In my last post, I wrote a little bit about hypnosis for entertainment, and some of my views on the topic. I thought I might expand on that a little today.
As I previously wrote, there are numerous practitioners who are totally against the use of entertainment. They have valid safety concerns, and (to my mind) slightly less valid concerns about the reputational harm performance and entertainment has on a serious form of therapy.
So why do I continue to perform? Well there are a couple of reasons. One is that it is something I feel I can do safely. I have a lot of training providing safe hypnotherapy, including what to do if someone has a strong emotional reaction to being hypnotised. I also screen my audiences at the beginning of each performances, and if any potential hazards are identified, these individuals are invited to watch only, but not take part. I feel that if those who utilise hypnosis for entertainment have similar safety training and protocols then the safety concerns are very manageable.
When it comes to reputational harm, not only do I think this is overstated, I also think it’s largely ignored during training. I’m yet to experience hypnosis training that doesn’t demonstrate the elicitation of phenomena, usually by practicing on a student. These demonstrations are interesting and enjoyable, and students are often keen to practice them on each other. Ostensibly these phenomena are taught as a way of establishing trance and creating positive expectation (and sometimes testing for suggestibility), but there’s no denying that they’re fun to teach and practice. And my feeling is that these lighter hypnotic moments shouldn’t just be restricted to people paying thousands of dollars for hypnosis training.
That being said, when I perform, I don’t perform in a traditional style. Most entertainment hypnosis follows a set pattern, taking a large group, whittling down to the most engaged and suggestable, and then making them the stars of the show, inviting them in hypnosis to enact various comedic scenes. I’ll be honest, this doesn’t do a lot for me.
When I perform, my aim is to take that classroom style moment of demonstrating hypnotic phenomena, and make the hypnosis the star of the show – I don’t ever want any of my participants to feel foolish or embarrassed. I want them to feel inspired and happy, and hopefully full of wonder at what their brains can do. The fact that I also have the capacity to spruce it all up with some magic is a bonus.
I have never yet felt inclined to make anyone cluck like a chicken. Hypnosis is far more interesting than just getting people to do silly things. I want to use entertainment to enhance the reputation of hypnosis. When I perform, I’m hoping people appreciate, understand, and enjoy this fascinating art.
If you’re interested in seeing some of this stuff demonstrated live but don’t feel like you want hours of therapy, I will be performing as part of the Adelaide Fringe this February and March, and I would love to see you there. Tickets are available here.
