Hypnotherapy is at once mysterious and intriguing with many people searching for a supposed “hypnotherapy language secret” to reveal its truth. The methods that hypnotherapists use to induce behavioral changes have not been written about in great detail and often the ability of a therapist to produce those changes have been hard for even the therapist to describe if required. In the last 30 years two scientists now recognized by most as having developed the science we know as Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), went on a mission to understand the complexities of the hypnotic techniques of certain hypnotherapists in an attempt to be able to model their behavior and produce similar results in clients of their own. They have provided us with concrete explanations of some of the inner workings of hypnosis and in doing so given every day individuals the ability to employ to some extent the technology hypnosis offers in their every day lives. This article will examine the science of hypnosis and attempt to illustrate just a few of its more powerful techniques and principles.
The Map is Not The Territory
Hypnosis is based on the notion that each of us lives our lives in reaction not to what is actual reality but to a model of reality (known as a representation) that over the course of our existence we have created. This explains why two people can react completely differently when confronted by the same situation. Each person has a set of beliefs, fears, likes, dislikes, wants, experiences, values and thoughts that create a model of the world and of reality to which they often unconsciously adhere. This is often why communications between two people goes haywire. One person is trying to convey a message from their reality to someone with a completely different reality where every chance exists that the communicator’s message has a completely different meaning! It follows then that habits such as smoking or overeating are the result of behaviors caused by these models we have of reality. By altering those models, a hypnotherapist can alter behaviour. This is the focus of any type of therapist, whatever their chosen method; to alter a patient’s way of thinking to allow access to a more positive and beneficial type of behaviour. The only difference is that in the majority of cases, the methods of hypnotherapy are able to achieve the same results in much less time than traditional therapy. The question is how? What is the hypnotherapy language secret we’ve all heard talked about?
Pacing
A major technique and usually one of the first employed by a hypnotherapist is what’s known as “pacing”. Pacing involves the therapist entering or recreating the patients experience of reality. This is done by the therapist emulating both inner and outer forms of expression demonstrated by a patient. A therapist will frequently copy the patients posture, tone of voice, inflection, gestures and more. Further to that the therapist will seek to indicate an understanding of the patients inner goings on by using certain language patterns that indicate this knowledge. A common one is vague but seemingly specific phrases like “You will feel a certain sensation”. While the therapist requires no actual knowledge to make this statement, it appears to the patient that the therapist understands his inner goings on because after all he is feeling a CERTAIN sensation that he will assume to be the same as that mentioned by the intelligent therapist.
This emulation serves two purposes. The first is that in doing so this the therapist develops an unconscious connection of rapport with the patient. While he won’t consciously notice it, the patient will feel noticeably more in tune with the therapist, open to his suggestion and over time, as though they are even friends. Put simply the emulation causes the patient to like the hypnotist more because he seems to be similar to him! The second function is as I mentioned, to create the experience of the patients model of the world or reality. Why is this important? Because once the patients model of reality has been created and established by the therapist, it is open to being influenced.
Leading
This is where leading comes in. The job of the hypnotherapist, having recreated the patient’s model of reality is to alter that world in the direction of a solution to their problem. The therapist will now use certain techniques (as we will discuss in a minute) to guide and alter the patients reality to where he wants it to be. Because he has created the patients experience of reality in himself and the patient is experiencing a high level of connection both consciously and unconsciously to the hypnotists speech, gestures language and actions, changes in the hypnotists speech and behavior causes changes in the patients reality! Through the use of certain language patterns, the hypnotist can take control of the patients distorted reality and mould it for the desired outcome.
Patterns of Language
Having achieved the point of leading the patients state of mind, the therapist is now ready to start making changes. This is done by keeping the patients conscious mind distracted by continual leading and other techniques while simultaneously inserting suggestive commands to be picked up by the now open and willing unconscious mind. There are countless patterns of language that allow a good hypnotist the ability to do this. Just one such example is a “presupposition” where a command or request is indirectly implied so as not appear abrasive or demanding. A Hypnotist might say “Can you feel how deeply in this trance you are”, implying that the patient is in a trance already just the depth is varying. Or he use another technique, a simple question to insight a request in a less directive way like “Can you uncross your legs?”. This is just one example of a hypnotherapy language secret that is frequently used.
Embedding Commands
Amongst and including these language patterns are commands intended to influence the subconscious mind into producing the desired behavior on its own accord. An example of this is where the hypnotist would create a seemingly unrelated story using the language patterns above. While the patients logical thinking mind is distracted trying to derive the meaning of the seemingly bizarre story, commands to the induce the desired behavior are simultaneously being embedded. After the trance ends the patient finds themselves unknowingly carrying out the inserted behavior as though a chip has been inserted into their brains. Such is the effect of unconscious programming or hypnosis.
Of course as I mentioned this is not an exhaustive explanation of the hypnotherapy language secret or secrets that exist as employed by successful hypnotherapists. It hopefully however provided an interesting glimpse of the complex techniques used in therapeutic hypnosis.
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