What do you NEED to know to be great?

I was recently contacted by a hypnotist who I think could use our help. I won't use his real name, so let's just call him "Nathan" for the sake of this discussion. Nathan started learning hypnosis about two years ago from the Tad James system. He took all the classes Tad's company offered and nothing else. He had studied Tad's stuff diligently and exclusively. He hadn't heard of Gil Boyne or Roy Hunter or many other people I would think someone with two years experience would have heard of.

Nathan said most of his part time practice was focused on smoking cessation, which made sense to me for the amount of training he had. When I told him that I didn't read scripts to clients he was really impressed and asked if I had even created my own induction. This was a completely new concept to him and he was fascinated by the idea of not using a script. It sounded like he was moving in a great direction and going to keep building on his skills and practice until he said something that scared me.

He is teaching classes in hypnosis.

Specifically, he has been teaching the three day weekend certification classes we see talked about every now and then. One year after he started learning hypnosis he was teaching hypnosis. There were other parts of his business that were built on supporting practicing hypnotists but I don't want to go into details and violate his anonymity. This isn't about bashing the guy or the training he received.

Nathan seems like a good guy who genuinely wants to be good at helping people. Right now he definitely doesn't have the knowledge necessary to be teaching, and I'm not familiar enough with Tad's work to know if he has enough skill to run a full time practice (I'm sure there are people in this community who can better answer that).

Many years ago I was in the same place Nathan is in now. I finished my training certain I had learned everything I needed to and was on my way to being the best hypnotist ever. I was 19 years old and ready to take the hypnosis world by storm. Thank God Michael Ellner, Janet Macy, and Jim Duncan got a hold of me and showed me how little I knew and how much there was left to explore. Nathan doesn't have the luxury of the people I just mentioned because he has never heard of any of them. All he knows are the names of the people who have been trainers for Tad. (again, this isn't about denigrating Tad or his content, but emphasizing that is a single school of thought with no outside influence).

My question is this: What should Nathan study next?

Do you have any advice for someone in his position? What are the order of operations you would suggest to get from where he is to being great at hypnotherapy? What will it take for him to be a great practitioner and trainer?

Please keep this conversation on topic and productive. This isn't about mocking anyone or discouraging people. This is why we are here, to offer mentorship and guidance to people who need it, and in doing so to further our profession. Let's keep this conversation classy and helpful for the hundreds of people who are in the exact same position as Nathan.

Thanks for your input,
Scott

Tags: class, hypnosis education, hypnotherapy, hypnotize, learn, study

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Permalink Reply by Melissa J. Roth on April 20, 2010 at 8:14am

Melissa J. Roth said:

Yes, burn the scripts. If you were taught Krasner's method he asks one crucial question: "How will your life improve when XYZ is no longer a problem for you?" Then, he says to keep questioning until you elicit a list of behaviors, not emotions. That constitutes your "script" that you then develop for that client. You have to listen to what they are not saying. Look beyond what they say and do to what is motivating them. Then you will know what to say rather than a script that is hit or miss. Learn to actively listen. It's hard work to listen to what isn't being said.

Example: I recently had a client who was referred by her neurologist for migraines. She was taking 27 different medications for various health issues. She had daily migraines that were unrelieved by medications for so long she couldn't remember when they started to be so severe. She developed migraines when she was 14 yrs old (typical onset for females). The fact that they were daily, unrelieved by medications, no obvious pathology and were continuing to worsen told me there was an underlying issue. But, all the questioning in the world did not elicit any information from her about what was causing them. So, I started a progressive relaxation induction and she started to cry. Uh-oh. So, I decided to use a Parts reframe to see if I could elicit information. Long story short, she was raped by her uncle at 14. She had never told anyone until that day. She's in her 60's and had intended to carry that secret to her grave.....except that her unconscious mind had a different opinion. Once she disclosed, her migraines turned into 2 headaches per week--the same number of headaches as her husband approached her about sex each week. The remainder of our sessions will focus on releasing those emotions and healing old wounds. Many of her other health issues have spontaneously improved as well.

The point of this is that you must actively LISTEN to your client, forget about a script and talk to them about 'the rest of the story." Then, you will become a good hypnotherapist and add value to your client's lives. Or, you can simply be like Tad and follow the Amway method of earning an income.

