Secret hypnosis

Extremely unlikely. Your friend may have been feeling slightly stressed at the time of the interview, and it may have been an unconscious release of stress that made them feel that way.

Yes, I have had that feeling after marriage guidance. I am sure the counsellor didn't hypnotise me. But when You are blurting out very intense feelings and thoughts, it drains you. On one occasion, as I left the building, I almost blacked out and ended up crying.

Assuming the psychotherapist wasn't crap, I like to know what people think going to a therapist is all about.

In what sense, Pixie?

In the sense that better education of what therapies are about is needed.

Hi LuckyLuke

Im a Hypnotherapist and can assure you that your friend was not being secretly hypnotised as it is not possible to hypnotise someone without their permission and trust.

Emotions can be surprisingly powerful and overwhelming at times, particularly if a client goes to a therapist and is encouraged to discuss their issue in depth. Most times we like to ignore particular personal issues and when we come to face them can be amazed by the 'emotional sting' they bring when talking about it. Often one can feel woozy/nausious/spaced out (pardon the phrase) and this is perfectly natural and is part of the healing process.

Maybe the psychotherapist your friend went to is a little in experienced, and might have been trying a technique known as 'mirroring' which if use skillfully, helps to build rapid rapport and trust. If your friend is quite analytical they may have noticed this (on an unconscious level) and felt the resulting feelings.

To put your mind at ease about hypnosis. One cannot be hypnotised against their will (you mind is simply to powerful). The state of hypnosis is an amazingly relaxed state and extremely enjoyable as you are fully relaxed but at the same time completely aware and in control of what is going on. 🙂

Hope this helps.
Holistic Circle

Lets face it, a lot of people have negative ideas about mind therapies especially hypnotherapy. Mind therapies not being properly regulated profession doesn't help and any numpty can set as a therapist.

Due to our education and social systems, most people are brought up believing the mind and body are two separate bits. We are highly complex mind-body-energetic systems that intermingle and interrelate. Pain and suffering whether physiological or psychological is still pain. Psychological pain and stress that isn't properly expressed can develop as physical pain.

When a client works with a therapist, who knows what will occur and the mind-body-energetic complex can react in many ways. It is not uncommon for clients to have a "healing crisis" resulting in crying, dizziness, anger, flu like symptoms, urinating and pooing for Britain, and so forth. This is an attempt for the mind-body-energetic complex to rebalance itself. It is very common whether its aromatherapy or zen meditation.

For example, a friend many years ago went to a chiropractor as she had a stiff neck. When the chiro realigned her neck, she shortly afterwards had a really bad healing reaction. It turned her world upside down. Years later now understands what happened. She was in denial of her family/home situation and was afraid of doing anything about it. Her main complaint about the chiro now was the he could of warned her about healing crisis and that it was normal, and how the burdens and responsibilities of a lazy husband, two young children and a demanding elderly relative can place upon her neck and shoulders.

RP

Hi Pixie

My friend has a good grasp of what therapy is about; they are just embarking on a diploma in psychotherapy and this was their first meeting trying to find a therapist for their [obligatory] self therapy.

My friend also has a background in psychology and has a good theoetical and personal grasp of therapy.

Does this just make the plot more mysterious?

Thanks for the additional info luckyluke. I wished you said that earlier. May be you can tell us the qualifications and professional bodies of the psychotherapist your friend went to see, without mentioning names as that of course would be unethical and the Hp moderators wouldn't be happy.

I know of a hypno/psycho/counsellor type who has a terrible reputation of playing mind games with her clients, and she has put people off mind therapies for life. So there are always dodgy practitioners out there.

A friend of mine who is a experienced hypno-psychotherapist and mental health nurse told me that colleges of hypnotherapy say that you can't hypnotise people against their will isn't true, and that it's said not fighten the public and to stop dodgy therapists taking advantage of their clients.

Controversial or what?

Best Wishes

RP

What an insteresting thread.

Whilst I am not a hypnotherapist or in any way trained in these areas, from a logical/common sense (and probably uneducated on this) point of view, I agree with ReikiPixie.

I think we can all potentially be influenced with or without our knowledge/consent (even by words of non-hypnotherapists, images, issues in our life in normal daily life - so the potential for someone to 'heighten that experience' if they have knowledge/understanding of how the brain/mind works is, to me at least, clear). Just take Derren Brown's examples for instance.

Whether that is via hypnotic/suggestive or other means I guess is a crucial difference in this conversation though.

