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Interactive Hypnotherapy

‘Interactive hypnotherapy’, or ‘Structured hypnotherapy’, is a way of using the hypnotic state to carry on a dialogue with the subconscious mind, in order to achieve lasting and beneficial changes. It involves: first, identifying ‘parts’ of the mind, which take the form of imagined entities that represent and give expression to the relevant subconscious energies of the mind; and, second, negotiating with them to make the changes in behavior or mental state that the person desires. Although the dialogue is led by the therapist, its content is supplied by the client’s subconscious mind. The language and imagery that are employed are brought forward by the client, and not imposed by the therapist.

Comparison with direct suggestion

The method of interactive hypnotherapy can be contrasted with direct suggestion, where the therapist formulates suggestions - often in the form of a predefined script - and reads them in a monologue to the hypnotised client.

Several advantages of interactive hypnotherapy can be identified:

Using the inner mind’s own symbols

By eliciting the subconscious mind’s own symbols, and using those symbols as a medium of communication in the session, what the therapist says can be digested more quickly and more effectively by the client’s mind. In effect, the therapist is speaking in the subconscious mind’s own language.

Using the inner mind’s own diagnosis

By working with the client’s own diagnosis of the problem, albeit expressed in symbolic form, the therapist can avoid the time-consuming work of determining a diagnosis in theoretical terms, can avoid the risks of proceeding with a wrong diagnosis, and can exclude the possibility of the therapist’s unwittingly imposing her own expectations of, or presuppositions about, the diagnosis. The last point is especially relevant these days, when there is so much controversy about False Memory Syndrome, amid claims that some therapists use leading questions to elicit unfounded accusations of sexual abuse. It is very difficult to plant ideas inadvertantly in the method outlined here. This is simply because the dialogue is driven by whatever images and words the client brings forward. For instance, the client may say that her problem is “fear”, so the therapist might say, “Allow the fear part come forward in a shape”, and the client herself decides what the shape is. The client remains in the seat of power throughout the process.

Released energy is re-directed

The results that are obtained with structured hypnotherapy are more likely to be long-lasting than those obtained by direct suggestion. In direct suggestion, the problematic symptoms - such as smoking or over-eating - are stopped, but the underlying impetus is left intact and is not channelled anywhere. Quite often, that energy will then attach itself to some other symptom or behavior: for instance, the client may give up smoking but then take up over-eating, or nail-biting, or even develop physical ailments such as gut irritations. In interactive hypnotherapy, this is avoided by explicitly redirecting the underlying energy and harnessing it to some positive activity that the client’s own mind has chosen. The client’s inner mind is completely free in its choice of what task to give to the liberated energy, and the client may well be surprised by what comes up, or may smile with recognition at something that she knew she had wanted to do but had been suppressing. For instance, in one lady who was seeking to stop smoking, the relevant subconscious part suggested steering its energy into an aerobics class instead of smoking!

Interactive hypnotherapy is empowering

Interactive hypnotherapy conveys, in its subtext, the message that the client is empowered. Quite often, people come to hypnotherapy with the belief that the therapist is rather like a magician who can make their problems go away with a magic incantation. The method of direct suggestion fits in with that view, and thereby reinforces a sense of disempowerment in the client. In interactive hypnotherapy, on the other hand, the client herself actively plays a key role, and is encouraged to think of herself as having the power to make her own changes to her mind. Strictly speaking, in hypnotherapy of any sort, the therapist is merely facilitating the client’s own healing capacity, but in structured hypnotherapy this truth is revealed rather than obscured.

A session of interactive hypnotherapy

A session of interactive hypnotherapy always starts with the therapist asking the client to label the problem with a word or phrase. For instance, “fear of flying”. It is essential to the method that a single, simple target be identified. People often have a natural, and quite understandable, tendency to elaborate upon what the problem is, or to offer details and qualifications of the problem. They are keen to offer as much circumstantial information as possible. This incidental detail does not help the therapeutic process, in fact it is a hindrance because it muddies the water. In structured hypnotherapy, we need a clear target, which we are then going to hit with the verbal equivalent of a laser gun!

