THE POWER OF SUGGESTION TO TRANSFORM EXPERIENCE
By Michael Yapko, Ph.D.Copyright 2011, W.W. Norton
Reviewed by Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D.
In Mindfulness and Hypnosis, psychologist and hypnotherapy expert, Michael Yapko, explores the similarities between mindfulness meditation and hypnosis, arriving at the conclusion that both transform experience through the power of suggestion. Neuroscience has shown that both hypnosis and meditation bring about similar neurological changes. Behavioral research shows that both calm anxiety, reduce pain, facilitate healing, and support adaptive behavior.
The suggestions in mindfulness meditation are about awareness and nonjudgmental acceptance. The suggestions in hypnosis are about specific behavioral/emotional outcomes achieved by accessing one's inner resources. Yapko proposes that mental health practitioners trained in either meditation or hypnotherapy combine the two practices into a hybrid called Guided Mindfulness Meditation (GMM). GMM relies on mindfulness meditation to focus attention and calm anxiety, while incorporating hypnotic methods that help clients tap into unconscious skills and underutilized strengths. Yapko characterizes GMM as a process in which the clinician guides a client's learning and self-discovery, through suggestion.
Yapko devotes much of this book to the nature of therapeutic suggestion and its proper application. He elevates suggestion to an art as he explores various hypnotic language patterns, as well as the social factors that influence suggestibility. These factors include:
. Client uncertainty
. The clinician's status
. Demand characteristics of the therapeutic encounter
. Client expectations
. The clinician's communication style
Yapko's genius shines when he describes, in detail, how clinicians can guide clients through the seven experiential stages of hypnosis:
1. Preparing and educating the client
2. Orienting the client to the experience
3. Hypnotic induction and focusing of attention
4. Building a response set
5. Therapeutic suggestions
6. Contextualization of new behaviors and perceptions
7. Disengagement and reorientation.
Yapko writes on the uses of dissociation and paradox. He discusses how hypnotic suggestions can shape subjective experience, altering belief and expectations. He applies metaphor and examples throughout the book to make his teaching points understandable and memorable. He continually reminds readers that therapy is not a one-size-fits-all pursuit. Suggestions and communication patterns must be adapted to the needs and characteristics of each individual.
Yapko's writing takes on a philosophical richness as he invites readers to examine their own positions on crucial questions of living such as what is acceptable behavior and what isn't, when it is appropriate to intervene, what is controllable and what is not, what one attends to and what one ignores, what is reality, what is only wishful thinking, and whether victimized thinking is ever justified. As practitioners, we will, inevitably, communicate our beliefs about such matters to our clients. Yapko states that the nature of skillfully applied suggestion and its potential to changes lives, invites clinicians to question their own rigid beliefs and assumptions in the face of ambiguities inherent in the human condition.
I like the way in which Yapko brings out the deeper meanings and facets of everyday experience as he plumbs the human psyche to reveal its complexities and contradictions. The influences of Milton H. Erickson and Jon Kabat-Zinn are evident throughout this book, yet Yapko's message retains his unique signature in the way he speaks compassionately about the human condition and its common dilemmas. His solid reputation as an outstanding and prolific writer on the practice, art, science, and philosophy of hypnotherapy continues in this work.
"Judith E. Pearson, Ph.D. is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and NLP Trainer. She is Executive Director of the National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. Her practice, Motivational Strategies(R), is located in Springfield, Virginia. Her newest book is Why Do I Keep Doing This?! End Bad Habits, Negativity and Stress with NLP and Self-hypnosis. Her website is http://www.engagethepower.com
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