Question 1

Got a question that isn't covered in the FAQ? Ask it here!

Question 2

I'm too _______ to be hypnotized. Right?

Accepted Answer

Too smart, focused, intelligent, imaginative, in control, skeptical, and so on...

We ALL think that. Trust me, it wasn't true for me, it hasn't been true in any of the hundreds of times I've heard it and it's not true for you either.

Question 3

What should I expect the first session to be like?

Accepted Answer

As a rule, I schedule first sessions to be 90 minutes and subsequent sessions 60 minutes, but those times can be adjusted as needed.

For the first 30 minutes or so of the first session, we go over the paperwork that is required by Washington State, answering any questions you may have had while reading and signing that in the Client Portal. Washington requires that paperwork so that you know who I am, what I can do and what the rules area about hypnosis, hypnotherapy, and therapy are in this state. Since that paperwork is completed online, in advance of your session, we concentrate on just the questions you may have.

The next 30 minutes, we will talk about the Kappasinian "Theory of Mind" and how it relates to you. We will talk a bit about the history of hypnosis and hypnotherapy and we will discuss what you can expect to experience.  I will also likely ask you to answer some questions that will help me determine how your mind reacts to different types of suggestions so that I fine tune my approach to work the best for you. Finally, I may ask you to visualize a few different scenes to further adjust my approach.

In the final half-hour, I will perform an induction that is designed to work with the way your imagination works. Inductions are how the hypnotic state is entered and there are hundreds of ways they can be tailored to better match an individual. Once you are "in state", I will show you around a bit, have you experience and visualize a few things I think you might enjoy, then get down to the business at hand.

You may remember nothing, some stuff or everything from the session. That varies from person to person, but I am more than happy to summarize the session as we close.

Afterward, you will likely feel really relaxed, more so than you may have in a very long time. Some people state that colors are a little brighter and most people notice that the "chatter" in their heads is greatly reduced, leaving a more focused feeling.

One thing to note: After a first session, *most* people are uncertain if they were really hypnotized or not. This is normal too and is because the hypnotic experience is not what most people were expecting. They weren't unconscious, didn't lose control and weren't unaware of their surroundings. Don't worry, in subsequent sessions, you will know what to expect and will get better at maximizing the effect.

Question 4

Can you diagnose my mental health or conduct psychotherapy?

Accepted Answer

No. Washington prohibits diagnosis and psychotherapy by hypnotherapists.

As a hypnotherapist, I am NOT credentialed to diagnose mental disorders or to conduct psychotherapy as defined in [WAC 246-810-010](http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=246-810-010).

"Psychotherapy" means the practice of counseling using diagnosis of mental disorders according to the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and the development of treatment plans for counseling based on diagnosis of mental disorders in accordance with established practice standards."

I can refer you out if needed, but these things are not particularly useful in the practice of Subconscious Behaviorism or Hypnotherapy anyway.

Question 5

Are the people on stage under the control of the hypnotist?

Accepted Answer

No they are not under any control but their own. In fact, you have probably seen someone during a stage show who simply didn't react to some skit, so the hypnotist moved on to others. That person might not have felt like doing what was suggested, might have objected to the content or might simply have been feeling really good at the moment and chose to ignore the hypnotist. In hypnosis, you don't relinquish control, you just remove the barriers that were previously in place that prevented you from "going all in" with what you are imagining.

What you see during a stage show is a group of people playing "make-believe" with an intensity that you would not understand unless you had experienced it. The altered state that they have entered allows them to ignore distractions, remove all traces of being self-conscious, and to "get lost" in the suggestions they are recieving. To make them real. If you have seen children playing and seen the intensity with which they can visualize the environment and components of what they are doing, you might realize it's been a while since you have imagined something that vividly.

As adults, we forget how much fun it was to imagine that the ground beneath the monkey bars is "lava" and to do so with such focus that there's no way we are going to be the first to drop. The people on stage have rediscovered how much imagination and play can be.

That is one of the greatest powers of hypnosis!

Question 6

Those people on stage are faking it or are friends with the hypnotist, right?

Accepted Answer

"[Occam's Razor](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor)" states that the simplest explanation is the most likely.

