Cal: Hello everybody. Cal Banyan here, Cal Banyan's Hypnosis, Etc. We're back with another special podcast for you. These are all free hypnosis training videos, and today's topic is going to be Helping Clients through the Holiday Season, what that really means. We’ll be talking about maybe clients coming because of the holiday season, and also what to do with clients that are suddenly being affected by the holiday season. Let me tell you about my co-host for this episode, Erika Flint. Erika Flint, a rising star in the profession of hypnotism and she's recently gone full-time. She started off with a certification in a school in Bellingham, Washington. She really was feeling a little bit floundering, so she got our 5-PATH 2.0 video distance learning course and then she just clicked with the whole systematic approach of 5-PATH. She's got the tools she needed, got started, started seeing clients in a way that’s much more predictable, should I say, than before, regular than before, more successful than ever before. Then ultimately, she wound up in our live Week of Power class. It's the advanced course for people who are already certified, and she took that online.
As I was teaching the class in our classroom here in Tustin, California, she was still in Bellingham, Washington watching us on the computer screen, completely interactive, and she got that certification as well. How are you doing, Erika?
Erika: I'm doing great, Cal. Thank you for having me here today. I was very impressed how amazing it was to be online remotely with you. That was a really good setup that you guys have there, very technical, Cal. That's very nice.
Cal: I know. For a hypnotist, I'm pretty technical, aren't I?
Erika: Yeah, you are. Let me tell everybody about you, Cal. Cal is the hypnosis celebrity because of his fame in the profession, and not just because of the 100 training videos just like this one that he's done. He is the authority and the hypnosis celebrity because he's received almost every award and recognition in the profession. Doing such has made him the authority on the subject. He is an author, he is a trainer. He's been on television and radio promoting his books, promoting hypnosis, and he's a trainer for some of the very best in the profession, and he's had a profound effect on me and my practice because, well, in addition to being able to talk with him regularly and learn from him quite often, I originally learned 5-PATH, and then I could see clients. I felt confident seeing clients regularly, and I've been having a great time seeing them thus far, so I'm really enjoying this work. How about that, Cal?
Cal: Wow! I'm thrilled. What you got for me today?
Erika: Some people really love the holiday season, but for other people, it can be very stressful. So what I wanted to do is just talk about some of the things that we, as hypnotherapists, can help our clients through the season. There are some things that will bring clients in during the holiday season like weight loss, like stress, like healthy sleep, but before we get started, I have a business question for you because I'm really curious about the seasonal aspects of hypnosis, and I know that it might change around the world from area to area, but I wanted to ask you Cal, do you see a change in business, so to speak, or a seasonal aspect of clients coming in during the holiday season?
Cal: Actually, I find that, in my experience, it will stay pretty even, or there'll be a slight drop to the holidays because people got other stuff going on. They've got, "As soon as I get to the holidays, I'll take care of this." Then what will happen is after Christmas, we'll start getting a bunch of phone calls because people start thinking about next year, they're thinking about New Year's resolutions and stuff like that. However, sometimes we might get some extra sessions in with clients we already have because they're feeling a little bit stressed out during the holidays. I think that's what you want to talk about too, right?
Erika: Yeah, absolutely. Let me bring some of that stuff up. That's what I found too. Actually last year I was busier than I thought I would be over the holidays, so we'll see how it goes this year. Let me just briefly mention some of the stressors of the holiday. There's financial stress, of course. That one's obvious. There's too many activities for people. A lot of people, they're stressed because they're going to be alone during the holidays when others are with their families, and they're missing their families, they're missing loved ones. There's also memories that they might have of things that have happened over the holidays. Many times the family can be challenging for some people depending on who's in their family and if there's any challenging people in their family. Then there's an opportunity, they're overindulged with food, or drinking, or something like that. Those are some of the stressors of the holiday. You have anything you want to add to that, Cal?
Cal: I'm trying to think about that, and I think that that happens. I'm just working with clients, and I pretty much try to keep them focused on what we're working on, and I might throw in a few extra suggestions here or there. It really depends on what the issue is they're working on. For example, if they're in for weight loss, then there'll be lots of challenges all the way from Halloween candy, Thanksgiving dinners, cookies, they're spread all the way between there because of these things where they get together and share cookies. Then, of course, a lot of calories in that alcohol also, and eggnog, and so that'd be one issue we'll retire right into it, what we're working on, but we might be working on something else and then they feel the stress of the holidays that is different. For example, maybe we're working on a fear of heights, but now they're wanting to get off track because of all the stuff going on the holidays, right?
Erika: Yes, and that is such a good point, Cal, because I did want to ask you a question about that. I have this experience, and I think this is likely to happen again to me and to others, so want you to bring it up? A client comes in for a weight loss in this case. She came in for a session, and I thought we would be going in one direction. I thought that we were prepared to deal with one aspect of what she wanted to come in for. She shared with me that really something kind of traumatic happened in her life that week. She was really basically disrupted by an experience that she had with her family members. How do you deal, Cal, with somebody who, let's say they come in for weight loss but then, all of a sudden, they have this traumatic experience and they can't really focus. How do you help the client that experiences that type of thing, get you off track, or they get off track, let's put it that way?
