It is a common question, one that anyone who works with and teaches hypnosis, particularly covert hypnosis, will run across. Even before it is asked, I see it in the eyes, hear the slowing of the voice. It is, for many (myself included) one of the most serious questions that we run across, and it’s only natural that, as it is broached, the breath shallows slightly, the voice lowering to a whisper.

“But, isn’t it wrong to hypnotize someone without their knowledge?”

Now, I tend to think of myself as a “good” person. I try as much as I can to make the world a better place, for myself and for those I interact with. While I can be a bit skeptically distant, I try to give everyone the same respect that I would want for myself. I don’t want to control anyone, really, but I do want to connect with those I meet on a deep level. It would be easy to take the route of saying, as many do, that hypnosis is merely a tool which can be used for good or ill, and to urge students and friends, invoking the spirit, perhaps, Yoda, to seek the lighter side of the force.

This is, however, not the real answer. Deeper within the question lies the real reasons why I use and teach covert hypnosis, and one of the central attitudes, I believe, that makes for a great persuader. I often share this particular perspective with others, when someone raises this question, or, as occasionally happens, I’m accused by someone who does not understand of malice merely for being an effective communicator.

We’ve all known someone who had a job that labeled them. Perhaps it’s a cop, who, whenever anyone discovers their profession, becomes “the cop” in their mind. Immediately, they become not a full person but a job, and the interaction immediately suffers. Now, if you think about who you are, it’s clear that your conscious thoughts are only the tip of the iceberg. So much of who you are, of who anyone is, lies deeper within the mind.

Hypnosis is about connecting with that deeper level, speaking not with the consciousness alone but with the whole person. Now, if I ignore so much of the person, the massive portion of identity that is not represented by the subconscious, it’s easy to see, isn’t it, that I am ignoring a huge portion of who you are. In a very significant sense, I have limited the portion of you that matters, much as with the cop, whose identity is limited by knowledge of his professional affiliation.

By using hypnosis, I am opening up the opportunity to share a deeper form of communication, one which takes into consideration aspects of those I communicate with that are not typically recognized or engaged. When I enter rapport with you, we are sharing a deep level of connection, certainly, and we are opening ourselves up, creating an opportunity for sharing a profound experience. Hypnotic communication relies upon being able to understand and communicate with those we encounter, and is predicated upon recognizing them, relating to them, and connecting with them. Certainly, there are those who warp these techniques for nefarious purposes, for controlling and commandeering others, but they are by far in the minority.

What is more, that very attitude is largely in opposition to many of the more powerful techniques, in my mind, since the level of connection required won’t easily coexist with the abhorrent feeling of being controlled. Now, I’m not an innocent, so I do know that people misuse these skills, and I am always saddened by such stories, but for the most part, the individuals I meet, the ones who truly wish to master these skills, who take the time to develop them, tend to be more sensitive and intelligent. They are not out to control others, but to create better relationships, with the knowledge that they can generate positive outcomes in their own and other peoples’ lives, which is precisely what mastering hypnotic language can, at its’ best, allow.

To me, using hypnotic language isn’t just a passably moral concept, not something that is hedged in as acceptable because it’s in the right hands, it is an opportunity to have more genuine and powerful interactions, and a calling towards being a more positive and impactful person. It seems to me that, if you do want to interact with others in a genuine and meaningful way, the experience should be entrancingly magical, and utilizing knowledge to create such positive possibilities with those we meet is something, isn’t it, we can all aspire to.

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William May, Will to his friends and students, first began to explore the world of hypnosis as a teenager, but it was while studying writing as an undergraduate at Sarah Lawrence College that his passion truly became ignited by a chance encounter with a book on Milton Erickson at the school library.

Over the years since, Will has continued to read, study and practice these skills, taking them with him into the real world.  Will’s professional journey has been filled with unusual adventures, and intriguing pitstops, from working as a college professor in North Carolina, to being the entire backstage crew to an off-broadway mentalism show in NYC.

Will has always found that his understanding of conversational hypnosis and persuasion has served him well.  He and his partner Tim Shay founded masterhypnoticlanguage.com as an opportunity to share their unique perspective with aspiring hypnotists around the world.

To learn the techniques and attitudes of real-world masters of conversational hypnosis, be sure to check out www.masterhypnoticlanguage.com, where you can learn about our exciting coaching program or sign up for our ground-breaking newsletter, where Will and Tim share their exciting new techniques and approaches.