The problem part’s projected appearance

Once the problem has been identified, it is asked to come forward. The tone of the conversation, between the therapist and the subconscious part of the mind, is important. It should be firm but respectful and polite. Time spent in therapy is paid for by the client. Therefore, it is imperative to get to the job of resolving the problem quickly. This does not mean that anything is rushed or done with impatience, but it does mean that any obstructions and evasions put up by the subconscious mind need to be summarily removed. Helper parts can be invoked to neutralize any resistance shown by recalcitrant problems, or to give assistance to problems that struggle to resolve themselves. For instance, I may suggest to the client’s mind that a ‘helper’ such as the ‘wise part’ or the ‘strong part’ come forward to join in helping the problem to be transformed if it is too weak on its own, or to defeat it if it is being uncooperative. Although this suggestion comes from the therapist, the client’s mind nonetheless gives an imagined appearance to these helper parts, and determines precisely what action they take.

Many clients adopt a visualization, and see the problem part as a particular shape, such as a black lump, and likewise see the helpers as particular forms, such as angels. The client does not necessarily tell me what visible (or other sensory) forms the parts have presented themselves as: this is a private experience that the client may, or may not, choose to share with me. My role is that of a facilitator, guiding the client in her own solo performance.

Modifying or eliminating the problem part

The problem part may either be modified for the client’s positive and advantageous benefit, or be eliminated altogether. This choice is always given to the part that is causing the problem. Whichever option is selected, the aim is to persuade it to change or go voluntarily, of its own accord. Only if it is persistent in its refusal to cooperate, do we need to compel it. If, as is normal, the problem part agrees to modify itself, then it is asked to come up with three possible ways of changing for the client’s benefit. Out of those three options, the therapist may ask it to choose just one, and then to commit to it, or to adopt all three. It is told to make the change there and then, and report back when it has made the change.

Example: Mary had a fear of travelling on buses. Therapist: “Fear part, you have a choice. You may choose to support Mary for her positive and advantageous benefit, or you may choose to be released and eliminated from Mary’s inner mind. Which do you choose?”. Mary: “Support”. Therapist: “Fear part, please suggest three ways in which you will support Mary for her positive and advantageous benefit.” Mary: “Carry a bus map… Take a small book to read… Choose a seat with a good view.” Therapist: “Embed those suggestions now, deep down in Mary’s inner mind. Make that change now, and report back to me when you have done it”. (There is a pause.) Mary: “Done”.

A possible outcome of the dialogue is that the client herself may agree to make some change in her lifestyle that satisfies the problem part. This might seem like allowing the tail to wag the dog, but in fact it makes perfect sense. Quite often, what presents as a problem part is really a thwarted part that is trying to do good, but is frustrated by the client’s own lifestyle choices. In such cases, the problem part agrees to stop being a problem, provided that the client herself (that is, her conscious mind) agrees to make a corresponding change in her behavior.

Example: Peter sought help on his problem of frequently missing trains, often by only a few minutes or seconds, and consequently being late for work During the dialogue, a ‘creative part’ came forward and claimed that it was disrupting the man’s life because it wanted time to be creative. When the man agreed to set aside some time each day for creative writing, the part agreed to stop making him late. At the end of the session, I check to see that there are no other parts holding back in the client’s subconscious that would obstruct the changes that the client wishes to achieve.

Other methods

By the way, there is no advantage is adhering rigidly to just one technique. I often bring in other methods, when these seem appropriate, such as regression to an earlier time in the client’s present life. Again, though, I allow the client’s own system of beliefs and her own pattern of imagery to drive the process. What emerges from a regression may surprise and challenge the client. It is outside my remit, however, to advise on the veracity of what emerges from regression. If, for instance, regression yields apparent memories from a past life, then I respect the client’s own interpretation of them.

Resistance to entering hypnosis

A small proportion of clients find it hard to go into a hypnotic state, or they may go into only a very superficial depth of relaxation. On the rare occasions that a client’s mind resists induction into the trance state, I use a direct suggestion script known as the Orange Liquid Therapy. The relaxation and energizing that this gives are beneficial in themselves, but it can also help the client to enter into the hypnotic state.

