There are many reasons someone seeks out the professional help of a hypnotist.

To quit smoking, to dissolve a fear of public speaking… or even to squash their fear of spiders, just to name a few.

But other issues hypnotists regularly come across are those around confidence and self-esteem. Namely, subjects having a negative – and often disproportionate – view of themselves.

Meaning as a hypnotist, knowing how to help people improve their self image is part of your stock-in-trade.

In the above video, you’ll see one of our trainers, Master Hypnotist Martijn Groenendal, demonstrate the neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) Swish Pattern technique to do just that.

Watch the video to see how Martijn works with the subject to redefine his negative and judgmental self-image into a happier, more accepting version of himself.

Some of the highlights from the video include:

At 2:04 – the subject explains how his self-image is contorted – much like a Picasso painting

At 3:04 – Martijn starts using the Swish Pattern to create distance between the subject and his negative self-image

At 4:35 – the subject starts to reconsider how he would like to view himself ( note: did you spot how Martijn used Mind Bending Language here?)

did you spot how Martijn used Mind Bending Language here?) At 5:57 – Martijn starts to set the scene after he’s discussed his goal: for the subject to create a healthy self-image that he completely accepts

At 7:49 – the subject is in a deep trance and is really getting into the technique

At 12:13 – the subject reveals he’s 90% happy with his new self-image

At 13:26 – the subject now reveals some of the doubts and old paradigms that are preventing him from being 130% happy with his new self-image

At 15:33 – the subject visualizes a floating “choice lever” that gives him the realization that he can be whoever he wants to be

At 17:31 – Martijn asks the subject to open his eyes so they can determine the physical height of his new self-image

At 17:54 – once they have determined the height, Martijn then shrinks the image into a tiny size

At 18:27 – for the next few minutes, Martijn asks the subject to imagine his old “Picasso” image and his new confident self-image, while using the Swish Pattern so the new image becomes overpowering and is in embedded into the subject’s unconscious.

Pretty cool demo, right?

This is just one example of how to use the Swish Pattern, but of course it can be used to resolve a variety of issues – so why not give this popular NLP technique a go to see how it can complement your hypnosis skills.