Having Doubts About Hypnosis

[Imaginos]

I've been to see a hypnotist to remove the negative emotions from events in my past. He used timeline therapy on me but I don't feel differently about the events.
All I feel I gained was talking over and discussing my problems in a relaxed environment, and being made to feel relaxed for a time.
I'm starting to think that maybe hypnosis is more of a placebo that works for some people, although I don't want that to be true, so I'm looking to find someone who can give me some validation.
If I experienced some phenomenon such as forgetting my name, having my hands stuck together or hallucinating then I would accept hypnosis as a genuine phenomenon. I asked my therapist to do this but he refused on the grounds that it would not be useful, although he said he could do it.
I can imagine this process working to make someone quit smoking or get over a phobia, but beyond that I'm now beginning to doubt, although I believed it was possible before I went for therapy.

[Merlin]

I can't imagine someone unwilling to provide a convincer.
Something seems wrong here.

[Don]

As we were not there, we have no idea of what happened.

All I know is that I was trained in TLT by Tad James. Only the first few minutes involve discussing the situation. The rest of the time involves specific practices which should have proved to you, right there and then, that those unwanted emotions were no longer having an effect on you in the past or present, and would not effect you in the future.

If you did not receive absolute proof that the emotions were no longer effecting you, the person you went to was not doing TLT®.

So I don't know what the person you went to did. TLT does not require the induction of a formal trance, so it is unlikely that someone working TLT would have caused you to forget your name.

Did you ask if the person was trained and certified in Time Line Therapy? What organization certified him in that process?

If you feel unsatisfied with your hypnotherapist and don't feel like what you desired was accomplished, have you considered talking to him about it?

[Poodle]

Removing negative emotions with TLT should be quite easy for anyone that has studied it.

I know it has changed some from when I first learned it as the removal of negative emotions were in the TLT Master Course. Apparently my training was a little more involved than what Don wrote but that is somewhat stale as it is 13 years old.

Are you 100% certain that the person you went to actually studied TLT? and if so, was the person they learned from authorized to teach TLT? When I learned it there were a couple of different ways to remove those negative emotions and in each way the client is ALWAYS future paced to make sure they are GONE.

TLT can be done in a very light state of trance so you may not have really noticed the difference but you should have had the results. I agree. Go back to that person and ask him/her about this and if you want to do it in deep trance, that's fine too. It will still work and you are the one that's paying the bill.

Let us know how things turn out.

Wishing the best,
Pood

[Imaginos]

I'm guessing I should know straight away if the negative emotion were gone from the events, and that hasn't been the case.
To summarise after putting me into a trance, he asked me to visualise my timeline, and imagine spinning above it, with the events on it, before asking me to focus on each of the events in turn, and let go of all negative emotion.
At no time did I really feel there was anything genuinely happening though other than me being in a kind of light trance state with him talking to me.
The guy I went to also practises stage hypnosis, and from what I gather is fairly experienced in the field. He has some qualifications although I couldn't recall them to tell you what they were right now. I don't want to give his name here, as I'm not wanting to stir up conflict, but I will by PM, if you want to discuss it that way.
I think I'd still like to try a different hypnotist and give it another try, but I need some kind of convincer like I said.

[Cambia]

Hi,
I'm very new to this (in my training in fact!), but I've been taught that an important part of the initial "interview" with a client is to establish what for them would constitute "success" in terms of an outcome.

Crudely speaking, if someone was wanting to deal with a fear of heights (many better examples available, and more appropriate to TLT use, but I'm a little preoccupied with my impending assessment...Probably why I used the word "examples"!) I would want to know what heights affected them. Is it mountains? Buildings? Ladders? Standing on a chair?

Then I would ask what effect the fear has on them, and explore the feelings etc generated by the fear when stimulated by contact with a height of some sort.

I would explore with the client how they would know that the problem no longer existed, listening to what is important to them about their very personal fear. This information helps greatly to help the client be free from their previous concerns, as the therapy will be client-orientated, not based on my assumptions.

Then, as others have said, future pacing would test whether the therapy had been effective- I would be checking for the effects that the client had told me that heights had on them, allowing for remedial work if necessary, giving the client confidence and "proof" in their own terms.

