4. The Seven Steps. (Draft 1)

There are seven steps in the conduct of a hypnotherapy session:

1. Induction.

2. Testing.

3. Discovery.

4. Post Hypnotic Suggestion.

5. Clearing.

6. Waking.

7. Wakeful Clearing.

4.1. Induction: Creating a State of Relaxation.

Induction, the first step in hypnosis, is inducing the subject into a state of deep relaxation. The state resembles sleep, however, the physical characteristics of the state are significantly different. The conscious mind is quiesced and the therapist communicates directly with the subconscious mind.

4.2. Testing.

Want to believe the hypnotic state has been achieved, it is advisable to test the subject to see if the state has, indeed been achieved. There are a variety of tests which can be used to assure us that the state has been achieved. These include:

A. Asking the patient to raise an army and keep it great. Try to depress the arm and see if it is both difficult and if the arm springs back into the original position.

B. Distraction of the sensitivity to pain is one of the most common medical uses of hypnosis. It is possible to test to see if the hypnotic state has been achieved by suggesting to the subject that he or she will feel no pain. After the suggestion, with a sterilized needle, the person in the back of the forearm to be certain that the pain response has indeed been eliminated.

C. Ask the subject to perform some simple task such as touch the left forefinger to the nose to see, first, if the subject performs the task, and secondly to see if the subject remains performing the task until the command is given to return my hands to its original position.

4.3. Discovery.

The process of discovery, clinically known as diagnosis in the medical professions, is the act of figuring out the root cause and symptoms of the subjects reason for undergoing hypnosis. This is for both the benefit of the subject and the benefit of the hypnotherapist.

4.4. Post Hypnotic Suggestion.

The objective of hypnotherapy can be fourfold:

A. Eliminate a undesired behavior.

B. Create a new behavior pattern.

C. Create a new state of mind -- change a way of thinking, such as eliminate a phobia.

D. A combination of the above.

These results are planted in the subject's subjects subconscious mind this is during the instrumentation of the post hypnotic suggestions. The hypnotherapist, through talking to the subject, describes a behavior or belief system that the subject would prefer.

It is important to note that complex posthypnotic suggestions this, or subjects who desire multiple hypnotherapy outcomes may require more than one hypnosis session.

4.5. Clearing.

The step of clearing is very crucial to the hypnotic process. Except for those suggestions or commands which are to survive as posthypnotic suggestion, it is important to clear, mentally, any other commands were suggestion which were given during the hypnotherapy session. Explicitly repeat commands that were given during the hypnotic session and tell the subject that that is no longer a command. In essence, deprogram the subconscious mind.

4.6. Waking.

There is no direct evidence that abruptly waking a subject from hypnosis causes any damage whatsoever. However, it can be disquieting to the individual. Therefore, we recommend that after clearing there is some formal, gradual process to wait the individual up. The process can be as simple as saying, "on the count of three you will wake. One -- two -- three." This gives the brain, the subconscious mind, and the ability to register the fact that they are going to be in a different state than they were.

4.7. Wakeful Clearing.

When the subject awakens from the hypnotic session, it is highly advisable to consciously clear any suggestions made under the influence of Hypnosis. For example, he told the patient to touch his index finger to his nose, have the subject do this immediately after you or she awakens from hypnosis. This is especially important if a subject did not perform a task he has specified. Any time in the next day or so they could be overcome with a tremendous urge to perform the task, and you hope they don't do it while her driving. Wakeful clearing prevents this possibility.

Image clarification. The conscious mind often recalls only a portion of the information scene by a subject. The subconscious mind, however, is far more photographic. The conscious mind, often storing fragments of information occasionally jumbles the information stored. Under posthypnotic suggestion, and without conscious distraction, far more often than not a subject has a clearer and more accurate of sights, sounds, tastes and smells. Often subjects can clearly remember something under hypnosis which is only dimly remembered by the conscious mind.

We must, however, make a distinction between the clarification of a partial recollection and the recall of an action, event, or site that was previously on recall. The recovery of forgotten memories is a completely different physiological mechanism and the enhancement or clarification of existing memories.

Behavior modification. One very common use of the posthypnotic suggestion is behavior modification. It is sometimes very difficult to break a habit or to change a behavior that has been done routinely one way for many years. Hypnotherapy works best on psychological behaviors. Smoking cessation is a prime example of a behavior that can be modified successfully by post hypnotic suggestion. The addiction to tobacco is both a physical addiction and a psychological. The psychological addiction to smoking, or, if you will, the mental is extremely powerful. It is not only the use of a substance such as nicotine, but it is including the actions involved -- old in the cigarette, puffing a cigarette, tamping the pack of cigarettes, inhaling and exhaling the smoke. These are all part of the psychological, ritualistic smoking. These can be easily counter through posthypnotic suggestion. Although it is very difficult to completely eliminate the physical objection to nicotine, some posthypnotic suggestions can be implanted in the subject mind to make the process of ingesting the nicotine distasteful. This then makes it much easier for the subject to quit smoking. In appendix AAAA, as we describe some of the specifics of the smoking cessation posthypnotic suggestions.

Another common application of posthypnotic suggestion is weight control. There can be many reasons, both organic and behavioral, for excessive weight gain. Although somewhat less effective on weight loss than on smoking cessation, posthypnotic suggestion is still highly effective. The reasons for smoking are generally common is, however, there are several different root causes for weight gain caused by excessive eating, or excessive caloric intake therefore, there are a number of different approaches to weight loss via hypnosis that we discussed in appendix.