Conscious autosuggestion

1. Introduction

Version followed: Émile Coué's own account in Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion (the English translation of La maîtrise de soi-même par l'autosuggestion consciente, Nancy, 1922; Project Gutenberg text), which includes his lecture, his written séance description and the practice instructions. Gaps are filled from C. Harry Brooks, The Practice of Autosuggestion by the Method of Émile Coué (1922; written from Brooks's visit to the Nancy clinic and introduced by Coué), and from L.B. Yeates's three-part historical reconstruction (2016). Where Coué and Charles Baudouin (Suggestion and Autosuggestion, 1920) differ, Coué is followed and the difference is named. The method is adapted here as a consensual adjunct within clinical hypnosis and psychotherapy practice by a licensed clinician; it is not a stand-alone treatment for physical disease. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks, Gutenberg; Yeates 2016 I–II]

What it is. Conscious autosuggestion is a self-administered suggestion method. A practitioner teaches it in a short sequence: an explanation of how imagination drives the body, a few demonstration "experiments" in ideomotor response, a relaxed, eyes-closed session of general and individual suggestions, and then a daily self-practice ritual. The ritual is a general formula repeated 20 times on waking and at bedtime, counted on a knotted cord, plus a rapid "it is going" procedure for pain or distress and short, worded "particular suggestions". The best-known formula is "Tous les jours, à tous points de vue, je vais de mieux en mieux" (rendered in the Gutenberg translation as "Every day, in every respect, I am getting better and better"; Brooks prints "Day by day, in every way, I'm getting better and better"). [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks, Gutenberg; Leduc extract (French formula)]

Core idea of change. Coué held that each person has a conscious and an unconscious self. The unconscious self runs bodily functions and accepts ideas without critical checking. An idea becomes active only when the person's own unconscious takes it up, so all suggestion is in the end autosuggestion; the practitioner is a teacher, "not a master". When will and imagination conflict, imagination wins, so effortful willing makes problems worse. Change comes from repeatedly and effortlessly placing a believable, positive idea in mind while relaxed and drowsy, without fighting the symptom. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Yeates 2016 I–II] Historically, Coué began with formal hypnosis (around 1886 in Troyes, then a direct-suggestion approach in Nancy). His final format was group-based: education, group suggestion and "ego-strengthening", training in self-suggested pain control, and the self-administered ritual. Yeates reports that Coué went on using hypnosis and direct suggestion in Nancy, while some secondary accounts say he moved to non-hypnotic suggestion; the sources differ here. [source: Yeates 2016 I; Wikipedia "Émile Coué" citing Yeates 2016c and Rapp 1987] [uncertain]

2. Framework

Coué did not write a phased protocol with session counts. The structure below follows the order of his séance and practice instructions. Session numbers and criteria for moving on are marked as synthesis. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. I]

Format (historical). Patients attended free group séances at Nancy. Coué gave a general talk and questioned each patient briefly. He ran demonstration experiments, gave a general suggestion with the group's eyes closed and an individual suggestion to each person, then gave instructions for home practice. Suggestions were repeated often at first and then at longer intervals "until the cure is complete". [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. I]

Clinical format (adaptation). Individual or small-group sessions of 45–60 min; typically 3–6 sessions, weekly and then fortnightly, with daily self-practice in between. [synthesis]

Phase	Goal	Content	Move on when
0. Assessment and consent [synthesis]	Find out whether the method is suitable and what it is an adjunct to	Medical assessment of any physical complaint; screening (see §4.1); collaborative goals; consent covering what will and will not happen	Medically assessed, no exclusion, consent given
1. Explanation	Give a rationale the client can accept	Imagination vs will, effort backfiring, everyday examples (§4.2)	Client can restate the idea in their own words [synthesis]
2. Preliminary experiments	Let the client experience an idea turning into movement, and "I can" undoing "I cannot"	Postural sway, hand clasp, Chevreul pendulum (§4.3–4.5)	Client has felt at least one ideomotor response and has released it themselves [synthesis]
3. Suggestion session	Relaxed, eyes-closed general and individual suggestion; alert re-awakening	§4.6–4.7	Client reports the session as tolerable or pleasant, with no adverse reaction [synthesis]
4. Self-practice training	Hand over the method	General formula ritual, particular suggestions, "it is going", task suggestions (§4.8–4.11)	Client can demonstrate the ritual correctly in session [synthesis]
5. Follow-up and fading	Consolidate gains, troubleshoot, space sessions out	Review practice; refine wording; widen sessions apart	Practice is self-sustaining; progress on goals; any medical review is in place [synthesis]

