A client came in for their session earlier today, and related that they'd had a terrible week emotionally. The death of a friend and a child's illness had taken their toll, and the stress level was high. My job was to help the client relax completely, so they could undergo a very painful medical procedure in two hours without feeling much pain.
After a normal induction, I then deepened the state of relaxation even further. After going through the usual procedures, and verbalizing the proper posthypnotic suggestions, I had an idea. Instead of relying only on the posthypnotic suggestions, why not keep the client in a relaxed hypnotic state until the procedure was over?
I suggested to the client that although they would open their eyes when I asked, that they would remain in the hypnotic state of relaxation until brought out at a later time. Until then, they would be able to walk and talk and interact "normally" with other people, all while still hypnotized.
Still deeply hypnotized, the client agreed to this, and I then asked for a slow count backwards from 100. While the countdown was proceeding, I slipped out to the waiting room and had a quick conversation with the client's spouse. I explained what was happening, and provided reassurance that barring something happening that was very surprising to the client, there was nothing to worry about, and that the client would remain in hypnosis until the procedure was over, at which time an audio which the client would be listening to, would bring the client out of the hypnotic state. Just to be on the safe side, since the client's level of relaxation was so deep, I gave the spouse a print-out of a short exduction, and asked the spouse to read it to the client before they left the doctor's office. I wanted to be absolutely sure my client was "back" before leaving that office.
About 30 minutes after the procedure was completed, I received a call from my client, whose first words to me were, "I'm fully alert again!" The client then related that the whole time they'd been in the hypnotic state, everything seemed a bit "softer." The procedure itself had only caused a small amount of pain, and the client was very happy.
I love this job!!
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Managing Unbearable Pain
Regardless of how often I see the phenomenal results accomplished with hypnosis, it never ceases to amaze me. Recently I had a client with Stage 4 cancer. Fortunately the spread of the cancer has been stopped for a while. Unfortunately the protocols used to stop the cancer involve her having to endure an injection, every few month, directly into her spinal column. Regardless of the local anesthesia given to her prior to the shot, the pain is unthinkable.
When she called and explained the situation, I told her that I'd like to get in 4 sessions before her next shot. Since her next shot was scheduled in less than 2 weeks, we only had time for the first two sessions before she had the shot.
This was the result, in her own words: (Please click on the link.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx-UQPmmaHU
The mind is truly powerful!
When she called and explained the situation, I told her that I'd like to get in 4 sessions before her next shot. Since her next shot was scheduled in less than 2 weeks, we only had time for the first two sessions before she had the shot.
This was the result, in her own words: (Please click on the link.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx-UQPmmaHU
The mind is truly powerful!
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Working with a client who has Down Syndrome
I can't believe it's been over a year since my last blog entry. The time flies by so quickly.
The longer I practice hypnotherapy the more amazed I am by what it can be used to accomplish. I was contacted by a woman whose daughter has Down Syndrome, and had developed a morbid fear of snakes in her room. No where else. Just in her room. Why she had developed the fear is grist for another post. Regardless, my job was to help her overcome this fear.
Before her first session I did some research on the use of hypnosis on people with Down Syndrome. I was surprised to find that is is almost nothing available on the subject. After hours of searching I finally found two articles, one translated from the French (published at the University of Paris), and the other in Danish. Which I couldn't read at all.
So I was pretty much on my own. At her first session I spent a considerable amount of time getting to know the client, develop rapport and gain her trust. Although 44 years of age chronologically, she has the mental level of a fairly inquisitive 8 year old. She holds a steady job in the food service industry, and is quite a character.
I soon found that getting her to focus, relax, and keep her eyes closed was a bit challenging. We worked on that for a while, and I had her mother (who was with us in the room the whole session) agree to practice having her relax and keep her eyes closed, every day until our next session in a week. I also learned something very valuable: She loves a mug of hot cocoa.
The next session was considerably easier than the first. After chatting for a few minutes I promised her that if she cooperated, she would be given a big mug of hot cocoa at the end of the session. It worked like a charm. From that moment on she tried her best to follow all of my instructions.
