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| On November 12, I presented to a group of smart and engaged students in Stuart High School's Psychology Club. |
“Um, are you the hypnotist,” the young man asked when he
spotted me seated in the main office.
“You are supposed to come with me.”
His reluctance to approach was not a surprise. In my button down shirt and slacks I looked
like nearly every suburban father who arrives at school to pick up a
child. His next question did catch me
off guard.
“Was hypnosis passed down from generation to generation in
your family,” he inquired as we waited for the hallway to clear of students
rushing to catch a bus home.
Ha…not quite, I explained.
My father is an attorney.
So began my wonderfully fun visit to JEB Stuart High School in Falls
Church, Virginia.
I had connected a few weeks back via Email with Matt Levi,
an educator at the school and faculty oversight for Stuart’s psychology
club. After an Email exchange and due
diligence on his behalf, I locked in a presentation at the club’s monthly meeting
to talk about hypnosis– what it is and its applications for stress management,
self-confidence, and athletic, academic and career performance.
Here are a few observations for my hour long talk:
--High school audiences are typically engaged when it comes
to learning about hypnosis. I have to
keep the presentation moving and pepper in entertaining anecdotes, yet once you
capture their interest and attention they tend to be courteous and
respectful. The 40+ students in Stuart’s
psychology club were no exception. I was
incredibly well received.
--Audience questions were outstanding. One student asked about my own practice of
self-hypnosis. Another inquired about
hypnosis as a tool to shed unwanted behavior, such as smoking. Still another inquired about the use of
hypnosis to remedy phobias. Great stuff!
--We finally got to a hypnotic induction, but
(unfortunately) the kids were precluded from volunteering. I had two faculty members who gave hypnosis a
try and both enjoyed the experience.
Interestingly, there was young lady in the audience who
followed along with the induction and clearly got to a point of trance. I didn’t let her slip into a deeper hypnosis
state out of respect for the organizer’s request to keep the hypnosis strictly
for staff.
So…why the concern about kids trying hypnosis?
Through my
talks at Washington, DC based high schools and performances
at after prom and all
night graduation parties I have hypnotized hundreds of teens. It’s an age I am experienced and comfortable working
with.
The source is a recently
settled case involving a principal at a Florida high school who practiced
hypnotherapy on students without a license.
I’ll refrain from sharing my opinion on this incident
because the topic is inconsistent with the editorial approach of this blog. I write about the use of hypnosis and
positive visualization for health, wellness and exceptional living.
However, I certainly understand and respect the decision by Stuart
High School’s administration when it came to psychology club students being
hypnotized.
All in all, it was a fun and informative experience for all
at Stuart High School. I hope this is
the start of an ongoing relationship similar to the ones I maintain with
Whitman, Walter Johnson and Springbrook.
