Animal Hypnosis, Part 2

(This blog was originally posted on March 17, 2014)

Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

People seek out my hypnotherapy services because the logic/will-power/decision-making and reasoning faculties of their conscious mind want to change a behavior that no longer works for them. They are willing participants who become active partners in the therapy process. In addition to hypnosis and guided imagery, I teach my clients behavior-modification techniques that they can use to gently replace the unwanted or “problem” habit with a behavior that is more conducive to their desired lifestyle. But dogs, cats, horses and the multitude of other domestic animals people share their lives with do not make the decision to change a behavior. Their owners do.

So, when people ask me to hypnotize their dog so it won’t bark so much or to persuade the cat to stay off of the dining table, I must politely defer to a professional animal trainer’s expertise to resolve those behavior issues. However, as a certified hypnotherapist, I have many tools and techniques that can help the human partner change specific responses to the pet that can reinforce any new behaviors that the companion animal is learning. The first thing I want to know is what the client think is going on with the animal. What might make it easier for the pet, or help the pet, to change its unwanted behavior? Imagery is a great place to start this exercise.

When Lydia Hiby teaches animal-communication clinics, she encourages and supports each of her students to develop our intuitive skills so we can also do what she does. This skill is also very important for a client who wants to improve his or her communication and relationship with a companion animal by correcting an annoying habit. When the client is in hypnosis, I guide the client through a visualization exercise in which he or she is listening and paying attention to every detail in their pet’s environment. What does the animal see? Hear? Smell? Touch? Perceive? How do these stimuli affect it, in terms of why and how often it repeats the undesired behavior? There is no right or wrong answer in this exercise; the important thing is for the client to give him or herself permission to experience the world from your pet’s point of view.

Next, I would guide the client in another visualization journey in which the person gets to practice using the behavior-modification techniques that the trainer recommended to correct the unwanted behavior. How is the pet responding to the training cues? The imagery includes noticing physical details about the animal—how it looks, smells, feels, how energetically it responds to the person’s commands—and how the client feels and responds to the pet’s efforts to do the right thing. The individual gets to practice each of the techniques with confidence, control and patience with the animal and him- or herself. Since the person will already be relaxed, comfortable and calm during these hypnosis and visualization exercises, he or she will also be replacing the previous negative response (frustration) to the behavior with this new emotional reaction (calm). At the end of the hypnotherapy session, I will teach the person how to anchor these sensations of calm and relaxation with the confidence and skills he or she has acquired in order to apply the training techniques and easily achieve the desired change of behavior.

                

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

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