CMH Hypnosis Techniques & Methods 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of the 'handshake interrupt' induction technique developed by Milton Erickson?
- To greet the client formally before hypnosis
- To disrupt an expected kinesthetic pattern and create a momentary trance state (Correct answer)
- To establish rapport through physical contact
- To test the client's willingness to be hypnotized
Correct answer: To disrupt an expected kinesthetic pattern and create a momentary trance state
The handshake interrupt disrupts the automatic neural program of a handshake, creating a moment of confusion that the hypnotist uses to install hypnotic suggestions.
Question 2: In the context of hypnotic inductions, what does 'fractionation' refer to?
- Splitting the client's awareness between two stimuli
- Repeatedly bringing a subject in and out of trance to deepen the hypnotic state (Correct answer)
- Dividing a session into structured time segments
- Using fractured or incomplete sentences to bypass the critical factor
Correct answer: Repeatedly bringing a subject in and out of trance to deepen the hypnotic state
Fractionation involves repeatedly awakening and re-inducing a subject, with each re-induction producing a deeper trance than the previous one.
Question 3: Which hypnotic phenomenon involves the subject perceiving an object or person that is not physically present?
- Negative hallucination
- Positive hallucination (Correct answer)
- Time distortion
- Hypermnesia
Correct answer: Positive hallucination
A positive hallucination is the hypnotic experience of seeing, hearing, or sensing something that does not exist in external reality.
Question 4: When using the 'Betty Erickson Self-Hypnosis' technique, what is the correct sequence for engaging the senses?
- Auditory, visual, kinesthetic then reverse
- Visual, auditory, kinesthetic externally then internally, reducing counts each round (Correct answer)
- Kinesthetic, olfactory, visual with eyes closed only
- Internal imagery first, then external focus, then back to internal
Correct answer: Visual, auditory, kinesthetic externally then internally, reducing counts each round
The Betty Erickson method starts with external VAK (e.g., 5 things seen, 5 heard, 5 felt) and progressively reduces the count each round while shifting to internal experience.
Question 5: What is 'somnambulism' in hypnosis?
- The lightest measurable stage of hypnotic trance
- A very deep trance state where subjects can open eyes and act normally while remaining hypnotized (Correct answer)
- Sleepwalking induced through hypnotic suggestion
- A post-hypnotic state of confusion
Correct answer: A very deep trance state where subjects can open eyes and act normally while remaining hypnotized
Somnambulism describes a deep hypnotic state where subjects maintain eyes-open functioning while fully responding to suggestions, making it ideal for stage hypnosis and many therapeutic applications.
Question 6: Which technique involves the hypnotist speaking to the client's unconscious mind as if it were a separate entity that can respond independently?
- Direct suggestion
- Parts therapy
- Ideomotor questioning (Correct answer)
- Revivification
Correct answer: Ideomotor questioning
Ideomotor questioning communicates with the unconscious by asking it to signal responses (usually finger movements) that bypass conscious control or censorship.
Question 7: In Ericksonian hypnosis, what is a 'bind' or 'double bind'?
- A physical restraint used in regression therapy
- A linguistic construction that presupposes compliance whichever option the client chooses (Correct answer)
- A technique for binding two dissociated ego states together
- A contract signed before hypnotherapy begins
Correct answer: A linguistic construction that presupposes compliance whichever option the client chooses
A double bind presents two or more choices that both lead toward the desired hypnotic or therapeutic outcome, so the client's freedom of choice itself produces compliance.
CMH Hypnosis Techniques & Methods 2
What is the primary purpose of the 'handshake interrupt' induction technique developed by Milton Erickson?