JOIMethod Hypnosis: A Healer's Way

by

JOHN OWENS

Copyright © 2010 by John Owens

All rights reserved.

Published by John Owens/ hypnotizeanybody.com

Edited by Natalie G. Owens

Book cover design by Jeffrey Kosh Graphics

Cover photos courtesy of Depositphotos.com

Image IDs #24644303 and #24532893

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Ending Thoughts

Induction Script

About John Owens

Appendix

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my lovely wife for editing this book! She has diligently worked to make it flow smoother than I could ever make it. Her knowledge of writing has allowed me to improve my level of writing – a challenge I have always struggled with.

FOREWORD

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who bought my first book – Clinical Hypnosis: Why and How It Works. It was so successful that I have now sold copies on 6 continents! Some of my readers have translated The JOImethod induction into their own language: Chinese, Dutch, German, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish for ease of delivery to their clients. They have also told me how successful they were at using the induction, making the JOImethod one of their primary inductions to place their clients deep into trance. I am very happy that they were able to get lasting benefits out of this technique.

But, we as hypnotherapists always want to do more for our clients. Hence, the reason for writing my second book on the subject of hypnosis!

Since 2006, when I wrote my first book, I have gathered new information and experiences to share with new and seasoned hypnotherapists and healers of all types. Many readers of my first hypnosis book (especially my friend up in the Netherlands, Rudy) pushed me to come out with new and improved information. Of course, I couldn’t let them down! I hope you enjoy reading this information as much as I enjoyed writing it.

John Owens

Clinical Hypnotherapist and Life Coach

INTRODUCTION

Since hypnotherapists come from so many backgrounds (oftentimes, we start out in some other type of profession before we are discouraged with the everyday humdrum of the corporate world – accounting, computer programming, engineering, law enforcement, marketing, sales, etc.), I want to focus first on the hypnotherapist and what goes on inside of him or her.

I will demonstrate this to you by walking you through my practice, my thoughts, my growth and how I work with healing my clients. In addition, I will talk about hypnotherapy, healers, hypnotic techniques, and what an ideal hypnotherapist/healer should have in his or her armor to help any client they encounter.

I am purposely using the term ‘healer’ to indicate an experienced hypnotherapist/ coach/ therapist who’s gone beyond the basic rules and techniques of hypnosis/hypnotherapy to really ‘heal’ people on a mental, emotional and sometimes physical level – using many tools and information at his or her disposal.

Someone may say to this: John, what makes you the expert? And I would reply that I am no expert but have gathered much insight through communication with the many readers of my first book, my clients and my experience in working with emotional based issues – that is, my ‘bread and butter’ clients.

In one section of this book, you will see how I use the Triune Brain concept (the theory or model I have running inside of my mind while I am working with clients) when I am employing therapy in the form of waking hypnosis, coma state, hypno-sleep, explaining healing to my abused clients, or determining how to get the best productivity from athletes.

Also, you will see the new additions to the JOImethod induction which allows me to take my clients deeper quicker than ever. I will show how I developed my sessions with a focus on healing by emphasizing on the ‘method’ in JOI’method’. I will share true stories on how I used waking hypnosis and covert hypnosis for healing. And lastly, I will discuss the cases of a few of my bread and butter clients – who mostly suffer from depression, phobia, relationship issues, the smoking habit, and failure to achieve weight loss – and show the psychology behind each example. I will demonstrate how accumulating research and knowledge in many areas relating to health and well-being can benefit a hypnotherapist’s practice and boost their success.

Now some of you may be thinking, ‘Well John, I am already healing my clients.’ And I would respond, ‘If you are, I am really happy that you have made this transition as well!’ We all need to do this to change how we as hypnotherapists view ourselves and also how the general public views us. Even though this book is for those who want to make this transition from hypnotherapist to healer, I hope that the experienced therapist could pick up a thing or two from these pages as well.

Some beginning hypnotherapists may think as they are reading this book that this is different from what they learned in hypnotherapy school because I am treading some new territory here. And I would say, ‘Right on!’ Here you’ll find no descriptions of the usual techniques such as hand-locks, hand shake inductions, rapid inductions, shock inductions, establishing rapport, etc. What has helped me more than anything else is being brave enough to break out of the traditional mode of thinking on how hypnotherapy is done!

