Hypnotic direct suggestions

Put simply hypnotic direct suggestions are:

Simple, direct commands delivered to a hypnotic subject to illicit a temporary or permanent change.

Examples might include:

• “When I awaken you, you will have no memory of what was said.” – a direct suggestion for post-hypnotic amnesia.
• “As a result of the work we have done today you are going to feel more confident.” – A direct suggestion for increased confidence.
• “When you wake up in the morning you will find that you have no desire to smoke.” – A habit breaking suggestion.

Although hypnotherapists will often rely upon other techniques to create change, it is rare that they won’t include some direct suggestions when working with a patient.

Hypnotic direct suggestions as cognitions

A cognition, as seen in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)  may often take the form of  a statement of a belief. It is theorised by some hypnotherapists that direct suggestions represent new cognitions around which beliefs, new behaviours and reinforcing feedback loops will form. If we take the example from above of

“As a result of the work we have done today you are going to feel more confident.”

The suggestion makes the person believe they are confident. In believing they are confident they then behaviour more confidently. In behaving more confidently two things will tend to happen:

1. They will notice themselves acting more confidently, which will tell them that they are more confident, which further reinforces the idea that they are confident. Confidence then becomes a habit.
2. Others react to their enhanced confidence in positive ways. Consciously and / or unconsciously this tells the patient that these ways of behaving are rewarding (they get the date, they get the promotion, they get the respect) and thus they are reinforced.

So, if direct suggestion are so beneficial why do hypnotherapists use other techniques?

Strengths and limitations of hypnotic direct suggestions

As with all approaches direct suggestions have strengths and limitations which make them more, or less suitable in different situations.

The main strengths of the direct suggestion are its:

• Force – Direct suggestions have authority. As such they are easy for hypnotherapists to deliver them emphatically which conveys power.
• Clarity – Direct suggestions have a very clear meaning. They make it obvious when and where an effect will happen, or what a person will be. In this way they focus the hypnotic subject’s resources on to that circumstance.

These characteristic make them especially useful for:

• People who preference clear guidance.
• In theory they may be more suitable when hypnotic subjects enter a deeper trance state as many people argue that the unconscious preferences simple messages.

However, as with all things there are limitations.

limitations

Because direct suggestions are specific, they run the risk of getting it wrong, some of the main ways this occurs are:

• Asking too much of the subject too soon – Many therapy patients require groundwork before making big changes. If the ground work is not sufficient then powerful direct suggestions may not work or their effects may not last for long.
• Misunderstanding the subject’s needs – Should a hypnotherapist give a suggestion that does not match the subject’s life, way of thinking or expectations then things may go as planned. They may resist or reject the suggestion or it may only work in some circumstances. Equally, if it does not fit their life then it may undermine the rapport they felt with their therapist.

Direct suggestions are a staple of the hypnotherapists tool kit. However, many other techniques are used in hypnotherapy  they are not the only form of suggestion. In-direct or permissive suggestions.

Dr Matt Krouwel PhD is a Birmingham based therapist with over 25 years experience of teaching and practicing hypnotherapy . He is a member of both the BSCH and the NCH.

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Penis size anxiety can present as anything from a concern that it isn’t big enough to impress, which may contribute to performance anxiety in sex and erectile disorder, to a form of body dysmorphia characterised by an obsession with the organ and frequent checking and measuring of it (Veale, Miles, Read, Troglia, Wylie & Muir 2015). Either way, for some men it’s enough of an issue that they may seek help from a therapist.

Small penis anxiety – What sort of therapeutic interventions might help?

As a hypnotherapist I take an integrated approach to addressing issues like small penis anxiety which involves selecting therapeutic techniques that suit the specific needs of the person I’m working with. Certain elements occur more frequently than other.

Treating small penis anxiety – Trauma

Although rare, a man may have lived experience of their penis size being criticized or mocked. Typically this is traumatizing if the person mocking them has reason to know their penis size, for example if a sexual comments or if they are teased by people whom they have shared a locker room. This can take what might otherwise be an amorphous dissatisfaction with their penis size and turn it into a specific trauma which creates an anxiety. If the person hasn’t processed this it is likely to be an active component powering their anxiety, as such techniques like EMDR can be employed to process the trauma.

Treating small penis anxiety Cognition and undermining inner voice

The patient may have developed beliefs which undermine his confidence. Typical examples might be “I’m too small”, “with my small cock I can’t please a women” or “she’ll laugh at me when she sees my small cock”. These beliefs are examined with the patient to assess how realistic they are, and often a new, more acceptable, belief will be agreed.

Identified beliefs can then be addressed in hypnosis by replacement with new ones. To do this a hypnotherapist may use suggestion or visualizations, which combine amnesia for the old idea and acceptance of the new one. Alternatively, EMDR may be used to remove the emotional power from the old belief, and to install a new one.

