Hypnosis and the Clean Language

[Walt Potter]

A practice partner and I were doing exercises using the Clean Language methodology to explore personal metaphors. We noticed that both of us began to enter a light trance. We decided to interlace suggestions for relaxation and going deeper between the questions. The trance deepened and the responses became more vivid. We felt that the trance made the process better. Too much deepening was a problem so we sometimes had to lighten.

Has anyone else had experience using trance and the Clean Language?

Thanks, Walt

[Chris Witherspoon]

Please explain Clean Language Methodology! I am not familiar with this term.

[Walt Potter]

Chris,

The best way to learn about Clean is to visit: http://www.cleanlanguage.co.uk/

Clean is a language for a therapist/coach to use with a client so that the client can unpack their metaphors, resulting in generative change for the client. In the usual dialog we hear a statement, translate it using our metaphors, reply and then the listener translates what we said into her metaphor. There's a lot lost in the trancelation ;>0.

Using Clean, the therapist/coach uses a formal language, based on the client's metaphors, to ask questions. These questions sully the dialog less than usual. The therapist/coach does influence the process by the choice of form for the question. The client makes connections, expands and grows using what's within. Erickson believed that we had all the tools we needed for growth.

A dialog might go like:

C: I want to feel confident.
T: And what kind of confident?
C: Strong, but flexible
T: And is there anything else about the 'strong but flexible' of that confident?
C: It is what I want more of all the time.
T: And when you feel strong but flexible confident, where do you feel it?
C: In my chest.

The forms are:
And what kind of X?
And is there anything else about X of that X?
.......

There are 9-15 forms for the questions. What I've given above is just a taste. I'd check out the site above.

As the therapist/coach does little intrusion the client can focus inwards instead of translating, thus the trance. The question has to do more with trance than with hypnosis and suggestion.

One can do this alone, writing things down. Or with another person. Even using the forms on a random schedule is instructive.

I've enjoyed doing this with someone else. A computer could do it.

I hope this helps a bit,

Walt
Chris Witherspoon said:

Please explain Clean Language Methodology! I am not familiar with this term.

[Fable Goodman]

using 'Clean language' slows things down
and distances you from the client.
It creates a dialogue which is liguistically pure,
but does not relate to the everyday experience of the client,
who simply wants a change,
and does not want your theories foisted upon them.

If you want to create confusion and dissonance,
use clean language with peope who have not bought in to that concept,

If you are working with other therapists,
who understand the concept...
then use clean language paterns,
and it might work.

Get used to working in the real world
of people who have not read the books,
or been to a lecture.

that's where most of your client will be coming from.

meet them where they are,
not where you want them to be.

Love and hugs

fable

[Chris Witherspoon]

Very interesting. I will look deeper into this!

Thanks for the explaination.

Chris

Walt Potter said:

Chris,

The best way to learn about Clean is to visit: http://www.cleanlanguage.co.uk/

Clean is a language for a therapist/coach to use with a client so that the client can unpack their metaphors, resulting in generative change for the client. In the usual dialog we hear a statement, translate it using our metaphors, reply and then the listener translates what we said into her metaphor. There's a lot lost in the trancelation ;>0.

Using Clean, the therapist/coach uses a formal language, based on the client's metaphors, to ask questions. These questions sully the dialog less than usual. The therapist/coach does influence the process by the choice of form for the question. The client makes connections, expands and grows using what's within. Erickson believed that we had all the tools we needed for growth.

A dialog might go like:

C: I want to feel confident.
T: And what kind of confident?
C: Strong, but flexible
T: And is there anything else about the 'strong but flexible' of that confident?
C: It is what I want more of all the time.
T: And when you feel strong but flexible confident, where do you feel it?
C: In my chest.

The forms are:
And what kind of X?
And is there anything else about X of that X?
.......

There are 9-15 forms for the questions. What I've given above is just a taste. I'd check out the site above.

As the therapist/coach does little intrusion the client can focus inwards instead of translating, thus the trance. The question has to do more with trance than with hypnosis and suggestion.

One can do this alone, writing things down. Or with another person. Even using the forms on a random schedule is instructive.

I've enjoyed doing this with someone else. A computer could do it.

I hope this helps a bit,

Walt
Chris Witherspoon said:

Please explain Clean Language Methodology! I am not familiar with this term.

[Conrad Cook]

I don't know the clean language methodology, but that is the kind of thing you should be doing as a hypnotist, so as not to foist your own presuppositions on the client.

Especially when they're in trance.

The basic goal is to collect a sufficient number of their trance-words and evaluations that you can lead them to the experience they will find therapeutic. What you consider "flexible and confident" to mean really isn't the issue. You want to know what *they* mean by it.

