Hypnosis techniques - the induction

There are 3 basic categories of hypnotic inductions that I will be talking about. Instant, rapid and classic relaxation. There are many variations of each category that have no relevance in this discussion.

Classic relaxation is what most people think of when talking about hypnosis. "your foot is getting sleepy", "Your whole right leg has gone to sleep", etc.. This induction can take over 30 minutes to do and accomplishes inconsistent results. While this can be comfortable, a person that just finished work and is tired can fall asleep (NOT OK for hypnotherapy - more on this later). A person that is fidgety or distracted will get bored. A person that is an analytical thinker will just wonder when they're supposed to be hypnotized. Because of this it does not consistently provide an appropriate depth of hypnosis. It can provide limited success, but with so many downfalls, this technique is slowly becoming less common.

Instant inductions are what you will generally see at a stage show. Distractions like noise and activity are almost a non-issue. An analytical or fidgety person does not have time to wonder much of anything before they are in trance. This technique is reliable in accomplishing appropriate depth, hence it's use in front of an audience. Another obvious reason for it's use in these situations is the entertainment aspect of watching this type of induction.


While there may be situations where both of the above techniques are appropriate in the office, rapid inductions combine the best parts from both. Rapid inductions last just a couple minutes with an additional couple minutes spent on deepening when appropriate. This leaves the rest of the session being spent on addressing the presented issue. A good rapid induction should have built in tests for depth of trance that help show the client they are in a different mental state.

Rapid inductions are what I will use most of the time. I am partial to them and for good reason. I will use the other techniques but rapid induction provides my clients the best possible results in the most cost effective manner. I have had clients request relaxation techniques before, because they may have used them in the past. While I will do what they ask me to do, I always feel like I'm cheating them. like they are not getting their money's worth. Maybe I should use self-hypnosis to deal with that guilt.... and even in those cases I will often show them a rapid induction and post hypnotic so we can use them in the next session if they choose.

There is much more that can be brought up in this topic, but it would be wasted time since the result would be the same.

The topic has been a point of debate among hypnotists. I do not bring it up here to create debate, but simply to state the facts as I know them.

Patrick Glancy, CH
www.glancyhypnosis.com