Recently someone asked me about the concept of hypnotic seals. While I would normally give exact the exact wording of the question, for this one (and the various other questions), I can’t for ethical reasoning.
What is a hypnotic seal?
The concept of a hypnotic seal is basically that there is some type of post-hypnotic suggestion which limits a person’s ability to go into trance. That is the most commonly heard of seal although it is my understanding that there are others. Most commonly, it would be a seal saying that only a particular person can hypnotize the person in the future.
There are a lot of hypnotists saying they exist? Do they exist?
Yes, hypnotic seals exist. They used to be quite popular in middle part of the 20th century however you really don’t see much discussion of them past say the late 70s or early 80s. Elman and Erickson both at one point or another in their career used them, Elman’s was incredibly popular and well known and he encouraged others to do this. Typically, today they are primarily used by erotic hypnotists or people who have been trained by erotic hypnotists. Although some of the older hypnotists who have been in the field for a very very long may still utilize them.
Why don’t other hypnotherapists admit that they exist?
I don’t pretend to speak for other hypnosis practitioners. I do know that this is no longer taught in most reputable hypnosis schools so a lot of people, since many don’t read further, don’t come across it. Since I am very interested in the history of hypnosis in general so these things come up in my reading. In addition, I was affected by a former friend who did it out of vengeance which made it very challenging for me to get into trance. I suffered for a year and a half due to this until it was accidentally fixed when I was at the Erickson Congress.
Are they ethical?
If done without consent, absolutely. If done without a back door, absolutely. If done by untrained people, absolutely. I will not say they are always unethical, but there are a lot of things that can go wrong.
I think I have a hypnotic seal that I want removed, can you help?
I’m happy to help. No guarantees as to the speed or how many sessions though! Please book a consultation with me.
Melvin S. Marsh is a certified hypnotherapist serving Augusta GA and Statesboro GA. He performs hypnotherapy appointments both in person and worldwide virtually. He can be reached at www.afterhourshypnotherapy.com .
