By Вen Li
Students may get better grades through self-hypnosis. Professor Dr. Kevin Alderson’s new book, Grade Power: The Complete Guide to Improving your Grades Through Self-Hypnosis gathers over 20 years of hypnotherapy experience and clinical data into a form students can easily apply.
“It’s focused on how students can use self-hypnosis to do better at school,” said Alderson. “Self-hypnosis can make it so you’re not fighting yourself, and so that you’re not torturing yourself when you study.”
Alderson said that students can use self-hypnosis to relieve stress, alter mood, reduce exam anxiety, overcome writers’ block and become motivated. By relaxing and convincing themselves of their future success, he said that students using self-hypnosis can avoid setting themselves up for failure. Alderson believes that students can improve by two letter grades using his techniques, although he admits that the book itself has not been thoroughly tested.
“There’s good documentation in the literature of the success of self-hypnosis,” he said. “It’s also based on my 22 years of practice.”
Alderson’s $21.95 book contains different techniques suited for different kinds of learners. According to Alderson, not all techniques are suited to all people. He has used similar techniques in private practice, as well as at Mount Royal College where he taught countless students and faculty the techniques of self-hypnosis now contained in his book.
Alderson demonstrated techniques hypnosis on three Applied Psychology 321 students on Wednesday. Psychology major Chrystal Szabo, who asked Alderson to do something about her exam anxiety, found the experience very relaxing but did not initially remember much of the experience, which is to be expected according to Alderson.
“At the moment I remember more,” she said 10 minutes after coming out of hypnosis. “I’m going to have a positive day, and have the ambition to do good.”
Fellow student Kevin Ruddell who was also hypnotized, had a similar experience and thinks the hypnosis techniques have merit.
“If you carefully hypnotize yourself, it will work,” he said.
One technique described by Alderson involved sandwiching studying with brief hypnosis. First, convince yourself that you will retain what you are about to study, prior to studying. After the study session, convince yourself that you have learned what you just studied.
The book also covers regular methods to achieve academic success, and is aimed at students in Grade 9 or higher.
“In addition to conventional techniques, why not access some of your subconscious mind to help you improve on exams,” said Alderson.