Seniors, their needs, and hypnosis. What's useful, helpful?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Roger Moore on November 3, 2009 at 3:49pm

Don't forget pain control and incontinence - I usually have several clients age 70+ at any one time - One of the biggest issues that I pay attention to is there hearing. I have to remember to talk loudly - other than that, I really don't do anything differently for most.

I have on occasion over the years gone to some ones home or care center and worked with them there. In these situations dementia was an issue and I just adapted some of the children techniques and even utilized the dementia state and did what I needed to do. As I recall, in those situations the presenting problem was anxiety.

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Permalink Reply by GIL BOYNE on November 4, 2009 at 2:40am

Hello Walt, The separation from far flung children, concern over childrens monetary affairs, lonliness, retirement (waking up with the thought, :"another day and nothing to do".) The best answers emerge as you ask questions and then listen

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Permalink Reply by Walt Potter on November 4, 2009 at 4:21am

Gil,
Thanks, I'm suprised that I missed some of these. Like worrying about the children's money affairs. I do that!
Walt

GIL BOYNE said:

Hello Walt, The separation from far flung children, concern over childrens monetary affairs, lonliness, retirement (waking up with the thought, :"another day and nothing to do".) The best answers emerge as you ask questions and then listen

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Permalink Reply by Lee Pelletier on November 4, 2009 at 6:30am

I see a lot of seniors. I thoroughly enjoy working with them. You will find that there are no end of issues about which they are concerned. I run into a lot of sadness and loneliness as a part of what clients present. I also deal with a lot of bereavement, anger and bitterness. I have been finding that a lot of seniors live in the "State of Regret" regardless of their physical abode.

It helps tremendously to find out what is in their lives that they wish wasn't. Then to find out what they really want. I sometimes ask them "If you could have anything in the world right now, and had all the resources you need to obtain it, what would you want." That gets them talking and dreaming and generally accessing their imaginations. That becomes a set-up for the trancework. I will often help them slip into trance in that time, and begin to shift to "as if" mode asking them to imagine life "as if what they want were true" and let them tell me how things are.

Some of my seniors are very lonely and just want someone to talk to and to have listen to them. They want to know that they still matter and still can make a contribution to their families and friends. I have a real heart for seniors. With seniors, I find that the ancient wisdom that "God gave me two ears and one mouth so that I could listen twice as much as I speak" to have real application.

When I was learning hypnosis the thinking was that seniors were harder to hypnotize than are younger people. I find them to be very easy to hypnotize. I also find that they love being hypnotized and are the most thorough about following the EFT training and listening to their cd's. They tend to love having new worlds to conquer. They also love talking about their memories. Imagine talking about something important that happened with a senior, and as they talk about it, ask them to describe the situation in detail. As they fill in the details invite them to enter into the memory and begin to experience it as if now. Ask them what they are doing and how it feels, etc.

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Permalink Reply by Walt Potter on November 4, 2009 at 7:03am

Lee,
Thank you very much. What you say reinforces my goal of working with seniors.
You've given me some real good ideas.
Walt

Lee Pelletier said:

I see a lot of seniors. I thoroughly enjoy working with them. You will find that there are no end of issues about which they are concerned. I run into a lot of sadness and loneliness as a part of what clients present. I also deal with a lot of bereavement, anger and bitterness. I have been finding that a lot of seniors live in the "State of Regret" regardless of their physical abode.

It helps tremendously to find out what is in their lives that they wish wasn't. Then to find out what they really want. I sometimes ask them "If you could have anything in the world right now, and had all the resources you need to obtain it, what would you want." That gets them talking and dreaming and generally accessing their imaginations. That becomes a set-up for the trancework. I will often help them slip into trance in that time, and begin to shift to "as if" mode asking them to imagine life "as if what they want were true" and let them tell me how things are.

Some of my seniors are very lonely and just want someone to talk to and to have listen to them. They want to know that they still matter and still can make a contribution to their families and friends. I have a real heart for seniors. With seniors, I find that the ancient wisdom that "God gave me two ears and one mouth so that I could listen twice as much as I speak" to have real application.

When I was learning hypnosis the thinking was that seniors were harder to hypnotize than are younger people. I find them to be very easy to hypnotize. I also find that they love being hypnotized and are the most thorough about following the EFT training and listening to their cd's. They tend to love having new worlds to conquer. They also love talking about their memories. Imagine talking about something important that happened with a senior, and as they talk about it, ask them to describe the situation in detail. As they fill in the details invite them to enter into the memory and begin to experience it as if now. Ask them what they are doing and how it feels, etc.

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Permalink Reply by James Klingensmith on November 4, 2009 at 4:09pm

Don't forget about the ability to say no. A hard time saying "NO" is difficult for a lot of people although some retirement housing residents are still easy pray for scams.

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Permalink Reply by GIL BOYNE on November 5, 2009 at 8:43am

I regularly volunteered to give a free talk on "Freedom from Tensions" or Pain Control through Mindpower" to Senior Citizen meetings throughout So. Calif. These talks produced many private clients and I offered a reduced fee for sessions. Retired persons often have more than ample means to pay for personal services.