Which is most likely?

The hypnotist tours with a bus full of people and pays them to sit in the audience and "volunteer".
 	The hypnotist has dozens of employees in each city and only calls them up on stage.
 	Hypnosis is real.

Yeah, it is. Try it some time. Those folks are playing the most vivid and real game of ""make believe"" of their entire adult lives. Not since being children on the playground has imagination been so real.

It's fun, refreshing and it feels really good. Why isn't everybody doing this?

Question 7

Will I be under the "control" of the hypnotist?

Accepted Answer

Never!

This is one of the most common misconceptions about hypnosis and it's not too surprising, considering the way hypnosis is presented in movies and on stage.

Maybe you have seen a stage show where one person just didn't respond to a particular skit. In many cases, that is because that skit wasn't "congruent" with who they are. That is, they didn't like the idea, couldn't visualize it, or even found that it conflicted with some value they hold. When you are hypnotized, every word the hypnotist says still gets analyzed. If it sets off any alarm bells, you will either disregard it like that person on stage or even come out of "state" and "awaken".

You might choose to imagine yourself as an ex-smoker, because you don't object to that, but with certainty, you are not going to tell me the P.I.N. for your debit card or do anything you would object to.

Question 8

What is "Street Hypnosis"?

Accepted Answer

Hypnosis has been around for thousands of years (that we have a record of). For much of that time, it was only practiced in a very formal, ritualized fashion. In the past 100 years, it started out as a medical treatment, then diverged from that. From there it split into hypnotherapy and stage hypnosis, both of which were pretty rigidly defined and predictable.

But over the last decade or so, a new generation of hypnotists has broken out of those boxes and taken hypnosis to a new and completely uncontrolled environment, the "street". In much the same way you might see a magician performing in a park, these practitioners of street hypnosis perform with no stage and no rehearsal. It's new, fresh and often unpredictable.

Question 9

What do you mean by "Stage Hypnosis"?

Accepted Answer

Stage hypnosis can encompass several types of performances.

The most obvious is probably the stage shows you see at the fair, in a club, at a corporate event or even at a graduation party. The hypnotist tests the suggestibility of the audience members then brings those who most likely to put on a good show up onto the stage. From there the comedy begins, with routines that demonstrate hypnotic phenomenon in a humorous way. At it's best it's hilarious, fresh and a fun experience for all. At it's worst, it's demeaning, predictable, not funny and even dangerous.

Another type of stage hypnosis is the hypnosis demonstration. In this type of performance, the purpose is to educate, rather than to entertain. Hypnotic phenomenon takes front stage and the comedy takes a back seat. In this type of show, the purpose is for you to walk out with a better understanding of what hypnosis is and more importantly, what it is not.

The final category is the seminar presentation. The purpose of this type of performance is once again educational, but in this case, hypnosis is only used to prove a point about some other topic. A classic example is a performance given before a group of salespeople, where hypnosis is used to show illustrate how a mindset can have a large impact on the success or failure of a sale.

In stage hypnosis, the hypnosis is real, or at least it should be. It's highly unethical to plant "shills" in the audience, but it does happen.

Question 10

Is "deep" hypnosis required for therapy to work?

Accepted Answer

No. Most change work can be done at even the preliminary levels of hypnosis.

As long as the subconscious is open to suggestion, work can proceed and that happens in even the lightest trances.

You can see one system for measuring trance depth on my "[Arons Scale](https://hypnotechs.com/resources/arons-scale/)" page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the first session going to be like?

I'm too _______ to be hypnotized. Right?

Submit a Question

I'm too _______ to be hypnotized. Right?

What should I expect the first session to be like?

Can you diagnose my mental health or conduct psychotherapy?

Are the people on stage under the control of the hypnotist?

Those people on stage are faking it or are friends with the hypnotist, right?

Will I be under the "control" of the hypnotist?

What is "Street Hypnosis"?

What do you mean by "Stage Hypnosis"?

Is "deep" hypnosis required for therapy to work?

What's the first session going to be like?

I'm too _______ to be hypnotized. Right?

Submit a Question

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