Karl Smith, an international hypnotist based in the UK, has a rich and varied background. Before embarking on his hypnotism career, Karl served 12 years in the British Army, experiencing an array of locations—both breathtaking and challenging—that most travelers would never encounter. Today, he operates on a global stage, leveraging his diverse experiences to connect with people across the world through the art of hypnosis.
In this episode Karl Smith shares his philosophy on the importance of passion over profit in the therapy profession, his advocacy for using technology to reach a global audience, and the unique approach of "content free" hypnosis. He challenges traditional hypnotherapy techniques, emphasising client-centered, open methodologies that focus on emotions, sensations, and subconscious revelations.
We also delve into Karl's personal experiences, including overcoming the mental and physical aftermath of severe trauma, and how these experiences have shaped his approach to helping others. Karl’s candid discussions about the barriers he faced in promoting hypnosis, particularly within government and corporate sectors, highlight the need for rebranding and educating the public about the true nature and benefits of hypnosis.
Get ready to uncover the profound impact of hypnotherapy, the importance of creating memorable client experiences, and learn how Karl's innovative methods are making a difference globally.
https://hypnoticmasterminds.co.uk
Music Used is by:
https://soundcloud.com/ashamaluevmusic2/my-world?in=ashamaluevmusic2/sets/piano-music
Hi there, thanks for listening and please like this podcast where you listen to your podcasts.
The European Association of Professional Hypnotherapists is a group of like-minded hypnotherapists who are accredited professionals in their field. Many of our therapists have many many years of experience behind them which means you are probably in the best possible hands, available to you.
Why not pop on over to eaph.ie and choose the hypnotherapist that suits you. Many provide online hypnotherapy. eaph.ie
We welcome feedback on your listening experience at eaph.ie
Karl Smith, an international hypnotist based in the UK, has a rich and varied background. Before embarking on his hypnotism career, Karl served 12 years in the British Army, experiencing an array of locations—both breathtaking and challenging—that most travelers would never encounter. Today, he operates on a global stage, leveraging his diverse experiences to connect with people across the world through the art of hypnosis.
In this episode Karl Smith shares his philosophy on the importance of passion over profit in the therapy profession, his advocacy for using technology to reach a global audience, and the unique approach of "content free" hypnosis. He challenges traditional hypnotherapy techniques, emphasising client-centered, open methodologies that focus on emotions, sensations, and subconscious revelations.
We also delve into Karl's personal experiences, including overcoming the mental and physical aftermath of severe trauma, and how these experiences have shaped his approach to helping others. Karl’s candid discussions about the barriers he faced in promoting hypnosis, particularly within government and corporate sectors, highlight the need for rebranding and educating the public about the true nature and benefits of hypnosis.
Get ready to uncover the profound impact of hypnotherapy, the importance of creating memorable client experiences, and learn how Karl's innovative methods are making a difference globally.
https://hypnoticmasterminds.co.uk
Music Used is by:
https://soundcloud.com/ashamaluevmusic2/my-world?in=ashamaluevmusic2/sets/piano-music
Hi there, thanks for listening and please like this podcast where you listen to your podcasts.
The European Association of Professional Hypnotherapists is a group of like-minded hypnotherapists who are accredited professionals in their field. Many of our therapists have many many years of experience behind them which means you are probably in the best possible hands, available to you.
Why not pop on over to eaph.ie and choose the hypnotherapist that suits you. Many provide online hypnotherapy. eaph.ie
We welcome feedback on your listening experience at eaph.ie
Aidan Noone [00:00:03]:
Carl Smith, welcome to the Professional Hypnotherapist podcast. Hello.
Karl Smith [00:00:09]:
How are we?
Aidan Noone [00:00:10]:
Carl, you have the reputation of being a very practical down to earth, guy. But in at the same time, I would probably describe you as 1 of hypnotherapist's gentlemen. But before we get to that, who is Karl Smith?
Karl Smith [00:00:26]:
So thanks very much for having me on, and, hello to everybody. For those people who haven't bumped into me before, my name's Karl Smith. I'm based over in the UK. But I tend to, don't see myself as a UK hypnotist. I'm more of a international hypnotist. I work all over the world. The long story short about condensing Karl Smith is is that I served 12 years in the British Army, went to all the places that your holiday representative definitely won't send you to. I've been to some beautiful places and some horrendous places.
Karl Smith [00:00:55]:
I've seen the best and the worst of humanity during that during that time. I did the 12 years and I've had enough of seeing things that, you know, that nobody should really go through. And give me 12 years. I was in Iraq on a Monday. It was preplanned, by the way. I need to let people know that this has been a year long process. But to give people an idea on a Monday, I was near racket in Qazara and Basra. And then on Thursday, I was flown back to the UK.
Karl Smith [00:01:21]:
I did kitted on the Friday. And then on the Sunday, I joined the police. So and that that that comes in really important later on because of my experience with post with trauma. So I did 12 years. And then, I and, obviously, I joined the police in the Sunday side. No time whatsoever to decompress and joined a UK police force and then went into counterterrorism, firearms, counterterrorism, policing, all of that type of stuff over in the UK. Then I got heavily involved in what's called post incident. So if ever you see a, an incident in the United Kingdom that involves either shootings, death in custody, taser, road traffic collisions.
Karl Smith [00:02:04]:
I'm still heavily involved in all of that. So that's called post incident management. And, yes, I I was dealing with all of that. And I still do to this day, even though I'm not in the job, job in technical work for police, even though I'm not in the place, I still work for charities in the background that support those people that have been through those processes. But I did another 12 years in the place. But during my time in the place, unfortunately, I got run over by a drink driver DUI for those in the Americas, a DUI or a drunk driver, drink driver. He reversed over me, drove over me, broke my legs, broke my arms, done some damage to my back, fractured my cheekbone, fractured my skull, left me in a really bad way. I did I I so, you know, after all my all those times have been been, you know, in dangerous scenarios, the when I got run over, I was actually in my own house.
