The power of suggestibility is central to much of what we do in our profession. Think of the placebo effect and the countless studies which show how it can make a significant difference to the wellbeing of a subject.
Even the way we dress can be another area relating to the power of suggestibility. Stanley Milgrim’s famous (infamous) experiment looking at how people reacted to authority focused heavily on the ‘white coat’ effect.
Two actors. One is dressed in a white coat. One is pretending to be a participant in a study on authority. The third person is the real test subject. They have no idea of what the real purpose of the experiment will be.
In short, it’s to see how they react when told to do something that is dangerous. They’re asked to apply electric shocks to the other ‘participant’ when they answer a question wrongly.
The result? The actor in the ‘white coat’ tells them to keep going with the experiment even when they can hear ‘screaming’ coming from the other ‘participant’ in a nearby room.
In reality, no one is hurt but the power of suggestibility resting within the ‘white coat’ effect cannot be underestimated.
I’m not saying we need to wear a white coat when we meet with a client! But I am saying that a smart appearance can make all the difference when someone initially meets us and quickly starts to evaluate our abilities.
The real lessons for us rest in our ability to be able to provide the genuine sincerity, warmth and confidence which the client will expect from us.
Think of it as an aura which we can exude which comes from our training, knowledge and skillset as a therapist.
Testimonials and reviews
We can do so much to help ourselves establish that sense of confidence in perspective clients – even before someone sends us that initial email. Do you have testimonials on your website? Five star reviews on Google?
Asking a client to provide a testimonial can be a simple thing to do once they’ve finished their sessions with you – and it can be that all important step in encouraging someone to engage with you.
Regular readers of the NBH newsletter will know that past communiques have seen much chatter about a variety of books, from Dracula through to an espionage drama.
Without wishing to turn our esteemed newsletter into a regular indulgence for a book club then do indulge me as I explore a fascinating tale of ghosts and ghoulies which will be making up (some) of today’s content. I promise to be relating it to our work!
Some of you may have watched Danny Robbins’ Uncanny series on BBC2 towards the end of last year. It was chilling, compelling and compulsive viewing which explored hauntings throughout the UK.
The series explored sightings of ghosts and poltergeist activity in a number of homes.
The team thoroughly researched the ‘back story’ of each property and interviewed previous owners whose experiences eerily matched with those people living in the place today.
He’s now released a book which explores the phenomenon in closer detail – and it’s certainly worth a read. As an aside, I’m not on commission when I talk about books in this newsletter! And, anyway, what does Robbins’ research got to do with us?
Definition equals creation
In my young journalistic salad days, I was lucky enough to present a two part series on regional television. One of them looked at ghosts. I will never forget one of the comments of an interviewee: ‘Definition equals creation.’
He explained that if you define a place to be haunted then it becomes so. Not because it’s actually haunted but because the power of suggestion is such that people believe it’s haunted because you’ve told them that it is. Definition equals creation.
All of a sudden the creaking floor board has nothing to do with the expansion and cooling rates of wooden planks at the end of a long hot day. No sirree! The paranormal explanation becomes the ‘go to’ reason for the creaking. The power of suggestion.
We can see how simple words, actions and nuances can have profound effects on clients. Leave a box of tissues on the table and one hypothesis could be the chance of a client crying increases. Why? Because we’ve provided a ‘cue’ for them to do so.
It doesn’t mean we have to get rid of the tissues completely, and, for some people, crying will be an entirely appropriate response for them if they are re-living an upsetting event. Equally, perhaps the tissues don’t have to be left in such a prominent spot?
The box of tissues being there becomes a powerful suggestion in its own right. Ditto with our opening question: What’s been good about your week? Again, the power of suggestion as we are already implying that something has been good about it.
Even if the answer is ‘nothing’ then the follow up questions allow us to ask what would have been good if something good had happened. You get the idea. Eventually we’ll find the positives – even when they might be slightly buried or tricky to find.