What is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy is a heightened state where a person is guided to connect to their subconscious mind. There is a single focus and active participation from the person to complete a session. The person is aware and in control of everything that is going on. Nothing will be forgotten.

Here are some more definitions from experts:

Gil Boyne, 'Transforming Therapy', 1985

Hypnosis is a natural state of mind with special identifying characteristics:

1. An extraordinary quality of relaxation.

2. An emotionalized desire to satisfy the suggested behavior: The person feels like doing what the hypnotist suggests, provided that what is suggested does not generate conflict with his belief system.

3. The organism becomes self-regulating and produces normalization of the central nervous system.

4. Heightened and selective sensitivity to stimuli perceived by the five senses and four basic perceptions.

5. Immediate softening of psychic defenses.

Marisa Peer

“Hypnosis is a way of directly accessing the subconscious mind so that clients can understand what is running their unwanted behaviors and then become free of them through a process of suggestion that bypasses the conscious mind and the critical factor, allowing the mind to accept suggestions it would have previously not have accepted.”