Why are people hard to hypnotize?
According to the author, aside from fear or a misunderstanding of hypnosis, or other issues such as rapport or even their own condition holding them back, the following factors are usually involved in hypnotizability:
Firstly, ask if they’ve experienced hypnosis before, and what their expectations are, as well as putting their worries to rest if they’ve had a negative experience.
If they haven’t experienced hypnosis, ask them how they feel about experiencing hypnosis, and if there’s anything they’re unsure of.
Explain the experience of hypnosis, as it’s similar to a daydream or a movie, and depth can vary from person to person, and perhaps explain or demonstrate some phenomena as a preview.
The author presents the idea of “rolling with resistance,” but this is just an extension of Ericksonian utilization. If you encounter resistance from a client, do not fight or confront it, but use it where you can. There are a few strategies to work with this… as follows.
In short, polarity responders, according to NLP, are contrarians. While some are just brats, or others feel like they are being insightful, their behavior can also be influenced by fear, learned patterns, genuine above-average intelligence, or even your own existence, behavior, your requests, or the situation.
When working with them - try the following…
Invite Open-Ended Responses.
Avoid your standard double binds. In a levitation test, try something more along the lines of…
“Shortly your right hand, or it may be your left hand, will begin to lift up, or it may press down, or it may not move at all, but we will just wait to see just what happens. Maybe the thumb will be first, or you may feel something happening in your little finger, but the really important thing is not whether your hand lifts up or presses down, or just remains still; rather, it is your ability to sense fully whatever feelings may develop in your hand.”[18]
Old, Graham. Hypnosis with the Hard to Hypnotise: How to do Inductions with Resistant Clients, Analytical Subjects and Others who may be Difficult to Hypnotise (The Inductions Masterclass Book 6) (p. 51). Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.
Use Permissive Language. Here’s a grab bag:
Give them something to disagree with! Try something like..
You do need to pay any attention to the tiredness in your eyelids…
It’s silly to presume analytical people, when they are clearly willing subjects or clients, are unable to be hypnotized or to accept help. If you assume a client is overthinking, have you checked to see what they’re thinking about? If your client isn’t thinking, they’re probably dead.
As we have noted previously, there are a number of reasons why someone may be difficult to hypnotise. It is a rather drastic mistake to presume that someone is an analytical thinker, or resistant, whenever we encounter such situations. Even if we consider an extremely narrow set of circumstances, such as the client's thinking during the induction, there are all sorts of reasons that may be an issue. They may have had a difficult day, which has put them in a particularly pessimistic mood. They may be suffering from clinical depression. They may be too desperate, anxious, or invested in what is taking place and interfere with the process by attempting to assist the hypnotist. They may struggle to get absorbed in cognitive experiences. They may be intoxicated. They may be out of practice with using their imagination. They may not believe that anything good could happen to them. They may be suffering with auditory hallucinations, or intrusive thoughts. They may be over-medicated. They may not like you.
Old, Graham. Hypnosis with the Hard to Hypnotise: How to do Inductions with Resistant Clients, Analytical Subjects and Others who may be Difficult to Hypnotise (The Inductions Masterclass Book 6) (pp. 68-69). Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.
Given these problems, you haven’t caught on to what your client is actually thinking. You could already have doomed themselves internally, or they may just not know what you’re asking. For example, you can give them a pile of kinesthetic suggestions, but may not realize that they’re supposed to start experiencing it themselves.
Some of the best hypnotic responders are intelligent or high-performing individuals. You could consider the possibility that if they always tend to be ‘stuck in their heads,’ there’s a chance they’re already in trance. Given this, you don’t need to induce trance, only manage it. You can give them something to think about, and they’ll think about it. (The author mentions this will be covered later.)
Not just some, but most people will think all the way through their experience of trance. You can utilize this with something like, “You will probably continue to think all through the process and I encourage you to do that.”
You can provide the example of enjoying a movie. Perhaps - they can enjoy the visual effects, the skill of the actors, the quality of the music, or even the color scripting. However, if you spent the movie asking if you are actually enjoying it, experiencing it as intended, and if you’re a good spectator, you’re not really allowing yourself to enjoy the film. Ask them to think away, it’s fine! Just request that they do not think too much about if they’re thinking too much, which would also prevent them from enjoying the film.
If you’re working with someone that’s ‘analytical,’ it’s silly to think that you can confuse them into trance. It’s far easier to be direct with them, and tell them explicitly what you want. For example…
“And as you picture that scene, you can begin to imagine what it would feel like to be there… And allow yourself to begin to experience that now…”
Old, Graham. Hypnosis with the Hard to Hypnotise: How to do Inductions with Resistant Clients, Analytical Subjects and Others who may be Difficult to Hypnotise (The Inductions Masterclass Book 6) (p. 77). Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.
Talk about phenomena (like shivering during a cold scene during a movie) with your pre-talk, and feel free to act it out as well to hammer in the point. Walk them through something, and check on their experience.
You can do a magnetic hands ‘test’ without a pass fail condition. Put their hands apart, suggest they can feel the magnets, that they can notice them, and let them know that you’re both just going to see what happens, giving them some suggestions that they could feel what’s between their palms, or looking at the point in between them. No matter what happens, ask them how it went, and you can tell them that’s just what hypnosis may feel like to them the first time.
You can place less emphasis on the ‘feeling’ of trance - if you’re already stuck in your head all of the time, it’s unlikely you’ll feel much of a difference. Try using non-trance phenomena like…
In addition, give your client something to do. This includes something like PHRIT, which gives your subject something to actively work on. You can also use something like an Elman Induction, which gives them a process to actively work with you on.
