Will I quack like a duck?
Some clients can be worried that hypnosis techniques that are used in stage shows will be used in a therapy session. Let me immediately put that to rest by saying no self respecting therapist would ever ask a client to “perform” in any way similar to that of a stage show. The interesting thing is that it would also prove to be extremely difficult to get anyone to act in this manner in a therapeutic setting.
One of the reasons for this is that apart from the professional integrity of all good therapists, context is a powerful factor in deciding what people will and will not do. When people are in a public situation and willing to go along with what is being asked they are much more likely to follow more “over the top” suggestions. As Jay S. Efran Ph.d says, “context matters, and quacking like a duck is easier in some settings than in others”.
The real value in hypnosis is to be able to take a natural state (we slip in and out of trance many times during the day) and use it to make profound and meaningful changes in our lives.