Karl Smith [00:02:57]:
He actually went through the front of our house and into the into our next door neighbor's house. So I'd been to all of these worn torn places, but they actually get run over in my own front room, which is quite really. But, so, so yeah, so, I went on the steady recovery of trying to fix my body and when my body fixed, that was really good. You know, my body, healed, you know, in, and to this day, I've still got, you know, that was 2, 006. And so to this day, I've still got a problem with my gillies, but the problem that, but to be honest, it's workable. But the, the the problem that came was when I was, physically injured on and some some of the listeners will understand this. When I was physically injured, I was put on a drug called tramadol, which is a high level pain killer. Zoned you out.
Karl Smith [00:03:45]:
Completely zoned you out. What what happened was is that the physical pain, it sort itself out. The physical part of me for sort of suffer. But the tramadol, it kept down what we would then now call because post trauma is now a very fashionable word to use. Back then in 2006, even though it's not that long ago, it wasn't that fashionable. Post trauma, roughly around about then, you know, it it was being subdued by the drugs. As I started to peel off of the drugs because of that, then that's when the trauma kicked in. And then all of a sudden, I started using Jack Daniels and more tramadol to keep the naughty noises down.
Karl Smith [00:04:24]:
So in in a nutshell, in a few moments that condenses the best part of 24 years of service in the military and in the police. But I thoroughly enjoyed myself. And and I have to say that if I hadn't have been run over that day, I probably wouldn't be sat here now and traveling the world and do what I do, you know? So I always and the 1 message I do give to listeners is that I firmly believe that that day, even though it was the worst day of my life, became the best day of my life. So, you know, that that's that's my storyline. That's where I came from. I came from, I'm not when, when I'm working with trauma and I'm working with, because I predominantly work with post trauma, especially those in the military and emergency services because that's my background. But when I when I'm dealing with it, I'm coming from a point of view, coming back to what you say about being just pragmatic and just getting on with it. That's what those people are.
Karl Smith [00:05:19]:
Yeah. They're not interested. And I think I think you heard me when we were talking in when I was in Dublin. People were not interested in my qualifications. And I know this to some people, it's very important. And and and I want to get people to understand getting properly qualified is very, very important. But your client getting that skill set off of a good trainer is really important. Yeah.
Karl Smith [00:05:40]:
But my clients are not interested in that. They're interested. Can you do it? And that's where where where I kick in. That's where I am. I'm very hands on very pragmatic, very much. I take away the science. I know some people love the science and they love to spout out big words, but, and talk about this enzyme and that protein causes this synapses, but your client's not interested. They want to know, can you do it? That's the point.
Karl Smith [00:06:05]:
You know?
Aidan Noone [00:06:06]:
Exactly. And it's it's about problem solving.
Karl Smith [00:06:09]:
Yeah. Yeah.
Aidan Noone [00:06:10]:
You know? And and, you know, easing the pain and obvious or or hopefully getting rid of the pain.
Karl Smith [00:06:17]:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean yeah. I mean, I think that that is quite it's quite interesting because I did a session last week. And but where I started off on 1 track doing 1 thing, at the end of the session, I realized that I've done phantom limb pain by accident. We didn't realize that via Zoom, this guy was, was actually he came to me for trauma, but he failed to mention on the Zoom session that he didn't have any legs.
Aidan Noone [00:06:42]:
Right.
Karl Smith [00:06:43]:
And at the end of it, he didn't have any he didn't have no phantom limb pain left, removed all by accident. So, you know, it's those it's those powerful moments there that that that I love. That's the bit there. That that that's what makes me tick. I love that bit there.
Aidan Noone [00:06:56]:
Yeah. And as I say, we're problem solving. But you yourself, you had a lot of, issues, as a result of the trauma. So what happened? How did you solve those? Why why go to hypnotherapy?
Karl Smith [00:07:10]:
So, the police force I was in at the time was very was I mean, we we have to go back. It's very fashionable now. Mental health is a fashionable thing. Either to have mental health issues or to be a mental health practitioner is very fashionable. And for some people that have been in this I mean, I've been in this in this for 15 years now. I've been doing this 15 years, not as long as anybody. But even still, I remember when it wasn't fashionable to do this. And, so the police force I was in wasn't really geared up.
Karl Smith [00:07:41]:
They were like, oh, we've got some counseling services over there. So they sent me on a telephone, counseling service. And it's really important that I identify why and how I got here when one's so passionate And whatever I say has got nothing to do with CBT or counseling per se, because they have got an important role. They're just not for everybody. But the counseling element was forced down my neck. Oh, you have to go to counseling. You have to go to counseling. That is the only thing that will work.
Karl Smith [00:08:06]:
Counseling is the only thing that will work. So they ran that down, Dominik. That didn't work. Then they sent me to cognitive behavioral therapy or in and that didn't work. That, in fact, I have to say, CBT made me worse. And for those people that are listening, I'm not knocking, by the way. I'm just really right now. I'm not knocking that there are some brilliant practitioners out there in counseling and CBT.
Karl Smith [00:08:29]:
And I'm not saying that that they don't work. I'm just saying that they are not a 1 size fits all. And that's what we tend to find with with organizations. They try to push it. So coming back on track, I had this hypnosis. I'm sorry. I had the counseling. I had the CBT, and they made me suicidal.
Karl Smith [00:08:48]:
And what happened was is that I tried taking my life 1 night. I tried jumping off of a there's a very large bridge down from here about a 300 foot drop. And, I decided to throw myself over the side of it with a load of tramadol and Jack Daniels in it. But when I jumped up, when I went over the side, I landed on the only part that scaffolding on it. Can you believe it? Anyway, so I landed on that, and then I was grabbed dragged over the side by 2 colleagues. And my colleagues at the time, police officers realized how much trouble I was in. So they informed a police officer that did NLP and hypnosis. And it was only because of that night that hypnosis and NLP got involved.
Karl Smith [00:09:26]:
And he came along and he said, right, Let's have a look and see if hypnosis, is is any good to you. And I was like, what? I'm from a place called Great Yarmouth, which used to be the 2nd largest holiday resort in Great Britain on the East Coast. Lovely part you know, beautiful north of Bronx, all that type of stuff. But my record my the and this is really important that people understand this is that is that my only point of reference to hypnosis was was a stage hypnotist in great armors because that's what it was. But Ben Ben came along and he said, no, no, no, no. And he educated me. And I'm really, really, really important you understand your listeners understand this, that you educate your clients on what you do because they will have that frame mind that that frame set of, oh, you know, he's gonna make me do something stupid. And people will do that still to this day.