If you're looking for proof of hypnosis per se, a really effective method is the ideomotor signal: where the hypnotist/therapist tells you that one finger is the "yes" finger, and another is the "no" finger, and that they are speaking only to your unconscious mind, and that the unconscious mind can communicate through them. Watching or feeling your own hand moving (especially if consciously, you are thinking "no" and your unconscious says "yes" to a question) is really amazing, and useful!

Please do try a therapist that you are comfortable with!

[Connie]

I love a modified Elman induction and it includes eye catalepsy and amnesia, among other "convincers." Those are great for the client. Right off the bat, within the first minute or two, when they can't open their eyes, they're like "Oh, wow! This stuff works!"

[Imaginos]

I'm very new to this (in my training in fact!), but I've been taught that an important part of the initial "interview" with a client is to establish what for them would constitute "success" in terms of an outcome.

I would explore with the client how they would know that the problem no longer existed, listening to what is important to them about their very personal fear. This information helps greatly to help the client be free from their previous concerns, as the therapy will be client-orientated, not based on my assumptions.



I sort of felt that he had his own ideas on how my problems should be dealt with, and didn't really listen entirely to what I felt I needed.

[Imaginos]

I love a modified Elman induction and it includes eye catalepsy and amnesia, among other "convincers." Those are great for the client. Right off the bat, within the first minute or two, when they can't open their eyes, they're like "Oh, wow! This stuff works!"

Thats precisely what I would have liked as it would have given me much more confidence that I could be helped, which is in a way very valuable to someone who suffers from depression.
Since he refused to do something like this, and the therapy itself seems to have made no difference, then the you'll understand why I now have doubts as to the whole validity of hypnosis.

[Cambia]

Do you make all your decisions based on one experience?

There's another part of the (modified or otherwise!) Elman which involves the client counting backwards, and being told that the numbers will "disappear" at a certain number, and they DO!

There's so many convincers that help you get past the "is hypnosis real?" question and get onto what you sought help for in the first place. I was concerned that I wouldn't be hypnotisable, and the finger thing really amazed me. A colleague had similar concerns eased by the hypnotherapist putting her arms into various positions, and leaving them exactly where they were for about 5 minutes, which would have been almost impossible for her to do consciously.

Perhaps your next visit to a hypnotherapist might include an agreement to use a convincer or 2, or you don't go through with it with that person?

[Connie]

I sort of felt that he had his own ideas on how my problems should be dealt with, and didn't really listen entirely to what I felt I needed.

Hi, Imaginos! I like and dislike this sentence!! :) You want a therapist who can and does LISTEN, obviously, and your feeling that the person wasn't listening shows a failure of rapport...but it's up to his/her expertise on how to deal with your particular issue. It's their toolbox, let them pick out what will work best for you!

If they're disregarding you and your unique situation, and pull out something and it doesn't work for you, and they don't then pick up another tool and have at it again, that's a failure of the hypnotherapist, not hypnotherapy.

[Poodle]

You should have NEVER left that person's place of business without KNOWING FOR SURE THEY WERE GONE. There is also the "Drop-Down through Technique" for Negative Emotions that are not cleared by the "quick" TLT methodology.

You say you want to dictate what you receive. When you go to the Doctor do you also demand of the Doctor the exact medication that will make you well in the correct amounts or do you let the Doctor decide which is best for you and for the reason you are at that office. Somewhat like Doctors, we have many tools in our toolbox and we choose the one that we know is correct for you - whether it be straight hypnosis, NLP, TLT, etc., etc.

Were you seated in a chair or did you walk around on the floor with the "hypnotist" guiding your body.

[Poodle]

A small word of advice -- be very careful and extremely observant with ideomotor signals. They do not necessarily mean the meaning you may attach to them. ;)

Reminds me of a perplexing client I once had. Did everything I asked. I had mentioned that a certain hand would move toward the face when the unconscious mind was ... Sure enough that hand went toward the face and the other one went down but the one that went up soon went down too. After emerging from trance I was told that the arm "felt heavy up there so I decided to put it down". This is NOT the work of the UC mind. Even though I had done all the necessary tests for trance and depth it seemed as if that particular client was "all over the place" soooo I had to start all over again triple checking everything.


After that I triple check everything with everyone.

This is an example for those that like to read scripts AT clients. If you are reading a script, you are NOT noticing all of the clients physiology nor are you in a state of Uptime.

