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©2004, revised ©2007 by C. Roy Hunter, M.S., FAPHP
Introduction
When
a client responds to yes/no questions by finger and/or thumb movement, it is
called ideomotor responding. Virtually all hypnosis instructors teach
their students about idomotor responding, in varying
degrees.
For any new students of hypnosis
reading this article, I'll give a brief definition of ideomotor
responding. The technique involves asking a hypnotized person questions that
the subconscious can answer with finger movements. Generally these are
questions that have either a "yes" answer or a "no" answer.
The concept is that the subconscious is more likely to provide better answers
than the conscious or analytical mind, because some clients have actually
verbalized a "no" response while moving the "yes" finger.
I establish finger response
signals even when I already plan on using regression or parts therapy. Also
note that ideomotor responding can often be a good
starting point for determining which therapy technique to use if the preinduction interview leaves us uncertain, or if the
client fails to respond to the technique that we might normally use for another
client with a similar problem.
Finger response signals are often
used with clients to discover the cause of a problem. Although around for
decades, ideomotor response questions are often
misapplied and used in ways that could provide false information.
The theory is that people
may often allow more accurate information to come from the subconscious mind
through ideomotor responses than through verbal
answers. Since the conscious intellect can filter and/or embellish easily if a
person is only in a light or medium trance depth, there is greater likelihood
of accuracy when the answer comes more spontaneously from the inner mind. In
fact, I have frequently seen clients answer “no” verbally while moving the
“yes” finger. We still have no guarantee that total truth will always emerge,
as people can lie with finger responses while under hypnosis if they really
want to. (Lest anyone debate this point, I have personally done so when asked
to indicate seeing something that I could visualize! I am not a good visualizer, but I don't like
to argue during hypnosis. I'd rather just move on with the trance.)
The concept sounds simple enough,
right? One finger represents a YES response, while another finger represents a
NO response. How could we possibly improve on that?
The use of ideomotor
response questions has actually evolved considerably during my 20 years of
experience with hypnotherapy. In some ways, I may have partly contributed to
that evolution. There are some important reasons justifying the need for
certain changes, and this article explains why those changes were necessary,
and how we can facilitate ideomotor response
questioning in a more client-centered way.
The Way We Were…
When I studied hypnotherapy in 1983
from the late Charles Tebbetts, he gave us a complex
formula for determining which finger should be used for the YES response, and
which finger should be used as the NO response. In his book, Miracles on Demand (now out of print), he reproduced a sketch of the brain that showed the two
hemispheres. His theory was that left-handed people should use the right finger
for the YES reply unless their handwriting was written in a certain way, and
vice versa. I received a copy of that same sketch in 1983, long before his text
ever went to press.
We learned other formulas taught by
other therapists for determining which finger to choose as a YES finger, etc. Tebbetts convinced us to use his own formula, which I did
when I first started practicing. However, out of all the teachings I learned
from this grand master teacher, this was the first one that I updated.
Furthermore, I made this update before his book ever went into print, and
before he asked me to teach his course. In one of the first conferences I had
with my mentor after I started teaching his course in 1987, I informed him of
my update.
Let the Client Choose
The concept is simple: let the client choose the finger
responses while he/she is in a hypnotic state. My explanation can be summarized
in one paragraph…
No matter what formula you use for
allowing a client to determine the YES or NO finger responses, once a client has
a YES response embedded into the subconscious, it may remain for a long time.
If I use Charlie's formula (or anyone else's formula) and choose the right
index finger for the YES response, what happens if another therapist in the
past chose that finger for the NO response? The probability of accurate
responses just dropped significantly.
My words resemble the following:
I'm
going to ask you a series of questions that can be answered YES or NO. I would
like for you to allow the response to come from your subconscious, or your
inner mind.
Note the either/or choice in the above
statement, increasing the probability of a subconscious response rather than a
conscious one.
Increasing numbers of clients have
previous experience with hypnosis. Also, some who don't believe they were
hypnotized might have unknowingly entered trance in a counselor's office and
used finger responses. In light of the above, all of Charlie's theories (and
anyone else's theories) go down the tubes if we attempt to change finger responses
from whatever was previous assigned.
For the reasons explained above, I
now ask my client to choose the YES finger, and to indicate that response by
moving the appropriate finger. After making a note of it, I then give a second
suggestion: "Please choose a different finger or thumb that represents
‘N.O.’ [spell it out], and please indicate the negative response now." I
make a note of it. My reason for spelling "NO" rather than saying it
is to avoid any possible confusion with the word "KNOW." Now I'm ready
to give a suggestion for yet another finger response.
