Deepeners - Everything You Want To Know About Hypnosis Deepeners-whatsonmybrain.com

Everything You Want To Know About Hypnosis Deepeners http://www.whatsonmybrain.com/deepeners-part-1/ http://www.whatsonmybrain.com/deepeners-part-2/ http://www.whatsonmybrain.com/deepeners-part-3/ http://www.whatsonmybrain.com/deepeners-part-4/ Joshua Houghton

1/21/2014

A newly qualified or trainee hypnotist will rely heavily on the standard scripts and deepeners their training organization furnishes them with, and quite right too. Given time and confidence they’ll adapt these to suit themselves more closely. But what if that basic script and deepeners aren’t quite sufficient? What if that reliable deepener leaves you facing a fidgeting client who’s clearly a long way from the level of trance required for the work you had planned? The key is to have several deepeners up your sleeve. (You might think I’m speaking figuratively here, but I know one student who literally wrote keywords on her forearms, and would quietly roll her sleeve up for a quick reminder while her “client” lay with eyes closed, blissfully unaware!) If one deepener isn’t enough, you can smoothly progress straight on to another. Many books on hypnosis will include several deepening scripts (see the resources section of the website for some recommendations). But to help you start your collection of deepeners, you’ll find 10 well known and reliable ones outlined in this series of articles. If you exhaust all of these and still don’t have a relaxed and receptive client, perhaps you should reconsider your induction techniques and pre-hypnosis preparation talk!

The Deepeners Many deepeners are based on counting, and/or asking the client to visualize moving downwards as this naturally corresponds to going deeper into trance. They are really just variations on a theme, but those variations mean you can use them all without the client thinking you’re just repeating yourself (with the suspicion, “it’s not working”)! Other deepeners use physical sensations to increase relaxation, using deep exhalations, opening and closing eyes, comparing tense and relaxed muscles, inducing heaviness or lightness, and so on. They can all be used in conjunction with each other, giving you a comprehensive combination of tools to deepen the trance of your clients.

Deepener 1 – counting down This is the classic, simplest deepener that might be sufficient for many subjects. It involves simply counting from 10 down to 1 while suggesting increased depth of relaxation, particularly utilizing the natural relaxation of muscles when the client breathes out:

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So now… in few moments… I’m going to start counting backwards… from ten… down to one … and as I count down… from ten… to one… in a few moments… you’ll find yourself relaxing more and more deeply… with each number… drifting deeper… and deeper into relaxation… and it’s a really pleasant sensation… to be … so deeply relaxed… (pause, and watch the client’s breathing to synchronize each number with an exhalation) And… ten… beginning to relax… and… nine… noticing how… each time you breathe out… your muscles quite naturally relax… and let go of tension… and eight… drifting deeper… and deeper into that soft…comfortable… feeling of relaxation… with every breath… and seven… more and more relaxed… And so on, until you reach one and the client is ready for the therapeutic input you had in mind. However, a simple countdown isn’t always enough, and most hypnotists use some form of visualization along with the countdown to help reach a deep trance more quickly. Good visualization can be an extremely http://www.whatsonmybrain.com/5-ways-visualizations-powerful/ pleasant experience, making the client look forward to sessions, and relax more deeply and quickly each time.

Deepener 2 – descending steps Incorporating as many senses as possible into visualizations helps immerse the client more completely in their inner world. The more intensely they’re focused on the detail of that inner world, the more quickly they leave the normal, outer world behind and the more deeply they go into trance: Imagine you’re standing in the warmth of the sun… on a terrace… at the top of a beautiful flight of ten steps, with a balustrade … Those steps lead down to your very own… special… garden… where you can totally relax, leaving all the normal stresses and troubles of daily life far behind… In a few moments… I’m going to count from ten down to one… and as I count… from ten… down to one… I’d like you to go down those stairs… one step at a time… feeling more and more relaxed with every step… as you sink deeper and deeper into relaxation. And ten… taking that first step down… beginning to relax… allowing… your muscles to relax… and nine…stepping down… taking a moment to notice the details of this beautiful flight of steps… what’s it made from? What colors can you see in the stone, or wood or metal of the staircase? … and eight… another step down… feeling more and more relaxed… reaching out to touch the banister… noticing… does it feel smooth or rough, cool or warm, sturdy or delicate?… And so you continue, perhaps suggesting half way down that they stop and notice how far behind they’re leaving the normal concerns and stresses of life. And on “one” they step off into that beautiful garden (or whatever kind of special place seems most conducive for that particular client – a garden or summer meadow may not be the best idea for a severe hay fever sufferer!) with the suggestion they can explore and enjoy this place, with a sense of freedom, safety and deep contentment.

