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Hypnosis - Public Enemy # 1 By Ron Cote This is the time for us to take action and work together to overcome an obstacle that rests before us. A recent article got me thinking about the negative way that our profession is portrayed in the movies, TV and in best-selling books. An example is Dean Koontz recent best seller: "False Memory" which perpetrates the myth of the hypnotist as an evil mind controller. While I think Mr. Koontz is an excellent author and have enjoyed many of his novels, I think he should have done our profession justice by realistically portraying Hypnosis as a profession that helps not hurts people. I’m sure he would be as fired up, as I am if his profession was treated as negatively. While this stereotypical image has been manifested over the years by unrealistic portrayals in films, this is once again reinforced in the minds of the public the negative image we have worked so hard to avoid. If we are to establish hypnosis as a safe beneficial way to make positive changes within our lives, we must first change the public’s perception of hypnosis. I know of no other profession that has been so maligned and misrepresented in the media where unrealistic and distorted portrayals of our professio n are routinely accepted as fact and where there is no outcry from the Hypnosis profession for Hollywood and other media to present the realistic and beneficial aspects of our profession. As stage hypnotists and Clinical Hypnotherapists, we need to work together to make this happen. A good place to start is to change the public’s perception of us. Take the time to dispel the myths of the profession and reinforce the positive benefits of hypnosis at the start of your work, whether in a clinical, social or entertainment environment. Since the power of the media is enormous and in my eyes has shaped the unrealistic image that the public has perceived of us, the media should take responsibility of working with our profession to help us overcome the misrepresentation that hypnosis has endured over the years. This is a wake up call not only to Hollywood producers, best selling authors and other members of the media to more realistically portray hypnosis in a positive light but also to our profession as well. We need to take action. The voice of one will get lost in the crowd, society might drown the voice of a crowd out but the voice of a profession will be heard. During our stage shows, give our volunteers positive entertaining suggestions. Make them feel good about volunteering and the audiences feel good about the non-embarrassing situations you put the volunteers into. In this manner, you’ll create a positive association with them on a subconscious level about hypnosis. This is one way we can start to overcome to correctly shape the public’s image about our profession.
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