In cases of resistance, the client may ‘dry up’ despite a willingness and desire to progress with the therapy. When the therapist puts a question to the problem part, no answer at all may be forthcoming. To overcome this, one can say to the client, “Imagine what the part might say if it could speak”, or go through a process such as, “Imagine there is Book of Wisdom before you: open it up and read what it says on its pages” and, if the pages appear blank, say “Look again, more closely: maybe the ink is faded, but perhaps you can just make out what it says, which you missed at first”. Eventually this may breach the defences that surround the subconscious, and give it an opening through which to speak. If necessary, one could resort to word associations or a dictionary, just to get that initial contact with the inner minds. Some people are convinced they have no imagination, and they find it hard at first to open up a channel to the sea of creativity beneath the conscious ego. Once this underground river of thought has been opened and used, though, it, it can be re-opened with comparative ease.

The language of therapy

I mentioned above that I allow the client to determine the vocabulary in which the hypnotherapeutic session is conducted. That does not mean, however, that I follow all aspects of the client’s usage of that language. Language has considerable power to reinforce patterns of thought and to guide people’s thinking in certain direction. Every word bears not just its literal meaning, but also a number of connotations, associations, conventions, and assumptions. When you use a word, you may not be consciously aware of that semantic baggage that the word is carrying, but the subconscious is very much aware of it and frequently reacts to it.

For instance, consider someone who, on seeing that it is raining, says “What a nuisance! I can’t do the gardening!”, in contrast one who says, “That’s OK, now I can finish all my indoor housework”. Most situations can be described equally accurately with either a positive or a negative bias. It is like a glass of water being “half-empty” and “half-full”. Limiting terminology is often insidious: people think they are just stating the facts, when really they are proposing a negative interpretation of the facts. To some people this seems a trite consideration, but it is actually quite hard to, and does yield worth-while improvements in morale and personal energy.

Negative language is also related to the filtering of memories: the tendency to remember times when things did not turn out the way that was hoped, and to forget the times when they went really well.

Shifting the use of language from the negative to the positive end of the spectrum is one of the strands that make up the beneficial experience of a hypnotherapy session. It is, however, done within the symbolic language that the client’s mind is using.

The practitioner of interactive hypnotherapy

Interactive hypnotherapy requires new skills. Beyond the basic skills of being able to hypnotize and empathize, the therapist needs the tactical skills of a negotiator. Sometimes the subconscious ‘parts’ are co-operative and will agree easily to make the required changes; but, at other times, they can be obstructive or evasive, and demand considerable negotiating effort. Some will repeatedly throw up barrier after barrier to try to stop the hypnotherapeutic process from making inroads.

The success depends a great deal on the ability of the therapist to go with the flow of the dialogue, and to keep coming up with whatever suggestions are needed to persuade the subconscious mind that it really does want to change. In this respect, I do feel that an element of inspiration is involved, for I cannot give a rational explanation for all the words I say in the session. My personal metaphor for what is actually happening is that I make my mind very quiet and empty, and tune in to the client’s thoughts and feelings. Then, I find that the right words just come to me. Perhaps this involves an element of thought transference between client and therapist. That might seem far-fetched, but how can one rule it out? Of course, I do not present this point with the client: the therapy session is for achieving beneficial change for the client, not for theorizing about how the therapy works. Nor does this question, of whether there is thought transference or not, have any effect on my method: I create a quiet space in my mind, I can rely on the right words appearing in that space. Whether those words come from the unconscious workings of my own mind, or come in part from a direct link with the client’s mind, may be an important scientific question, but it is not a practical one.

Spiritual help

My final point is one that some people will find hard to accept within their existing beliefs, but I strongly believe it to be true, and I think it is important to be alive to it as a possibility in everyone’s experience. I believe that a spiritual ‘light’ from God is made available to those who wish to work in that light, and I believe that what success I have had in helping people to change their lives has actually been accomplished by that divine light. This makes hypnotherapy sound akin to spiritual healing, and I firmly believe that there is such a connection. Obviously, this conception of what I do differs from how clinical hypnotherapists see their own work. This does not in itself mean that there is a contradiction. Hypnosis is essentially a means of opening the door to the mind, which is shared by both holistic and clinical forms of therapy. Once we have passed through that door, we may provide different kinds of help that may be appropriate to different people with different problems.


