Many clients feel jittery before their first hypnosis session which is completely understandable. It’s simply the fear of the unknown.
On the other hand, some clients feel some sort of pressure to “do it right” especially if it’s their first session. The notion of performing well during a hypnosis session can get in the way of making an actual difference.
Performance Anxiety Can Affect The Effectiveness Of Hypnosis
There’s no denying that hypnosis has proven to be very effective as a therapeutic treatment. Studies show that hypnosis has a 90.6% success rate when it comes to smoking cessation.
In fact, hypnosis has proven to be more effective than drug interventions when it comes to quitting smoking.
Similarly, it has proven to be 90% more effective than other therapy treatments when it comes to weight loss programs. However, there’s no denying that performance anxiety can affect the effectiveness of hypnosis.
Three Approaches To Minimizing Anxiety Before Hypnosis
To alleviate performance anxiety, here are three approaches that have proven to be effective.
Approach #1 – Covering All Bases
A professional hypnotist always lets their clients know that are no restrictions when it comes to their responses. Hypnosis doesn’t entail strictly prescribed or defined responses from the subject.
Clients feel a lot more relaxed when told about how they’ll experience a vast range of unique responses.
Although some clients drift off without paying much attention to what is being said, there are some who focus on the voice and follow the words. Once the client becomes hypnotically responsive, having a more direct approach can be effective.
Approach #2 – Normalizing The Trance
Some clients tend to experience uncertainty when told that they’ll enter a trance. Normalizing the hypnosis experience requires describing trance in great detail. One great way to ease them into it is to relate it to their everyday experiences.
For instance, discussing how trance can simply be a state of enjoyable focus can be helpful. In reality, it’s no different than what we experience while watching an engrossing show or reading a gripping book.
Approach #3: Describing The Trance State
When asked to imagine what it’s like to drift into a deep and hypnotic trance, people often tend to describe different situations. When clients are asked to display how they think a trance would look and feel, it can be a great way to generate an actual trance within them.
This approach goes a long way in normalizing the idea of trance and replaces the idea of “doing it right” with the idea of something that occurs naturally.
Rekha Shrivastava is a certified hypnotist and rehabilitation counselor with a Master’s degree in Psychological Development. Based in Rochester, NY, she offers in-person hypnosis sessions as well as online sessions through Skype and FaceTime. To learn more, contact us now!
Sources:
https://www.professionalhypnotherapists.com.au/articles/what-are-statistics-effectiveness-hypnosis
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