Hypnotherapy is a type of therapy that uses guided relaxation and focused attention (a hypnotic state) to help people make changes in thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.
In simple terms, it’s like being deeply relaxed and absorbed—similar to daydreaming—while a trained therapist helps you access your subconscious mind.
How it works
During a hypnotherapy session:
- You’re guided into a calm, focused state
- You remain aware and in control (you’re not unconscious or “asleep”)
- The therapist uses suggestions, imagery, or discussion to help shift patterns or habits
What it’s used for
Hypnotherapy is commonly used to help with:
- Anxiety and stress
- Phobias (like fear of flying)
- Smoking cessation
- Weight management
- Pain control (e.g., chronic pain or during medical procedures)
- Sleep problems
- Confidence and performance (sports, public speaking)
What it is NOT
- It’s not mind control
- You can’t be forced to do anything against your will
- It’s not magic—it works best when you’re open and willing
Hypnotherapy is a structured psychological method for working with the unconscious mind through focused attention, imagery, and suggestion in order to create change that feels difficult through ordinary conversation alone.
Instead of thinking of hypnosis as “being put under,” it’s more accurate to think of it as entering a cooperative altered state of attention—a state people naturally experience every day when they are absorbed in a novel, a memory, a prayer, music, or driving on autopilot.
In therapy, that state becomes intentional and purposeful.
A deeper way to understand hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy works by shifting how the brain processes experience.
In ordinary talk therapy:
- the analytical mind is dominant
- insight develops first
- change follows later
In hypnotherapy:
- the experiential / imaginal mind is engaged directly
- emotional learning happens first
- insight often follows afterward
It’s less about persuasion and more about experiencing something differently from the inside.
What actually happens in session
A typical hypnotherapy session includes:
Induction
The therapist guides attention inward (breathing, imagery, body awareness, or eye focus).
Deepening
The client becomes calmer, more absorbed, more receptive.
Therapeutic work
This may include:
- imagery
- suggestion
- memory reconsolidation
- parts dialogue
- symbolic work
- future rehearsal
- somatic regulation
Integration
The client returns to ordinary awareness and reflects on the experience.
- Unmet needs
- Unspoken truths
- Forbidden desires
- Disowned power
Importantly: the client is never unconscious, controlled, or passive.
What makes hypnotherapy powerful
Hypnotherapy works especially well when change is blocked by patterns that are:
- emotional rather than logical
- procedural rather than cognitive
- body-based rather than verbal
- old rather than current
- automatic rather than chosen
Examples include:
- fears
- habits
- pain loops
- shame responses
- performance blocks
- attachment reactions
Different styles of hypnotherapy
Not all hypnotherapy is the same. Major approaches include:
Directive hypnosis
Uses clear therapeutic suggestion
(e.g., confidence, fear reduction, habit change)
Ericksonian hypnotherapy
Uses metaphor, story, and indirect language
Parts-based hypnotherapy
Works with inner figures, protectors, younger selves
Regression-focused hypnotherapy
Explores earlier experiences shaping current reactions
Transpersonal hypnotherapy
Includes symbolic, archetypal, or spiritual experience
Many clinicians describe hypnotherapy like this: