What Is Hypnotherapy? How It Works and What the Research Shows

Hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis, a state of focused attention and heightened responsiveness to suggestion, within a therapeutic relationship with a trained practitioner. It is for people curious about a relaxation-based, guided way to work with stress, pain, worry or habits, and you stay aware and in control throughout. This guide explains what hypnotherapy involves, where it comes from, what research has found and how to find a qualified practitioner.

What hypnotherapy is and how it works

Hypnosis is usually described as a state of focused attention and reduced awareness of your surroundings, paired with greater openness to suggestion. It is not sleep or unconsciousness. You can hear, speak and choose to end the process at any time. Hypnotherapy is hypnosis used within therapy, toward goals that you and a practitioner agree on.

A session typically follows a pattern. The practitioner guides an induction, often through relaxation and attention to breathing or imagery. Once you are settled, they offer suggestions linked to your goal, such as feeling calmer, noticing discomfort differently or responding to a trigger in a new way. The session ends with a return to full, alert awareness, and many practitioners also teach self-hypnosis to practice at home.

People differ in how readily they respond to hypnosis, which researchers call hypnotic suggestibility. In studies of experimentally induced pain in healthy volunteers, hypnosis worked best for people with medium and high suggestibility and gave little benefit to low suggestibles. How hypnosis works in the brain is still being studied, so explanations should be treated as working theories.

Where hypnotherapy comes from

Trance-like states and healing rituals appear in many cultures throughout history, but the modern story begins in the eighteenth century with Franz Anton Mesmer, whose theory of animal magnetism was later rejected. The word hypnosis was introduced in the 1840s by the Scottish surgeon James Braid, who took it from the Greek word for sleep.

In the twentieth century, clinicians and researchers developed more systematic approaches. The American psychiatrist Milton Erickson was especially influential in shaping modern, permissive styles of suggestion. Hypnosis is now studied in psychology, medicine and dentistry, and some practitioners combine it with approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Stage hypnosis, by contrast, is entertainment and not part of this history of therapy.

What people use hypnotherapy for

People explore hypnotherapy for many reasons. Common ones include managing stress and anxiety, preparing for medical or dental procedures, working with pain, supporting sleep and winding down, and changing habits. Digestive symptoms, particularly irritable bowel syndrome, are another well-known reason, using a form called gut-directed hypnotherapy.

Others explore it for confidence before an event, for fears and phobias, or simply to learn a reliable relaxation skill. Hypnotherapy is also used in some hospital and dental settings to help people feel calmer around procedures, and trials in children have tested it for needle-related pain and distress.

These are reasons people explore the practice, not guarantees of any outcome. You can browse the conditions people explore and symptoms hubs to see how hypnotherapy sits alongside other approaches for the same concerns.

What the research says

Hypnotherapy has meaningful research support, strongest for pain and anxiety around procedures and for irritable bowel symptoms, but quality is uneven and results vary. A 2013 meta-analysis of 34 randomized trials with 2,597 adults undergoing surgery or medical procedures found benefits for emotional distress and pain, while noting that the internal validity of many trials was limited. A 2025 review of 142 studies in anesthesia settings found that hypnosis may reduce anxiety and pain around procedures, yet its effect on most other outcomes remains unknown.

A 2019 meta-analysis of 15 studies reported reductions in anxiety, with larger effects when hypnosis was combined with other psychological approaches. For irritable bowel syndrome, a 2024 network meta-analysis found face-to-face gut-directed hypnotherapy may help abdominal pain, although no included trial was at low risk of bias and no approach beat the others.

Chronic pain is mixed. A 2022 meta-analysis of nine trials found moderate pain reductions, but a 2025 review of twelve trials found benefit for acute pain and none for chronic pain. Taken together, hypnotherapy looks promising for specific uses and complementary to usual care, while larger, better-blinded trials are still needed.

Safety and who should check first

Hypnotherapy is generally considered low risk when a trained practitioner leads it. You stay aware, can speak and can stop at any time. Some people feel tired, lightheaded or emotional afterward, and these effects usually pass. Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis does not make you do anything against your wishes.

Take extra care if you have a history of psychosis, severe trauma, dissociation or another serious mental health condition. Tell the practitioner first, and consider checking with your doctor or mental health clinician. Be cautious about any practitioner who promises to recover forgotten memories or guarantees results, because suggestion can shape what people recall.

If you plan to use hypnosis for pain, digestive or sleep symptoms, see a doctor first about anything new or unexplained so that a medical cause is not missed.

Fitting it alongside everyday and conventional care

Hypnotherapy is best understood as complementary. Much of the research tests hypnosis added to standard care, such as around surgery or alongside other psychological approaches, and not as a replacement. That is how most people use it: as extra support while their usual care continues.

If you are already seeing a doctor, dentist or therapist, tell them you are exploring hypnotherapy. Keep taking medication and attending appointments unless your clinician advises otherwise, and think of hypnosis as one tool alongside sleep, movement, nutrition and other support.

Finding a hypnotherapy practitioner

Look for a practitioner with recognized training and credentials in your region, ideally including a health or mental health background, and ask how they work with goals like yours. You can browse practitioners in the Gyfts directory, read the hypnotherapy modality page, or explore related approaches. Cost varies by region and practitioner, so ask about fees up front.