Many therapists say that they are wary of working with children. I have found that they are generally easier than adults. 

Children, especially younger children, have a much more flexible relationship with “reality” than us sensible, logical, certain, adults. As we “mature” we find ourselves learning to narrow our experience so we can navigate the social environment, know how the world “really” is, and expect it to be consistent. Children can have a different name from one moment or game to the next. They can be Superman, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, or a kitten, a lion, an airplane! If we, as adults, attempt such transformations, there is a predictable reluctance, or at least a required caveat that we know that we are “only” pretending. We know who we “really” are. 

Because children have such an active imagination, they can easily become focused and absorbed, which are the cornerstones of any hypnotic experience. A highly textured experience of being immersed in what each individual child likes to do can then be created hypnotically, so they can connect strongly and easily with whatever resource is missing in their problem, and allow their own solution to emerge naturally. 

Sometimes we can join a child in an experience they are already immersed in such as a TV show, a book, a game or anything where they show an ability to focus and become absorbed. 

One of my favourite experiences was with a 9 year old girl who had been having nightmares where sharks were coming to get her for several months after watching a horror movie - Jaws! I asked her what she liked to do and she said she was reading Harry Potter. When I asked her if we could play a game together she smiled so I asked her if she could pretend to be Harry Potter's sister and that she was a wizard, not a muggle. She then was keen to take out her wand and make a spell so she would be safe from the sharks. She had a broad grin as she announced that she had just surrounded herself with a white light! She brought the sharks in to test the light and was even more delighted as she told me that the sharks were getting frustrated because they couldn't bite through the white light, now they were getting bored, and now going away. The whole conversation only lasted a few minutes, but after that there were no more nightmares.

Such a simple process, and so delightful.

I invite you to have a play and be willing to discover just how easy it can be.