One More Finger
Response
After establishing the YES and NO
response fingers, I now say: "If I ask you a question, and the answer is
EITHER 'I don't know' OR 'I'm not ready to disclose,' then please choose
another finger or thumb that indicates that response, and move it now…"
There are important reasons for my
establishing a third finger response. First of all, a person can lie even in
deep hypnosis if there is a strong desire to conceal the truth. If we only
allow the client to choose between YES or NO, the chances of inaccurate answers
will increase with the intensity of subconscious resistance. Conversely, by
allowing the subconscious an escape hatch for refusing to answer, we increase
the probability of truth for the NO responses and the YES responses. Certainly
there is no guarantee of accuracy, but I explore the YES replies first. Then,
if necessary, I explore the "I don't know" responses for possible
clues to the cause(s) of a client's problem.
Additionally, I provide the same
finger response for "I don't know" as for "I'm not ready to
disclose" in case it is unwilling to admit that it does not want to
disclose. Since lying can leave the therapist guessing, hiding in the response
of "I don't know" becomes easier than saying "YES" or
"I'm not ready to disclose" if the latter was the only option.
Minimize the Risk of
Leading
Normally, open-ended questions (who,
what, when, where, why, how) are much safer than questions that can be answered
with a "yes" or "no." Asking a question that can be
answered in the affirmative is often considered a leading question, especially
if therapist expectations are projected into the client. For this reason, we
must use caution.
In Chapter 6 of The Art of
Hypnotherapy, I describe what Charles Tebbetts called
"The Psychodynamics of a Symptom." He used finger response questions
to ask a client about the cause(s) of a problem, going through each one of the
seven psychodynamics. I do likewise, but I give my students important advice
about the process.
First, it is imperative that we set up the client for ideomotor
response questions in a way that prepares the subconscious for a series of questions. Sometimes I ask
several questions that are totally irrelevant to the therapy process just to
get the subconscious accustomed to the freedom of answering with either finger.
Second, in conjunction with the
above recommendation, I ask questions about ALL of the psychodynamics before
digressing (authority imprint, secondary gain, past experience, present
unresolved issue, inner conflict, self-punishment, identification).
Third, I speak in a monotone. A number of years ago, at a
hypnosis convention, I witnessed a presenter using finger response questions
with a volunteer. The presenter suddenly raised his voice in anticipation when
asking, "Is there an ENTITY influencing you?" His expectation of a
YES response was conveyed to the woman in hypnosis, whose YES finger moved
afterwards. He then facilitated an alleged entity release. After his
presentation, this experienced hypnotherapist was too embarrassed to have lunch
with her peers. She talked to me at length privately, telling me that she was
certain she had no demonic influence, and couldn't believe her YES finger had
moved.
Who held the correct opinion? …the facilitator, or the person who experienced inappropriate
leading?
The best professional advice I can
give to any hypnotist is to avoid leading your clients into preconceived
conclusions, because that is an easy trap for obtaining false information and
creating confabulation that may confuse the client. This advice applies to
asking finger response questions as well as employing other hypnotic techniques
to gather information from the subconscious mind. Such false information will normally
lead the client down the wrong path, putting both the client and hypnotist at
risk for unwanted consequences.
In Conclusion
In case you are reading the opening
paragraphs and the conclusion of this article (without reading the middle), let me conclude with the following summary:
1.
Let
the client choose which fingers represent which responses.
2.
Provide
a third finger response for "I don't know" or "I don't wish to
disclose."
3.
Minimize
the risk of leading: ask a series of questions, and speak in a monotone.
4.
Avoid
projecting any preconceived opinions into your client.
Once you have obtained sufficient
information to begin the therapy process, change to open ended questions when
possible. When you discover the cause(s) of your client's problem, use
appropriate techniques (within the scope of your training) to facilitate
release and relearning. Remember the ultimate goal is to help your client
attain his or her ideal empowerment.
******************
NOTE: The
above article is based on information covered in
Click Here to Order your copy now!
******************
Roy Hunter,
M.S., FAPHP, practices hypnotherapy near
For more info, visit:
http://www.royhunter.com/consulting.htm
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purchase
http://www.royhunter.com/hypnosis_books.htm
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updated: January 8, 2008
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