Demystifying Hypnosis and Applications of Hypnosis in Coaching and Counseling
The word ‘Hypnosis’ will raise few eye brows, when talked about generally with people. It has been depicted in TV shows, movies or in stage acts, as something where people lose control and are under the influence of the Hypnotist. This creates a perception about Hypnosis, that it is either evil or has to be used when a person is in Depression.
“Do you think about – Pendulums, people sleeping on the floor, losing Control – when you hear or read about Hypnosis? Well, you may be surprised that Hypnosis has a lot of benefits, and you will be surprised to know that it is widely used in Leadership Development Programs and for Peak Performance Coaching, Sports Psychology, Business Coaching, Life Coaching, etc. Now you may be wondering what are the applications of Hypnosis in Coaching and Counseling.
Hypnosis has been widely accepted as part of Therapy, however, it is not commonly promoted as a powerful tool for Executive Coaching, Life Coaching or Business Coaching.
Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness during which a person is relaxed, and open to suggestions. The person experiences peace of mind, deep relaxation, and in the process is highly receptive to positive suggestions and creates a state during which it is possible to access areas of the mind to create impact that a person is looking for, change that they are looking for, results that they are looking for. Remember hypnosis is a state of being in an altered state of heightened awareness, it is not sleep, or unconsciousness, but a state where the conscious mind is more focused, receptive to suggestions to change any belief, behavior or negative patterns.
Hypnosis is not therapeutic in itself, it just creates a state in which a person (Coach, Counselor, Therapist) can deliver meaningful suggestions to the client so that they can get into good states, and are able to do effective Visualization, and reach faster towards their goals or get out of negative emotional states. It is during this state that a Coach can help client to help improve performance, self-confidence, remove negative feelings, self-doubts, and reduce stress and other hindrances to achieve goals or outcomes.
Many people wonder whether everybody can be hypnotized. This again depends on the person, whether they want to get hypnotized and will benefit by going into an altered stage.
Executive Coaches, Life Coaches, rely a lot on Visualization Techniques for Future Pacing, and creating a blue print for success. A mini trance is induced to help facilitate this process, which provides proven results.
Hypnosis as part of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), is the Milton Model (also known as Conversational Hypnosis). This model was created by Richard Bandler by modelling Milton Erickson, who used to create a trance state by having conversations with his clients. This was later on synthetized by Richard Bandler as part of NLP, and became very popular because of its various applications in Life Coaching. Powerful embedded commands are directed towards clients’ Sub-Conscious mind during the Coaching or Counselling session, which results in great results.
Now the question is, “How to Use Conversational Hyponsis?” during Coaching or Counselling.
‘Conversational Hypnosis’ or ‘Conversational Change process’ is the use of powerful commands as part of spoken language. So, any time during the Coaching or Counselling Session, it can be used as many times as possible, to pass the embedded messages to the clients Sub-Conscious.
Example – Usage of Embedded Commands as part of Conversational Change.
If you are working with a client who is facing confidence issues during presentation or any other task where interaction with others is required – you can create a set of Embedded Commands, and pass them during the conversation.
“You may be curious to know how to ‘Feel Confident’ during times when you need it”.
“Imagine how good you will feel, when you will always ‘Feel Confident’ during meetings and presentations.”
“You may or may not realize that a person can “Feel Confident” by being present in the moment.”
Note: When you are delivering Embedded Commands, remember to lower your voice at the end of a command, so that it registers as a command to the Sub-Conscious mind, and does not comes across as a question to the person at a conscious level.
How do you get better in applications of Hypnosis in Coaching and Counseling? Simple, ‘Practice it!’
