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Hypnotherapy
Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff
Hypnotherapy (sometimes called hypnotic suggestion) is a therapeutic practice that uses guided hypnosis to help a client reach a trance-like state of focus, concentration, diminished peripheral awareness, and heightened suggestibility. This state is similar to being completely absorbed in a book, movie, music, or even one's own thoughts or meditations. In it, a person is unusually responsive to an idea or image, but they are not under anyone’s “control.” Instead, a trained clinical hypnotherapist can help clients in this state relax and turn their attention inward to discover and utilize resources within themselves that can help them achieve desired behavioral changes or better manage pain or other physical concerns. Eventually, a client learns how to address their states of awareness on their own and in doing so, gain greater control of their physical and psychological responses.
The American Psychological Association and American Medical Association have recognized hypnotherapy as a valid procedure since 1958, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recommended it as a treatment for chronic pain since 1995.
The Uses of Hypnosis
Contrary to popular belief, humans stay completely awake during hypnosis and generally recall their experiences. Under the guidance of a trained health care professional, hypnosis can be used to ease pain, treat autoimmune disease, combat phobias, and break bad habits, such as smoking and overeating. Hypnosis can also help people cope with negative emotional states, like stress and anxiety, as well as pain, fatigue, insomnia, mood disorders, and more.
How can hypnosis help you?
Hypnosis has been used instead of anesthetics to decrease pain and anxiety before and after surgery. It also seems to boost healing from many conditions, including epilepsy, neuralgia, rheumatism, and skin conditions. The physiological and neurological changes that occur under hypnosis are similar to the self-healing placebo effect—a case of mind over matter.
The Ethics of Hypnosis
Many people wonder whether a hypnotist will be able to control their mind, a feat that is not possible. Individuals who are hypnotized still have free will, and while they’re more open to suggestion, they won’t act in ways they would ordinarily find morally repugnant. However, the nature of hypnosis and the way it affects the subconscious raises a number of ethical questions about its use.
Are there people who can’t be hypnotized?
About 25 percent of the population is thought to not be hypnotizable at all. These individuals tend to be highly skeptical of the benefits of hypnosis and unlikely to willingly participate in it.
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