As a general rule, children are easy to hypnotize. Most of them are very
deep subjects. You should use very little misdirection when working with
children because they have a way of seeing beyond it. They are very literal,
and many times when you try to misdirect them they will look not for what you
try to make obvious, but for what they felt you meant. Using gadgets, crystal
balls, flashing lights, or any fascination point will work well with children
since they have a tendency to lack strong concentration. The key to hypnotizing
children is to hold their concentration long enough to reach them. The most
effective approach is as follows: Have the child sit in an upright chair.
Choose a point of fascination for him to stare at, such as a crystal ball or
penlight, and hold it above the child's forehead as you stand to one side of
him. Place your other hand on the back of his/her head and neck and move him/her
from side to side, going first away from you and then slowly back. Hold the
crystal ball or penlight in place. (If you move it, the child's attention might
be drawn to something else in the room.) As the child is moved from side to
side he is able to feel his/her body beginning to relax, and he loses h is resistance
as he becomes loose and limp. When you
feel the child going into hypnosis, suggest that his eyes feel sleepy and that
his eyelids are growing heavy. Then, when his eyes crystallize and eyelids
blink, bring the ball or penlight down to touch h is forehead and say:
You will feel the ball [or light] touch your head and as it does you
will go deep asleep, always hearing my voice.
Touch his/her head about the same time as his/her eyes close and say, Deep
asleep! Then tell him:
Tell him that you are going to lift him out of the chair and put him into a more comfortable one, and when you lift him he will feel a heavy, limp, loose feeling all through his body and will go even deep er asleep. When working with a child it is always a good policy to ask him as you go along if he understands what you have said. Have him nod his head if he does. If you tell him just before you hypnotize him that you are going to do this, he will become very receptive to you. When you are giving him a suggestion, ask him if he wants to accept it. Get him to cooperate with you as if you are working together. Play it as a game. You can joke, laugh, and talk to him as if you were a child. You have to move into his age level and act like him for him to re spond most effectively to you and to the therapy.