Avoid being frustrated by your analytical clients - they are actively curious, not hostile, whether with their conscious or unconscious. Encourage their curiosity, and thus their collaboration.
Avoid insulting your subject with a confusion induction, it’s a great way to lose rapport. Use plenty of phenomena with analytical subjects, they’ll have something talk about experientially.
According to Milton Erickson, inductions should always include an element of confusion, but it is not an induction in and of itself. The Ericksonian confusion technique is a series of ideas (presented verbally or non-verbally) that do not lend themselves to an easy resolution. This is intended to stir up the need to do something, allowing the subject to accept the first clear-cut option they hear for resolution. In short, all of this is intended to create anticipatory focus that is straightforward to utilize.
Using good confusion technique should require the subject to think or experience, and should make some degree of sense. Nobody wants to hear someone babble bullshit, or they’ll get off the train. Using suggestions that ask the subject to search ‘inside’ for resolution can be more effective in and of themselves, instead of passive ones that are merely explanations. For example…
“Hypnosis is like a pleasant day-dream…”
Could be changed to using a confusion technique here…
”You may find that hypnosis is like one of your daydreams, perhaps like a dream you had at school one day, when your mind drifts from time to time during a lesson…”
A statement or action that creates attention or receptivity, creating an anticipatory focus. These lead to the resolutions almost working like embedded commands. A few categories follow…
Sensory Confusion. Any lack of clarity with sensory input - such as a double induction where two hypnotists speak two inductions simultaneously. This can also be created by creating ambiguity as to what someone should be focusing on.
Sensory Overload. An extension of the above, but overloading someone’s sensory inputs to the point where it pushes everything else out of the way.
Non sequiturs. Where one effect leads to another unrelated effect. EG: “And finding that just listening to my voice makes your feet stick more and more firmly to the ground.”
Homonyms
"And I don't know if your right arm will begin to raise, meaning that the other arm is left. Or if your other arm will be right for you and your right arm will be left…"
Old, Graham. Hypnosis with the Hard to Hypnotise: How to do Inductions with Resistant Clients, Analytical Subjects and Others who may be Difficult to Hypnotise (The Inductions Masterclass Book 6) (p. 104). Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.
Double entendres. “If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me?”
Oppositional Pairs.
"So you can sit there… in that chair here… while you try, to be aware of the exact meaning… of the words you hear… and of all the changes… that occur there… in your thoughts, sensations or awareness… as I speak here."
Associational Confusion. Using an unclear target, such as with My Friend John, or in nested loops 7. Ericksonian Pt5 Metaphors
"And as you begin to think about the changes you are making at a subconscious level… now… you can take a deep breath..."
Shifting States. Shifting someone into a state, dissociating them, then associating again, without clear boundaries. The emotional equivalent of sensory overload.
Kinaesthetic Confusion. Almost any unexpected sensation or movement, from magnetic hands all the way to an arm drop or catalepsy.
Pattern-interrupt. 🐄 BUTTS. Interrupting a pattern and leaving it unresolved, like breaking a handshake. And as you realize the cow butt was irrelevant, you can keep reading.
Confusion is ideal for creating a state where someone will doubt their (stubborn) reality, in order to make change, and usually provides an inroad into an internal state. This can also be used to detach people from their conscious mental sets, breaking the connections that they’re transfixed on. Another way it can be used, in a fun way, is to ‘dim’ the outer reality.
Ideally, you should use confusion not just to confuse the client, but to help the client get around whatever is getting in the way of their trance or their development. So, check what pattern is stopping your subject from getting in to trance, then use it to put them into trance.
The author provides the following framework for using confusion to initiate trance:
For example, the Bandler Handshake, chosen for a client that too willingly accepts social norms, and could use the ability to reframe them.
Or… Find someone that’s distracted by their environment, ask them to notice it, keep adding things for them to notice (the interrupt), overload it to the point where it’s unsustainable, and provide the option to relax.
Confusion inductions can be unpleasant. In many states, it’s to resolve everything to the point of annoyance or discomfort where you offer the opportunity to relax, and that’s really not going to help your rapport. A good spot for confusion inductions is someone that’s an avid meditator. While it’s fine that meditators will use an internal analytical loop, and analyze things as they happen, it’s less ideal if they try to assist and fill their role. Use confusion techniques to interrupt this.
While linguistic confusion isn’t great, kinesthetic confusion is much more palatable. For example, using the Thain Wrist Lift is a good option…
Barry Thain’s Wrist-Lift Induction is a thing of beauty.
https://howtodoinductions.com/inductions/wristlift/
Graham Old - Kinaesthetic Confusion Transcript
While, in a clinical sense, convincers and phenomena are not necessary, they do increase the effectiveness of therapeutic suggestions.
According to Donald Gorassini, hypnotisability is highly modifiable. (In a roundabout way, it linked to the book ‘The Highly Hypnotizable Person,’ which is in the book stash.) Arguments from Spiegel suggest it is barely modifiable. Graham suggests the following exercises to the subject:
As a lesson for the hypnotist, you should consider what you can provide to your subject so that they can know what they should be experiencing. For example, if you're doing arm levitation, you should tell them all about how it feel for their wrist to be pulled up, how their muscles may move their arm up. How? it feels as their arm is raised. The tightening of the string around their wrist, anything like that.
Everyone with autism is different and unique. With that being said, there are a few things to be aware of: