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We all develop habits - driving on one side of the road or another depending where we live on the planet. We move the food from our plate to our mouth without poking our eye out or putting it into our ear. Like all of our human experiences these habits can be useful or cause suffering. It’s the unwanted habits that bring some people to therapy and require our exploration to be of most use to help clients learn a preferred habit. Erickson said that all problems are learnt limitations and pointed our attention to the possibility of learning a preferred habit or unlearning a troublesome one. If someone has learnt the habit of smoking cigarettes, they can learn the habit of breathing fresh air. If someone has learnt the habit of being angry, they can learn the habit of being calm or accepting. After Erickson, we can see the benefit that hypnosis offers as a way of enhancing any learning. Rob McNeilly |
Learning the habit of fresh air would be a big help for many of the consumers I see, on a weekly basis. I am doing Work For The Dole at a drop-in centre for people living with severe mental illness. Smoking rates are around 80% - much higher than normal - and most are hardened addicts.
I am the de-facto resident hypno, and the consumers often chat with me about things. They know that I am there regularly, and I give gentle encouragement regularly. A small number have given up or are cutting down (for which I can take no credit), and are therefore setting a good example to the others. One chap is spending his considerable savings (from cutting down) on gym visit and playing squash.
I aim to eventually lead a hypno group and slightly formalize the process.