The following post is actually an e-mail lesson from my Hypnosis Elite Newsletter. I sent this out to the newsletter group about a month or two ago and have gotten some really amazing feedback. So I have decided to share it with all of you in the hopes that it can help someone out who may have a question about dealing with Abreactions.

If your interested in getting even more useful lessons like this one than just enter your e-mail to the right of this post and I’ll start sending you some free stuff and lessons. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this post.

Start of Newsletter

Hi

I hope everything is going well for you today? Things are going pretty good for me as well. I just got out of the hospital and I’m still alive and kicking so that’s always a good thing. I recently came down with a nasty case of Pneumonia which put me in the hospital for about a week, but things are going better and I’m slowly on the road to recovery.

If anyone wants to send me some healing energy please feel free as I could use as much as I could get. I recently got an e-mail from a young hypnotist in training that was looking for some advice on a particular topic so I thought I would share his question and the answer I gave him in return.

I get a lot of questions, but due to time restraints and the daily joys of running multiple businesses I can’t answer everyone I get, but I do try as I really do enjoy helping people. Rodney is 19 years old and just recently got into hypnosis after seeing a stage show. So just like me when I was his age he started to research the topic of hypnosis and questions began popping up like bubbles. So first I’m going to paste what Rodney wrote me and than I’ll post my response.

NOTE: Please keep in mind I don’t know what skill level you are so if you know this information I hope you take something useful out of it and if you don’t I’m sure you will find this info worth gold!
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Hello Mr. Houghton,

My name is Rodney Witsat and I’m 19 years old and interested in learning more about hypnosis. I ran across your hypnosis blog when doing some research and just thought I would send you an e-mail to see if you could help me with a question. I’m not sure if this address I’m using is correct, but hopefully it is as I would be really, really thankful for any help you could provide.

I recently saw a stage hypnotist at our local fair and it has got me really interested in wanting to learn more about Hypnosis. I don’t have a background in hypnosis and only know about the stuff I have read so far around the internet which hasn’t been really helpful. When the stage hypnotist was up on stage he mentioned hypnosis could also be used to help people with everyday problems and situations. I found this interesting as I just thought hypnosis was done for entertainment purposes, but I see I was way off on this one.

I’m going off of subject a little, but I just wanted to let you know my background a little bit. Let me just get right to the point and ask you my question. During my research I have come across the word “Abreaction”, but no definition was given for it and I’m curious as to what it means.

The e-book I read mentioned they happen sometimes, but instead of going into detail the writer of this e-book skipped over the topic. I was wondering if you could tell what an Abreaction is or what it means. Once again any help you could provide would be great.

Rodney

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Here is my response to Rodney…….

Hi Rodney,

First off, I just want to let you know that you’re not bothering me at all. I enjoy helping people and especially younger hypnotists in training such as you. It wasn’t too long ago that I was 19 and looking for answers.

I hope you stick with it and please keep me updated with your progress. So let’s get down to business and see if I can help you with your question. Before I answer your question I want you to keep something in mind so you don’t get confused later. Hypnotism is a vast profession and just like any profession different people have different ideas and thoughts on different subjects. For instance, you may see 17 different definitions for hypnosis over time so don’t get confused.

It’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong as each definition, idea or theory is correct in some sense. People create definitions to match their beliefs and you would be wise to always keep your mind open to new ideas and new ways of thinking about hypnosis. You’re going to get to a point where you are going to be wondering why some people do one thing and some people do another.

I like to take whatever works for me out of something and leave whatever doesn’t work for me behind. Over time you’ll build up your own ideas and theories about hypnosis, but in the meantime study everything you can and keep an open mind.

Okay, sorry about getting off topic, but I felt that needed to be said. You asked me about Abreactions and what exactly are they in terms of hypnosis.

An Hypnotic abreaction in my opinion is nothing more than an Emotional Purging or outburst by talking out or acting out repressed, or partially repressed, harmful or emotional material. In other words it’s an emotional outburst or a release of held in emotions. This definition will vary depending on who you talk to, but I have found that this definition serves me well.

I learned it from one of my teachers named Gerald Kein. If you ever get a chance I highly recommend you take training from Omni Hypnosis. It’s a great investment and no I’m not affiliated with them lol.

You will hear this word pop up a lot in our profession and most of the time you’ll hear things such as avoid them at all cost or you’ll hear stories of them happening out of the blue and the hypnotist doesn’t know how to handle them.