	Home About William Engle Hypnotherapy By Telephone Energy Therapy (EFT) Newsletters Articles FAQs News & Press Workshops - Register Seminars - Register Contact Us Online Store		Articles « Back to full list of articles Interactive Hypnotherapy ‘Interactive hypnotherapy’, or ‘Structured hypnotherapy’, is a way of using the hypnotic state to carry on a dialogue with the subconscious mind, in order to achieve lasting and beneficial changes. It involves: first, identifying ‘parts’ of the mind, which take the form of imagined entities that represent and give expression to the relevant subconscious energies of the mind; and, second, negotiating with them to make the changes in behavior or mental state that the person desires. Although the dialogue is led by the therapist, its content is supplied by the client’s subconscious mind. The language and imagery that are employed are brought forward by the client, and not imposed by the therapist. Comparison with direct suggestion The method of interactive hypnotherapy can be contrasted with direct suggestion, where the therapist formulates suggestions - often in the form of a predefined script - and reads them in a monologue to the hypnotised client. Several advantages of interactive hypnotherapy can be identified: Using the inner mind’s own symbols By eliciting the subconscious mind’s own symbols, and using those symbols as a medium of communication in the session, what the therapist says can be digested more quickly and more effectively by the client’s mind. In effect, the therapist is speaking in the subconscious mind’s own language. Using the inner mind’s own diagnosis By working with the client’s own diagnosis of the problem, albeit expressed in symbolic form, the therapist can avoid the time-consuming work of determining a diagnosis in theoretical terms, can avoid the risks of proceeding with a wrong diagnosis, and can exclude the possibility of the therapist’s unwittingly imposing her own expectations of, or presuppositions about, the diagnosis. The last point is especially relevant these days, when there is so much controversy about False Memory Syndrome, amid claims that some therapists use leading questions to elicit unfounded accusations of sexual abuse. It is very difficult to plant ideas inadvertantly in the method outlined here. This is simply because the dialogue is driven by whatever images and words the client brings forward. For instance, the client may say that her problem is “fear”, so the therapist might say, “Allow the fear part come forward in a shape”, and the client herself decides what the shape is. The client remains in the seat of power throughout the process. Released energy is re-directed The results that are obtained with structured hypnotherapy are more likely to be *long-lasting* than those obtained by direct suggestion. In direct suggestion, the problematic symptoms - such as smoking or over-eating - are stopped, but the underlying impetus is left intact and is not channelled anywhere. Quite often, that energy will then attach itself to some other symptom or behavior: for instance, the client may give up smoking but then take up over-eating, or nail-biting, or even develop physical ailments such as gut irritations. In interactive hypnotherapy, this is avoided by explicitly redirecting the underlying energy and harnessing it to some positive activity that the client’s own mind has chosen. The client’s inner mind is completely free in its choice of what task to give to the liberated energy, and the client may well be surprised by what comes up, or may smile with recognition at something that she knew she had wanted to do but had been suppressing. For instance, in one lady who was seeking to stop smoking, the relevant subconscious part suggested steering its energy into an aerobics class instead of smoking! Interactive hypnotherapy is empowering Interactive hypnotherapy conveys, in its subtext, the message that the client is empowered. Quite often, people come to hypnotherapy with the belief that the therapist is rather like a magician who can make their problems go away with a magic incantation. The method of direct suggestion fits in with that view, and thereby reinforces a sense of disempowerment in the client. In interactive hypnotherapy, on the other hand, the client herself actively plays a key role, and is encouraged to think of herself as having the power to make her own changes to her mind. Strictly speaking, in hypnotherapy of any sort, the therapist is merely facilitating the client’s own healing capacity, but in structured hypnotherapy this truth is revealed rather than obscured. A session of interactive hypnotherapy A session of interactive hypnotherapy always starts with the therapist asking the client to label the problem with a word or phrase. For instance, “fear of flying”. It is essential to the method that a single, simple target be identified. People often have a natural, and quite understandable, tendency to elaborate upon what the problem is, or to offer details and qualifications of the problem. They are keen to offer as much circumstantial information as possible. This incidental detail does not help the therapeutic process, in fact it is a hindrance because it muddies the water. In structured hypnotherapy, we need a clear target, which we are then going to hit with the verbal equivalent of a laser gun! The problem part’s projected appearance Once the problem has been identified, it is asked to come