As PLR therapists, we know that one induction does not fit all. Each client carries unique fears, preferences, and inner landscapes. Our role is to stay creative and flexible, offering imagery that feels safe and supportive for each person.
Here are some ways to tailor inductions to different client needs:
For Claustrophobic Clients
Avoid enclosed spaces like tunnels, elevators, or caves.
Use open, flowing imagery
for example, floating gently down a wide stream, walking through a spacious garden, or following a sunlit path.
For Hydrophobic Clients (fear of water)
:brown_square:Skip rivers, lakes, or boats.
Offer earth-based journeys walking down a soft meadow path, descending a gentle hillside, or moving along a spiral staircase with open skies above.
For Clients with Fear of Falling
Don’t use imagery of descending stairs or dropping downward.
Instead, guide them horizontally walking through a corridor of light, moving across a bridge, or drifting gently forward with a breeze.
For Clients Who Struggle With Control
:brown_square:Use choice-based imagery: “You may drift or guide yourself… you may move fast or slow.”
Reinforce empowering cues: “You are safe, in control, and can pause whenever you wish.”
For Highly Anxious Clients
Focus on soothing sensory details sounds of birds, warmth of sunlight, fragrance of flowers.
Build gradual relaxation through the body before beginning imagery, so their system feels safe to let go.
For Nyctophobic Clients (fear of darkness)
:brown_square:Avoid caves, tunnels, or nighttime imagery.
Use dawn, sunlight, lantern-lit paths, or softly glowing spaces.
For Acrophobic Clients (fear of heights)
Skip mountains, cliffs, or floating above landscapes.
Instead, guide them across level fields, peaceful temples, or gentle garden paths.
For Clients with Fear of Loneliness/Abandonment
:brown_square:Avoid placing them in isolated forests or empty landscapes.
Introduce imagery with supportive guides, companions, or animals walking beside them.
For Clients with Fear of Fire (Pyrophobia)
Skip flames, torches, or candlelight imagery.
Replace with safe light sunlight, glowing crystals, moonlight, or starlight.
For Clients with Fear of Confinement/Entrapment
:brown_square:Avoid imagery of locked doors or narrow passages.
Instead, offer gateways, breezes, and open landscapes symbolizing freedom.
For Clients with Fear of Death or Loss of Control
Avoid “crossing over” or “leaving the body” imagery.
Frame the journey as exploration opening a book of wisdom, walking a memory garden, or traveling a safe, lighted path.
The Essence:
Adapt imagery to the client’s comfort zone. Keep it safe, spacious, and flexible, so the induction itself becomes an empowering journey.
Sources
-Brian Weiss – Many Lives, Many Masters; Through Time into Healing
-Michael Newton – Journey of Souls; Destiny of Souls
-ASCH (American Society of Clinical Hypnosis) – Hypnotherapy guidelines
-IARRT (International Association for Regression Research & Therapies) – PLR standards
-Milton Erickson’s Hypnotherapy Methods – Client-centered inductions
-APA, DSM-5 – Phobia definitions & clinical insights
not everyone is same and it’s okay to improvise as it suits to client’s needs. At the end of the day it’s their choice and session, we have to customize.
