, doesn’t it? But they
volunteered didn’t they? When they
volunteered weren’t they hoping that they were going to have fun? The truth is during
the trance induction, you need to know that you are in charge. For example, if
I told you to stand up, and it was OK, you would, right? But if I told you to
rob a bank you wouldn't do that. Well it's the same in Hypnosis. You are in
charge. You only accept the suggestions that are given that are consistent with
your own internal values and beliefs.”
4.
Trance is about learning how to go into trance.
"So the process we are about to learn is just that, a
learning process. Each step of the way there are several tests, and we will see
how many tests you succeed at. The more successful you are the deeper you can
go
[Used with permission © Tad James & Advanced
Neuro Dynamics]
“Let me tell you about
Hypnosis. Let me demonstrate what it
feels like. Close your eyes” Count from one to five and say “That’s it!”
Now close your eyes again
Place your hands in your lap
Put your feet together
Do get up, and do a cartwheel for
me
At this point the client will open
their eyes and ask “Are you daft?”. You
see, your Conscious Mind always steps in.
I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do
Only you can make yourself do
something you want to do.
People on stage show hypnosis are
often asked “Were you hypnotised?” and they usually say “No – I heard every
word he said”. That’s because they think
they’re supposed to be asleep, and they’re not.
When asked “So why did you behave like that?” they always say “I don’t
know”
Dave Elman was an eminent Hypnotherapist in the 1950’s and
1960’s, and he taught that much
of the work of hypnosis is done before the induction begins.
Elman's Requisites for Hypnosis
1. The Consent of the Subject—the subject must agree to be hypnotised.
2. Communication Between the
Hypnotherapist and the Client — there must be communication between
the Hypnotherapist and the Client.
3. Freedom from Fear — the Client must be free from any fear about the hypnotic process or
about what is going to take place.
4. Freedom from Reluctance on the Client's part to trust the
Hypnotherapist — the Client must trust the Hypnotherapist and
his/her intentions.
SENSORY ACUITY
How do you
know when someone is in a trance? As a
Hypnotherapist, you have to be able to notice small changes in your client.
Erickson was famous for his sensory
acuity. In the mid-seventies, the
creators of NLP observed that people make minute changes from moment to moment,
and that those changes have meaning if
you have enough Sensory Acuity.
1. Skin Colour Light to dark
2. Skin Tonus (The Tone of the
Muscles) Shiny to not shiny
3. Breathing Has 2 components
Rate
Fast - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Slow
Location
High - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Low
4. Lower Lip Size Lines or no Lines
5. Eyes
Focus
Focused - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Defocused
Pupil Dilation
Dilated - - - - - - - - - - - -
-- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - ----------Undilated
STAGES OF TRANCE
Skin tends to flush as blood flow
increases. Skin tonus tends to go from
shiny to matt because the facial muscles are relaxed. Breathing tends to slow down and go lower
down from the chest to the stomach, though sometimes it actually speeds
up. The lips tend to fatten out, and
thus the lines disappear. Pupils tend to
become fixed and glassy, staring.
"True hypnotic signs cannot be aped, imitated or
pretended. For example, you cannot pretend body warmth, it has to be there. You
cannot imitate fluttering eyelids. Try it for yourself and notice how after a
second or two the eyelids no longer flutter. In hypnosis, the fluttering
eyelids occur almost constantly as the induction proceeds. There are very few
people who can, at will, cause their eyes to tear, nor can you at will cause
the whites of your eyes to redden..." – Dave Elman
There are different stages of trance, and the further down
the list you, the further down you go.
Literally.
(from
LeCron, 1964)
- Lethargy feeling tired and heavy
- Relaxation comfortably floppy
- Eye Catalepsy staring or closed
- Arm Catalepsy rigid, stiff limb
- Catalepsy Of Isolated Muscle Groups could be standing, lying down
- Heavy Or Floating Feelings exactly that
- Rapport feel connected
- Smell And Taste Changes hallucinate new ones
- Number Block Erase a number
- Amnesia Forget things
- Analgesia No Pain
- Automatic Movement Repetitive gestures
- Hallucinations (Positive) Visual & Auditory See or hear things
- Bizarre Post-Hypnotic Suggestions Used in Stage shows
- Negative Hallucinations Make something vanish
- Comatose Gone!
- Somnambulism Sleep walking
EXERCISE
The “That’s Right” exercise, best
done in groups of 3 people, person A, B and C.
B – just sit there
A – look at B, and hold 3 beliefs
in your mind about B
“YOU ARE A GREAT HYPNOTIC SUBJECT
YOU ARE TOTALLY RESOURCEFUL
YOU CAN CHANGE EASILY & TIMELY”
Whenever A observes any of the
signs of trance in B, they say “That’s right”.
Helps to look meaningfully at them as you say it
C is to be in Peripheral vision,
observing
When C sees a hypnotic relationship
between A & B, C is to nod slowly and hypnotically
C continues to do that as long as
you see that the relationship between A & B is hypnotic
Try this, it’s very hypnotic, and
it sets up the phrase anchor of “That’s right, very good” which will
now help induce trance in any of the three participants!
Now before any good stage show,
there are a number of suggestibility tests done to select the best subjects to
go on stage and make the hypnotist look good.
You can try these yourself:
SUGGESTIBILITY
1. THE DICTIONARY/BALLOON
"Please hold both hands outstretched and close your
eyes. Now turn your right (or your left) hand over and imagine as clearly as
you can, a nice red ribbon tied to your wrist
which is palm down, and that red ribbon goes up to 400 helium balloons. And you know what helium balloons do don’t
you. That’s right, they go up.
(Stress these words like a command)
Lifting, lifting, lifting…. and the heaviest book in your house, what
would that look like? Imagine that on your
other hand. And because your arm is straight out there’s no leverage, and all
that weight is on your shoulder, and it’s getting heavier, and heavier all the time….Now open your eyes."
This is my favourite – most people have one hand down at
waist level and the other above eye level.
Very cool.
2. THE HAND CLASP
"Please take your hands and clasp them together, and
close your eyes. Now notice your fingers are becoming more and more tightly clasped together. Tighter and tighter, (etc.)
It’s almost as if they’ve been super glued together. Now try to open them. Try to pull your hands
apart. Try and find you cannot. The harder you try the harder they clasp
themselves together."
3. THE POSTURAL SWAY
"Please close your eyes and imagine that you are
standing on the deck of your very own luxury yacht. It’s a warm summer day and the ocean is like
a flat mirror, smooth and calm, and there’s only the slightest hint of a rocking of the boat as the
waves gently lap at the sides of the hull.
Now the wind picks up and the sea gets choppier, so your boat starts to rock more from side to side,
and your sea legs will try to compensate as the boat rocks more from side to side”
Be prepared to catch them stumbling over…
The more of these tests they pass, the more suggestible and
compliant they are. These also pre-train
the subject to follow your suggestions, and also prove that the mind runs the
body. Excellent if you’re going to be
working on physical health issues…
That’s enough to keep you going for a while. Look out for the next part of this E-Course
which reveals how to use Hypnotic Language Patterns in daily speech, emails,
websites (hey, you are reading this course on a website, are you not?)….
And if you want to learn Hypnosis on my LIVE 2 day seminar, you can read all about it HERE