Karl Smith [00:10:19]:
And, you know, it's about education. And Ben educated me about hypnosis and he said, hey, let's have a go at it. And he did it. And in that first, I would say, 30 seconds, I would say coming back to what I said at the beginning about the compression, about me not decompressing when I came back from Iraq. Came out and it came out like a thunderbolt. And I mean, I physically felt it. I physically and emotionally had it come through my body. And I was like, what's that? And it was nothing I'd ever experienced before in my life.
Karl Smith [00:10:53]:
I said, what the what the fuck? What fucking I'm jabbed just up? And then he went, well, your body's just letting go of all the pressure and attention. Yeah. And when when I talk about hypnosis nowadays, I always talk about it as though we are a big pressure cooker. And it always takes me back to that first ever session. Whenever I talk about it, it always takes me back to that. Keeps me grounded in some way. Some people may not think that, but I am very grounded when it comes to it, in the way that, the, the pressure cooker that day, it felt like somebody grabbed the valve and gone. Yeah.
Karl Smith [00:11:27]:
And that, that, that experience, that, that thing that happened that day, whatever that was, was the catalyst for an animal being unleashed. And that was that's where I get my my passion, my drive, and, you know, and my love for this profession, really, you know, and, and that's what, that's why I get to do a lot of things. And, and that's where, that's how it all came about. And I can't I can't get stressed enough to some of your viewers and some of the people out there. I'm very heavy on YouTube, probably 1 of the most heaviest people apart from David Schneider in in our in our profession on being on YouTube all the time. And it's not just about sales. Let's be honest about it. Yes.
Karl Smith [00:12:10]:
It is about sales and keeping myself in the forefront. But actually, part of me, it's about educating the public on what we do. Yes. I'm promoting a product. I'm a business person 1st. I'm a marketeer. 2nd, I'm a hypnotherapist. 3rd.
Karl Smith [00:12:25]:
But on the same token, getting that message across and showing muggles, let's say muggles, people who have no idea about what we do, they don't understand our magic. They they don't have that skill set. It's about me educating people. So when people say to me, oh, you know, I don't believe in that hypnosis. The first thing I do is go, well, there's over 750 videos there for you to go watch. Watch. You know? You know, 750 people can't be lying to you. Do you know? And it's it's that that part there.
Karl Smith [00:12:53]:
And that's the bit where I get the energy. That's where I get the, you know, educating people about how great this is because what you have to be an ambassador. A lot of people forget that. I am an ambassador in some ways, not just for post trauma, relieving post trauma, but for hypnosis itself. Yeah. And and if some of our if some of the therapists stop chasing techniques and started educating and doing things, I think that they would be far more, that they get they get more business for starters because they're educating the mass, you know, instead of a minority. So that's where it is. That's where the driver comes from.
Karl Smith [00:13:31]:
That's where I am. That's where I sit.
Aidan Noone [00:13:34]:
Very interesting. Now you you mentioned you're obviously you're you're an X Force guy and you've done a lot of work with, you know, military police, etcetera. What is the perception in terms of, you know, breaking down that barrier? Or or indeed, is there a barrier when you mentioned the word hypnosis when it comes to working with, you know, government agencies and such? What's your experience of that?
Karl Smith [00:14:00]:
Yeah. So it's a big thing. So I I was classed up the secret level. And in the secret, what's called DV vetting in the United Kingdom, what's called developed vetting is, 1 of the processes you go through, you have to tell them everything about everything. And when, I mean, everything, you tell them everything about your lifestyle. And they go through everything. They go through your phone, they go through your internet history. They get, they, it goes down to nano stuff.
Karl Smith [00:14:24]:
And part of being DV vetted is you can't be hypnotized. So the environment I used to come from the secret background that I was from that sounds really like double 0 7, but actually, it just meant that I was near things or could hear things that could, you know, potentially cause damage to country or governments or whatever. But anyway, the the point being is is that so in that environment there, I was very limited. When when I went to police forces, they embraced it. When I went to ambulance services, they embraced it. When I went to fire, they were embraced it as well because they didn't have that certain level of security vetting. But after a while, we started to realize that we didn't call it hypnosis. That was 1 key thing.
Karl Smith [00:15:10]:
Not calling it hypnosis does get you a lot of things. Now, I picked up a government I picked up government contracts to, with my mental welfare pack. What what we did there is, is that I have my hypnotic masterminds, which is my hypnosis group, my hypnosis thing. And then why then is our another thing called the mental welfare coach. The mental welfare coach was born out of not using the word hypnosis. Believe it or not, the mental welfare coach is actually the same products as I sell in hypnosis just repackaged differently, except there's no hypnosis in there. All the paperwork's been changed. Everything's been changed.
Karl Smith [00:15:51]:
Because when I picked up the the government contracts to go to, like, Dublin, I did the, I went to Dublin. I've been to Shannon to go deliver stuff over there as well. I've been to Belfast as well. I've been all over Europe delivering it. The first when I mentioned hypnosis, they shut the door. And 1 of I I was very lucky because I knew somebody that went, you know why, don't you? And I said, no. And they said, because you've used the word hypnosis. When we changed it, that's when it opened the floodgates.
Karl Smith [00:16:19]:
Sometimes you have to tweak yourself. Sometimes you have to change what you're doing to fit what it is. And the mental welfare coach itself was born out of that because governments do not like the word hypnosis. And police forces embraced it more, so did fire, so did Amber. And actually, when I did that, it then opened up corridors for for, like, training Hong Kong police, New York police, LAPD, all of that, and fire departments all over the world. And going on presentations, the 911, the 911, what is the name of it? Right. So the firefighters, the police, everyone that was there, the first responders. So I've done presentations for them before.
