Comments on: Suggestibility Test Are Outdated

By: James

James — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:10:29 +0000

While I agree with Andy and Josh but since everyone is suggestible(operational presupposition), shouldn’t the suggestibility test be about gauging how suggestible the subject is (high suggestibility or low suggestibility) rather than whether the subject is suggestible or not?

By: James

James — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:58:49 +0000

I thought the suggestibility test was designed to gauge how suggestible the subject is(from high suggestibility to low suggestibility) rather than whether the subject is suggestible or not. The fact of the matter is, everyone is suggestible, it’s just that some people are more suggestible than others, which is context-dependent.

By: Jay

Jay — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:27:39 +0000

I don’t do suggestibility exercises to learn anything about the subject. I do them as “convincers” to help the subject see that the likelyhood that the session will be a success is good.

Yes, it is a trick, but when a subject imagines a rubber band around their outstretched fingers, and those fingers slowly move together, they are convinced that they are suggestible, and that the session is likely to be a success.

As I commented in your pretalk article, it is all part of “stacking the deck” in favor of a successful session. Every single thing you can do to stack the deck in favor of a successful session should be used, if time permits, and a couple of suggestibility exercises increase the odds of success. Not to determine the suggestibility of the subject, but to show them clearly that the hypnosis session is likely to succeed.

By: Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:46:14 +0000

I have worked in the mental health field for over 35 years and practice hypnotherapy with a wide range of clients. Suggestibility tests have never been a part of my clinical approach. I’ve found that providing informative input and clarifying any misconceptions about hypnosis typically suffices in laying a sufficient foundation on which to work.
For some individuals it seems that introduction of such suggestibility tests moves the experience toward the context of what they associate with stage or entertainment hypnosis and can, in some cases, create initial resistance.

By: Wendy Merron

Wendy Merron — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:08:08 +0000

Hi Josh,
Great article. As an NGH Instructor I teach the Suggestibility Tests because they can be great sources of information for the hypnotist. Like you, I’m not fond of the term. I do love “Hypnotic Warm ups” much much better. Thank you Andy!

By: Covert Hypnosis

Covert Hypnosis — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:21:42 +0000

Hey Josh – at least nobody tried to teach you to use a suggestibility test during covert hypnosis. That would be a real joke. I actually saw a *really* bad video by another hypnotist who ranks very high in google … I won’t name him. The video was about using “covert suggestibility tests”. Unbelievable that he missed the whole point of the “test”, as described in the comment above.

By: Chris Thompson

Chris Thompson — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:14:55 +0000

Josh: They way I learned it, suggestibility tests are designed as tricks. They are NOT really testing the suggestibility level of a subject, which is a big misconception. The test (or trick) is designed so that it cannot fail when it is done properly. This causes the subject to believe he/she is a great hypnotic subject. This belief actually turns the subject in to a *better* subject. FYI these are the self hypnosis CDs I use: Self Hypnosis

By: graham

graham — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:17:11 +0000

‘Maybe you just want to show people the power of the mind to some small degree or just show people how the subconscious works at a party or something similar.’

Absolutely – and that’s why I still use them.

In fact, just last week I was with someone in a pub and they were semi-sceptical about hypnosis, but still a little interested. I used an imagination exercise (or what Anthony Jacquin calls a ’set piece) to get a foot in the door. Then, when they were pleasantly surprised by that, I used Elman to take them into hypnosis.

By: Andy Mitchell

Andy Mitchell — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:12:07 +0000

Josh

How true are you. Learn many things from many people with the whole idea of choosing what you like and in my opinion that’s personal development.

Really looking forward to any articles you publish on convincers (hint, hint).

Take care

Andy

By: Joshua Houghton

Joshua Houghton — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 04:01:07 +0000

Hey Andy,

Nice to see you here and thanks for the compliment. Now, I must give you a compliment on the term “Hypnotic Warm Up”. I really like that term as it doesn’t imply success or failure. I actually like that term better than imagination games.

I like how your reframe the suggestibility test to the fact that they are in the right state of mind and not a test. My problem with the term has always been, well the term suggestibility test and the theory that if the person fails they will be a bad subjects. I think you hit the nail on the head for anyone who does use them and as I stated in the article I still do, but not in an office setting as I use convincers instead, yet that is another story indeed.

Its all on how you use them and frame them for the subject.

I also agree that far too many hypnotist blame the subject, when in reality we are the professionals and should act so. If something does go wrong its out job to figure it out and adjust. The great thing is the subject never has to know if anything goes wrong.

Thanks for the commment Andy and look forward to more of your insight as well. The key to growing as a hypnotist and person is to never just learn one thing but to learn many things and take what you like from each one.

Josh

By: Andy Mitchell

Andy Mitchell — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:11:27 +0000

Hi Josh

Great Article, with some interesting points and this is not hate mail(lol). I see suggestability tests as part of the hypnotic process if you like. The word ‘test’ is almost a way of reassuring people that I am not hypnotising you I am just seeing that you are in the right mind, when in reality the induction has already started. I think the word suggestability test should be replaced with “Hypnotic warm up”. I still use these test to warm people up, and to callaberate myself.

The same rules apply as with an inductio. If what you are doing isn’t working then it is for the hypnotist to change their approach rather than coping out and passing the responsibilty on to the individual being hypnotised, because the Hypnotist is just not flexible and skilled enough.

regards

Andy Mitchell
Your Hypnotist