Many clients have vivid imaginations and are in contact with the metaphors that are used by their own minds. I take advantage of this in therapy sessions to get into their unconscious mind quickly and easily.

I use this where a client uses lots of visual images when they are talking to me, or when they use strong metaphors as we talk about their problem. I also use it when the client expresses some anxiety about being hypnotized.

For example, in a stop smoking session I will say to the client 'Close your eyes for a moment. This is not hypnosis yet, I just want you to think about what smoking means to you. So close your eyes now. I want you to think about smoking, cigarettes, tobacco... everything to do with smoking.... what you don't like about it, how you feel about it... what it represents to you. Just allow your mind to think about everything about smoking... and let whatever comes to mind to come to mind'.[pause]

'Now what comes to mind when you think about smoking?'.

In most cases the person will say 'nothing. I don't get anything'. But quite often the person will say something like 'it is like saying goodbye to an old friend' or 'it is like a dirty brown haze around me', or 'I feel like I have a ball and chain that I am dragging around'.

If nothing comes to mind, then I accept that and move on. It is very useful for the nervous clients because it lets them close their eyes in a non-threatening environment, they know this is not hypnosis, and it sets them up for the actual hypnosis later.

Many times I do get a strong image or feeling. When that is the case I use that and develop the image or metaphor to break the association with smoking. Usually the client gets so absorbed in the metaphor process that they go into trance and no formal induction is needed.

There is a further benefit to this technique. Even when the client doesn't have any kind of image, there is a benefit. Some clients, when they close their eyes, will show flickering of their eyelids. This shows that they have rolled their eyes right up into their head, and are ready to go into trance. (Try it. Close your eyes, roll your eyes right up as far as they can go, and most people will find that their eyelids are flickering. It is the precursor to going to sleep.)

This is a type of hypnosis susceptibility test. You can use this to predict who will go into trance easily, and save time by doing a very short induction when you start hypnotizing them.