Karl Smith [00:16:58]:
And, you know, so sometimes the word hypnosis can be a powerful tool. And then on the other hand, it can absolutely hamstring it. It can really hamstring it. And it depends where you are really. I mean, I'm, you know, I'm looking at governmental massive corporate organizations that don't want that word. The other thing as well is cultural, cultural. In America and Canada, they don't care. They really don't care because a cultural thing is that as they grow up, they are brought up with hypnosis, school proms, and everything like that.
Karl Smith [00:17:34]:
Whereas over this side of the pond, we're very much still cautious about it. It's not in our forefront. It's not in front of our mind.
Aidan Noone [00:17:43]:
Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. Now in your work, which is quite comprehensive, you you do what what might be called, content free, hypnosis. Tell us about that.
Karl Smith [00:17:58]:
So content free hypnosis is is technically right. I'm gonna I need to explain it properly, and then it then it'll make sense. I don't do, consultations the usual way that some people would do them. I do not sit my clients down and I do not ask them what they think what they think. And that's very important what they think the problem is. Because fundamentally, whether we like it or not, the issue is never the issue. If somebody comes to you with, if somebody comes to you with, with anxiety, it's not actually anxiety that the the problem is. It's something that's causing it.
Karl Smith [00:18:41]:
So the issue Exemplify. Yeah. Right. So it's the same same same thinking as weight loss. Sorry. Eating food, you know, in the weight loss and stop smoking. Cigarettes are not the problem. You know, it's something else that's the issue in the background.
Karl Smith [00:18:55]:
It's not the cigarettes. It's the problem in the background. It's not the food that's the problem. It's the problem in the background. So that's where they, you know, where where they and III I'm not the first, you know, first person to talk about the issue is never the issue. So I work about work about the mindset, the issue is never the issue. And also coming back to what I said previously about decompression. I firmly believe that trauma is an accumulation of stress, not a single point.
Karl Smith [00:19:21]:
I firmly believe that my I believe that my car accident was not the cause of trauma in my life. It was the catalyst my body to go, I've had enough. I've had enough of this. I can't, I can't do it anymore. So I don't, I don't go I used to many years ago go for the I've got, I've got a fear of spiders. You've come out some fandangly little technique and fan dabbydoes it away. My objective is to deal with the whole lot in the background rather than the 1 thing. Right? So content free hypnosis.
Karl Smith [00:19:58]:
If you imagine your body's like a big pressure cooker, we've got the fight flight freeze at the bottom. Great stuff. Fight flight freeze. Fight, we firmly we we verbally or physically fight things. Flight, we run away. Freeze, we curl into a ball and hope it disappears. Fawn, I don't bother with. And just bear bear in mind, I'm talk if I talk to you, I'm talking to you as a client, so I'm trying to simplify things so they understand it.
Karl Smith [00:20:19]:
The so we've got the pressure cooker. When your client comes in and they verbalize and they think and they think they know what it is, it's very much not the thing. My job is to use the subconscious, unconscious monkey brain, whatever you want to call it this week and ask it directly. What do you think the problem is or what is the problem? So when I'm working content free, what the only thing that I will ever ask people are hypnosis contraindications, and this is vitally important. When I say I don't do a consultation, the only consultation I do is to find out if somebody's schizophrenic, bipolar, personality disorders, narcolepsy, any psychosis issues or anything of serious ilk like that. That's the only consultation I do. The next phase is to drop somebody into hypnosis and then literally allow their subconscious unconscious to relieve it. Now, the important point is, is that my talk about the pressure cooker is built into the pre talk the preamble before.
Karl Smith [00:21:19]:
So already I've given a pre suggestion that they're going to act like a pressure cooker. When I'm working content free, it allows the subconscious, unconscious unconscious monkey brain to do whatever it wants to do, relate to let go of what it knows is the problem, not what we're thinking the problem is. And that is where that's where I'm getting all of my results. All of my results are content free. The moment I asked, I let people have a cathartic 5 minute release if they need to. But I don't sit there for long because I know for a fact that 99% of what's coming out of that client's mouth is gonna be bullshit. It's just it's not their fault. They're trying to fathom it out.
Karl Smith [00:21:57]:
They're trying to figure out where they're going. And it's all well and good them saying, I've got anxiety and I've got this and I've got that. That's brilliant. Gives me a a clear line of direction. But it I actually and I I will say out loud, I actually do fucking ignore it. I really do ignore what's going on. Because once I've got them into hypnosis, and I open up that cabin, the subconscious unconscious will just throw things out. And it's it's really important that people understand that when people come in, especially on my sessions, they'll be sitting there going, where did that come from? That happened nearly 30 years ago.
Karl Smith [00:22:30]:
I didn't even think of that because that whatever that is that's been compressed inside there, they probably can't verbalize it. They probably haven't got the system to to bring it to the forefront. And it's probably been negated and pushed to the back. But actually it was causing a fundamental problem with the fight flight freeze. So working content free is so much better. And the other benefit for it as well, but predominantly when I'm working with military and emergency services personnel. When when I first came back from, Kosovo in 1999, which was ethnic cleansing on a mass scale that I've never seen before. When we came back, if you'd have said to me, Carl, can you explain to me how it felt standard? I'm not going to do it because you get vicarious trauma, but you can I can impart in vicarious trauma by talking about certain things that I've seen in weeks, which is quite important I have to keep in mind is that is that if somebody said, tell me about that and tell me about how it felt when you saw this? Yeah.
Karl Smith [00:23:31]:
That was trauma. You you I you got I could smell it. I could taste it. I could hear it. I could everything was overwhelming. And I and when when I went to counseling in the CBT, they did the same thing with me. They did identically the same thing. You know, tell me what it was like there.
Karl Smith [00:23:50]:
Explain how you felt. Why don't why do we explain that? And 1 of the other things as well, let me just come back to this, is that during 1 of my counseling sessions after the car accident, 1 of the accounts that said to me, how did it feel to get run over? Nobody ever wants to go through telling anyone that. With content free, I don't need to go through any of the historical past. I don't have to get them to regurgitate, spit out or anything like that because it comes up as a metaphor, as a journey. And if you look at it as that pressure cooker, it's just some of that stuff that's coming out. That's how content free works. It's and and when when we look at I developed a system called, emotional detox, anyone can go watch it. It's on it's on YouTube.
