Deepening is achieved by establishing a definite goal for each step of the induction procedure by such phrases as, “As you raise your arm higher and higher, and with every motion of your arm upward, you will go deeper and deeper relaxed.” Linking these suggestions with ongoing physiologic processes is helpful here, too, as, for example, by the remark, “With each beat, beat of your heart, you will go deeper and deeper relaxed.”
It is relatively simple to incorporate a deepening procedure into an induction technic, as follows: “If you really wish to go deeper, you will slowly raise your arm. With each motion of your arm upward, you will say to yourself, ‘I'm going deeper and deeper relaxed.’ In this way you will learn to coordinate your bodily functioning [ideomotor] with your thoughts [ideosensory].” Such suggestions of self-mastery appeal to the patient and effectively motivate deepening of the hypnosis. Achievement of arm catalepsy also is indicative of greater cooperation.
Even before the arm is raised, or while it is being lifted, one can remark, “If you really wish to go deeper, your arm will become stiffer, and the stiffer your arm becomes, the deeper relaxed you will go.” This obviously implies that the stiffer the arm, the deeper the hypnotic state. One can then say, casually, “All you have to do if you really wish to go deeper is to tell yourself that you are going deeper and deeper relaxed with each motion of your arm upward.” If the suggestions are incorporated as the subject's own ideas, there is a better chance of obtaining catalepsy.
After the extended arm is cataleptic, the hypnosis can be deepened by the following verbalization: “If you wish to go deeper, all you have to do is to let your arm drop slowly to your lap, and with each motion that your arm makes toward your lap, if you will suggest to yourself that you will drop deeper and deeper relaxed, indeed you will drop deeper and deeper relaxed. Remember that with each movement that your arm falls downward, if you imagine that you are falling deeper and deeper, you will fall deeper and deeper relaxed. Perhaps you might be willing even to give yourself the suggestion that ‘The moment my arm returns to my lap, this will be a signal that I will go even deeper and deeper relaxed. And with each breath that I take, I will go deeper and deeper relaxed.’” (The arm slowly drops toward the lap, about one half or one inch at a time.) “Now your hand has returned to your lap. That's good. I notice that your breathing is slower, deeper, and more regular. Slower, deeper, more regular. With each breath that you take, you will go deeper and deeper relaxed. Every muscle, every fiber in your body, is becoming completely relaxed.” Here the operator's breathing is coordinated with the rhythmicity of the subject's breathing; this facilitates deepening.
In general, the procedure for deepening is first to suggest that the relaxation is becoming progressively deeper and deeper; second, to allow periods of silence in order to allow it to deepen spontaneously. Finally, having the subject follow a variety of responses associated with ideomotor and ideosensory activities is conducive to greater relaxation and depth.
With reference to this last point, the most practical suggestions are as follows: “If you really wish to go deeper, just think, feel, and imagine that with each breath you will go deeper and deeper relaxed.” (There is a period of silence.) “As long as your arms rest comfortably at your side, and as long as they remain in a comfortable position, and with every breath that you take, you will go deeper and deeper.” (Silence.) This bewildering array of ideomotor and ideosensory activities automatically deepens the hypnosis.
To achieve even greater depths of hypnosis, visual imagery suggestions are helpful, such as: “If you really wish to go still deeper, would you mind thinking of one of the most relaxing experiences that you have ever had? Perhaps it might be lying on a beach, nuzzling in the hot sand. Or perhaps you can recall, after a particularly hard day, when you crawled in between the sheets of your own bed. It felt so good to let every muscle in your body relax. You are s-o t-i-r-e-d. It will be s-o good to go d-e-e-p-e-r and d-e-e-p-e-r relaxed.” Here, too, it is most helpful to tap the experiential background of the individual for other memories involving relaxing experiences. Do not use such phrases as “blacker and blacker” or “Your legs will feel as if they are paralyzed,” because such phrases can be misinterpreted by psychoneurotics.
A method that is particularly useful for deepening the arm levitation technic is to suggest: “If you will imagine that each time you move your hand in the direction of your face you will go deeper and deeper, indeed, you will go deeper and deeper relaxed. And perhaps you might be willing to give yourself the suggestion that when any portion of your hand touches any portion of your face, you will go deeper and deeper relaxed.”
