I have just concluded my practical session for the Certificate in Clinical Hypnosis examination and this essay is written as a reflection of my session with my chosen subject. I was asked to use the eye fixation & eye roll authoritarian technique induction. I had a fairly successful session. There are six stages to hypnosis the introduction, the induction, the manipulation of distraction, the deepener with post hypnotic suggestions, awakening and lastly the homework.
As the operator, I have to check with the subject on their health status and likes and dislikes to make sure if this induction is suitable for her. However since I was asked to use the eye fixation & eye roll, my subject did not have eyes problems or wearing contact lens.
A“ pre-hypnosis interview” with the subject serves as the “introduction”. This is to get a subject's mind more highly focused and to simulate going to sleep. This can be a very effective technique. Establishing rapport with the subject is of vital importance. Without good rap- port the subject may not allow herself to fully experience the hypnotic trance. Modern hypnotherapy is a collaborative venture, involving co-operation from both the patient and the therapist.
I continued with the session by giving an introduction on hypnosis, explaining that hypnotherapy aims to re-programme behavioural patterns within the mind to enable phobias, negative thoughts and attitudes, fears, suppressed emotions and bad habits to be overcome. I also explained that hypnosis is used to create unconscious change in a patient when they are in an enhanced state of awareness, where the therapist suggests ideas and concepts to achieve the desired results.
I also explained about the unconscious mind, saying that it stores everything you have ever experienced and controls all automatic functions like breathing and blood flow as well as habits and beliefs. I explained to the subject that is the reason why we need to hypnotise a person and bring them to a relaxed state and pass on messages to the subconscious mind to allow changes to happen.
After our small discussion, I noticed that my subject was comfortable and relaxed, I proceeded to the second stage, and that is to perform the induction. I asked the subject to relax, to place both feet firmly on the floor, and place both hands on his thighs. I then proceeded to tell her to raise her eyes upward and fix her attention on a spot on the ceiling and keep her attention focused on that spot.
The fixation suggestion is followed by a suggestion that the muscles in their eyelids are growing tired and their eyelids are feeling heavier and heavier with each passing moment. Another follow up suggestion is given that her eyelids are so heavy now that all she want to do is let her eyelids close. These suggestions simulate going to sleep. By rolling her eyes upward and then closing her eyelids, a signal is sent to the subconscious mind that it's time to go to sleep. This induction allow the subject experienced physical fatigue and reinforce the experience of compliance.
Manipulation of distraction its important. I suggested to my subject all the unnecessary surrounding sound are unimportant, in a contradictory way it even help her even more relaxed. Making reference to the disturbance allowed the unconscious mind to dismiss it as inconsequential.
I used countdown 10 to 1 as deepener. This suggestion can deepened the depth of hypnotic relaxation. Depth of trance naturally fluctuate so the delivery have to be flexible and its important to observed the subject. At this stage I observed my subject achieved a medium- depth trance as I saw her head sinks towards her chest, body sinks into the chair, her facial flattened and more relax. There are a number of different views about the importance of depth of trance. Current research suggests that suggestion and rapport are more important than depth of trance.
Eye fixation & eye roll induction and countdown 10 to 1 are authoritarian technique. The authoritarian approach involves the operator giving direct suggestions and commands to the subject.Using an authoritarian technique, the hypnotic induction and suggestions were worded in such a manner as to declare that physical events are actually occurring. With authoritarian suggestion as a operator I essentially telling my subject what to do. My subject responded well to my direct suggestion.
I understand as a hypnotherapist I must make use of both direct and indirect suggestion. They are both powerful tools. Some people respond more to the direct approach, while others respond more effectively when it the suggestion is less obvious. Of course, there are some people who respond better when a mixture of both are used. The important thing to remember is that whatever type of suggestion is used, it must be devoid of ambiguity and to be acted upon it must first be accepted, consciously and subconsciously.
Suggestions delivered during hypnosis are important too. Hypnosis is a natural state of mind that is often regarded as strange and mysterious, to the uninitiated. Develop effective management skills to subject safely its important.
The truth is that hypnosis is capable of producing some truly fascinating phenomena include: catalepsy, time distortion, dissociation, amnesia, hallucinations, post hypnotic suggestion, analgesia and false memory syndrome. I have to be very careful with what I said to my subject, especially, but not exclusively, while they are in a state of hypnosis, it is just about impossible to create a lasting memory of something which did not happen.
Termination is slow, gradual return to consciousness. I removed suggestions such as heaviness, numbness of the limbs and eyes to make sure all normal sensation return to her body. The choice of numbers and whether to count up or down is purely arbitrary. What is important is that the patient is instructed. The best known is counting 1 to 10 followed by the authoritative command "Wake up." The subject opens her eyes and adjusts to the relaxed.
I introduced the subject soft belly breathing immediately after she have been brought out. Its another tool to not only maintain the good feelings and my subject able to enjoy state of mind relaxation in the future.
As a operator I know my voice is a very important tool in hypnosis. Im using it in my own style rather than copying someone else‘s. The voice I use must be comfortable for me and my subject.
I used authoritative pitch and volume to make my voice more interesting
and engaging especially when I’m giving suggestions. But I pitch down my voice slowly during deepener. Speed and emphasis can also be used to complement suggestions. During awakening, count subject out of trance, I spoke in a way more rapidly than when guiding subject into trance. I also emphasise key words, such as “deeper” “drowsier” and “heavier”. I repeated suggestions several times, to make it more effective.
After the practical assessment, I concluded for a subject experiences hypnosis is primarily determined by her pre-existing trait-like capacity to experience the perceptual, behavioral and experiential shifts we associate with hypnosis- in short, hypnotizability.
A highly hypnotizable subject will become hypnotized under a host of therapist conditions and therapeutic setting. In fact, formal induction is often not necessary. For all patients then, the extent to which patients become hypnotized has more to do with what ability they bring to the session, than with what the therapist does or says.
Learning to hypnotize someone is fairly easy. It is an elementary skill that can involve little more than reading a standardised script to someone else. However, learning to do hypnosis therapeutically is another matter entirely. The therapist must marshal all of his/her clinical abilities: empathy, disciplined compassion, conceptual rigor, theoretical sophistication and technical savvy, to use hypnosis maximally in-service of the therapeutic goal- whether it be symptom removal or insight.
One does not really become a better clinical hypnotist by learning new things to say during hypnosis. One becomes a better clinical hypnotist by sharpening and refining ones clinical skills in general, and applying those general clinical skills to the environment of hypnosis. Nevertheless, there are certain parameters and techniques specific to hypnosis and suggestion that constitute a helpful body of knowledge for therapist wishing to employ hypnosis. Always practice with a “pre-hypnosis interview “and then move to the six stages of hypnotic procedure.
Although hypnosis is totally safe as long as the operator is
competent and trustworthy. Another use of hypnosis is in therapy. This is called hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy, as defined by Hunter is "the use of hypnosis for
self-improvement and/or the release of problems. All hypnotherapy employs
hypnosis, but not all hypnosis is hypnotherapy".
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