Inducing the Trance by Sean Michael Andrews

Title: Inducing the Trance
Author: Sean Michael Andrews
Format: video
Source: Amazon
Price: $79.95
Rating: Good

More and more people are eager to learn hypnosis these days, and Sean Michael Andrews is meeting that need with high-quality, affordable video instruction.

In Inducing the Trance, Andrews explains and demonstrates fifteen different inductions as well as providing a few details about deepening, a simple approach to handling abreactions, and of course instructions on how to emerge someone from trance. As an added bonus for the male viewers, he manages to have an attractive woman on the screen at all times, proving either that he's a marketing genius or that hypnosis really does enhance a man's charisma.

Though designed primarily for the aspiring hypnotists, this video is enjoyable and even informative for the more seasoned practitioner. Even though I've been studying and using hypnosis for years, I found some of Sean's subtler tips to be quite valuable, and I think that a new hypnotist could certainly learn volumes from this concise but well-made video.

The range of material is impressive. Besides some of the instant inductions Sean Michael Andrews is famous for, he also demonstrates how to do a progressive muscle relaxation induction, an ambiguous touch induction, and the cockroach-on-the-bar induction—he even demonstrates the stereotypical watch-swinging induction that is used so rarely today. Each induction is clearly explained and demonstrated. When necessary, Andrews stops the demo recording to provide commentary or plays the demonstration in slow motion to point out tiny but important details. The man makes learning easy!

Do I have any complaints about Inducing the Trance? A few--none serious, but worth noting as this is a review after all.

Despite the overall high production values, I found the volume to be uneven. I had to adjust it several times during the viewing. Andrews is rather dismissive of progressive muscle relaxation--not surprising for someone who bills himself as "The World's Fastest Hypnotist"--which I feel has a place in the hypnotic repertoire. (Admittedly, its proper place is not quite as prominent as many hypnotists have made it in the past.) He classifies the Bandler Handshake Interrupt as a confusion induction rather than as a pattern-interrupt. While that's not entirely a misnomer, as pattern-interruption is a sub-category of confusion, I feel the two categories are more useful if kept discrete.

Perhaps my biggest disappointment is that Andrews turns the Elman 3-Handshake Induction into a pattern-interrupt and shock induction. Of course, in practice, there's nothing wrong with that, but it misses the point. Elman taught that induction to illustrate the power of pure expectancy to his students. Andrews does his own students a disservice when he fails to pass on that lesson.

Despite the minor nits I've picked here, I still have to say that a learning hypnotist can hardly go wrong with this video. If you're considering a present for the new hypnotist in your life, this is the one to get. If you're more experienced, you can still pick up some great pointers and expand your repertoire by watching this video from a master.