Hypnotists have long been a trope of Hollywood fiction. Usually robed in a long cape and armed with a crystal ball, the hypnotist can wield immense and horrible power over the mind.
They can convince a person they’re a chicken, make someone fall in love with them, or turn an unsuspecting crowd into an army of brain-dead henchman.
But in reality, hypnosis is nothing like that.
And if you’ve been considering finding a hypnotherapist, that’s good news.
Hypnotherapy has been used as a treatment for centuries, and it’s growing in popularity.
But there’s still a lot of confusion about hypnotherapy.
If you want to strip away the misconceptions and cliches and get to the truth of hypnotherapy, keep reading.
What Is Hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a mental state wherein the participant willingly makes themselves susceptible to the suggestions of the hypnotist.
While it might appear that the hypnotized individual is in a trance, they are actually in a heightened state. Their mind is in a period of hyper-focus. They become overly suggestable and may even experience vivid hallucinations.
This makes hypnosis a very effective tool in treating anxiety, trauma, addiction, and many conditions that regular therapy may be ineffective against.
What Can Hypnotherapy Treat?
As mentioned earlier, hypnosis makes you more open to suggestion, allows for clearer access to memories, and can lead to hallucinations.
This combination makes it an effective treatment for a number of different mental conditions, as well as pain management.
Hypnotherapy is often used to treat anxiety, eating disorders, and substance addiction by identifying triggers in a hypnotic state and trying to rewire the brain’s response to those triggers.
Similarly, it is often used to help individuals struggling through PTSD by revisiting their trauma. In the hypnotic state, the patient is calmer when visiting these memories, which can help process through the events without triggering their PTSD symptoms.
In patients with dementia or Alzheimers, hypnotherapy can help recover memories that have been lost to the disease.
Some people even use hypnotherapy as an anesthetic before dental or surgical procedures. They simply enter a hypnotic state and ignore the pain.
Finding a Good Hypnotherapist
If you decide to give hypnotherapy a try, it’s incredibly important that you find the right hypnotherapist.
Despite having documented clinical success, hypnotherapy is still regarded with suspicion. Some even consider it a pseudoscience—little more than quackery.
And unfortunately, some practicing hypnotherapists are quacks. They’re little more than scam artists who are more interested in treating your wallet than your mind.
However, a legitimate hypnotherapist will be licensed by a recognized state board. Many will be licensed counselors as well.
Search the National Board for Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists for hypnotherapists in your area.
In addition to being licensed, a reputable hypnotherapist will be honest.
Before they ever induct you into a hypnotic state, they should ask you about what you’re looking to get out of treatment. If your expectations are unrealistic, they will let you know.
They should also be open about what successes they’ve had in previous patients—and what failures they’ve had.
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When I Snap My Fingers…
Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool. If you have been stonewalled with a serious condition, it might allow you to finally start moving again.
But that said, a hypnotherapist is not a miracle worker. They are merely another therapist—albeit a therapist armed with a different set of tools.