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http://www.whatsonmybrain.com/deepeners-part-2/ Joshua Houghton

1/22/2014

In part one, we looked at the reasons why a good hypnotist has to know several different deepening scripts, and detailed two classic deepeners – the simple countdown, and a countdown with a descending staircase visualization. Here in part two, let’s look at some different visualizations that can be used in addition to the deepeners in part one.

Deepener 3 – The Escalator A simple alternative to the staircase in part one. This time the subject imagines they’re stepping onto an escalator which will take them down towards a door at the bottom. Often it’s suggested that there are ten lights in the ceiling above the escalator, and they are counted down one by one as each light passes over head, coinciding with an exhalation. The client is encouraged to relax more and more as each light is passed. When they are deeply relaxed on reaching the bottom of the escalator, they open the door at the bottom and step through to some suitably relaxing and pleasant location.

Deepener 4 – The Elevator Let’s take a look at one of my favorite deepeners called The Elevator. This can be used as an alternative to the staircase, or it can be used in addition to it to deepen the trance still further. Of course you must check your client’s feelings about elevators before even considering this deepener. It’s hardly going to increase their sense of relaxation if they happen to be phobic about elevators or enclosed spaces! If you’re using it as an initial deepener, you would approach it in much the same manner as the staircase visualization described in part one http://www.whatsonmybrain.com/deepeners-part-1/ . If you want to use it in addition to the initial deepener, you would guide your client to find a door in their inner world, and when they open it, they realize it’s an elevator: You step inside… Take some time to really examine the interior of the elevator… its style… the kind of doors… the design of the elevator buttons… The indicator above the door reads 10… there are numbered buttons, from 10 down to 1. You want to go right down, as deeply as you can today… knowing that each floor will help you to relax even more deeply… so reach out and press button one… Watch as the doors close. You’ve already done really well… you’re already starting to relax deeply, so imagine just how wonderfully relaxed you’ll feel when you have gone all the way down in the elevator to level one… And now the elevator begins to move. The indicator above the door is showing 10… but that soon changes to 9 as you begin to move smoothly down… and as you pass floor 8 you feel yourself drifting even more deeply into that wonderful relaxation, more deeply into trance… And so you continue, taking the client deeper and deeper into relaxation, until they step out at level one, where you might guide them to find somewhere incredibly peaceful and comfortable to sit or lie in a state of utter contentment and relaxation… and you can begin your therapeutic intervention.

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Deepener 5 – The Elevator with a Twist The element of surprise in hypnosis can be extremely effective at overcoming resistance. This can be incorporated into the elevator deepener described above by not opening the doors at level one as expected, but continuing the journey down even further… perhaps just to a basement level that the subject was not expecting… continuing to be reassuring and suggesting that their level of relaxation and trance is immensely enhanced by this unexpected journey even deeper inside.

Deepener 6 – The Boat This uses the imagery of drifting in a safe, comfortable boat, down-stream, and out to sea. Like the elevator deepener, ensure that your client has no traumatic feelings towards boats or water. Suggest that they can hear the sound of running water. Let them discover a small boat, perfect for one, waiting for them at the side of the stream. It’s filled with soft, comfortable cushions, and they can’t resist getting in and lying down in the inviting comfort of the boat. Have them notice lots of details, using all of their senses. The boat is gently lifted by the current of the stream, and the water rocks them gently as they relax more and more in the warm sunlight. And as the water carries them downstream, with the boat gently cradling them, the banks of the river get wider and wider apart, until they are steadily heading for the open ocean, where there are no barriers; where they can leave the land (and their busy lives and all their problems) far, far behind, as they relax more and more, hearing the gentle lapping of the water on the sides of the boat, feeling the soft, warm breeze on their skin, feeling utterly relaxed, knowing they can stay here, safely out at sea for as long as they want…

Deepeners Part 2 Conclusion So, you now have a good, basic collection of visualizations to help deepen the trance of your subjects. But, as mentioned in part one, countdowns and visualizations aren’t the only types of deepeners… there are also the physical deepeners, which are very different and can work remarkably quickly.

