Hypnosis uses guided relaxation methods, focused attention, and sharpened concentration to achieve a heightened state of awareness—a trance state. This hypnotic trance state allows for openness to positive suggestions. While in this state, a person’s attention may be so greatly focused that almost anything going on around the person is temporarily blocked out or ignored.

We go into trance states on a daily basis. Case in point, when we are watching TV, listening to music, or reading a great book. We can still hear the passing cars outside, the bus that drives by, and the neighbor’s dog barking, but will not be alarmed or bothered by them.

This trance state is a naturally occurring state of mind. During a hypnosis session, a person will focus his or her attention with the help of a trained hypnotherapist on specific tasks or concerns they want to work on or improve. A few areas that a person may want to focus on during hypnosis include feeling less depressed, becoming more productive, decreasing pain, stress management, and, more commonly, weight management, smoking cessation, and dealing with phobias.

Hypnotherapy is not designed to be a cure for a disease such as cancer, a heart attack caused by stress, or being overweight, but rather is a tool to help relieve the symptoms of these issues. Hypnotherapy may also be combined with counseling, including therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and relaxation techniques to help increase the positive outcome and to enhance the overall therapeutic process.

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In my private practice, I often work with people who are struggling with stress management and anxiety, and use hypnotherapy to help relieve the symptoms. I then use CBT to help understand what is causing the stress and anxiety. Once we know the cause, we are able to figure out a way to handle situations differently so a person is less stressed and less anxious when facing the situation.

So how, exactly, does hypnotherapy work, and is it dangerous? Hypnotherapy is not an altered state of sleep, but for some, it may feel like sleep. When done properly, hypnosis is very relaxing. Although there is no consensus as to how hypnosis works, some people believe it causes the brain to react by releasing naturally occurring chemicals that affect how we sense and feel pain and other symptoms. Others believe hypnosis works on the subconscious mind, and fosters the ability to control bodily reaction to blood pressure and heartbeat. Regardless of how it works, it is widely accepted that hypnosis is safe, especially when performed by a trained professional.

So what constitutes a trained professional? A well-qualified hypnotherapist has extensive training in hypnosis and belongs to a hypnosis organization, such as the National Guild of Hypnotists, Inc. (NGH), American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH), or International Medical & Dental Hypnotherapy Association (IMDHA). There are no formal licensing policies in the United States, so choose your hypnotherapist wisely. Make sure he or she has training in hypnosis and you have met and feel comfortable working with them.

Hypnosis is often recognized as being used by performers in comedy or entertainment and is typically seen as fun and harmless in those situations. However, hypnosis has a broader application when used in helping practices. Essentially, there are three main platforms for hypnosis:

1. Hypnosis used for entertainment.

2. Hypnosis is used by a person trained in specialized uses, such as helping people to stop smoking, manage weight, or deal with sleeping problems.

3. Hypnosis is used by a licensed mental health practitioner (hypnotherapist) as one of the tools in the counseling/therapeutic toolbox.

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy have an extensive history as reputable methods used the therapeutic process by trained and skilled hypnotists and hypnotherapists alike. The difference between hypnosis and hypnotherapy is that hypnosis is defined as a state of mind, while hypnotherapy is the name of the therapeutic modality in which hypnosis is used.

A trained hypnotist uses hypnosis to help people with issues such as smoking cessation and weight management, but is not licensed as to practice hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy is practiced by a hypnotherapist who is a trained, licensed, and/or certified professional. Only a hypnotherapist may use hypnotherapy to work with such mental health concerns as phobias, stage fright, eating disorders, and certain medical conditions.

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How Does Hypnosis Work?

Hypnosis is defined as a harmless altered trance state characterized by very deep relaxation, highly focused attention, and an extreme openness to suggestions which are usually positive and foster positive therapeutic changes. However, a hypnotic trance is not necessarily therapeutic on its own. For example, when someone is driving to the mall, seemingly suddenly arrives, and is not sure exactly how he or she got there so soon, he/she has experienced an altered, hypnotic state. People may also experience this altered state when they are just beginning to fall asleep and are in a dreamy and drowsy state, aware but not completely focused—just focused enough to have a simple conversation but not remember talking at all.

When used for therapeutic approaches, specific suggestions and images given to people in a trance can alter their behavior in a positive manner. When in this state of hypnosis, you are more inclined to permanent change and more likely to be successful in making the lasting changes you desire. Almost all lasting changes happen in your subconscious mind.

Another example of how visualization in hypnosis works is when a hypnotherapist helps a person experiencing claustrophobia to visualize being in a very open space, without fear, when entering an elevator. By learning to positively visualize entering the elevator without fear, the person is often able to then do it in reality. The subconscious mind does not distinguish between a genuine experience and a suggested one. If you visualize it in a trance state, your body will react to it.

Who Can Be Hypnotized?

The simplest answer is that almost anyone can be hypnotized if they want to be. Modern research has shown that most people can be hypnotized to some degree and that the real question is how deep and to what degree they go into trance. Being able to be hypnotized is not a sign of being weak-minded, gullible, or giving up control. The ability to be hypnotized—or “hypnotizability”—is actually correlated with intelligence and the ability to have heightened awareness and focus while being in complete control.

For example, if while in a hypnotic trance you were asked to give the hypnotherapist your wallet or take off all of your clothes, you wouldn’t unless you truly wanted to. Likewise, if you were in the audience of a stage performance by a hypnotist and you were selected to participate in the show, you would quack like a duck only if you truly wanted to. In fact, the participants are usually chosen because the hypnotist believes you want to act silly and be part of the show. This is in contrast to someone who is not showing any indication he or she wants to be at the event or even have fun.