Tailoring Inductions

Now that you’ve run through several different kinds of inductions and looked at the components of hypnosis, you can start thinking about how and when to use different inductions and suggestions.

Contrary to popular belief, inductions may not increase suggestibility in most people. In one study, only 20% showed an increase in suggestibility. Some researchers argue whether induction is a useful concept in psychology or what hypnotic inductions actually do.

From a recreational perspective, none of this matters. We do inductions because they’re fun, and because in recreational hypnosis, the individual’s subjective experience of hypnosis is what’s important.

Hypnosis is like a story: events causing fundamental change in a person. A hypnosis session is a scene. Inductions set the scene.

Inductions create immersion in hypnosis by encouraging a particular focus and framing of experience. Since we already know emotion is a perception and can be influenced by suggestions, we can create an emotional experience by cueing and pointing out signs that lead to the desired emotional framing and mindset.

Because the interoceptive signals produced by hypnosis are unfamilar, the mindset is generally described as an altered state of consciousness. The most common mindset is "hypnotic trance" but there are many possible mindsets, from meditation to "highway hypnosis" to subspace. Because mindset is an inherently subjective experiences, there are as many potential inductions as there are potential states of awareness.

Different inductions have different effects on mindset, and we can break them down in some rough categories:

The key point is to decide what sort of experience you want your partner to have, and tailor the induction to the desired experience.

If you want to help your partner destress after a hard day, use a relaxation induction. if you want to train your partner in a new skill, use an alertness induction. For dollification, use an absorption induction focusing on mantras and depersonalization. The language and style used to establish rapport also affects the experience: an absorption induction may be authoritarian and use direct suggestions, or a confusion induction may be permissive and use indirect language.

Initially, you may want to try many different kinds of inductions to see what’s possible and explore your range. Despite that, it’s normal to settle on a few favorites and reserve others for special occasions.

For more on tailoring inductions, I recommend Graham Old’s Theraputic Inductions, which digs into the topic more deeply.