In fact, I remember two very interesting cases of personal experience (one harmless, the other nefarious):

1 - When I was quite young (about 17 or so) I remember meeting a NLP practitioner and having a drink with them in a pub and midway through the normal conversation I quite literally jolted back 'awake' (having felt a bit unusually detatched)...with hindsight (and having since experienced hypnosis) I was probably in a slightly altered state in the course of a normal conversation...

I have absolutely no doubt that there was nothing untoward going on in this particular case, and I wonder if, once you understand and regularly practice/apply the knowledge (via therapy or whatever), whether it becomes a bit more of a way of life etc...

2 - Unfortunately, this was less inocuous. I was scammed about 10 years ago (along with a load of people in my village) by a group appearing and offering deals that were almost too good to be true on electrical goods etc. Of course I was sceptical (as anyone should be in these circumstances), but I went along (to the local villiage hall) as my parents were going and many others that I knew from the villiage. Having arrived and seen the sorts of people they were, I was even more sceptical (they literally looked like rogues...and there was no sign of any of the goods they had advertised via the handouts). Now I am certainly no fool generally, and even then I was not particularly gullible...especially having heightened suspicion already...yet I, together with about 90% of the 60 or so people that were there, literally handed over £70 willingly with nothing promised in return!!!!! The group rapidly packed up and disappeared without a trace, and not one person objected. This was after an oral 'talk' delivered by someone over the course of about 45mins to an hour I think.

My girlfriend back then (who was also with me and agreed to handover cash) had even seen a programme on TV prior to this that was investigating and explaining this type of scam (and she is literally 'Miss Sceptical') - yet she too was influenced!

That experience alone, to me, demonstrates that people CAN be influenced (I am not sure if I could say hypnotised or not - me not being an expert and all) significantly without their knowledge / consent.

Interesting thread topic I think. Although, as I say, I could not possibly comment on whether this was hypnosis (of sorts) or not, nor am I for one minute casting doubt on any professional therapists (In the years since I have been to a few and they were helpful, honest and professional).

Seems rather unethical if that did happen.

Here is another twist: Long before I ever knew how to do even self-hypnosis, I found that when I was listening intently to someone and then sharing my daydreamy, right-brain-oriented thoughtforms with my naturally musical (have a musical theater-type baritenor voice) and sometimes halting manner (I used to stutter profusely as a child, now my speech pattern is just a little irregular in tempo at times: I learned to talk like more I sing to be free of stuttering), people would get these blank looks on their faces and just kind of stare at me. It was years before I realized the way I talk is entrancing. I am also a therapist, and it was about 10 years before I ever trained in any kind of hypnotherapy. I don't do anything special, but this still can happen. Therapy is about the only thing it doesn't get in the way of, because it can make people feel uncomfortable (& I can understand why). I have had friends and coworkers tell me they don't like to let me talk much, because it makes them want to sleep and they fear I'm hypnotizing them! It only happens when I'm really focused on a topic and talking about it as I'm thinking. I figure I must go into a light trance while in creative thought mode and they entrain to it with the help of my accidentally hypnotic voice and speech pattern. What can I do about it: use ESL?? lol

Ericksonian hypnotherapy principles hold that we go into different kinds of trance several times a day through confusion, shock, concentration, daydreaming, and (yes) emotional intensity, among others. Could it have been that this, possibly in combination with visual and auditory stimuli, could have put you into a light trance?

Just a thought.

Blessings,

Alfred

I think we need some clarity about what hypnosis is.

John La Valle, President of the Society of NLP describes hypnosis as 'esquisite communication'. Nothing more, nothing less.

There's a lot of people out there claiming to reveal the 'underground secrets of hypnosis' and such nonsense. This leads to a lot of misunderstanding about what is and isn't possible.

Of course it's possible to use language in many powerful, influential and persuasive ways. And I believe it's true we all drift in and out of trances all day (and all night) long - when you watch TV you go into a trance, when you gaze out of the window, and of course when you daydream.

So it is possible to lead someone into a trance by talking to them? Yes. I agree, though, that the 'woozy' feeling during therapy was more likely a side effect of the release of emotion, or just being in a different state (being in a therapy room isn't something we experience often).

Is it possible to get someone to part with money, even when all the shields are up? Yes, they did it at that meeting. No doubt they'd carefully worked out their process and - I assume - applied it skillfully, if entirely unethically and (as described here) illegally. Persuasion isn't necessarily hypnosis though.

Can someone be hypnotised against their will? No, whatever the 'training schools' say. That said, it depends how strong the 'will' is. Sometimes we don't realise how much we want what we want, do we?