How do we deal with lack of respect for Hypnotherapy?

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Permalink Reply by Doreen Cohanim C.Ht on July 23, 2009 at 4:13pm

Hello Deborah,

First of all congratulations and I am happy for you.
Now, don't worry about convincing family, friends or co-workers, when time arrives, you will be so professional that you will be able to handle it in a very creative way.
Your job is not to convince anyone that hypnosis works, your mission is to educate them.

Also when people make a joke, play along, have fun and say, great, sure I can make you do anything you want, did you say you wanted to quack like a duck? smile with confidence... and If someone offer to practice on them, say, wonderful, we are going to have so much fun...

As to Free sessions, some will tell you yes, and some will tell you; that If you do it for free you don't value yourself, well I disagree, I did my first 60 or 100 clients for free, not only i received credit for them, but I learned to use hypnosis better.

Think about it, when a person go to massage school, they advice all students to practice on clients for free, why? practice makes it perfect.

All the best....

Doreen Cohanim C.Ht
Certified Hypnotherapist & Energy Healer
www.EnterYourMind.com
www.HypnoCruise.com
www.HypnoPet.org

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Permalink Reply by Antonio on July 23, 2009 at 7:41pm

I once read something in a book by Bandler where someone asked him if he would make them quack like a duck. Then he asked the person how a duck quacking sounds like - once they started quacking he said something along the lines of "look, I don't need to hypnotize you to make you quack like a duck".

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Permalink Reply by John Cleesattel on July 24, 2009 at 11:50am

Deborah,

One of the things that makes us good at what we do is the practice we get doing it. The first thing to learn is not to chase after anyone just to hypnotize them. I usually express this as "I don't chase people to give them a gift. It lowers their esteem of you, and cheapens the gift."

The jokes are plentiful but usually good-natured, its just that they all know the cliches and can't wait to use them. You can reply in a good-natured way also by saying something like "wow! that's the first time I've heard that...today...LOL".
I especially like the ones that say "I don't believe in hypnosis". I get to reply: "that's okay! its not a religion!" LOL.

If they continue spouting doubt, I give them a meaningful look and tell them that I can say a single hypnotic word that will instantly put them in a trance state, their eyes will close, they will feel themselves totally relax, and it will feel awesome, just one hypnotic word...and then I ask: "so just how sure are you that hypnosis doesn't exist?" Then I smile at them knowningly. LOL.

For the bold and daring who stick to their guns (not very many...believe me), I do the instant induction that I have just set up, and down they go. The others just back off and have a bit more respect.

If someone has a need, I usually give a subdued offer to help if they want it, but I don't push it at all because they feel like they are doing you a favor to let you help them. Don't expect friends or family to jump at the chance for you to "get inside their head".

What I love to help people with most, is fears. I personally suffered from a severe fear of heights for over 25 years. Even things like freeway overpasses would absolutely terrify me. A high bridge over a river would make me pull over and have the wife drive across. When I found out how well hypnosis worked for me (absolutely no problems at all now) that sunk the hook.

If I know someone is suffering from an irrational fear, and doesn't have the money to come see me, I usually help them anyway. I guess I am an old softie at heart. No one should have to live in fear. Needless to say I got very good at the fast phobia cure and just understanding how and why it all works.

Whether or not you do any free sessions is entirely up to you, as well as how you handle the jokes. I just thought I would share my experiences.

John

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Permalink Reply by Nathan Thomas on July 24, 2009 at 11:16pm

Hey
i used to get really annoyed by the lack of respect people showed for hypnosis, then i came to understand it.
I remembered back to before i started on the road to being a hypnotist, and realized that i would have had the exact same skeptical and joking attitude.
Now i just gently correct them, using a lot of pacing, a big smile and a willingness to joke provided it leads to them understanding what hypnosis really is.
I am also completely willing to do free sessions / demonstrations, especially with skeptical people.
So, i think my advice would be to accept that people will have doubts, and learn how to deal with it elegantly, without letting it bother you. When doing this a sense of humour as well as an unshakable belief in your message make a powerful combination.
Cheers
Nathan
http://keystothemind.blogspot.com

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Permalink Reply by chris john on July 25, 2009 at 5:22am

I think we all get the references to the 'duck' thing all the way through our careers.
Yeah,i give free sessions when i was starting out.
And i still do, as its great for word of mouth on what you can do.
It may get you more paying clients than you think.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh Cole on September 8, 2009 at 4:17pm

We have all had the quacking like a duck experience. Ashamed to say I have actually done it to some folks in a show, Hypnotherapy gets repect by producing results. Pure and Simple. I like to say " I get repect the old fashioned way, I earn it."
If you look at some of the medical applications, the addiction applications, The painless childbirth applications, you will soon build a reperoire of "come backs" for family and friends who are really only curious as to why you think it is effective enough to make it a career


Hugh Cole

The Pretty Goodest Hypnotist on the planet.

