Your job, as a hypnotherapist, is to help your clients find their own answers. Why not replace your scripts with questions?
It's more important to come up with the right questions than it is to have all the answers!
The Subconscious Mind is always looking for solutions to problems. It's designed to find answers to questions, automatically. So when you ask a question, it must find an answer.
The way you ask a question will determine the answer you get.
Ask the right question and the Subconscious will deliver the answer you seek.
The problem for most people is that they go through life unaware that they're asking themselves negative questions. This acts to reinforce the underlying negative belief suggested by the question itself.
The question, “Why am I so unhappy?” is telling the Subconscious Mind to go find evidence to support the belief, “I am unhappy.”
“Why am I such a loser?” is instructing the Subconscious to provide proof that, “I am such a loser.”
“How come I can’t lose weight?” tells the Subconscious Mind, “I can’t lose weight.” There’s a formula for disaster!
“Why don’t I ever have enough money?” reinforces the belief, “not enough.”
And so it is . . . The Subconscious Mind can’t NOT come up with answers to questions. So, the way we ask questions is critical to the results we’re getting in life.
The following 6 different approaches to questioning the Subconscious can help you get answers in your hypnosis sessions.
1. Use Afformations
An “afformation” is basically an affirmation in the form of a question.
- “What makes me HAPPY?”
- “Why am I so successful?”
- “Why is it easy to always make the healthy choice?”
- “How am I attracting more wealth into my life?”
The Subconscious Mind is duty-bound to find answers to those questions. And there’s none of the usual resistance associated with positive statements of affirmation. So, you can tie a specific change to a question and the Subconscious Mind will start generating some solutions.
Questions automatically by-pass Subconscious resistance.
If you say “I am loveable,” the Critical Faculty is going to jump in with “yah-but …” It will start coming up with all the arguments against that idea.
But what if you were to ask, “Why am I so loveable?”?
This directs the Subconscious Mind to go looking for all the reasons why you are loveable. It’s not a statement open to debate. It’s a question requiring an answer. The answers which arise automatically will then work to reinforce positive beliefs that are already installed.
2. Question Feelings
The most direct form of subconscious communication is feelings in the body. Either it feels good or it doesn’t. So, an easy way to keep the client connected to the Subconscious Mind is to keep them connected to how the body feels.
Asking questions which bring attention to bodily feelings will make more feelings available. This deepens the hypnosis and provides a stronger bridge for regression.
3. Use Clarifying Questions
During the uncovering process in an event you can use clarifying questions to get more information. Simply repeat back whatever the client has reported in the form of a question.
This causes the client to associate deeper into the image which will make more of the details available.
4. Use Sentence Stems Completion
A sentence stem is basically an open-ended question. You offer the beginning of a statement which the client then completes by putting an ending on it.
Some clients do not respond well to direct questions. Direct questions shut them down. That’s just not helpful. And when a client interprets questions as a form of interrogation you will be perceived as a threat if you ask too many. So, one of the most useful methods of getting answers is “stems.”
Stems doesn’t put any pressure on the client to come up with the “right answer.” It encourages them to notice what they are experiencing and simply share. So, instead of asking, “How does that make you feel?” you can offer a prompt, then instruct the client to put an ending on it.
When you offer a fill-in-the-blank question it forces the Subconscious Mind to associate to the cause of that feeling. This can give you a springboard to bridge off of.
5. Use Direct Questions
The most commonly used questions during the uncovering procedure are direct questions. A well-placed, direct question can be used to uncover the underlying problem.
For example, “How young might you be?” “What’s happening?” “How does that make you feel?”
Be careful when it comes to using direct questions because it’s easy to lead the client. Leading questions act as suggestions imposing your assumptions or interpretations on the client rather than uncover the client’s impressions. Don’t do it!
6. Use Multiple-Choice Questions
We use multiple choice questions during the uncovering process to avoid leading the client.
Questions like, “Day time or night time?” “Inside or outside?” “Alone or with someone?” offer a selection of choices which allow the client to “tune into” what feels right. This will help them to give you a more accurate report of what’s happening in an event.
So that’s it. Just focus on asking questions because the right questions will give you everything you need. Remember, your job is to help the client find their own answers. That’s where the healing lies.
It’s more important to come up with the right questions than trying to figure out all the answers. But every client responds differently to questions. The trick is to find out what works best with each client. That’s how you’ll get your best results.
