If you train in hypnosis almost anywhere in the English-speaking world, you will learn the Elman induction. It is fast, it has built-in checks, and it is the gateway to most of the “advanced” depth work covered in this series.
Who was Dave Elman?
Dave Elman was an American radio broadcaster and former stage performer with no medical qualifications who, for more than a decade in the 1950s and 60s, taught hypnosis to doctors and dentists. He self-published his teaching in 1964 as Findings in Hypnosis, which is still in print today under the title Hypnotherapy.
Elman’s practical concern was time. A busy doctor could not spend twenty minutes on progressive relaxation. He needed a method that produced a deep state in a few minutes and let him confirm it had worked.
Elman’s key ideas
- Hypnosis is a bypass of the “critical faculty” — the part of the mind that evaluates and rejects ideas — together with the establishment of selective thinking.
- Relaxation is a route in, not the goal.
- Test as you go. Each step includes a check, so the hypnotist is never guessing.
- The client does the work. The instructions are framed as things the client does, not things done to them.
The induction, step by step
Sources describe the induction as four to six steps. The core sequence is:
1. Eye closure and eyelid catalepsy. The client closes their eyes and relaxes the eyelids so completely that “they just won’t work.” They then test them and find they stay closed. This is the first convincer.
2. Spreading the relaxation. That same quality of relaxation is sent down through the whole body.
3. Fractionation. The client opens and closes their eyes several times, with the suggestion that each closing takes them much deeper. (Fractionation has its own post in this series.)
4. The arm drop. The hypnotist lifts the client’s arm by the wrist and drops it. A limp, heavy arm that falls like a wet cloth shows physical relaxation.
5. Losing the numbers. Having relaxed the body, the client relaxes the mind. They count backward aloud from 100, relaxing more with each number and letting the numbers fade until they are gone. When the client cannot find the next number, Elman considered that they had reached somnambulism.
6. Deepening. Further deepeners follow as needed.
Done well, the whole thing takes three to four minutes.
Why it is so widely used
- Speed. It suits clinical settings and short appointments.
- Feedback. The tests tell the hypnotist exactly where the client is.
- Conviction. The client experiences their eyes not opening and the numbers disappearing, which builds belief.
- It is a foundation. The Esdaile state, Ultra Depth and the Simpson Protocol all typically start from an Elman-style induction.
Limitations
- It is quite directive. Some clients, especially anxious or analytical ones, prefer a gentler, more permissive style.
- The number step can snag. People who work with numbers, or who fear “losing” something, sometimes resist. A skilled hypnotist reframes it or uses another test.
- Fast does not mean better. There is no good evidence that the method of induction changes therapeutic outcomes. It mainly changes how long you spend getting started.
- Elman’s theory is a model. The “critical faculty” is a useful teaching idea, not an established finding of neuroscience.
The bottom line
The Elman induction endures because it is practical. It is a reliable way of getting many clients into a deep, testable state quickly.
Next in the series: The Esdaile State: Inside the “Hypnotic Coma”
This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Hypnotic inductions should be learned through proper training.