The first time I ever saw someone hypnotized was during a high school AP Psychology course. Our teacher took it upon herself to hypnotize the class to demonstrate the concept. We all sat at our desks and closed our eyes as we listened to her lull us to sleep, then suggest that we raise our hands. I half-heartedly lifted mine, gently opening one eye to see what everyone else around me was doing. Some students’ hands shot into the air. It is well-known that some people are more susceptible to hypnotic suggestion than others. In fact, one student in the class began feeling unwell afterwards and decided to go home. Not many high school days are burned into my mind so vividly.

“We all sat at our desks and closed our eyes as we listened to her lull us to sleep, then suggest that we raise our hands.”

You might have a similar experience — and a similar question — about hypnosis. Maybe you stayed up late watching cable television, where sometimes a magician would hypnotize crowd members in a Las Vegas show, or someone you know was hypnotized to quit smoking. Hypnosis has had a persistent, but fringe, place in the culture for so many years. And now, we seem to be experiencing another resurgence of the method, likely connected to advanced neuroimaging and our ability to observe the changes in brain activity induced by hypnosis. The new wave of hypnotists usually pair the method with their work as a therapist or a life coach. Like, for instance, the new beau of Jennifer Aniston, Jim Curtis, whose work as a hypnotist flits across “science and spirit.” But is it an element that you should be adding to your wellness lineup?

The common fear of hypnosis and the appeal are two sides of the same coin: Is it really possible that someone could have the power in a brief meeting to put me in a trance — and rid me of my issue? To understand how a contemporary hypnotherapist actually thinks and practices, I spoke to Rev. Sheri Heller, LCSW, RSW, a complex trauma therapist, hypnotist, and interfaith minister, about how hypnosis works and who it is best for.

So, how does hypnosis work?

I became interested in hypnosis through my training as a psychoanalyst, because the psychoanalytic method grew out of Freud’s earlier work with hypnosis. The Freudian method eventually developed to center around the power of the patient’s speech, sparking the entire industry of talk therapy as we know it today. But hypnosis wasn’t abandoned because it didn’t work, exactly. It was unreliable — with some people responding better than others — and capricious — the effects could be short-lived and ultimately depended on the doctor’s suggestive power over their patient.

“The ability to induce a trance state and to suggest certain processes of thought depends on the interplay between the hypnotist and the patient.”

The ability to induce a trance state and to suggest certain processes of thought depends on the interplay between the hypnotist and the patient. If the process does work to induce a state between waking and sleep, the hypnotist will then often attempt to overwrite certain behavioral patterns through the power of suggestion. Rather than what you’d normally do (e.g. crave a cigarette), the hypnotist will suggest that you do something different (e.g. experience the taste of ash in your mouth). As a neurobiologist helpfully explained on Reddit, “Basically, hypnosis is a way of taking a process that our brains do all the time — subconscious, automatic behaviour — and using it deliberately.”

“Even if the effect of hypnosis is short-lived, it might deliver you a reprieve from your pattern of behavior long enough to break the habit.”

There may be cases where serious behavioral modification can be implemented with its power, especially because creating some distance from our normal patterns can provide the needed space for pause and experimentation that allows one to find new avenues for gratification. Even if the effect of hypnosis is short-lived, it might deliver you a reprieve from your pattern of behavior long enough to break the habit. And there are other categories like pain management where the mind-body connection can be leveraged to soften and alter perceptual experience.

What is hypnosis good for?

The dominant strain of scientific research on hypnosis relates to pain management. A landmark 1999 study found that hypnosis (especially when paired with suggestions to change how pain feels) alters activity in specific brain regions involved in how pain is perceived and interpreted, supporting the idea that hypnosis can influence how the brain processes and experiences pain. Another 2016 study looked at what happens in the brain during hypnosis and noted that in people who are highly hypnotizable, brain activity changes in ways linked to perception and awareness. These changes are thought to help explain why hypnosis has been effective in previous research at reducing various types of pain and could eventually lead to better ways to use hypnosis for pain relief without drugs.

“In people who are highly hypnotizable, brain activity changes in ways linked to perception and awareness.”

