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Hypnosis & Hypnotherapy Articles for Professionals
©2004, revised ©2010 by C. Roy Hunter, PhD, 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. This resembles the Seven Key system created by
Leslie LeCron decades ago, but the categories are slightly
different. The categories are as follows: authority imprint, current unresolved
issue, secondary gain, identification (desire to emulate someone, and/or peer pressure), inner conflict, past experience, and
self-punishment.
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 Roy’s book, The Art of Hypnotherapy (4th Ed.,
2010, Crown House Publishing). The text contains more valuable information than
what was covered in this article.
Click Here to Order your copy now!
******************
Roy
Hunter practices hypnotherapy near Seattle, in the Pacific Northwest region of
the USA. He also worked part time for the Franciscan Hospice facilitating
hypnotherapy for terminal patients for seven years, and teaches a 9-month
professional hypnotherapy training course based on the teachings of Charles Tebbetts. Roy is the recipient of numerous awards,
including awards from three different organizations for lifetime achievement in
the hypnosis profession. You may see Roy’s numerous awards at: http://www.royhunter.com/hunter.htm
Roy
is available for mentoring and coaching.
For more info, visit: http://www.royhunter.com/consulting.htm
You
may purchase
http://www.royhunter.com/hypnosis_books.htm
Last
updated: June 4, 2011
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Originally Posted December 4,
2007