Hypnosis is real. It is not what most people think.

Hypnosis is a way of using focused attention and suggestion to change how we experience something. You do not have to surrender control, fall asleep, or believe in anything supernatural. You participate in the process.

What is hypnosis?

The Society of Psychological Hypnosis, a division of the American Psychological Association, defines hypnosis in terms of focused attention, reduced awareness of distractions, and an increased capacity to respond to suggestions. This is a description of the experience, not a claim that scientists have completely explained it.

A suggestion is an invitation to experience something differently. It may concern a sensation, an image, a feeling, a thought, or an automatic response. Sometimes a person notices only a subtle shift. Other times the change is striking. Both responses are possible, and neither is a measure of character or intelligence.

What does being hypnotized feel like?

There is no single feeling that proves you are hypnotized. Some people feel deeply absorbed, others unusually calm or alert. You may hear everything, remember the session, and remain aware of the room. Relaxation is common, but it is not required. Hypnosis is not the same thing as sleep or unconsciousness.

You can speak, ask questions, reject a suggestion, or ask to stop. A successful session is not defined by how still you sit or how deeply relaxed you appear. It is defined by whether the experience is useful for the purpose you brought to it.

What happens in a hypnosis session?

We begin by discussing what you want to change and what you have already experienced. I then guide your attention, often using words, imagery, and suggestions chosen for you. You remain involved throughout. Afterward, we discuss what you noticed and whether any further work makes sense.

A first visit is a working appointment, not merely an explanation of hypnosis. When appropriate, we can begin hypnosis during that session. The approach is individualized and goal-directed rather than a fixed script or an open-ended commitment.

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy: what is the difference?

Hypnosis refers to the phenomenon and the procedure: focused attention and responding to suggestions. Hypnotherapy is the purposeful use of hypnosis to work toward a personal or clinical goal. The word therapy here does not mean that every hypnotherapist provides psychotherapy, medical treatment, or psychiatric care.

In this practice, I use hypnotherapy to address stress, distress, anticipation, and learned responses associated with life and health challenges. I do not diagnose diseases, prescribe medication, manage medical conditions, or provide psychotherapy. Hypnotherapy can complement care from your physicians and other appropriately licensed professionals.

Common questions and misconceptions

Will I lose control?

No. Hypnosis is collaborative. Suggestions are not commands that eliminate judgment or consent.

Can I get stuck in hypnosis?

No. Hypnosis is not a permanent state or a form of unconsciousness. You can ask to stop and return your attention to ordinary activities.

Is hypnosis just relaxation or imagination?

No. Relaxation and imagination are useful tools, but researchers also study changes in perception, attention, and the sense of how actions happen. Those changes cannot all be reduced to simply resting quietly.

Can anyone be hypnotized?

People vary in how strongly they respond to different suggestions. This is called hypnotizability. It is measurable, but the tests are imperfect. A lower score does not automatically mean a person cannot benefit from working with hypnosis.

Does hypnosis uncover true hidden memories?

No. Hypnosis does not make memory more reliable. Suggestions can increase confidence in memories that are inaccurate. I do not use hypnosis to establish historical facts or treat recovered memories as proof.

Does hypnosis work in one session?

Some people notice a useful response immediately; others need more practice or follow-up. A single session does not guarantee a permanent result. We reassess progress rather than continue without a clear purpose.

1. The phenomenon: suggestion, absorption and agency

Hypnosis research distinguishes the induction (the procedure used to establish a hypnotic context), hypnotic suggestions (instructions intended to change subjective experience or behavior), and hypnotizability (individual differences in responsiveness). These elements are related but not interchangeable. Some suggestions can also produce measurable responses without a formal induction.

A particularly interesting feature is a change in sense of agency: an experience may feel as though it is happening more automatically than through deliberate effort. This subjective automaticity is not evidence that the person has lost the ability to refuse, and it does not settle the debate over how hypnotic responses arise. [1, 2, 14, 17]

2. Individual differences

Standardized scales have demonstrated substantial, sometimes long-term differences in hypnotic responding. A longitudinal study reported meaningful stability over 25 years; modern reviews also show limitations in scale construction and scoring. Hypnotizability is useful in research but should not be mistaken for an absolute, all-purpose clinical pass/fail test. [10, 11]

3. What brain imaging shows

Functional MRI, PET and EEG studies have identified hypnosis-related differences in networks involved in attention, executive control, self-referential processing and sensory experience. A Stanford fMRI study reported changes in connectivity among executive, salience and default-mode networks during hypnosis. Other studies have explored connections involving prefrontal and cingulate regions. [4–7]

