SUBCONSCIOUS

CONNECTION

ARCH Newsletter

Association of

Registered Clinical

Hypnotherapists

Winter Issue 2011

In this Issue:

Smoking

Cessation

Asking the

Right

Question

Auntie Arch

How to

Write a

Metaphor

Working

with

Children:

Daytime

Enuresis

Member Tips,

Submissions,

Feedback and

Suggestions

Welcomed!

We reserve the right to

refuse, select and edit any

and all submissions.

Please email

Subconscious

Connection Editors:

Andrew Bexson

Info@lightthewayhypnotherapy.com

Eileen McAdam

AnamCaraHypnotherapy@shaw.ca

Welcome to the Winter Edition of the

Subconscious Connection.

We are very pleased to have taken over the editorial

duties of the newsletter & are delighted that several

ARCH members have shared some of their client

experiences.

Thank you to all who have made welcome

contributions to this edition.

We encourage all members to share a thought, some

words of wisdom, a precious moment with a client or

send your questions to Auntie Arch if you’re stumped!

We are grateful for your contributions.

Wishing everyone a warm and prosperous winter.

Andrew Bexson and Eileen McAdam

Combining Cognitive Counseling with Hypnosis

for Successful Smoking Cessation

By Susan Jennifer Grace RHt

Contrary to popular belief amongst some hypnotherapists and their clients, smoking-cessation is one of the more challenging issues that a hypnotherapist will deal with in their practice.

When I first set up my hypnosis practice 8 years ago, the majority of my clients were smokers, seeking hypnosis in order to become smoke-free. By their own admission, hypnosis was generally their last resort after trying every available smoking-cessation aid on the market, and typically, every one of them thought that hypnosis would be a magic wand that would make them WANT to stop smoking - and all of that in only one session!

One of my first questions during the client intake was always, “On a scale of one to ten, with ten being highly motivated and ready to stop smoking, where do you put yourself”?

Since success with hypnosis very much depends on the motivation and desire of the client to change, if their answer was less than eight, I would suggest that they come back to see me if/when their motivation grew to a nine or a ten

Even those who put their level of motivation at a nine or a ten on the scale reported a less than encouraging success rate after the one hypnosis session. In fact I was seeing only about a 55% success rate. (This percentage was established after following and documenting 25 of my smoking-cessation clients for a period of one year after their hypnosis program).I decided that multiple hypnosis sessions must be the answer! With that in mind, I proceeded to design a 3-session hypnosis smoking-cessation program.

I accepted smoking clients only if they were highly motivated and only as long as they agreed to complete my 3-session hypnosis program. Still, the success rate for long-term cessation did not improve the way I had hoped. Even though NLP and EFT were used along with hypnosis, my clients seemed unable to remain smoke-free for more than a few weeks or a few months.

After some investigating, I realized that the low success rates for smoking-cessation with hypnosis were very common! Many hypnotherapists reported having the same frustrations with their smoking clients. This revelation prompted me to do some in-depth research on all aspects of smoking and the challenges of long-term smoking-cessation.

At about that time, I noticed that a one-week cognitive smoking-cessation course was being offered by the Center for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto. The course was accredited by University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine.

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(Continued from Previous Page)

I immediately applied to register and was informed that the course was only open to “medical practitioners”. Refusing to give up, I contacted the course administrators at CAMH and, after agreeing to pay my own course fee (the medical practitioners were offered the course at no cost to themselves), and after sending in my qualifications along with an essay on why I felt I should take the course, I was accepted into the course.

During the course, I learned that the long-term success rate for the CAMH smoking-cessation (free) clinic was about 24% compared to the 55 % success rate that I was seeing in my practice.

Since CAMH smoke-free clinics deal mainly with the addiction aspect of cigarette smoking while hypnosis deals mainly with eliminating the habit and changing the associated behavior, it occurred to me that the success rate for my smoking clients might increase substantially if I combined cognitive addiction counseling with hypnosis into my smoking-cessation program!