Karl Smith [00:24:34]:
Go watch my feelings, images, thoughts, emotions, sensations. I think you were there when I did a demo in in Dublin. And and that there, you know, letting go of feelings, images, thoughts, emotions, and sensations held onto over the past few weeks, past months, past years. It allows it's so ambiguous that the subconscious goes, oh, you want me to do that, do you? And it lets go of however it feels. And I've I've I the reason that I came about that is is actually right down to Dave Elman. Right? And, well, not actually Dave Ellman, but, Cheryl Ellman and Larry Ellman.
Aidan Noone [00:25:08]:
Yeah.
Karl Smith [00:25:08]:
And I love them to bits. I and if Sheryl ever listens to this, she knows she knows what she's she's like a mom to me. I know Sheryl very, very, very well. I've spent lots of time all over the world with Larry and Sheryl, and I love them dearly. But 1 day Sheryl did something in the United Kingdom that made me go, this this isn't right. This isn't right. Which sent me down a path of going content free. She said to me, just imagine you're on a beach.
Karl Smith [00:25:33]:
Just imagine you're on a beach. And I was going, can't get it. I I just can't get it. Just imagine you've got the sand between your feet. Well, I come back to when I was born in Great Yammer. I lived on the beach all my life. And there's 1 thing I can't stand is a fucking beach. I can't stand the sand in my sandwiches, in my toes, in my ice cream.
Karl Smith [00:25:50]:
I can't stand it. Right? So what made and it wasn't Sheryl's fault, but Sheryl was a catalyst to a good thing. I'm not sitting here banging Sean. But what happened was that she started a process that day of me going, this isn't working for me. Why is it not working for me? Is it me? Am I am I stupid? Am I fucking, you know, am I wrong? Can I not do this? The night before, you know, I'm on the trainer trainers package with them in Denmark. And I'm going, what? Why? Why is this not working? And I was just thinking she's not hitting my buttons. She's not doing it. You know, this this is a way that's been done for years years years years years, and they're teaching it that way.
Karl Smith [00:26:26]:
Love them to bits. Works a treat for a lot of people, but not everybody. No. When I introduce the feelings, the image, go to somewhere that allows you to go wherever you want to go. At at the start of my process, go to a mystical place, a magical place, a powerful place. That opens up the imagination. We are hypnotists. We work within the realms of imagination.
Karl Smith [00:26:49]:
So let's fire up the imagination. Let's open up the imagination. Go to a mystical place, a magical place, a powerful place, not a beach, not a wood. Let's go somewhere where you want to go. Funny funny enough, when I when I started playing around with this, I started realized that my favorite place is somewhere where I'm from, and it's not too far. It's only about it actually. It's a lighthouse where I'm from in Goldston in Great Yarmouth. I don't know why, but I seem to end up at that bloody lighthouse.
Karl Smith [00:27:19]:
And if I go into hypnosis but I would have never known that if I haven't had gone down this being ambiguous route. And that's where it really started. And then when I started pulling that apart and then started going, well, hang on a minute. What we're looking at? We're looking at feelings. We're looking at images. We're gonna thoughts, looking at emotions and sensations because I always go back to, whenever I go into hypnosis, no release, I've I'm very kinesthetic. I feel it. I don't know what it is.
Karl Smith [00:27:46]:
I just know something's happening. So when I put that feelings, images, thoughts, emotions, sensations together, but actually it wasn't in that order, I then realized it was fights for life. And I know it's not spelled right, but it's still fights, which is quite a nice little acronym to remember for the fights in life. Let go of any of those fights, the feelings, the images, the thoughts, the emotions, sensations. And when you do that and you add that ambiguity, you add that open up the imagination, then add a little bit of let go of these feelings, images, thoughts, emotions, sensations that you've held on to over the past few weeks, the past few months, the past few years. When you add those 3 together, you are you have a very special moment where the client is doing what they want to do, how they choose to do it on their terms and allowing to let go of what they want to at that moment in time, rather than being prescriptive and trying to force them to do something that may not well be the right way. So I came away from traditional hypnotherapy and hypnosis. I came away from that traditional stuff.
Karl Smith [00:28:48]:
And you, you know, I'm very vocal on on on hypnosis scripts. Most people know that that I think they're a cop out. I think that at the end of the day, you know, a script is designed for 1 person, a therapist, not it doesn't matter how much you try to engineer it. It is designed for the therapist. And when you listen to it, what gives people structure, the therapist structure. It gives people words, the therapist words. And that's where I sit with that. When when you actually simplify hypnosis, which hypnosis is, it is very simple, made hard by idiots.
Karl Smith [00:29:20]:
When you simplify hypnosis, it actually becomes more powerful. It's when the idiot to trying to market something. And and I've got a brand new technique this week. Well, you know, as well as I do, Ada. You you know, as well as I do, there is nothing new in this profession. Everything's regurgitated. Everything's come round and everything's fired up. You know, it's all come from there.
Karl Smith [00:29:42]:
And I would strongly suggest that a lot of my work comes from Eric Zonian, Elleman Yeah. And a mash of shit from where I've learned around the world. But on the same token, it's about letting the client dictate the scenario, not me trying to force feed them. And that's what I'm about scripts. When you sit there doing this, you're not reading. If you're reading a piece of paper, you're not reading the client. It's as simple as that. So that Yeah.
Karl Smith [00:30:07]:
So that that's why when people see me go on 1, it's because you're not you're not advertising yourself. You're not advertising the profession as well as you could do. And your trainers have let you down. And they've some we have to be honest. There's unscrupulous bastards out there. They don't give a shit. They're just after your money. They wanna cane people, and they just wanna take their money and run.
Karl Smith [00:30:27]:
We know that. We that that's every profession. We know that in this profession as well. And I come from a point of being passionate about what we do when it comes back to that ambassadorial role. So when I see people, not not the students, but when I see trainers fucking up for everybody else, that's when I get upset because this is a powerful tool. This saved my life. Hypnosis saved my life. I am 1 of those people who will stand on a hilltop and say that hypnosis is the best thing since sliced bread.
