Module 1 - Introduction to hypnosis and therapeutic uses

What even is hypnosis?

Interestingly, if you were to ask several different hypnotists and hypnotherapists what hypnosis is, you would receive a range of different answers. Some would mention relaxation. Some would mention focus. Some would use the phrase “relaxed focus”. Neuroscientists will tell you about certain changes that take place to where the blood flows in the brain when in hypnosis.

So, as we are seeing, it is difficult to get a consensus as to what hypnosis really is. This is how I have come to understand it:

Hypnosis is a way of using our mind differently, to help us create different results.

You see, hypnosis is experienced differently by each person, and can even vary from session to session. Allow yourself to be open to the individuality of the experience either as the hypnotist or the client.

Today we are going to look at the basics of a hypnotic induction, the basics of constructing suggestions and release from hypnosis. We will also look at some of the history of hypnosis.

History of Hypnosis and Trance

Hypnosis and the trance state are nothing new. Both have been around as long as humans have. In many tribal cultures throughout the millennia trance has been induced through certain types of music and dance. Shamans have used it for healing and for warding off evil spirits. We’ll probably stick to healing.

Hypnosis is generally shunned by religious groups as it is considered by most of them to be a form of witchcraft. To call this thinking outdated is about as big an understatement as we can make!

Hypnosis has also been commonly shunned in the past by scientific and medical communities, thanks largely to the work of Franz Anton Mesmer. The man who gave us the term mesmerise! In the early 1800’s Mesmer worked in Paris where he would cure people of their ills by inducing a trance state. Mesmer just had a strange explanation for this state and how it helped people. He referred to it as animal magnetism. He said we all have fluids coursing through us and inanimate objects can interact with animate creatures to affect these fluids and change our state. This, of course, was nonsense and when it was scientifically investigated, Mesmer was discredited and so was the trance state he was creating.

A little later in the 1800’s a surgeon by the name of James Braid began using a deep trance state to perform his operations on patients in the UK without the need for copious amounts of alcohol. The result was a lot less patients dying of shock. Braids methods began to get popular among his fellow surgeons, but then anaesthetic was invented/discovered 10 years later and Braids methods all but disappeared.

Hypnosis is still not widely accepted in the medical profession due to guidelines stating it is an alternative therapy, rather than it’s more accurate description as a highly effective form of psychotherapy!

Types of Hypnosis

For the purpose of this Diploma programme, we are defining that there are four distinct types of hypnosis, which will be defined for you as you learn them throughout.

• Suggestion based/Solutions focused/Clinical hypnosis
• Analytical Hypnosis
• Content free hypnosis
• Limitless hypnosis

The first type we focus on will be suggestion-based hypnosis as this is the easiest and quickest to learn.

Stages of a Hypnosis Session

Hypnosis Sessions have three or four distinct phases. They are:

• Induction
• Deepener (optional)
• Processing
• Release

Let’s break those phases down and see what each one does.

Induction

This is where we guide the client into hypnosis and help them to feel safe, relaxed, and ready to open their minds. Of course, hypnosis does not require relaxation to work, but in the early stages of learning it certainly helps.

Early hypnotic inductions we learn include progressive muscle relaxations and pacing inductions. You’ll learn more about these terms soon.

Deepener

This is where we deepen that state of hypnosis/trance so the client can completely let go of the outside world and focus fully internally.

Processing

This is where we really go to work. This is where we would give the post-hypnotic suggestions, do the analysis or content-free work, or apply the Limitless Formula.

Release

This is where we bring the client back to the land of the living. The simplest and usually most effective, hypnotic releases involve some form of counting the client out of hypnosis.

Watch The Demo

Watch as the tutor demonstrate a very simple hypnotic induction, deepener, basic suggestion for feeling good, hypnotic release. This is a chance for all participants to experience hypnosis. Tutor to talk through each section first.

Practice Time

Work with your practice partner or volunteer to practice the basic induction, suggestion, release.

Therapeutic Uses of Hypnosis

The uses of hypnosis as a therapeutic or self-development tool are many and very varied. Some of them are listed below. We will explore more as we work through the programme.

Helping with:

Anxiety, depression, phobias, addictions, smoking cessation, healthier lifestyle, stress, habit disorders, trauma, PTSD, nausea, tinnitus, IBS and other gastro-intestinal disorders, OCD, and many more

Hypnosis can also be used for personal development, coaching, and learning new skills. You are going to learn to do all these things.

See Appendix A - Basic hypnotic induction and deepener scripts

Also see Appendix B - Hypnotic release scripts

Homework - Write your own simple Progressive Muscle Relaxation hypnotic induction script and practice saying it out loud. Practice with a friend if available to do so and even consider recording an audio of this and trying it out on yourself.