Hello All,



Thank you for your reply, Don. I have to say from the outset that I do not
accuse you, or anyone on this list, of anything. Please accept I have observed,
over the years, claims made by some high profile hypnotherapists that run
contrary to what is generally accepted. In fact, you are very knowledgeable and
I respect your views on the subject. If you are asking me to name people it will
be fruitless because, as their opinions had no value, I simply forgot and
dismissed their statements. All I remember is that there have been some
outrageous claims from people who should know better and could not be bothered
to enter into dialogue or waste my time on trying to convince them otherwise.
The fact is I intervened because I do not believe therapists should be too
concerned about aspects that may be irrelevant on the majority of occasions.



I accept that observing states of hypnosis is valuable for research and the
furtherance of knowledge on the subject. I, personally, feel that in the
majority of clients undergoing therapy, it is not required to be recorded. The
important factor in a session is whether the client responded to therapy? If
not, then try a different approach next time. Again, I agree, that the mark of a
good therapist is how they chose their words to create a successful outcome.
This may mean that on occasions the therapist uses the client’s expectations
or preconceived ideas of what the therapist can do. However, I do ensure the
client is aware that any respite from their malady will be a joint effort.



Your explanation is a good one but it is like asking someone to define what
truth is – their cannot be a definitive answer as it has different values for
different people, and we are all individuals who can respond differently to
given situations. EFT has been a good tool to complement my therapy, on some
occasions, but I am not interested on how or why it works because, again, this
would be conjecture. I simply observe the outcome and see it works therefore I
utilise it.



You say I have over simplified things. You are absolutely correct. I am in the
business of arriving at the essence of a problem and thereby creating a simple
solution. Trivialising an event or problem can be useful – we all have the
ability to blow things out of proportion and changing the client’s perception
is the first step to creating change. I do not give cd’s or use artificial
aids such as headphones attached to computers because this is not the way
forward. I teach the client how to use their mind to their advantage. I say,
“The mind is like a Rottweiler, untrained it is a menace to its owner and
everyone that comes within its range but trained it is a friend and
protector.”



All the Best



Mel





From: HypnoSynthesisUK@... [mailto:HypnoSynthesisUK@...]
Sent: 11 January 2009 14:24
To: melgrant@...; hypnosis-hypnotherapy@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [hypno] Re: Deconstructing hypnosis (WAS: first client)



In a message dated 11/01/2009 1:46:06P.M. GMT Standard Time,
melgrant@... writes:

>> Forgive me for interjecting on this matter but what use is it to have fading
numbers, or amnesia, or a person unable to open their eyes? Who are the
therapists trying to convince, themselves, the client, the fraternity, the
audience or the medical profession? Do they actually sit there with a clipboard
and a checklist – like some airline pilot – ticking off the list prior to
takeoff? Why do therapists need to prove they can hypnotise a person.

Which therapists are you actually talking about? I didn't say those things
myself and never have. These tests are pointless except for skills training,
perhaps as a convincer with some clients, for experiments, for adaptation as
therapy interventions, etc. They're far from essential to hypnosis, though, and
can all be replicated without a hypnotic induction.

>> Whatever effect therapists can achieve when a person is “hypnotised” can
be achieved on another fully conscious person. So why waste time, and effort, on
producing signs of “being in a state of hypnosis”? As long as client
believes in the therapist the rest is just a ritual and therapy. I hope I am not
committing hypnotic heresy here but I sometimes get bored with therapist who
claim they have great powers or know everything there is to know about the human
mind.

I think you're massively over-simplifying things, although your basic point is
correct. Who are the therapists you're talking about who claim to have great
powers or know everything there is to know about the human mind? I don't think
anyone said anything like that in the discussion you're responding to.



>> Can the great and the good please supply me with a definitive answer to what
hypnosis is? I would really like to know?

Who are the "great and the good"??? That's a bit of a strange thing to say,
IMHO. I assume you're not referring to me, although you were replying to my
email, so I will answer your question anyway...



The original definition of hypnotism proposed by Braid was that it was a state
of nervous sleep, unlike normal sleep, induced by mental concentration on a
single idea. He later changed that to say that it was itself essentially a
state of mental concentration on a single idea, and that it would be better to
call it something other than "hypnotism" because the name caused people to think
it normally had something to do with sleep or unconsciousness.



Since then, people have offered different definitions, but I would stay
relatively close to Braid's and say that hypnosis is a label for a number of
different states in which suggestibility is enhanced in quality or degree as the
result of procedures which increase mediating factors such as mental focus,
dissociation, relaxation, expectation, favourable attitudes and role-perception,
and client motivation. As a nonstate-oriented clinician, I would agree with the
researchers who conclude that hypnosis is not identifiable with a single uniform
neurological state but that its effects are due to multiple inter-acting causes.
Or if you want a simplified version: Hypnosis is a state of heightened
suggestibility which usually consists of relaxed concentration on the ideas
suggested, to the exclusion of competing thoughts, and accompanied by
expectation. That's just a kind of neo-Braidism, though.



Your remark that the client needs to believe in the therapist is similar to what
Braid said, and what I've said, except that both Braid and myself would
emphasise that the client's attitudes, frame of mind, focus of attention, etc.,
also have an effect on the way they respond. Obviously, even if the client
trusts the therapist but is distracted by irrelevant or negative thoughts, or
they feel unmotivated or conflicted about the specific suggestions in question,
then they're not in the ideal state of mind to accept suggestions. Moreover,
the client can trust the therapist but the therapist may phrase suggestions
badly, so that they do not evoke the right kind of response. Hence, effective
hypnotherapy also requires that the therapist understands something about the
theory and practice of suggestion.



I think that's all pretty uncontroversial / common sense stuff, though, and I
imagine most (though probably not all) hypnotists would share similar views.





Yours Sincerely,

Donald Robertson
College Principal & Executive Director

Senior Clinician Hypnotherapist (NCH)
Registered Psychotherapist (UKCP)
Member of the European Register of Psychotherapists (ERP)
Fellow of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health (RSPH)

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