Coué's expectation was gradual improvement, not instant cure. Repetition was frequent at the start and tapered later. [source: Coué, Gutenberg]

3. Guiding principles

Imagination wins over will when they conflict. In practice: never ask the client to "try hard" to stop a symptom; change the image instead. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Coué 1912 lecture via Yeates 2016 II]
Effort backfires (Baudouin's "law of reversed effort"). In practice: watch for straining, and coach effortless, almost mechanical repetition. The term is Baudouin's; the underlying claim is Coué's. [source: Brooks ch. V; Yeates 2016 II §9.3.3]
Will is used only to direct imagination at the start. In practice: the client deliberately chooses the idea, then stops pushing. [source: Coué 1923 quoted in Yeates 2016 II]
All suggestion becomes autosuggestion. In practice: frame yourself as a teacher; the client owns the method and the credit. Coué said he had no healing power. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. I; Yeates 2016 I]
Suggestions must be acceptable to the person. In practice: avoid wording that contradicts obvious experience (e.g. "you have no pain" while in pain); set goals the client can believe. [source: Brooks chs. IV, VIII]
Positive, present-and-ongoing wording. In practice: name the healthy state, not the illness; avoid "I'd like to" or "I'll try"; describe the change as already beginning. [source: Brooks ch. VIII; Yeates 2016 II §10]
The general formula covers everything. In practice: do not put specific diagnoses into the twice-daily formula. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks & Charles 1923 via Yeates 2016 II]
Drowsy, relaxed states favour acceptance. In practice: schedule practice at waking and falling asleep, eyes closed, muscles slack (Baudouin's "outcropping" of the subconscious, as Brooks reports it). [source: Brooks chs. IV, VII]
Regularity over intensity. In practice: the twice-daily ritual is the foundation; particular suggestions are supplementary. [source: Brooks chs. VII–VIII]
Say it, then leave it alone. In practice: discourage checking for results after each repetition. [source: Brooks ch. VII]
Think of the goal reached, not the means. In practice: in task and habit work, picture the end state rather than the steps. [source: Brooks ch. VI]
Don't fight unwanted ideas. In practice: replace them rather than suppress them. [source: Brooks ch. VI; Baudouin 1920, translators' preface (archive.org)]
Language hygiene. In practice: replace "difficult", "impossible" and "I can't" with "it is easy and I can"; avoid dwelling on illness in conversation, especially around children. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. III]
Within reason and within one's power. In practice: set realistic targets and promise gradual change only. Coué declined to promise cures for some organic conditions and offered only relief and slower progression. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. I]
An adjunct to medical care, not a replacement. In practice: patients continue their medical treatment. Coué called himself "the doctor's auxiliary", and Brooks's preface calls the method supplementary to medicine. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Yeates 2016 I; Brooks preface]
Improvement does not mean the complaint was imaginary. In practice: never imply "it was all in your head". [source: Yeates 2016 II §10c]
Consent and autonomy. In practice: no suggestion is given without the client's knowledge; a client cannot be made to respond against their will. Coué observed this himself. [source: Wikipedia "Émile Coué" (secondary)] [synthesis for the consent rule]
Not followed: Coué's advice that doctors prescribe unneeded medicines to meet patients' expectations. This is deceptive and is not part of this guide. [source: Coué, Gutenberg] [synthesis]

