THE ROLE OF THE NOTATION FORM
I have found the use of the notation form invaluable to being able to assess how best to treat the client. It is important that we ask the right questions to the client. Mainly, checking if they are on any medication, especially anti-psychotic or anti-depressant medication, getting an understanding of their family history, family dynamics, living environment, their childhood history, their work history, all of which should help us to find areas of concern. We need to see if they have experienced any other therapies or counselling, and if they have, it is important to find out what they had treatment for. By using the notation form correctly we can assess their modality, the type of person the client is, and so therefore we should then be able to personalise a screed for them.
THE CONSCIOUS CRITICAL FACULTY
The conscious critical faculty is the part of our mind that is evaluating, reasoning, judging. When we drive, we are bypassing the CCF and we are operating at a sub-conscious level. In hypnotherapy we bypass the CCF.
We have a belief system. Our external beliefs relate to our environment, for example temperature, traffic storms etc. So if someone tells us the sky is green then our CCF filter rejects this statement as we know it to be untrue, based on our external beliefs.
Internal beliefs are beliefs we acquire as we grow that are associated with our personality and the belief in ourselves. They usually come from our parents, siblings, teachers and bosses. If we are led to believe that we are clever, bright and positive, then we will behave in a positive way, so if anyone says we are ‘useless’ the CCF will filter this as untrue, and of course, this can work the other way round if we are raised with a low self esteem and with insecurities, then whenever anyone tells us we are bright and clever etc, then our CCF will filter