What does hypnosis feel like?

Hypnosis feels most similar to right before you fall asleep at night or right when you’re waking up in the morning: you KNOW you’re awake, but your mind is relaxed. Your body feels relaxed and comfortable. You also know that you are in complete control of your body at all times. Daydreaming is a form of self-hypnosis. Driving home on auto-pilot is a form of self-hypnosis. Getting lost in a good book is a form of self-hypnosis. Listening to a guided meditation is a form of self-hypnosis. Hypnosis feels good.

Will I be unconscious when I’m hypnotized?

Hypnosis is a state of consciousness. You are not asleep, and you don’t feel unconscious. It feels similar to guided meditation. Your conscious mind is still awake and aware, but you’re being more selective about what you are focusing on. Some people go very lightly into hypnosis and others go deeply into hypnosis. Most people are somewhere in the middle. Wherever you go is perfect and your subconscious mind gets everything it needs.

Can I be hypnotized?

Almost anyone can be hypnotized. The only people who can’t be hypnotized are people with brain injuries or with mental impairments, who aren’t able to use their imaginations. People who are highly analytical tend to be very good hypnosis subjects. But if you don’t BELIEVE you can be hypnotized, that’s actually a form of self-hypnosis and you won’t allow yourself to be hypnotized. It has to do with a misplaced fear of losing control. Remember that you are always in complete control of your hypnosis experience. Also, if you don’t trust the hypnotherapist, you won’t allow yourself to be hypnotized either.

Will you make me do silly things while I’m in hypnosis?

Hypnotherapy uses hypnosis for therapeutic purposes. It isn’t stage hypnosis, where the people on stage know that they get to be silly and uninhibited in front of an audience. Hypnotherapy functions on trust and connection with your hypnotherapist. A good hypnotherapist will never break that trusting relationship with you.

Does hypnosis work?

Hypnotherapy has been accepted by the American Medical Association (AMA) as a valid medical procedure since 1958.

Here are the results of a study published in the journal Psychotherapy (vol. 7, number 1) by Alfred A. Barrios, PHd, comparing the effectiveness of different modalities:

• Psychoanalysis: 38%  recovery after 600 sessions
• Behavior therapy: 72% recovery after 22 sessions
• Hypnotherapy: 93% recovery after 6 sessions

What happens in the first hypnotherapy session?

Our first session together is a meet and greet. We get together, either in person or virtually, and we talk about your goals. You learn more about hypnosis and hypnotherapy. And then you get to decide if hypnotherapy would be a good fit for you. There is no hypnotherapy in the first session — the hypnotherapy starts in session 2.

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