Revisiting Hypnotic Scripts

by Tim Brunson, PhD

Formal hypnotic scripts have long been the backbone of the clinical hypnotherapy profession. Indeed, I can't imagine how difficult my early days as a practitioner would have been without the written materials provided by Topher Morrison, DCH, and Richard Nieves, PhD. Although it has been almost two decades since I've used a formal script during a session, I still value their existence. Indeed, as I seek ideas I still occasionally browse through my library – to include the Handbook of Hypnotic Suggestions by University of Utah psychologist D. Corydon Hammond, PhD. Nevertheless, whether you view formalized scripts as either a tool for neophytes or resources for veterans, their structure and content still remain as an indication of the state of thinking regarding the anatomy of a session – a phenomena that is seriously in need of modernization.

[More]