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http://www.whatsonmybrain.com/deepeners-part-3/ I guess you’ve made it through Deepeners part 1 http://www.whatsonmybrain.com/deepeners-part-1/ and Deepeners part2 http://www.whatsonmybrain.com/deepeners-part-2/, and you’re back for more deepeners. Here as promised we’ll explore some that utilize physical sensations to increase the depth of trance in your subject. They’re similar to some (and indeed can be used as) effective inductions. I don’t know about you, but when I read detailed scripts like the ones here, I find myself relaxing with them… I nearly fell asleep while writing the Vogt’s fractionation below… whether it was the highly effective nature of the script or that I was boring myself to sleep… I’ll let you be the judge!

Deepener 7 – Eye open and closure You’d think that waking your client up when you’ve just put them into hypnosis would disrupt the level of trance. However, it can actually be used to deepen the trance, by making the subject aware of the effort required to open the eyes and the relief of closing them again. Your deepener might go something like this: Well done… you’re beginning to relax really well now… I’d like to help you relax even more… physically and mentally… and to do that… in a few moments…I’ll count to three, and ask you to open your eyes… you’ll find it takes a bit of effort to do that… because the muscles around your eyes are already relaxing so well… they don’t really want to open… and then, after you’ve opened your eyes… when I ask you to close them again… it will be such a relief to allow them to close… you’ll feel twice as relaxed as before… and that relaxation will affect your whole body. We’ll do this three times, and each time you’ll find yourself drifting deeper and deeper into relaxation… So when I count one…two… three… on three you’ll open your eyes… and when you close them again… you’ll be twice as relaxed as you are right now… And one… two… three… opening your eyes now… noticing how much effort it takes… those relaxed muscles have to activate to open your eyelids… that’s right… eyes opened… even though they would rather stay closed… and relaxed… let your gaze rest softly on something just in front of you (if there is a suitable object or point that you can refer to for the client to focus on, then mention it). And now, allow your eyes to close…. And let the relief and relaxation of closing them sweep right through your body… twice as relaxed as before… twice as comfortable… sinking down deeper… it’s so nice to just… let go… feeling your whole body slip deeper and deeper into relaxation, and your mind drifting deeper and deeper into trance… that’s right…. You repeat this doubling of relaxation/ trance depth, until on the third request to close their eyes, you can suggest that the muscles around their eyelids just don’t want to open again right now… they’re much too relaxed.

Deepener 8 – Vogt’s Fractionation Method This is similar to the eye opening and closing outlined above, but can be particularly helpful for clients who need evidence in order to believe they really have been hypnotized. It just requires a little confidence on the part of the hypnotist! There isn’t really room here to go into detail about the technique in its entirety but here is a slimmed down version of this deepener based on the script from Hartland’s Medical and Dental Hypnosis: In a moment I’m going to wake you up by counting from one up to five. When I reach five and you wake up, your eyes will be open, but while I’m talking to you, you’ll start to feel very drowsy and very, very sleepy again… you’ll find it really hard to keep your eyes open… and you’ll just want to drift off to sleep… your eyes will feel very, very heavy… and they’ll want to blink… in fact they’ll begin to blink… and you won’t be able to stop them from blinking… and as they do… you’ll feel more and more sleepy… more and more drowsy… and your eyes 5

will want to close… as you feel more and more relaxed and sleepy… in fact, they will close… and you’ll drift off into a deep… deep state of blissful relaxation… a much, much deeper state than you’re feeling right now… so when I count up to five and you wake up… you won’t be able to keep your eyes open for very long at all… because you’ll feel so very, very tired… so very, very drowsy that they’ll soon start to blink… and close…. And you’ll fall into a deep… deep… sleep When the subject is then woken up, their eyes will begin to blink, or will remain half closed… and this quite natural state is what we utilize… if they blink, you’ll say something like: There you are… your eyes are starting to blink… because they feel so tired and drowsy… they’re feeling heavier and heavier… and they just want to close… If they don’t blink, but remain half-closed and sleepy, you might say: That’s right… notice how sleepy and drowsy those eyes feel… they don’t really want to stay open… because you’re feeling more and more sleepy as I’m talking to you… more and more drowsy… your eyelids are feeling heavier and heavier… and you can’t help but let them close… and you’re falling into a deeper and deeper sleep… If you deepen the trance even more using a countdown or visualization, then wake the client again, when they drift back into trance they’ll go even deeper and faster, and be more open to your therapeutic intervention. Before waking them up, you can suggest that when you mention the word sleep, they’ll be unable to resist closing their eyes and drifting off into a deep, deep, relaxing sleep.