forward. The tone of the conversation, between the therapist and the subconscious part of the mind, is important. It should be firm but respectful and polite. Time spent in therapy is paid for by the client. Therefore, it is imperative to get to the job of resolving the problem quickly. This does not mean that anything is rushed or done with impatience, but it does mean that any obstructions and evasions put up by the subconscious mind need to be summarily removed. Helper parts can be invoked to neutralize any resistance shown by recalcitrant problems, or to give assistance to problems that struggle to resolve themselves. For instance, I may suggest to the client’s mind that a ‘helper’ such as the ‘wise part’ or the ‘strong part’ come forward to join in helping the problem to be transformed if it is too weak on its own, or to defeat it if it is being uncooperative. Although this suggestion comes from the therapist, the client’s mind nonetheless gives an imagined appearance to these helper parts, and determines precisely what action they take. Many clients adopt a visualization, and see the problem part as a particular shape, such as a black lump, and likewise see the helpers as particular forms, such as angels. The client does not necessarily tell me what visible (or other sensory) forms the parts have presented themselves as: this is a private experience that the client may, or may not, choose to share with me. My role is that of a facilitator, guiding the client in her own solo performance. Modifying or eliminating the problem part The problem part may either be modified for the client’s positive and advantageous benefit, or be eliminated altogether. This choice is always given to the part that is causing the problem. Whichever option is selected, the aim is to persuade it to change or go voluntarily, of its own accord. Only if it is persistent in its refusal to cooperate, do we need to compel it. If, as is normal, the problem part agrees to modify itself, then it is asked to come up with three possible ways of changing for the client’s benefit. Out of those three options, the therapist may ask it to choose just one, and then to commit to it, or to adopt all three. It is told to make the change there and then, and report back when it has made the change. Example: Mary had a fear of travelling on buses. Therapist: “Fear part, you have a choice. You may choose to support Mary for her positive and advantageous benefit, or you may choose to be released and eliminated from Mary’s inner mind. Which do you choose?”. Mary: “Support”. Therapist: “Fear part, please suggest three ways in which you will support Mary for her positive and advantageous benefit.” Mary: “Carry a bus map… Take a small book to read… Choose a seat with a good view.” Therapist: “Embed those suggestions now, deep down in Mary’s inner mind. Make that change now, and report back to me when you have done it”. (There is a pause.) Mary: “Done”. A possible outcome of the dialogue is that the client herself may agree to make some change in her lifestyle that satisfies the problem part. This might seem like allowing the tail to wag the dog, but in fact it makes perfect sense. Quite often, what presents as a problem part is really a thwarted part that is trying to do good, but is frustrated by the client’s own lifestyle choices. In such cases, the problem part agrees to stop being a problem, provided that the client herself (that is, her conscious mind) agrees to make a corresponding change in her behavior. Example: Peter sought help on his problem of frequently missing trains, often by only a few minutes or seconds, and consequently being late for work During the dialogue, a ‘creative part’ came forward and claimed that it was disrupting the man’s life because it wanted time to be creative. When the man agreed to set aside some time each day for creative writing, the part agreed to stop making him late. At the end of the session, I check to see that there are no other parts holding back in the client’s subconscious that would obstruct the changes that the client wishes to achieve. Other methods By the way, there is no advantage is adhering rigidly to just one technique. I often bring in other methods, when these seem appropriate, such as regression to an earlier time in the client’s present life. Again, though, I allow the client’s own system of beliefs and her own pattern of imagery to drive the process. What emerges from a regression may surprise and challenge the client. It is outside my remit, however, to advise on the veracity of what emerges from regression. If, for instance, regression yields apparent memories from a past life, then I respect the client’s own interpretation of them. Resistance to entering hypnosis A small proportion of clients find it hard to go into a hypnotic state, or they may go into only a very superficial depth of relaxation. On the rare occasions that a client’s mind resists induction into the trance state, I use a direct suggestion script known as the Orange Liquid Therapy. The relaxation and energizing that this gives are beneficial in themselves, but it can also help the client to enter into the hypnotic state. In cases of resistance, the client may ‘dry up’ despite a willingness and desire to progress with the therapy. When the therapist puts a question to the problem part, no answer at all may be forthcoming. To overcome this, one can say to the client, “Imagine what the part might say if it could speak”, or go