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Permalink Reply by Henxy on September 11, 2009 at 5:39am

The best thing I think is not to be defensive, or offended by their comments.
As a nurse, in the past, I got upset when people said that they 'couldn't do my job because they couldn't wipe arses'. It frustrated me that their stereotypical view of a nurse was menial, doing unpleasant tasks, and requiring no brains. It eventually occurred to me that they were still respecting me in a way, and I realised that it didn't matter what they thought. My patients, colleagues and I knew what it took to be an ICU nurse.

Many people are just plain scared of what seems to them to be mind control (especially as portrayed on TV and in stage shows). Fear often brings flippant comments.
I usually get people from one of 2 camps: those who do the 'can you make me cluck like a chicken?' taking the mickey camp, who also are the ones who say 'can you make me stop eating junk?'... And those who are fascinated and want to know as much as I'll tell them.
So many people comment that they're not going to look into my eyes in case I 'make them do something' and 'you're doing it now, aren't you?'. I take it as a compliment that I don't have to do anything to prove to them that I CAN do hypnosis!

As for the 'can you only do hypnosis with a pendulum?' ... I explain that we've gone digital... If you can laugh at yourself, it takes the wind out of the sails of the hecklers.

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Permalink Reply by Jack Hirsh on September 11, 2009 at 6:01am

First of all congratulations on your decision to get proper training. When I first started out studying hypnosis my own wife told me that I was nuts. She didn't believe hypnosis was real and that I was wasting my time. Once I started telling her about all the research that supports hypnosis she became very interested and even started asking questions about different areas of hypnosis. Now she is helping me set up a wellness center by getting me in touch with a massage therapist and an accupuncturist that are friends of friends of hers. My wife was also my first client (free of charge of course). She needed help with craving control and exercise motivation and after 2 sessions she now understands the power of hypnosis.

I was also surprised by my mother's response. At first she thought that this was just some strange hair brained idea that would pass but now she is begging me to do some weight loss sessions with her. She also suffers from fybromialgia and would like some help with that,

I still have friends that don't understand but once the jokes are done they open up with some serious questions about how hypnosis could help them with different issues. I think we all tend to mock that which we don't understand but all the joking is really doing is covering up the fact that we are curious.

If you have a true passion for hypnosis don't let anyone dissuade you with their jokes. As far as free sessions go I don't see any harm in it but I would probably stick to doing simple demonstrations for skeptics and only helping people that are genuinely commited to making change and believe that hypnosis will work for them.

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Permalink Reply by Graham Old on September 11, 2009 at 8:07am

Definitely yes to the free sessions. It's great practice.

Also, if I told someone I was qualified as a counsellor, they'd expect to hear the occasional wise word from me during a conversation. So, I don't think their expecting to see you in action is a sign of disrespect.

Magnetic hands is normally enough.

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Permalink Reply by Sean Michael Andrews on September 11, 2009 at 9:43am

Most of the time when people make the comment about "quacking like a duck," they are not really trying to denigrate you or hypnosis. It's just the first thing that pops into their head and they feel compelled to verbalize it. Just laugh it off and say, "No, but I can help you drop bad habits or make you more successful." :-)

Sean Michael Andrews
www.WorldsFastestHypnotist.com

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Permalink Reply by Brian David Phillips on September 11, 2009 at 9:11pm

I have never asked anyone to quack like a duck but I wouldn't discount doing it in the future . . . the gods know, I've asked folks to do far more bizarre things in a show or elsewhere.

If someone's making the comment, it could be fear or nerves or it could be genuine excitement. "Will you make me quack like a duck?" "Only if you want me to." and smile. or, "no, but I can teach you how to concentrate" . . . as you said you're ABOUT to attend the training, I am assuming that you have yet to begin the actual skills portion of your journey . . . when you do . . . these folks will be great to practice with . . . in a playful manner.