It's not something they should negotiate with you; not apart from ecology checks.


Conrad.

[Brian David Phillips]

Clean language has multiple non-clean meanings. Within hypnosis, we tend to think of clean language as Conrad suggested in the use of processes without presuppositions of what the client is experiencing or has experienced. Run the process and don't assume. However, "clean language" is a linguistic approach to metaphor deconstruction intended for therapists. Like genuine linguistics, it is heady stuff. I enjoyed their book "Metaphors in Mind" but also found it to be a bit cumbersome an approach for therapeutic work with non-hypnotists (many NLP types do indeed enjoy dissecting the odd metaphor ad infinitim) and suggest that those who find it gets in the way of doing the work then streamline and simplify or go back to the more typical use of the term within the hypnosis community.

All the best,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com

[Conrad Cook]

I enjoyed their book "Metaphors in Mind" but also found it to be a bit cumbersome an approach for therapeutic work with non-hypnotists (many NLP types do indeed enjoy dissecting the odd metaphor ad infinitim) and suggest that those who find it gets in the way of doing the work then streamline and simplify or go back to the more typical use of the term within the hypnosis community.

Brian, to what extent do you find it valuable, therapeutic, or persuasive to unpack a person's metaphors to them, or to induce them to unpack them themselves?


Conrad.

[Kathleen Hanover]

Can someone explain what "unpacking a metaphor" means, please? And why that's useful?

Kathleen
The Pretty Goodest Public Relations, Copywriting & Marketing Lady on the Planet™
and an enthusiastic hypnotherapy client
Click @KathleenHanover to follow me on Twitter

[Brian David Phillips]

Conrad Cook said:

I enjoyed their book "Metaphors in Mind" but also found it to be a bit cumbersome an approach for therapeutic work with non-hypnotists (many NLP types do indeed enjoy dissecting the odd metaphor ad infinitim) ....

Brian, to what extent do you find it valuable, therapeutic, or persuasive to unpack a person's metaphors to them, or to induce them to unpack them themselves?


Conrad.

Conrad, I don't find it helpful in a therapeutic context much at all which is why I said I thought it was too cumbersome. :-)

However, I do appreciate that there are some folks, particularly those who follow the more academically oriented linguistic elements of Neurolinguistic Programming to play at it. Deconstructing metaphors or the like can be valuable but . . . for therapy, I prefer something that is straight process and less linguistic analysis. Certainly one can streamline the concepts of an "unpacking" process to develop a technique that can be very worthwhile (I absolutely love Core Transformation which follows an unpacking approach to the issue).

At least, I would say that I find the language exercise and much of the discussion to be cumbersome. The kernel idea of using a client's own metaphors in order to guide them into appropriate change is valuable. I prefer to do so without over-analysis or over-echoing type speech.

Walt's summary gives the approach much more value than what I've seen some folks do when they get bogged down in the language and twenty questions-ish mirror and eventually forget about what the actual therapy session is intended for.

Some folks are confusing Clean Language as in having no presuppositions or hidden suggestions (consciously or unconsciously) in one's process with what is under discussion here which is Clean Language as a therapeutic language process as advocated by Tompkins and Lawley (see the link Walt Potter posted earlier).

All the best,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com

[Marian Way]

Hi Paul

There's a 10-min video clip of Clean Language here:
http://www.cleanlanguage.co.uk/articles/articles/232/1/When-a-Natur...

With best wishes

Marian
http://www.apricotisland.com

[Michael Doherty]

Hi Walt. I view Clean Language and Clean Space as tools to help a client explore their experience without making things worse, not unlike wearing surgical gloves for exploratory surgery.

Clean in this sense refers to the therapist or practitioner's behavior. David Grove said that the therapist is only as good as their next question. Clean methodology allows me to assess my last utterance almost immediately in terms of "was that a good one (i.e., clean) or not.

And I think you hit on something when you say, "Too much deepening was a problem so we sometimes had to lighten."
When it appears that a client is going too deep it is easy to lighten the trance by asking another question. Grove has also mentioned that he prefers a light trance for change work. Using Clean Space can allow for a more precise control of the depth of trance.

Clean also has the meaning of neutral. Grove says ideally we are neutral towards clients' outcomes. Of course that is really impossible, but it's a useful state to try to achieve. This was really helpful in working with drug addicts. It seems the less I "cared" if they relapsed or not, the more effective I was in helping them.

[Graham Old]

Fable,

I'm interested in your comment, as it is the exact opposite of my own personal experience.

Fable Goodman said:

using 'Clean language' slows things down
and distances you from the client.
It creates a dialogue which is liguistically pure,
but does not relate to the everyday experience of the client,
who simply wants a change,
and does not want your theories foisted upon them.