脑囊肿手术是微创手术:My Understanding of Hypnotism∷催眠成功网∷

My Understanding of Hypnotism

我对催眠的理解

by 

Dr. Wai-to Cheung 张伟韬博士

5-4-2010

Back Ground

Before I joined the training course I did not have much understanding or experience about hypnosis.  My only close encounter with the subject matter was in about 1983 in Toronto, Canada. At that time I was doing my doctorate degree in civil engineering.  In one evening I went out with my friends to a night club in the Holiday Inn where there was stage performance by a hypnotist.  Hisperformance was very entertaining with stunning effects. It has givenme a deep impression of how powerful hypnosis can be in influencing thehuman mind and behavior. Like any other people, I also feel that it alsohas a mystic screen around it as many of the phenomena seem to bedifficult to explain. I was clear at that time that hypnosis isscientific with a long successful history of clinical applicationspracticed worldwide in helping the needed at all fronts, should it bequitting smoking, overcoming psychological barriers or simply improvingconfidence of oneself.

Mymind was in a continue state of stress for the past twenty years aftertaking up senior positions for managing businesses in Asia for UKengineering consulting firms. Due to time difference between UK and Asia(about seven hours’ difference) it meant long working hours involvingmany late evening telephone calls in order to communicate with headoffice in the UK when it was morning their time. At end of last year Ieventually decided that it was about time for me to improve quality ofmy life style and end this prolonged period of over stressing.  I need to plan a life which is peaceful and meaningful which allows me the room and time to do things that I wanted to do.  Such things cannot be done at all or impractical to do in the past due my work commitment. 

Istated to work part time early this year as advisor to Chinacorporations to improve their skills in project and business managementadopting the western approach.   Working two days aweek part time made available to me time that is not available beforeso that I can explore other options that I enjoy doing.  Learninghypnotism immediately flashed into my mind. As my home is in Singapore,by default, my first exploration is to look at Singapore websites forinformation for hypnosis training available in the country.  Themost credible institution offering such courses (in association withlocal hospitals for clinical practices) was LCCH (London College ofClinical Hypnosis).  However their courses weremore targeted to existing health care personnel and courses wereconducted over weekends outside working hours.  For beginners’ course, the course will spread over a few months’ time.  Practically speaking, I have two concerns for enrolment in such courses.  Firstlyit will be difficult for me to make physical presence in Singaporetravelling there every month as this will not be in line with my currentwork plan in China.  Secondly, as I came from nohealth care working background, the chance of admittance may not be highas the number of applications was overwhelming but the number ofvacancies was limited.  I then started to searchChina web sites and found hypnosis training available in Shenzhen with afour day program. As my current working place is also in Shenzhen itsuited me seamlessly.  I also introduced the course to two of my friends, one from Hong Kong and one from Singapore.  Both of them also found the subject interesting and eventually signed up for the training.  Unfortunatelymy friend from Hong Kong was caught up in a last minute function andcould not attend the course. It was eventually me and my friend fromSingapore gone through and completed the course which extended from 28thof March to 1^st of April inclusive

My objectives for attending the course were fourfold as presented below.

(1)  Personal Interest in Hypnosis

As explained early, the hypnotist’s performance in Toronto has given me a deep impression of the power of hypnotism.  Curiositywas the prime driver for me to gain more understanding about thesubject in particular to uncover reality behind the mystic screen.  This will also be a challenge to m as hypnosis is not considered as “traditional” to most people.

(2)  Entertainment

Again for the hypnosis show I found it extremely entertaining and enjoy the whole night.  Iimagined that just by mastering some of the basic techniques ofhypnosis will allow me to demonstrate some form of hypnotism say in asocial gathering or public function. This can in turn allows me easierto build rapport and gain acquaintance with old and more importantly newfriends. In term of the quality of social life this means enrichment.