In my opinion abreactions are a normal part of hypnosis and everyone who practices hypnotism should be trained in how to deal with abreactions.

There are different types of abreactions, but that is beyond the scope of this e-mail at this moment. When I get a chance I’ll send you some more information on that subject. Abreactions are actually quite rare depending on what road you choose to take with our profession. For instance, stage hypnotists or street hypnotists rarely run into abreactions, but they can happen so you should know how to deal with them.

Hypnotic Abreactions do pop up a little bit more if you are going to go the route of actual office based hypnosis also known as Hypnotherapy. Some office based hypnotists avoid abreactions if possible and some hypnotists actually bring abreactions on to do the work they need to do. You tend to see this much more if the hypnotist is trained in Hypnotic regression work.

I do recommend you seek out additional training in regression work before attempting it in the future though. It’s not hard, but it’s a little different then common direct suggestion work. Now I’m getting off of subject here so let’s get back on track. When a person has an Hypnotic abreaction they are reliving the event. It’s just as real to them as the computer screen you’re looking at right now. Some abreactions are very small such as sobering or crying and some can be violent outburst involving screaming, kicking, throwing arms all around and more.

I know it seems scary, but you must remember that the client is reliving some traumatic episode of their past. While it might sound awful sometimes please be aware that the client is not in physical danger and they will not die from an abreaction.

Since you mentioned your doing research on Hypnosis I’m going to assume that within the next few months you are going to start attempting to hypnotize people. I’ll send you some resources later, but let me give you some tips and advice for working with abreactions as I rather you know them now than never learn them later.

Keep in mind they are rare, but if you are in this field for a decent amount of time you will run across them. Here are some simple guidelines to help you out:

1. Never touch the individual when they are having the abreaction. When you are touching the client you risk the chance of anchoring them to the abreaction. What this means is that sometime down the road when someone comes along and touches them on the same spot, which may be the shoulder or hand then the abreaction could be triggered again and they are right in the middle of it again and no one around knows what’s going on.

Now, if your hand is already on the shoulder before the abreaction it’s okay to leave it on the shoulder, but I recommend you remove it completely.

2. Never ever let the client know that you are scared or nervous. The desired outcome would be for you to keep yourself voice nice and calm. This doesn’t mean you can’t up the level of your voice or speak louder so they can hear you over the screaming or crying. The key is to remember you are the hypnotist and you are the one in control. Think about this for a moment, would you let a dentist work on you if he seemed scared of the tools he needed to use? Just say calm and know everything is going to be fine.

3. When working with an abreaction there are 9 very special words that I want you to burn into your brain. These 9 words have been one of the greatest tools available to me. I learned these 9 words from Gerald Kein and I have yet to see an abreaction they didn’t stop.

The nine words are “The Scene fades and you tend to your breathing.” I’m not telling you that other words don’t work, but this is what I use and they work fine for me. Sometimes you may have to repeat them once or twice and the abreaction will not stop the moment you say the words. It may take a moment or two, but just say them in a calm in control voice and you’ll be fine.

4. You are to never work with an abreaction unless you are being paid too. For instance, if you are on stage working with someone or doing street hypnosis and someone has an abreaction it’s not your place to work them through this situation at this time and place. To me this is just very unprofessional.

The proper way to handle this I have found is to let the person know that something emotional came up that they may need or want to deal with and if so they should schedule an appointment with you at the office. Most people don’t remember having the abreaction and sometimes they can be confused. Just let them know if they want to work with it to see you in your office. Please make sure you actually have regression training before hand if you tell them this though.

If you follow these guidelines above you should be fine and remember that abreactions are a normal part of hypnosis and nothing to worry about as long as you know how to deal with them.

I’m sure I went beyond what you were looking for when you asked me your question, but it’s important that hypnotists learn how to work with abreactions. I truly hope you find this information useful and please don’t hesitate to ask me other questions in the future.

I have got to run as I got to pick my wife up from work, but I wish you well with your future career in hypnosis and please stay in touch and let me know how things work out.

To Your Success,
Josh Houghton

-End of E-mail To Rodney-

Well, I hope you got something out of this question and answer session. I have since spoken to Rodney a few more times and I’m happy to report he is still learning and studying hypnosis.

He is actually planning on getting certified with The National Guild of Hypnotists sometime next year so I wish him the best. Once again I hope you found some value in this message and if you already knew this information then send it to someone who may not.