Karl Smith [00:30:54]:
But when you see people that are degradating and they're taking it apart and ruining it just for financial gain, I get a little bit arcy about it because there's thousands of lives that could be saved. There's thousands of people that can be supported, but that but people are being trained properly initially. Yeah. That's when I start firing.
Aidan Noone [00:31:13]:
Very, very excellent points. I I love it. III agree with you. And I think it's important that, you know, anyone out there who's contemplating, you know, going to see a hypnotherapist, I think it's important that they know that they don't have necessarily or really, they shouldn't have to go go through the trauma or be retraumatized again.
Karl Smith [00:31:35]:
No. There's no necessity. Those days are over. I mean, those days died when sick man fraud, you know, he passed away, you know, Sigmund Freud and all of those type of things that don't get me wrong, you know, the foundations and they've got things there, but going through that and you don't need to. I actually found that a lot of people in the military and emergency services, you know, just having a good cathartic. Some people may not like this, but a very black or dark conversation and and and a humorizing it and turn it into we in the military and the emergency services are a way or would this not being condoned, but there is a and it's not being disrespectful to anybody that's passed away or done anything like that or been seriously injured, but there is a dark humor that flows and it is a coping mechanism. Sometimes a good cup of tea and a shits and a shits and giggle conversation can actually alleviate a lot of problems. But people don't see that as human.
Karl Smith [00:32:29]:
It's human nature. You know, in a Western world, we're we're we're we're actually, you know, crucifying people for for doing that nowadays. But even still, it was a great way of doing it. Some people may disagree, but I I know that sometimes
Aidan Noone [00:32:50]:
Yeah
Karl Smith [00:32:51]:
Yeah. Just being there and just having a conversation with me and just and I think because of my background, it's far better for me because if somebody military walks in this door now, it doesn't matter who they are, whether they were I've worked with Gardy before. I've worked with Gardy before. I've worked with Hong Kong police before. I've worked with and we all have the same sense of humor. And I go, like, oh, didn't why didn't you wanna join a proper police force? Or, you know, if a soldier walks in it. You know, the other day, there's a video, a trauma a trauma video that I did. And I all I knew is he was a cold stream guard.
Karl Smith [00:33:23]:
For those who don't know what cold stream guard is, they're the ones in the bright red with the big bear skins on the roof. They're cool. And I just sat there. I didn't even I'd I'd only known the man 45 seconds and I was already giving him shit. But the thing is that because of that mutual thing, because of that, you know, of that that that knowledge and that there I can. I know the nicknames. I know what they call the wooden tops and all that lot. And, you know, they don't like being called a donkey walloper, which is which is this is a donkey walloper is the ones you see sitting on the horses at horse guards parade.
Karl Smith [00:33:55]:
They're called donkey wallopers. And guards normally get called that. They're not. They're 2 massive different things. Yeah. Yeah. But when you sit and go, oh, so how was your donkey wallop before? They're like, I want a fucking donkey wallop there. I fucking doubt.
Karl Smith [00:34:09]:
But the the crack is there. That's that rapport building for 1 of the better word. It's that I've been in your shoes, and I know I know the language and I know the language. Same as replace fire and ammo. You know, we, you know, when you're talking like that, we will talk in acronyms. We will talk in in a different code. And when you when you breach that code, then you're in. And I I find that soon as I've breached that code, especially with military and emergency services personnel, Actually, 3 quarters of my work's done.
Aidan Noone [00:34:40]:
Yeah. So what you're reading, I suppose, what you're getting out of here is rapport, building strong rapport.
Karl Smith [00:34:46]:
Oh, massive. Yeah. Yeah. I don't necessarily need rapport, but being in that mindset of of them knowing I was 1 of them and I've come out the other side is massive.
Aidan Noone [00:34:58]:
Yeah.
Karl Smith [00:34:58]:
You know, that part of what you went through all that shit.
Aidan Noone [00:35:01]:
Yeah.
Karl Smith [00:35:02]:
And you were like me because let's get it. Let's get you know, if we look at military and emergency services as well, you know, and men. Men are the worst for it. Men are the worst. Once you show that you've got a weakness, like I showed that I became an alcoholic, I became a drug user, and I was fucking horrid to my family. I was never physically horrible, but I was fucking piece of shit. I'd spoke to them, not shit, but it wasn't Karl. It wasn't Karl at all.
Karl Smith [00:35:28]:
It was the trauma, the buildup, the frustration of fucking every that pressure cooker had built up so much that I'd become a horrible piece of work. It went to that pressure was relieved that literally that it was there. But when I show that and I talk about that, that weakness, my show about how I was down there, and you don't need the stiff upper lip, well, you know, you don't need to stiff upper lip. I mean, you you know, when when I was in the military, if you ever went to I've seen some of the worst atrocious things in my life. And the British army the British army way of dealing with it was give you a crate of lager. You know? Drink that, lads. Knock 10 buckets of fuck out of each other. When you're done, we're going out again.
Karl Smith [00:36:12]:
That's exactly what it was. You know, having that week having showing somebody weakness was you never did it. So it's very weird for me to get my head around the fact I had to show weakness to these people and educate them educate them educate them is perfectly alright. It's perfectly fine to be in a shit state. It's perfectly fine to be an alcoholic. It's perfectly fine to be a drug addict. At the moment, we can change that. We can change that.
Karl Smith [00:36:45]:
You know, there's we can't be this is nothing. There's not we can solve this. I was that. Not necessarily just in life in general, just showing people that that, you know, that that it was shit and that you can grow from it. And that's why I would say, I said at the very beginning, the worst day of my life became the best day of my life. And I've always told that story because it's really vitally important that people understand that there is light at the end of the tunnel because when you are at the bottom of the bottom of the bottom, you don't you just don't think there's any more light you just think you've been consumed by darkness. And I know what that's like, I know what it's like to be at the bottom and not know. And that's why I'm very keen on people educating people.
Karl Smith [00:37:24]:
Because there's people out there that need your listeners help, but your therapist is so that your your the people that listen to this podcast are so in so in so buried in the next new technique. Right? They're looking for the next new technique that they're not educating people about the power of what they've already got. You know, there's some therapists out there that listen to this are only 4 weeks into the game going, well, what am I gonna offer? Actually, you offer an enormous amount. You've already got a skill set more than the person that's looking for your skills. It doesn't matter. Time in service does not mean anything to me. Mhmm. You know, if you've got 2 weeks in, 3 weeks in, you still have a skill set, educate people, show people, show them what they can do, what you can do, and show them how they can come from from that as well.