Upon successful completion of the CAMH course, I re-designed my 3-part smoking–cessation program, incorporating a cognitive counseling session.

Since then, I no longer turn away smokers who lack the motivation to quit. By incorporating cognitive smoking-addiction counseling skills, I am now able to help smoking clients move from the contemplative/ambivalent stage (which I consider to be 1 through 7 on the readiness scale) to a highly motivated stage (a 9 or a 10).

As well, during the initial session, techniques are taught in order to help manage physical and physiological symptoms associated with withdrawal. Together, we address the addiction aspect of tobacco smoking.

In some instances, I suggest that the client reduce the number of cigarettes smoked each day (I call this harm reduction) until a higher degree of motivation and readiness is reached. In other words, I meet and work with each smoking client at wherever they are in their goals and desires to become smoke-free.

During the second and third sessions of my program, hypnosis and NLP are used for the habit elimination, establishing new behaviors, and adopting a well-rounded healthy lifestyle.

In nearly every case to date, clients who enrolled in this 3-session program, report success in becoming smoke-free by the third session and more impressive, they are continuing to maintain their new smoke-free lifestyle.

It’s all in the Questions We Ask

By Irene Mock, CHt.

After my third session with a client who had a sleep issue (waking up at night and unable to go back to sleep) I had an interesting breakthrough.

In that session I asked a question I now always ask in the first session:

When do you feel most like yourself?

Her answer: "In the evening, just before bed. The worst time for me is when I wake up in

the morning." (Followed by a discussion of why.)

So I thought, why not reframe "waking up at night" as an opportunity to experience what

she likes best, the moments before going to sleep. To do this I of course had her describe the elements of that experience and then, using her own words, recreate it in trance. Then I had her experience herself waking up when she didn't want to at night (in trance) and reframe this experience as an opportunity to sleep, reinforcing it with what this was like for her.

I wanted to share this with you because it seems so simple a solution.

Much depends on the questions you ask.

Ask Auntie Arch … Going forward, this space will be devoted to Auntie Arch who will answer questions, offer

opinions (which you are free to refute/replace with your own), and consult with experts &

guest consultants. Want to be a guest consultant? Send us your name!

Who is Auntie Arch?

A mysterious, qualified hypnotherapist who cares so much for all of us … and to protect the

innocent is willing to take on this onerous task only under the pen name “Auntie Arch”.

Please forward your questions, issues & comments to Auntie Arch c/o Andrew & Eileen.

Auntie Arch thanks you!

How to Write a Metaphor for Hypnotherapy

By David Mason www.key-hypnosis.com © 2009

A metaphor is something that reminds you of something else, in such a way that the

something else lets you think about the original something in a different way. To write a

metaphor for therapy, take the situation, strip away all the details until only the structure is

left, name each part in the most general words, then write the hypnotic metaphor by

replacing the general structure with specific words from a different situation.

How to write a metaphor for hypnotherapy

To write a metaphor you follow the same process as writing hypnotic stories. You identify

who is involved in the problem, what the behaviour pattern is, and what elements make

up the behaviour pattern. Then you identify a metaphor situation that would be acceptable

to the client.

You write the metaphor using common stereotypes and symbolic ideas in order to hook

into the client's belief system. For example a common stereotype is that all French are

great cooks, all Italians are excitable, and all Scotsmen are mean. An example of a

symbolic idea for metaphor would be an enchanted forest with elves and unicorns or any

other well known characters that the client can be expected to recognize. The actual

metaphor situation doesn't matter as long as the client can identify with the powers and

failings of the characters in the metaphor.

Then you create one metaphor character to represent each character in the problem

situation. You create one metaphor activity for each element in the problem behaviour,

and then one metaphor solution for each element. Then you link them all into a logically

coherent metaphor story.

The following example shows how I went about writing a metaphor when I was asked to

create a metaphor suitable for a ten year old boy who has frequent asthma attacks.

