Handout 123

COURSE MATERIAL FOR THE

CERTIFIED HYPNOTHERAPIST PROGRAM

123 - Somnambulism

The Somnambulist individual is 50/50. They are 50% Emotional and 50% Physical.
The Somnambulist is the best subject for stage hypnosis because he responds to
physical challenges, emotional suggestions, positive and negative hallucinations,
amnesia, anesthesia and time distortion.
Not all subjects fall into the extreme Emotional or Physical Somnambulist categories.
There are many combinations of Physical and Emotional Somnambulistic
suggestibility. We use the 100% because unless you understand the very high
Emotional Somnambulist and the very high Physical Somnambulist it may be difficult
to understand those individuals as their suggestibility moves down on the scale.
There are three types of Somnambulists: Natural Somnambulist, Physical
Somnambulist and Emotional Somnambulist and they all respond differently to
suggestions.
The Emotional Somnambulist (100%) responds with the same intensity to
suggestions affecting his emotional behavior as the Physical Somnambulist (100%)
responds to suggestions relating to his physical body. The Emotional reactions are
not as immediately obvious as the Physical.
The Emotional Somnambulist appears to be in a very light state of hypnosis, or not
in hypnosis at all, while the Physical Somnambulist exhibits all the characteristics
formerly attributed to the somnambulistic state.
The difference between them however, is vast because the Natural Somnambulist
will respond equally to suggestions affecting his emotions and his physical body, and
not just to one extreme.
The intensity of your client’s receptiveness to suggestions indicates depth. The ideal
situation is to reach that same particular suggestibility that created the problem in
order to remove it.

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©Copyright 2012. Atlanta National Hypnotherapy Institute

 Handout 123

COURSE MATERIAL FOR THE

CERTIFIED HYPNOTHERAPIST PROGRAM

Tell your client that here in the office with you – Zero represents Deep Hypnotic
Sleep, and when you say, wake up, and then say the number 5, it represents
completely wide awake, refreshed, with a sense of well being.
It is the hypnotherapist’s responsibility to build rapport and establish the therapeutic
relationship.
In order to do that:
a. The client needs to sense that you have confidence in yourself, as a
hypnotherapist and that you are trustworthy.
b. It is important that you speak, and act in a professional way.
c. Never talk about yourself.
d. Be a good listener.
e. Be sincere.
f. Do not guarantee anything.
g. Avoid discrediting other therapists or other approaches.

Arm Rising

Tell your client:

I am going to test your suggestibility. It is one of those good tests. You cannot pass
it or fail it, so please do not help me or hinder me.

It tells me if I am going to run into fear of loss of control or resistance.

If I run into fear of loss of control, it is usually the first session because the
subconscious mind does not know what to expect.

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©Copyright 2012. Atlanta National Hypnotherapy Institute

 Handout 123

COURSE MATERIAL FOR THE

CERTIFIED HYPNOTHERAPIST PROGRAM

You have never seen me before, or been hypnotized before so your defense
mechanisms are up.

By the second session, your subconscious mind knows what is going to happen so
the fear of loss of control disappears.

If I run into resistance, it is usually the second or third session because the
subconscious mind now knows what is going to happen.

Let’s suppose you love sweets, but you want to quit eating them. The first session
you do fine but by the second session your subconscious mind knows what is going
to happen and begins to resist the suggestions because it identifies with eating
sweets and does not want to give them up.

Often I can work through the fear of loss of control and resistance so that we will not
run into it later.

However, if resistance does come up, we move right through the resistance and go
ahead and accomplish your goals.

Sometimes I can work through it here so that it never comes up in the sessions.

At this point, you are actually setting the stage to let go of any resistance you might
have run into.

Then as you take your client through the Arm Rising and you see their hand jerk a
little bit – use it. Say, you might be aware of your hand jerking a little bit, as it
continues to lift and rise. That is ok. You are just working through any resistance
that is there. Your hand is continuing to lift and rise, jerking and pulling inward
towards your face as if your face were a magnet – drawing it pulling it. Jerking –
pulling – closer and closer – higher and higher- with every breath – continuing to pull
inward and upward

You have finished doing the Arm Rising. Reassure your client that you are not going
to put them through that again. I will not put you through this again, just this first time
because it tells me some things I need to know. However, you did get a good
demonstration. Just like your subconscious mind controls the little muscles in your

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 Handout 123

COURSE MATERIAL FOR THE

CERTIFIED HYPNOTHERAPIST PROGRAM

eyelids, it controls the large muscles in your arm and at least 88 to 99 percent of all
you do.

Resistance
If resistance comes up, it is usually on the second or third session because the
subconscious mind does know what is going to happen.

This is not something your client is trying to do. It is sub-conscious resistance.

