There are times when you may want to have honest patient feedback right from the patient’s subconscious without having the patient having to talk. This comes in handy when you want to know how a patient really feels. It makes it easier for patients to indicate when they are not comfortable. Patients otherwise may sometimes hold back from verbally expressing what they need for fear of not hurting the feelings of staff.

Ideomotor signals are fine motor movements that work subconsciously and are geared to keep us in equilibrium. For example, when you stand lots of small muscles on the front, side, and back of your legs and entire body work with tiny motions to prevent you from swaying too much or falling over. Typically one is unaware of them and they are synced with what the subconscious mind assesses as required of the situation.

Ideomotor signals can also be used to get an answer from a person’s subconscious mind—which may not necessarily be in agreement with what a person says. You may have encountered a situation where a person nods in agreement without being fully aware of this behavior, or shakes his or head while saying yes. In the same way, you can use a person’s fingers to give you answers by designating one finger as a “yes” finger and one as a “no finger.” Optionally you can also identify an “I don’t know yet finger.” Particularly when patients have to be still on an examination table it is more convenient to have a finger signal rather than head shaking or nodding.

Choose a hand that can be easily seen, is not covered by drapes, or has a pulse oximeter on a finger that would restrict motion. Simply ask the patient to indicate which is their Yes Finger. They might lift that finger, or you may notice just a little wiggle. Sometimes the movement is very subtle. Then do the same for the No Finger and, if you wish, for the I-Don’t-Know-Yet Finger. Optionally, you can reinforce the assignment of the finger by stroking it gently and lifting it to give sensory feedback to the patient.

Here is a video about how eliciting ideomotor signals looks like in practice.

Video 1.17.1  Ideomotor Signals Video

• Session 1 Segments
  • 1.1 Welcome
  • 1.2 Introduction
  • 1.3 Confidence
  • 1.4 Science and Background of Comfort Talk
  • 1.5 Experiencing Confidence and Self-Hypnosis
  • 1.6 Rapport
  • 1.7 Sensory Preferences
  • 1.8 Sensory Preferences—Eyes
  • 1.9 The Study Script
  • 1.10 Hypnoidal Language
  • 1.11 Negative Suggestions
  • 1.12 Touching
  • 1.13 Comforting Words
  • 1.14 Encouragement
  • 1.15 Frank's Method
  • 1.16 Anxiety Management
  • 1.17 Ideomotor Signals
  • 1.18 Pain Management
  • 1.19 Pitfalls
  • 1.20 Conclusion Session 1
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