Karl Smith [00:38:13]:
And I think that's vitally important. I think the other thing that I I like stressing as well is is that, especially for therapists, they love jumping. And if it here's here's a top 10 for everyone who's listening. If I was able to give a top tip to anyone is stop chasing courses, stop chasing the next new course, and stop being a master of that next new course. You know, how many times have you seen Aiden where people go on a pain relief course? They're a master in pain relief. Then the next week, they're on a weight loss cost. Then all of a sudden are a master in that. I firmly believe if you put passion before profit, you will succeed in this profession better than anything else.
Karl Smith [00:38:51]:
And what I mean by that is, is if from here, trauma, when somebody says I'm dealing with trauma and anxiety, my little ears go, boink. They go up in the air. And I'm like, yes, right. Trauma. It it I'm like a little I'm like a little spaniel that's just found a dot come up. I'm like that. I'm off all over them. And it makes me happy because I know that I'm gonna make some impact.
Karl Smith [00:39:14]:
If somebody says, oh, you've got a weight loss package coming up, I'm going, I sit there and I feel like I'm dying inside. Because my passion is with trauma. If you're if those people are listening right now or watching right now are honest with themselves, if they're really, really honest with themselves and they go back to the reason that they came into this profession, depression, anxiety, trauma, domestic violence, sexual abuse. And they're able to talk about it openly and freely without getting upset, become an ambassador for that, not the next new course. If they become an ambassador for that and tell their story, their hero's journey, They tell that journey. There is millions of people out there that have got that going on at the moment. They're at the bottom of the pile while the therapist is up here. You know, they've got that skill set.
Karl Smith [00:40:05]:
And if they tell that story and show you can survive, you can thrive, then that's where that's where where where where it all comes in. And that's where it all ties together. And, you know, and and I think the other top tip that I wanted to give people just before we go is that stop being a village idiot, be be be a global asset, not a village asshole. And what I mean by that is, is that Zoom and, Zoom and other technologies and stuff like that, get out your villages. Zoom is so powerful for me. You know, before we went on air tonight, I've been in not literally, but I've had sessions in Sweden, and Germany. And I've I've got another 1 tonight in LA. Zoom is Zoom is is is the best thing since sliced bread.
Karl Smith [00:40:50]:
I mean, you know, when we first start 15, 20 years ago, I remember when I bought a website called Skype Hypnotist, and I was doing it back then. I was doing Skype hypnosis back then. But I really do think that that therapists heavily rely on their village or their little town to give a business when it's it's a global audience.
Aidan Noone [00:41:12]:
Yes. Yes.
Karl Smith [00:41:13]:
And if you take if you take those bits, I've just given you as well about being ambassador in what you're doing and use Zoom, you'll have a global business rather than a village business. And that's when that's when it comes in. That's when the confidence kicks in. Zoom is vital, vital to everything that I do.
Aidan Noone [00:41:31]:
Yeah. You you come across, and you mentioned compassion, but you come across, as somebody as a therapist who cares. Is that what would you would you agree with that?
Karl Smith [00:41:41]:
Oh, I do. I care I care immensely about the profession, and I really do. When, you know, when people come in and they've got stuff, there's nothing better than watching people going at, you know, far, far in a better position than what they are. Yeah. And and I and I love it. And when people come in, you know, there's no 2 ways about it. Then what we do is theater. This is theater.
Karl Smith [00:42:03]:
You know, what we do is these techniques are all bullshit. They are all bullshit. Right? That and what was it Melissa Tierz once said? This shit's all made up. It is all made up. Right? You can sit there and teach people to rub the end of their nose. You can sit there and teach people to rub the end of their nose and tell them there's a meridian in there and they'll get rid of their anxiety. It's all theater. And I think that when people go out and they've had an experience, that's vitally important.
Karl Smith [00:42:28]:
When people leave me, it's an experience, not a therapy session. It's an experience. Something fucking happens. And let me come back to that first day that cargo hypnotized by Ben. Goes back to that. That moment, I sat in that chair, I felt all this shit come out of my body. And it was a physical experience. There was an experience there.
Karl Smith [00:42:48]:
So when people leave me, I love that when people sit there going, what the fuck just happened there? Because it is a massive experience. It is a let's not let's not forget what hypnosis is, belief and expectation. That's all hypnosis is. You can write it up. You can do whatever you like. You can write big books on it, but it's belief and expectation. Do they believe you and do they expect something to happen? If they believe you through my YouTube channel, they believe me? And do they expect something to happen, and it happens, it will happen. And that's 1 of the key things there.
Karl Smith [00:43:21]:
And a lot of people miss out on that they do really, really miss out on that they miss out on that. That theater. You know, if you act like a damp dish cloth in a chair, you're gonna get damp dish cloth results. That that's as simple as that. If you get out of your chair, energize yourself up and play the role because this is what it is. We're actors. Fucking whether you like it or not, we're fucking actors. It's theater.
Karl Smith [00:43:45]:
And if you add that little bit of energy, that little bit of this can happen and that can happen and that and then this. That's when the magic happens. And a lot of people are taught to sit down. This is why laying down and sitting down. Don't get me wrong. I would strongly suggest that I would strongly suggest that 70% of my clients are standing when I'm working with them, 30% are sitting. Most of my work's done stood up. Most of my work's done stood up.
Aidan Noone [00:44:12]:
The belief and expectancy, that is so, so important. Massive. And I I think that it's it's I think the onus of responsibility is upon the hypnotherapist to build that.
Karl Smith [00:44:23]:
Yeah. Yeah. And then it comes back to the education. If you look at my YouTube channel, I can guarantee you now. Right? A lot of people sit there. I don't believe in hypnosis inductions. Hypnosis inductions are just theater. They're just if my client isn't in hypnosis, by the time I get to that hypnosis induction, I've done something wrong.