(3)  Benefits to myself through self hypnotism

Ithas always been my understanding that through self hypnotism one canimprove one’s feelings and behavior in many beneficial ways. For my casein particular I need to improve quality of my sleep and also watch myweight through appetite control.

(4)  Hypnotism has good potential as a business after retirement

I consider that hypnotism has a high potential to be developed into a business after my retirement.  By doing this I can lend a helping hand to people who needs assistance and support. This will be a meaningful thing to do.  Of course at the same time such services can also generate some income, whether big or small will be of secondary concern.  Themore grey hair I have, the more confidence people may have in me. Ifthe ultimate decision is to offer clinical therapy then the cost ofsetting up a clinic will also be something manageable as compared to amedical clinic.  

Myview about hypnosis after digestion and analysis of materials coveredin the training course is presented below. With my academic and careerbackground as presented earlier I consider myself being an intellectualwith a strong rational mind set.  It is myintention to put together this paper based on presentation by theinstructor and also content of the training material in an organized andstructured manner.  In order to achieve this, I need to have a reasonable grasp of all topics and understand their inter relationship.  Wherethere are gaps then I will conduct Internet search as future actions sothat such gaps can be filled in and this paper updated forcompleteness.

Definitive Description of Hypnosis Process

Asthe course progressed, the mystical nature of hypnosis started todisappear when more understanding of the subject has been gained. Tohelp myself to have a clearer picture of hypnosis, I have put togetherdefinitive description based on my basic understanding of hypnosis.  The description will be by functional, process, state and finally its effect on subjects.  This will lay the cornerstones based on which the rest of the write-up will be developed.

Tothe subject, hypnosis forms a bridge between his conscious andunconscious mind letting the latter influencing the former to performcertain things, either physically or mentally.  Thedefinition given on page 35 of the lecture notes seems to be a bitabstract and difficult to comprehend as there may be some involvement ofreligious elements. As a process hypnosis is interaction between thehypnotist and the subject and through continuous and repeatedstimulations by the hypnotist, the subject will take suggestions leadingto different degrees of changes in behaviors, feelings, sensations, images, perceptions, thoughts, beliefs, and / or physical functions or symptoms.  The hypnotist can also be the subject himself and for this case it is termed “self hypnotism”.  The subject is into a hypnotic state when his body enters into deep relaxation and concentration,becomes increasingly absorbed in using his imagination while stillmaintains awake and is fully aware of everything that is going on,

Purposesof hypnosis are typically intended for relaxation, calmness,confidence, increased self-control and more importantly for thewell-being of the subject. For the case of hypnotherapy the patient isable to clear away mental "clutter" and focus on his problem andsolutions to the problem.  Treatments can betargeted at drug additions; alcoholism; depressions; phobias; smokingcessation; weight control etc. basically unlimited where solution toproblems can be sought through influencing the minds of the subject  

The Hypnosis Process – Procedure and Techniques

In the training material, the procedural sequence will be

l        Diagnosis’ – including sensitivity test

l        Induction – including instantaneous hypnosis

l        Deepening and deepness tests

l        Healing

l        Ending

Despitethe fact that all of the above items should be treated of equalimportance, at the current stage for beginners the mastering ofinduction (I treat sensitivity tests as a warm up form of induction) anddeepening techniques will be of high priority as without these means ofputting the subject into a sleep state, the ultimate objectives ofconducting hypnosis cannot be achieved. This understanding was alsoechoed throughout the course as the instructor devoted much time inteaching these techniques and allowed ample time for attendees topractice especially in the evening on what they have learned during daytime training. For this reason, content of this paper will be devotedmore to the first three procedures.

