"Resistant" Clients

During training, hypnotherapy students are asked to practice on friends and family.  This can be difficult to do!  You have an existing relationship with those people, which can get in the way.  On the other hand, where else are you going to start?  I thought I'd document what I saw when hypnotizing someone close to me and maybe others will chip in with their experiences, so that all students of hypnotherapy might benefit.

Shifting Around

I started with a little suggestiveness test (magnetic fingers) and got a positive, amused response.  I then moved to a very permissive, expectation induction and didn't proceed until the client signaled they had a feeling in one hand.  But I noticed that they kept shifting in their chair or moving the hand.  Some of the movements were big and smooth (conscious), while others were small and jerky (subconscious).  I could see that something was happening (yay!), but that they were uncomfortable with it.  I switched to a Dr. Flowers type induction (eyes opening and shutting on alternate numbers, starting at 100), but I could see that they were doing it consciously, so I wasn't getting the reluctance to open.  At 80 I asked them to close their eyes did a couple of suggestions about relaxation.  That's when some nervous laughter started, so I asked them if they'd like to discuss what they were experiencing..

Client Expectations

Despite assurances that the client is always in control, the "cluck like a chicken" argument came out.  I assured them that they could decide how relaxed they wanted to feel and even just roleplay until they felt comfortable with the process.

Then they worried about how I'd feel when it "didn't work."  I said that I had hypnotized over 30 people.  I knew what I was doing and wasn't relying on this one experience.  Then the concern that I'd get angry if they didn't go into hypnosis came out.  I said they were free to roleplay and how would I know the difference.

That's when some discomfort with the words "hypnosis" and "deeper" came out.  My saying "deeper and deeper" was what had caused the nervous laughter.  We agreed that they were okay to go further into relaxation (Thank you Kelley Woods!).

Start Again

We started again with a different chair and a different induction.  This time it was eye fixation followed by progressive muscle relaxation.  Their body was immobile, the eyes started to blink.  Lots of "that's right" and "you're doing so well" from me.  The eyes half closed and when I suggested that they might be more comfortable closed, they responded.  There was a stillness about the person that hadn't been there before, but I wanted to be sure, so I did the draw-letters-on-the-blackboard suggestion while I read to her a basic ego strengthening script (with updated language), which they had read and agreed to before the session.

Success

We moved to the therapeutic suggestions that we had agreed upon and then I anchored the positive feelings to touching the finger and thumb, did a lot of suggestions about how easily they could return to this relaxing place and emerged.

We had a long chat about the experience.  They were very positive.  They realized that they were in a different state (their word, not mine), but they also realized that part of them was watching me like a hawk the whole time, waiting to pounce on the first "cluck like a chicken" suggestion.  I built on that, emphasizing that the subconscious is always there to protect the person.  

The person expressed doubt that the ego strengthening would work, which gave me a reason to talk about suggestions needing repetition and reinforcement, but that the person now had a way of doing it themself.  That idea seemed to hit home.  At the same time, they were very open to a second session, where we could go a little farther (not deeper!) into what they wanted to accomplish.

The very cool thing was how bubbly and happy the person was coming out of trance.  That was what really convinced me that we had been able to get there.

This clearly isn't the only way to work with a "resistant" client.  Let's discuss alternatives.  

PS:  The thought that kept me positive throughout this session, was the realization of how much the person was going against their own feelings and nervousness to put their trust in me.  That took guts!