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Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis; Vol. 15. No. 1, 1987, pp 11-19
HYPNOSIS FOR INDIVIDUALS TOO
SUSCEPTIBLE TO SUGGESTIONS
ONNO VAN DER HART
Lack of assertiveness may be related to over susceptibility to suggestions. According to
Janet, the essential characteristics of an effective suggestion are belief in both the
suggested event and in the power of the suggestion. This article describes a hypnotic
procedure, based upon cue-conditioning, that is intended to help clients learn to believe
in their ability to counter undesired influences from other people.
Although the term "sub assertiveness" has not been popular for very long, Janet
pointed out as early as 1893 (Janet, 1893, 1909) that it can cover a multitude of
problems. It referred to docile, obedient individuals who are inclined to think others are
more intelligent or more experienced than they do, as well as to "weak" personalities
who wish to avoid complicated conflicts and prefer to obey right away on points
considered unimportant. No matter whether the problem is credulity or conflict
avoidance, in both cases the individual accepts the view of others. As Janet pointed out,
the lack of self confidence of still other individuals may be due to the fact that they are
too susceptible to suggestions. That is, another person's opinion or advice has an effect
on them similar to that of a hypnotic suggestion. In other words, the opinion or advice
of another starts to lead a life of its own outside of the recipient's own will or
consciousness.
Spiegel (1974) gave an example of this. An extremely intelligent and outstanding
scientist sometimes found himself in the following situation. On entering a department
store, he would be approached by an enthusiastic salesman who would talk him into
buying a new refrigerator, and as in a reflex he would order one. When the purchase
was delivered to the scientist's home, however, his wife was left with the chore of
returning the goods.
Spiegel's example illustrates an aspect of effective suggestion Janet, in fact,
considered to be the most essential characteristic (Janet, 1927; cf. Kroger, 1977). When
listening to the salesman, the man apparently developed a belief that his family needed a
new refrigerator and this belief, was based on the statements of the salesman. He did not
verify the statements the salesman made. This sentimental faith, as Janet (1936) called it,
is a very tempting and dangerous kind of faith. How many credulous individuals have
been ruined because they were led to believe an inventor who promised to transform the
desert sand into zinc, Janet asked. What Bowers (1977) remarked about hypnotized
subjects could also apply to these individuals. It is "easier" to follow up on suggestions
than not to. Not believing and not carrying out suggestions would demand a mental
exertion which they were not up to at that point.
It should be remarked, however, that Spiegel's (1974) patient also used his ability
to develop and sustain unlikely beliefs in a positive way. Specifically, he was very much
successful at his hobby, which was the commodities market; this is a market in which
faith plays an essential role. In this situation, his tendency to believe transcended the level
of sentimental faith, and it became an asset rather than a liability.
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Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis; Vol. 15. No. 1, 1987, pp 11-19
Hypnosis and Hyper suggestibility
Are individuals who are too susceptible to suggestions also excellent hypnotic
subjects? In Janet's view, they must be because they are individuals who take opinions or
advice given under ordinary circumstances as if they were hypnotic suggestions. Spiegel's
patient, for instance, obtained a maximum score on a hypnotizability scale, but this does
not constitute empirical evidence. In fact, the scientific literature is equivocal on this
point. Hull (1933) found a positive relationship between response to direct, verbal
suggestions and hypnotizability, but he found no significant relationship for indirect
forms of suggestion. Moore (1964), on the other hand, found hypnotic suggestibility was
unrelated to a measure of social suggestibility. Graham and Greene (1981) demonstrated a
connection between hypnotic suggestibility and alumni contributions to a college, but
could not show that alumni gifts were a result of waking suggestibility.
Several studies have shown a positive relationship between hypnotic suggestibility
and waking suggestibility, or responsiveness to suggestions for motor and sensory
alterations when hypnosis is not involved (Barber, 1965; Evans, 1967; Hilgard & Tart,
1966; Weitzenhoffer & Sjoberg, 1961). After a thorough analysis of these studies, Bowers
(1977) concluded that although there are individuals who show little or no response to
suggestions (whether or not hypnotic induction has taken place), that no individual who is
high in waking suggestibility is entirely unresponsive in hypnosis.