The client now begins to resist you. They may say hypnotherapy is not working.
They may eat more chocolate cake. They may feel angry and upset some that
week. They may not do their homework.
You know what is going on so you explain it to them again.
You may see it in the second or third session in the hypnotic state also. Your client
may have gone to a good depth and seemed very comfortable the first session, but
on the second or third session, they abreact a lot, move their arms and legs make
faces and won’t allow themselves to go very deep.
When you detect resistance, speak softly and say things that make them feel good
and comfortable. Say things that are non-threatening; things you know they will
agree with. Continue to do this until your client drops deeper to a medium state and
carefully begin to work with the problem they are resisting very gently and in a
positive way.

Ideomotor Response
Ideomotor Response is a reaction directly from the subconscious mind without any
critical analysis of the conscious mind.

Tell your client, in hypnosis, you can open your eyes and then close them again –
move around in the chair to get comfortable and you can talk to me anytime you
wish.
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 Handout 123

COURSE MATERIAL FOR THE

CERTIFIED HYPNOTHERAPIST PROGRAM

At times, our clients become so relaxed that they really do not wish to talk to their
hypnotherapist so I am going to ask you to use your fingers to talk to me later in the
session. Remember that you can also talk to me verbally when you wish.

If I ask you a question and the answer is yes, lift your right index finger. If I ask you
a question and the answer is no, lift your left index finger. Test it. Do you
understand? See if they lift their finger. If they do not – repeat the directions. Are
you okay with stairs? If okay with stairs – raise right index finger.

If I ask you to imagine or visualize something, lift your right index finger when you
have done that so that I know when to move on.

Always ask your client if they are comfortable with the steps. If they do not answer
with their fingers – then ask them to lift their finger in response to the question. Take
your client down the steps now and stop at the 10th step. Touch their forehead and
say, “Hold your depth right here,” and reinforce the breathing exercise.

You may give other suggestions at the 10th step also. Always reinforce the Restful
Alert Key. Then continue to take them down the steps from 9 – 0

On 0, touch their forehead and say, Each and every time I touch your forehead,
suggest deep sleep, or snap my fingers, you go to sleep quickly, soundly and deeply
and your physical body relaxes.

Hypnotic Depth Scale

Le Cron-Bordeaux Scoring System for Indicating Depth of Hypnosis - This is the

hypnotic depth scale used the most. Due to the Kappasonian techniques, we now know
this depth scale applies to right-brain dominant individuals. What we call Physicals
today. We now understand that left and right-brain dominant individuals respond
differently to suggestions at different levels. We know the depth they achieve has more
to do with their ability to accept suggestions.
So that you have an understanding of this scale, we display it below with the various client
actions for each stage of the scale.

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 Handout 123

COURSE MATERIAL FOR THE

CERTIFIED HYPNOTHERAPIST PROGRAM

Insusceptible Stage
 Subject fails to react in any way
Hypnoidal Stage
 Physical Relaxation
 Drowsiness Apparent
 Fluttering of eyelids
 Closing of eyes
 Mental relaxation; partial lethargy of mind
 Heaviness of limbs
Light Stage
 Catalepsy of eyes
 Partial limb catalepsy
 Inhibition of small muscle groups
 Slower and deeper breathing
 Strong lassitude (a disinclination to move, speak, think or act)
 Twitching of mouth or jaw during induction
 Rapport between operator and subject
 Simple posthypnotic suggestion heeded
 Involuntary start of eye twitch on awakening
 Personality changes
 Feeling of heaviness throughout entire body
 Partial feeling of detachment
Medium Stage
 Recognition of stage (difficult to describe but definitely felt)
 Complete muscular inhibitions (kinesthetic illusions)
 Partial amnesia
 Gloved anesthesia
 Tactile illusions
 Gustatory illusions
 Olfactory illusions
 Hypersensitive to atmospheric conditions
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©Copyright 2012. Atlanta National Hypnotherapy Institute

 Handout 123

COURSE MATERIAL FOR THE

CERTIFIED HYPNOTHERAPIST PROGRAM

 Complete catalepsy of limbs or body

Deep or Somnambulistic Stage
 Ability to open eyes without affecting stage
 Fixed stare when eyes are open: pupillary dilation
 Somnambulism
 Complete amnesia
 Systematized posthypnotic amnesias
 Complete anesthesia
 Posthypnotic anesthesia
 Bizarre posthypnotic suggestion heeded
 Uncontrolled movement of eyeballs –eye coordination lost
 Sensation of lightness; floating, swinging, or being bloated or
swollen; detached feeling
 Rigidity and lag in muscular movements and reactions
 Fading and increase in cycles of the sound of operator’s voice (like
radio station fading in or out)
 Control of organic body functions (heartbeat, blood pressure,
digestion)
 Recall of lost memories (hypermnesia)
 Age regression
 Positive visual hallucinations, posthypnotic
 Negative visual hallucinations, posthypnotic
 Positive auditory hallucinations, posthypnotic
 Negative auditory hallucinations, posthypnotic
 Stimulation’s of dreams (in stage or in natural sleep)
 Hyperesthesia
 Color sensations experienced

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