Inner Advisor Technique: Walkthrough and Sample Wording

The inner advisor technique introduces the client to an imagined wise figure who can offer perspective, guidance or comfort. It is not about contacting anything external — the advisor is the client’s own wisdom, given a face and a voice so it can be heard more clearly than it usually is through the noise of anxiety and self-doubt.

At a glance

• Type: imagery-based suggestion technique
• Typical length: 8 to 15 minutes
• Experience level: intermediate — requires comfort with open-ended imagery
• Works well after: a deepener that establishes absorption; safe-place imagery as a setting
• Less suitable for: clients who are highly concrete in their thinking and resist imaginative exercises; clients with psychotic features

How it works

The inner advisor works through several mechanisms:

1. Perspective shift. Framing advice as coming from an external figure sidesteps the self-criticism that blocks the client’s own problem-solving.
2. Reduced self-censorship. The client allows thoughts to emerge that they would normally filter out as “stupid” or “impossible.”
3. Emotional distance. The advisor can address difficult subjects with the calm that the client cannot yet access.
4. Symbolic processing. The advisor’s appearance, setting and words often carry symbolic meaning the client finds meaningful.

The technique shares theoretical ground with DBT’s wise-mind concept — accessing a mode of knowing that integrates emotion and reason [2] — and with Rossman’s guided imagery approach to self-healing [1].

Sample wording

Written for this library. Read slowly; allow long pauses for the client to discover the imagery.

From your safe place, notice a path leading further in… and begin to walk along it… [pause]

Ahead, you become aware of a presence… someone or something that carries wisdom… it might be a person — familiar or unknown — or it might be a figure you have never seen before… let them appear in whatever form feels right… [long pause]

As they come closer, notice what you see… their face, their posture, the quality of their presence… and notice what you feel… a sense of calm, perhaps, or trust, or curiosity… [pause]

When you are ready, greet them in whatever way feels natural… [pause]

Now bring to mind the question you are carrying… the decision, the problem, the thing you have been turning over… and put it to your advisor… you can speak it or simply hold it in your mind… they will understand… [long pause]

Listen for the response… it may come as words, or as a feeling, or as an image, or as a knowing without words… do not force it… let it arrive… [long pause]

If you have another question, you may ask it… [pause]

And when you are ready, thank them… knowing you can return to this place and this presence whenever you need to… [pause]

Walk back along the path to your safe place… carrying whatever you received… [pause]

Adapting it

• Future self. Instead of a generic wise figure, invite the client to meet themselves ten or twenty years from now. This version is particularly useful for decisions about direction and values.
• Specific question. If the client has a specific dilemma, frame the meeting around that question. “You are going to ask your advisor about the job offer.”
• Letter format. For clients who struggle with visual imagery, the advisor leaves a letter in the safe place. The client reads it — or simply knows what it says.
• Return visits. Once established, the advisor can be revisited in subsequent sessions. Some clients develop an ongoing relationship with the figure.
• Without a safe place. The advisor can appear in any setting — a garden, a quiet room, a forest clearing. The safe place is convenient but not required.

Cautions and scope notes

• Not for psychosis. Clients who have difficulty distinguishing internal experiences from external reality should not use imagery that introduces voices or figures.
• Respect the experience. If the client reports a meaningful encounter, treat it as meaningful. Do not analyze or intellectualize it. The value is in the client’s experience, not in explaining it.
• No guarantees. Sometimes nothing arrives. The advisor does not appear, or says nothing useful. This is fine. Do not force it.
• Not therapy on its own. The inner advisor is a technique within a session, not a standalone treatment.

Before you use it. Ensure the client is comfortable with open-ended imagery. Some clients prefer structured exercises; the inner advisor requires tolerance for not knowing what will happen. If in doubt, try it briefly and follow the client’s response.

Related entries

For safe-place imagery that can precede this technique, see Safe Place Establishment Script. For session structure, see How to Structure a Hypnosis Session.