This past week I had a hypnotherapy client for weight control. It really doesn’t matter why she was seeing me. What’s important is that for most of my clients I make a personalized CD, and she was no exception.
It’s really not that easy to make a personalized hypnosis recording on the fly. It requires that you pay attention to your client so that you can incorporate their language into it. You have to be confident enough to create a 20-minute recording without any scripts; you have to always be thinking “where am I going next with this?” Plus, you have to make sure the music level is good, and that your client is always as comfortable as they can possibly be. You have to be able to ignore strange movements that they might make. Recently, I had a client that twitched uncontrollably throughout his hypnosis. Very distracting (but he didn’t know I was distracted)! as you must modulate your voice to be soothing and relaxing no matter what. And, although I do tell them in hypnosis that any sounds they hear inside and outside the room will take them deeper inside, some sounds can be big surprises (I know you know where we are going with this). And while I have a sign on my door that asks that nobody knock or ring the bell, some folks just do not pay attention! One door-to-door salesman rang the doorbell not once, but twice! (Fortunately, we had just started, so we could start over fairly easily). And while I didn’t think on my feet that time, I did for this gal, and it was pretty clever, if I do say so myself.
Usually, one of the first things I do when a client comes in is turn my phone off, and ask them if they have any “noise makers” that they need to turn off, too. I don’t even want their phones vibrating. That would be a mental distraction. For whatever reason, I forgot with this client.
So, I’m well into my hypnotic patter. My client is responding very well as she is a good subject, and she is pretty deep into hypnosis when all of a sudden, I hear “DROID.” Oh shit. A shock of adrenaline races through my body. Do I have to start over? Is she going to open her eyes, and say something ruining her trance experience? Nope. I used it. I thought on my feet. I said “And every time you hear the word “Droid” your subconscious mind will remind you that you are on a new path, that you love eating healthy and nourishing foods in small amounts that fill you up, drinking lots of pure fresh clean water, moving your body, and taking care of your emotional needs.” (or something like that). “Yes, every time you hear the word “Droid” all of the suggestions on your recording will sink even more deeply into your subconscious becoming your absolute truth and reality.” Yahoo! I turned what could have been a disaster into something good. And now the alert on her phone will have a double meaning: that somebody, both inside and outside of her, wants her attention.
I remember one hypnotherapist telling me that she incorporated the sound of a helicopter going over her and her client’s heads. I’m not sure I’d want my client to hear a helicopter on their recording, but the phone alert was just great.
It’ll work.
