Today we are beginning a new short series on how personality and individual differences can affect experience and success of therapeutic hypnosis.
To establish something as a trait, it needs to be a characteristic which is present in some people but not in others, and may vary in intensity between individuals. It also needs to be relatively stable — that is, something which remains consistent across long periods of time, and sometimes for a whole lifetime. There are standards for measuring this trait in relation to hypnotisability. Two well-known ones are the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales and the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility.
We know that the ability to enter a hypnotic trance varies and there are some complex reasons for this. We will look at these reasons in a moment but first it is important to note that researchers break down hypnotisability into the following categories:
10 to 15 percent of people easily enter trance and respond well to suggestion. Sixty to 70 percent are quite hypnotisable and can respond well. The remaining segment of the population cannot respond well to hypnosis.
The reasons for these levels of hypnotisability are rooted in different aspects of our humanity. Many researchers break these reasons into the following categories.
Psychological traits:
Sometimes this is described as having a strong imagination. People who find it easy to enter their own internal world, to daydream, to make up stories and to develop complex and rich patterns of thought tend to be more hypnotisable. A trained hypnotherapist will often probe this with a new client by asking about their inner life, if they daydream and how they structure their inner thoughts.
Social factors and expectations:
Many experienced hypnotherapists will recognise this pattern: a client with whom they have had success recommends them to a friend, who then recommends another friend and so on. The therapist will often report that these clients are easy to work with and they have had good success rates with them. This may well be proof of a social factor, expectancy. In short, if people believe hypnosis is likely to work and be helpful to them then they are likely to be more receptive, to be more willing to follow the therapist’s suggestions and therefore to get better outcomes. Expectancy is a key social factor.
Cognitive factors:
These are about how the client sees the world. Their mental habits, and how they behave in general will have a big effect on their hypnotisability. Especially important here are compliance and willingness to cooperate. People who are good at following instructions tend to be more hypnotisable. Therapists report that certain professions, such as members of the armed forces or sportspeople, are ‘good’ clients. This may well be because they are used to following rules and so adapt to the hypnotherapist’s suggestions willingly and easily.
Biological factors:
Certain genetic factors, brain structure and connectivity between neurons) can have an effect on hypnotisability. Also, neurological or cognitive diseases, such as brain injury or dementia, can make hypnosis ineffective or even dangerous.
Environmental factors:
How a client feels on the day can have a big effect on their hypnotisability. If they are relaxed and looking forward to the experience, they are more likely to have a successful outcome, for example. A good hypnotherapist will prepare the client in advance of the session. This is not strictly a trait but should be considered when the therapist is preparing the client.
This is a brief overview of the various factors that can influence the trait of hypnotisability. They are not all of equal weight, and the level of research into each differs widely. In the next two blogs, we will be delving more deeply into the psychological factors that are so influential in successful hypnotherapy.
I hope this overview has helped clarify how information is processed during hypnosis and its implications for therapy. Feel free to reach out with any questions or let me know if there are topics you’d like me to explore further.
Coming Next
Next time we will look in more detail at absorption and fantasy proneness and how these feed into the therapeutic process.