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Permalink Reply by John Cleesattel on April 20, 2010 at 9:35am

The first thing you would need to know to be great, is what exactly IS greatness? Is it being great in your own eyes? Is it being successful with what you do? Is it having a good personality so that many like who you are? Is it being altruistic? giving for the greater good? Or is it having the most products on the market? or the best PR program?

The second thing you would need to know is... who is the judge of this greatness? and what qualifies them to be that judge?

My answers to these questions are the same for each. In my opinion, our clients define our greatness, and are the only viable judge.

John

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Permalink Reply by Scott Sandland on April 20, 2010 at 1:24pm

UPDATE:

Nathan just called to thank me for this discussion on here and is finding it invaluable. He's already bought some books.

I have to admit, I'm really impressed with the way he has handled my candor with him. It's not fun to get that kind of feedback, but it's the kind of thing you are thankful for later if you respond well.

-Scott

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Permalink Reply by Pete & Lorraine on April 20, 2010 at 1:28pm

Nice one
And good luck to the guy,he obviously wants to be good at what he does.

Pete

Scott Sandland, C.Ht. said:

UPDATE:

Nathan just called to thank me for this discussion on here and is finding it invaluable. He's already bought some books.

I have to admit, I'm really impressed with the way he has handled my candor with him. It's not fun to get that kind of feedback, but it's the kind of thing you are thankful for later if you respond well.

-Scott

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Permalink Reply by Timothy L. Trujillo on April 20, 2010 at 3:51pm

I think Nathan should come spend three days with me and learn how to take his skills to the next level.

Clearly he's already invested great time and energy into learning his methods and building a business. I commend him for achieving the level of success he already has. There are many who train with all of those mentioned here and never see a private client, let alone train others.

Secondly, I would encourage him to get recommendations from others, such as is being done here. In addition to Gil and Roy, Ron, Melissa, Richard, Michael, and others here, I can't speak more highly of the importance for anyone who wants to master hypnotherapy to study EVERYTHING they can from Ormond McGill. The best counsel I have had in terms of reaching for greatness came from a preface of one of his children's books, Balancing Magic. I also recommend the Elman recordings from Westwood Publishing (Gil) in addition to the book. There are some awesome Milton Erickson recordings that I also recommend.

Go to the HypnoSummit Store hypnosummit.com and browse. Buy something that interests you and then plan to attend the next summit. Also, attend one of the other live conferences as mentioned.

Lastly, in order to reach greatness in your craft, think about what interests you and what you would really like to help your clients achieve. Find teachers who are skilled at this and learn all you can. Then, throw yourself at the work and find as many clients with that need as you can. They will guide you to the rest.

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Permalink Reply by James Hazlerig on April 20, 2010 at 6:43pm

Melissa Roth writes: "Tad doesn't do client sessions."

This may be a bit of a digression, but I've noticed a tendency with some of the younger hypnotists out there: Their role models are people who teach hypnosis exclusively and don't see clients. So they decide that in order to emulate their role models, they need to set up teaching sites, write instructional books, and generally behave like gurus rather than practitioners.

Master the art first, become seasoned in practicing it--and then, if you have something to add to the overall discourse, write a book or start teaching. There's plenty of room in this world for hypnotists who actually spend their time helping people heal.

My two cents,

James

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Edgington Sr on April 20, 2010 at 7:08pm

Isn't there a saying about this? "If you can't do it teach it".....Not that teaching isn't important, but how does on teach effectively if one has no experience or success in doing?

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Cole-NLPTrainingQuest.com on April 20, 2010 at 9:46pm

Not much I can add here really.

Looks like it's all been said... 2 or 3 times at that.

What I would like to mention though is that it is a very common shame these days that many go from student to "trainer" in under a year and that is a very scary thing so I'm glad it was brought up.

I think that James summed it up best by saying...

"Master the art first, become seasoned in practicing it--and then, if you have something to add to the overall discourse, write a book or start teaching."

The particular order I worked in was: "Mastered these tools on myself first... Then 7 years later Mastered helping others with them... and then about 4 1/2 years after that, started teaching others how to do the same..."

Not saying you need to take as long as I did before teaching but certainly want to know a heck of a lot more than just how to read scripts for smoking cessation!

Oh, and despite the fact that myself and the other trainer being mentioned here see certain things far from eye to eye and have a number of "Tad" differences in opinion regarding how NLP & hypnosis should be taught, I'm certain his full trainings cover a lot more than just how to read scripts.

