The Intelligent Hypnotist

The fear of flying is a common issue that hypnotists see with clients.  Here are some easy steps for helping clients break fear.  

1 Understanding the Real Problem 

Clients do not have a fear of flying.  They have a fear of crashing, confined space, or of not being in control.  When you know where your client sits in these categories it becomes much easier to help them change.  

2 Normailzing the Fear of Crashing 

It is natural to be afraid of crashing.  In fact I'd be more concerned if I had a client who wasn't afraid of this.  I typically tell my clients this to introduce some laughter, let them know there is nothing wrong with them, and begin the process of reframing. 

3 Strategies 

Fear of flying clients have some very predictable strategies (in NLP terms) for doing the fear.  I elicit the strategy to help bring to conscious awareness that the client is creating and perpetuating the issue.  Once it's in...

Polarity responders at first can come across as negative or "resistant" clients.  They can easily frustrate hypnotists who just want to help but it's as if the hypnotist is hitting a brick wall.  You can easily avoid this frustration by understanding that it's not the client being negative or resistant (in most cases and assuming you screen your clients first) and it's nothing personal toward you.  The polarity response is wired into to how these clients think.  It's often tied to curiosity, problem solving, and creative thinking.  Embrace the polarity response and use it!  

2 Key Ways to Utilize Polarity Responses In Your Hypnosis Sessions 

1) The Knot Induction 

You can use their response as the path way into hypnosis as described in the video.  When you have them negate your statements as described above you are indirectly inviting the client to give herself simple  embedded suggestions.  The key is to emphasize the...

For any hypnosis session to be effective there must be someone taking the lead and that person better be the hypnotist. It's our job to have the 3rd person perspective in order to help clients make lasting change.  Think of it this way, if the client is leading the session then they are doing what they normally do in regards to the problem and they will predictably get the same result.  

Every once in a while a client will come in wanting to take charge of the session.  This may be another hypnotist, someone who is used to being the boss, or someone who is a career therapy goer and just wants to talk the whole time.  

In this video I discuss how to artfully navigate sessions with these types of clients so that they get their desired outcomes. 

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Resistance is a term that is thrown around a lot in the hypnosis world.  New hypnotists worry about what if a "resistant" client  walks into the office.  Seasoned hypnotists speak about different techniques to "get" them into trance.  Unfortunately the term "resistant" doesn't give you a full picture of what's going on with the client and holding a frame of "resistance" can set hypnotists up for failure.  

In this video Jess explores key concepts that will help you have even more success with "resistant" clients.  

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I came across an interesting discussion on Facebook the other day.  Dozens of hypnotists were discussing how to work with analytical clients.  Many practitioners believe these clients to be some of the difficult.  

As the discussion progressed some great ideas were put forward and some common themes emerged.  

This got me thinking about the different types of clients our students ask us about the most often.  From there I was inspired to jump in front of the camera and share how I work with these clients.  

First up are analytical clients.  If you have ever been worried about helping someone who is highly analytical go into trance then this video is for you!  

Nested loops are a powerful story telling strategy that will transform presentations and for the natural born story tellers out there, client sessions.  In the video above Jess demonstrates a nested loop within a live training.  This story telling technique is important tool for presentations because it gently bypasses the critical faculties of audience members by not putting any pressure on groups members to respond in any specific way.  Most people do not consciously recognize absorption as hypnosis so you are able to take this skill into group settings where formal hypnosis may not be appropriate.  

Why nested loops as opposed to single stories?  

Firstly, they allow you do a number of things at once.  We will explore this more in the next section.  

Secondly, they give you tremendous freedom and scope to hypnotically and covertly address the needs of specific group members and reinforce multiple themes at one go.  

What...

Understanding Context

In this lengthy video Perls works with a number of volunteers in short segments designed to teach the frames and skills of Gestalt therapy.  Some of the pieces of change work are rapid, as we will see in the first segment while others are lengthier.  Although he works with the same students a number of times each piece stands on its own.  The full video is filled with therapeutic treasures, and I may focus on other demonstrations from the video in future posts.  However, for our purposes I will be focusing on the first segment, which lasts from :05 to 3:00. 

The next consideration in terms of context is, similar to the Satir post, this piece was within a mixed dynamic of both training and encounter group.  Unlike most academic training, which focuses primarily on cognitive understanding and retention, this style of training invites students to embody the information in ways that create transformation.  In our hypnosis and NLP...

In this installment of the Masters Series we are going to take a slightly different approach, by comparing two Masters of Hypnosis, with very different styles, working with a similar issue: stuttering.

The first and main video we will look at is by Tony Robbins. This contains a number of patterns for you to watch and enjoy, as well as the trademark Tony Robbins fun and flair. We’ll follow this up by comparing it with an older, demonstration of classical hypnosis from the great Gil Boyne. As you will see if you look at the clips, both are extracts from larger sessions, but there is sufficient material to get a good feel for the approach of each of these Masters.

What makes Tony Robbins and Gil Boyne so different?

Before we dive into the videos themselves, it’s important to place Gil Boyne and Tony Robbins within their respective hypnotic spheres; what exactly makes them different?

When we say hypnotic sphere, we are referring to the basic four approaches to hypnosis...

The Masters Series: Virgina Satir 

Over the next few months we will be exploring some of the works of hypnosis and change work masters.  We will present a piece of footage and then offer some analysis and thoughts on the process.  In this first installment we will be exploring a part of a demonstration from renowned family therapist, Virginia Satir.

Opening and Introduction

The following short extract represents the start of a piece of change work from a class held by Virginia Satir. In this extract you will see Virginia take a problem, identify the parts of the problem, turn those parts into physical sensations and do a collapse.

Below you will find some comments on the work as it unfolds.

The piece begins with a student question (we will refer to the student as ‘client’ as this is the role she takes in the role-play). The question is excellent, how do you help a client to change when their sense of safety tells them it’s better...