WEITZENHOFFER'S TECHNIC
For many other modifications involving induction technics and deepening procedures, the reader is advised to refer to Weitzenhoffer's comprehensive presentation on this subject. He has described an excellent procedure, which utilizes suggestion of sleep and challenges.1
HAND ROTATION TECHNIC
Another method to effect deepening is to start the hands moving around and around one another. After the movements are well established, it is suggested, “As you move your hands around faster and faster, you go deeper and deeper.” This technic is particularly effective if a person who has not been able to develop deep hypnosis observes another subject who is capable of deepening the hypnosis in this manner.
VOGT'S FRACTIONATION TECHNIC
Another deepening technic that can be utilized is Vogt's fractionation technic.2 Before dehypnotization, the subject is asked to relate the thoughts, feelings, and sensations he experienced at the moment of his maximal relaxation. The individual is then dehypnotized by the shoulder cue. Then these sensations are fed back when rehypnotized. He is told that he will go deeper with each rehypnotization. If he states, for instance, “I felt that I was floating on fleecy white clouds,” this is incorporated into the next induction procedure by stating, “You will go deeper and deeper as you feel yourself floating on fleecy white clouds.” If he remarks, “I saw all kinds of colored flashes of light,” tell him, “Now as soon as you see these colored flashes, you will relax deeper and deeper.” The elicited subjective information is repetitively utilized for immediately deepening each phase of the induction until a deep state is attained. Vogt's fractionation technic simply depends on the subject's being dehypnotized, questioned, and then reinduced by feeding in those relaxing sensations which he has just described. This procedure is repeated again and again until a deep state of relaxation is achieved. This technic is effective because it obviates the possibility of suggesting sensations which may antagonize the subject. Another advantage is that the information used is conductive to deep hypnotization. The fractionation method can be used in conjunction with the hand levitation method for subsequent inductions.
ESCALATOR TECHNIC
This technic is used frequently as a deepening technic in conjunction with a direct or an indirect approach. The following verbalization is used after light hypnosis has been produced: “Visualize, if you will, that you are in an elevator on a high floor. Notice the number of the floor. Perhaps it is the sixteenth floor or the twentieth floor. Notice the number on the landing. And now the elevator is beginning to fall, and as you feel it falling, you, too, will feel yourself falling deeper and deeper relaxed. As each number on the landing gets smaller and smaller, you will fall deeper and deeper relaxed. Deeper and deeper relaxed. When the elevator stops at the ground floor or the lobby, you will be in a real deep, deep state of relaxation. Not asleep, not unconscious, not in a trance, but just a deep, pleasant, soothing, refreshing state of relaxation, in which you will listen to every suggestion that you wish to follow.” Here, as in the blackboard technic (p. 75), the hypnotic state can be deepened by lifting the arm and allowing it to fall to the subject's lap.
HELPFUL HINTS IN DEEPENING
Before deepening, the patient is informed that in case anything should happen to the operator, he will be able to dehypnotize himself upon a split-second's notice. This allays the anxieties of apprehensive patients who fear being left in hypnosis. The suggestions must be given slowly and deliberately so that ideas of deep relaxation influence the subject in a positive manner.
Watch the patient and time the suggestions to coincide with the patient's objective responses. Remarking that “Your breathing will get s-l-o-w-e-r and more r-e-g-u-l-a-r” with the rise and fall of the chest is most conducive to deep relaxation. Let the patient deepen the hypnosis at his own pace. Inform him: “You have the privilege of going just as deep as you wish to go and through your ownefforts.” This places the onus for deepening the hypnosis on the patient. An experienced operator can recognize the depth by the manner in which the arm falls. If it drops limply and with a “thud” into the lap, a fairly deep stage has been attained.
When only a light state has been attained, a kindly, noncondemnatory approach maintains good rapport for the next session. The successful operator knows that giving a posthypnotic suggestion, “You will go deeper the next time,” usually begins to work in the second, third, or fourth session. Respect must be maintained at all times. Thus, thanking the individual for cooperating, at both hypnotic and nonhypnotic levels, results in better motivation and no loss of rapport.
As was said before, to deepen hypnosis, one should establish a goal to motivate the subject each step of the way: “After your arm is extended straight toward the ceiling, only then will you go deeper and deeper relaxed. You will do so, as I stroke your arm from the fingers to the wrist, if you really want to go deeper and deeper.” By tying up your suggestions with other physiologic effects—“With each breath you take, you will go deeper and deeper”—you make use of the dictum that a physiologic effect always reinforces a psychological suggestion. When stroking the arm to deepen the hypnosis, use a light, featherlike caress.
