Nail biting is a common problem that is easily treated with hypnosis. Even though the problem is common hypnosis will work better if it is tailored to fit the exact experience of the current client. Everyone experiences their problem in their own unique way. This part of the tutorial shows how to identify beliefs and resources

IDENTIFYING beliefs and resources

In order to understand the behaviour of nail biting it is necessary to identify how the client experiences the problem, and to find out what resources and barriers the client has. This checklist of questions is used to prompt the therapist and helps to reveal why, when and how the client bites or chews their nails. It may also identify resources the client has that can be used against the nail biting habit. These answers provide a set of precise targets and resources unique to the client that can be used during hypnosis.

Steps in Script Writing

• Step 1: Lay out the overall therapy session
• Step 2: Identify the target behaviour(s)
• Step 3: Block out the sections needed
• Step 4: Identify the client's unique resources
• Step 5: Write the finished script

 

Nail biting: RESOURCES
	Target Area
HISTORY of NAIL BITING
When did you start?	Environment
Why did you start?	Beliefs
How often do you do it?	Behaviour
CURRENT PATTERNS OF NAIL BITING
When do you bite or chew your nails?	Triggers, Environment
What do you like about it?	Belief
What do other people think about your nail biting?	Peer pressure resources
How do you know when to start and when to stop?	Environment, Triggers
RESTARTING
Have you ever tried to give up?	Motivation
Why did you stop?	Motivation
How did you stop?	Resource
How long did you stop for?	Resource
Why did you restart?	Triggers & Environment
RESOURCES
Personal Experience - stopping	Capability
What have you tried?	Resource
Other people's experience	Resource
What is the worst thing about nail biting?	Beliefs
Will other people support you to stop?	Resource
BELIEFS ABOUT NAIL BITING
Why do you do it?	Identity, Beliefs
Why don't you just stop?	Identity, Beliefs
What do you think when you see other people nail biting?	Beliefs
Is there anything would stop you stopping?	Beliefs
MOTIVATION
Why do you want to stop now?	Beliefs, negative & positive
How do you know you can stop now?	Capability
What will others think when you stop?	Resource
BEHAVIOUR AFTER STOPPING
What will be different when you stop?	Capability, Rewards
What will you be able to do when you stop?	Visualisation, Capability
What will other people say when you stop?	Resource
What will your nails look like when you stop?	Visualisation
What are you going to do instead of nail biting?	Alternative behaviours
What will be the biggest benefit?	Motivation Resource

 

 

 

The therapist would not normally ask all these questions directly. Most of the information will be provided when the client describes how their experience their problem. The check list is just to ensure that no potentially useful areas are missed.

As well as being a source of information for the therapist, the constant reiteration of 'How will you stop, when will you stop, what will people think when you stop' etc. works on the client by priming the subconscious mind to think about stopping even before the session begins.

The Behaviour After Stopping section is important. Most clients with long term habits have never actually thought about not nail biting, and have no clear images of what they would be like without it. They are unlikely to offer this information unprompted, so any time spent in this section will put positive images into their mind which can be used as a resource once the session starts.

 

 

Read the transcript of this session

The session was recorded and transcribed for teaching purposes. The whole script is listed in step 5, with comments explaining what each section and each sentence is doing.

 

Steps in Script Writing

• Step 1: Lay out the overall therapy session
• Step 2: Identify the target behaviour(s)
• Step 3: Block out the sections needed
• Step 4: Identify the client's unique resources
• Step 5: Write the finished script