Spiegel (1974; cf. Spiegel & Spiegel, 1978) raised the possibility that, from this
perspective, the problems experienced by some clients are because of their susceptibility
to suggestions. The therapeutic approach described in this paper is based on this
possibility, and has two components. The first one is that individuals who go into a
"waking trance" too easily can learn to have better control over such experiences via
hypnosis. Erickson and Rossi (1979) gave an example of a woman who often went into
trance spontaneously and unintentionally. Erickson trained her to become aware of this
altered state of consciousness whenever she wanted to, and to use this awareness
constructively. The second related component is that individuals who are too susceptible
to suggestions can learn in hypnosis to protect themselves better against unwanted outside
influences. That is, faith in another person's power and in the power of her or his
suggestions-and thus in their own helplessness-can be converted into faith in their own
capabilities (cf. Beahrs, 1982). It has been my experience that these clients often describe
their problem in terms of "energy". For instance, they say they feel helpless against the
power that others exert over them, that they feel "hypnotized by" the power emanated by
others. By adopting the terms used by the clients, then, the solution can often be
expressed in terms of "energy" as well.
An Outline of the Procedure
The general procedure to be described here, based on the principle of cue
conditioning (cf. Rosenblatt, Walsh & Jackson, 1976) is by no means new. Several
variations which are used in hypnotherapy are described, for example, by Stein (1963);
Bandler and Grinder (1979); Alman (1983), and Cladder (1984).
The procedure involves the following phases:
1. Assessment. The issue here is recognizing the situations in which unwanted influence is
exerted, and by which individuals.
2. Identifying the desired behavior, attitude and mental state. Once the situations are
known, then the client's desired attitude (i.e., how he/she can best counter the
unwanted influence) is determined. The client can give consideration to this prior
to hypnosis or in hypnosis, and the trance may bring up new possibilities.
3. Retrieving inner sources. Here we have two options: (a) the client recalls a past
situation in which she/he reacted in the way she/he desires and forms a clear
mental image of that situation in hypnosis; while in hypnosis she/he practices
calling up the desired attitude apart from the situation; (b) if no past experience
presents itself, the client pictures the desired attitude without preliminaries. The
first case to follow shows an example of this, although the position this client
adopted was related to other experiences.
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Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis; Vol. 15. No. 1, 1987, pp 11-19
4. Hypnotic conditioning. Once the client has successfully imagined the desired attitude in
hypnosis several times, then during such an experience a particular gesture can be
made or a particular position adopted. Once a link has been established between
the situation and the gesture or position, we may speak of cue-conditioning: by
making the gesture or adopting the position, the desired attitude is automatically
achieved. The client practices this a number of time in hypnosis.
5. Mental rehearsal. This can be done in two ways: (a) the client achieves the desired
attitude or position through the gesture or position of the body and then she/he
forms a mental image of the problematic situation and imagines her or himself
reacting adequately in the same situation; (b) the client first visualizes the
problematic situation, then makes the gesture, and thus achieves the desired
attitude. Suggestions can be given to confirm and strengthen what has been
learned.
6. Self-hypnotic practice. If necessary, the client can receive instructions, after coming out
of hypnosis, for practicing the procedure at home in self-hypnosis, (e.g., one or two
times daily for a period of two weeks).
CASE STUDIES
The Screen
Willem, aged 26, entered psychotherapy to work through a number of traumatic
experiences, some of which caused depression and phobia disorders. He appeared to go
into trance very easily; not only during therapy but at other times, too, and he frequently
operated on an altered level of consciousness. After his first formal experience with
hypnosis he remarked: "If this is trance then I am in trance most of the time." After a few
months Willem showed obvious improvement. He then mentioned two more problems,
which he wanted to work on in hypnosis: the anxiety he felt when riding in a car (which
developed after a car accident he was involved in), and his high susceptibility to
suggestions.