4. Intervention inventory

The sources describe 14 procedures, listed below in the order they are used. §4.1 is a clinical preparation step added for modern practice. Example language is my own wording, labelled (illustrative), unless a short quote is cited. Coué's séance used physical touch and a "dry, imperative" tone; here touch is optional and needs explicit consent, and the tone is calm and collaborative. [source: Coué, Gutenberg] [synthesis]

4.1 Preparation, screening and consent (clinical frame)

Purpose / when: Before any demonstration or suggestion session. It sets the method up as a consensual adjunct and screens out people at risk.
Steps:
1. Confirm that any physical complaint has been medically assessed and that medical treatment continues. Coué told patients to keep their medical treatment, and Brooks presents the method as supplementary. Do not use "it is going" on new, severe, changing or undiagnosed pain until it has been assessed. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks preface] [synthesis for the pain rule]
2. Screen. Relative contraindications named in the sources: dissociative disorder, history of abuse, history of major trauma [source: fpnotebook "Hypnosis"]. Gruzelier's review reports that adverse effects of hypnosis are common but mostly short-lived (e.g. headache). Rarer serious reactions include spontaneous dissociative episodes, stupor, seizure and resurfacing of trauma memories, mostly with age regression. Two first-episode psychoses followed hypnosis, so vulnerable people need screening. Higher hypnotisability and strong personal involvement raised risk [source: Gruzelier, Goldsmiths record]. Added [synthesis]: current psychosis or mania; severe depression with suicidal ideation, where a cheerful formula can feel invalidating (assess risk first by standard practice); OCD or scrupulosity, where the knotted-cord ritual can turn into a compulsion; epilepsy (seizure noted above); and, for the standing sway tests, fall risk (balance disorder, vertigo, osteoporosis, pregnancy, frailty, recent injury).
3. Address misconceptions: the client stays in control, response cannot be forced, and suggestion does not uncover hidden truths. [source: fpnotebook "Hypnosis"; Coué's observation that people cannot be hypnotised against their will, Wikipedia (secondary)]
4. Agree goals in positive terms, ones the client can believe (§4.9 wording rules). [source: Brooks ch. VIII]
5. Obtain informed consent: what each step involves, that standing sway tests involve leaning into the clinician's support, that touch is optional, that any experiment can be stopped, and that this is not memory work. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "This is a way of training your own imagination to work for you rather than against you. I'll show you a couple of small experiments, then teach you a short routine you do on your own. Nothing happens that you don't agree to, and you can stop any part of it."
Watch for: Hopes of a cure for a medical illness (correct this); signs of dissociation or psychosis at interview; trauma histories that might surface in eyes-closed work. Do not use the method for memory retrieval or age regression. [source: Gruzelier] [synthesis]

4.2 Explanatory talk: imagination versus will

Purpose / when: First session. Gives a rationale and lowers effortful trying.
Steps: (1) Describe the conscious and unconscious selves: the unconscious runs bodily functions and acts on the ideas it accepts. (2) Give everyday examples Coué used: walking a plank on the floor versus the same plank raised high; insomnia that gets worse the harder one tries to sleep; a name that won't come when chased; laughter that can't be stopped. (3) State the rule that when will and imagination conflict, imagination wins, and that the two working together are far stronger. (4) Say the imagination can be trained, using Coué's images of channelling a torrent or bridling a horse. Coué called his four "laws" illustrative, not mathematically exact. [source: Coué, Gutenberg]
Example language (illustrative): "Think of the last time you lay awake telling yourself to sleep. The more you pushed, the more awake you got. That's will fighting imagination, and imagination won. We're going to put the two on the same side."
Watch for: The client hearing "it's all imagination" as "it's not real". Say that real symptoms can respond to ideas without being imaginary. [source: Yeates 2016 II §10c]

