I have been a great fan of the Dave Elman hypnosis and the process for guiding people into a hypnotic state for many years. I have used his induction techniques with a good deal of success in my hypnotherapy practice in Newbury. So when in October of last year I had the opportunity to attend the first ever Best Practices of Dave Elman course to be presented in the UK by his son Colonel H. Larry Elman of the Dave Elman hypnosis Institute (http://www.daveelmanhypnosisinstitute.com/) I jumped at the chance.

For those who do not know, Dave Elman was a former stage hypnotist and radio presenter who in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s trained thousands of doctors and dentists all over the United States in hypnosis. The keys to the success of his course were the rapidity with which a patient could be guided into a deep trance and the ability to induce very strong anaesthesia by suggestion.

He also taught a method for helping patients to achieve the Esdaille State in which they are extremely deeply hypnotised and profound anaesthesia occurs naturally. The speed of the Dave Elman hypnosis process meant that the medical profession had time to both induce trance and employ the therapeutic interventions during a standard consultation session. It was also used in the operating theatre.

The course in the UK was excellent and I learned a lot, especially about the rationale for each stage in the Dave Elman process.  It was a great pleasure to meet Larry, his wife Cheryl and to be reacquainted with Valerie Austin who was the person responsible for bringing them over and for putting on the International Hypnosis Conference which followed the class.

… And that I thought was that, until a few weeks ago I found out that I was to travel to the USA on business and as luck would have it the dates coincided with Larry Elman giving his father’s course, this time in Tacoma, Washington.  Another draw for me was that Larry was to be joined by Don Patterson (http://www.marylandfamilyhypnosis.com/) a leading US based hypnotist.  So after a long flight to Seattle I arrived at the Murano Hotel in Tacoma (http://www.hotelmuranotacoma.com/) which I would thoroughly recommend to anyone wanting to stay in the area.

The following morning Larry, Don and I headed for the fabulous Aldebaran Hypnotherapy and Healing Centre (http://www.aldebaranhypnotherapy.com/) and met up with the other delegates.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my fellow delegates were a mixture of healthcare professionals, experienced hypnotists and relative newcomers. This mirrors what we find in the UK.

What was interesting to discover is that each State in the US has the power to regulate the profession in whatever way it feels fit.  So for example there are a few states, 3 I think, which insist that the hypnotist is licensed.  Others do not allow anyone to call themselves a ‘therapist’ so the title hypnotherapist is out of the question and practitioners have started calling themselves ‘consulting hypnotists’.

The course followed pretty much the same set of topics as previously.  Larry gave wonderful insights into his father’s early life and what prompted him to get into hypnosis and also into his work as a trainer of hypnosis.

We covered the Dave Elman process in depth and discussed the reasons for its high success rate as a method for inducing trance. We then started the practical training, trying out the process on each other.

Over the rest of the course we went through the creation of anaesthesia in clients using waking hypnosis, suggested amnesia in the somnambulist state and automatic anaesthesia from the Esdaille State which is a much deeper hypnotic experience.

We also worked through Dave Elman’s process for using Age Regression to pinpoint where a client’s problem started and explored how it can be used to effect rapid and effective change.

Don Patterson went through a hypnosis session demonstrating the various phenomena associated with the various levels of hypnosis using the Davis/Husband Hypnotic Susceptibility test scale.  He also showed how effective post hypnotic suggestions can be (Thanks Don!).

For me this was a very valuable experience and reinforced what I had learned the previous year. I was pleased to notice the hypnotists in the US and Canada have very similar outlooks on their work and encounter many of the same challenges.

As a ‘limey’ I was delighted to have received the welcome I did from the group and hope to stay in touch if possible.  I am also planning to work with Larry and Cheryl on delivering the course myself in the UK in the near future.