When Willem was in hypnosis he was asked to bring himself into a mental state of
calm and self-confidence he considered appropriate to riding a car. Once he had achieved
this, he nodded his head. He was then asked to choose a gesture which could be linked to
this mental state. The gesture he chose was having his hands resting in his lap. When it
was evident that by adopting this position, the state of mind was indeed achieved, the
therapist had him experience a neutral state of relaxation. Then he asked Willem to
imagine himself in a moving car. Willem did so and became more and more anxious. The
therapist asked him to assume the position described and Willem began to feel more and
more at ease. This procedure was repeated with a different setting.
During the next session, three weeks later, Willem reported that he had
successfully put the procedure into practice. He had sat in a car with someone who drove
much too fast. Folding his hands had caused him to regain much of his needed calm. The
fact that he did not ask the driver to reduce his speed was related to the second problem:
he was so receptive to the wishes and needs of others that what was good for himself
often came in second place. He automatically imagined what others wanted, and his own
desires were pushed into the background. He felt he was unable to assert himself when
people wanted something from him that he did not want.
The success of the therapy for his anxiety about riding in a car made him hope that
something could also be done about this second problem. He wanted to learn to keep
people at a distance when necessary.
In trance, Willem was asked by the therapist to call upon his "creative
subconsciousness" (an expression that appealed to him very much) to achieve a mental
state that would enable him to keep people at a distance when he chose to and to block
unwanted outside influences. Willem began to feel he was surrounded by an energy field
of increasing strength which was becoming an impenetrable screen. When Willem
indicated that the screen was as strong as possible, the therapist asked him to link this
state to an appropriate gesture. He chose to move his hand back and forth before his face.
When he felt this link (cue-conditioning) had been established, he was asked to let the
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Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis; Vol. 15. No. 1, 1987, pp 11-19
experience of the screen fade away and undergo a neutral type of relaxation. By picturing
situations in which he needed protection, he practiced the shielding gesture and the screen
would surround him again.
The therapist asked him cautiously whether the shielding gesture would he
appropriate in all situations. Willem's first reaction was "yes," but after thinking it over
for a while he came to the conclusion that it might be better to make a casual gesture with
his thumb at times. After practicing this gesture, it appeared to work just as well. The
therapist remarked that Willem both consciously and unconsciously was capable of
knowing that he did not have to depend on certain gestures to bring about things he felt
were important, the gestures are only there to help him.
The therapist also asked Willem to imagine a situation in which he had a good
relationship with another person and wished to protect the relationship from influences of
third persons. After some hesitation, Willem did, and was happy when in his imagination
he managed to pull up a screen around both of them.
Follow-Up
One month, and five months later, Willem related that he had practised the exercise
repeatedly and successfully. He always made the gesture with his thumb. Sometimes his
reactions were inadequate, but then he imagined the same situation later in self-hypnosis
and corrected the gesture. Thanks to these hypnotic corrections, in later situations his
reactions became more and more adequate. Three years later, the therapist telephoned
Willem. He was doing well in many respects. He still used the gesture regularly, when he
needed it, not only when others demanded too much from him, but also in situations that
might cause him anxiety or demand too much of him, such as a visit to the hospital where
he had had some bad experiences. The gesture had become almost automatic. However,
he was also better able to express to others what he wanted from them, and what he did
not want.
The Sun
Nelly, aged 30, had been in hypnotherapy for some time for grief-related
problems. She was an excellent hypnotic subject and, like Willem, she was
increasingly bothered by her responsive attentiveness and docility towards others. She
would go to almost any length, even doing things she found offensive. If a friend called
her in the middle of the night with a heart-breaking story, Nelly would visualize her
friend's misery and automatically go to him. She felt that she simply could not resist.
The therapist suggested to her that she search, while in hypnosis, for the best
attitude to adopt in such a case. Nelly's immediate reaction was one of skepticism: She
thought that she would never be able to find the right attitude. The therapist told her about
Willem and she immediately cried out that once, years ago, she had become so angry with
someone who had gone too far that she had projected a burning sun at him from her solar
plexus. She described how the man had backed away when she did that.
In hypnosis, Nelly could easily recall the image of the sun. She experimented with
the power of the sun, for surely there were situations in which she could be nice and
warm towards others like a shining little sun. The power of the sun could be adjusted by a
switch-consciously or unconsciously. When she felt she could operate the switch well
enough, she began to concentrate on learning how to adjust her voice, her facial
expression, gestures, and position of her body to the power of the sun.