During this session, after I'd had her close her eyes and relax, focusing her attention on my voice, I asked her if she could keep a very special secret all to herself. It was going to be my most important secret, but since she was my best friend now, I would share it with her. She agreed to keep the secret, and the anticipation she exuded was almost palpable.
I told her that I knew of a very special kind of whistle that, when blown, can't be heard by people, but was terrifying to snakes. When this whistle was blown, I shared with her, every snake who heard it slithered away, and would never come back. It scared them that much. And the best part was that on the way home, she and her mother were going to stop at the store and purchase one of these magic whistles so she could blow it in her room, and all the snakes would leave her house. She was thrilled! The session ended with a big mug of hot cocoa, as I'd promised.
The third session was used for reinforcement. On the way home from the second session her mother had stopped by a store and purchased a dog whistle. Of course my client had no idea it was a dog whistle. To her it was a very special magic "snake scaring" whistle. And sure enough, her mother informed me that after walking around her room blowing the whistle every evening, her fear that there were snakes in the room had almost disappeared. No more barricading the closet door, or piling things up in front of her desk to keep the snakes away.
After thoroughly reinforcing her belief in the power of the magic whistle, and a large mug of hot cocoa, off she went. Her mother has reported the results have been what we'd hoped for. The snakes are gone. If anything changes, I'll blog about it in the future.
The longer I practice hypnotherapy the more amazed I am by what it can be used to accomplish. I was contacted by a woman whose daughter has Down Syndrome, and had developed a morbid fear of snakes in her room. No where else. Just in her room. Why she had developed the fear is grist for another post. Regardless, my job was to help her overcome this fear.
Before her first session I did some research on the use of hypnosis on people with Down Syndrome. I was surprised to find that is is almost nothing available on the subject. After hours of searching I finally found two articles, one translated from the French (published at the University of Paris), and the other in Danish. Which I couldn't read at all.
So I was pretty much on my own. At her first session I spent a considerable amount of time getting to know the client, develop rapport and gain her trust. Although 44 years of age chronologically, she has the mental level of a fairly inquisitive 8 year old. She holds a steady job in the food service industry, and is quite a character.
I soon found that getting her to focus, relax, and keep her eyes closed was a bit challenging. We worked on that for a while, and I had her mother (who was with us in the room the whole session) agree to practice having her relax and keep her eyes closed, every day until our next session in a week. I also learned something very valuable: She loves a mug of hot cocoa.
The next session was considerably easier than the first. After chatting for a few minutes I promised her that if she cooperated, she would be given a big mug of hot cocoa at the end of the session. It worked like a charm. From that moment on she tried her best to follow all of my instructions.
During this session, after I'd had her close her eyes and relax, focusing her attention on my voice, I asked her if she could keep a very special secret all to herself. It was going to be my most important secret, but since she was my best friend now, I would share it with her. She agreed to keep the secret, and the anticipation she exuded was almost palpable.
I told her that I knew of a very special kind of whistle that, when blown, can't be heard by people, but was terrifying to snakes. When this whistle was blown, I shared with her, every snake who heard it slithered away, and would never come back. It scared them that much. And the best part was that on the way home, she and her mother were going to stop at the store and purchase one of these magic whistles so she could blow it in her room, and all the snakes would leave her house. She was thrilled! The session ended with a big mug of hot cocoa, as I'd promised.
The third session was used for reinforcement. On the way home from the second session her mother had stopped by a store and purchased a dog whistle. Of course my client had no idea it was a dog whistle. To her it was a very special magic "snake scaring" whistle. And sure enough, her mother informed me that after walking around her room blowing the whistle every evening, her fear that there were snakes in the room had almost disappeared. No more barricading the closet door, or piling things up in front of her desk to keep the snakes away.
After thoroughly reinforcing her belief in the power of the magic whistle, and a large mug of hot cocoa, off she went. Her mother has reported the results have been what we'd hoped for. The snakes are gone. If anything changes, I'll blog about it in the future.
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