Whoa! This week has probably been the one in which I have learned the most so far (but I'll likely be saying that each week because there is so much to learn!) Since my last post, I have had a second supervision session with Omar and my dad, I've also conducted my second session and third sessions with my weight loss client, AND I've recorded another spot on my dad's podcast (check out the family resemblance on Calbanyan.com). It’s been quite an educational whirlwind and I’m really glad that I now have not only the Ghada videos to watch and learn from, but also the new Loretta videos. The Loretta videos include all of the pre-hypnosis interviews and how to seamlessly include 7th Path™ into the sessions, so they act as a great example of how to do a hypnosis session from start to finish.

I was pretty nervous going into my AR session, filled with doubts about whether or not she would revivify and whether or not we’d get to the ISE and do the work we needed to do. From the supervision I learned a great phrase that helps the client to stop remembering and start revivifying, “Great, now step into the picture as if it were happening all over again.” That way the client will start to feel and experience it rather than remember it and that regression will be more powerful and accurate. Additionally, I learned that if the client keeps saying, “I feel bad,” then make sure to ask clarifying questions so that you can get to the primary emotion. So many times therapists try to regress on the wrong feeling then the regression turns into a mess.

We also discussed which emotions each phase really deals with. Phase II deals with fear: some event where the child felt like his or her life was at risk. That fear then translates into “What is wrong with me that no one wants to save me?” Then Phase III deals with anger: anger against the people who have done them wrong, and finally Phase IV addresses the guilt that the client has inside and that is why the therapist facilitates the internal dialogue amongst the client’s parts. Knowing which emotion was the primary emotion of each phase really helped me when I was in the session so that I could be sure that the client was addressing what she needed to get through and move forward.

For myself, I think that my Age Regression session was a little shaky. She had some trouble revivifying and therefore was skipping around a bit in her teens before finally regressing to her childhood. However, once we reached her childhood, she was smelling and seeing and feeling all the sensations of the moment and I was convinced that she was revivifying. Her ISE was very simple, just a moment when she had been left alone in a crowd when she was a baby. She dealt with the fear, then we worked through the event using ICT and then went through the SSEs. After the session she was really surprised because she had cried and she doesn’t normally let herself cry, so she was convinced further that the hypnosis was working.

The next session was the clincher: Forgiveness of Others. The eight word induction and WHAM! We had pillow pounding! We had name calling! We had crying! It was fantastic!

Not to sound like I enjoyed the violence, but it felt so rewarding to have her go through the experience and come out smiling. A lot of the confidence I had in the third session really came from having the time to watch the Loretta videos and write down some of the good one-liners that my dad used to control the forgiveness in the Round Room. At one point, Loretta tries to defend her mother while she is supposed to “be” her mother, so he says to her, “I’m not talking to you Loretta ::taps on her forehead three times:: Olivia, did you ever love your daughter?” I loved that line! I was so afraid that my client would try to do the same thing, so I wrote it down on my outline and highlighted it so I’d know exactly what to do if that situation arose.

There is just so much to learn! I am spending a ton of time at the moment going over my outlines and scripts and the Banyan Online Supervision CDs and all the videos and my notes making sure that the session will go as smoothly as possible. I’m sure it gets easier as I get into the swing of things, but the forgiveness work has got me hooked! I’m excited for my FOS later this week! I’ll be sure to keep you posted!