Hypnosis and the Bar Exam

This article was circulated on a listserv to which I am a subscriber. The information is interesting and helpful and relates to my earlier posts about mediation, visualization, and stress reduction.

HERE IS THE ARTICLE:

Hypnotherapy Helped Me pass the California Bar Exam By Svenna Prado, Esq.

I passed the California Bar Exam, one of the most challenging Bar Exams in the US, on my first attempt. I had not studied law in the US at all, and am a non-native speaker who had gone to law school 12 years ago in a different country, with a completely different legal system.

Coming from Germany to the US at the age of 30 it seemed I had to start from scratch. I had learned English at school, but being able to communicate well was a different story. In Germany I worked as a judge and attorney, but while waiting for my work visa in the US, I took the time to study what I always wanted to study: the mind and how it works. I became a certified Hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner, learned Energy Psychology, Meditation and other similar techniques.

In 2006, I decided it was time to take the California Bar. Regardless of my background, I felt that I learned how to perform legal analysis in Germany well enough to take the exam here. What it came down to was studying all the different rules and definitions. This is what I did.

First, I visited one of the famous bar review classes and compiled all the rules and definitions —basically thousands of them. Four weeks prior to the exam I had not passed any of the practice essays or performance tests, and the instructor at the review class suggested it might be smarter to save myself the money and stress, since I did not have a chance of passing.

At this point I started using my Hypnosis and NLP techniques, to mentally relax and release any fear and doubt around my abilities and the exam. I dedicated most of my time to simply memorizing the rules and definitions I would need while utilizing all of my senses with Hypnosis and NLP techniques focused on test taking skills and the ability to retain and access data when needed.

On the exam, I found the multiple choice quite challenging and exhausting. I read the questions with embedded double negations a few times, and the language aspect was the worst—writing essays and performance tests for hours and having to make sure everything made sense.

I came to this conclusion: the exam is a stress test. I saw people next to me crying and losing it because their mental strength was vanishing having spent months studying and being under so much pressure. I’m happy to say, I used my little anchors and mantras and stayed sane and focused—enabling me to pass this test.

Since then, I have helped countless bar takers and law students in private sessions while working at the Hypnotherapy Clinic of the School of Healing Arts. I am the founder of a company that offers a 10-day Bar Review Preparation group class in the San Diego/Los Angeles area in July 2009 geared towards studying actual drills, rules and definitions needed to pass the California Bar Exam.

How does it work? During class we bypass the critical or “conscious mind” and tap into the resources of our subconscious mind to deeply anchor information. The subconscious mind is accessed by inducing a light and very relaxing trance, and asked to respond to playful imagery and repetitions involving all five senses. The process is unique and proven effective.

The two and a half-hour sessions are offered in the evenings, so that students can relax and decompress while reviewing the condensed rules and definitions of all 15 major subjects covered in the Bar Exam. Time is also spent working on fears, stress issues, and any subconscious blocks that can keep test takers from achieving their goal. This course is well suited for anyone taking the Bar Exam for the first time as well as repeaters. For more info call: 858-429-8492 or email info@innerchallenge.com. Check out our website: www.innerchallenge.com.

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You might also be interested in Bar Exam Mental Edge, a hypnosis-based program designed to help you pass the bar.