A_Personalised_Induction_Will_Suit_the_Individual

An induction will be written to suit different individual’s behaviour, appearance and needs. As we are all so different in these areas including our outlooks, values and perspectives, it would be narrow minded of us to expect one particular induction to work on everyone. We also all respond differently to suggestion, so logically for an induction to be successful it should be tailored to suit the individual. Even when the hypnotherapist has taken all these different aspects into account when writing the induction, it may still have to be altered because it isn’t having the desired effect and this could happen a number of times, altering the screed to have a better effect. So how do we find out what type of induction will suit the individual' Well one way to personalise a screed is by using modality. The modalities that we work with are Kinaesthetic (feeling), Visual (sight), Auditory (hearing), Olfactory (smell) and Gustatory (taste) but the latter two not being used that often. We all use the different modalities, but as we all have different preferences, likes and tastes we might tend to use specific modalities that we feel comfortable with and we can relate to more easily. It is important from the hypnotherapists point of view that they understand their subjects, so they can achieve the greatest success from the course. When we communicate we don’t just verbally interact to get our message across, we use body language, tone, volume and visual aids. We are more involved with communications using or seeing with these other factors and more often than not understand better what is going on, from having them. As a lot of hypnotherapy sessions are carried out with the subjects’ eyes shut it is important to think about what we are saying and how we are saying it. Our brain will store any command and then start to create a picture to go with the information, so if it is given a ridiculous idea it will act it out. If someone suggests to you “upset” your brain will find an experience that made you feel upset and bring that image every time that word is presented. Some personalities can tend to focus on negative thoughts making issues seem out of proportion, making us unsettled. So giving the brain positive suggestions should hopefully have a positive effect on us. The brain is a remarkable object that is continually learning. We may have a fantastically creative mind and this may be how we are perceived by others, but this may not always be the case. Our lives are very demanding, fast and full of expectations from ourselves and those around us. At work we are expected to act and behave in a certain way, so we may not portray our real feelings, also at home if we are trying to set an example or get a message across we may play down how we would like to act or behave because of giving the wrong impression or impact. So if a hypnotherapist relied on how someone comes across to them initially to the kind of person they thought they were, they would probably get it wrong and thus writing an ineffective screed. This is where finding out the kind of modalities that a subject has preference for comes in. Individuals that prefer and use Kinaesthetic (feeling) language are very astute individuals, who can understand others emotions, tuning into them very quickly. We use our kinaesthetic system when we feel an emotion, when we touch or participate in a physical activity. Factually people who use this modality often enjoy sports and like to touch everything before they buy it. They enjoy feeling the warmth of the sun or the rain on their face. Their lateral eye movements will usually be down to the right. They will tend to have relaxed body language, speak in a soft deep tone. So from the hypnotherapists view when designing a personal screed for a kinaesthetic person, they would use such as feel, move, touch, warm, cool and hold because they relate to those words that create a touchy feely atmosphere. Visual (sight) individuals enjoy daydreaming, fantasy and have great imaginations. They also like to draw, design and watch tv. These individuals like everything to look good and be tidy. When looking at visual people their lateral eye movements will tend to be defocused or going from left to right ( forming images to the right and remembering to the left). When listening to a visual person they tend to speak fast, in a high tone and their body language is less relaxed than a kinaesthetic person. When the hypnotherapist is devising a screed for a visual person they will tend to use words and phrases such as look, imagine, colours, bright, see. Auditory ( hearing) individuals enjoy music and speech, often imagining their favourite piece of music, using their auditory system. These people love talking on the phone and listening to their choice of music. They are quite sensitive to outside noises. When looking at an auditory persons lateral eye movements, they will be horizontal midline, to the right when constructing sounds and to the left when remembering sounds. Auditory people have a melodious voice, speaking at a medium pace. Auditory individuals tend to tilt their heads to one side. The kind of words that they use and relate to are say, sounds good, listen, resonate and harmonise. So once we have decided the kind of modality that suits that individual, we then have to work out their preferred style- Permissive or Authoritarian. The