Posted on 23 August 2010 | No Comments
Many people are surprised to hear that Trance is not a binary state (i.e. in trance or not in trance) but more of an analogue scale from very light trance all the way through to a very deep trance. Milton Erickson defined trance as the process of learning to go into trance. He went on to suggest that there are three experiential stages of hypnosis that you can learn to go into:
- Light Trance: Critical faculties are put on hold.
- Simple Trance: The client manifests the appearance of a deep trance but internally is merely compliant with suggestions.
- Deep Trance: The client actually experiences the suggestions as reality.
Both Light and Simple trances can be induced in a relatively short time. On the other hand, Erickson recommended an initial period of three to eight hours for training a subject to into a deep trance! Results will vary depending on your client, it is the time that it takes them to learn to go into trance that will decide on the time involved as much as it will rely on your skill as a Hypnotherapist.
So how do the levels of trance differ?
In Light Trance it is normal to comfortably experience:
- Lethargy
- Relaxation
- Eye Catalepsy
- Arm Catalepsy
- Catalepsy of isolated Muscle Groups
- Heavy or Floating Feelings
In Simple Trance it is normal to comfortably experience:
- Smell and Taste Changes
- Number Blocks (Where the client forgets numbers)
- Amnesia
- Analgesia (No Pain)
- Automatic Movement
In Deep Trance it is normal to comfortably experience:
- Hallucinations (Positive)
- Bizarre Post-Hypnotic Suggestions
- Anesthesia (No feelings)
- Negative Hallucinations
- Comatose
- Somnambulism
Posted on 16 August 2010 | No Comments
A “yes set” is an agreement frame that is used in many contexts, including Hypnotherapy, sales and even parenting. It is useful for leading the other person towards agreeing with you on something by getting their agreement on small, reasonable questions first. The principle is really straight forward: the likelihood of someone agreeing with your suggestion will rise significantly if they have immediately previously agreed with you on multiple other points.
Sales
A common example in Sales could be something like this:
“Are you looking for a car today? (yes) You’ve probably decided on whether you want a small car or a large car? (yes) And you probably want to see a car that is good value for money? (yes) Would you like to see this new BMW we just got in?”
Or if you were selling a service, such as Business Consulting:
“Is quality important to you? (yes) Is your time important to you? (yes) If you could be making more profit would you listen to someones suggestions? (yes) Great, then could we make an appointment to discuss what we could help you with?”
Hypnotherapy
In a Hypnotherapy setting is extensively used in trance inductions and the setup of suggestibility tests. For example a Hypnotherapist may say:
“To begin with I want you to stand up (yes), stand with your feet apart (yes), take a big deep breath (yes) and then close your eyes and go into a deep, deep trance (suggestions).”
The client is much more likely to accept the suggestion to close their eyes and go into a deep, deep trance if the Hypnotherapist has first installed compliance using a Yes Set.
Parenting
You’ve probably already started to get the idea, but here is an example for a parent who wanted their children to go swimming:
“The sun is shining, it’s warm, it is such a beautiful day, let’s go swimming.”
As you can see with this example it is not strictly necessary to have the other person say “Yes” in response to each part of the sentence, just for them to end up agreeing with the final suggestion.
In addition to saying the questions that form a Yes Set you are also likely to find that nodding your head while waiting for their answers will increase the effectiveness of this pattern, and the speed at which they answer.
What next?
Yes Set’s occur naturally in conversation and, now that you are aware of them, you’ll probably notice them in your conversations with others and maybe even on TV. As with all linguistic patterns the key is to begin to use them. The more than you use them the easier they will become and the more you will find yourself using them in suitable situations. Enjoy!
Posted on 11 August 2010 | 2 Comments
Being Certified as a NLP Practitioner is based upon an agreed upon minimum level of knowledge and training duration. The American Board of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (ABNLP) specifies that for some to be certified as a NLP Practitioner they must demonstrate the ability to identify the following basic skills, techniques, patterns and concepts of NLP and to utilise them competently with self and others:
- Presuppositions of NLP
- Present state to desired state
- Well Formed Outcomes
- State Management
- Rapport
- Sensory acuity & calibration
- Representational systems (primary and lead)
- Association, dissociation, perceptual positions
- Accessing & building resources
- Meta Model
- Milton Model
- Meta Programs (Basic – based on Jungarian sychology) – elicitation and utilisation
- Metaphors
- Submodalities
- VK Dissociation
- Swish Pattern
- Standard Belief Change
- Changing drivers
- Eliciting Strategies
- TOTE
- Reframing
- Parts
- Spotting and utilising incongruity
- Basic timeline work
- Logical levels
- Process versus content
- Perceptual Positions
- Well Formed Outcome
Duration of the Practitioner training must be a minimum of 130 hours (over a minimum of 7 days, face-to-face training), in the basics of NLP patterns led by a Certified Trainer of NLP from a recognised training institute.
These standards were created based on much research of various NLP courses throughout the world. A minimum training standard is applicable due to the numerous courses available and the potential for low standards of NLP being taught. Training taken to this standard, with a Certified ABNLP Trainer, will allow you to gain membership with the ABNLP and various other Boards around the globe.
Source: www.abh-abnlp.com
Posted on 6 August 2010 | No Comments
When discussing a problem with clients it isn’t uncommon for me to hear about all the things that they ’should’ be doing. And normally the things that they ’should’ be doing aren’t the things that they are actually doing (Surprise, surprise). They should be exercising more, they should be saving more, they should be getting to bed earlier…
But if you think about it… there is actually very little that we ’should’ do.
Linguistically, ’should’ is a modal operator of necessity. If you ever hear terms like ’should’, ‘must’ or ‘have to’ in your speech, or that of your friends/family, you could legitimately ask, “According to who?”. Or, “What would happen if you didn’t?”. Because there is so little that we ’should’ be doing this word is often used to make us feel guilty or bad about what we’re not doing. Instead of feeling guilty maybe it is more constructive to consider to real reason why it is important… because maybe, just maybe, you’ll find that it isn’t quite as important as you at first thought.
If you are going to use the word ’should’, keep it to yourself. It is one thing to talk about what you should be doing without imposing your ’shoulds’ onto others.
Don’t should on people. Open up possibilities!
