The Right Kind Of Hypnosis

As we now know, hypnosis is a universal human trait. Although it would be wrong to think of it as a panacea - nothing is, unfortunately - in the right circumstances, it can achieve extraordinary results. So what are those circumstances, and can we do anything to bring them about on a more consistent basis?

First of all, it's important to remember the everyday nature of hypnosis . You'll have experienced something very much like it if you've ever driven somewhere and arrived with no conscious memory of the journey, or become so absorbed in a TV show that you haven't noticed somebody talking to you in the same room, or found yourself daydreaming about something that happened twenty years ago. What all those experiences have in common is that they're a focused state of attention, either internal or external, and that, in the end, is what hypnosis actually is - the creation of a focused state of inward attention.

Hypnosis may be an inescapable part of being human, but that doesn't mean it's inevitable. Traditional hypnotic inductions tended to follow a very set pattern, and often used very direct commands. Whilst this works well for some people, it works less well or not at all for the majority. Everybody is different, after all, and a rigid approach to hypnosis fails to take account of those individual differences. People just aren't built to accommodate one-size-fits-all remedies - and we tend to resist if somebody tries to shoehorn us into one, at least unconsciously.

If the direct approach has only limited success, it follows that an indirect approach is required. This is the pattern of most modern hypnosis, which takes it's cue from Milton Erickson and his successors. Indirect hypnosis uses subtle and permissive language patterns, which means that the listener interprets the suggestions in a personal way. This makes them much more meaningful, and therefore much more likely to succeed. Trust and rapport is built by really listening to the client, and taking the time to appreciate their point of view and understand their personal goals.

Hypnosis , then, works best when it is delivered in a language that the listener truly understands, deep down - and that can only happen when the listener has been truly listened to in their turn.