Eye Fixation Hypnosis - Part 1

We refer to the person undergoing the hypnosis as the "subject" in this blog.

For all the inductions, subjects are asked to choose a comfortable place and settle into a comfortable position. They are told that, at any time, they can move around, adjust their position, speak aloud, or do anything else that will allow their comfort to deepen. They are asked to do a mental scan of their body in order to locate any discomfort. If they report tension in their neck, for example, the therapist makes note of this index feeling.

EYE FIXATION

We devised this induction for a research protocol involving hypnosis and chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Many subjects with PTSD do not wish to close their eyes. Accordingly, this induction allows for either eye fixation or eye closure. We eventually adopted this induction as an all-purpose one for many subjects. Notice that the induction contains many suggestions for feelings in the body. The greater the subject's experience of trance - especially ideosensory feeling, time distortion, and dissociation - the more they will beleive in it (Hammond, 1994). It is important to ratify these phenomena at the end of the session, especially the first time.