BCH Trance Depth Assessment 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which physiological change is LEAST reliable as a sole indicator of trance depth?
- Slowed respiration
- Heart rate reduction
- Skin temperature change
- Galvanic skin response spike (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Galvanic skin response spike
A galvanic skin response spike indicates arousal or startle, which can occur in or out of trance and is therefore unreliable as a depth indicator.
Question 2: The Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale (SHSS) is primarily used to measure:
- How quickly a subject enters trance
- The range and depth of hypnotic responses across standardized items (Correct answer)
- Client motivation to be hypnotized
- The effectiveness of a specific induction script
Correct answer: The range and depth of hypnotic responses across standardized items
The SHSS assesses hypnotic responsiveness by scoring subjects on a graded series of standardized suggestion items.
Question 3: Which concept does the term 'hypnotic depth continuum' emphasize?
- Trance is either present or absent
- Trance depth exists on a spectrum with no absolute cutoffs (Correct answer)
- Only somnambulism is therapeutically useful
- Depth increases linearly with session duration
Correct answer: Trance depth exists on a spectrum with no absolute cutoffs
The depth continuum model recognizes that trance intensity varies gradually and that different phenomena emerge at different points along that spectrum.
Question 4: When a hypnotist uses the 'fractionation technique,' what is the PRIMARY purpose regarding depth?
- To maintain a constant light trance
- To deepen trance by alternating induction and re-induction cycles (Correct answer)
- To terminate trance safely
- To test for somatic anesthesia
Correct answer: To deepen trance by alternating induction and re-induction cycles
Fractionation uses repeated entry and re-entry into trance to progressively deepen the state with each cycle.
Question 5: A subject on the LeCron-Bordeaux scale at level 30 would be expected to demonstrate:
- Simple relaxation and eye closure
- Automatic writing ability
- Post-hypnotic amnesia for agreed-upon material (Correct answer)
- Complete somatic anesthesia
Correct answer: Post-hypnotic amnesia for agreed-upon material
Level 30 on the LeCron-Bordeaux scale corresponds to post-hypnotic amnesia, which appears near the deep end of that 50-point scale.
Question 6: Why might a hypnotherapist avoid challenging eye catalepsy directly with an aggressive command during a clinical session?
- It could deepen the trance too rapidly
- A failed challenge could reduce compliance and undermine therapeutic rapport (Correct answer)
- The challenge is reserved for stage hypnosis only
- Eye challenges are banned by the NGH
Correct answer: A failed challenge could reduce compliance and undermine therapeutic rapport
If the challenge fails and the subject opens their eyes, confidence in the process drops and the therapeutic relationship suffers.
Question 7: Which factor is MOST likely to cause an underestimation of a client's trance depth?
- The client is highly analytical
- The client demonstrates hidden observer phenomena
- The client's behavioral responses are subtle or internalized (Correct answer)
- The hypnotist uses an authoritarian style
Correct answer: The client's behavioral responses are subtle or internalized
Clients who process hypnotic suggestions internally may show minimal outward signs even at significant depth, leading the hypnotist to underestimate the state.
BCH Trance Depth Assessment 3
Which physiological change is LEAST reliable as a sole indicator of trance depth?