Hypnotic Suggestions & Therapeutic Applications Flashcards

What is the primary purpose of a 'convincer' during a hypnotic session?

Answer: To demonstrate to the client that hypnosis is working by eliciting a measurable response

A convincer (such as arm levitation or eye catalepsy) gives the client tangible evidence of hypnotic responsiveness, deepening their confidence and trance.

Which term describes a suggestion that takes effect only when a specific trigger (word, gesture, or situation) is encountered after the session?

Answer: Contingent post-hypnotic suggestion

A contingent post-hypnotic suggestion links the desired response to a specific external cue that the client will encounter in daily life.

When using hypnotic suggestion for performance anxiety in athletes, which strategy is considered most effective?

Answer: Building confidence, positive mental rehearsal, and cue-controlled relaxation

Optimal performance hypnotherapy combines confidence-building ego suggestions, vivid rehearsal of successful performance, and rapid self-regulation cues.

The 'handshake interrupt' induction technique developed by Milton Erickson works by:

Answer: Interrupting an expected social pattern to create a momentary state of confusion receptive to suggestion

By unexpectedly altering a routine handshake pattern, Erickson created a brief confusion state (pattern interrupt) during which the unconscious became highly receptive.

A BCH hypnotist is working with a client experiencing grief. The most appropriate therapeutic application of hypnosis would be to:

Answer: Facilitate safe exploration of emotions, resourceful memories, and adaptive coping within the client's pace

Grief work in hypnotherapy prioritizes emotional safety, honoring the process, and building inner resources rather than suppressing or forcing premature resolution.

In hypnotic suggestion theory, the 'law of reversed effect' implies that:

Answer: Trying harder consciously to achieve a hypnotic response often makes it less likely to occur

The law of reversed effect (Coué) holds that when willpower and imagination conflict, imagination wins—effortful conscious trying often undermines hypnotic responding.

Which factor is most important when crafting therapeutic suggestions for a child client compared to an adult?

Answer: Employing concrete, imaginative, and story-based language rather than abstract concepts

Children respond best to vivid, concrete, playful language and narrative because their thinking is naturally imaginative and not yet fully abstract.