What is the Krasner Method of Hypnotherapy?

Hypnosis is a naturally occurring state that we all enter into many times a day. We naturally experience this when driving, reading, watching tv, having conversations, day dreaming, etc. Hypnotherapy is about learning how to induce this state with volition in order to bypass the Conscious Mind. When you're able to bypass the Conscious Mind, you get access to patterns of behaviours, beliefs, negative thought patterns etc that you want to change. In this state of hypnosis, you can deliver hypnotic suggestions that go directly into your unconscious mind where all those patterns reside.

There are many different methods of hypnotherapy, which makes learning hypnosis and practising your skills as a hypnotherapist easy and quite dynamic.

In our courses we teach the methods of Milton Erickson, George Estabrooks, Dave Elman, and Al Krasner.

In this article I will outline the methods of Al Krasner, whose unique framework we teach at our 3 Day Hypnotherapy Certification Training.

Al Krasner was one of the first hypnotherapists to popularise weekend hypnotherapy trainings.

He famously said that he would struggle to even stretch the content out to 2 days, considering that hypnotherapy is so simple and easy to learn!

The theory behind hypnosis goes quite deep, but in fact the process of guiding someone (or yourself) into a state of hypnosis (also known as trance) for a specific outcome is surprisingly simple. Krasner worked out a framework for working with clients that made teaching and learning hypnosis extremely easy to remember and follow.

The Krasner Method of Hypnotherapy is an approach to hypnosis that breaks key components of the session into steps:

1. Demystify Hypnosis:

Often times people arrive at their hypnotherapy session with lots of misconceptions about hypnotherapy, so it’s important to take the client through what to expect from the session, and what hypnosis actually feels like.

2. Explain Hypnosis:

In this step, the hypnotist will explain exactly what hypnosis is and how it works in the brain. Often times here we use metaphors, and take the client through visualisation so they can understand the process further.

3. The Interview:

This is where the hypnotist finds out what the client would like help with.

4. Suggestibility Tests: This is used to teach the client more about the hypnotic process, as well as help the hypnotist gauge where the client is at in terms of their suggestibility of what is being said. This helps the hypnotist cater their session accordingly.

5. Hypnotic Induction: Here, the client is taken through a formal trance induction whereby the hypnotist tells them a story, takes them through a visualisation, and/or gives them specific instructions to follow in order to open the unconscious mind to the new positive suggestions for change.

6. Convincers:

At this stage, the hypnotist takes the client through a number of scenarios to ‘prove’ to the client that they are in fact in a state of trance. This also serves to help the hypnotist to gauge where the client is at as well. One example of a classic convincer is giving the client suggestions that their arm is light as a feather as lifting in the air. When the arm does in fact lift up, the client has an undeniable experience of hypnosis, and the hypnotist also knows that the client is following the instructions.

7. Therapy/Hypnotic Suggestions: Once the client is in trance, then the suggestions for positive change are given. These are what the client stated they wanted during step 3 of the Krasner Method.

8. Bring the client or subject back to the normal waking state.

Count the client out and bring them back to full awareness. (this can be omitted in self hypnosis for sleep)

And that’s really all there is to it. Of course, there is much more theory behind all these steps as to how and why they work, and like all things in life, practice makes perfect.

In order to understand fully these steps and to get first hand experience at working through this framework, it's best to learn this process along with the background information and skills needed to ensure success.

We run a 3 Day Hypnotherapy Certification Training where you can learn everything you need to start working with clients or yourself using the amazing tool of hypnosis,

This course isn’t simply the steps to follow. We actually teach heaps of theory about the mind, focus, communication, and many other key factors understanding hypnosis and how it can be used to create powerful lasting change in self and others.

Here are a few of the topics covered at this training in addition to the Krasner Method:

• The history of hypnosis

• The relationship between the Conscious & Unconscious mind

• The role of trance in everyday life

• Classic hypnotic phenomena such a arm levitation

• Hypnotic suggestions for positive change

• Rapid relaxation hypnosis

• Using hypnosis for stress reduction

• Using hypnosis for quit smoking

• Using hypnosis for weight loss

• Using hypnosis for performance enhancement

• Using hypnosis for pain control

• Rapid inductions

• Self Hypnosis

• Crafting suggestions for lasting change

• Introduction to NLP

• NLP anchoring and how to use it for performance enhancement

• Introduction to Time Line Therapy®

• Conducting client sessions

Hypnosis is truly one of the most prevalent and powerful tools. Almost all alternative healing works with trance and hypnosis.