Rapport

Everyone experiences some degree of anxiety when they come to the edge of their comfort zone. The first experience of seeing a Hypnotherapist may sometimes be an additional cause of anxiety in itself.

One way to reduce anxiety is to create good rapport with the Client. Rapport can be achieved quite quickly if we observe and match the clients preferred modalities, i.e. visual, auditory or kinaesthetic. The dominant modality can be found by noticing the kind of words they choose and by the eye movements they make in response to certain questions. When we look down we are usually retrieving sensations ... kinaesthetic information, when we look up we are usually reconstructing a visual image, glances to left or right indicate the use of auditory information.

We can try to include more visual imagery for the visual client, who would respond to the question "Does that look right to you?". We refer to sensations with the Kinaesthetic person, "Does that feel right to you?" The auditory person would respond best to "Does that sound right to you?"

From a therapists viewpoint it is useful to become familiar with the modalities we don't use so often in order to step out of our own habits and stereotypes and improve our dynamics in each area.

We could take up an activity or hobby related to the modaliteis we use less frequently. If our kinaestheic awareness is not so well developed, we might try Sailing, or Diving for example, which would help to develop an increased awareness of the sense of balance or a sensitivty to the wind direction.

This can be useful if we are constructing a guided visualisation, a situation in which an awareness of the Clients primary modality and the use of the preferred words for that modality would enhance the experience.

Practical: Attention and Relaxation

To help anxious or skeptical Cx to develop trust in the induction process we alternate statements that are observable and verifiable, usually a reference to something in the clients immediate environment or awareness, with more abstract suggestions. This is a skillful way of creating links between the clients present experience and what we would like her to experience. (Pacing statments focus on external stimuli, and Leading statements describe internal responses).

As the induction proceeds we can gradually link in more suggestions and more references to abstract internal states.

Links can easilty be made from an existing state to a desired state using the "implied causative", using connecting words such as "as", "while" and "during".

As you watch your breath you begin to feel more comfortable.

We start off the chain with a series of verifiable statements to put the clients mind at ease, and then introduce a single suggestion, as in this example which chains together the main sensory modalities:

As you sink into the chair,

and notice the gentle illumination,

the sound of my voice,

and the warmth of the room ....

... You will begin to feel more comfortable.

In the next sequence we might use three verifiable statements which chain together an awareness of any physical tension (we all have some tension, even at rest) and introduce two suggestions ...

Now, as you become aware of any slight tension in your your body,

any tensions in your neck or shoulders,

or in your arms or in your legs,

You may gradually begin to feel more comfortable,

and relax deeper into the chair

In this way the client gradually begins to rely on the authenticity of our suggestions and begin to flow with the process. The next sequence might only require two verifiable statements and allow three suggestions. Finally we can comfortably make one external reference for each internal reference.

This example method gives the induction a congruent structure which builds up, and corresponds to, the clients confidence in our suggestions. As our observations and suggestions create a credible chain reaction trust and relaxation develop.

YapKo describes this process of building a pattern of responses as a "response set", it is also described as a "Yes set" (Erickson and Rossi), as it builds an agreeable frame of mind, and there is no obvious reason to reject any part of the sequence of references and suggestions.

Ref: Trancework P. 283.