Dressing the Part

(This blog was originally posted on December 28, 2014)

Photo by Rick Hustead

Whenever I have to get something done, I dress the part. When I was working as a magazine editor, I wore a suit to work just about every day. I don’t know why I started doing that. Perhaps it was because, having just returned from England after living abroad for seven years, I was used to seeing professional people looking like they had somewhere important to go. Monday through Friday, on the London Underground, at bus stations and walking around the city, everyone looked so chic. (Of course, people dressed the part in Los Angeles, too; but since most people drove cars out here it was hard to know how they really looked from outside the vehicle.) But I also discovered that it was easier for me to get and maintain that mind-set for my work throughout the day. 

My days as a magazine editor are long over, but I continue to dress for whatever part or role I am playing on a given day. If am going to give a presentation about hypnotherapy or work with my hypnotherapy clients, I wear business attire. If I am going out to the barn to ride my horse or just hang out with him and do chores around the barn, I put on my “horse clothes”: i.e., britches, shirt or sweater, half-chaps, Mountain Horse Jod boots. Right before I get on Galahad, I am also wearing gloves and my Troxel riding helmet. If I am competing in a horse show, I wear specific riding gear for that: white britches, white blouse and stock tie, black dressage coat and my tall dressage boots—plus white leather gloves, hair-net and stock pin. If I am going out for the evening, I wear appropriate attire for whatever the activity or event I am attending. 

Finally, dressing the part helps to increase my self-confidence in my ability to do whatever task is at hand. When I was dressed like an editor—or what I thought an editor should wear—I also looked and acted like an editor. As a hypnotherapist, it is important to me that I can convey a sense of confidence, experience, calm and support to my clients. Sometimes, I also wear a name badge to reinforce this image when I work with someone for the first time. When I’m at the barn, I feel more confident and secure about my activities knowing that I am wearing protective gear that is specifically designed to prevent serious injury if I fall off a horse or get kicked or stepped on.

Guess what? I even put on something that tells me (and my subconscious mind) it’s time to relax and unwind from the stresses of the day when I am just planning to hang out at home reading or watching television. I know that my SCM should “know” how to relax as instinctively as it knows how to do most of the activities I mentioned above. However, sometimes I even have to remind myself that it’s okay to just do one thing (or nothing) at a time. In a way, the clothing functions like the critical area of my subconscious mind, as Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., described in his Theory of Mind. This is the area of the mind that rejects any unknown or unfamiliar (painful) information for the SCM. So, to put this model into effect, when I am at work seeing a client, my official attire reminds my mind rejects distracting message units about the time I will spend with Galahad later in the day. And when I am with my horse, my riding garments remind me to focus on him.

Especially the boots: they have a reinforced steel toe to protect my feet in case I start thinking about something other than my boy, who likes to remind me where my attention should be focused should it drift away from him.

                                                                                                                 

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/.

© 2018

Crisis Intervention

Photo by Rick Hustead

In yesterday’s blog, I described the Cycle of Violence and some of the behaviors that characterize this phenomenon. As a certified hypnotherapist, I focus my practice on individuals who are striving to achieve vocational and avocational self-improvement goals (i.e., weight loss, smoking cessation, increase self-confidence, improve sports performance, etc.). Every so often a client comes in who has just experienced a traumatic event in his or her life or has even become a victim of violence. Today, I will explain how I work with a client who is caught in this or another kind of crisis.

First, a disclaimer: I do not see a new, first-time client who is in a crisis state because the person’s therapeutic issue may be out of my scope of professional expertise. If someone contacts me for hypnotherapy to deal with a previous or is already in a trauma state, he or she probably needs to work with a licensed medical or mental-health professional from the get-go. However, when I already have a relationship with the client as the person’s trusted hypnotherapist, it is logical that I see the individual right away to assess the situation. I am prepared to and will refer the individual for additional support described above, if necessary. In the meantime, I am certified to use hypnosis to help a person work through a crisis and handle an emergency.

First, “crisis” is described as a life-event in which a person’s normal ability to cope with what has happened is diminished or completely absent. When an individual is in crisis, the person enters a state of overload (natural hypnosis). My first task is to de-hypnotize the client so the person can start using his or her good judgment and return to a state of emotional homeostasis to deal with the conflict. I do this by using:

·         Reflective listening: This client needs to be heard, so I let the person tell the story about what happened/caused so much distress. In addition to showing that someone is listening, talking about the incident helps to calm the person down.