Counting forward and backward in multiples, as 2 or 4, has a deepening effect: “Each time I count, you will go deeper—2 … 4 … 8. … You are going deeper—8 … 12 … 16. … You are going still deeper relaxed. Now, going backward—12 … 8 … 4. … You are going deeper and deeper” often is effective.
It is also important, when deepening the hypnosis, to make full use of intraverbal suggestion (intonation of words) and to stress certain words. It has been said that if you wish to be a good Hamlet, you actually have to believe that you are Hamlet! Therefore, one must fully and emotionally participate in the hypnotic interpersonal relationship. Put yourself in the subject's place. If you say, “Your lids are getting very tired, getting heavier and heavier,” you really have to feel these sensations yourself. If you say, “I want your eyes to get tired, or your lids to get heavy,” this does not affect the patient. But, if you state emphatically, “You will feel a numb, heavy, woodenlike sensation, the same kind of a sensation you may have had when your gums were anesthetized, or the same sensation you had from freezing the side of your face when walking against an icy, cold wind”—these are meaningful suggestions to a subject.
IMPORTANCE OF CONFIDENCE ON THE PART OF THE OPERATOR
It has been glibly stated that anyone can learn easily how to induce hypnosis. This is not quite true, as some operators are better than others. However, it requires years of clinical training, good judgment, intuition, and experience to be an accomplished hypnotherapist. One cannot read the description of an induction technic in a book and expect always to hypnotize someone successfully: the intraverbal aspects of the communication process will not sound real. A hollow approach seldom inspires the belief, the faith, the confidence, and the expectant attitudes that are so necessary for successful deepening of hypnosis. Moreover, each patient reacts differently; therefore the deepening technic cannot be standardized.
Reproaching the patient because hypnosis was not deepened usually alienates him. Likewise, remarking, “Well, you didn't go deep enough today. Maybe it was my fault,” only weakens the relationship. It is better to say, “You did very well! You were excellent. You cooperated very well. Next time you will go much deeper. I'm really satisfied with the depth you reached.” Speak in the same confident tone of voice that you use when you are handing a prescription to a patient.
MAINTAINING DEEP HYPNOSIS
To maintain deep hypnosis, as was mentioned above, merely suggest, “As long as your arms remain comfortably relaxed at your sides, and with every breath you take, you will remain in this very, very deep state of relaxation.” Ideosensory and ideomotor responses are reinforced by these suggestions. Every individual must, of necessity, continue breathing; as long as he keeps breathing, and as long as he keeps his arms in this nice, comfortable position, he will go deeper and deeper with each breath. This sounds perfectly natural to the subject. Thus, by extraverbal measures, one can imply that the subject should go deeper. This obviates saying, “I want you to go deeper and deeper.” The first way appeals even to a refractory subject.
Frequently hypnosis can be deepened by leaving the subject alone after making the following posthypnotic suggestions: “I shall return in a few minutes. As long as you continue breathing slowly, deeply, and more regularly, you will remain in a deep, deep, relaxed stage as each minute goes by. And with each breath that you take, you will find yourself becoming more deeply relaxed. Upon my return, you will be in a deep, deep state of relaxation.” An absence of 10 minutes is usually adequate. Longer periods may break the rapport—apprehensive subjects usually dehypnotize themselves spontaneously. A metronome, a flashing light, and any other monotonic stimulus can be utilized in such a situation.
The foregoing observations have been instrumental in achieving deeper stages of hypnosis than ordinarily would have been obtained. Naturally, every experienced operator has to “play it by ear” and change his technics to suit the personality needs of his subject and the various situational factors as they arise.
REFERENCES
1. Weitzenhoffer, A.M.: General Techniques of Hypnotism. New York, Grune & Stratton, 1957, p. 213.
2. Vogt, O.: Zur Kenntnis des Wesens und der psychologischen Bedeutung des Hypnotismus. Zeitschrift für Hypnotismus, 1894-95: pp. 3, 277; 1896: pp. 4, 32, 122, 229.
ADDITIONAL READINGS
Erickson, M.H.: Naturalistic techniques of hypnosis. Am. J. Clin. Hypn., 1:3, 1958.
Levitsky, A.: Some additional techniques of hypnosis. Am. J. Clin. Hypn., 3:231, 1961.