The Hypnotic Coach is an excellent book for people who want to understand the role of hypnosis in coaching.
The authors, John Koenig & David Rose, begin by explaining what coaching is, what hypnosis is, and how hypnosis can be a powerful agent of change.
Coaching is a conscious-mind process whereas hypnosis involves the subconscious or unconscious mind. As has been recognized recently by others such as Stephen Gilligan in his generative trance work, both the conscious and the unconscious have a role to play in change.
The concept of the hypnotic coach is an idea that makes a lot of sense to me. When I consider how I work with clients now, the term ‘hypnotic coach’ describes it perfectly, yet I had never considered the label before and if that is all the authors had offered, I would have been grateful.
The book offers a lot more. It is a very well written book. Part 1 examines the nature of hypnosis (including a great description of suggestibility tests and much more), explains the idea of a hypnotic coach and how such a coach can help people to achieve their goals. Part 2 explores practical examples of hypnotic coaching in action. Part 3 offers success stories, or what might be termed case studies – stories of real clients with real issues and how they received help through hypnotic coaching.
The authors are obviously highly experienced and they have made a great contribution to the field of coaching (and the profession of hypnotism) by sharing this experience. I would recommend this for any coach interested in learning about better communication with the subconscious mind, any hypnotist who wants to help people more successfully, and to any client who is curious about hypnosis.