What is a confusional induction?
A confusional induction is simply a hypnotic induction that confuses the client so much, by overloading the conscious mind, the unconscious mind, or both, that the client ‘breaks out’ of the trance.
A confusional induction is usually followed by deepeners to achieve sleepwalking and ego strengthening so that the client does not come away still feeling confused or having damaged self-confidence.
Who should I use one with?
A confusional inducement is typically used with clients who are overly analytical or ‘resistant’.
It is generally used on those clients who have experienced trance before, as they know that trance is a safe place to escape.
What is the structure of a confusional induction and how does it work?
Confusional prompts can be verbal (play on words) or nonverbal (unexpected behavior). Whichever it is, they are delivered emphatically, with meaning, so that the subject then tries to decode the meaning and make sense of it, even if it is inherently meaningless.
There are several different ways to structure a confusional induction:
The first technique for creating confusional induction is based on George A. Miller’s theory that we can only process seven +/- two pieces of information at a time. This induction therefore confuses by giving the client many more pieces of information than the series of sentences that are delivered with meaning and emphasis. It is based on people’s inner need for clear understanding and the desire to make sense of whatever comes their way.
Normally, the induction would be divided into two parts. The first part of the induction would not make sense, since each part of the series would not be related to the previous part. In the second part of the induction, each sentence builds on the previous one and gives instructions for entering a trance, such as “you notice that your eyelids are heavy and now you can feel more and more relaxed.” Since the second part makes sense, the mind takes over and does as it is told: go into a trance!¨
In some cases the sentences can be related to each other and here we are relying on pure overload to create the confusion.
You can use the word ‘and’ to link the series or just leave pauses. Regarding the content of the series you can:
provide a list of different actions or tasks for the client to do
stack a series of images
link abstract concepts of time and space
use puns and puns
2. The second technique for confusion uses English but in a grammatically incorrect way. This technique forces the client to think with both parts of the brain. It can also act as a distraction to the conscious mind if the hypnotist uses unfinished sentences or partial comments, particularly of well-known things like clichés, songs, poetry. The client will try to fill in the missing parts of the prize to make sense of it.
3. Other confounding techniques that can be used in both the induction and utilization phases of hypnosis include:
Language involving time: whereby time is viewed from a number of different perspectives. For example: ‘Your now is the future of your past’.
apposition of opposites: where two opposite words or thoughts are juxtaposed in a sentence to confuse, for example: ‘do you really want to forget to remember or remember to forget?’
oxymorons where opposite things are in the same sentence, e.g. ‘fuzzy logic’
Double Bindings – where the person has no other choice but is given the illusion of one, eg ‘meet me at noon or is twelve o’clock better for you?’
4. Nonverbal confusional inductions are less common, Erickson describes one in which he offers two chairs to a subject with behavioral cues suggesting that both can be taken.
Summary
In short, a confusional induction is a very effective tool to use with overly analytical clients.