A query on the Hypnosis Exchange on How Would One Conduct A Hypnosis Practice Group? The question comes from someone who is interested but as she has never been involved in such a a group she can’t quite wrap her head around how to conduct one or go about things but she is interested in starting one.
My first response is to ask, "what do YOU think would be an ideal way to conduct a practice group?" THAT is exactly how you do it. I am a big time advocate of practice groups, however, I also enjoy diversity and realize the way I do things may not be the way others might handle them.
There is no one right way to handle such things.
When I started my group in Taipei, I just posted on a number of local lists that I had done so and encouraged folks to get ahold of me. A lot of folks hear about it through word of mouth and others find the group through random websearches that land on various of my postings.
I maintain an email list of folks who have expressed an interest . . . http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HypnoTaipeiExperimentalWorkshop . . . where I can post the announcements of upcoming events. My list is a bit different from a number of other lists I am aware of in that it’s a closed private list. Since I conduct my workshops in my home, I don’t wish to invite folks into my home unless I at least have an idea of who they are . . . we’re open friendly folks but if someone won’t even bother to tell me their name, I don’t feel like inviting them. It’s also a list that is ONLY for active participants. As you are no doubt aware, there are folks who join any and every email list related to hypnosis and participate in none. I tell folks not to join my workshop list unless they are actually coming, otherwise I send ’em to the Hypnosis Technique Exchange as lurking is okay here. I also ask folks to let me know whether or not they are coming to this or that event . . . if I don’t get a certain minimum committed in a timely manner, I will cancel an event as it takes some time and effort to put one togehter.
Other lists for practice groups are open affaris. For instance, I belong to the LA group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LASomnambulisticSleepwalkers but obviously don’t participate in the events (however, I do look forward to doing so next time I’m in LA which is once in a blue moon) but since that list is also a discussion list I have participated in discussions and have grown to know and respect a number of the members.
As to the nitty gritty of a practice group. Some folks treat ’em like a workshop with a leader who introduces a topic and runs everyone through it and then there is practice. Others do round-robin sort of things or even have a book or such that they discuss chapters of each time and spend the time practicing on the techniques (for instance, the Tokyo group started with some solid NLP books and did a chapter a week, taking turns on who would be discussion leader).
I tend to run my group by introducing a general topic . . . usually something someone has mentioned in discussion or that has recently piqued my interest or something I’ve been working on and would like to play with others a bit . . .
I will do a spiel then I run a demonstration – often choosing someone who is new to the group for the demo, although I know some folks prefer to run demonstrations only on folks they know to be good responders as they don’t want to "risk" the demo going "bad" if they get a non-responder. Do whatever you prefer, although do make certain you have a willing demonstration subject and not someone who feels pressured to do it.
Usually, I do the demo without first explaining the steps of the process. Then, once I’ve done the demo, I will breakdown the process, usually giving handouts.
Follow the breakdown post-demo debriefing with questions and answers.
Then have folks pair up and take turns popping one another and doing the process. I like to have each person in a pair act as hypnotist and trance partner then they switch. After which, have them rotate to a new partner.
If you have one process then they will get a lot of experience running it and having it run with them. If you prefer to do a number of shorter processes, the same approach except each time you break into groups have them go to new partners.
If it’s a small group then everyone will hypnotize and be hypnotized by everyone else a few times. If it’s a large group then everyone should be able to have new partners everytime they do a trance process.
It’s a practice group . . . so focus on practice . . . peer guided experience. Treat it as a group of peers, regardless of experience level. In my group we have raw never been hypnotized before beginners working alongside folks who’ve been professional trainers for years . . . and we all learn from one another and enjoy one another’s company as a group of fellow travellers.
After the practice, debrief.
As it is a practice group, you don’t have to go too heavy into materials preparation. A simple outline of the process will suffice. Sometimes I do go a bit hog-wild on my materials for my groups and have been known to give as many as thirty pages worth of material as handout for subjects that really interest me (it has not been unusual for the manuals for my professional seminars to be three- to four-hundred pages).
Some folks don’t even provide handouts . . . they just use their notecard with an outline of the process as a runthrough guide while others take notes, demonstration, debrief, practice, practice, practice, debrief. Sncks and drinks are nice if it’s a longish practice group.
At first you will probably focus on some basic skills . . . if there’s a lot of turnover you will want to do basic inductions every once in awhile to bring newbies up to speed (we will periodically do the Elman and the Instant/Rapid Inductions sessions). Do NOT treat the workshop as an advert for seminars, treat it as community building and as skills enhancement.
As to topics, the sky is the limit . . . what are you interested in or wish to do more practice with? Do that. I have a list of topics I’ve done in my group at here (note that this is a mixed listing of my professional and workshop topics so rather than just the workshop posts but you will get the idea).
My practice groups are "free" and most folks try to keep them free or at cost (some groups require meeting rooms so folks chip in for the rental if there is one). At least one trainer does practice workshops that charge a fee but I would suggest that those aren’t practice groups so much as mini-seminars and aren’t really the same sort of monkey. My group is also inherently smaller than similar groups here in Taiwan as I limit the group to English (it’s my group and I started it in part to meet other hypnotists who I can communicate with and my Chinese just isn’t good enough to run sessions – although my hypnosis show and my professional seminars are presented with interpretation).
Personally, I think practice groups are great as skill enhancers and most definately as community building events. It’s a great way to meet and become friends with others who share a similar interest while getting in some "play time" to practice skills you don’t get a chance to use in sesions.
Do note that most "organizations" encourage chapter meetings but these often are not quite the same as practice groups. However, some groups consider chapter meetings and practice groups to be nearly synonymous. However, their view on whether or not "outsiders" who are not members of the organization can attend may vary. For instance, one national hypnosis group in the US had a very scathing essay in its journal a few years back insisting that those who are not members in the group should not be allowed in chapter practice meetings. The Society of Experiential Trance takes a different tact in that it encourages chapter meetings to be open to members of the public and that membership not be a requirement for practice group participation. This is in part because the society’s leadership have been longterm advocates of open and general community building rather than segragational movements in that regard. In essence, practice groups tend to work best if they are non-denominational and encourage folks with varied experiences and interests to participate.
I hope this has been helpful.
If I have been fuzzy about something, feel free to post again . . . and again . . . and again in proportion to the continuing fuzziness of answers. 🙂
All the best,
Brian
STAGE, PERFORMANCE, ENTERTAINMENT HYPNOSIS – Sept. 4-8, 2006
Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw]Certified Hypnotherapist
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com