4.3 Preliminary experiment: postural sway (stiff plank, falling backward, falling forward)

Purpose / when: Phase 2. Lets the client feel an idea turn into movement and shows the operator is only a guide. Only with consent and no fall risk (§4.1). [source: Coué, Gutenberg] [synthesis for the screening]
Steps (Coué's sequence, paraphrased):
1. Stiff plank: client stands upright and rigid, feet together, ankles loose "like hinges". The clinician stands behind and lets the client tip back a short way into supporting hands, to show that a stiff body pivots at the ankles.
2. Falling backward: client's eyes closed, head tilted slightly back. In Coué's version the operator's fist rests at the nape of the neck and a hand on the forehead; the client thinks "I am falling backwards"; the operator slowly withdraws the hand and fist while repeating the idea, and catches the client. The operator stands with one foot forward and one back to brace.
3. Falling forward: clinician faces the client, hands near the temples, gaze fixed on the root of the nose, and repeats that the client is tipping forward.
4. Clinical adaptation [synthesis]: use a wall, chair or mat; catch from a very small angle; ask permission before any touch, or use a no-touch version with hands held close; stop at the first sign of anxiety.
Example language (illustrative): "Let your body be stiff like a plank, ankles loose. Just think the thought 'I'm tipping back'... I'm right here and will catch you after a few centimetres."
Watch for: Fear of falling, startle, or trauma reminders from being touched or approached from behind; skip it if so. It is working if the client sways without effort and is surprised. A client who doesn't sway has not failed; move on. [synthesis]

4.4 Preliminary experiment: hand clasp ("I cannot" / "I can")

Purpose / when: Phase 2, the main demonstration. Shows that effort strengthens an opposing idea and that a changed thought undoes it. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. I]
Steps: (1) Client clasps both hands firmly, fingers interlocked, arms out. (2) Clinician asks them to think "I can't open them" while counting to three. Coué then told the subject they could not separate them; the clinical version invites the thought rather than imposing it [synthesis]. (3) Invite the client to try to pull them apart while still thinking "I can't". Brooks describes the hands locking tighter the harder the person pulls. (4) Then: think "I can", and the hands open easily. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. I] Coué presented this as the subject's own autosuggestion, "no hypnotism". [source: Coué 1923 quoted in Yeates 2016 II]
Variants Coué lists: a hand that seems stuck to a table; feeling fixed to a chair; a light pen that feels too heavy to lift; for highly responsive people, eyes that seem unable to open. Always release with "you can now". [source: Coué, Gutenberg]
Example language (illustrative): "Keep thinking 'I can't open them'... now try, while still thinking it... notice what happens. Now change the thought to 'I can', and open them."
Watch for: Always end with a full release and check that hands and eyes move freely. With a client sensitive to control or coercion, offer the Chevreul pendulum (§4.5) instead. [synthesis]

4.5 Preliminary experiment: Chevreul's pendulum

Purpose / when: A gentler ideomotor demonstration that involves no loss of balance and no touch. Brooks offers it as evidence that thought produces movement. [source: Brooks ch. VIII]
Steps (procedural detail [synthesis], since Brooks gives the demonstration and not a protocol): the client holds a small weight on a thread above a drawn line or circle, elbow resting, and simply thinks of it swinging along the line, then across, then in a circle, without deliberately moving.
Example language (illustrative): "Don't move it, just imagine it swinging along the line, and watch."
Watch for: The client deliberately moving the weight. Remind them the point is effortless thought.

