Format: Audio MP3 file download

Presenter: John Alexander, PhD

The Hypnotic Induction Profile in Clinical practice: A Measure of Hypnotizability and a Means for Exploring Personality Types and Relational Styles to Enhance the Therapeutic Alliance and Improve Clinical Outcomes

With the advent of evidenced-based practices in medicine and psychology, hypnosis is gaining increasing acceptance as a valuable therapeutic modality. Before deciding to include hypnosis in a treatment plan, however, it behooves the clinician to first determine whether the individual has the requisite hypnotic responsivity to benefit from hypnotherapy. It is also important for the clinician to develop a basic understanding of the patient or client with the problem, in order to engage the individual most effectively in the treatment process. The Hypnotic Induction Profile (HIP ) is a brief and effective procedure for rapidly assessing hypnotic responsivity in clinical practice. What is less known is that an individual?s performance on the HIP also provides insights into their personality type and relational style---how they relate to the themselves and to the world around them--as well as their relative mental health and capacity to change. The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate: (1) how the HIP is administered, scored, and interpreted to determine a patient or client?s level of hypnotizability; (2) how findings from the HIP can help foster a therapeutic alliance with a patient or client by providing the clinician with insights into their personality type and relational style; (3) how a treatment strategy can be developed from these findings which is both aesthetically pleasing to the individual and compatible with their unique personal characteristics; (4) how findings from HIP can provide an estimate of an individual?s overall mental health and capacity to change.