Multimodal Self-Hypnosis

Multimodal Self-Hypnosis

Self-hypnosis is a useful skill which may be used between sessions to enhance the effectiveness of suggestions which you have provided to your clients. It is also helpful in prolonging the effects of therapy between follow-up sessions when clients are ready to begin the process of termination, and for facilitating their continued personal growth when their formal therapy has been concluded. However, before clients are ready to use self-hypnosis entirely on their own, they should be cautioned about the limitations of autosuggestion, such as not using it to mask the symptoms of pain or fatigue, or in other situations when a visit to a physician or a return to the therapist’s office is indicated.

Many people have learned self-hypnosis simply by reading a book on the subject. In clinical settings, however, it is often helpful to teach self-hypnosis to clients after you have had an opportunity to observe how well they respond to sessions which you have conducted beforehand. After you have decided that a client would be an appropriate candidate for self-hypnosis, you can suggest that they will be able to learn self-hypnosis easily and that they will be able to benefit from suggestions which they give themselves as easily as they have benefited from the ones you have provided. Then, after your hypnotic session has been concluded, you can begin formal instruction in the methods of self-hypnosis.

It is helpful to review the elements of the Best Me Technique, to be sure that the client understands them well enough to use them as autosuggestions. Many clients also need be reminded that the parts of the Best Me Technique can be used in any order, either by themselves or along with others, and that they can be repeated as often as desired, changing the wording as one goes along in order to enjoy the self-hypnosis session as much as possible. Clients should be reassured that they will remember everything that happens, and that they do not have to be concerned about getting into self-hypnosis so deeply that they won’t be able to come out whenever they are ready, or if an emergency should come up. When using the Best Me Technique, your clients will probably find it helpful to wear comfortable clothing which they associate with relaxation and enjoyment and not with work. They should find a place that’s quiet and comfortable, where they are not likely to be disturbed for a while. They will need to turn off their cell phone or pager, if they are carrying one.

Since many people enjoy relaxing on the beach, the following illustration may serve as a general example of the induction of multimodal self-hypnosis. Of course, if a client prefers to use different imagery, other situations, such as relaxing in a grassy meadow, will also serve the purpose. Clients can then be told,

“Don’t try to memorize the words below, and don’t even try to stick to them too closely. Just use this example as a general guide to make up your own experience. Read the example over a few times until you are familiar with it. Then, sit down or lie down, close your eyes, and let your imagination go, as you get ready for some exciting new experiences. (It might help to think of yourself as an artist mixing colors together as you might paint a picture, or as a singer repeating the verses and choruses of a song.)” They should also be cautioned, “Learning to use multimodal self-hypnosis is like learning to ride a bicycle – you have to practice it before you can get really good at it!”

Belief systems Just imagine, or picture in your mind, that you are sitting or lying on a sandy Western beach, by the side of the ocean. If you accept each detail of the scene as you describe it to yourself, with enough practice, your imagination will be free to allow you to experience the situation just as if you were really there. So just let yourself relax now, and take in the peacefulness which is all around you, on that sandy beach, late on a warm summer’s afternoon. The sun is directly facing you across the ocean, and its bottom edge just seems to be starting to touch the water as it begins to set.

Emotions Let yourself absorb the peacefulness which is all around you, as you use the power of your imagination to include as many details as you can.

Sensations and physical perceptions Listen to the sound of gulls in the distance, and the gentle waves breaking upon the shore, and enjoy the freshness of the pure salt air. Feel the warmth of the sand beneath your blanket, the cool ocean breeze blowing softly across your skin, and the faint warmth of the sun making you feel relaxed and drowsy.

Thoughts and images The sun is starting to sink down on the horizon now. It’s so calm, and so peaceful, and so quiet there, as you watch the sun slowly begin to set, you can let yourself slowly begin to drift down and down, into deep, peaceful state of self-hypnosis.

You can feel yourself sinking down, now. Sinking down, and shutting down, and sinking down, and shutting down, as the sun drifts ever lower. Take all the time you need, as you feel a heavy, relaxed feeling coming over you, and the sun sinks lower still.

Let yourself feel that heavy relaxed feeling growing stronger and stronger, as it carries you deeper and deeper into self-hypnosis. And the deeper you go, the deeper you want to go. And the deeper you go, the deeper you’re able to go, and the more enjoyable the experience becomes.

Just let yourself go completely now, and let yourself sink all of the way down into self-hypnosis, as the last rays of the sun completely disappear on the distant horizon. And the deeper you go, the deeper you want to go. And the deeper you go, the deeper you are able to go, and the more enjoyable the experience becomes.

Motives As you continue to sink down and down into these peaceful depths of self-hypnosis, let yourself reach even farther into your vast, untapped potential for feeling peace, and calm, and contentment. Let yourself feel great waves of peace, and calm, and contentment flowing out from the innermost depths of your being, filling and bathing every muscle, and every fiber, and every nerve of your body with peace and happiness, growing stronger and stronger with every passing second.

And as you do, you can feel as if all of the worry, and all of the doubt, and all of the fear, and all of the stress that you have ever felt, are being bathed away by wave after wave of infinite, boundless, peace, and calm, and contentment. Take all the time that you need, to completely absorb the experience.

Expectations. Before the end of your multimodal self-hypnosis session, silently think to yourself the expectation that each time you practice multimodal self-hypnosis, you will be able to respond better and more efficiently. Also, because you often have the ability to sense your needs when you can not put them into words, you can also tell yourself that the experience of multimodal self-hypnosis will improve your life in many different ways and on many different levels, some of which you may already be aware of and some of which you may not.

At this point, you can include additional autosuggestions which you and your client can plan together, as well as suggestions for concluding a multimodal self-hypnosis session.