What makes someone a good hypnotic subject?
The research and my clinical experience suggest the following: 1. the more intelligent you are the better a hypnotic subject you are. If you are intelligent then you have the ability to split attention i.e. concentrate on one thing whilst also doing another, or attend to several things at once. Someone who isn t bright has to concentrate on one thing at a time. This ability to split attention appears to be an evolutionary leap for humans over animals. 2. the more psychologically flexible and adaptable you are the better a hypnotic subject you are. You have the capacity to include this new method into your repertoire of behaviors easily, as you include others. 3. the more motivated you are the better a hypnotic subject you are. For example I once used hypnotic anesthesia on a friend who broke her ankle during a bush walk. My friend knew that it would be some time before help would arrive. She was delighted to use the method that I offered her to relieve the pain in the meantime.