When a belief is in the form of an inner voice, be that the patients own or someone else’s, it can be disrupted with various visualizations or through the use of parts therapy. New voices can be introduced which replace the old voice with more helpful material, for example if an ex partner has complemented their penis in the past, then reminding them of that experience can be quite beneficial.

Treating small penis anxiety – Systematic desensitization

Systematic desensitization is based on relaxation which makes it especially helpful with sexual problems as sexual response is mediated by the parasympathetic nervous system, the bodies relaxation system, so being relaxed tends to make everything sexual work better.

The therapist helps the patient to create a structured group of situations which may involve a degree of penis size anxiety. These are organised  into the least anxiety provoking (for example, wearing baggy trunks at the beach) to the most anxiety provoking (such as getting naked in front of a new sexual partner). The therapist then takes the patient through these situations, one at a time, whilst giving suggestions for relaxation. With each situation the body and mind are learning to be relaxed about the situation. When a person is relaxed, they feel safe, which allows them to transfer this feeling of relaxation into their life.

Treating small penis anxiety with hypnotherapy

It can be seen that between reducing trauma, challenging unhelpful beliefs and retraining the bodily response to anxiety that much can be done to help the man whose penis size anxiety has become problematic. However, we have detailed only a few of the most common approaches that a hypnotherapist may take to help someone with small penis anxiety to become more relaxed and confident about themselves.

Always remember that the therapist is an expert on therapy, and the patient is an expert on themselves, and that choice of techniques used should involve both sets of expertise.

References

Veale, D., Miles, S., Read, J., Troglia, A., Wylie, K., & Muir, G. (2015). Sexual functioning and behavior of men with body dysmorphic disorder concerning penis size compared with men anxious about penis size and with controls: a cohort study. Sexual Medicine, 3(3), 147-155.e

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In this video I discuss the use of  6 natural phenomenon in hypnotic induction

Breath – deceptively simple but overlooked by many is combining your suggestions with someone breath. Usually this means you deliver deepening suggestions on the outbreath thus giving a physical suggestion in combination with the verbal suggestion.

Tiring – a hypnosis classic! you place the subject in a position where they will gradually become tired, for example the eyes focused on a elevated spot,  wait for a little while and then tell them that they are becoming tired. The real trick is to tell them they are becoming tired before they are consciously aware of it. By directing their attention to the pre-existent tiredness it gives the impression that suggestion has made this happen.

Ideomotor response (IMR) – Most people are not aware that most thought, especially about actions, tend to produce small unconscious movements, these are called IMR’s.  By directing a subject to have a certain thought a hypnotist may produce an IMR. As with tiring (see above) the hypnotist may be credited with producing this IMR but all the hypnotist is actually doing is focusing the subjects attention on something which is already present. By repeating and enhancing the IMR through suggestion it can be taken well beyond its naturally occurring level and produce some of the more impressive hypnotic inductions such as the Arm levitation.

Dissociation – we all have the ability to mentally separate from our immediate circumstances, we call it daydreaming, this is also a form of dissociation.  Dissociation means to separate from the here and now, usually by an act of  engaging with the internal mental world. A hypnotist will often encourage dissociation directly by inviting someone to imagine floating out of their body and floating off to a beautify place. Dissociation can be in both space (location an bodily awareness) or time.

Fractionation –  It has been observed that someone in a trance, however light, will go progressively deeper if they are asked to open their eyes and then invited to closed them again.  Although often enhanced with suggestion this interesting natural phenomenon has been used by hypnotists for many years to help people go gently deeper into hypnosis.

Confusion – far from my favourite as it is rarely appropriate to the anxious patients I tend to work with it is however a powerful hypnotic technique.  When in a state of confusion a person will often latch on to any single clear command or idea with far greater belief than if the were not confused. Hypnotists will often produce mild confusion in their subjects which they then break with a single clear command.

The author – Matt Krouwel is a hypnotherapist and post graduate researcher into hypnotherapy at University of Birmingham (UK)

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The socio-cognitive theorists offer up three different factors which effect  a person’s hypnotisability.

