A Guide to Trance Land by Bill O'Hanlon

Title: A Guide to Trance Land: A Practical Handbook of Ericksonian and Solution-Oriented Hypnosis

Author: Bill O’Hanlon

Format: Book

Rating: Good

It's been a while since I posted a review--I've been busy editing several books and co-authoring one, so I haven't had a lot of time for leisure reading and reviewing. I am happy to dig back in with A Guide to Trance Land.

Bill O’Hanlon is a name you may know if you listen to any of the webinars that Ruth Buczynski hosts—at least that’s how I first heard his name. As the author himself explains, O’Hanlon was Milton Erickson’s gardener and student; the back-cover describes him as “a psychotherapist, professional speaker, and prolific author,” before mentioning that he has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show.

Setting aside his reputation, I was eager to see if this small tome would hold up, and I have to say I was pleased with what I found.

For anyone familiar with conversational hypnosis or the Milton Model from NLP, the first section of the book is a concise review. Even so, as I read it, I thought to myself, “If I wanted a new hypnotist to grasp the basics of conversational hypnosis, this might be the book I would recommend.” The language is plain and clear, and each idea is presented in a short, easy to digest portion—something which O’Hanlon explains in his introduction he is doing on purpose.

Around page 68, though, the book went from being a good review or clear introduction into discussing something that is paradigm-shifting. You see, Erickson was known for having no unifying psychological theory, no single therapeutic approach; instead, it’s widely thought that he simply invented a new therapy for every client. In fact, Erickson is noted for having said that he wanted to fit his approach to each client, rather than fitting each client to the approach.

So, flying in the face of the conventional wisdom on Ericksonian hypnosis, O’Hanlon states that he has discerned a pattern in Erickson’s cases—a system, if you will.

Now, I’m not going to give away what that system is—if you want to know it, buy the book—and I can’t say whether O’Hanlon is right about the system he presents really being the essence of Erickson’s work. What I will say is that wherever it came from, the system O’Hanlon presents is brilliant, and perhaps it shouldn’t be buried in the middle of what seemed at first like a run-of-the-mill review of the Milton Model. It also needs a better name than the one O’Hanlon gives it: the “Class of Problems and Class of Solutions Model.” It’s got no zip; I just can’t dance to it.

In truth, O’Hanlon doesn’t prove his assertion; in fact, he doesn’t seem to be interested in making the case that the pattern he’s discerned is really there in Erickson’s case studies. Fair enough. I’ll still go out on a limb and say that his brief discussion starting on page 68 is something every hypnotist should take a look at. There’s a joke that Erickson once said of Bandler and Grinder (the inventors of NLP), “They think they have me in a nutshell, but all they have is the shell.” I think it’s possible that O’Hanlon got the nut.

As if that weren’t enough, O’Hanlon follows that brief passage with a really great discussion of the question “Should We Trust the Unconscious?” He really synthesizes alternate views on that topic in a plain-spoken, yet insightful, way.

Can I criticize A Guide to Trance Land? There are a few things that bother me, yes, but to tell the truth, they are really not important enough to even list.

My main criticism of this book is that I want more. I want more concrete examples of certain ideas, especially the “Good Trance/Bad Trance.” I want more discussion and examples of how to use the model he presents.

Overall, I have to say, it’s a good read with a number of valuable ideas for the hypnotist.

The Swan by Bob Burns

Title: The Swan

Author: Bob Burns

Format: DVD

Source: http://lifelinehypnotherapy.com/The-Swan(2875521).htm

Price: 29 Great British Pounds (roughly US$46 at the time of this review)

Rating: Good

Last month, I had the pleasure of taking a group of people who'd never done street hypnosis, training them to the best of my ability, and then taking them to the streets to practice with complete strangers. Now, when you're doing that, sometimes you get the person who excitedly runs over to your chair, shouting, "Do me! Do me!" More often, you get someone who is a little unsure of the whole premise. They are not sure whether to be scared of your power or doubtful of your claims. Oddly enough, that happens sometimes in the office just as it does on the street. In fact, one reason to do street hypnosis is to keep those skills sharp for when you need them in the office.

In that situation, you need an ice-breaker, what Anthony Jacquin calls a "set piece"—a bit of interaction that doesn't resemble stereotypical hypnosis, but which can get your foot in the door. It's important that a set-piece be fun—something that can be undertaken as a game, with no expectation—but also something that will be amazing to your volunteer. It serves to give you information about where the client is, while also giving you time to establish and build rapport. Most importantly, a good set piece gives you that "hypnotic wedge," that bit of leverage you'll use to develop effective hypnosis.

So what's going to help you when you need a good set piece?

Enter The Swan.

I won't give away the procedure, but suffice it to say that Bob Burn's Swan is an excellent set-piece that allows you to develop dissociation conversationally, thus facilitating an easier hypnotic interaction for the rest of the session or demo.

Perhaps because the phenomenon is elicited conversationally, eyes-open, and definitely without trance, Bob Burns asserts that it is in no way hypnosis. To his credit, he says that some people will disagree with him. Of course, whether The Swan is hypnosis or not depends entirely on your definition of hypnosis. That's a can of worms Burns wisely side-steps on the video, and I'll be side-stepping it here as well.

The process is presented in a well-made video with good production values. The first few minutes are just Bob Burns in front of a green screen giving a brief explanation of hypnosis, and the rest of the video switches between his green screen explanations and video of him performing the process with various volunteers. Though the DVD is only about half an hour long, the process is explained and taught thoroughly and clearly. After just one viewing, I felt ready to go out and play with it.

I also tried it out on myself. It's a funny situation to realize that your arm has become dissociated to the degree that it's not responding to your suggestion to re-associate. Needless to say, it did come back—but that made me realize just how effective this technique can be.

Now, having read a few online comments about The Swan before I watched the DVD, I was expecting something earth-shattering that would change everything about how I use hypnosis forever. Well, I suppose that some reviewers may have found it to be that, or perhaps they can be forgiven for hyperbole.

I won't say that The Swan is the best thing since sliced bread, but I will say it's a solid and elegant technique that definitely belongs in any hypnotist's tool box, alongside such standards as the lemon test, magnetic fingers, buckets and balloons, postural sway, and Chevreul's pendulum. Just as each of those has its own special virtues, The Swan has a special niche in the hypnotist's repertoire and an important role to play in any hypnotic interaction.

Bob Burns is offering the DVDs at a very reasonable price, so I see no reason any hypnosis practitioner should hold back. Order yours today!

Full Disclosure:

Kelley Woods was kind enough to send me a review copy of The Swan; to the best of my knowledge, Bob Burns is not aware that she did that.

Usually in Full Disclosure, I have to mention that I am friends with the author, but this time that's not the case. Readers of HypnoThoughts may be aware that Burns and I have interacted online, but anyone who has read his comments concerning my intelligence and character will realize that we are not friends.

I do not believe that our online interactions have biased this review in any way.

UPDATE:

After posting this review, I decided to try out The Swan with my next several clients, and I was quite pleased with how easy it is to implement and how well it works.

One reader of the review asked if an American viewer would have any trouble understanding Burns' Scottish accent in the video. I found it quite clear and intelligible.

Also, Bob Burns read this review, and he was so amused by the full disclosure statement that it is no longer accurate; we've shared apologies and re-discovered mutual respect and admiration.