Contentedly, she completed these exercises. She intended to practice self-hypnosis
daily at home. The therapist also gave her post-hypnotic suggestions to strengthen her
belief that everything she had learned could continue to be of effect. Because of the
coming holidays, an appointment was made for six weeks later.
Follow-Up
One week later Nelly wrote the therapist a long letter. She related how she had
practiced operating the switch for the sun, that the device had given her courage to go
further and be firmer in her reactions than before.
Wednesday morning Peter [a neighbour and ex-boyfriend who often bothered her
when he was drunk] called me. The connection was very bad and so I hung up on him.
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Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis; Vol. 15. No. 1, 1987, pp 11-19
Fifteen minutes later the doorbell rang. I opened the door without thinking and there stood
Peter. Drunk. I turned on the switch and asked Peter to leave! To my surprise I kept
telling him to leave and face up to his personal problems.
Peter kept looking at me in astonishment. Then be began to frighten me with talk
about bombs. His telephone, he said, was adjusted in such a way that others could speak
to him, but he was unable to answer. In short he acted like a psychotic. Once more I told
him to leave and gave him an old telephone, which still worked. And he left!
Peter was invited to a party I was giving that evening. I also told him that if he was
still drunk that evening I would not let him in. He arrived at six that evening, sober,
friendly and well dressed!
After describing a few pleasant situations in which she turned down the power of
the sun, Nelly wrote:
The sun device has a function in all of this. This power within myself, which I can
turn on when needed, helps me to think and see without all those restrictions. I can be
more open, because if need be I can put a screen around myself. The peace I so much
longed for, I can find at times. I have watched several TV programs I wanted to see
without jumping up fifty times because I urgently needed to take care of something.
During several follow-up sessions Nelly reported more successes with her sun
device. She also described a situation in which it had failed her. This happened when she
got a telephone call at 4 a.m. The person who called was rude to her and the sun device
deserted her because it had been automatically switched off when she fell asleep. The
solution to this problem was to unplug the telephone before going to bed.
Two years later the therapist called Nelly for follow-up data and to ask her
permission to publish aspects of her case. She had been using the device regularly and
successfully, not only to steer clear of people who demanded too much from her, but also
to keep her composure. Her asserting herself was not welcomed by everyone in her
environment. A few friends who had quite often taken advantage of her suggestibility in
the past became angry and began to gossip about her. When this news reached her ears
she called them and told them to stop it. The fact that she had been able to bring herself to
do this had done her a world of good, she said.
Nelly had learned to use the device with care, for she felt it was sometimes better
to have an open quarrel without using the device. In such cases she had to be open to the
arguments of the other person. She also felt that such a device was only useful if a person
had a certain measure of restraint and self-confidence. Otherwise there is the danger that
the device serves the same purpose as alcohol and drugs-isolation. The crux of the matter
is not isolation, but defining a private space and allowing yourself to utilize it pleasantly
in an affirmative way.
DISCUSSION
This paper described a form of sub assertiveness which is based on hyper
suggestibility, a condition recognized long ago by Janet. Janet came to see belief as the
kernel of the susceptibility: not simply belief in an event, but more essentially, belief in
the power of suggestion, and belief that the one who made the suggestion has power. The
procedure for solving this problem utilizes this client characteristic. If clients attribute
power to the therapist, it is used to teach them to believe in their own power and
capabilities. This means, in terms of Janet (1936), that these clients are assured that they
can call upon their powers and this gives them courage and self-confidence. This faith-in
essence, the summary of a future action also brings about an actual increase in their
personal powers, thus paving the way for success. .
Finally, it was considered that the clients in the case examples described
individuals who are susceptible to suggestions in their daily life-were excellent
hypnotic subjects. It should be noted, however, that this assertion was not confirmed
by obtaining scores on a hypnotizability scale. Thus, to make the indication for the
procedure described here more objectively, in future work the therapist should’ use a
test to measure hypnotic suggestibility rather than trusting her or his clinical
judgment.
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Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis; Vol. 15. No. 1, 1987, pp 11-19
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