The Transparent Hypnotist

Since one of the subjects that we are focusing on are intake forms, I have included links for Ellie’s favorite five intake forms. They are all very different, but worth sharing. There is a lot one can learn by looking at these.

1. Harwell Hypnosis & Healing - Janet Harwell’s intake form is very inclusive and makes a point of mentioning the comfort process, in other words, does the client wear contacts and is it a problem to have one’s eyes closed for a 45 minutes or more duration. It also ask about hearing problems (brilliant) and if the client would like any religious references mentioned. It is available online as a word document or a PDF.
2. Advanced Hypnotherapy Services - Rex A. Jones’s intake form is a three page PDF download. It includes a disclosure and consent form for hypnosis/hypnotherapy, client history and medical background, and a client consulting agreement that both Rex and the client signs. This is very straight forward and basic, but the addition of the disclosure and agreement as a nice touch of professionalism.
3. Insyht Hypnotherapy - Natasha Khachaturian has her intake form as a form to be filled out online. It asks both medical information and questions about the client’s goals and has great functionality to it.
4. Addison Hypnosis Center - John Evans’ intake form is short and sweet. I love the questions “What are you doing, feeling, thinking or saying to yourself that you would like to change?” and “What experience would you like to be having instead?” This is a text format download.
5. Vital Voice - Joanne Padawer’s intake form blew me away. It is a 12 page download, but talk about thorough. Six pages are typical hypnosis intake questions with a fair amount of space to give answers. It also includes a stress level profile, a challenges checklist, and a release statement.

Here I am, back again, coffee in hand, Cinnamon bread baking in the oven and a few moments to spend with you. As you may be aware, on this blog, we are slowly exploring the various forms of hypnosis. We have covered the concepts of traditional hypnosis and have begun exploring elements within it (that may also be used in other forms of hypnosis as well). One of these elements is the intake form and/or process.

Here is the question:

From your viewpoint what are the most important things a hypnotist should include on the intake form or intake process and why?

He snickers, skips the questions on page two and hands back my intake form. I glance at it and hand it back, smiling at the skipped questions. He sighs and begins to answer them, every so often moaning about how hard they are. Sounds like an exam, does it not? Hardly. What he is moaning about is answering the questions about what peacefulness means to him or perhaps he does not feel like divulging his phobias.

In talking about hypnosis sessions in general, there are a few things that are fairly basic. The intake form or process is a big part of the session itself and provides a guiding focus for the hypnotist. It sounds elementary and maybe so, but there is an art to the intake. Whether the client fills out the form or the hypnotist ask questions and notes them, this is not just a formality. These questions help clients to pinpoint what it is that they want to work on and gives insight that the hypnotist can use to help in relaxation processes (such as taking the client to their own particular peaceful place and doing so with words that are familiar to the client - their own). Some intakes are more in depth than others. They may ask several potential questions that seem ultra personal, but again they point to clues that the hypnotist can use.

I once read someone’s intake that asked specifically about a person’s sexual preference. At first it seemed a little like privacy invasion, but the reason for it was sound. Say the client is wanting to work on intimacy in a relationship and part of the session includes focusing on the partner, if the hypnotist makes an assumption, the whole session may be a no go because the partner was described in the wrong sex.

So here are two questions for you out there.

Hypnotist - do you ask enough questions to get a true picture of the client?
Clients or potential clients - do you feel the intake forms you have filled out ask things that make you uncomfortable?

Hypnotist - do not be afraid to ask everything you need to know. Just be ready to explain why it will help you to know the items on your intake form.
Clients - do not be afraid to ask the hypnotist why he or she wants to know something, if it makes you uncomfortable.

All the cliches come into your mind - swinging stop watches, swirls, a hypnotic voice that sounds a bit like Dracula honing in on his victim, people barking like dogs and quaking like ducks. Seem familiar? If you were to ask a modern day hypnotist about these things he or she would probably just grimace or embrace the cliche. But they are cliches none the less, and cliches, like stereotypes have come about for a reason. The reason is because people live up to the expectations.

So, here is where we will start our discussion on tradition hypnosis, keeping in in mind that hypnosis is all about using suggestions to create some form of inner change, whether long-term or short-term. The idea of traditional hypnosis fits this definition perfectly as it means that the hypnotist will make suggestions to the subconscious or unconscious part of the clients mind. It relies on post-hypnotic suggestions that the client responds to after the session. Post-hypnotic suggestions are instructions that the subconscious mind utilizes to help create the inner change.

So what happens during a traditional hypnosis session? You will probably fill out an intake form, be given a pre-talk, begin a relaxation process or be given a simple mental task to focus on, will be given a method to deepen your relaxation, which will be followed by the suggestions. Then you will be brought back to normal consciousness. Depending on the hypnotist, you may or may not be tested to see how suggestible you are to that particular hypnotist’s suggestions or may be given convincers that you are in a hypnotic state. We will delve into all this sooner rather than later because these concepts are found in much hypnosis work.

So what do the stereotypes have to do with all this? Well, the swinging watch is what is called an eye-fix induction, where the person being hypnotized is directed to focus on the object. While he or she focuses, suggestions are given for relaxation. This involves a little more than just saying the words “You are getting sleepy.” The placement of the watch in proximity to the client is important as are the visual cues the client gives during the process. The same goes for the swirl. The hypnotic voice? This is a simple technique to instill a little monotony, trust, and calmness. Barking like a dog and quaking like a duck? Those are the post-hypnotic suggestions (we will talk about this later, but rest assured you will only do what you are inclined to do with the post hypnotic suggestion, in other words you will not do anything against your will).

In a traditional hypnosis session, the session relies mainly on the hypnotist, who will do a great deal of talking. As the person being hypnotized, you will not be asked to interact very much, other than responding to various instructions. For most people, it is an incredibly relaxing experience.