Some advice on wording scripts by therapists and by oneself

[eccles1214]

When my therapist reads me scripts she has made up, when she makes tapes for me to take home and listen between our sessions, or when she talks to me during a hypnotic session, she tends to use future words, such as "will" and "going to" as in:

You will relax deeply.
You are going to find yourself in a wonderfully special place.

etc.

But, in my own explorations in hypnosis, I have read that some practitioners prefer to use words that place desired actions in the present or equate the client's state with the desired trait rather than the future, so they don't put in the words "will" or "are going to" viz.:

You relax deeply.
You find yourself in a wonderfully special place.

OR, equate desired state of client with an action in the present:

You are relaxing deeply.
You are in a wonderfully special place.

In your experience as professionals, does one form or another have any benefits in terms of improved efficacy, better compliance, etc. In other words, does one form work better than others for different situations? And what situations might they be? I want to discuss this with my therapist, but I want a bit of background to think about before our next session (next week).

[Don]

Is what you are working on with your therapist working?

If so, it's great.

If not, it's a problem.

[Terry]

I once had a doctor who sold his practise and moved. The doctor who bought the practise deserved the opportunity to prove to me that we could work together as I had with the previous one, so I gave him that opportunity, and found him to be in my estimation, a pompous know it all, who knew far less than he though he knew, so I changed doctors.
What I did not do was visit with other doctors who knew nothing of either of us, and ask them if my estimation was valid. You see, that would have made me, not just a fool, but an indecissive fool, something I detest in others. On the other hand, if I had a therapist who READ script to me I would certainly be looking for a replacement, still not be asking others about my decission though, since that is a personal choice based on perception....

[Poodle]

Since you are in a hypnotic trance, exactly how do you know that a script is being read?

Be well,
Pood

[Poodle]

I do have a problem with a hypnotherapist saying things like: "Your eyes are getting heavy", You are relaxing deeper". These are beyond the scope of a mere mortal to know and are therefore relegated to Spirit.

Maybe you'll discover a great sense of well being and relaxation because one can relax deeply you know. Maybe you'll notice the emedded commands in the above sentence. Thaaat's right.

However, if one is untrained, then you won't notice them even though they are really obvious.

or

going into direct suggestion: I would like you to develop a feeling of ...

Lesson over for the day. Just some of my pet peeves.

Pood ;)

[John B.]

I can never hear the phrase "you will..." in a hypnotic context without conjuring up an image of Bela Lugosi and hearing his voice say, "Yooou VILLL OBEY my every commant."

But from a purely practical point, whether in hypnosis or not people do not being commanded to do anything and will possibly resist.

Much better to use permissive phrasing, as Poodle suggests, like

Perhaps you soon notice...
Allow your eyes to become heavy...
I wonder if you're able to notice the change...
Many people find their eyes become heavy...
It may not take too long for you to become aware of...

etc.

There's page and half list of recommended phraseolgy for hypnotists in Corydon Hammond's big red book.

[Connie]

As Merlin has explained here so many times so eloquently, things that will happen, that are "going to" happen...that's the future. Some indeterminate future. When? I don't know. It's not telling the mind to do it NOW. To believe it as real now. I never use future tense, or if I do, I immediately counter it by repeating the phrase in present tense, or adding the word "now" to the end of the sentence.

Regarding tenses, I love what Bandler does:

"That's a really bad problem, wasn't it?"

[Don]

John, the one thing I can say is that generalizations are always right in some situations...and always wrong in others.

Erickson didn't depend upon permissive phrasing. His choice of using permissive or direct phrasing depended upon the nature and needs of his patients.

Often, he would start with permissive phrasing, and as the client went deeper he would move to direct phrasing.

IMO, to depend upon either permissive or direct phrasing limits a hypnotherapist. Being able to use both gives the hypnotist more tools to use.

[Poodle]

I personally resent being "told" what to do. There are, however, other types of people in this world that are used to taking 'orders' and respond exceedingly well to very direct suggestion. If it never worked, we never would have heard of or learned about little Davey Elman from Fargo, North Dakota.

To me, the very "bestest" suggestions are nested loops as it is totally impossible to stop them as we don't even hear them and when they are read in full text, we may get a comment of "nice story", when in fact five stories were told with all kinds of nesting.

'tis a fun world we live in.

Be well,
Pood :)

[John B.]

I am aware of different personality types and do adapt my approach to whomever I'm working with, so I agree that my response was an over generalization.

My training and nature favor a more permissive approach as do the majority of those who see me.

But I'm fully aware that some might do better seeing this guy.

http://www.bargainsail.com/images/dracwant.jpg

[Poodle]

I much preferred Christopher Lee in that role. :D

Pood