Everybody can
be hypnotized. It is actually very easy to achieve this state. Have you have
ever driven past your freeway exit because you were thinking about something
else? Have you ever been so involved in a video-game you were playing that you
lost track of time? If so, you were in a natural state of hypnosis.
However, it can
sometimes be more challenging to enter they hypnotic state in a clinical
setting, during hypnotherapy. If this is the first time the person is being
hypnotized this way, it is common for the client to (subconsciously) resist the
process. That is why it is imperative for me (or any hypnotherapist) to
establish a strong rapport and trust with the client to facilitate the first and
subsequent hypnotic induction.
As I have
described in my previous blog titled Creating
Your Hypnotic Script, I consider the client’s suggestibility
when I talk to the person’s subconscious mind in hypnosis. For some people, a
suggestion that is given as a direct or literal statement is more effective,
such as, “Your eyes are closed and you are entering the state of hypnosis.” Others
respond better to a metaphor or inference, like, “Your eyelids are feeling very
heavy and you are becoming more completely relaxed.” Sometimes (high-emotional
suggestible) clients must do the induction, themselves, to go into hypnosis for
the first time.
When that
happens, I employ the Auto-Dual Induction technique when a client is very resistant
to hypnosis for fear of losing control. Created by Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., this technique
essentially has the person do the hypnotic induction by repeating after me a
very specific script that describes the physiological process of hypnosis. Since
I will direct the pace and rhythm of this patter, the person is quickly
overloaded with stimuli—listening to the words and repeating them—to be able to over-analyze these changes as they
occur. This overload prepares the person to feel physically and psychologically
more prepared to drift more comfortably into the hypnotic state. Once the
client’s eyes are closed, I complete the induction by touching the individual’s
forehead and saying, “deep sleep” to deepen the hypnotic state further. I also
give the post-hypnotic suggestion to re-hypnosis to facilitate future
hypnotherapy sessions in which I provide the hypnotic induction.
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/.
© 2016
