Hypnosis Training Video #299: How 5-PATH® Hypnotherapy Can Get to the Root Cause of the Problem

by Tim Brunson, PhD

In response to one of my recent articles, an esteemed colleague asked if I had previously read one of his articles. As I had not, upon doing so I discovered a phrase in which he stated that suggestions are what cause beliefs. Although the topic of suggestion was not the focus of his article and thus he refrained from expounding further, his statement led me to ponder the depth of meaning associated with the term "suggestion" and led to a realization that I had been using it purposefully but without much clarification. This needs to be rectified.

Clinicians frequently either use this word or skirt around it by referring to "expectancy bias", "placebo", or saying that some pathology is "all in the mind" of a client or patient. Yet, when use of any word by anyone with a self-perception as being educated is done so with imprecision and vulgarity, it most certainly becomes robbed of its utility and potential. As like imagination, suggestion is at the core of the hypnotherapeutic field, it is incumbent that among clinicians we must take the lead in clarifying the concept. Otherwise, we would be like a skilled surgeon who attempts to use a blunt screwdriver as a replacement for a scalpel.

A suggestion is much more than merely something that leads to the creation of beliefs or belief systems. Rather, it is a statement or action that explicitly or through implications posits that a phenomenon is real or true. Yes, you could equate such acceptance of a realty or truth as a belief. But to stop there would be to rob the concept of its vitality and potential. That is, the mere existence of a suggestion creates a potential for transformation. Without such potential such a statement or action is simply an inert entity with little value. Why and how does this potential for transformation occur?

For the answer, I go back to Pattern Theory, which is at the core of the Neurology of Suggestion concepts upon which Advanced Neuro-Noetic Hypnosis is based. By looking at the pattern's characteristics of structure, encoding, and the ability to reenergize or recall it, you can begin to see how the adaptive entrainment that results from a suggestion works. Let me give you a very simplistic example.

Consider the act of driving to work each morning. The Sequence of events and my exact route represents the structure of my commuting pattern. The qualitative aspects of the journey, such as speed, frequent stops, etc. represent the encoding. And the initiation of the trip is the recall. Say, for instance, that on a given day I encounter road construction at the onset of my travel. This acts as a suggestion that will either create a delay or cause me to take a detour. Clearly, this effects (affects) the structure and encoding of my pattern. I adapt and am still able to arrive at my office at the normal time.

However, what is required for a suggestion to create a more pervasive transformation? It is important to realize that all patterns are interconnected in a matrix. A change in one may be sufficiently antithetical to precipitate a ripple of changes in other patterns. For instance, if I realize that an ongoing road construction project is going to significantly increase my travel time, it will either cause subsequent adjustments regarding my late arrival or require me to leave home earlier, which will affect the morning rituals of my family and me, my sleep patterns, and may even force me to change my evening entrainment plans. In this case, the suggestion (i.e. the construction) is a more pervasive one that causes multiple pattern transformations.

The other issue involves choice. The existence of a suggestion creates an opportunity for transformation due to the onset of a disharmony. This does not rob one of the ability to make choices. Clearly, we can either accept the disharmony, delay our reaction on purpose, or choose from a wide range of possible alternatives – rather than just the few that are offered to us. Going back to the construction-on-the-way-to-work example, I could can do much more than put up with the obvious delay or detour. I could go back home and take the day off, I could lose my temper and start yelling at my fellow commuters, I could go to the nearest Wi-Fi connection and start my business day while sipping on a latte, or a myriad of other options. When suggestions are given, they are often presented as if there are a limited number of choices. While we hypnotists frequently use this to our advantage, I prefer to enlighten my subjects as to to the fact that they need to wake up from the trance that seems to be specifying that the range of their choices is limited. This is why I always say that hypnosis is all about empowering selective thinking. Clearly, we are in the business of waking up our clients rather than "putting them under."

Once we understand the true nature of suggestion, as professionals we have options as we consider the pervasiveness of the desired transformation. As such, when I initially offer my hand in greeting a client in my reception area, what am I trying to do? Am I merely offering a trite, shallow, and customary greeting, or am I seeking to create rapport, make a deep connection, and transmit many of the subtle messages that come from the execution of a sincerely warm handshake. As an effective ANNH-oriented clinician, I see the entire encounter as a series of such decisions as I use the linguistic content and non-verbal communication patterns to pervasively address as many of the subject's patterns as possible. While clinicians who are not trained in Neurology of Suggestion concepts my feel a little overwhelmed when I talk about the need to inhibit and activate various neural substrates during the therapeutic session, such abilities can be used elegantly and result in a more efficient and effective transformative process.

The author that I referred to in the first paragraph is probably the most significant and provocative writer in the area of psychotherapy. Albeit very appropriate for the purposes of his article, his rather simplistic reference to the role of suggestion created an antithetical discordance that led to me ruminating until I could mentally resolve the true role and nature of suggestion. Reading his words made me hunger for clarification. Clearly, I had not been using the term as only an explanation for the genesis of beliefs. My writing over the last several years has consistently reflected that suggestion is a critical component of the transformation process. It is now that I realize that suggestion – which is also the culprit that facilitates the evil of narrow-minded indoctrination – is the external transformational dimension and the sister of the internal one, namely imagination, which will be the next concept that I will address.

The International Hypnosis Research Institute is a member supported project involving integrative health care specialists from around the world. We provide information and educational resources to clinicians. Dr. Brunson is the author of over 150 self-help and clinical CD's and MP3's.

Posted: 06/25/2010