Ashypnosis (self hypnosis is covered at a later section) is aninteraction between the hypnotist and the subject, it is necessary that areasonable degree of trust be built between the subject and thehypnotist especially for the instance when the two meets the first time. As a pre-induction requisite it is thereforeimportant for the hypnotist to create rapport with the subject. This canbe achieved through friendly gestures (say hand shaking, pulling achair for the subject. etc) and verbal communications. The content ofthe dialogue is best to find things in common (say coming from the samehome town, etc.). The ultimate goal of doing all these is to make thesubject feels comfortable with the hypnotist. It is also helpful if thehypnotist can find small ways to make the subject to accept littlesuggestions from him. Examples of such suggestions can be, say advisingthe subject to adjust her sitting posture or move a leg forward etc.This will pave the way for the subject to accept larger suggestions at alater stage of the hypnosis process. The small suggestions need also tobe specific so that the subject knows exactly what the hypnotist wantsfrom him.  This should include any outcomes ofsuch suggestions if appropriate. Furthermore using deep voices forverbal suggestions is recommended as it has better effect to communicatewith the subject’s sub-conscious mind.  Aphysical demonstration of movements for any induction exercisebeforehand can also increase clarity to the subject. In general, thehypnotist needs to tell the subject what is going to happen, inparticular, that he is going to hypnotize the subject with reinforcementthat it will happen in split seconds.  Such reinforcement can effectively amplify the hypnotic effect for better results.

Sensitivity Tests

The ten sensitivity test techniques covered in the course are summarized as follow:

l       The Chevreul’s Pendulum test

l       The arm raising and falling test

l       The hand clasp test

l       The magnetic hand test

l       The falling backward test

l       The body sway test

l       The locking elbow test

l       The apple test

l       The lemon test

l       The white light test

l       Human bridge

Alltests listed above are conducted by verbal suggestions by the hypnotistand can involve various degrees of imagination by the subject. Abovegrouping of the tests is in such a way that the first seven will alsoinvolve corresponding body movements of the subject while the last threeare almost purely imagination exercise. During the training, Iresponded reasonably well to those movement oriented tests but have had aheadache when going through the last three. Similar observations weremade based on feedback of other classmates.  They showed mixed reactions to the tests with some people being very sensitive while others had minor responses.  Howeverthere was no report that all tests had no effect on some one. Similarto me, my Singaporean friend is considered to be a very rational being.  As expected, his response to the tests was not good when it came to the imagination tests.  Inview of this observation, it can be concluded that results can varywith individual subjects and it is through more practices in building upthe necessary experience that a hypnotist can identify theeffectiveness tests applicable to subjects of different characteristics.  Thehypnotist will decide what test(s) are to be conducted during asession. Such tests not only provide the hypnotist information about thesubject’s susceptibility to hypnosis , the subject in parallel can alsobenefit by building up more confidence in the hypnotist and also in theprocess thus increasing the chance of success of hypnotism.  

Theultimate goals of all sensitivity tests are twofold - to find out thehypnotizability and suggestibility of the subject. For hypnotizabilitythere is further refinement with respect to classification of purpose ofthe tests so that the most effective induction method can beidentified.  Such classifications together with other remarks are presented in table below.

Table 1    Sensitivity Test Summary

Induction Methods

Inductionnormally follows immediately after completion of the sensitivity tests.Induction techniques covered in the training are:

l        Progressive relaxation method

l        Number counting method

l        Deep breathing method

l        Eye fixation method

l        Head circulation movement method

Thegrouping is presented in such a way that the first four are conductedthrough verbal induction by the hypnotist while the last one isconducted through physical contact and guidance.  There is not much verbal communication by the hypnotist for these cases.

Further comments on each method are presented in the following table.

Table 2    Induction Method Summary

Thetraining notes have also included detailed scripts especially for thefirst two methods. The detailed example presented is sufficient to guidethe trainees to design or create their scripts for other methods to beemployed. It is also advisable to memorize the scripts by hard forbeginners as it can help at lot in soothing out the session with thesubject.  As more experience is gained, the hypnotist will then be able to deliver the induction with ease without recalling the scripts.

Similarto the sensitivity tests, the induction method to be deployed toindividual subjects will be at the discretion of the hypnotist who willbe guided by the outcomes of the sensitivity tests. 

