At this point he got quite ‘ into ’ speculating on possible reactions of the different members of his family . Without realizing that he was in fact visualizing , he was happily imagining what they might say and do as he surprised them by choosing to eat more of the things he already liked . Not only this , but he also decided to give them a real surprise by adding in some cocktail frankfurters and chicken nuggets . His choice not mine ! ( My focus was more on the quantity and variety rather than the quality of food on this occasion .)
Use of hypnotic phenomena can be very convincing
When I did a very quick cataleptic hand intervention Jack was totally fascinated by the change in feeling of his hand and arm and happily took on board the suggestion that if his amazing brain could change the feeling of his hand in this way , it could also help him begin to eat a few different things .
Make an audio for reinforcement and ongoing support
Later I recorded a 10-minute audio for Jack which included both direct and indirect suggestions and a ‘ talking through ’, rather than an obvious guided visualization , of a proposed change in his eating habits . It included his ideas of how he would be surprising his family and how he would be feeling very proud of himself . Interestingly , at the end of the session , he also came up with the idea of making a video diary ( visual as well as spoken !) of what he would be eating .
Involve the parents
By the way , in cases of selective eating it ’ s absolutely vital to have a separate , private chat with the mother ( and preferably both parents ) around making changes at mealtimes , largely around giving less attention to negative behaviour and more attention to positive behaviour , giving choices and keeping the atmosphere calm .
It ’ s also important to be clear that with selective eating a first session is the beginning of a process , and other sessions will almost always be required . So this case illustrates just some of the many things that I ’ ve learned in my child hypnotherapy practice over more than twenty years .
They could perhaps , simplistically , be summed up in a few DOs and DON ’ Ts :