Evelyn came to see me several months ago telling me she needed to “get unstuck”. She had recently retired from a Fortune 500 company after 34 years and was unsure about what to do next. She wasn’t sure what would give her life more fulfillment at this point. She was also bothered by the condition of her condo. There was some water damage that destroyed her NYC kitchen and she was absolutely embarrassed to have visitors. She had been putting off renovations as she knew she would get a lot of resistance from her husband and knew it would be an upward struggle. She had recently lost some weight and was feeling proud of her weight loss. She thought perhaps hypnosis might help her continue with her weight loss program and develop a brighter future.

I sent Evelyn my packet of FAQ’s on hypnosis and the modified Harte Assessment Questionnaire to complete before our session.

Data Gathering

It became clear from reading her Assessment that there were a number of issues going on at once: poor communication with spouse, transition from working to non-working, low self-image and general lack of direction in life.

When we met in person, I sat across from Evelyn, matched and mirrored, and asked a lot of questions. She determined from my questions and her answers that she felt overwhelmed. We agreed that the first order of the day was to establish her priorities. What does she attack first? To my surprise, it was remodeling the kitchen. She felt it was doable and that she could minimize her husband’s involvement by involving her daughter in the renovation. Her daughter is a recent graduate of a creative arts program. Evelyn looked forward to the thought of entertaining again and wanted to experience a physical improvement in her home that would provide her a more comfortable “sanctuary”. She would feel she would have a major accomplishment under her belt and in a better position to address her other goals.

Building Rapport

Evelyn was quick to set a course of action, once she determined her priority. She also realized that achieving her first goal would fuel actualizing her other goals. She felt understood and hopeful and I could tell from her body language and general excitement she had finally a small step she could take to get her moving in a positive direction.

Induction and Chaining Anchors and Behavior Technique

Since this was her first hypnotic experience. I chose to use the Dave Elman Progressive Relaxation Induction as I wanted to anchor this pleasant experience of hypnosis for future sessions.

I also wanted to reinforce through Chaining Anchors and Behavior Transfer her motivation for moving ahead with the renovation.

I anchored her problem state of being stuck (anchor #1). I then elicited disassociation from this state by having her imagine she was in a movie theater and seeing herself on a screen. I fired anchor #2 (Stuck Problem) and #1 with her on the screen and had her think of her problem.

I then asked her to select a time when she was in this state before and to select a resource or behavior that she would have liked to have.

Then, I asked Evelyn to think of a time she had it. (Anchor #3)

I told Evelyn whenever she feels stuck; she will pull back and immediately access the power and motivation to get unstuck.

It worked! Evelyn e-mailed me the next day. She talked with her daughter and they are in the process of selecting contractors and putting together a color scheme. She also signed up for some follow-up sessions!

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