Instantaneous Hypnosis

Towardsthe end of the training the instructor has introduced two instantaneoushypnotize methods, viz. hand pressing method and hand shaking method.  Both methods will make the subject a process involving 

l        To attain a state of high concentration (overloading) through suggestions by the hypnotist

l        A stunning shock will be introduced by the hypnotist

l        The subject will go into an Out of Balance state through physical action from the hypnotist

Themethods seem to be very effective (both in terms of time and level ofdeepness) to bring the subject to a deep state of hypnotism and in avery short duration of time.  As highlighted earlier, the hypnotist must inform the subject that he will be quickly brought into a deep hypnotized state.  Thehypnotist will not, however, tell the subject about the shock that isgoing to happen as early warning will void the stunning effect. Drawbackof the two methods is that the subject will fall onto the floor and mayget hurt.  It is the responsibility of the hypnotist to protect the subject from such injuries.  Itis one of my follow up action to do further internet search to identifyalternatives of instantaneous hypnosis that will keep the subject in aseated position. In this way, not only safety of the subject isguaranteed, it also allows ease of conducting the rest of the hypnosisprocess.

Inthe training material, a chapter is devoted to present instantaneoushypnosis techniques. The four steps to bring the subject into deep sleepcan be summarized as follow:

l        Tell the subject of the intention of putting him quickly into a state of hypnotism.  Itis not necessary to disclose all details of what is going to happen asthis will make the subject too alert and thus reducing the degree ofstunning effect.

l        Identify a signal for the subject to enter into the hypnosis state.  Themost popular word used is “sleep”. It is also recommended that thisshould be presented it in a loud and clear manner in line with theprinciple of creating a “shock” effect.

l        Create a stunning physical shock leading the subject to feel out of balance and this should put the subject into hypnotic state

l        Maintain the subject in the just achieved deep sleep state by giving immediate verbal suggestions to reinforce such a state

Acouple of other methods are presented in the training material (oneonly has a title but without details) but not covered in the class. Thetraining material also highlighted that it is not recommended tobeginners to practice these methods until one has mastered thefundamental techniques. It is still worthwhile to find opportunities topractice such techniques at a later stage.

Inthe case of performing hypnosis show for entertainment purposes, theinstantaneous methods are often used by hypnotist as they will sureyield the stunning effects sufficient to excite the audience

Deepening Methods

Deepeningis needed from time to time during a session as deemed fit by thehypnotist either to maintain the current state or taking the subject tothe next level of deepness.  This is applicable irrespective whether induction or instantaneous hypnosis was used on the subject earlier. 

The deepening methods covered in the class are presented as follow:

l        Progressive relaxation method

l        Number counting method

l        Deep breathing method

l        Staircase method

l        Elevator method

l        Arm drop method

l        Finger clicking method

Similarto induction, the first five methods are conducted through verbalsuggestions while the last two there are more physical movements areinvolved. The first three methods used for induction have beenduplicated here. Again preparation of scripts for each method isrecommended for beginners.

Comments on the seven methods are summarized in table below.

Table 3    Deeping Method Summary

Tests for the Six levels of Deepness

Toachieve the objective(s) of a hypnotism session it may require thehypnotist to bring the subject to different levels of deepness. A scalewith six levels of deepness has been introduced with level 6 denotingthe deepest degree of hypnotism.  Accordinglytests were designed in parallel as qualitative indicators of the levelof deepness achieved rather than rely solely on the judgment of thehypnotist.

Testscovered in the course were depicted in the table below. In order tomaster the tests, it is again recommended that scripts be prepared foreach test which can be useful tools for beginners.

Table 4     Deepness Level Test Summary

Notes:

(1)Except for test 4, all other tests are conducted through verbalsuggestions and thus pre-prepared scripts for each of the tests will behelpful for beginners.