Where to set the metaphor?

In this case the client is a child so some sort of magical power might be both acceptable

and memorable. I needed to set the metaphor in some magical place. I often set my

metaphors in exotic places where strange things can happen so I chose to use India as

somewhere a boy might have heard of but not know much about.

Who are the actors?

Is the situation just something the client does, or is it about relationships with other

people? Create a character to represent the client and each person in the situation. In this

case there is only one character, the client, but I thought the child would need some

assurance of an outside resource, so I created a metaphor character to represent the

therapist.

(Continued Next Page)

What is the behaviour cycle?

Is there a cycle of events? For each event in the cycle create a matching event in the

metaphor and a matching way out of the problem.

Current

situation Metaphor Situation

Metaphor

Solution

Sudden stress Appearance of

snake

Graduated

exposure

Loss of control Fright Learning control

Panic Panic Resource is there

Breathlessness Breathlessness Breathing control

Eventual calm Out --> down

Fear of repeat Avoiding snake Pride in ability

Anxiety Staying away Snake goes away

What resources does

the client need to get?

Belief that he can

control the anxiety.

Target Metaphor Dialogue Comments

I wonder if you know that I used to live in India? Set up magical place

India is an amazing place. There are monkeys in the trees and elephants walking down the streets.

Emphasis strangeness

And in the streets and you can watch people juggling with swords and eating fire and spitting out big flames and getting tied up in chains and padlocks and escaping and everyone applauds and throws them money.

Metaphor for strange abilities

And there are snake charmers. They have a great big cobra, a real live snake, in a basket, right there in the street. And when the man takes the lid off the basket the snake wakes up and it rises out of the basket standing there angry and hissing and flicking its forked tongue… ready to bite anybody and all the people move back… but the snake charmer plays a thing like a flute… and snake hears the music and with just the music the man makes it dance… this huge poisonous snake with two big fangs … sways from side to side while the man plays the music and when the music stops it goes to sleep again.

Set up the story situation – a dangerous thing controlled by magic

Metaphor of the problem

Identity I used to know this boy who was there. Main character

He was about your age and one day he was there and he didn’t notice that the snake charmer took the lid off the basket and the snake came out right next to the boy.

Problem starts

And the boy got such a fright he became afraid to go into the street and every time he had to go there he got this feeling of panic and a feeling in his chest like he couldn’t breathe.

Match the boy's problem

And he always worried that he might have to go there again. Even just thinking that maybe he would have to go there again made him feel breathless sometimes.

Similar anxiety = metaphor

And just thinking about the snake he always imagined it as cold and slimy and fierce and huge and he got really afraid to go into that street anymore.

Similar Helplessness

Metaphor for the cycle

Well the snake charmer heard about this and he wanted New

You can write a metaphor

for any situation with a bit

of practice.

Metaphor for the cycle

Well the snake charmer heard about this and he wanted to help the boy.

New resource = therapist

Behaviour He got the boy to come into the street and he showed him that the lid was on the basket so the boy could relax.

Safe to look at the problem

Then the man surprised him - he lifted the lid for just a second – and put it back on again. The boy saw the big snake sleeping inside but it was so quick that the snake did not have time to even move.

Graduated exposure

The man did this many times – lift, look, close – until the boy felt comfortable about it.

Capability And then the boy got really brave. He asked the man if he could lift the lid himself.

Finding resource

Capability And the snake charmer looked at him and said ‘Yes: you are old enough now to be able to do that’.

Indirect suggestion

Behaviour So he copied what the man did – lift, look, close. And soon he was quite relaxed about it.

In fact he got quite too casual about it, and started showing off, and left the lid off too long and the snake rose right up in front of the boy.

Sudden panic

And the boy was so frightened that he felt his chest close up and it was hard to breathe and felt he might die of fright.