And if "Nathan" would like further guidance (other than the great advice given here), he can feel free to call me direct at 619-602-3633. I'm busy teaching a 16 day intensive in Vegas at the moment but I'd be happy to chat with him after class if he leaves a message...

Kevin

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Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on April 21, 2010 at 2:53am

Scott,

Please tell Nate that Michael Ellner recommended putting Saul Rosenfeld's "A CRITICAL History of Hypnotism: the UNauthorized story and the Peter Blum's NLP classic "The Phone Book" on the top of his reading list--

Thank you,
Michael E

http://www.HistoryOfHypnotism.com

http://www.soundsforhealing.com

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen Hanover on April 22, 2010 at 8:03pm

I would like to add something else from the client perspective.

I've been doing various flavors of self-improvement work for about 15 years now--everything from standard-issue talk therapy to hypnosis to neurofeedback and a lot of seminars, workshops, coaching, books, tapes, etc. in between.

Both as a client, and a marketing and PR practitioner, I've worked with nearly three dozen different people in the "helping professions" over the past decade and a half.

A handful of them have been just outstanding human beings. Gifted, even. (And these folks have helped me the most). A few were so-so. The rest were some seriously screwed-up people...far more screwed up than I was!

And here's what I think, Nathan. You won't be able to help a client who's more emotionally healthy than you are. Your "emotional floor" is your client's "emotional ceiling."

So yes, learn the techniques, and the theories and everything, but spend at least as much time becoming a glowingly healthy, secure, centered, grounded and humble human being. Get out of your own way, so you can get out of your client's way.

And make sure you always understand where your boundaries are, and what you're getting out of your transaction with your client. I think it's appropriate to get money (obviously!), and a feeling of professional satisfaction perhaps, but if you're relying on your clients to fuel any other kind of emotional needs, you may want to examine that. People come to you for help, not to be a band-aid for your own problems. Don't use your clients for your own purposes. That's just icky, and you can bet that on some level, they know that's what you're doing.

I hope this helps.

Kathleen
Marketing and PR for people who value results.

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Permalink Reply by AK. RATHOD PsychoHypnotist INDIA on April 22, 2010 at 10:03pm

Dear Scott Sandland, C.Ht.,

You have already formatted a good advice for "Great Hypnotist" with pseudo name "Nathan" on January 9' 2009, a year ago."Where Do I Start I'm Just A Beginer To Hypnotizem," * Posted by Roger Singleton on January 8, 2009 at 10:38pm in The Forum

What I may add few lines is here.
No body can proclaim "GREAT" in Hypnosis, or stage hypnosis or clinical hypnosis, Hypnotherapy.
"Hypnosis" is a vast subject dealing with Subconscious behavior of the person. Which may further classified in three vital sections as
[1] Normal behavior day to day MBC,
[2] Abnormal behavior[ negative ]
[3] Paranormal behavior. It is still open for deep research work.
Good, better, best & Master, Great are very little titles.

A.K. Rathod.

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YOUR PreFormatted Advice to novice:
Reply by Scott Sandland, C.Ht. on January 9, 2009 at 6:59am
Send Message
Hi Roger-
I think it all depends on what you are interested in.

[1] Are you more interested in doing entertainment or does change work/therapy appeal to you? You don't have to know, but if you have an idea it gives a better starting direction.

[2] I'd agree that HMI's free course is a nice thing. I'd also recommend a couple books and less expensive DVDs to see what interests you.
[3] If you want to get good at this, many people will encourage live, in person training with an experience professional. to get really good you need the feedback of a live mentor watching you and giving you feedback.
[4] You don't have to do that first, because that's real money, but you can spend a couple bucks on some books or DVDs and see what you think.

[5] I'd also recommend digging around the video section of this site, as their is some great information there that's totally free.

Good luck, and have fun,
Scott Sandland
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Scott Sandland, C.Ht. said:

I'd like to open up the framework of this discussion a little bit more.
I'd also like to add, if you want extra credit: What advice can you give Nathan? Good stuff so far. Thanks and let's keep it coming. -Scott

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Permalink Reply by Nathan Thomas on April 23, 2010 at 4:59am

Scott, I'm a bit worried by your choice of name :D

THIS Nathan, our hypothetical Tad Pole, as it were, will hopefully read this thread, and see the great advice here. If he has original ideas, and if he has tried and tested these original ideas himself, I think that his age should be no obstacle to his teaching, however, as others have said, the more you learn from the more sources, the 'greater' you will be.