Heller has found success in her practice addressing a variety of complaints with hypnosis. She explains, “Therapeutic goals can encompass anything from smoking cessation, galvanizing artistic expression, accessing feeling faculties, and resourcing safety and nervous system regulation.” In particular, Heller likes to work with artists and creative-types. “I find it prudent to utilize hypnotic trance states and suggestions to strengthen the ego and access creative solutions. Since I work with many artists, the metaphorical language of hypnosis speaks strongly to their subconscious and catalyzes pathways towards healing and growth,” she says.

As for who — and what — hypnosis is not ideal for, Heller offers: “It is not recommended for folks with psychosis as it is naturally dissociative and will exacerbate the lines of reality and fantasy.” Because of the factor of fantasy, it may not be good for working on deeper psychological complexes. Heller says, “I learned early on not to use hypnosis for memory retrieval as it was too destabilizing. In one case, a woman I worked with retrieved severe sexual abuse trauma while in trance, but emerged with full amnesia. In the aftermath, she fragmented and had a litany of somatic symptoms that required a gentler approach that could offer cohesion.”

If you are looking for more immediate relief from bodily pain or a certain pattern of behavior or thought, hypnosis could be a good place to start. If it raises more questions for you, or you already have a desire to explore your motivations, family dynamics, and place in the world, a slower, long-term talk therapy could be a fit.

What can you expect when you seek out hypnotherapy?

The first step in the process is finding a hypnotherapist who is certified, whether as a mental health professional or directly as a hypnotist or both. There is no legally governing body for the certification of hypnosis, but you can look for credentials like BCH, CCH, or CPE, which indicate training in hypnosis from reputable organizations like The Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (SCEH) and American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH).

“The first step in the process is finding a hypnotherapist who is certified, whether as a mental health professional or directly as a hypnotist or both.”

Resist any feeling that you have to rush into treatment with someone. Since the relationship with your hypnotist is central to the treatment, don’t hesitate to ask questions about their approach. It’s also worth examining your own feelings about them, so you might want to speak aloud to a friend about your experience visiting them for a consultation. You’ll also want to be clear about your goals for the treatment, and any professional should be focused on clarifying that with you and establishing a timeline and expectations.

I asked Heller to explain her intake process, “I start with a pre-hypnotic consultation to acquire a thorough psycho-social history and ascertain the specific hypnotic goal and intention. That session may also involve the use of conversational hypnotic techniques to assist the client with safely and effortlessly leaning into a trance state. What follows are sessions (in which I enter into a light trance) as I facilitate the induction. Inductions incorporate suggestions that are inspired by ‘utilization,’ meaning facets of the person’s personality and psyche. Utilizing the client’s traits and proclivities speaks more intimately to the subconscious. A goal can be attained in one session or many, depending on the goals involved and the defenses employed by the client.”

Final thoughts

When I asked how Heller sees hypnosis interfacing with her other vocations as a therapist and minister, she answered: “Prayer and meditation are naturally dissociative and therefore trance-inducing. Entering altered states to amplify one’s ability to heal and actualize is a shared space with hypnosis and spiritual exploration. Also, any form of influential communication can be trance-inducing.”

“Entering altered states to amplify one’s ability to heal and actualize is a shared space with hypnosis and spiritual exploration.” – Sherri Heller, LCSW, RSW

Somewhere between spirit and science, hypnosis offers one way to engage and shift your thought patterns. While it is limited, it can also be a place to experiment with living in a new way. It’s important to form a relationship based on expertise and trust with your hypnotist — and know that they don’t have any mystical power over you. Even still, incredible outcomes for pain, smoking, and artistic expression are possible. What happens after you’ve overwritten the old behaviors is ultimately up to you.

Ashley D’Arcy is the Senior Editor at The Good Trade. She holds an MA in Philosophy from The New School for Social Research and has contributed to esteemed outlets such as The Nation, 032c, and Yale School of Management’s Insights where she’s leveraged her expertise in making complex ideas accessible to a broad audience. In addition to her editorial work, she is training as a psychoanalytic mental health professional and provides care to patients in New York City. Ashley also explores sustainable fashion, clean beauty, and wellness trends, combining thoughtful cultural critiques with a commitment to mindful living.