Maybe a little like cutting wood to fit -- measure twice, cut once.

Lesson 1 of the day.

Pood

[John B.]

Cal Banyan is fond of saying, "Hypnosis is a confidence game. No confidence, no game."

This seems to be your issue. The outcome and experience itself did not meet your expectations, so you have no confidence in the process. So, it is entirely possible that because you didn't feel hypnotised, you resisted the process on some level. "I'm not hypnotized. This can't be working."

I don't know what transpired in your session, but it appears, from what you describe, that your hypnotist may not have prepared you properly. He should have explained that trance is not necessary for hypnosis. He should have explained that there is no single hypnosis experience. He should have explained that everyone is different and that the change you are seeking may not be immediate and may require more than a single session.

Now, I'm not trained in NLP or TLT, so when someone comes to me, I know that they are expecting to be hypnotised, and, with some exceptions, I do what is necessary to make sure they are convinced of that. I want to be sure that they have confidence in my ability as a hypnotist, but more importantly to have the confidence in themselves to benefit from the process. No confidence, no game. No confidence, no gain.

If you don't have confidence in the person you are working with, you should find another.

[Imaginos]

Can anyone recommend a therapist to me or where I should find one?

[Poodle]

We're supposed to play a guessing game of where on planet Earth you live?

[doctorjay]

If they're disregarding you and your unique situation, and pull out something and it doesn't work for you, and they don't then pick up another tool and have at it again, that's a failure of the hypnotherapist, not hypnotherapy.

Imaginos as others have mentioned the problem was with your hypntherapist and not hypnotherapy. A good therapist has a slew of different techniques available and will use as many and as few as needed so you leave the office knowing (and future-paced into that knowledge) that you have achieved what you wanted.

As far as Time-Line Therapy is concerned, what you got was not it. I find Time-Line Therapy as one of the most powerful tools I have within my arsenal of techniques and use it in conunction with many others to help heal my clients issues.

I find the belief system of the hypnotherapist be very important. I was taught by Tad James that each client has an inner magnificence and all the inner resources needed to heal herself. I also have a belief system that each person I guide into trance (I have no power over anyone other than myself but am the tour guide) is the worlds best hypnotic subject. This last belief means that I don't know what a "resistant client" is. As Tad says, "There are not resistant clients only hypnotherapists without enough flexiblilty."

[Poodle]

In case you did not know it, Tad's PhD is in Ericksonian hypnosis. He is almost quoting Milton Erickson and now so are you. It's not a bad thing at all. It's just nice to know from where the information comes.

You will find a number of us who have trained with T&A.

Pood :)

& BTW -- WELCOME! JOIN IN AND POST MORE!!

[Imaginos]

We're supposed to play a guessing game of where on planet Earth you live?

I live close to Manchester in England.
I don't mind travelling some distance to other parts of the country in order to see a good hypnotist.

[Poodle]

we have two very fantastic ones in England, our lovely Merlin and Jack. You may wish to send PM's to find out if either will work with you.

Skip has also been known to do phone work in England. Ohhh my!...the possibilities.

[Imaginos]

we have two very fantastic ones in England, our lovely Merlin and Jack. You may wish to send PM's to find out if either will work with you.

Skip has also been known to do phone work in England. Ohhh my!...the possibilities.

Whereabouts in the country do Merlin and Jack practice?

[Poodle]

you would be sending PM's (PRIVATE MESSAGES). We also have another, Nigel, in England that is amazing with TLT (I think it's his first love and first choice). Mr. Digital is also in England. I know Mr. D. has studied TLT, hypnosis, NLP and is going for Trainer's Training in NLP too.

If you look in the back pages of the Forum, you can also see recommendations that Jack has made for people to contact seeking a qualified person.

You may want to look at Dr. Matt's schedule as he has been known to go to England to train people.

Andrew Austin is also in England and is more than fabulous and I can keep adding more and more and more and more names.

You'll find the right person!

Be well,
Pood

[Imaginos]

Were you seated in a chair or did you walk around on the floor with the "hypnotist" guiding your body.

I was seated in a chair the whole time.
I was definitely in a trance as my eyes were flickering like they do when you'e asleep, but I don't feel that I was hypnotised.

[Imaginos]

Thanks to those who have posted replies.
I'm going to look around to try to see another hypnotist, hopefully to get some more successful results.