What is Hypnosis / Hypnotherapy?

If you are reading this article, it is likely that you will already have some awareness of hypnosis. Hypnosis is the word given to the trance-like state that people encounter when they are hypnotised. It is an entirely natural process, a little like day-dreaming, and it is something that the vast majority of us experience at certain times of the day (that feeling of being half-asleep, half-awake is a good example). However, hypnotherapy is not simply about being hypnotised; it is more about what happens once the person is in the state of hypnosis.

In particular, hypnotherapy takes advantage of the trance state to communicate with the unconscious mind. You may not realise it, but your unconscious mind has vast potential, which is usually untapped. The hypnotherapist makes contact with that part of the mind that is usually 'closed off', but which has an enormous impact on the way that we think, feel and behave. Hypnotherapy, then, is the therapeutic process that occurs when a person is in a state of hypnosis.