Characteristics of Hypnosis

Here you will find information on the organization of trance events as well as information on the different characteristics of hypnosis as labeled by Charcot, and Dave Elman's theories.

Trance events can be organized into four major phases: (1) preparation; (2) hypnotic induction, (3) utilization of trance, and (4) consolidation of trance learnings.

1. Creating a Context: Preparing for Hypnosis
The goal of this phase is to receive communication from ones client about the client’s model of the world, and to identify the changes desired as well as any hypnotic strategies, or resistances ( the reader might also be interested in our page on creating changes )that might interfere with the development of such changes. The second goal is to communicate the nature of hypnosis and its process – the most crucial element here is the establishment of rapport and trust, along with an expectancy that change will occur, which you can learn more about on our Hypnotic Formula page.

2. Making the Transition: Induction of Hypnosis
The hypnotherapist secures and focuses the subject’s attention; paces and depotentiates the conscious mind, then accesses and utilizes the subject's unconscious mind.

3. Establishing the Desired Changes: The Utilization of Hypnosis
The hypnotherapist now applies a suitable procedure to access and then transform unacceptable experiences (limits) and/or to access and make regularly available previously dissociated resources of the client. Many of the aspects here can be accomplished via reframing techniques.

4. Consolidating Trance Learning: Concluding and Extending the Hypnotic Expereince
Trance Termination involves taking the client out of hypnosis. The trance learning/s can then be extended into other context of the client’s life. The hypnotherapist might also give the client assignments to do between sessions.

The various depths of hypnosis all have testable measures and each level can provide some, or all of the signs that are listed in the examples provided.

Charcot named three basic depths to the stages of hypnosis, and their consecutive order are Lethargy, Catalepsy, and Somnambulism, simply referred to as Light, Medium and Deep Trance. The levels of hypnosis broken down in this manner are easily worked with.

Light Trance (Lethargic): Evidences physical relaxation, and slowed breathing. The subject may feel a heaviness or lightness of body, and a reduction or complete desire to remain still and not move or think. The awareness of the five senses are heightened. There can also be catalepsy of the eyes and limbs, inhibition of small muscle groups, such as those around the eyes, and a greater response to hypnotic suggestion.

Medium Trance (Cataleptic State): Possible response to hypnotic suggestions of illusion, whether visual or physical, partial amnesia, and glove anesthesia.

Deep Trance (Somnambulistic State): This level of hypnosis isn’t affected if the subjects eyes are suggested to open, and he does. Profound sensations of lightness. Dilated pupils. Complete amnesia is possible, even for post-hypnotic suggestion. The client may experience various illusions. Control of involuntary bodily functions are possible. This is the recommended state for age regression if used.


Many of the symptoms of hypnosis suggest that we are always in an altered state of some type. The fact that at times everyone experiences spontaneous amnesia for people’s names or where they put something, and what they were just talking about. Plus those incredible instances when we see something, just because we expect it to be there, or looking a certain way, suggests that we are often in a deep trance, and that by visiting a hypnotist, we come out of it, so that he can bring us back to the state that we are so accustomed to yet never really aware that it keeps changing.

Below are listed a number of the psychological characteristics of hypnosis which when understood can go a long way in the work you perform:

Generally, everyone’s attention is always selective to a point, because of the mind’s inability to focus on more than a few items at one time. In the state of hypnosis, one’s focus of attention is even more intense, and directed at whatever is being communicated or internally meditated upon. The factors affecting one’s focus of attention are many including that of a person’s mood, motivation, and degree of sensory motivation to name a few. Once all the ingredients are right, subjects can develop attentional absorption to the extent of becoming fully immersed in one particular experiential context for a sustained period. The subject’s attentional focus may be internally or externally oriented. Most traditional hypnotic rituals have the subject focus his or her attention first on an external object and then gradually shift it internally.
The hypnotized subject usually feels little need to try to do anything – the experience just seems to happen and flows quite effortlessly. This characteristic reflects the principle of ideodynamicism which states that ideas can be transformed into dynamic expression.

Entranced individuals are more able to directly experience things as they are, and generally show little need to logically understand or conceptually analyze experience. Thought processes typically become less critical, less evaluative, less verbal, and less abstract. They grow more descriptive and image-based, more sensory, and more concrete. By getting to know oneself at a different level of experience via setting aside habitual, dysfunctional conscious processes, a person is free to explore experiences from multiple perspectives. The goal of hypnotic induction is to dissipate fixation to these rigid frames, thereby enabling experiential processes to unfold according to a deeper intelligence within the person.

The person in a hypnotic trance will usually be quite willing to experiment with new perspectives. In the state of hypnosis, the individual can relate to time and space in many ways, because in the state of trance, the subject’s conscious focus of attention is directed at the hynotherapist’s induction, and her unconscious becomes tuned to the metaphorical meaning of whatever is being communicated or dwelled upon. In turn there is a dissociation between the client’s conscious and unconscious train of thought. There is always an awareness if and when desired about what can be noticed consciously, but during the process of trance, the mind is focused inwardly, dissociated from external happenings by choice, and one can completely dissociate from the present and shift to alternative time/space realities. Trance subjects frequently experience alterations in their sensory experience, such as perceptual distortions, heightening, selectivity and hallucinations.

Both factors of selective attention, and the dissociation of all else except for the specific focus of attention results in an amplified responsiveness to hypnotic suggestion. The coupling effect of the two factors not only allows the person to be more directly focused upon the possible acceptance of any suggestion offered, but it also provides one with a greater focus to refuse the hypnotic suggestion if so desired as well.

