Aren’t only Gullible People Hypnotisable?
Absolutely every human being that does not have some severe neurological impairment of a biological/physiological nature is hypnotisable (and most mammals as far as I am aware). This is not to say that every hypnotist will be able to hypnotise every client. Particularly if the client has consciously chosen to NOT be hypnotisable.*
Given that the purpose of visiting a hypnotherapist is so as to resolve or improve or cure some kind of affliction, it is hoped that most clients are, at least to some degree, willing to be hypnotised.
As for the gullibility factor… in studies that have been done over the last 50 years, it has actually been demonstrated that most good hypnotic subjects (that is people who easily go into a deep trance with a variety of therapists) tend on average to be markedly more intelligent than those who do not easily go into trance or who do so only to a shallow depth.
These studies also tie in with other work done on different topics that nevertheless have shown that more imaginative, creative, intelligent people will respond easier and faster to different mental stimuli. Kinaesthetic persons (people whose primary mode of filtering the world is the sense of touch and feeling) are generally also quite good subjects even though they may not have as diverse a vocabulary or verbal mode of expression. They also tend to require different induction techniques, which can at times be completely non-verbal. As this requires physical contact between the therapist and the client, it is sometimes necessary to establish a certain level of trust which can sometimes be aided by the presence nearby of a friend or spouse though generally sessions will still be held on a one-on-one basis so as not to have a third person’s direct presence in the immediate environment unduly and inadvertently influence the therapy.
* That said, some of my best results have been with clients that were convinced they were not hypnotizable or that hypnosis in general didn’t work on them.