through a process such as, “Imagine there is Book of Wisdom before you: open it up and read what it says on its pages” and, if the pages appear blank, say “Look again, more closely: maybe the ink is faded, but perhaps you can just make out what it says, which you missed at first”. Eventually this may breach the defences that surround the subconscious, and give it an opening through which to speak. If necessary, one could resort to word associations or a dictionary, just to get that initial contact with the inner minds. Some people are convinced they have no imagination, and they find it hard at first to open up a channel to the sea of creativity beneath the conscious ego. Once this underground river of thought has been opened and used, though, it, it can be re-opened with comparative ease. The language of therapy I mentioned above that I allow the client to determine the vocabulary in which the hypnotherapeutic session is conducted. That does not mean, however, that I follow all aspects of the client’s usage of that language. Language has considerable power to reinforce patterns of thought and to guide people’s thinking in certain direction. Every word bears not just its literal meaning, but also a number of connotations, associations, conventions, and assumptions. When you use a word, you may not be consciously aware of that semantic baggage that the word is carrying, but the subconscious is very much aware of it and frequently reacts to it. For instance, consider someone who, on seeing that it is raining, says “What a nuisance! I can’t do the gardening!”, in contrast one who says, “That’s OK, now I can finish all my indoor housework”. Most situations can be described equally accurately with either a positive or a negative bias. It is like a glass of water being “half-empty” and “half-full”. Limiting terminology is often insidious: people think they are just stating the facts, when really they are proposing a negative interpretation of the facts. To some people this seems a trite consideration, but it is actually quite hard to, and does yield worth-while improvements in morale and personal energy. Negative language is also related to the filtering of memories: the tendency to remember times when things did not turn out the way that was hoped, and to forget the times when they went really well. Shifting the use of language from the negative to the positive end of the spectrum is one of the strands that make up the beneficial experience of a hypnotherapy session. It is, however, done within the symbolic language that the client’s mind is using. The practitioner of interactive hypnotherapy Interactive hypnotherapy requires new skills. Beyond the basic skills of being able to hypnotize and empathize, the therapist needs the tactical skills of a negotiator. Sometimes the subconscious ‘parts’ are co-operative and will agree easily to make the required changes; but, at other times, they can be obstructive or evasive, and demand considerable negotiating effort. Some will repeatedly throw up barrier after barrier to try to stop the hypnotherapeutic process from making inroads. The success depends a great deal on the ability of the therapist to go with the flow of the dialogue, and to keep coming up with whatever suggestions are needed to persuade the subconscious mind that it really does want to change. In this respect, I do feel that an element of inspiration is involved, for I cannot give a rational explanation for all the words I say in the session. My personal metaphor for what is actually happening is that I make my mind very quiet and empty, and tune in to the client’s thoughts and feelings. Then, I find that the right words just come to me. Perhaps this involves an element of thought transference between client and therapist. That might seem far-fetched, but how can one rule it out? Of course, I do not present this point with the client: the therapy session is for achieving beneficial change for the client, not for theorizing about how the therapy works. Nor does this question, of whether there is thought transference or not, have any effect on my method: I create a quiet space in my mind, I can rely on the right words appearing in that space. Whether those words come from the unconscious workings of my own mind, or come in part from a direct link with the client’s mind, may be an important scientific question, but it is not a practical one. Spiritual help My final point is one that some people will find hard to accept within their existing beliefs, but I strongly believe it to be true, and I think it is important to be alive to it as a possibility in everyone’s experience. I believe that a spiritual ‘light’ from God is made available to those who wish to work in that light, and I believe that what success I have had in helping people to change their lives has actually been accomplished by that divine light. This makes hypnotherapy sound akin to spiritual healing, and I firmly believe that there is such a connection. Obviously, this conception of what I do differs from how clinical hypnotherapists see their own work. This does not in itself mean that there is a contradiction. Hypnosis is essentially a means of opening the door to the mind, which is shared by both holistic and clinical forms of therapy. Once we have passed through that door, we may provide different kinds of help that may be appropriate to different people with different problems.
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