Excellent comment – One way to finesse this model is to use Instant Influence, as we discussed in the post. Someone is either at threshold (to actually change) or they are not, but you’re correct in saying that someone could be at the point of gathering info on options, even if they aren’t ready to take action yet. This is why we offer some ideas of how to get a person actually ready to take action.

I understand

Thanks for this! We’ve chosen a fairly simple model to teach the concept.

However……There are several stages of change (Stages of Change Model, Prochask, Norcross, DiClemente, 1994), which are Pre-Contemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, Maintenance and Completion.

So, if we are going to help our clients change, it is important to know at which stage of change they are at and which stage of change they are capable of moving to.

For instance, a client may not be completely ready for the ‘Action’ stage of change but they may be ready for the ‘Contemplation’ or ‘Preparation’ stage of change. So, it is important to tailor our hypnosis intervention to the stage of change our client is at, without assuming that they are ready to do straight from Pre-Contemplation to ‘Action’ or ‘Maintenance’.

I agree that hypnosis can be a powerful tool for shifting from ‘Pre-Contemplation’ to ‘Action’ and, at the same time, not everyone is capable of that even with the best hypnosis tools and with the intervention of a highly-skilled hypnotist. If we assume that our clients are ready to move rapidly through all the different stages of change, ignore resistance to change and attempt rush our clients too quickly through the stages of change, then there may be more risk of relapse.

Hope that is helpful

Thanks again for the excellent video and the transcript. Very helpful. I learned a lot.