4.6 General curative suggestion session

Purpose / when: Phase 3, and repeated at follow-up. Coué's core in-session suggestion. Mapped onto clinical hypnosis structure below. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. I]
Steps:
1. Preparation: client seated comfortably, eyes closed "so as not to be distracted". Coué said he would not attempt to produce hypnotic sleep. [source: Coué, Gutenberg]
2. Induction and deepening: a low, slow, monotonous voice that encourages drowsiness. There is no formal deepening in Coué's text. Optional progressive muscle relaxation [synthesis; Brooks notes relaxation before particular suggestions]. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks chs. I, VIII]
3. General suggestions: in turn, regular appetite and good digestion; normal elimination; deep, restful sleep; cheerfulness and calm; patience and self-control; organs working well; confidence; replacing "difficult" and "impossible" with the idea "it is easy and I can". [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. I]
4. Re-alerting: tell the client that on the count of three they will open their eyes feeling well, alert and in good spirits; count; check orientation. [source: Coué, Gutenberg]
5. Debrief: ask what they noticed; correct any idea that the clinician did the healing. [source: Coué/Brooks on autonomy] [synthesis for the debrief]
Example language (illustrative): "As you sit here with your eyes closed, your body can settle... from today your appetite comes at the right times, and food is digested comfortably... sleep comes easily and deeply... each day you meet things more calmly... and whatever used to seem hard, you'll find 'it is easy and I can'... In a moment I'll count to three and you'll open your eyes clear and refreshed... one, two, three."
Watch for: Drowsiness that lingers after re-alerting (repeat the re-alerting and check before the client leaves or drives); headache; emotional abreaction or dissociation (see §5). Adverse effects, if any, are usually brief. [source: Gruzelier] [synthesis]

4.7 Individual (tailored) suggestion in session

Purpose / when: Straight after the general suggestion, for each client's particular complaint. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. I]
Steps: (1) With the client's eyes still closed, describe the healthy function returning, not the disease. Coué's examples: a weak stomach regaining its strength, bile flow becoming normal, an ulcer healing over. (2) In Coué's clinic he rested a hand on the patient's head; here touch is optional and only with prior consent [synthesis]. (3) Keep it short and believable, and describe improvement as gradual. (4) Re-alert as in §4.6. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. I] Psychological targets are better suited to clinical use (calm, confidence, sleep, task approach). Physical targets are always framed as supporting ongoing medical care. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Each day you'll find yourself a little steadier when you walk into that meeting... your breathing easy, your voice your own... and that steadiness grows."
Watch for: Wording that promises outcomes outside the client's control or contradicts what their body is doing now. Shrink the claim until it is believable. [source: Brooks ch. VIII]

4.8 "I can" action exercise

Purpose / when: When a client avoids a movement or action they are physically able to do. Brooks describes Coué working with a man who could not raise his arm and a man with a tremor: first changing the thought, then having them act on "I can" at once. [source: Brooks ch. I]
Steps: (1) Get medical clearance that the action is safe [synthesis]. (2) Help the client shift from "I can't" to "I can". (3) Invite a small version of the action right away while the client thinks "I can" (e.g. lift the arm partway, take several steps, march in place). (4) Build up gradually across sessions. In Brooks's account Coué used the rapid "it is going" with stroking of the shoulder before the arm lift (§4.11). [source: Brooks ch. I]
Example language (illustrative): "Let the thought be 'I can'... and just lift it as far as is comfortable now."
Watch for: Never push through pain or a medical restriction; this is graded approach, not a challenge. Success means more range or confidence with no pain flare. [synthesis]

4.9 General formula ritual (twice-daily self-practice)

Purpose / when: The foundation of the method; taught at the end of the first suggestion session and practised daily from then on. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. VII]
Steps (Coué's instructions, paraphrased):
1. Each morning before getting up and each night after getting into bed, close the eyes, relax and settle comfortably. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. VII]
2. Recite the general formula 20 times, moving the lips and saying it aloud just loud enough to hear oneself. Count on a cord with 20 knots so counting takes no attention (Brooks compares it to rosary beads; 20 is arbitrary). [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. VII]
3. Say it simply, without effort, "like a child murmuring a nursery rhyme" (Brooks's comparison, paraphrased). Once that is natural, optionally give slight emphasis to "in every way". [source: Brooks ch. VII; Coué stresses "in every respect"]
4. Don't concentrate on the meaning and don't picture anything. If the mind wanders, let it, but keep the repetition going. [source: Brooks ch. VII; Yeates 2016 II §11]
5. Don't add specific complaints; the formula "covers everything". [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Yeates 2016 II]
6. Say it with confidence, then stop checking for results. [source: Brooks ch. VII] Version note: Baudouin advised deliberate, devout pronunciation of each word; Coué preferred the unforced, childlike manner, and that is followed here. A client may use a wording in their own language or add a religious reference (Brooks). [source: Brooks ch. VII]
Example language (illustrative, coaching the ritual): "Morning and night, eyes closed, run the cord through your fingers and murmur the phrase twenty times, one per knot. Don't think about it, don't try to feel it. Just let it run, like humming a tune."
Watch for: Effortful, emotional or analytical recitation (go back to murmuring); skipped sessions; checking whether it's working; the ritual turning anxious or compulsive (see §5). It is working if practice feels easy and automatic and the client reports small general gains (sleep, mood, confidence) over weeks. [source: Coué, Gutenberg: gradual change] [synthesis for the indicators]