I've given free sessions to friends or family or their children for school work and the like . . . but not a lot . . . and I don't get asked for many, once I establish that I am a professional and that I do have fees for the heavy lifting. But . . . I am perfectly happy to brighten someone's day or to teach 'em how to enter hypnosis with a self-relaxation or stress relief protocol (such as "the garbage can" that I often use in public demonstrations or with clients) . . . play with some suggestibility effects and engage their imagination and then give 'em a self-trigger.

If you do your job they will spread the good word for you . . . or, even come back as a paying client later.

Just because you're a "professional" doesn't mean you're no longer you . . . and . . . feel free to have fun engaging their imaginations.

As to actual free session requests . . . that's up to you . . . and base your decision upon what you feel is right for you and for your relationship with that individual. I would never refuse my mother a session or my siblings, at least not for the simple things but will refer to others for heavy lifting work as I wouldn't be comfortable working with intimate issues with close family or friends, but I've referred some friends to other hypnotists. You could also use the "energy exchange" model to explain any reluctance for free sessions. Folks do indeed tend to have more powerful results if they exchange something for the sessions, money or something else. A completely free session on an important life issue may not be as successful if they place value upon it (a free session inherently has little psychological value to the client).

There is no wrong or right of this.

Just follow the path you wish to walk.

In my opinion, and it's okay if you or others disagree.

All the best,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com

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Permalink Reply by Deborah Nelson on September 12, 2009 at 12:38pm

Thank you Brian. I appreciate your thoughtful response. I did a session with my son (free, of course)for smoking cessation and he was fine for the first five days and now is struggling, I asked him to have another session with me to reinforce. I did a session with my son's friend (also free) and he started smoking again 2 days later. Do you think the free session did not have the same impact because he didn't value it? My technique is to get them into trance, regress them to a pre-smoking age, discuss the clean healthy lungs, progress them to the present, give suggestions for not needing cigarettes, neutral emotion, being a non-smoker and giving them at least three things to do to reinforce the suggestion like seeing the color red, pressing thumb and forefingers together, deep breath and drinking water. I live in a small mountain town and my future success depends on positive results and word of mouth. Any suggestions for smoking cessation techniques. I was thinking of doing a turn your stomach revolting association instead of the regression to a pre-smoking age. Thank you in advance for your help.
Deborah

Brian David Phillips said:

I have never asked anyone to quack like a duck but I wouldn't discount doing it in the future . . . the gods know, I've asked folks to do far more bizarre things in a show or elsewhere.

If someone's making the comment, it could be fear or nerves or it could be genuine excitement. "Will you make me quack like a duck?" "Only if you want me to." and smile. or, "no, but I can teach you how to concentrate" . . . as you said you're ABOUT to attend the training, I am assuming that you have yet to begin the actual skills portion of your journey . . . when you do . . . these folks will be great to practice with . . . in a playful manner.

I've given free sessions to friends or family or their children for school work and the like . . . but not a lot . . . and I don't get asked for many, once I establish that I am a professional and that I do have fees for the heavy lifting. But . . . I am perfectly happy to brighten someone's day or to teach 'em how to enter hypnosis with a self-relaxation or stress relief protocol (such as "the garbage can" that I often use in public demonstrations or with clients) . . . play with some suggestibility effects and engage their imagination and then give 'em a self-trigger.

If you do your job they will spread the good word for you . . . or, even come back as a paying client later.

Just because you're a "professional" doesn't mean you're no longer you . . . and . . . feel free to have fun engaging their imaginations.

As to actual free session requests . . . that's up to you . . . and base your decision upon what you feel is right for you and for your relationship with that individual. I would never refuse my mother a session or my siblings, at least not for the simple things but will refer to others for heavy lifting work as I wouldn't be comfortable working with intimate issues with close family or friends, but I've referred some friends to other hypnotists. You could also use the "energy exchange" model to explain any reluctance for free sessions. Folks do indeed tend to have more powerful results if they exchange something for the sessions, money or something else. A completely free session on an important life issue may not be as successful if they place value upon it (a free session inherently has little psychological value to the client).

There is no wrong or right of this.

Just follow the path you wish to walk.

In my opinion, and it's okay if you or others disagree.

All the best,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com

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