One of the most commonly-asked question asked on hypnosis forums is, “Does anybody have a script for . . . ?” Unfortunately, this is usually the wrong question.
While generic hypnosis scripts are useful for providing a template for offering suggestions, for a script to be truly effective, it must be customized to the specific needs of the client. And when issues are rooted in unresolved emotions, scripts make a better polishing technique than a primary treatment. In some cases, a script can actually make things worse by acting as a trigger for deeper issues.
How to Create a Custom Script
Recently, on one of the forums, there was a request for a script to help “increase a client’s energy.” The problem with using a generic script is that the ability to enjoy sufficient energy throughout the day is the result of living a healthy lifestyle.
The specific changes needed to correct the problem will not be come from a script. They’ll come from the client, based on their current lifestyle. Before you begin the hypnosis, you need to do some preliminary uncovering work to determine what suggestions would be best suited for the client.
Start by asking the client a few questions that are relevant to the issue. For example, based on the issue mentioned above:
1. Are there situations from the past that might be generating internal stress and draining the client of energy?
2. Are they getting enough sleep?
3. Are they making healthy lifestyle choices on a daily basis to support adequate energy?
Where's the Stress?
Stress is the #1 energy-drain affecting everyone. In fact, according to Dr. Alex Lloyd, author of The Healing Code, stress is at the root of every problem we might have. Educating yourself on what stress really is can help you to better guide your clients.
Stress doesn’t come from the outside. The source of stress isn’t the job we hate, the conflict with the spouse, unruly kids, our financial situation, or health challenges. Stress comes from the inside. It’s our resistance to those things that create an energy deficit.
Stress is made up of the feelings inside that we don’t like. And trying to keep a lid on unwanted feelings like anxiety and resentment costs energy. The more resistance there is, the more energy is being diverted to avoidance. And the less energy we have available for the things we do want.
The following questions can help you to root out unresolved thoughts and feelings.
- What does the client think is draining his/her energy? (Often they know. So, what do they think is causing them to have less energy than they’d like?)
- When was the last time they felt really good – happy, joyful, energized?
- What happened to change that?
What changed?
There must have been a time when they felt good, vitalized and energized. Otherwise, the client wouldn’t notice it’s absence. Something must have happened to change that! Begin the process by investigating whether the client’s energy-deficit might be rooted in unresolved thoughts and feelings from the past.
Additional issues to explore include:
- What is the client’s self-talk like?
- Are they constantly beating themselves up for their perceived inadequacies?
- What upsetting stories do they keep telling themselves and others, over and over again?
- How do these things make them feel?
The answers to these questions will help you to choose the right therapeutic approach for the client. For example, if there’s a high degree of emotion attached to the issue, regression-to-cause would be the recommended course of action. Suggestions alone simply won’t have the power to override the Subconscious Mind’s emotional needs. To resolve an emotional problem, you need to find out what the underlying subconscious need is.
Scripts Can Be Helpful
If you're just starting out in your practice, hypnosis scripts can be helpful. Professionally crafted scripts allow you to learn from a variety of delivery styles. They can provide a set of guidelines when working with clients. They’re also an easy way to begin a program. But for a script to be effective you must customize it to the needs of the client. To do that, you need to do some preliminary uncovering work to identify how best to proceed.
Remember, client’s don’t pay for hypnosis. They pay for results. So pick the therapeutic tool that’s best suited for the job. If the client’s issue is something simple – for example, performance improvement – then suggestion alone is often all that’s needed. In this case, you can choose a generic script as a template. Then, customize it to the specific needs of the client using the words and phrases the client gives you. Speak the way you would speak normally, so that what you’re saying sounds truthful and authentic.
If the client’s issue is rooted in unresolved emotions script-notism will, at best, offer only temporary results. To get lasting results, you need to do the deeper work of regression to release the internal stressors. Once you have addressed the internal resistance, your suggestions will become more acceptable. That’s when a script can have good effect.
Every client can benefit from learning stress-management techniques like self-hypnosis and tapping. And including general suggestions to improve lifestyle choices will benefit every client, regardless of their presenting issue. The following tips will help you in formulating general suggestions you can use with any client.
Improve Sleep
We are a sleep-deprived society. Too many people are struggling with the Red Queen Syndrome – “The hurrieder I get, the behinder I get!” And one of the most common contributors to fatigue is sleep deprivation.
Whether we realize it or not, the body-mind system needs at least eight hours of sleep every night to perform physiological and psychological repair functions. Anything less than eight hours a night, every night, and you’re sleep deprived.
If the client feels tired, maybe the problem is simply that they need more sleep. The effects of sleep deprivation are cumulative. Chronic sleep deprivation can contribute to:
- Memory and cognitive impairment
- Mental fogginess
- Mood disorders
- Motor vehicle and workplace accidents
- Relationship problems
- Inhibited immune function
- Heart problems
- Diabetes
- Weight problems
While trying to catch up every once in a while can help, it does not resolve the cumulative nature of the problem. I would include suggestions to encourage the client to allow him/herself at least eight hours of deep and restful sleep each and every night.
If something is keeping them up at night that may point to an underlying emotional issue. If your client is sleep-deprived, they're very likely dream-deprived. Research suggests that dream-deprivation may be the underlying cause of depression!
Improve Lifestyle Choices
Obviously, if we don’t get adequate nutrition, fresh air, water, and exercise, we’re going to feel zapped energetically. Is the client providing their body with nutritious food to provide the fuel it needs?
Are they dieting? Dieting stresses the body!
Do they get enough fresh air, exercise, and water? One of the primary contributors to fatigue is simple dehydration. Most people do not drink enough water. They drink coffee, tea, soda pop. But the body needs clear, clean, unadulterated water. The body is roughly 70% water. The cells of the body require water to function properly. The brain requires water to function properly.
We lose water constantly through the breath, perspiration, and excretion. As a result, we must replenish our water reserves frequently throughout the day. When we don’t drink enough water, we end up feeling wasted. Unfortunately, many people mistake the body’s signal for thirst as a hunger signal. Then, they eat something in an attempt to get more energy.
When a person eats for energy, they usually turn to something with caffeine or sugar in it to give them a boost. Coffee or tea are dehydrating, which just adds to the problem. And taking in more calories than the body needs leads to unwanted weight gain which further stresses the body’s energy-reserves.
Suggestions for satisfying the body’s desire for clean, clear, fresh, delicious water can resolve this problem very quickly.
So, that’s it. What do you think? Is a hypnosis script the right solution to every problem in a professional hypnotherapy practice?