At the end of this journey, I express how I have transitioned from a technique driven hypnotist wearing blinders and viewing clients through my own tunnel vision to a new me as a hypnotherapist who heals his clients. I hope that you will take what I have learned from my experiences and apply them to your work with clients by using all these concepts, ideals and method to add more value and success to your therapy practice.

CHAPTER ONE

Hypnotist versus Healer

Know thyself

‘I’m not a person known for patience and much of the time, I sit there brooding restlessly. I decided I needed consultation and sought out a well respected colleague with thirty years of experience.’

(Rubin, L. B. (2009). The Man with the Beautiful Voice. Piatkus, p. 20.)

I once read these words from a book written by a psychotherapist in response to a difficult client who was battling social anxiety, trust and anger issues.

She went on to say that her experienced colleague: ‘was emphatic and agreed that this was an extraordinarily difficult patient but offered little that was useful to the work with Eve [i.e., the patient], largely because her analysis of the case and my approach to it was so conventional’. (Rubin, L. B. (2009). The Man with the Beautiful Voice. Piatkus, p. 20.)

In other words, the colleague with thirty years of experience was saying, I don’t have the patience (or the skill) to help you turn this situation around so I cannot help you or your client. Unfortunately, I hear this more than I thought I would ever encounter. Some of my clients tell me about such lack of help (and appalling service) they receive from their mental health providers.

The difference between hypnotist and healer is about what goes on inside of his or her mind when he or she works with the client. ‘Arrogant’, ‘smug’, ‘uncaring’, ‘insensitive’, ‘impatient’, and ‘bully’ are some of the words I have heard my clients use in describing their providers – both traditional and alternative.

Let’s face it, mental and emotional health providers work with one of the most important organs (if not the most important) in the human being – the brain. Armed with this knowledge, it can be easy for us as a group to think that we are God’s gift to the masses.

When I first started my practice, I didn’t know how important my role as a hypnotherapist was. I was so locked-in on the techniques I was taught and was certain that anyone I faced would change immediately! Evidently, teaching about the role and ideal attitude of the hypnotherapist also wasn’t as important to the hypnotherapy school that I attended because nowhere was the importance of this role written in the manual!

The school’s concentration was more on techniques (as I am sure the training in psychotherapy or any other therapy is focused) than in teaching the soft skills (compassion, creativity, empathy, flexibility, openness to change, patience, a sense of humor, how to listen, how to motivate and how to smile) – those balanced people skills that are absolutely necessary for success when working with people and their emotional or life issues. No one (other than my clients) ever told me that my life experiences brought just as much value or more so as a healer than what I learned from psychology courses and my hypnotherapy school combined.

When I see hypnotherapists on these online hypnotherapy groups and forums strong-arming one another in heated debates about which technique, school or famous hypnotherapist is better – ‘my pond is bigger than your pond’ mindset – I sit and shake my head in disgust at the arrogance because I know that in the end, it is the client who suffers because of this outlook. If a hypnotherapist is talking to another hypnotherapist this way, what type of attitude and behavior does he adopt with his clients in general – specifically those who are stubborn, rebellious, and not initially open to change but are likely to be with a little gentle encouragement?

I have even seen hypnotherapists who have been in the business thirty or more years arguing online with someone else with the same amount of ‘experience’ as though they were children! I have seen senseless criticism and egocentric behavior. I have seen hypnotherapists who had barely ever had (let alone helped) clients criticize a fellow hypnotherapist with much more experience. I have also seen experienced hypnotherapists belittling new hypnotherapists. Every time I run across and observe such things, I ask myself: how could a so-called mental health professional spill so much hostility, hate, sarcasm, and anger at their fellow colleagues in the name of hypnotherapy? I also ask myself: should they seek therapy just as the young psychotherapist who went to her supervisor for help? Perhaps they should. This would perhaps be most recommended in the case of an impatient, experienced therapist with a negative attitude despite something like a thirty-odd-year track record.

Those soft skills that are absolutely necessary when working with people don’t come by easily. They can take years to develop and groom. It is these people skills, the understanding of the human mind along with the understanding of the nature of each client and his/her issues that separates a hypnotherapist from a healer.

