A Personalized Induction

In order to ascertain whether a personalized induction is more effective than a generic induction, it is necessary to look at certain factors that would lead to creating a personal induction, where it would be used and also where it would not be possible or ineffective. It is my opinion that a personalized induction is more effective in the majority of circumstances and I will present this argument below.

We will look at the individual being treated and why it is essential to create a rapport with your client, the methods of communication and analysis the therapist would use, the way in which the brain works, the use of modalities in a script and also the authoritarian and permissive approaches.

Firstly it is important to understand the verbal and non-verbal cues in human communication. On the surface it would appear that language is the most important part of our communication, however the words we use only make up 7%, tone and volume make up 38% and body language makes up a huge 55% of our communication. This information becomes extremely important when we know, as therapists, that on most occasions the client would have their eyes closed when under hypnosis so the ability to communicate via body language becomes redundant. It is absolutely imperative then that we use appropriate language, phrases, rhythm and tone of voice. However, it is important to note that we can use all three cues on the first session with a client before we start induction.

In order to choose the correct phrasing, language and induction for a client it is imperative that we 'get to know' our clients and build a relationship with them. Each client will have unique life experiences, morals, sexual orientation, religion and cultural backgrounds and will respond differently to methods of approach to hypnotherapy. It is essential that not only do we make the client feel comfortable in the therapy environment but also that we actively listen to what the client has to say. Milton put this most succinctly when he said,

"So, I warn all of you, don't ever when you are listening... think you understand... because you're listening with your ears and thinking with your vocabulary. The [other's] vocabulary is something entirely different."

Milton H. Erickson - The Wisdom of Milton H.Erickson. The Complete Volume. Ronald A Havens. Pg 23.

Another way to assess your client's needs in terms of choosing a screed is to use a 'client screed assessment', which would look at their external appearance, their behaviour and personality. It would also be advisable to take into account the reason the client has sought help and not to forget that on their initial visit they may be on their guard or showing their 'external face', that is the personality they believe is socially acceptable for the occasion. It is critical to look beyond the external and be sensitive to the client's unspoken intentions, developing trust and rapport are essential to creating a productive session.

The client is a complex and unique individual and in order to try and comprehend how they process information, react to situations positively or adversely, we must as therapist understand a little of how the brain works. The brain is processing data constantly, making sense of our internal and external worlds, it can create physical and emotional response to stimuli, it can on a simple level create happiness and sadness, it is fluid and never rests (the only occasion when rest may occur is in a deep and practiced level of meditation). The brain is imaginative and creative, it holds our memories, good or bad and stores all the knowledge we have experienced with our senses, remembered consciously or not. Richard Bandler and John Grinder, the co-creators of Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), suggested that our senses, sight (visual), touch (kinaesthetic), hearing (auditory), taste (gustatory) and smell (olfactory) were the 'first language of our minds'. These were called modalities and as the quote below suggests each individual will have a preferred modality.

".....when each person understands how the other communicates, the root cause of conflict and poor performance is often eliminated. While reporting on NLP, psychologist Daniel Coleman (1979) noted that 'by hair and especially under stress people rely on a favoured mode to gather information about the world, organise it and express themselves. For this reason, knowing a persons favoured mode and speaking to him or her in those terms, can give a person a sense that his or her inner world is understood' "

Neurolinguistic Communication Profile Facilitation Guide - Second Edition. Pg 5

This quote perfectly illustrates how a therapist can utilise an understanding of a client's preferred modalities to engender a mutual trust and ultimately understanding, thus creating a more solid relationship between therapist and client.

There are ways in which the therapist can help themselves by listening to their client's tone of voice, being aware of their breathing, their body type and the language they use to ascertain their primary modality. A few examples of the different types of modality are as follows, a person who is visual may use phrases such as, 'It doesn't look right to me', 'The grass is always greener on the other side' or 'sunny side up'. Also you can look for lateral eye movements (LEM), a person who is kinaesthetic or feeling will look down and to the right when thinking. Body type, gestures and posture may even play a part, for example a person who is auditory or hearing may have an average timbre to their voice but with a singsong quality and may be of medium build with a tendency to tilt their head to one side. There are also the lesser mentioned modalities, olfactory and gustatory and digital, (for those who think mostly in language and symbols) that although perhaps are not as common should still be factored into the therapists assessment.

Of course this is not an exact science but a guide to combine with your other methods and skills as a therapist, such as active listening, questionnaires and observations and I would suggest that it is advisable to also trust your instincts. The more experienced a therapist becomes the more their awareness and sensitivity of their client's needs will be heightened.

Even though the therapist would assess the client's primary modality and start with this in their induction, to offer a more enriching experience you should introduce the full range of modalities, this will achieve a deeper hypnotic trance. This amalgamation of all modalities is called 'compounding', a layering of language using all