• Vividness & Involvement – this is a persons ability to loose themselves into or sink into a concept. Part of this is the realism with which they experience a scene, memory of concept be that visually, physically or with any other sense. Although this can be enriched through suggestion most people have a basic level of vividness and involvement which the hypnotherapists guides. With people who display a strong level of involvement I tend to use very little deep hypnosis and favour imagery and Ericksonian approaches.
• Expectancy – as you may anticipate this is a person’s belief in hypnosis. Naturally this varies from complete acceptance in the idea to utter disbelief in phenomenon of trance or hypnotic suggests. Essentially, the stronger the belief in hypnosis the more easily someone is likely to go into it, or respond to it. This is mostly because they are going to be open, co-operative and interested in the experience. With people with a high degree of belief in hypnosis I tend to use the more traditional, often more theatrical, approaches which fit more closely many peoples expectation of hypnosis. A common expectation to this is when they have prior positive hypnotic experience and then I attempt to replicate their past experience.
• Compliance – some people are naturally more cooperative than others and respond well to being given simple clear instructions. Highly cooperative people tend to be more natural hypnotic subjects, but everyone who presents to a hypnotherapist is intending to go with the process to some degree. A compliant mind set can be nurtured with a few simple, reasonable, request such as asking the person to place their feet flat on the floor and their hands upon their lap.

The author – Matt Krouwel is a hypnotherapist and post graduate researcher into hypnotherapy at University of Birmingham (UK)

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In this Vlog / blog we look at several factors which can effect the outcome of a hypnotic induction.  let’s first define what an induction is;

A hypnotic induction is a way of getting someone to close their eyes. It generally includes some degree of deepening but ultimately it is about taking someone from having their eyes open to having their eyes closed. This means that the simplest form of hypnotic induction is the ‘simple eye closure’ where you just ask someone to close their eyes, even this cuts out a substantial amount of the information which is coming into the brain (approximately 40% I am told) allowing for greater focus on the internal world. However most inductions are more elaborate than this and start to produce hypnotic states in advance of eye closure.

Pre-induction factors which affect hypnotic induction – preparation

There are a number of basics which can make quite a difference, these include;

Comfort & physical stabilisation – Are they physically comfortable? Is the chair you use strong, stable and comfy for a semi-conscious person. Is the room warm / cool enough for a semi-conscious person, and have they been to the toilet recently enough (don’t ask about this immediately before induction). In addition I always invite my patients to place their feet flat on the floor and their hands on their laps as this create more physical stability.

Understanding – Studies (by me!) suggest that most people have a balanced view of hypnosis and hypnotherapy and many of the old myths about control and domination are dying out, however they are not yet gone, so a good explanation of what hypnosis is, what it might be like and what it is not is a good idea. In addition you should offer the client the chance to aske any questions they may wish.

Consent – Although it would be possible to argue that the act of presenting to a hypnotherapists for therapy gives implied consent for hypnosis, explicit consent is much more respectful. So always stop to ask if a client is ready to enter hypnosis before you initiate induction.

Co-operative mind set – by enhancing co-operation prior to induction they are far more likely to co-operate in trance. Co-operation is enhanced by building rapport, but also by demonstrating co-operation and techniques like the ‘yes set’ which will be discussed in other videos.

The author – Matt Krouwel is a hypnotherapist and post graduate researcher into hypnotherapy at University of Birmingham (UK)

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Permissive and authoritarian hypnosis – the authoritarian

The authoritarian is more traditional and is characterised by directness. Authoritarian suggestions are commonly clear, short and to the point. These will be delivered in a confident tone, which may border on commanding at times. Often authoritarian suggestions will be delivered in a clipped manner with significant pauses between them to allow the suggestion to sink in.  By tradition sleep suggestions are associated with the authoritarian approach, most well know of which is “deep sleep”, but also “drowsy” ,”tired” and “sleepy”. Some authoritarian inductions use a degree of physical discomfort, and the subsequent relief of that discomfort, as a physical suggestion.

Authoritarian inductions are believed to be more appropriate for people who are used to giving and receiving orders, although they should rarely be given in such a strong manner. In addition, these are often suggested as good techniques with analytically minded people who prefer clear direction.

Permissive and authoritarian hypnosis – The permissive

The permissive by comparison is a gentler approach, being generally slower than the authoritarian. Permissive approaches give the subject choice, or rather the perception of choice. The subject may be “invited” to relax, asked which type of relaxation do they think they will experience first “mental or physical?” , questions and invitations are common indicators of a permissive approaches. Typical suggestions used in permissive approaches include “you may…” “perhaps..” “some people…” and “relax”. Permissive inductions allow the subject the sense of retaining control over their depth of experience by allowing them these choices and not forcing them to go deeper.  Evidence suggests that most people are more comfortable with permissive approaches. (Spinhoven, Baak, Dyck & Vermeulen 1988)

The author – Matt Krouwel is a hypnotherapist and post graduate researcher into hypnotherapy at University of Birmingham (UK)

References

Spinhoven, P., Baak, D., Dyck, R. V., & Vermeulen, P. (1988). The effectiveness of an authoritative versus permissive style of hypnotic communication. International journal of clinical and experimental hypnosis, 36(3), 182-191.

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