4.10 Particular suggestions (self-administered)

Purpose / when: A secondary aid for a specific problem, used alongside the formula, never instead of it. [source: Brooks ch. VIII]
Steps:
1. Sit in a quiet room, eyes closed, muscles relaxed "as if for a nap". Brooks warns against long preparation routines (he names Baudouin's) because they distract from the suggestion itself. [source: Brooks ch. VIII]
2. Say the wording aloud. Rules: describe the desired state, not the ailment; no doubtful phrases ("I'd like to", "I'll try"); keep the goal within what the person can believe (Brooks's example: a deaf person should not say they hear perfectly); describe the change as starting now. [source: Brooks ch. VIII]
3. Use a three-step arc: improvement begins now, it progresses quickly, it becomes complete and lasting. In later sessions, change "from today" to "it has already begun". [source: Brooks ch. VIII]
4. Use positive presence wording ("be relaxed"), not absence wording ("don't be tense"); point toward a positive action that rules out the unwanted one. [source: Yeates 2016 II §10]
Example language (illustrative): "From today my memory is becoming clearer... it is improving quickly... and it is becoming reliable and stays that way." Later: "My memory has already begun to improve..."
Watch for: Unbelievable claims that provoke the opposite thought; wording that names the problem; clients replacing the formula with a long list of particular suggestions. [source: Brooks ch. VIII] [synthesis on the last point]

4.11 "It is going" (ça passe) for pain or distress

Purpose / when: On-the-spot relief of physical discomfort or mental distress, for complaints that have been medically assessed. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks chs. I, VIII] [synthesis for the assessment rule]
Steps (Coué's instructions, paraphrased):
1. When discomfort comes, tell yourself calmly that you won't feed it and that you'll let it go.
2. Go somewhere you can be alone if possible, sit and close your eyes.
3. Pass a hand lightly over the forehead (mental distress) or over the sore area (physical pain).
4. Repeat "it is going, it is going..." (in French, "ça passe") very quickly, moving the lips, for as long as needed. Brooks describes about 30 seconds; Coué writes that with practice relief comes in roughly 20–25 seconds.
5. When the pain eases, suggest that the relief will last and the area will return to normal; if it has only partly eased, suggest the rest will follow within minutes.
6. Repeat whenever needed. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks chs. I, VIII] In Brooks's clinic account, Coué did the rapid repetition himself while stroking the affected part, then had the patient take over. [source: Brooks ch. I]
Example language (illustrative, teaching it): "Hand over the sore spot, eyes closed, and let the words tumble out fast: 'going, going, going'... fast enough that there's no room for another thought."
Watch for: Using it to hide red-flag symptoms (chest pain, new neurological signs, worsening pain), so give clear medical-review rules [synthesis]. Repeating slowly or with strain. Disappointment if relief is only partial (use step 5's partial-relief wording). A sense of control even without full relief is a useful outcome. [synthesis]