(2)The test has a major drawback as it is needed to induce minor pain tothe subject in order for the test to work. Two issues arise from this.Firstly, the subject may find it offensive or can feel worried of beinghurt. This in turn may lead to unnecessary complications affectingoutcome of the hypnotism session. Secondly even the subject shows noobjection to the test, it is difficult for the hypnotist to determinethe degree of pain needs to be introduced (of course on the assumptionthat the subject will not be hurt) to make the test effective as thesusceptibility to pain of individuals are difficult to predict Again aninternet search will be conducted as one of my follow up actions to seekreplacement alternative to this test.

The deepness tests can be conducted any time during a session as the hypnotist sees fit.  Ifthe tests show that the intended level of deepness has not beenattained then the hypnotist can use any or a mixed of the deepeningmethods as mentioned earlier to take the subject to the next levelbearing in mind that not all subjects can be taken to a high level ofdeepness and also high level of deepness normally is not required formost of hypnotherapy treatments.

Self Hypnosis

It is my understanding that as part of hypnotherapy, the hypnotist often teaches the subject self hypnosis techniques.  This allows the subject to work on himself thus speeding up the healing process as well as enhancing the healing effect.

Selfhypnosis can be treated as a simplified version of the normal hypnosisdue to the fact that the hypnotist and the subject are the same person.  Thus for example the step in getting acquainted between the hypnotist and the subject can be omitted.

The training manual has covered two methods in details.  One is a number counting method with full scripts and advices on techniques of suggestion. .  Despitesimplicity of the method it may deemed sufficient as it in generalworks should work on most peoples. The other method makes relation toBuddhism. In general this approach may not be appropriate for tworeasons. First, not all hypnotists or subjects come from a religiousbackground, i.e. being a Buddhist. Furthermore for those who are freethinkers, it will be difficult for them to comprehend how the methodworks.  Secondly, for those people related toother religions say Christians, they may find it offensive as Buddha istreated different from their gods. It is proposed therefore to conductfurther Internet research to identify at least two additional selfhypnosis methods to compliment the first method. Besides for thereligion reason mentioned above, this will also present to the hypnotistoptions should the number counting method is not effective on somesubjects.

Suggestions

Suggestions need to be tailored made in line with the objective(s) of the hypnosis session.  Suchobjectives can be agreed with the subject during the “diagnostic” phaseat the start. The rules of thumb for good suggestions were covered inthe course and recaptured below.

l  To be positive

l  To be simple

l  To be consistent (non-contradicting)

l  Clear objectives defined

l  End results are verifiable

l  Both the subject and hypnotist believable that the objectives are achievable

As all of the above criteria are logical derivations they are thus both sensible and easy to understand.  Tomeet the first three criteria it will take continual practices topolish presentation of verbal suggestions by the hypnotist. The balanceof criteria can be addressed through discussion with the subject duringthe diagnostic phase to ensure that there is no ambiguity for the entirehypnotism process.

Summary

Hypnosisis scientific and has a long history in clinical therapy appliedworldwide. In fact its applications are unlimited subject only to theimagination of the hypnotist. However one fundamental principle applies,i.e. it should be used for the better life for human beings. Thus theethical behavior of hypnotists is of paramount importance to avoidmalpractices that can harm people.

Basedon the understanding of the author and experience gained during thetraining, a structured summary for sensitivity tests, inductiontechniques, instantaneous hypnotism; deepening techniques, deepnesstests and criteria for the design of suggestions are presented above. Tepreparation of this essay not only is intended to meet AAH membershipapplication requirement, but it also helps the author to have a betterunderstanding the topic by conglomerating and analyzing material learnedduring the training. The paper will be updated and can serve as a goodpiece of material to refresh the subject matter from time to time.

For further progress to gain knowledge and experience on hypnosis, follow up actions are drawn up. 

Follow Up Actions

Inorder to improve my knowledge, experience and raise status in hypnosiswith ultimate goal to develop it into a viable business, the followingaction plan for this year have been developed.  The plan includes description of actions and target dates of completion.

Table 5    2010 Action Plan