Well I got to run because as I mentioned I’m still a little under the weather. Until next time my friend.

To Your Success,

Joshua Houghton

End of Newsletter

Is Hypnosis Dangerous? Some Hypnotists Are!

Some years ago, I was asked to testify in the case of a man who had falsely advertised himself as a psychologist and had begun hypnotizing teen-age girls in the area, one of whom subsequently accused him of rape.

In order to make its case that hypnosis could be used to compel behavior, the prosecution had pointed to an incident in Eastern Europe several decades earlier, in which a stage hypnotist had handed a man a pistol loaded with blanks and commanded the man to shoot him. The hypnotized subject, who was an off-duty police officer, drew a loaded revolver from his pocket and shot three members of the audience.

I testified that while hypnosis cannot force people to people do something which is against their moral and ethical codes, it is impossible to conclusively demonstrate in the laboratory whether or not hypnosis could be used to compel anti-social behavior. You could never actually allow such behavior to occur in an experimental setting, and the subjects know it! But, in what I like to call “the laboratory of life,” the results are more clear-cut.

Hypnosis in its modern form has been around for over two hundred years; and if you have to go half way around the world and back several decades in time in order to find even one instance of its alleged use in the commission of a crime, then it would be easier to conclude that this individual was psychotic or personality disordered than to conclude that his behavior was the result of the alleged coercive power of hypnosis.

If hypnosis could be used in such a manner, by this time its anti-social applications would be well-documented — in international espionage, by thwarted lovers, and in many other settings. And the evidence simply is not there, although it is difficult to convince some people of this fact. Carla Emery (1997), who was herself the victim of an abusive love relationship in which hypnosis was present, even went so far as to conclude that the practice of hypnosis involved a vast conspiracy which was designed to protect the income of those who used it, while preserving the freedom of those who would employ it for anti-social purposes to continue to do so!

With regard to the possibility of seduction under hypnosis, the problem is not with hypnosis, but with the power differential inherent in a therapeutic relationship. This trust must never be abused. The responsibility always lies with the person in authority, whether a physician, psychologist, priest, teacher — or a hypnotist. It is necessary for the trusted person to maintain strong boundaries and to stop any inappropriate relationships from developing, even if a client displays seductive behavior due to transference, a personality disorder, or a mental illness. A teenager would be especially susceptible to such an authority figure; and If she accused the hypnotist of rape, then chances are, he abused his position of trust in order to have sexual relations with his client, which is tantamount to rape. Therefore, the prosecution’s mistake was to attack hypnosis, rather than the power which the hypnotist (who called himself a psychologist) had abused while hypnosis was present.

Instances such as these tend to be reported in great detail by the media, and are amplified still further by depictions of hypnosis in fiction. Because of the publicity which results from them, there are many people who will not have anything to do with hypnosis . And because these abuses continue to surface from time to time, the public is probably never going to be won over completely, despite our repeated assurances that hypnosis is perfectly safe when used by trained and ethical professionals. Hyperempiria, on the other hand, with its emphasis on increased alertness rather than diminished awareness, does not carry the same potential for abuse of the therapeutic relationship as does hypnosis, and is much less likely to be perceived by the general public as inherently dangerous. It is therefore a plausible alternative for some people who are just too “skittish” to respond to a traditional hypnotic approach or one which resembles it.
(I am grateful to Dr. Annette K. Schreiber for her collaboration and assistance in the preparation of this posting.)

Reference

Emery, C. (1997) Secret – Don’t Tell: The Encyclopedia of Hypnotism. Claire, MI: Acorn Hill Publishing Co., Inc.

Thank You,

Don Gibbons, Ph.D

Don Gibbons, Ph.D., is a husband, father, and grandfather, and an internationally-recognized authority in the area of hypnosis. He received his Psychology training at the University of California, Riverside, and Claremont Graduate University. He has taught at the University of Portland, the University of West Georgia, and DeSales University, where he was Chairman of the Psychology Department. He originated the “Best Me” technique of multimodal suggestion, and was the first to identify the experience of hyperempiria, a new and effective alternative to traditional hypnotic procedures.

Don has written five books and presented at many professional conferences. He has published numerous articles in scholarly journals, and is a co-author of the chapter on hypnotic induction procedures in the forthcoming new edition of the Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis, published by the American Psychological Association.