·         Ask constructive questions: I want the client to activate the constructive-thinking areas of the mind, so I encourage the person to tell me, “What do you think you need to do next?” During a crisis, people tend to feel immobilized or stuck because every area of their life seems to be bunched together. When the person is encouraged to focus on each component of the problem by chunking it down this way, it becomes easier to tackle one issue at a time. This strategy for also helps to increase the person’s self-confidence and self-esteem by knowing that he or she does possess the good-judgment and skills to resolve a problem, alone.

·         Imagery and Visualization: Another effective problem-solving technique is to have the client imagine/visualize strategies that someone else could use or do in that situation: “What would you tell me to do if I were you?” Once again, the goal is to restore the client’s good judgment and good-reasoning skills. To do so, I encourage the person to fantasize or do hypno-drama to engage a light-trance state and imagine a different outcome of this crisis. I (the hypnotherapist) do not offer any advice; it is up to the client to consider, discover and make independent decisions about how to change the situation.

·         Subconscious Resources: If a client is in crisis, I have the person focus on a different, occasion in which the individual successfully used strategies/abilities/attitudes to successfully get through that difficulty. When the client is in hypnosis, I use this list of these skills/positive attributes to create repertoire of coping skills the individual can successfully use to deal with the current crisis.

·         Options. The most important thing is for this client to realize, know and understand that he or she has options for how to get out of the crisis or traumatic situation. Perhaps that means seeking protection at a refuge/crisis center, becoming more assertive, leaving an abusive relationship, etc. Whatever decision the person chooses is the right one, and he or she has what it takes to change the negative situation to a positive one.

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

A Greater Sense of Control

(This blog was originally posted on June 26, 2014)

                Many people seek hypnotherapy to help them change an unwanted behavior: quit smoking, lose weight, increase self-confidence, be able to relax, etc. Whatever their ultimate goal happens to be, the person will have to control, change or override a familiar behavior (known) to achieve it. When they make that initial phone call to set up a first hypnotherapy appointment they may have some or no previous experience being hypnotized, but many people have an idea about what it may entail.

                During that initial conversation or our first meeting the person will express a conscious, enthusiastic desire to make a positive change in his or her life. The idea of having my (or another hypnotherapist’s) undivided attention for about an hour, including the 15 to 20 minutes they will spend in hypnosis to work on changing their undesired behaviors, appeals to a lot of clients. They know that this appointment is their time to be listened to in a confidential, supportive, nonjudgmental environment. They understand that hypnosis and therapeutic guided-imagery are effective tools that hypnotherapists use to help replace the unwanted behaviors that no longer work for them. But one nagging doubt still lingers in the back of their mind: Will you be able to control my mind?

                This is one of the most common concerns people have about hypnosis. My answer is, no. Hypnosis is an ancient, natural and drug-free state that can be used as an effective therapeutic tool. I explain to each of my clients at our first appointment that hypnosis cannot make a person say anything or behave in a way that he or she wouldn’t ordinarily act when in a fully alert and aware state. I incorporate the language of the person’s subconscious mind (suggestibility) with the person’s words and expressions in the hypnotic script that will help motivate, encourage and support the desired behavioral change. The client is hypnotizing him- or herself; as the hypnotherapist, I guide and facilitate this process.

                Hypnosis is one of the most relaxing states that you can experience. In fact, everyone is in a light state of trance (hypnosis) twice each day: for 30 minutes after waking up in the morning and 30 minutes before drifting to sleep. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a state of unconsciousness or even sleep. Every sense is heightened during hypnosis. Yes, you will be more receptive to suggestions and other sensory influences while you are in this state. You may even suddenly notice a slight itching sensation on your neck when I bring your attention to the label sewn into the collar of your shirt.

However, during hypnotherapy the only person who can and will control your mind is you, and that is how and why the avocational and vocational self-improvement changes you want to make in your life will be achieved. It provides an opportunity to gain even more control over an aspect of your life that you may not have previously been able to change. If you would like to get rid of an unwanted habit or behavior why not give hypnotherapy a try? You will find that you have even more control over—not risk of losing control of—your mind, behavior and beliefs than you ever imagined!

SPECIAL OFFER!

I am currently offering a 15 percent discount on all hypnotherapy for weight-loss/weight-management* sessions. This offer is good through June 15, 2015 and is not exchangeable for cash. For more information and to set up an appointment, please contact Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. at (661) 433-9430 or send an e-mail to calminsensehypnosis@yahoo.com.

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

© 2015