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http://www.whatsonmybrain.com/deepeners-part-4/ Joshua Houghton

1/24/2014

Here we are, at the final part of this mini-series about deepeners. By the time you’ve finished reading this part, assuming you’ve looked at the first three articles in the series, you’ll have a nice, reliable bank of 10 methods for deepening the level of trance that your hypnosis clients experience.

Deepener 9 – Limb phenomena Here’s one which, as you gain in confidence, you can develop and take to different levels. It’s helpful for clients who want to be certain that they really have been hypnotized. It involves making the limb (usually the arm) feel very light and rise up in the air, then returning the normal feeling of weight to it so that it lowers back to rest on the arm of the chair, or into the subject’s lap, with an accompanying feeling of deep relaxation. Having induced a certain level of trance, you might say something like: I’d like you to focus your attention on your right arm now. Feel how relaxed it is. Notice the sensation of the leather beneath your palm (or whatever appropriate description would match the subject’s experience) and let your whole arm relax even more, resting more heavily against the arm of the chair. More and more relaxed… so relaxed that it almost feels as though it’s quite detached from you… And now imagine that arm becoming lighter and lighter… until there’s hardly any sensation of weight in that arm at all… so light… feeling weightless… light as a feather… so that if you let it go, it can begin to float upwards, almost as though it is attached to a balloon, that effortlessly lifts your arm up into the air, lighter and lighter… imagine there’s a string round your wrist attached to that balloon, gradually lifting your arm up so that it can float gently, higher and higher… that’s right… (even if the subject’s arm hasn’t moved yet, they will be experiencing a feeling of lightness in the limb… you may have to repeat the suggestions of lightness a few times more, or even lift the arm a fraction, saying “see how light it is and easy for me to lift,” just to start the motion upwards, but in most cases this will happen quite readily) Having induced the feeling of lightness and the raising of the arm, you can simply talk the weight gradually back into the arm, and suggest that it gently lowers back down as it returns to normal. Please remember to return the limb to “normal”. If your client walks out at the end of the session looking lop-sided, you’ll know you forgot! As the feeling of weight returns to the arm, you can say how, as it lowers, your client is falling deeper and deeper into trance or relaxation, becoming deeply, deeply relaxed and enjoying that pleasant sensation. This can be taken further by inducing a rigid arm, suggesting the arm is stuck to the chair, and/or complete arm catalepsy (total inability to move any part of it), just be certain to return the limb to normal when you’re done!

Deepener 10 – Feedback Technique I’ve included this one because, although there’s nothing exciting or dramatic about it, it’s an excellent one to have up your sleeve for clients who are nervous and/or have difficulty going deeper than a superficial level of trance. If someone seems to only enter a very light trance, the feedback technique simply involves asking them to describe in detail the sensations they felt when going into that light trance. This can be quite different for each individual. 7

By carefully noting what the client was feeling and in what order, you can take them back into trance, describing what they are going to feel, in the same order as before. It seems there’s no resistance to these suggestions because they reflect what the client has already experienced and expects to experience again. This confirmation of the client’s experience helps them to go deeper into trance each time, as they recognize what you are telling them, and therefore accept that they must be going into trance. You can repeat the procedure of waking them, discussing anything new about their experience this time, and then inducing trance again, utilizing the new information. Each time, the level of trance achieved should be noticeably deeper.

Deepeners Part 4 Conclusion Throughout these articles I’ve tried to give a fairly detailed idea of how the deepeners work and examples of the wording you might use. But in this final installment I want to emphasize the importance of getting to know the nature and flow of a technique, then using words and phrases that are natural to you. When I first started to learn this hypnosis stuff, I would sit with my “clients” (thankfully just my fellow students!) and read, word for word, the scripts we were given by the college. Although they were excellent, reliable scripts, some of the language just didn’t sit naturally with me. As a result, although they worked reasonably well, I couldn’t get into that “flow” which is part of the magic of being a hypnotist. And because the words weren’t natural to me I would stumble and hesitate at times. My very compliant fellow students were extremely tolerant (we were all in the same boat, and they were just as bad!) but I’m glad they were not paying clients! As my confidence grew I began to follow the general structure of the scripts, but in my own words. Just this simple action led to my subjects experiencing a much deeper level of trance. I would go so far as to say that for novice and student hypnotists, this shift to using your own, natural language is a deepener in itself! So I urge you to make these techniques your own, and have fun with them – responsibly of course!

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