4.12 Task and obstacle suggestions

Purpose / when: Before a task the client sees as hard, or in performance anxiety. [source: Brooks ch. VIII; Coué, Gutenberg]
Steps: (1) Close the eyes for a moment. (2) Tell yourself the task is easy, using Coué's "it is easy and I can" in place of "difficult" or "impossible". (3) Picture the task already done, not the steps or the obstacle. (4) Then start the task without deliberating. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks chs. VI, VIII]
Example language (illustrative): "Eyes closed for a moment: 'This is easy, quite easy, I can.' See it finished... now begin."
Watch for: Overconfidence about skills the client lacks. Pair it with preparation; the suggestion supports confidence, it does not replace competence. [synthesis]

4.13 Applications to sleep, fears and habits

Insomnia: relax in bed, eyes closed, and let the chosen idea (sleep coming easily) sit in mind as drowsiness arrives, rather than trying to sleep. Coué's general suggestion also covered falling asleep easily. [source: Brooks chs. I, V]
Fear and stage fright: Brooks describes fear as an expectation that brings about the failure it predicts. Use particular suggestions about calm, plus a picture of the event going well. [source: Brooks ch. VI]
Habits and cravings: fighting the craving by will makes it stronger. Instead, picture the end state (no longer needing the drink, for example) and use the formula. [source: Brooks ch. VI] For substance use, combine with standard treatment [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Instead of telling yourself not to reach for it, picture yourself next month, calm in the evening without needing it."
Watch for: Coué's and Brooks's habit and sleep advice is minimal; integrate with CBT-I or relapse-prevention protocols rather than relying on this alone. [synthesis]

4.14 Monitoring and correcting negative autosuggestion

Purpose / when: Throughout. Coué held that harmful autosuggestions made without noticing can produce illness and failure. [source: Coué, Gutenberg]
Steps: (1) Help the client notice self-talk such as "I can't", "this is impossible", "I'll never sleep". (2) Replace it with "it is easy and I can" or a fitting particular suggestion. (3) Cut down rehearsal of illness: talking about symptoms, gloomy media, gossip. Brooks warns against both callousness and morbid absorption. (4) Coué suggested that a client who slips back into old self-talk should simply admit the fault (he used "mea culpa") and carry on, rather than fight it. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. VI; Baudouin via Yeates 2016 II]
Example language (illustrative): "Notice the sentence you just used, 'I'll never manage it.' What would 'it is easy and I can' sound like here?"
Watch for: Pressure to always be positive, which suppresses legitimate grief or anger. Make clear that feelings are allowed; only the self-defeating predictions are swapped. [synthesis]

4.15 Children and families

Purpose / when: Coué's clinic (run by Mlle Kauffmant) worked with children. [source: Brooks ch. III; Yeates 2016 I]
What the sources describe: once a child can talk, they say the formula morning and night; parents model cheerfulness and avoid discouraging talk about illness in front of the child; children are encouraged rather than reproached for mistakes; teachers held short morning suggestions with the class's eyes closed. Coué and Kauffmant also had parents whisper suggestions to a child after the child had fallen asleep, from about a metre away, 15–20 times. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. III; Yeates 2016 I]
Clinical adaptation [synthesis]: do not use the sleep-whispering or classroom procedures as clinical methods. They give suggestions without the child's knowledge or agreement, which breaks the consent rule. Instead, teach an age-appropriate version of the formula and the "it is going" game with the child and parent's agreement, coach parents on encouraging language, and make sure any physical complaint is medically assessed.
Example language (illustrative, with child and parent): "Let's make it your bedtime words: you can whisper 'every day I'm getting better and better' while you count your beads."
Watch for: Parents using suggestion to override a child's real distress or to put off medical care; family conflict showing up as "the child doesn't do it". [synthesis]

5. Handling problems

Coué and Brooks say little about troubleshooting. Most of what follows is my synthesis built on their stated principles, and each item is tagged.