I have sometimes observed hypnotists argue about which is more important: the scientific type or the touchy-feely hypnotist? I will share my view on this to help those new professionals who have pondered this question. If a hypnotherapist is overly scientific and dry, the client may feel unnoticed or demeaned. And at the same time, if the hypnotist is too ‘new age’ and laid back, using candles and spreading scents all over the place, the client may feel that the professional from whom they seek answers may not understand enough about the science of various issues, or feel that the hypnotist is too flighty and not serious enough.

What I have seen to work best for most people is a smooth blend of the two providing balance to the client. In other words, the hypnotherapist has to know enough about the science of the mind, the latest research on the subject and on issues that effect the brain and the emotions. This, so that he or she can deliver this information to the client in a practical, non-threatening, non-condescending and plain talking way. The last part is where the soft skills come in. The most interesting part about these people skills is that they soften the technique and scientific stiffness of the hypnotherapist making him/her more palatable for the client.

When I speak of healing, I am also talking about traditional healers – psychiatrists, psychotherapists, psychologists, and counselors, as well as alternative healers. Let’s face it, we are all in the same ball park but with different positions and roles. If you are working with people to assist them in their growth, you could certainly benefit from a smooth blend of scientific and soft skills as well.

CHAPTER TWO

Healing

"The human mind can heal itself and the body naturally"

T. Byram Karasu, M.D., Silverman Professor of Psychiatry at Albert Einstein (Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mystery-happiness/200910/the-spiritual-healing)

There are many different types of healing. Below are some definitions from Wikipedia:

Physiological healing is the restoration of damaged living tissue to normal function. Medical healing is the science and art of healing that restores health by the prevention and treatment of illness. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healing)

Faith healing or spiritual healing is the belief that religious faith can bring about healing through prayers or some form of rituals. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_healing)

Energy healing or Energy Medicine believes in the principles of distributing or manipulating the energy source – some call it chi or qi throughout the body. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_medicine) This could be from EFT (emotional freedom technique) massage, reiki, reflexology, acupressure, acupuncture, or through exercise like tai chi or yoga.

All these forms of healing have their place in the context of helping people become strong and healthy mentally, emotionally and physically. But to distinguish what I mean by ‘healing my clients’, I think a description of healing should be given. The way I use the term ‘healing’ today would actually encompass all forms of healing including Faith healing – but not using the medium prayer as would be expected. The way I mean this is that my clients would have to have faith in me to help them change their position.

My personal definition of healing is more in line with that of Jeanne Achterberg, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Saybrook Institute in San Francisco who says: healers can only gently facilitate the process of healing ‘disease’ identified as physical, mental or spiritual with their wisdom, therapy and presence. (http://www.utne.com/archives/DoHealersReallyHeal.aspx)

My goal is to assist the healing process of the brain – the middle and the lower brain – so that it communicates fluidly with the upper brain and the body’s organs and muscles, thus, healing it mentally, emotionally and physically. As a healer, my concern is not with what hypnotic scripts or metaphors to run for the client but with getting the client in touch with his or her healing center of the brain so that energy or chi is distributed throughout the mind and body. This life force would potentially rejuvenate damaged cells, speed the healing process and strengthen organs.

In essence, a healer should be able to, in particular, elicit sleeping and waking hypnosis, to understand how coaching and mentoring alone can be used in many cases, how to deprogram a mind and emotions from abusive or negative thinking, how to detox a body naturally, and understand how food, stress and emotions affect the mind and body connection.

In other words, whatever the person is going through in his or her life, a healer should be able to relieve such client in one way or another with his or her methods.

Most often, my clients don’t realize they have this kind of built-in power. I show them how their mind and emotions work (see the Triune Brain diagram illustrated below in Chapter 6) and that there is a connection between their mind and body – unlike what the great seventeenth century mathematician and philosopher René Descartes believed that the mind and body were separate entities. Of course, during his day, he didn’t have the type of tools to find out that the mind and body used many of the same systems: circulatory, endocrine, immune, and nervous systems. This would mean that if there is an issue with the pancreas or liver, it could directly affect the brain. Or, whatever happens in the brain could send out biochemical shock waves that could bring ‘dis-ease’ to the body and its organs. (http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030120/story_free.html)

To achieve a positive outcome, I reuse the same power words for the majority of my clients irrespective