Hypnotherapy (sometimes called hypnotic suggestion) is a therapeutic practice that uses guided hypnosis to help a client reach a trance-like state of focus, concentration, diminished peripheral awareness, and heightened suggestibility. This state is similar to being completely absorbed in a book, movie, music, or even one’s own thoughts or meditations. In it, a person is unusually responsive to an idea or image, but they are not under anyone’s “control.” Instead, a trained clinical hypnotherapist can help clients in this state relax and turn their attention inward to discover and utilize resources within themselves that can help them achieve desired behavioral changes or better manage pain or other physical concerns. Eventually, a client learns how to address their states of awareness on their own and in doing so, gain greater control of their physical and psychological responses.
The American Psychological Association and American Medical Association have recognized hypnotherapy as a valid procedure since 1958, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recommended it as a treatment for chronic pain since 1995.