Reminder of asthma

Metaphor for the resources

Rule But the snake charmer wouldn’t let that happen. Reassurance

He took his flute and started playing again and the snake began to sway and then it went back into the basket.

Demonstrate control

And then the man said to the boy – Can you keep a secret? Resource

And the boy said he would never tell the secret. Resource

The man made sure there was nobody else around and then he whispered ‘It’s not the music that charms the snake back into the basket. Snakes are actually deaf’.

Revelation of weakness

Capability To charm the snake, all I have to do is to move the end of the flute side to side and the snake follows, and when I move the end of it down the snake goes down.

Secret ability

Identity And the boy learned that that great big snake wasn’t so strong after all, it couldn’t even hear, and it was so stupid that it would do whatever it was told. And the boy laughed about that.

Giving superiority

Capability And after the boy knew that he was able to start to learn how to control the snake.

Suggestion

Behaviour The man showed the boy how to lift the lid and move away… and when the snake rose up the man started playing the music and boy pretended to be playing the music along with him… and the boy started to breath in time with the music, he discovered that when he breathed out the snake would go down a bit, and then another gentle breath and the snake would go down a bit more...and pretty soon that boy could control the snake just by breathing.

Metaphor for how to manage the panic feelings

Identity The man was really impressed. He said ‘You do that thing with your breathing so well. You could be a snake charmer yourself’.

Reframing

Metaphor of getting rid of the triggers

And you know that boy was never bothered by the snake again. He could run around in the street and often waved at the man and he even got a bit fond of the snake in the end.

Problem resolved

And when he grew up the snake got really old and it was too old to dance and too old to frighten anybody as well but they didn’t say that... so the boy and the man took it out to the countryside one day... and let it go. And it’s retired now.

Let the problem go into extinction

Working with Children: Daytime Enuresis By Pierre Benoit, CHt, RCCH

When we talk about enuresis (bedwetting) we mostly think that it happens at night. However, here is

a case where I had to deal with daytime enuresis.

I had a young 7-year-old client come in with her mother. She was dry during the night but wet her

clothes everyday for the last 2 years. Her parents had brought her to everyone (doctors,

psychologists, etc.) before coming to see me. They had utilized every conceivable means to help

her and they were down to having her wear Pull-Ups.

Her mother was very desperate and her daughter was now in First Grade and she didn’t want her to

have to face what she had to in Kindergarten.

In the first session we set the rules down: 1. They needed to get a calendar where they would track the dry days 2. Mother needed to trust her daughter to be successful 3. They had to follow my instructions completely

I also made sure that she understood that I did not have a magic wand. That her daughter had put some time to train herself to be that way and that inadvertently, they had “supported” this behaviour. Then I explained, using my drawing board, how the brain and the bladder communicated to the child and mother. And we saw that the only problem there was that they did not communicate as well with each other as they did during the night. That was the only thing that we had to fix. Then I did my hypnosis session with the child after having Mom go to another room to wait. I never have a parent in when I do the hypnosis part of the session. In the second session (one week later), Mother was doing fine as the daughter had two dry days. Both were very proud of this. We continued repairing the communication lines during the hypnosis session. Our next session was to be three weeks later as they were going out of town. Upon their return, although she had more dry days, Mother was discouraged and we talked about what belonged to her (her needs and expectations) and what belonged to her daughter (doing the work and being successful). This had quite an impact on her as she laid off the pressure on her daughter. We continued our work in hypnosis. At the fourth session, both were really glad as she was dry six out of the seven days. Mother also

told me that, when they were three weeks away, the daughter stayed with her Grand-mother and the

Grand-mother did not fill in the chart properly. They found out that she had put a wet day even when

she was going to the bathroom but had a few drops in her underwear as she sat down to urinate.

By the fifth session, she was completely dry and getting herself to the bathroom when needed. We reinforced the work and I told her to continue her exercise upon awakening until she felt she did not need them anymore. Both were very happy with the turn out of the sessions.