Cal: If I'm understanding you right, you work out a particular issue, and then this family issue comes up, and it's a different issue that's taking her mind off of what she came in for. Is that what you're saying?
Erika: Absolutely. It's almost a priority in the mind of the client to deal with this issue, instead. It's almost as if they can't even worry about the weight loss anymore because this other family issue is consuming everything that's going on and it needs to be addressed.
Cal: Again, it depends on what the particular family issue is, but I'm going to let them talk about it during the pre-hypnosis interview because they need to vent, and maybe they don't have anyone else that they can talk to in this very confidential way, and that can be really good. Then I'll say, "You know what I'm going to do? We're going to stay on track with what we're working on, but while we're doing this, you're going to find that I'm going to give you some hypnotic suggestions that are just going to help you get through this, and still stay on track with your weight loss, but still give you some things that will make this issue a little bit easier to get through. Would that be okay with you?" Of course, they would like that. Then I will do exactly that. Because of the very special kind of work that we do with 5-PATH and 7th Path Self-hypnosis, we are causing the client to experience a transformation of their internal stress anyway. For example, in phase 2, age regression, we're going to really be dealing with such feelings as fear and anger.
As we help them to get rid of this heavy negative emotional baggage, they're just generally going to be able to cope with things easier. If I'm in phase 3 while I'm doing forgiveness of others, then of course, that reduces that internal anger and makes them more patient and compassionate, and understanding of other people. As we're doing phase 4 of forgiveness of self-work, as we work on forgiving ourselves, that has the back door insight that we can forgive other people as these new things happen in our lives. I would take those insights that are happening and whatever things I'm in. I will then say, "As you are now knowing this, and you were feeling this. These are the changes that are going on in the work that we're doing. You're going to find that it's going to affect this other thing that's going on in your life in a very positive way." Then I would give them suggestions. If you follow this program for much time, you've heard me talk about this segue where we go from taking the insights that we achieved during the work we were doing and saying, "Now that you know this, and you feel that, whatever the insights are, you're going to be able to accept these suggestions more powerfully than ever before," and then would give them suggestions for what they came in for.
We could do this kind of segue, and with this kind of offhanded, matter of fact, by the way suggestions. We give them the suggestions for what they came in for, the segue, you tell them the insights that they've had, "Now that you know this, now that you feel that. This is the insights from doing the age regression work, or the forgiveness work. You're going to be able to accept these suggestions more powerfully never before." You give them suggestions for what they came in for. That's the normal segue. Open a link down below here in CalBanyan.com to a previous discussion on segue because I don't have time to get into it right now. Then I would also do this adjunct segue to applying those insights to whatever is going on in their life. Now you're going to find out that you're more patient, or maybe you're going to find out that you are more persistent, or whatever it is the quality that they wish they had in this situation. It might be more empathy, or it might be to be more assertive in a certain situation. How does that sound, Erika?
Erika: That was great, Cal. Thank you so much. I love how you said that. In my own mind, I'm summarizing. You listen to them, you allow them to vent, you say, "Is it okay if we stick to what you came in for, and I'm going to give you suggestions to specifically deal with that? You work with them, you use the segue. One thing that really stands out to me is how fluid and dynamic this work can be and how important it is as a hypnotherapist to remember that about this, how it's important to have these techniques and dynamic with your clients because it can help your clients more effectively, not being so rigid about what you are working with them on, or what your plan for that day actually. There's something else that I wanted to bring up about the holidays specifically. I just want people to keep in mind, everybody has different traditions, we need to be sensitive to other people's beliefs. You might not want to have something in your office that is your own spiritual or religious belief. This time of year might not be stressful for your clients at all, so don't assume that it is, but there are a couple of things that we can do to help our clients.
One is, as Cal suggested, during the pre-hypnosis interview, listen to your clients. If they come in and they are suggesting that they're really nervous about the upcoming holiday party, you want to be able to incorporate that into the segue into the direct suggestion that you include in the segue in their session. What do you think about that, Cal?
Cal: Exactly. Exactly. Listen to them, letting them express themselves, their concerns, and letting them know that you're going to be able to help with that as well. Perfect.
Erika: Good. You could also ask your client, if you suspect that they might be nervous about the holiday. I know from my weight loss clients, I will specifically ask them, "What are your plans for Thanksgiving, or what are you thinking about Thanksgiving? Just to gauge if they are nervous at all about this. On the one hand, I think this can be an opportunity because it gives our clients an opportunity to do what we do, what they have done, what they've learned, how they've changed, and apply it in their real life, and then come back and say, "I did great. I didn't eat too much. I wasn't stuffed." It can be a real opportunity for a win for your clients. What do you think about that, Cal?