Karl Smith [00:44:41]:
My pre talk and my preamble are the most important parts of hypnosis. Doing this or doing this or doing this, That's that's just theater. That's just the cherry on the cake. They're not a necessity. They're there just to add and compound the the belief the the belief and expectation that something's gonna happen. Most people believe that they should have it, but they don't really need it. If you if you do your pretalk and your preamble right, you should start to see that fascination. You should start to see them that glaze in their eyes prior to get into the to get into the induction.
Karl Smith [00:45:15]:
That's the trick that the induction is not a necessity. The amount of times that I sit there and people just sit there just looking at me because they've watched my YouTube channel. Another thing as well, talking about how powerful YouTube is, Bear in mind, you'll go to YouTube today. Every all the people that are on it is like free YouTube. They keep to be on YouTube. Yeah. The 2nd biggest search engine in the world. Not not not many therapists use it.
Karl Smith [00:45:41]:
1 of the key things is is when when people come to me, is that I send them a video. So when I go, in a moment, we're gonna go to hypnosis. There's a point I go, in a moment, we're gonna add hypnosis. And they all of a sudden, all my clients do that. I've already built it in. Yes. By the time that they come to me, they've walked in a door or they've clicked on the Zoom. They're already gone.
Karl Smith [00:46:00]:
They've already gone. Yes. I don't even have to bother. I I really, genuinely don't. And if you build that into your if you if those people are struggling with with your inductions at the moment, don't worry about the induction. It's bullshit. It's rubbish. I have done street hypnosis, stage hypnosis, and clinical hypnotherapy for want of a better word around this world in some of the most weirdest places on the planet, in Fremont Street in Las Vegas to New York to to in the middle of London to Melbourne.
Karl Smith [00:46:29]:
I've done it all. 1 of the key things is is that pretalk, that bit at the beginning, using the word hypnosis, hypnosis, hypnosis, hypnosis, hypnosis as many times as you can prior to you going like that. Because that's just bullshit. The the inductions, you know, it's it's like Maggie fingers. People say, why do you always use Maggie fingers? I don't really. It's just a tool. It's not I don't need any of this stuff anymore. I don't need any of the stiff arms.
Karl Smith [00:46:57]:
They're brilliant. A theater. They're brilliant. They they get crowds when I'm doing street and stuff, but they don't actually fulfill a purpose. They don't do anything.
Aidan Noone [00:47:04]:
Oh, not not only are you busy hypnotherapist, but you also have a very busy, hypnotherapy school and, you educate quite a lot of people. So anyone interested in in learning, the Carl Smith's method, how can they do that?
Karl Smith [00:47:19]:
So if they go to my YouTube channel, which is Hypnotic Masterminds, or they join me on Facebook on Hypnotic Masterminds, or go to the website Hypnotic Masterminds, they can get me there as well. So, yeah, so Hypnotic Masterminds, you'll get me on all of those. But for those people who wanna get a feel for content free hypnosis that we were just talking about for a better explanation and to watch me do it, there's hundreds of videos. There's hundreds of videos we're doing on there. For those people who wanna formally train with me as in come to the classroom here or or anywhere I'm I'm in the world, then go to hypnotic masterminds and you can either train online or you can come into the classroom where it is. 1 of those things where if you type in hypnotic masterminds, you'll find me.
Aidan Noone [00:48:00]:
Well, that was a fascinating talk we had, and and thank you so much for the benefit of your experience. I didn't have to do much, talking myself. I believe it is. Yeah. You've been very, forthcoming and and, imparting your knowledge and your experience and, the stories you told us, which are very, very, helpful, I'm sure, to a lot of people watching and listening. Carl Smith, thank you so much for joining me today on The Professional Hypnotherapist Podcast.
Here's a comprehensive sequence of topics covered in the text, with sub-topic bullets below each primary topic:
1. Importance of Passion Over Profit in Therapy
- Focus on trauma and anxiety
- Emphasis on being ambassadors for chosen specialties
- Avoiding constant pursuit of new courses
2. Utilizing Technology in Therapy
- Importance of reaching a global audience through platforms like Zoom
- Using YouTube to reach potential clients
3. Creating Impactful Client Experiences
- Belief and expectation in hypnotherapy
- Effective pre-talk and preamble as alternatives to traditional inductions
- Emphasizing client-centered, open approaches based on emotions and sensations
4. Content-Free Therapy
- Focusing on underlying causes rather than surface issues
- Avoiding retraumatizing clients
- Incorporating emotional detox systems
5. Challenges and Resistance in Promoting Hypnosis
- Negative experiences with traditional therapeutic methods like CBT
- Overcoming barriers in promoting hypnosis within government agencies
- Rebranding as a "mental welfare coach" to bypass resistance
6. Karl Smith's Personal Journey
- Experiences with trauma from military and police service
- Suicide attempt and subsequent challenges
- Turning to hypnosis and NLP as a last resort
- His positive transformation through hypnosis
7. Hypnosis Techniques and Education
- Dismissing significance of traditional hypnosis inductions
- Importance of pre-talk and using the term "hypnosis"
- Hypnotherapy school Hypnotic Masterminds
- Training offered through YouTube, Facebook, and website
8. Special Considerations for Military and Emergency Services Personnel
- Building rapport with shared personal experiences
- Addressing trauma without retraumatizing
9. Importance of Educating Clients and Public About Hypnosis
- Debunking misconceptions
- Empowering individuals with knowledge and skills
- Using personal vulnerability to aid others
10. Traveling and Broadening Hypnosis Practices
- Delivering presentations and training globally in locations such as:
- Dublin, Shannon, Belfast, Europe, Hong Kong, New York, LAPD
- Developing content-free hypnosis
- Demonstrations and practical sessions
11. The Role of Hypnotherapy in Treating Trauma
- Addressing trauma from personal experiences and professional background
- Emphasizing the potential of hypnosis in saving lives
- Treating specific issues like phantom limb pain
12. Educational and Training Resources
- Offering free content on YouTube
- Formal training opportunities online and in-person
13. Overcoming Trauma and Personal Growth
- The importance of showing vulnerability and personal growth
- Karl's pragmatic problem-solving approach in hypnotherapy
- Encouraging therapists to leverage existing skills