Direct Suggestion - The Forbidden Tool....Or Is It?

The "Forbidden" Tool: Why Your Hypnosis Training Lied About Direct Suggestion (And Why You Need to Reclaim It)

I know what they told you, I have been there...

Somewhere in your training, a well-meaning hypnotherapy instructor held up Milton Erickson as the god of therapy and said, "All suggestion must be permissive. It must be indirect. It must be conversational." "We don't use direct suggestion in solution focused work.

They told you that saying "See that happening now" or "That's right" was archaic, authoritarian, and would just smash against a wall of conscious resistance.

And now, you're confused.

You spend 20 minutes weaving beautiful, permissive metaphors to get a client to simply accept a new idea, all while wondering if there isn't a faster way. You're afraid to just tell the client, "That craving now gone," because it feels too... well, direct.

It’s the same confusion I see in therapists trained in Solution Focused Work. They're taught to be "collaborative" and take the "not-knowing" stance. so they become terrified of leading. They're afraid to take control, mistaking a powerful tool as a rude interruption.

So let's clear the air. The debate between indirect and direct suggestion isn't about the words. It's about "control". And your fear of one of them is limiting your practice.

Redefining Direct Suggestion: The Power of Certainty
 

Most hypnotherapists think direct suggestion is just a crude command. Wrong.

A true direct suggestion is a statement of fact delivered with absolute, unshakable conviction.

"That craving is gone."
"See that happening now."
"That's right."

Think about the Solution Focused "Miracle Question." It’s not permissive. It's not, "Would you like to maybe think about a miracle?" It’s a direct command: "Tonight whilst you sleep... a miracle happens... what will be the first things you notice?" It commands the client to bypass their problem story and start building a new reality. "See that happening now" is just the hypnotic distillation of that same principle.

Your training said this would make the conscious mind fight back. And it will... if you're asking.

See, a rookie says, "That's right... (isn't it?)" and their energy is begging for compliance. The client's mind hears the question and says, "What if it's not?"

But a master delivers "That's right" as a simple observation of reality, like saying "The sky is blue." It's not a request. It's law. It's the ultimate amplifier. When the client in trance (or in a solution focused converssation) glimpses a new, positive resource, your congruent "That's right" locks it in as fact.

It’s raw, overt authority. The conscious mind hears it, but the subconscious obeys the certainty behind it. Remember the subconscious listens to congruence, not grammar. The energy says "This is happening," and the body complies. It’s power delivered clean, no sugar-coating.

Redefining Indirect Suggestion: The Art of Camouflage
 

Now, what you were taught is the art of indirect suggestion. And it's brilliant. It’s the art of letting the mind hypnotise itself.

It's when you say, "I don't know if that heavy feeling starts in your eyelids first or if it spreads from your shoulders down..."

You're not telling them what to do. You're creating a space where their mind decides what to do, but entirely under your frame. It’s influence disguised as curiosity. It's designed to slide right past the critical factor—that conscious bouncer at the door—by looking like it's already on the VIP list.

Here’s What They Didn't Tell You

Your trainers banned the direct approach because it's easier to fail with it if you lack genuine, unshakeable confidence. It's simpler to teach a new therapist to be permissive and avoid all conflict than to teach them how to establish and hold true, benevolent authority.

It's why so many SFBT practitioners hide behind the "not-knowing" stance, using it as an excuse to never lead, when in reality, the stance is meant to be one of congruent curiosity about the client's strengths.

They taught you the seduction but not the command.

Indirect suggestion convinces the bouncer. It gets invited inside.
Direct suggestion commands the bouncer. It walks in like it owns the club.
The rookie therapist argues about which is better. The master knows you need both.

Stop Choosing. Start Integrating.

You don't have to pick a side. You use the right tool for the job, often in the same session.

You use indirect suggestion (or a great SF question) to build rapport and bypass that initial, "Am I being controlled?" suspicion. You use those artful, permissive loops to get the critical factor to step aside.

But the moment that bouncer is gone? The second they are in trance?

Why are you still whispering?

When the bouncer has stepped aside, stop trying to be clever. Walk in like you own the place and give the command.

I’ll use a firm, direct induction to seize control, usually within the first few minutes of hypnosis, then lace the trance with gentle indirect loops that deepen the compliance, "that’s right… you don’t even have to try to go deeper, your body already knows how."

You mix both like hot and cold water until the trance hits the perfect temperature. Direct gets them in, indirect keeps them there.

Here's the secret: indirect suggestion isn't weaker; it's just a different style. It's the judo throw you use when the conscious mind is pushing back—you use its own resistance to guide it. But when its guard is down, drop the fancy moves and use the direct punch.

The Bottom Line

Here's the bottom line, and it’s the secret of all great therapeutic work:

• Indirect suggestion controls perception. You use it to bypass the problem-story and get the bouncer to step aside.
• Direct suggestion controls behavior. You use it to build, amplify, and cement the solution
  
  When you can artfully control both, you don't just hypnotise people. You rewrite their reality.

Stop being afraid of a tool just because your hypnotherapy instructor didn't know how to use it. Your clients always deserve your full toolkit.