Walt Potter said:

Lee,
Thank you very much. What you say reinforces my goal of working with seniors.
You've given me some real good ideas.
Walt

Lee Pelletier said:

I see a lot of seniors. I thoroughly enjoy working with them. You will find that there are no end of issues about which they are concerned. I run into a lot of sadness and loneliness as a part of what clients present. I also deal with a lot of bereavement, anger and bitterness. I have been finding that a lot of seniors live in the "State of Regret" regardless of their physical abode.

It helps tremendously to find out what is in their lives that they wish wasn't. Then to find out what they really want. I sometimes ask them "If you could have anything in the world right now, and had all the resources you need to obtain it, what would you want." That gets them talking and dreaming and generally accessing their imaginations. That becomes a set-up for the trancework. I will often help them slip into trance in that time, and begin to shift to "as if" mode asking them to imagine life "as if what they want were true" and let them tell me how things are.

Some of my seniors are very lonely and just want someone to talk to and to have listen to them. They want to know that they still matter and still can make a contribution to their families and friends. I have a real heart for seniors. With seniors, I find that the ancient wisdom that "God gave me two ears and one mouth so that I could listen twice as much as I speak" to have real application.

When I was learning hypnosis the thinking was that seniors were harder to hypnotize than are younger people. I find them to be very easy to hypnotize. I also find that they love being hypnotized and are the most thorough about following the EFT training and listening to their cd's. They tend to love having new worlds to conquer. They also love talking about their memories. Imagine talking about something important that happened with a senior, and as they talk about it, ask them to describe the situation in detail. As they fill in the details invite them to enter into the memory and begin to experience it as if now. Ask them what they are doing and how it feels, etc.

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Permalink Reply by Samuel Lurie on November 5, 2009 at 10:00am

I present workshops regularly at a community senior center. I do 2 or 3 part workshops that are seasonally themed, i.e. Survive and Thrive the Holidays; Overcoming the Winter Blues; Motivate for Spring; Focus for Fall. Regardless of the "theme" individuals will bring whatever their issues are: physical pain, adjusting to new limitations, sleep concerns, to relationships with adult children, son/daughter-in-law, grandchildren, etc. In a workshop, individuals get to identify their own issue, whatever that may be. One 87 year old woman was really committed to working on her life-long anger and range at her own mother, who had died long ago.

It's great when they come in the next session and report on changes in their lives as a result of doing the hypnosis. There's no way for me to predict or specifically identify what is happening for them, but to hear from them what they are getting out of using the tools is just incredible.

I live in New England, where locals tend to be self-reliant, quiet and don't like to talk about themselves. One theme, especially for women, is a lot of "shame" around saying almost anything positive about themselves and guilt for pursuing any kind of self-care or self-pride for fear that it takes away from others. Reframing that alone is really powerful work.

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Permalink Reply by Colleen on November 10, 2009 at 9:11am

I am very interested in working with seniors as well and have been researching the area. Something that caught my attention was the percentage of younger adults who fear aging. Society tells us that growing older is bound to be an awful experience. I wonder how many seniors are stuck with these limiting thoughts on top of other issues.

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Permalink Reply by GIL BOYNE on November 11, 2009 at 2:14am

Old age is n ot for sissies! But, consider the alternative. --- Gil Boyne---age 85.

Colleen said:

I am very interested in working with seniors as well and have been researching the area. Something that caught my attention was the percentage of younger adults who fear aging. Society tells us that growing older is bound to be an awful experience. I wonder how many seniors are stuck with these limiting thoughts on top of other issues.

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Permalink Reply by Walt Potter on November 11, 2009 at 2:30am

Gil I agree!


However, I find myself making senior decisions about what I want to do/not do that would have been impossible when I was younger. Maybe my younger phase lasted longer than it should have.

Just made a big life decision with employment.

Walt

GIL BOYNE said:

Old age is n ot for sissies! But, consider the alternative. --- Gil Boyne---age 85.

Colleen said:

I am very interested in working with seniors as well and have been researching the area. Something that caught my attention was the percentage of younger adults who fear aging. Society tells us that growing older is bound to be an awful experience. I wonder how many seniors are stuck with these limiting thoughts on top of other issues.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on November 11, 2009 at 4:21am

Hat tip to Samuel!

If we pay attention, It is always the season for "hypnotic" assistance.

Bravo!

Michael E.


Samuel Lurie said:

I present workshops regularly at a community senior center. I do 2 or 3 part workshops that are seasonally themed, i.e. Survive and Thrive the Holidays; Overcoming the Winter Blues; Motivate for Spring; Focus for Fall. Regardless of the "theme" individuals will bring whatever their issues are: physical pain, adjusting to new limitations, sleep concerns, to relationships with adult children, son/daughter-in-law, grandchildren, etc. In a workshop, individuals get to identify their own issue, whatever that may be. One 87 year old woman was really committed to working on her life-long anger and range at her own mother, who had died long ago.

It's great when they come in the next session and report on changes in their lives as a result of doing the hypnosis. There's no way for me to predict or specifically identify what is happening for them, but to hear from them what they are getting out of using the tools is just incredible.

I live in New England, where locals tend to be self-reliant, quiet and don't like to talk about themselves. One theme, especially for women, is a lot of "shame" around saying almost anything positive about themselves and guilt for pursuing any kind of self-care or self-pride for fear that it takes away from others. Reframing that alone is really powerful work.

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