"It isn't working" / no change. Coué expected gradual change and said a small minority (about 3%) are hard to reach: those who cannot follow the method or don't want to. [source: Coué, Gutenberg] Response: check how the ritual is done (effortless murmuring, twice daily, not checking results), whether the goals are believable, and whether the general formula is being crowded out by particular suggestions. Then take the pressure off: "Let's stop measuring it day to day for two weeks." [synthesis on Brooks ch. VII]
Trying too hard / straining. Signs are frowning, emphatic delivery, frustration, and "I really concentrated". This is the reversed-effort problem. Response: slow everything down, practise sleepily, use the nursery-rhyme manner, and redo the hand clasp to show how effort works against them. [source: Brooks chs. V–VII; Coué, Gutenberg] [synthesis for the replay]
Formula feels false or invalidating (e.g. in depression, grief, chronic illness). Response: shrink it to what can be believed ("a little better in some way") or move to particular suggestions about small, concrete steps; validate the feelings first; screen for suicide risk by standard practice; do not use the method as the main treatment for moderate to severe depression. [source: Brooks ch. VIII on believability] [synthesis]
Ritual becoming compulsive. Signs are anxiety if the count is wrong, restarting, extra rounds, and "bad luck" beliefs. Response: drop the cord, set a fixed short slot, use exposure-based OCD treatment if indicated, or stop the method. [synthesis]
Non-adherence. Response: tie practice to the two drowsy moments the client already has (waking, settling to sleep), keep the cord by the bed, and review it at every session. Coué made regularity the foundation. If the client's life rules out these times, allow a brief seated version. [source: Brooks ch. VII] [synthesis]
Client refuses or dislikes the demonstrations. These are optional. Use the pendulum, or skip straight to explanation and ritual. Never press a client who feels controlled by "you cannot open them". [synthesis]
Fall or startle during sway tests. Stop, check for injury, debrief, and don't repeat it. Prevent this through screening and catching from a very small angle. [synthesis]
Lingering drowsiness, headache or disorientation after a session. Re-alert again, give orientation cues, and stay with the client until they are fully alert; Gruzelier notes headache and other mostly brief effects. [source: Gruzelier] [synthesis]
Overwhelm, abreaction or dissociation during eyes-closed work. Stop the suggestions; have the client open their eyes; ground them with present-moment cues (feet on the floor, naming objects in the room, today's date); talk calmly in ordinary voice; don't explore memory content in that state. Afterwards, review suitability; trauma-focused work needs a stabilisation-first trauma protocol, not this method. Never use the method to search for or "recover" memories. [source: Gruzelier on trauma resurfacing and spontaneous dissociation; fpnotebook on trauma as relative contraindication] [synthesis for the steps]
Psychotic-like or unusual experiences after sessions. Stop the method and arrange psychiatric assessment; Gruzelier links hypnosis to first-episode psychosis in vulnerable people. [source: Gruzelier] [synthesis]
Using "it is going" to put off medical care, or stopping medication. Restate the adjunct agreement, give red-flag rules, and liaise with the client's doctor with consent. [source: Coué and Brooks on continuing medical treatment] [synthesis]
Shame: "If it worked, my illness must have been imaginary." Explain that ideas can change real symptoms without making them unreal. Coué made the same point. [source: Yeates 2016 II §10c]
Magical expectations or dependence on the clinician. Repeat Coué's stance that the client is the agent, have the client lead the in-session formula, and space sessions out. [source: Coué, Gutenberg; Brooks ch. I] [synthesis]
Rupture: client feels told to "just think positive". Acknowledge the problem and its real weight, explain that the method is about removing a self-defeating strain, not denying difficulty, and invite them to co-author the wording. [synthesis]
Religious or cultural fit. Brooks notes the formula can be said in another wording or with a reference to God's help; let clients choose language that fits. [source: Brooks ch. VII]
Children who won't engage, or parents applying pressure. Keep it playful and optional; coach parents away from enforcing it; recheck medical and family factors. [synthesis]

Not found in primary sources [uncertain]: Baudouin's detailed relaxation, "collection" (recueillement), "contention" and autohypnosis exercises (1920, Part II) were identified from the table of contents only and are not described here. Yeates's Part III on clinical delivery is not drawn on here. Coué's later Conscious Auto-Suggestion (Coué & Orton, 1924) and the 1923 recordings were not consulted.

Sources

Sources: