Without sounding like a broken record [I hope] this structure is offered as just one way of playing with how we might include stories in a hypnotic session.

I was delighted to hear about a client who travelled a long distance to see Erickson and to be hypnotised by him. He arrived for his 2 hour appointment and put a cheque on Erickson'd desk and said "This is to pay for your time". Erickson heard that he was being paid for his time, and over the next 2 hours he tried unsuccessfully to assist this man to go into hypnosis. At the end of the 2 hours, Erickson thanked the client for paying for his time, expressed his regret that he had been unable to hypnotise him, and just as the client was leaving, Erickson said that he wanted him to meet his wife. When Mrs Erickson came out, Erickson told her that this man had travelled a long distance, and unfortunately he was not able to be hypnotised. Mrs Erickson also expressed her regret about the result, and then as the client turned to go out the door, Erickson said "I'd like to shake your hand". Erickson then converted the handshake into a catalepsy of the client's right hand, gently lead him bak into the office, and proceeded to do the hypnotic work the client had requested. I like this story because it can be a reminder that there's no fixed order in our work.

My invitation, then, is to have some fun with this structure, try it out with friends, colleagues, clients, and see what variations you can create.

I'd recommend that you download the pdf and use that as a way of designing a session, and ... as always ... please leave a comment about what you found useful!