Was I Hypnotised? Why You Shouldn't Fear This Question

“Was I hypnotised?” is a question that can put the fear of God into hypnotherapists working with their first few clients. You've spent an hour together, taken your client through the induction process, worked with whatever issue they've come to see you about, and then you're faced with this question.

There are two ways to respond. One, you become absolutely determined that your next induction will be so effective there's no way you'll ever be asked this question again. Or two, you stop worrying about the question in the first place and focus on doing great client work.

If you find yourself getting caught up in worrying about whether you're hypnotising your clients, I want to share three tips to help you focus your energies on what's actually going to help you and your clients achieve the results you want. And at the end, I'll explain how you can respond to this question in a way that helps your client get the most out of their session.

Was I Hypnotised? Why the Question Can Cause So Much Anxiety

We've all been there, right? That panicked moment when we think we've wasted our client's time and money because they “didn't get hypnotised”. What did we do wrong? Is there a rapid induction technique that could fix the problem? How can we make sure our next client is hypnotised?

This is how I used to think. And I see the same fear on the faces of the hypnotherapists I train and mentor. It makes sense. We're hypnotherapists, aren't we?

Yes. And learning ways to naturally and smoothly help clients transition into their own inner, focused state is important, but there's so much more to a good hypnotherapeutic outcome than someone being in a state of hypnosis.

Tip 1: Don't Equate the Depth of Hypnosis with Therapeutic Success

My first tip is to stop equating a deep state of hypnosis with a good therapeutic outcome, or assuming that someone who doesn't feel hypnotised hasn't benefited from their session.

I saw how damaging this way of thinking could be with a colleague I met early in my career. After completing her training, she went straight into client work. Her only personal experience of hypnotherapy was practising with other students, and the course she attended presented a very simplistic view of “trance states”.

She became fixated on ensuring her clients were hypnotised, and when we caught up to discuss our progress, the conversation turned to whether her clients were really hypnotised and what she could do to help them become more hypnotised, rather than the types of conditions she was working with.

Even when her clients were experiencing positive therapeutic outcomes, she was still worried that she wasn't doing a good enough job. She became so caught up in worrying about hypnosis itself that she was losing sight of the wider therapeutic work. She wasn't enjoying her sessions, and her learning became increasingly focused on inductions rather than developing her skills as a therapist. Eventually, she gave up her practice.

Like my colleague, the course I attended presented a simplistic description of what a trance state was and the importance of working with clients within this state. We weren't even introduced to non-state theories of hypnosis.

But I'd gone for hypnotherapy on several occasions myself, and realised that something far more complex was happening than trance state equals therapeutic change.

I'd had times when I'd experienced what I can only describe as a profound shift in consciousness, unlike anything I'd experienced before – and not achieved my therapeutic goals. And other times when I'd felt mildly relaxed and engaged in the process, and achieved changes that I didn't believe were even possible.

These experiences helped me recognise that the depth of hypnosis, or how hypnotised someone feels, isn't necessarily a reliable indicator of the therapeutic changes they might experience.

Tip 2: Focus on What Your Client Has Achieved

For me, the therapeutic outcome has always informed my work, and it's always how I assess whether a session has been successful for a client. Maybe they've achieved something unusual in terms of their state of mind, and maybe they haven't.

My second tip is to ask yourself what your client has actually achieved from your work together.

Did they leave feeling more confident? Was there something they did last week that represents progress? Did they engage with you during the session? Have they started thinking differently about their situation?

Recognise the therapeutic gains your client has made, rather than judging the success of your work by how hypnotised they appeared to be.

Now, I don't want you to think I'm dismissing the experience of hypnosis itself. I certainly believe that people often enter into a different state of mind during a hypnotherapy session. And I believe that working with people in a more focused, inward-looking state of mind can help them accept the suggestions I offer more easily.

But I also believe that clients who don't experience any significant shift in their state of mind can experience just as transformative therapeutic outcomes from a hypnotherapy session. I've seen it happen often enough.

And this is why I think it's so important to look beyond whether someone has experienced what they believe hypnosis should feel like.

Tip 3: Develop Your Therapeutic Skills, Not Just Your Inductions

By all means, learn rapid inductions. They can be particularly effective for some clients. And learning how to work in a more naturalistic way with clients is something that will move your practice on a level, not to mention making it more individualised and enjoyable for both you and your client.

But there's so much more to being a hypnotherapist than focusing on inductions and the depth of hypnosis.

The induction is only one transition point within a much wider session. And, if you think about it logically, there are various points during the session – when you direct your client's attention to a particular bodily experience or memory, for instance – where they're experiencing similar transitions in their attention and awareness.

We can become so focused on what happens during an induction that we overlook the other ways we're helping clients shift their attention, become absorbed in an experience, or explore something differently.

My third tip is to focus your learning on becoming a good therapist. Learn how to give your clients space, develop your ability to respond to what's happening during a session, and explore different hypnotherapeutic techniques that might help your client, rather than overly focusing on whether someone is hypnotised or not.

Knowing how to hypnotise someone is important. But knowing how to work therapeutically with that person, and understanding when, why and how to use different approaches, is what allows us to develop as hypnotherapists.

How to Respond When Your Client Asks, “Was I Hypnotised?”

So, the next time you have a client who asks you if they were hypnotised, try not to see it as a criticism of your work or evidence that something has gone wrong.

Instead, take it as the starting point for a discussion about what hypnosis is.

Ask if there were any points during the session where they felt especially absorbed in the experience. Perhaps they became caught up in an imagined scene, noticed something different about their awareness, or found themselves concentrating on something so fully that other things seemed less important.

You can follow this up by talking about hypnosis as an experience involving focused attention and absorption – similar to being physically in one place but absolutely mentally absorbed in feeling as if we're somewhere else.

Explain that hypnosis doesn't necessarily feel the way people expect it to. Some clients experience quite noticeable changes in their state of mind, while others experience something much more subtle. There isn't one particular sensation or experience that tells us whether someone has been hypnotised.

And rather than trying to convince your client that they were hypnotised, bring the conversation back to what they experienced during the session.

What did they notice? Was there anything that stood out for them? Did they experience something differently or gain a new perspective? What changes might they begin to notice in their everyday life?

These questions can help clients recognise the value of their experience without feeling that they needed to achieve a particular depth of hypnosis for the session to have been worthwhile.

Ultimately, I think we do ourselves and our clients a disservice when we become so caught up in whether hypnosis has happened that we lose sight of the therapeutic work we're there to do.

The next time a client asks, “Was I hypnotised?”, remember that it's an opportunity for a useful conversation, rather than a question you need to fear.

And perhaps the more important question is not whether your client was hypnotised, but what they've gained from your work together.