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This is far from being the only effective way to deal with joint
and limb pain - it is just a method which I have found to be useful
on a good few occasions. Before using ANY method of pain control/relief
via hypnosis/hypnotherapy, you should ensure that your client has
had all relevant medical tests and checks. I insist on a letter
from the GP, confirming that in his/her opinion, it is acceptable
for the condition to be assisted by hypnotherapy.
Use any good induction and deepener, preferably suited to the client's
personality type. Then:
... all right, now you're lying there so relaxed, I want you just
to think for a few moments about that pain... just let you mind
observe it in a detached sort of way... so that it causes little
discomfort... far less discomfort than you are actually used to,
in fact... and I wonder if you can now put a colour to that pain?
Just tell me what colour that pain would be, if it were to have
a colour...
Wait for client response. Prompt if necessary: "Is it maybe
a sort of red colour? Pain is often a sort of red colour... or maybe
it's a bright yellow... many of my clients have told me that it's
a bright yellow colour..." (The 'many of my clients' statement
is subconsciously reassuring to your client)
... good, well done... so it's a sort of . . . . . . . . . colour....
I'll bet you never thought of that pain as having a colour before...
now, here's something similar for you to think about... I want you
to imagine what sort of colour would be there, if there wasn't any
pain... just let your mind think about that for a moment or two...
what sort of colour might be there is there was no pain, just comfort...
just comfort where the pain used to be... what sort of colour is
that... where the pain used to be...?"
Wait for response. Prompt if necessary: "Could it be a sort
of green, perhaps? Or maybe more like a blue. A lot of people see
their comfort colour as a sort of blue colour... but perhaps you
have your own healing colour...."
...good... you're really clever at putting colours to feelings,
aren't you? I bet you didn't know you could do that before today...
now, what sort of colour would we get if we mixed your pain colour
with your comfort colour? (assist if necessary) Right. So if we
manage to get some of your pain dissolving into that healing colour,
we should get . . . . . . . right?
Wait for response.
Ok, I'll tell you what we're going to do...
Here, you have to use your own skills to decide what's best. A
lotion or gel that can be repeatedly applied, a 'special' bowl or
bath where 'healing fluid' can pour from the taps, a tub of healing
balm, a big tube of penetrating ointment... whatever will work best
for the particular client. I frequently ask how they would prefer
their 'healing compound' to be - this is very effective, since it
is their own imagination we are having to work with. The example
of a tub that I have used here is effective for many things.
So we have a huge tub of that healing gel... and don't worry, because
there's plenty more if we need it... but just for the moment, I
want you to imagine plunging you hand into that tub of gel and taking
a really big handful of it... can you feel that in your hand? Is
it warm or cool?... good... now, in your mind, just rub that gel
gently into (affected area)... can you see it changing colour? It's
changing to (whatever colour has been decided), right?... now, you
can feel the pain steadily diminishing... ok, that's good... now,
in your mind, just rinse that gel away with cool clear water...
just rinsing away the pain that used to be in your body... doesn't
that feel good!... right, now let's do all that again... just grab
another handful of that gel and gently rub it into (affected area)...
now, what's happening this time? The colour is changing far more
slowly, right? That's because there is far less pain there now to
change the colour... and next time, I bet, the colour will hardly
change at all...
Repeat the process as necessary. Eventually your client should
report that there seems to be no pain left - or that any pain left
is so diminished that it's of no great consequence. Where there
is resistance and the client insists that the pain is not diminishing
at all, then you need to search out the hidden agenda/secondary
gain that is definitely in operation.
Good, you did that beautifully, really well... isn't the power
of the subconscious amazing, once you learn how to communicate with
it? Now, you will be able to do that whenever you need to... just
relax yourself as much as you can (teaching self-hypnosis is almost
an essential here) then do exactly the same thing that we've done
today... and do you know, each time you do that, the benefit will
last even longer!
All right, now it's time to bring the session to an end, just knowing
that tub of healing gel is always there for you, whenever you need
it....
END SESSION.
It's sometimes beneficial to give the 'healing fluid/balm/gel'
some analgesic quality, or a special ingredient that changes the
quality of the pain to one that is perfectly tolerable. Use whatever
your client gives you to work with; if you use the product of their
imagination as much of the time as you can, there will be greater
benefit.
I sometimes even ask my client what sort of treatment they wished
existed - in other words, to invent their own 'miracle cure'. In
this way, you will tap into their inner resources - often more effective
for them than yours might be. If necessary, attempt to guide them
toward external treatments, otherwise the colour change principle
is more difficult to employ.
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