Sandra:

Someone else already mentioned that children are just 'short
people' and that is really true. However they are short people with
limited experiential discernment and comparative perspective. While they
have great imagination they are also able to misunderstand context and
other factors such as irony and sarcasm. It is clear and even fabled, how
children will repeat what they have overheard adults saying: this can be
funny or tragic at times.

So while you would like to find a good course, directed toward
dealing with children, you may want to simply consider being around
children more. They are really the best teachers as they aren't trying to
teach you.

You mention wanting to be more able to help children address
'self-esteem, control anxiety, anger &
stress etc..' and I wonder if FRUSTRATION might be the biggie here:
children are learning (again with relatively limited resources) at
incredible rates. Well-meaning, loving parents often, in THEIR
FRUSTRATION, forget that although the child "gets" certain things, they
may not understand other things.

As an example, consider that the parent IS ALWAYS RIGHT
regardless of whether they are correct. They control all aspects of life:
when you eat, sleep, play games, go to school, etc.

Now, as it happens, this is just the way things are and can be
used to advantage. I always enjoy having the parent sit in with the child
at the start of the session as an anchor for the child. As soon as the
child and I begin to develop communication (I will often begin to ignore
the parent when the child is speaking) I tell the parent, 'Go away, I'll
call you when you can come back.' Children have rarely seen their parents
dismissed and that indicates that you have the 'MoJo!'

Then, depending upon the age of the child, I sit on the floor and
when possible, do so in a position that gives them the 'power seat.' I
tell them that the session is theirs and we don't have to do anything
special but they have to help me pretend that whatever the parent was
concerned about has been addressed. I ask them to tell me a story or talk
about something they really like to do. If they like music, I'll play
something in the background. I let them know that I know how dealing with
parents often takes a lot of patience, because parents sometimes just
don't remember being children. I seldom use conventional inductions with
adults and almost never with children.

Listen to their stories and use their perspectives to encourage
them to discover the resources they have to train the parents to be more
understanding. Basically, the parent has all the issues they brought the
child in to address: they were the major model the child used to develop
whatever the parent finds distressing.

As for courses here in the States, where are you? While some
people learn quickly with recordings and other 'do it yourself' models,
some of us do even better when we have access that allows more
interaction. Clearly, we cannot tell BEFORE we take a training what we
will get out of it. Oddly enough, I have found that some of the best
training that I have taken, was with the worst teachers. They showed me
what NOT TO DO and often in exquisite detail.

There are many good mentors around, in fact they surround us
everyday: the store clerks, mail people, and of course, our friends and
family. Listen to how they address the world and recognize how you do the
same. Even when you disagree, consider how you would be able to feel or
act that way: to have their perspective. This allows you to better
understand the WAY you view the world and your part in it.

Just some thoughts,


In peace,
Daniel F. Cleary
Hypnosis for Health Learning Center & Hurricane Hypnosis
P.O. Box 14784, North Palm Beach, FL 33408, (561)313-1844
http://danclearyhypnosis.com, www.transformationallstars.com




On Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:19:08 -0000 "sandralzires"
<sandralzires@...> writes:
> Hi everyone,
> I am still working on getting myself into a training program. I am
> overwhelmed by the amount of info on the web regarding trainings.
> Can anyone tell me about children and hypnosis? Are any of you
> specializing in work with children? I would like to learn more about
>
> helping children enhance self-esteem, control anxiety, anger &
> stress
> etc.. Can anyone point me either in the direction of a US
> hypnotherapy
> program that focuses on children or some kind of resource that I can
>
> use to compliment a general hypnotherapy program? I know that Omni
> Hypnosis has a DVD program, so do HMI and Banyan. I really do not
> want
> to waste my time or money on a program that won't work.
> Thank you all.
> Sandra
>