These are evidence of measurable neural correlates, not a unique “hypnosis center” or a diagnostic brain scan. Results vary by suggestion, task, individual differences and experimental design. A 2025 review favors multiple interacting mechanisms rather than one uniform brain signature. [3–5]

4. Experiments show that experience can change

Some of the clearest experimental demonstrations manipulate pain experience through suggestion. Classic studies found that hypnotic suggestions could change the unpleasantness of a noxious stimulus and correspond with activity changes in the anterior cingulate cortex. The importance is not a claim that hypnosis cures disease; it is that what a person consciously experiences can be influenced in reproducible laboratory settings. [8, 9]

5. Competing explanations remain active

Researchers disagree on how much hypnosis depends on a distinctive state, expectation, social context, attention, metacognition, automaticity, and ordinary cognitive processes. Contemporary reviews find strengths and weaknesses across models. No single theory accounts for all findings, and brain measurements should not be used to overstate certainty about mechanisms. [2, 3, 14, 15, 17]

6. What efficacy research can and cannot establish

Across clinical research, some meta-analyses report benefits, particularly for pain and distress around medical procedures. However, study quality, comparators, the content of suggestions and the target outcome vary considerably. An umbrella review found substantial overlap across meta-analyses and relatively few rated highly for methodology. Evidence for specific applications belongs on their respective pages; it should not be generalized to every condition or practitioner. [13]

7. Memory, ethics and methodological rigor

Suggestion can influence what someone reports remembering and how confident they feel about it. This is one reason hypnosis should not be marketed as a truth-recovery method. Good research also requires transparent reporting of inductions, suggestions, controls, outcome measures and hypnotizability when relevant. [10, 12]

Selected scientific references

Peer-reviewed research and scholarly reviews on hypnosis itself: definitions, phenomenology, cognitive theories, neurobiology, measurement, and methodological limits. Older landmark papers are retained where they explain the field's foundations; newer work addresses developments and unresolved questions.

1. Elkins, Barabasz, Council & Spiegel (2015). Advancing research and practice: the revised APA Division 30 definition of hypnosis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Publication / abstract ↗
2. Zahedi, Lynn & Sommer (2024). How hypnotic suggestions work: A systematic review of prominent theories of hypnosis. Consciousness and Cognition. Publication / abstract ↗
3. Brunel, Rainville & Landry (2025). Neural dynamics of hypnotic responding: From unique to multicomponent perspectives on hypnotic phenomena. International Review of Neurobiology. Publication / abstract ↗
4. Landry, Lifshitz & Raz (2017). Brain correlates of hypnosis: A systematic review and meta-analytic exploration. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. Publication / abstract ↗
5. De Pascalis (2024). Brain functional correlates of resting hypnosis and hypnotizability: A review. Brain Sciences. Publication / abstract ↗
6. Jiang et al. (2017). Brain activity and functional connectivity associated with hypnosis. Cerebral Cortex. Publication / abstract ↗
7. Hoeft et al. (2012). Functional brain basis of hypnotizability. Archives of General Psychiatry. Publication / abstract ↗
8. Rainville et al. (1997). Pain affect encoded in human anterior cingulate but not somatosensory cortex. Science. Publication / abstract ↗
9. Faymonville et al. (2000). Neural mechanisms of antinociceptive effects of hypnosis. Anesthesiology. Publication / abstract ↗
10. Acunzo & Terhune (2021). A critical review of standardized measures of hypnotic suggestibility. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Publication / abstract ↗
11. Piccione, Hilgard & Zimbardo (1989). On the degree of stability of measured hypnotizability over a 25-year period. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Publication / abstract ↗
12. Kihlstrom (1997). Hypnosis, memory and amnesia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Publication / abstract ↗
13. Rosendahl, Alldredge & Haddenhorst (2024). Meta-analytic evidence on the efficacy of hypnosis for mental and somatic health issues: A 20-year perspective. Frontiers in Psychology. Publication / abstract ↗
14. Geagea, Ogez, Kimble & Tyack (2024). Redefining hypnosis: A narrative review of theories to move towards an integrative model. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. Publication / abstract ↗
15. Knafo & Weinberger (2024). Exploring the role of conscious and unconscious processes in hypnosis: A theoretical review. Brain Sciences. Publication / abstract ↗
16. Raturi, Narayanan & Jena (2024). EEG correlates of suggestion-induced Stroop interference reduction in high-suggestible individuals: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Publication / abstract ↗
17. Dell (2024). What is the source of hypnotic responses? International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Publication / abstract ↗