Formulating Suggestions Shelly Johnson Gottsegen, LICSW Hypnovations April, 2010

Implication An indirect suggestion “when you see the clouds, nod your head”, what color are the flowers?”

Truism: a statement of fact that someone has experienced so often that they cannot deny. Example: “Most people know how it feels to enjoy the warmth of the sun”

Not knowing and Not Doing facilitates unconscious responsiveness and dissociating. Assists patients to not try to hard Example: “You don’t have to think or reply, or try to do anything al all”

Covering All Possibilities of Response : Giving a suggestion that covers all possibilities – “ shortly your right hand, or perhaps it will be your left hand, will begin to get light and lift up or perhaps it will get heavy and press down, I can’t really be sure, but you can simply notice very carefully what begins to happen…”

Questions Suggestions in the form of questions may be used to focus attention and awareness, stimulate associations, facilitate responsiveness, and to induce trance. Example: “Can you feel comfortable as your hands rest on your thighs?”

Contingent Suggestions Connect a suggestion to an ongoing or inevitable behavior. Example:“As your hand lowers you find yourself going back to a time when you first noticed….”

The Implied Directive Often consisting of three parts: 1) a time – binding introduction, 2) An implied suggestion for an internal response, 3) suggestion for a behavioral response when the internal response has been accomplished. Example: “ As soon as (time) you see a door (internal visual) your yes finger will float up” ( behavioral signal).

Apposition of Opposites The suggestion contains a balance of opposites Example: “As your right arm floats up, your left arm feels heavy…” Polarities: warmth-coolness, tension- relaxation, light -heavy etc.

Negatives to Discharge Resistance Erickson technique used to discharge resistance. Example: “You will, will you not?”; “You can try, can’t you?””And why not just let that occur?”

The Bind of Comparable Alternatives This is a suggestion that gives the illusion of choice but is essentially comparable and leads the patient in the desired therapeutic direction. Example: “You can just be aware of the sound of my voice or just simply ignore everything else”.

Conscious-Unconscious Double Bind This type of suggestion seeks to utilize the patient’s unconscious mind and bypassing the conscious mind’s limitations. Example: “ And the unconscious mind can continue to work on even more solutions to the problem during the week preparing you for our next session.

Suggestions to confuse These types of suggestions seeks to loosen up the rigid mental sets of the conscious mind. “Shock and Surprise” facilitates creative solutions and captures the patient’s attention. “Double Dissociation Double Bind” creates overload and confusion Ex: “You may choose not to remember, or you may choose just to forget, but choosing to forget is your choice in the same way as choosing to remember that which you’ve chosen to forget.”

Intersperse Suggestions and Metaphors This type of suggestion uses metaphors and illustrative visual suggestions to indirectly influence the patient. There are three types: Stories from one’s own experience Truisms – universal life experiences Made- up stories to fit the patient’s experiences

The Phrasing of Suggestions Trusting the your own unconscious A way of speaking and communicating Rhythm and Pauses

Introductory Phrases And you can wonder….. Can you notice…..? And you can be pleased… And you can begin to wonder…. With your permission.. Now, I’d like you to have a new experience… And you will be surprised at… Now of course I don’t know for sure what you are experiencing. But perhaps you ….

Introductory Phrases And you can discover…. And sooner or later, I don’t know just when… You already know how to… One of the things that I’d like you to discover is…. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind noticing…. At first…but later… I wonder if you’d like to enjoy… And I think that you are going to enjoy being surprised that ….

Introductory Phrases And I wonder if you’ll be curious about the fact that… Perhaps noticing… Perhaps beginning to notice… And maybe you’ll enjoy noticing… I wonder if you’ve ever noticed… Maybe it will surprise you to notice that… I’d like you to let yourself become more and more aware of… I’d like you to begin allowing… And your unconscious mind can enable you to… I wonder if you’ll decide to…