Hypnosis can be developed and maintained via inhibition of movement or rhythmic movement. While hypnotically entranced individuals often do not feel like moving or talking in any elaborate fashion, other trance rituals favor dancing, chanting, singing, or other expressive rhythms to induce trance.

The depth of hypnotic involvement will often fluctuate during a hypnosis, especially with inexperienced subjects. This fluctuation in the level of hypnosis may be described as that of floating, also a form of hypnotic phenomena. The hypnotherapist should attend to the floating phenomena because different levels of hypnosis require different utilizations.

Hypnotized individuals tend to relate to their experience with a different logic than that used in waking states, actually more akin to the dreaming that occurs while we sleep. Thus, hypnotized subjects find nothing discomforting about experiencing themselves in two different places at the same time, or in exploring fantasy worlds where rules or structures violate real-world constraints.

Of all the psychological factors involved within the state of hypnosis, this is the one I find most amusing. Within the levels of deep trance, there seems to be an age regression to that of a young mind, which is why it has been said that one’s unconscious interprets information as that of a five to seven year old. It has been suggested by many circles including that of Milton Erickson, that hypnotic suggestions provided during medium to deep trance levels, be worded directly (see direct, and indirect suggestion), and as simply as possible to prevent a misinterpretation. Simplifying one’s language doesn’t always prevent all misinterpretations, because each of us has our own subjective experiences to rely on and base our interpretation upon, but it does lessen the chance of misinterpretations.

A subject may have a strong tendency to comprehend and represent communication in a self-referential fashion. For example, a subject may begin to develop trance while hearing a story about somebody else who became deeply absorbed (see metaphor), or access and explore his own problems while listening to a description of problems that are content-unrelated but structurally similar to the subject’s; or solve a problem by generating hypnotic dreams that symbolically develop and then transform the problem state; or develop a desired skill by trance identification with some person who embodies that skill.

And now for the reason as to why we are able to work on issues within the state of hypnosis once conscious resolution results in failure, the reason is what's called "trance logic", which is one’s ability to look upon whatever is being imagined as real, even though the subject is well aware that it is only real in her imagination. We can do the same thing when not formally hypnotized, but the ability to focus more directly when hypnotized amplifies our ability to imagine in a more realistic manner.
A typical example of the pre-trance, trance logic being applied is with Dave Elman’s suggestion for self hypnosis. Dave Elman suggests telling oneself that the eyes are closed shut and can’t be opened and then to test them, and prove to oneself that the eyes are closed shut. This has the effect of by-passing one’s critical faculty just long enough for the unconscious to take over, and trance is initiated.

Similar to dreaming, time is distorted during trance states, and this is known as, you guessed it, time distortion. An hour of clock time might be estimated by the subject as only minutes, while minutes can be experienced as hours.

Hypnotic subjects will sometimes arouse from hypnosis and remember few (partial amnesia) or none (full amnesia) of the transpired hypnotic vents. The intent of suggested amnesia to a client is not to have him permanently forget some memory or part of himself, but to permit the uninhibited development of new learnings.

Dave Elman's five signs of hypnosis (physical characteristics) are as follows:

1) Body warmth
A cold hand indicates a lack of rapport with the subject, a hot wet hand indicates possible resistance, and a warm hand indicates proper rapport along with ease of hypnotic induction. It is my belief that warmth does indicate comfort, but body temperature is relative to one’s surroundings and physical happenings.

2) Fluttering of the Eyelids
Best known as rapid eye movement, which is similarly found in dreaming subjects.

3) Increased Lacrimation
Tearing is a very common aspect and is probably due to a combination of rapid eye movements against closed lids, and a natural physical response to prevent damage due to friction. Then again, the primary reason we blink is for eye lubrication, so eyelid flutter would also cause this.

4) The White of the Eyes Getting Red or Pinkish
Reddening of the eyes, is one of the most pronounced signs that I have noticed, and the fractionation procedure applied within the “Dave Elman Induction” allows for a worthy observation of this sign.

5) The Eyeballs Going Up Into the Head
This is one sign that provides some people with the interpretation that hypnosis is like sleep in that the eyes roll up. Once a hypnotic induction is completed, if the operator was to gently lift one of his subject’s eyelids, he should notice this considerably.

It is important to note that not all of these signs will be witnessed in every hypnotic subject, but most signs will be quite apparent. And now below are a few more physical characteristics of which you can practice looking for within your subjects behavior:

a) Muscular Relaxation
Specifically noticeable in the face is a noticeable drop in muscular tension such as a smoothing out of the forehead.

b) Muscular Twitching
This is a common one for myself. I notice my muscles twitching both when I enter trance, and when I’m actually going to sleep. This characteristic is associated to the muscles and ligaments letting go as one enters relaxation.

c) Change in Breathing Rate
With relaxation as in hyperactivity our rate of breath changes. This is something which will fluctuate with the subject’s experience, but is generally noticed as a slowing down and increase of depth.

f) Change in Pulse Rate
This characteristic goes hand in hand with adjustments in one’s respirations, and can often be noticed by watching the subject’s carotid artery.

g) Jaw Relaxes
Again tuned to other physical characteristic of hypnosis, along with the relaxation response, there is a letting go. If one simply suggests the jaw dropping during the hypnotic induction, one can often see it happening right then, which is something I have personally noticed.

h) Catalepsy
Here again we have a trait that is common in medium to deep trances and one will find that along with this characteristic, more often than not there is also anesthesia, or analgesia at the same time.

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Dr. Frank Valente Ph.D.(c)
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© 2004, Dr. Frank Valente Ph.D.(c)

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