changes in the rate and quality of the person's breathing, some internai sllifi is clearly
taking place. Some people's breathing becomes shallower as they get absorbed in the
process, some people's becomes deeper. Some breathe from the chest, others breathe
from the dlaphragm. What's slgnlllcant Is the change ln breathlng, not necessarily the
speclflcs of the change.
The phenomenology of hypnosls 175
Change ln Pulse Rate
A change in the pulse rate of the person, either speeding up but usually slowing down, is
also typical of hypnosis. When the client Is sitting back, you can usually observe pretty
easily the pulslng of the carotld artery ln hls or her neck. Some cllnlclans prefer (after
asking for the cllent's permlsslon) to hold the cllent's wrlst "to be supportlve" during the
sesslon, and use the opportunlty to take a readlng of hls or her radial pulse.
JawRe/axes
Often the person 's lower Jaw drops and seems subjectlvely to welgh so much that lt takes
consclous effort to close hls or her mouth.
Catalepsy
The temi "catalepsy" refers to an inhibition of voluntary movement that is reflective of
lhe absorption of the hypnotic experience. U nlike routine states of consciousness or even
a sleep state in which one is in almost constant motlon, lhe client ln hypnosis makes very
few, lf any, movements. It Just takes too much effort for the relaxed and focused cllent.
Furthennore, the cllent ln hypnosls typlcally feels dlssoclated (l.e., detached) from hls or
her body anyway, and so tends to slmply forget about lt.
Every once ln a while, and thls Is especlally true of children, you may experlence
someOJ>e who moves around a lot rather than belng lmmoblle as you mlght expect. ln one
training course, 1 had a student in the class nicknamed "The Thrasher.• When he
experlenced hypnosls he liked to roll on the floor and wrlggle around quite a bit. 0n
ending the hypnosis, he descrlbed how good it felt 10 relax his body through movemenl.
Interestingly, though, further questioning revealed that a lot of the movements he was
maktng he wasn't even aware ofl Even though a cllent"s movement may seem excessive
or dlsruptlve, or lnterpreted as evldence that he or she lsn't ·gettlng lnto lt," ln facl the
cllent may stlll be ln hypnosls. You can use the other physlcal lndlcators lo support your
assessmenl of the cllent' s degree of lnvolvemenl.
Sensory Shilts
The person•s body awareness may change in any of a variety of ways: Some people
develop feelings of heaviness, as if each limb weighs a ton, while others develop feelings
of lightness, as if they're floatlng weightlessly. Some start 10 feel physically large, and
some slart lo feel very small. Some people feel more closely associated to their body and
become uhrasensltlve 10 physlcal sensatlons, and others become quite detached and
unaware of thelr body, even 10 the polnt of developlng a spontaneous (l.e., one not
suggested) analgesia or anesthesla.
Each of lhe physlcal characteristlcs descrlbed above may be used as general lndlcators
of hypnosls, but no one slgn alone can tel1 you what your cllent Is actually experlenclng
intemally. ln a sense, the clinician Is a vlsltor to someone else's lnner world, and so
should be observam, cautious, and above ali, respectful.
Your assessment as to when to shift from one phase of your hypnosis ses.sion to
another. for example, going from induction into therapeutic utilization of the hypnosis,
wlll be based on how well you observe changes ln the cllent's body and demeanor.
Trancework 176
Taklng an lnitlal baseline of levei of muscular tenslon, breathlng, and pulse rates, and
anything else you can notice before beglnnlng 10 do hypnosls glves you the opportunlty
10 notice changes whlch suggest the development of an experlence thal Is dlfferent from
the basellne. You can'I always know what the content of the person's experlence Is, but
you can observe changes that suggesl an lmpact from the your guldance. The more
skllled you become in observing such changes, the more comfortable you can be in
adapting lo the ongoing •1a111••illll•1111••lllilillllaliat. Many of these changes
Ldl..11 Ul Ult! p11y::>ll.dl l.lldldl.lt!ll~lll.~ Ut!~l.llUt!U dUU\lt! Jlld) ut! U~t!U d~ gt!llt!ldl JIIUll.dlUl~
of hypnosis, but no one sign alone can tel1 you what your client is actually fxperiencing
intemally. ln a sense. lhe clinician is a visitor to someone else's inner world. and so
should be observant, caulious, and above ali, respectful.
Your assessment as to when to shlft from one phase of your hypnosls sesslon to
another, for example, golng from lnductlon lnto therapeutlc ulillzalion of the hypnosls.
wlll be based on how well you observe changes ln the cllent's body and demeanor.
Trancework 176
Taklng an lnllial basellne of levei of muscular tenslon. breathlng, and pulse rates. and
anythlng else you can notice before beglnnlng to do hypnosls glves you the opponunlty
to notice changes whlch suggest the development of an experience that Is dlfferent from
lhe baseline. You can't always know what the content of the person's experience is, but
you can observe changes that suggest an impact from the your guidance. The more
skilled you become in observing such changes, lhe more comfortable you can be in
adapling to the ongolng changes ln the experlence of the cllent. Many of these changes
are llsted ln Table I below.
ASSESSING THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF HYPNOTIC EXPERIENCE
Assessing hypnotlc behavior Is understandably popular as a research method. since
behavior can be observed. However, in doing clinical work, as valuable as objective
instruments scoring hypnotic behavior might be, what ultimately matters lhe most is the
individual client's actual experience. Thus, some researchers have taken on the task of
developlng ways to better understandlng the phenomenology of the cllent's hypnolic
experience. Peter Sheehan and Kevln McConkey developed an lnstrument called the
Experienliai Analysis Technique (EAT) for evaluatlng the heterohypnosls experience
Table 1. Toe Experience oí Hypnosls
Ex:periential and selective absorpüon of attention
Effortless expression
Experienllal, nonconceptual lnvolvement
Wllllngness to experlment
Flexlbillty ln tlme/space relatlons
Alteratlons of perceptlons
Fluctuations in degrees of involvernent
Motoric/verbal inhibition
·Trance logic~; reduction in reality lesting
Symbolic processing
Tlme dlstonlon
Spon1aneous amnesla
(Sheehan & McConkey, 1982; Sheehan, 1992). Erlka Fromm and Stephen Kahn (1990)
developed one for evaluating the self-hypnosls experience called the Self-Hypnosis
Proper Questionnalre (SHPQ). More recently, Ron Pekala and V.K.Kumar (Pekala &
Kumar, 2000; Pekala, 2002) have developed an lnstrument called the Phenomenology o/
Consâousness lnventory (PC[), also for heterohypnosis experiences. These instruments,
The phenomenology of hypnosis 177
and others developed by other researchers, represent imponant steps in the direction of
learnlng more about the range and quallty of peoples' hypnolic experlences.
CONCLUSION
Thls chapter has attempted to glve you some lnslght lnto the Internai experience of the
hypnotized person. An experience as subjective as hypnosls will inevitably differ ln
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