Cal: Exactly. In fact, I won't use the term ... my personality is that I wouldn't use the term, "Are you feeling nervous?" I'd say, "Gosh, I'm so excited that we got the holidays right around the corner, because it's so many great opportunities to use your word to really see how well you can do with this. You're going to be able to experience personally this stuff working, and what happens is, when you make ... it's holiday season, and much better than you ever would have if you hadn't gone through this process, then you will know for certain that January, February, March, April is going to be a piece of cake." I really kind of hit it from that point of view, that we are so lucky that we're doing this together at this time of year because we're going to have all these great opportunities to just behave in such a healthy way. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some of your family members comment at how much better you look. You will realize how much better you feel, and you're really going to enjoy getting through the holiday season in a really healthy way. How does that sound?
Erika: That's beautiful, Cal, because you're setting your client up for success by giving them the suggestions that it's going to be the best holiday every for them basically. I love how you've put that. Thank you. Another thing that I do ... there are some practical tips for the holiday season, too. Some people will discuss how they have too many things to do. Let's put it that way. I was going to say "overwhelmed" but it's really too many responsibilities. I will share with clients about how powerful it is and important to recognize when you say, "Yes," to one thing, you're saying, "No." to lots of other things, so you don't have to say, "Yes," to somebody if they ask you to do something right at that moment. This one tip, every time I share this tip with somebody, they absolutely love it. Somebody asked you to do something, you can easily just say, "I'll check my calendar and get back to you," or, "I'll think about it and get back to you." There's nothing wrong with getting back to somebody.
Don't feel obligated to giving them any answer right then. One thing can help save a lot of people a lot of stress over the holiday season. I'd like to share some tips, at a season of gratitude. It's a good time to be thankful for things in your life, that type of a thing, and not abandoning healthy habits is really important too, especially for weight loss clients or anybody else really, making sure that you're taking care of yourself during this busy season. How about that, Cal?
Cal: Yeah, also one little thing, a little tip here, when people want you to do stuff, and you know that your schedule is pretty full, you don't know if you want to take it on, one of the things you do that fits right in exactly with what you said is, "Let me check my schedule, my calendar, see if I can do that." First tell them, "Gosh, I would really like to do that with you, but before I can commit I have to check my calendar." That lets the other person know that you're not just trying to find a way out or something. If it is something that you would like to do, you go, "Gosh, I would really like to do that, but I can't commit until I check my calendar. Can I get back with you?" It just leaves them in a lot better state. How does that sound, Erika?
Erika: Yeah, you're right. You should definitely make sure that you are communicating that to them. I know personally, I would rather have a firm ... I'd rather have somebody say no, they can't make it, then call me a day before hand or two days before hand and cancel. Keep that in mind because ... and I also don't want somebody to help me with something if they really don't want to be there, if they are committed to it, and they show up but they'd rather be somewhere else. Keep those things in mind as you are getting your calendar set for the holiday season.
Cal: Perfect. Anything else real quick we can do for our holiday season?
Erika: You guys did, in episode 202, tips for holiday stress. People might want to check that out if they want some more information. I think it's really important, you've got to take care of yourself. Hypnotherapists, we have got to take care of ourselves. You've got to do everything that you know that you need to do so that you can be there for your clients. Brenda and I did an episode on balance. It's 393 and 394that you might want to check out because that's exactly what we're talking about there, making sure that you take care of yourself so that you can be there for your clients.
Cal: I really enjoyed the episode ... one of the keys to success is finding balance. I see people quitting on some important projects. It might be a business thing, or it might be a social thing, or an educational thing, because they can't find the balance. Finding the balance is really an everyday project. You should set up some guidelines and priorities that you make your judgments by, like "What's most important? Second, what's most important?" But every day, you've got to be making those decisions that are about finding the balance between family, work, friends, spiritual development , growth, education, all those kind of stuff. Really, life is a balancing act, and the most successful people are really sometimes the best jugglers that there are out there. All right, wrap it up, Erika.
Erika: I'm Erika Flint, and you can find me at CascadeHypnosisCenter.com or ErikaFlint.com. I am really happy to be here today, and I would love to hear from you, so please leave your comments below, and I'd love to hear if you have any ideas for topic episodes as well. Thank you.
Cal: Bye. Thank you, Erika. To all you folks out there, please get on our list. Subscribe. Just send us an email to videos@calbanyan.com, and we'll just send you a little newsletter every time a new email comes out, and even bigger than that, you get instant access to the list of all the videos we've done so far, and you can just pick and choose by title. I was just talking to Erika before the show today, and she says, "Yeah, it's really important to have these different topics and certain title names," because she goes to that list, does the search to that list, and can pull up instant gratification, information, a great place to start a 20-minute video about that topic. I want to see you guys in class. We've got a class coming up February 23 through March 26, weekend off right in the middle. That's 2015 here at the Bay Hypnosis Center. You can be onsite or you can be online. And then we have the Week of Power for folks who are already certified and that's coming up March 3 through the 9, 2015. If you're watching this video after those classes have passed, just go to CalBanyan.com and click on the class schedule, and we can get together.
I think that's it for now. Find us on Facebook. We are Facebook.com/hypnosisetc. Some of the conversation in between episodes happens there. I'll also send bits of news and stuff out to all of our fans. All right, that's it. Cal Banyan signing off.