Eye Fixation and Distraction Inductions
by James Middleton – Saturday, 26 June 2010, 12:49 PM
Create examples of how changing a Patient’s eye contact or movements, either with hypnosis or by tasking, might help a Patient.
I like the idea of tasking a client to look at upper windows – by Michael – Sunday, 28 September 2008. We know that people suffering depression can use eye accessing to talk to themselves (looking sideways) and having
feelings (looking downwards.) Getting the eyes to do something different from this I would guess is guaranteed to change something. Any change is usually better than being stuck (in my opinion).
A great deal of excellent material has already been written, both on eye movement as therapy in and of itself, and some great scientific and external references particularly Ches’s contribution and contributions by Henry and José . I don’t’ feel able to contribute any more science. I can however speak from some personal experience of working with private therapy clients and much more severely ill psychiatric patients.
When might Therapist / Patient eye contact not be acceptable in a therapy session?
I have found many psychiatric patients having ongoing treatment from a mental health centre have considerable difficulty with coping with extended eye contact. The more their problems lean towards the psychotic rather than neurotic (if you accept current labeling) the more trouble they have.
If I was to surmise why this is, I would have to say I think it is has some inherent biological/instinctive protective function. With psychosis, reality is somewhat addled, and there is a blurring between what is real
and what is imagined. I think there is also a heightened sensitivity towards perceived threats. Persistent staring by many is seen as threatening. An individual who is experiencing elements of psychosis, can see staring as life threatening and may respond as if it is.
So, in working with patients/clients who are losing touch with reality, you have to be really careful to minimize eye contact. Making every effort to look away as often as possible. Fortunately careful notetaking allows you
to do this without making too many excuses, and patients are often very used to this. If you take your regular usual “Health service therapy” techniques into an interview, you are asking for trouble. By this I mean, open, expansive, expressive, empathetic and cheery. You will elicit more paranoia, more fear, anxiety and agitation.
The way I think of it is, I imagine I am talking to a cornered, injured, frightened, extremely dangerous animal who could react in any wild and unpredictable way. This has served me well in my twenty plus years of working with such patients. I’d be curious to know if anyone else can report similar experiences.
Practice dilating your pupils at will.
I tried, but even using a mirror I found it hard to tell if my pupils were dilating. I think I generated the most dilation by trying two techniques, looking through (as in the 3d pictures) and secondly slipping into a waking trance. I need to practice some more, and have a close partner observe the dilation – I’ll get my wife to sit this one with me, and report back any more progress.
Creativechanges - Ericksonian hypnotherapy 
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