permissive style is nurturing, caring giving choices and safety. The hypnotherapist will use phrases like you may like to, you could do or you may like to. It also gives the subject the opportunity to be more creative and imaginative with a soft tone lulling the subject into relaxation. The authoritarian script will be controlling, direct without choices. Individuals who are used to being given instruction like soldiers will work well with this kind of script. The kind of language used will be repetitive, you will stop, you will listen with a firm tone. Sandor Ferenczi studied medicine at the age of 17, finding an interest in hypnosis. Ferenczi treated prostitutes, the poor progressing to Freudian psychoanalysis, then delving into mutual analysis, relaxation therapy and the psyche. It was while studying these that he identified the different styles, permissive showing support and warmth, while authoritarian being direct also aggressive. He aptly named them as Maternal (permissive) and Paternal (authoritarian). Also with the different styles they have different aims. Permissive screeds will tend to be for people who have goals they wish to achieve. Whereas authoritarian is more for people who have underlying issues related to addictions. There are personality assessment models to help the hypnotherapist choose the style of screed that will be most effective for the client. These models look at appearance, personality and behaviour. Once you have assessed the results, the hypnotherapist will have a good idea as to the individual screed to write and the style to use. Why would anyone wish to use the same screed for everyone' I can not really imagine anyone using the same for all, unless they were hypnotizing on mass, perhaps for audience participation in a TV or stage show. Even then the hypnotist would realise he wouldn’t have a very large success rate but he probably wouldn’t worry as the true results would not be looked at. As long as he has success with at least a couple of people ,he would appear to everyone to be a successful hypnotherapist. Unfortunately there are individuals out there who see hypnotherapy and counselling as an easy way to make money out of individuals who are struggling with issues and crying out for attention, for someone to talk to. These people wouldn’t worry if they used the same screed and it was not having the required effect , in fact that would suit them, so the subject had to keep returning for further treatments, so parting with their hard earned money and ultimately getting them to rely upon the sessions with the hypnotherapist. Vulnerable individuals could start to feel that they need to see the hypnotherapist and can not cope unless they do. So why would a personal induction be more effective' Because we want the experience and the outcome to be positive for the client. We want the individual to be comfortable and relaxed. We want the effects of the course to be lasting. It will help the individual relate to the hypnotherapist. The specific needs for the treatment can be addressed by tailoring for them. If we generalize a screed it will not be specific enough to have the impact of a successful outcome. By personalising the screed it will help the hypnotherapist have a better understanding of their client and how they can achieve their objectives. I think it helps the client to have more confidence in the hypnotherapist and the process, knowing they are working at the start to tailor the sessions to suit them as an individual. This also works for the hypnotherapist aswell, if they know they have prepared thoroughly, researching the individuals behaviour, personality, appearance and the underlying causes to their problems, they will feel more confident in being able to help that individual. By using the language that the subject can relate, reinforcing the screed with certain kinds of images, you are making sure the subject can relate to the induction and feel an affinity for it. The more appropriate the induction is for each subject, the more successful the individual experience will be. You could not use a screed for an adult on a child, even if for the same problem, because children use different language and imagery. For children the therapeutic suggestions may be delivered directly or indirectly by story or metaphor. Karle and Boys (1987) emphasized the importance of the therapists use of appropriate language. They suggested that an understanding of the language used by the child and family is important, thus avoiding any misunderstanding. We are playing with people’s minds ,if we generalise an induction we could create more problems by using the wrong kind of language. Certain words an individual may find offensive or may also bring up certain memories or barriers from the subconscious. There may also be health issues and a general pmr could aggravate that area, certain muscle tensing and relaxing, pregnancy. We can use general relaxation scripts for most individuals but we would still have to specifically tailor for the individual issues that the subject has, altering styles and modalities. If we don’t do this how can we help those individuals to discover the underlying causes of their problems and be able to address them effectively' We cant! But there is still one important key component that without nothing will work, no matter how much work has been put into tailoring a screed- belief that the process will work!